RMAF 2019!

I thought by far the PS Audio room was the best.  Paul McGowan's new floor standing speakers were just incredible sounding.  They really played neutral and the built in subwoofers were so articulate.  They were not slightly boomy and the mids and highs sounded colorful but not over done.  These are the kind of speakers you can sit and listen to all day without any fatigue.  Paul really knows what he wants to hear and he knocked things out of the park this time.

The one thing I always noticed is how most systems are being played through $20,000 to $100,000 systems.  Almost any speaker is going to sound when pushed with that much clean power.  It would be nice for them to demo speakers hooked up to something most of us can afford like an affordable $3,000 to $5,000 integrated amplifier.  

I was also really impressed was the Extreme Audio.  The Sigma Accoustics MAAT Vector XAC floor standing speakers were breathtaking in sound.  They were also one of the most efficient speakers at the show being driven by  AGD Productions  GaNTubeTM Sound Tube monoblocks.  I couldn't believe these two tiny amplifiers could drive those enormous size speakers and make them sound so incredible.  $15,000/pair for that sound was a real steal.

However, I was very frustrated with check in.  Only two people there to check in.  It took forever and they didn't know how to efficiently check in preregistered guests.  They also should have marked the registration door with an arrow because I walked the full length of the hall and then had to walk all the way back to the registration table.  They had a bunch of flags where the exit door was located, but no sign with an arrow pointed to registration entrance.  Parking also cost me $18.  My two day pass cost me $15.  I was in shock and I thought this was in really bad taste.  It in fact really ticked me off.  They should have opened the gates for this show.  Last year there was free parking.  Won't attend next year if they charge for parking. 

Speakers are $150k

For $150K, I do expect the speakers to sound good.  :^)

I'm really surprised by the positive reactions here to the PS Audio system.  I've been saving up for a DirectStream DAC, but my time in that room caused me to rethink that.  There was something very harsh about the sound of the system.  I enjoyed their new speakers better at last year's RMAF when they were still being worked on.  I'm going to assume that there was something awry during the time I visited the PS Audio room, because the reactions here don't match up at all with my experience there.  I was really bummed.

On the plus side, the show convinced me that the amp that replaces my VTL ST-85 absolutely must be a Nelson Pass design.

Did parking really cost $30 for the day?  I was so offended by that price that I parked offsite and walked to the hotel.

The parking was a mess at the show.  One day I paid $18, another I stayed late and the gate was open $0.  The last day was $8.  The parking should be free for event attendees.  In general I thought the PS audio speakers were pretty good.  They played a track that I was very familiar with and they had great imaging, treble was good but there was a thickness or veil in the midrange that wasn't quite right.  I understand they are still tweaking the design.