Audio, for me, is about listening to music. You'd think that would be a truism, but far too often, audio seems to be a collection of sound effects, rather than the tapestry of emotion, inflection and impact that defines musical performances. So, when I hear someone listen to Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde or Emmylou Harris' Mirrorball, and all they can say is, "what about that suckout between 2.8 and 3k?"...well, I feel sorry for them. I discover such equipment-character traits while listening to the music; listening purely FOR such traits seems to me to be pointless, as though finding fault was one's sole reason for existence.
Luckily, I heard a lot of systems that made MUSIC, not sound effects, at RMAF. In the same way that music has infinite variety, each system did different things well. None was perfect, whatever that means, but each had traits which tugged at my heart as well as my ears.
Aleksandar Radisavljevic of RAAL has made quite a name for himself and his ribbon tweeters over the past few years. The airy, extended and lifelike sound they produce has made them the choice of several manufacturers, as well as constructors of custom ultra-fi systems. In conjunction with the Serbian electronics maker Solaja, RAAL showed a packaged system called the Constellation in
room 1121The speakers bear a striking resemblance to an oversized Tizio lamp, complete with counterbalance. The part that would be the shade of the lamp contains the treble and midrange drivers. A ribbon tweeter mounted in a waveguide is flanked by a pair of canlike enclosures, each of which contains 3" midrange drivers, firing out of the top and bottom of the "cans". The base of the "lamp" is a bigger can containing a pair of 6.5" woofers. Solaja's part of the system is an active crossover, a 70-watt amp for mids and highs and a 100-watt amp for the bass. The whole package will supposedly sell for $4000. What was fascinating to me was the speakers' ability to fill the room with tactile, clean sound, while making it seem as though the sound just radiated from mid-air. Bottom-end was limited, but what was there, was taut and tuneful. A lovely, musical set-up, and a no-brainer as an all-in-one choice. --Okay, you need to add a source. MOST-in-one.
The affable Bob Spence has been around for years with his MaxxHorn speakers; he recently changed the company name to Affirm Audio, and he has a firm handshake, as well (sorry!). Bob's new Elation speakers impressed with their sense of aliveness, and seemed well-paired with Ayon electronics and cables from Clarity. The $9995 Elations feature bamboo-laminate cabinets and a proprietary driver; the folded tractrix horn radiates from the bottom of the enclosure, giving a semi-omni radiation pattern. The sound was dynamic, detailed and involving, with surprisingly low bass. I could live with them. (
room 1117)
I always want to give credit to the new and inexpensive, but when the OLD and REALLY EXPENSIVE stuff is beautiful and heart-breakingly good, I have to acknowledge it. The Audio Federation/Audio Note setup in
room 9030 was deserving of attention for several reasons, starting with the sound, which was like watching Willie Mays play baseball, back in the day: the system performed astounding feats with total grace and dignity, and never drew attention to itself. It was sweet, involving, dynamic, and I could ignore it and just listen. Want.
The $51,000 Audio Note AN-E SEC Signature speakers may not look impressive (though they are beautifully finished), but they go deeper, louder and higher than any quarter-century-old 2-way design has a right to. Coupled with $300,000 worth of Gaku-On and M9 electronics, the EMM Labs CD/SACD player seems bargain-basement at only $25k. Throw in $10k or so in HRS stands and bases and $50-$100k (breakdown unclear) in Nordost power cords, speaker wires and interconnects, and you're pushing half a million dollars. Believe it or not, I've heard far more expensive systems; and believe it or not, I think if any system is worth half a mil, this one is. I don't care about 12-foot-high monoliths that never let me forget they're there; this system just PERFORMS. If you need something bigger for your cannon-shots from Master and Commander, help yourself; this'll do for me. Besides which, husband and wife dealers Mike and Neli are total pros at presentation, gracious hosts, and work their athletic posteriors off. Bravo, and brava.
More in the next installment, along with memorable characters and encounters.
