What were the best and worst rooms at RMAF 2009?

The best at the show is almost a toss up between two IMO.
WIN ANALOG WITH THE BIG S833 100 WATT MONSTEROUS TUBE AMP.
I hope Albert took a great picture of this with the huge 833 RCA TUBE. Each amp weighs 200 pounds and puts out 500 watts of heat,BUT THE SOUND WAS TO DIE FOR.The most magical tube mid band I have ever heard in my life by a substantial margin.
I was breathless listening to this room at hours at a time.
The other room was Dueland Audio with the Kawero Speakers
This had a huge wow factor as well.Just simply astounding transparency and realism.
I could not hear any bad sounds at the show.
Don C.
Iwill post some more as time permints.

Azaud,

I was helping to run the Intuitive room and you needed to know that there were no subs in the room. Just the Intuitive Gamma Summit speakers.

Also, the bass was only wooly if you were standing by the opening from the entrance because the cubical created by the lower ceiling and narrow width where the bathroom area was became one big bass tube.

After we put some plants in to break up the standing waves the sound on Sunday was stunning with very deep and fast bass that was exceptional by all standards.

Even Stereoiphile late Saturday afternoon thought it was the second best sound at the show.

We had several people walk in and before they gave them a chance on good music or music they knew turned around in 2 seconds and left. Not very open to discovery.

We started to stop people that walked in to the back of the room and told them to sit down and listen to music they liked. Every time they did they were floored and stayted for several songs.

Unfortunatly I did not hear many rooms so I only had others inputs to go on and everyone said we were either top 3 or the best. I have been to many trtade shows in the 29 years I have been in the high end buisness and it was the second best sound I ever heard right behind the Khartma speakers with LAMM Labs equipment at Vegas CES in 2002.

Keep in mind we have very modest high end electronics. The most expensive component being the Aesthetix pre-amp at $5k.

Hope you get another chance before you write them off. They are unusually speacial and I have owned a lot of legends in the past from Klyne, David Berning, Snell, Goetz, C.A.T. Audible Illusions, NRG, Unity Audio, Coda, Apex, FMS, Ayre, Von Schwiekurt, Bedini, Rogers, Celestion, Wharfidale, Accoustat, Aerial, Hales, Spectrum, Essence, Copland, AR, N.Y.A.L., Arcam, Parasound, VPI, Townsend Rock, Souther, Gale, Michealsin & Austin, ProAc, British Fidelity, Thore, Electrocompineit, Dynaudio, Micheal Gyrodeck, Rogue, Camber, Ampzilla, Roberts, Sequerra, Allison, Grace, Goldbug, Dynavector, Koetsu, Audioquest, McClaren, Perroux, Linn, Appogee, Sound Labs, Quick Silver, just to name a few.

This year RMAF was quite nice. I always attend on Sunday and the ’09 show was the least crowded of all the previous RMAF shows. As usual, every room representative was very friendly, informative and accommodating.

Highlights: Grand Veena room always has great sound. This year I wanted to take them home. Everything I look for in a speaker: detail, big image, engaging and thrilling. Everyone else in the room seemed to share this impression and no one wanted to leave. Only negative – their appearance.

Can’t believe the Accapela room has not been mentioned. Certainly, the Triolon has had its challenges in past years. This year the High Violon was mesmerizing. It filled the large room with incredible realism – every track felt like a live performance. My vote for the top room at any RMAF show. And, you can own this system for about $300K!

The Esoteric room was also special. Small footprint yet incredible dynamic range. Huge realism factor here. Associated electronics, cables, etc were $$$. May be the first $5 K phono cable I’ve heard.

"Can’t believe the Accapela room has not been mentioned. .... And, you can own this system for about $300K!"

I think you answered your own question.

For $300,000, I would expect an out-of-body, dreamlike experience, every time. Reality just doesn't seem like enough to ask for at that price.

How come an article I read on High Triolon indicates only a $30,000 USD price tag? That might be reasonable though still mostly unaffordable if true. Were there $270,000 worth of supporting electronics required to produce the results? I thought horn speakers are supposed to be easy to drive and make sing?

Jaybo....thanks to you I'll come out of the closet and give my opinion. I was at the show all three days, but now realize just how much I missed. I enjoyed many rooms and of course some were spectacular. The aforementioned Merlins and the TW Acustic with the Hornigs and the Trons(this was especially good)both stand out in my mind. The one room that really brought out emotion in me was the Harbeth room. I heard the little P3ESRs Sat. and was amazed at the sound. I went back Sunday to hear the SHL-5s and it was literally a religious experience. I was actually reaching in my back pocket for my check book which I had wisely stashed in my room. I was at the show all three days and this was the only system that left me awestruck. The soundstage was huge. The speakers melted away and I was taken away. The power was provided by a Perreaux integrated amp.

I've only been in this hobby for a couple of years, so what do I know. I do know what I heard and how I was moved.