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I heard them a couple of times. For me it was they were OK but didn't do anything special for me. I guess it just depends on your taste. |
Did anyone hear the Sonus Faber Olympica Nova V?
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OP, what gear impressed you the most in the Z reviews room? Did you hear DMSs tower of Miccas? How about the Ohm 2000's? |
I wasn’t that impressed by them (the sound) The people running the room were great though. They provided after hours from 8pm-?
I went but wasn’t that impressed. I have only done after hours at MBL and it is a completely different vibe. Everyone just gets lost in the music and it takes on a vibe like you are at a friends house. Everyone has a drink, lets the hair down and just get immersed in music. |
I heard the Audio Solutions Virtuoso M speakers paired with Vitus amplification gear. The source was the top of the line UHA reel to reel. I thought they sounded pretty good overall and very good with rock material. The bass was not dialed in, but candidly, that is true on almost all the hotel room or conference room set-ups. The star of that room was the UHA reel to reel IMO. I'm fairly certain that it will make anything downstream of it sound pretty darn good provided the recording is up to par. I was impressed that the highendbyoz guys running the room pushed rock tracks through the system--not exclusively, but enough to show they knew their system could take it and make the genre sound enjoyable in an audiophile setup.
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Did anyone hear the AudioSolutions Virtuosos? |
Z reviews room was great! The whole Z review crew were there and just as nice, personable, and fun to be around as his you tube channel suggests.
The room was set-up fantastically. Zios would quickly and easily, play any music you requested on any speakers you wanted to hear.
His room was spot on. The set-up in the room must have been ridiculously complex. He’ll of course say otherwise, but thats the kind or response that you get when you ask someone who’s knowledgeable about something they are passionate about.
I really can’t say enough kind words about my experience in his room. He’s more of a perfectionist and audiophile than his channel will lead you to believe! |
Anyone go to the Z reviews/DMS room (9105 I think?) t o get a look at the budget stuff?
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@andrewkelley this Jewish boy loves him some deli. I am ft worth but next time I am in the area, I'll get you a very small step closer to the Wilsons 😊
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Marqmike.... my understanding is that it will be at the Gaylord for at least the next two years, but back to the early October dates as in years past |
I thought it was a very nice place to have the RMAF. I hope they have it there next year.
I only had a few hours before closing on Friday. A few of the things I heard that I really was happy with the way they sounded was, Tekton Moabs, Paradigm Persona 3F, Vandersteen Quints. Some very appealing things about each one yet in their own way.Then I tell myself things never sound the same at home as they do somewhere else. Some things sound much better and some not as good. It was a fun 3 hours for a 65 yr old guy. |
@andrewkelley Thanks for reaching out. I am a Dallas guy. PM me and I will put you in touch with a local network of like-minded folks. And I will stop by and check your place out.
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@astewart8944,
are you a dallas guy? I’m always interested to meet more passionate audio fans locally. I have always been into high end as my father owned a production studio when I was young but I’ve only been building out my systems for about three years. Audio Concepts has been very helpful. My wife and I own a restaurant in university Park, across the street from SMU called “New York Sub” we’ve owned it for a little over three years. We took an old concept of a New York style deli and gave it a facelift, but now we buy all our meats from local independent ranchers and roast/smoke/cure in house. We make everything from the pickles to the sauce right in the shop and the neighborhood has responded very well (Not Wilson Audio well, but I can dream...) Anyway, you should come check it out and introduce yourself, I’ll be working slicer and my wife works cash... I’m the only guy there and she’s the pregnant 🤰 lady! I’d love to hear your system and show off mine. |
@Astewart8944,
my impressions were very similar to yours! I very much enjoyed Joseph Audio, as I always do, and Jeff Rowland as well. Pretty much the same experience at Wilson Audio! Thanks for al the details you added :-)
After driving for an hour and a half, I was not about to stand in that line for what looked like it was going to be 2 hours (and miss 25% of my show). That line was absolutely ridiculous. I went back and paid when no one was in line at noon. There was no excuse for that line. Super disorganized and slow and the workers weren’t expediting in a manner which reflected 500 (?) people in line. There were like 6 people working at a snails pace...
