AKFest, who's going?


I was just wondering who was planning to attend AK Fest at the end of the month? I haven't seen much buzz about it here. I also wanted to let people know that I'll be there with 2 rooms. One room will be shared with Bill O'Connell and Morningstar Audio (Eastern Electric), and will be using my Cirrus speakers. The other room will have BMC electronics, the S1 amp and DAC1, and will be using my Breeze and Arcus speakers. I'll also have a display of my upcoming Nimbus floorstander, and possibly a demo of the new Cirrus White - with the high efficiency Accuton midwoofer.

I hope to meet some new people there, and put faces with some screen names.
vapor1
I will be there and am very much looking forward to your rooms. I think the Eastern Electric pairing should be excellent. I have really liked their gear.
I will be there as well and will be sure to introduce myself to you. I've been to the last 2 AK Fest shows and they were a lot of fun.
Excellent! I know you loved the Aurora in Chicago Roscoe, unfortunately it won't be in Detroit because I'm evaluating new tweeters for it ... being used to the RAAL makes everything else sound boring :) But I think I've found a tweeter that gets us closer to the 'life' that the RAAL brings to the table, and that will work perfectly in the waveguide.

My name is Ryan btw, please come and say hi.
Oh I will certainly be by to say hi. Ozzy, good to see you will be there too, having seen you around these forums for a while.

Ryan, that's good to hear about the Aurora updates. Really looking forward to hearing the other models you offer. Those RAAL ribbons are real intriguing.
The Eastern Electric/Vapor room will be hosting a little late night listening session if you stop bye and want to hear some more a little later in the evening .Probably can't play it to loudly but I can't think of a better way to kick back and enjoy some music.
Please stop by and introduce yourself.

Bill
Had a fabulous time at AKFest yesterday, and wow did all of the Vapor Speakers I heard really impress. All the more amazing since they had less time to set up than many due to transportation problems.

That Beyma tweeter in a waveguide was stunning on the Arcus, as was the RAAL on the Cirrus.
Roscoe, you are correct. All of the Vapor speakers were terrific. I thought the Arcus was amazing. I never thought I would hear a stand mounted 2 way that could be that refined yet play with big speaker ease/ lack of compression. They were stunning and the best speakers at the show, IMO.
Did you guys like the vaneer on the Cirrus? It is the same vaneer I ordered.
By the pictures I saw, the room looked a little dry to me. I would think the RAAL tweeter would like some descent room treatment or a bigger room with higher ceilings.
The Vapor Audio Breeze sounded better to me then the Cirrus. It was probably due to a bigger room with some minor room treatments and being driven by better electronics.
The Good-Audio Note-Best sounding room!
The Bad-Tyler Acoustics-Why the hype?
The Ugly-David Michael Audio-Decided to take Sunday off?
The veneer on th Cirrus was beautiful. I can't imagine not being pleased with it. I think the size of the room was ok, but you are correct in that it could have used tratment of the first reflection points at a minimum. Ryan had the first reflection points treated in the room with Breeze, Aurora, and Arcus. It made a significant difference, mainly due to the high frquency capabilities of each of the mentioned speakers.
Csmgolf, all electronics and cabling appear to be on the floor as well in the Cirrus room. From past experience this has never been a good thing. The set up and room may had a lot to do with the speaker not shining the way it has in the past.
Ah, I wondered why somone mentioned that they were surprised David Michael didn't show. I saw them on Saturday. They were very displeased with the sound of their room. Both being very bright and not giving them the bass they normally expect from the Harbeth they were showing. Even with those issues, I did think the Harbeth sounded great.
One other thing working against the Cirrus at AK Fest. I was in the room first thing Saturday morning and heard that those speakers were brand new, with maybe 2 or 3 hours on them according to the person running the room. They were his personal pair and he had just taken delivery of them.
I was disapointed with the Audio Vendor turnout and the selection of the equipment that was on display.
But, the Economy is down and the Detroit area is even worse so that probably affected the Audio Companies low turnout.
Ozzy,

Sorry I missed you there. I also think that not having AKFest last year, combined with all the new shows popping up affected the vendor turnout. On the flip side, I do like how manageable the size of AKFest is. No huge rush to see everything. Possible to revisit rooms without missing other stuff. But yeah, overall I would've liked to see more vendors there too.