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deHavilland Electric Amplifier Co., Sonist Speakers: Kara Chaffee continued her show partnership with Randy Bankert and why not? Both are some of the nicest people in the industry and it is always a pleasure to listen in their room. Randy was showing a new two-woofer version of his Concerto speaker that I do not see on his website yet. Kara gave her modified Ampex 351-2 a spin with some Frank Sinatra upon request of a listener. While I don’t think this particular tape was up to the highest standards, the unfailing musicality of this system shone through. I especially appreciated the real-world pricing of the components in this room.

Teresonic speakers, Holborne electronics, HDtracks.com:My first reaction to viewing the stylish Teresonic Ingenium speaker cabinets was that it was a bent RL Acoustique Lamhorn. Not! This cabinet is quite a structural feat. Its basic design is an "Enhanced Tapered Quarter Wave Tube" but it also incorporates Helmholtz resonators to tame the peaks and valleys of the Lowther drivers employed as well as being "acoustically active" (as in, not dead) enclosures. Efficiency is very high at 100dB. My time listening to the larger Ingenium speakers was short but I heard none of the typical Lowther nasties. The diminutive Magus speakers were switched in soon after I entered and were amazing for their size. Efficiency is very high with these too, from 98 – 100 dB depending on Lowther selected.


Martin Logan Ltd, McIntosh Laboratories: The Martin Logan Montis speakers ($9.995/pair) were powered by McIntosh electronics and the ubiquitous Nils Lofgren Keith Don’t Go cut was playing. There was plenty of meat on the bones and bass slam with this combination and program material was a good test for both. The discontinuity issue of many ML speakers between panel and cone woofer has been addressed to a new level with ML’s DSP-controlled 10-inch aluminum woofer  I still heard a darker quality to the bass than the mids and highs but probably no dynamic cone woofer will ever be able to match the transparency of the ML electrostatic panel completely. Still this system was very dynamic and played loud with ease.


Audio Note: Audio Note might just be the champion of less is more in audio. You’ve got a non-oversampling CD player (CD4.1x, $10.500) playing into the OTO SE Signature, a $5.000 EL84 amp through two-way Audio Note AN-ESP e/HE speakers (fourth up from the bottom model). Being a long-time owner of an Audio Note Kit 1.2 DAC (not sold by David Cope but by Brian Smith) I am admittedly biased toward the Audio Note approach. I am never disappointed in the Audio Note room although there was some mild bass boom from the room (a common problem at the show which many exhibitors suffered from).

Volti Audio, Dynamic Sounds Associates, SORAsound, Moerch, ZYX: Immediately upon arrival at RMAF friends of mine gathered in this room to set up a reel-to-reel tape deck for possible use as a source. So I spent a lot of time here. What must be said upfront is that the Volti speaker cabinets are wonders to behold! What beautiful craftsmanship by Greg Roberts, designer of the Volti speakers. They were advertised for $10.000/pr and the demo pair sold during the show. Talk about high Wife Acceptance Factor. Any wife who'd object to the looks of these should be traded in for an upgrade! The Volti Vittora resemblance to the Belle Klipsch speakers is not coincidental. 

Greg took this design and rigorously improved upon the bass horn flare, cabinet construction and driver quality. Greg was driving them easily with a pair of 2A3 triode amps he built himself from a Canadian DIY schematic. The sound when sitting in the one magical seat (dead center) was very musical and lively with no obvious horn colorations. The bass horn uses a Faital Pro 15-inch woofer which tapers off around 50Hz. Greg was using a prototype subwoofer with a Ciare woofer and had it hidden under a desk. The mid horn uses a Tractrix flare and BMS 4592ND-MID driver. The tweeter is a Beyma CP25 which is the unit that basically replaced the JBL 2404 when JBL stopped making them. This is a 1" ring-radiator driver mounted on a 'baby cheeks' lens. I found some drawbacks to the sound including the small sweet spot (which may be somewhat of a function of the room constraints) as well as a somewhat dark balance at times. Ming Su of Goto was co-hosting the room and supplied the DSA electronics and Amazon turntable. Herr Moerch himself was on hand with the full lineup of his beautifully crafted tone arms.

Voxativ Acoustic Technologies, Don Garber for Audio Arts, Holborne: This room gets my vote for best-sounding high-efficiency system. I can see why Art Dudley was taken by these Voxativ Ampeggio speakers. Srajan reviewed these as well a year earlier. I believe the current price is $30.000/pr with a recently upgraded driver. The high-gloss black cabinets made by the Schimmel Piano company were as beautiful as the music that emanates from them. While the single driver looks similar to a Lowther, it is apparently quite different. Sonically there was no Lowtheresque upper midrange shout. A Peter Gabriel cut was playing when I entered. The female voice on the track took my breath away with its nuance and presence. As one might expect, the speed and detail of the driver were world class.