RMAF 2016

I have gone every year since the first RMAF and in the past 2 years the show seems to have lost it's enthusiasm. This year was the smallest I can recall. There were far fewer exhibitors and I am sure that is partly due the remodel of the Marriott. I had a 2 day pass and left a few hours early Friday and stayed home the next 2 days. I thought the Rockport speakers with Boulder amplification was an awesome room and delivered some of the best sound I heard at the show. I would also add the Vandersteen speaker amp combo with Audio Research REF6  was exceptional but when ever I went to listen they were either taking a break or too many people talking to really get a real feel for their potential. One other room that I found to really be dialed in was the Wilson/Ayre/Brinkman set up. 
But I think the biggest disappointment of the show was a seemingly lack of NEW products. The show seems to be rerun of last year and I didn't come home with any excitement of "I gotta get that".
But I am going back next year!

I did not attend this year, because my main dealer was forced out of his room due to construction issues that fell behind schedule, or simply got in the way. This may have been a reason for the decreased turnout.
Kenny

Yes, why wouldn't the dealer get the room dimensions in advance and bring the appropriate gear? Like trying to put five pounds  of sausage into a one pound bag. Totally showcases the brands in a negative light. I see it way too often!

RB, I live in Denver and have only attended RMAF 2014 previously. I loved the show in 2014 although I was a total newb, still am, but I really liked to explore and discover all the new products. This year, year 2, I also found that I wasn’t as wowed. I don’t know if that is because I have been spending too much time on Audiogon reading about products and scouring Audio magazines.

My quest this year was to find some speakers for my system. I had previously found Constellation for my amp and my preamp and PS Audio for my DAC and Power supply.

I did my research in advance and was excited to listen to Magico, Nola ( a no show) and Raidho. I was fairly set to buy the D1.1 based on what I had read and hearing the D1 in 2014 with Constellation. I was disappointed to learn that Raidho only brought their D4.1 speakers ($110K). While they sounded great, even though they were in a small room, I wasn’t looking to spend that much money. I then listened to Magico S1’s. I personally found them to thin in the bottom. I then went onto to the Magico S3’s. I really thought they were the 1’s based on what I had read. Synergistic did the presentation and they were focused on showing all of their aids. I believe the speakers were too big for the room and they sounded muddy down low. Like I said, Raidho sound good even though they were in too small of a room???

I did fall in love with a new manufacturer to me, Voxativ. So much so that I bought his show setup and loaded it into my car Sunday. I am even getting rid of my Constellation amp/preamp since his speakers are best served with tubes. While the show wasn’t as exciting with new products I did enjoy discovering some new things to me. I had a nice conversation with Andrew Jones of Elac and Chris Watkins (last name?). They have developed an amazing little integrated amp for $700 that blew me away. Paired with their $1,500 speakers I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I commended them on bringing high quality sound to the masses. I trust we will continue to see amazing value from this company.

Another company that I am researching was Fern & Roby. The owner, Christopher is a super cool guy (used to live in Boulder) and lives in Virginia. He is making some great sounding and looking turntables among other things. I plan to acquire one of his next month once my bank account recovers from the other items ;).

Overall, I agree the show didn’t have the same excitement as 2014. Maybe it is the economy, the election or we are just coming down from a overly ambitious period of development in the industry. Regardless, I have never been happier with the sound of my system than I am today. I will return next year and set proper expectations.

Finally, I enjoyed being able to speak to all the designers/founders of these companies. Holger from Voxativ, Paul from PS Audio, Christopher from Fern & Roby, Andrew from Elac and so on. I like buying from people and supporting small businesses. Anyway, back to my nice wine and the music.....apologies for the long post, slightly drunk..