Apart from that, the Hotel / convention center are beautiful. I walked around the grounds after the show and before afterhours and the hotel is really pretty.
As for the show, Joseph Audio, Jeff Rowland and and Revel were the ones I loved! I may go back tomorrow now that I’m thinking about it... |
I attended all day Friday and half a day Saturday. This was my first RMAF. I have attended the last three AXPONAs in Chicago. I stayed at the venue hotel. Here are my impressions. The facilities were very nice but registration was a long hike from the rest of the action. And registration didn't open Friday until 30 minutes before the show was scheduled to begin. This produced a very long line of folks, many of whom were pre-registered to attend. The RMAF staff didn't show up at the registration table until 9:15am and didn't have an initial plan to have two lines: one for pre-registered folks and one who needed to buy tickets. Basically, pretty unorganized.Classic Album Sundays--This is a great idea! The room was the Jeff Rowland/Grand Prix Monaco TT/Vivid Kaya 90 set up. Great sound coming from this room IMO.Goebel/CH Precision/Nordost/Kronos--This room was over the top. I went both days. For whatever reason (insert your theories here), it sounded more cohesive bottom to top on day two. Day 1 the bass seemed a bit untamed.Joseph Audio/Doshi/Cardas--Let's face it, Jeff Joseph can make his speakers sound really good in any room. This is the first time I have seen Jeff significantly toe in Pearl 3s, but he had them in a small room. These Pearl 3s had the Graphene 2 in them and I believe the new name will be Pearl 20.20s. It appears the retail price is going to be around $36,900 or so. Jeff says he hasn't determined how much it will cost for current Pearl 3 owners to upgrade. (Full disclosure--I own Pearl 3s.)YG Acoustics/VTL/Nordost--This room had the Sonja 2.2 in it. Friday it sounded mediocre in my opinion. Saturday it sounded much better.University of Colorado Denver room--Nothing for sale in this room, just a demonstration that was worth the time. Jeff Merkel, a professor at UofC, was using a two channel signal sent to a ring of 16 speakers (I think) equidistantly spaced apart with 8 speakers at a lower level (I'm guessing 4-5 feet or so) and 8 more speakers on the same height pole but another 4-5 feet above them. The listening positions were placed in a ring facing towards the speakers. He then played a track and would move the lead instrument (in the track I heard, a cello) around the speakers in the circle so that the cello moved completely round the listening position. Hopefully folks made their way into this room. Smart people experimenting with musical presentation gives this hobby its lifeblood IMO.Finally, the weirdest room award goes to Wilson Audio. They debuted a static Chronosonic XVX right next to a static WAMM Chronomaster. The Chronomaster retails at $685,000 or so. The Chronosonic XVX is set to retail for $325K or so. So, picture two enormous speakers on static display in a small room off to your left with a professional photographer taking pictures and Daryl Wilson all dressed up, looking good smiling between them. There is champagne for all. In the listening room right beside all this there is a pair of Wilson Sasha DAWs with a pair of Wilson's smaller passive subwoofers playing digital files. One million dollars worth of static display with pictures and the bubbly while a $38K pair of speakers in a small crammed room sounded, well...pedestrian as it provided the soundtrack to the static display. BTW I have heard those DAWs sound very good at Audio Concepts being driven by Audio Research M160s with Transparent Cables, and AR's Ref 10 pre-amp. So it wasn't that the DAWs can't deliver. It just appeared more energy had been put into the unveiling of something we couldn't hear and little thought was put into what we were actually hearing.
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I was looking down on it from 41,000 ft, crying silently! |
Enjoyed day-1 heading back now for day-2. Fantastic new venue! |
Bumping this thread to the top!
I hope everyone who is attending RMAF today has a great time!
Parking is in a marked side lot. Don’t park in front of building materials. Gates will be open when you leave so parking will be free!
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