A few systems heard at the Rocky Mntn. audiofest

Golden ears and Plelko,

Respectfully, I must disagree with your assumption. I did bother to sit and listen in many rooms and wasn't given an opportunity to choose the software. I'm not sure what these folks were trying to accomplish except showcase some sonic attributes of their gear but they were not playing music. My impression is that many vendors were reluctant to offer up real world music which covered a large frequency range. So, I was trained by the very people that wanted to sell to me to not bother sticking around.

I'm very sympathetic to the setup constaints these folks faced in these smaller rooms. Perhaps the source material used was a result of failing to overcome the room problems. The thing is, those that did know how to overcome these issues were fearless in what they presented to the listener. These were the rooms that I enjoyed most.

I could be wrong but it seems that many vendors were unprepared for showing their wares. That's not the listeners fault.

Golden ears,

Thanks for the support for my visit to FMAF. As perhaps you can guess I was not in a position to assert myself. Not even in this thread. My post honestly said it all.

Having spent a lifetime earning my living in retail sales I know how to behave if I want to peddle something. I also have a profound understanding of sales behavior when one is less than confident in their product or themselves as salespeople.

For myself the over-riding factor in not being assertive (beyond my physical limits) was there were plenty of other rooms to visit where my needs were satisfied. Perhaps at a different time I would have worked harder to get them involved in my interests.

I'm not upset with anyone there showing gear. These were just my honest observations. I did not shake my head nor bitch about the music being played within earshot of anyone and I certainly don't consider myself any kind of audio expert. I got as much out of this event as I wanted. Nothing more, nothing less.

One point where even my critics will support me is that Lugnut is never ambiguous. If I take the time waiting to sit in the sweet spot, with my wife no less, and no interest is shown in me as a potential buyer then I guess I'm guilty of being less than physchic in answering questions that are not asked of me. If one is in sales it behooves them to understand, meet, greet, qualify, demonstrate and close unless the customer is supposed to be responsible for everything.

There is nothing more ambiguous than standing there having nothing to say to a customer. But then, perhaps I'm a dinosaur.

Doublebass,

Your impressions mirror mine regarding the lack of full frequency source material. To everyone else, I don't take exception at all to what Golden_ears suggests. Also, I didn't take his post as a criticism of me nor was my reply meant as a response to a supposed personal attack.

Also, you won't go wrong with a Dynavector doublebass. Be aware though that the first Airy 3 S SB I saw at the show had some kind of problem that was glaringly apparent to me with the first note I heard. It appeared to be mounted correctly or at least close enough. Maybe it was loaded improperly. What I heard was exactly what you describe. I can't remember the name of the room but I did tell them upon leaving that I owned the exact cartridge they were using and they had a problem. I'm only sharing this if this is the same cartridge you auditioned. Again, I love the Dyna's too.

I listen to more live music than most people I know. My preference is for jazz, blues and bluegrass. Realizing that this type of music is usually amplified vs. classical which is not causes some conflict in audiophile circles about comparrison of components. I honestly fail to see a difference here. One simply needs to listen to a source you're very familiar with backed up with experience as a live listener of that source. For myself I don't concentrate on audiophile recordings upon audition. (just to be clear, I consider many generic first pressings to be superior to their re-issued counterparts) I've enjoyed the advantage of knowing a lot of good musicians and have jammed with them for several decades, using mostly acoustic instruments, unamplified. I'm very familiar with the voices of these instruments and feel that it's a very valuable asset to bring into the auditioning of any component. To my ears you can bring as much value to the audition with experience such as mine vs. intimate listening experience of classical. Certainly, it is easier to evaluate anything if you have a live reference.

I have a few vocal benchmarks of artists I've heard many times. I worked with the Kingston Trio three times for three week stretches each, two performances each day. I know Bob Shane's voice. Willie Nelson and Neil Young are artists that I've heard many times and who remain faithful to the recordings when playing live. These are the voices I use during audition.

Listening at various volumes is an often overlooked aspect of auditioning. Take charge of the volume control. I try to buy components that portray accurately what I'm listening to at any volume. If I don't hear the details or bass response at lesser volumes then I develop the opinion that I need to find something else.

Back in the good old days when I had a really great local high end shop I could audition components in my home for extended periods. Under those circumstances I could tell more when a piece is removed from my system than upon first listen. If this were still a common practice I'd likely continue to buy retail.

I hope one can gain a little from my eperience here. Auditioning is a real challenge. I recall fondly those individuals throughout my life that helped me develop a modicum of skills for auditioning. Best advice? Work on your audio memory of live events. If you go to a rock concert then come home and listen to the same material. Do the same thing with any live music you attend, even if it's just to compare your memory of a tenor sax live vs. a recording you know well of the same instrument.