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RMAF 2009 Show
Report
 For
a variety of reason - a hectic
schedule at work, a tough economy, and a
lingering bad taste from 2009 CES - I
had decided some time ago to not attend this
year’s show. But just a few weeks ago Olga
convinced me to go, assuring me that I would
have a good time. Some times our spouses
know better than we do. This was one of
those times.
Despite
unseasonably cold weather, the mood was one
of warmth and congeniality, perhaps aided by
the smaller crowds which make it that much
easier to listen to the systems, and to have
conversations with other enthusiasts and
friends. Much to my surprise there were
considerably more systems to my liking than
I had anticipated; what follows is a brief
description of some of them. As was the case
with my previous show reports this one won’t
be comprehensive, focusing instead on those
systems I especially enjoyed. I will
undoubtedly exclude some wonderful people
and systems, for which I offer my apologies.
Robert Lee
of Acoustic Zen showed his $14,000/pair
Crescendo speakers, which use a horn-loaded
ribbon in an MTM arrangement with two 5”
midrange drivers, below which are two 8”
woofers. Electronics were from Triode Corp.
(TRV-M88PP amplifer, TRV-65E preamp, and
TRV-CD4Se CD player). The sound was
seriously good; dynamic, smooth, and even
across the frequency spectrum. I consider
these some of the best dynamic driver
speakers I’ve heard, especially given their
price.
The award
for creativity and innovative thinking has
to go to Aleksandar Radisavljevic -
whose name I hope I spelled correctly
- of Raal ribbon fame. Aleksandar’s newest
creation is a sleek, modern-looking stand,
at the end of each of which are two small
modules. Each module contains two small
midrange drivers, and a ribbon tweeter
firing between them. At the base of the
assembly is a football-sized bass module,
powered by an external amp. I suggested to
Aleksandar that he should include a light in
the stand but he was way ahead of me; lights
are included, and programmable via a remote.
His goal is to provide the speakers,
amplifiers and cross-over for approximately
$4,000. Oh yes, one more not so minor point:
the system sounded very good. While this is
a “life-style” product in terms of
appearance, it is very much a high-end
product in terms of sound.
I have
always liked Classic Audio Reproductions
speaker in principle, though less so in
actual performance. That changed very much
for the better with their switch a year or
so ago to brand new, field-coil drivers. I
enjoyed the sound in their room (powered as
usual, by Atma-Sphere OTL amps)...
...but
actually enjoyed it even more in Thom
Mackris’ Galibier room. There, the speakers
were powered by Quicksilver amplification
(preamp, $3,900; Triode monoblock amps,
$3,595), and the Galibier Gavia Turntable
with Stelvio platter ($10,500) sporting the
brand new Talea arm from Durand. The sound
was dynamic, full and rich, without being
overly bloomy.
A pleasant surprise was the Veloce Audio
room. The two Philadelphia-based partners
were demonstrating their new battery-powered
amp and preamp. The monoblock amps provide
180W per channel, and retail for $12,500.
They are a hybrid design using a 6922 tube
as input and driver, which is
transformer-coupled to a Hypex module. The
LS1 preamp uses a 240V battery-powered line
stage. The outboard LP1 phonostage derives
its power from the linestage. The outboard
charger re-charges only when the equipment
is powered off. Speakers were the two-way
Katanas from Gemme Audio, a company for whom
I have great admiration (having favorably
reviewed - and bought - what is now an older
version of their single-driver Vivace
speaker). Record playback was via a Vyger
turntable. The sound in the room was most
enjoyable.
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