Article: Rocky Mountain Audiofest 2011 Show Notes

[AudioDoctor]

Considering that I had already read Sterophiles Audiostream site, I wonder if they or you have the prices of the Peachtree Grand Pre and Integrated backwards?<br />

<br />

This is what you posted, "Sonically the Grand Integrated ($2,999) was one of the best at the show. The Grand Pre ($4,299) "<br />

<br />

and this is what they posted, "The Grand Integrated ($4,299) and the Grand Pre ($2,999)."<br />

<br />

http://www.audiostream.com/content/peachtree-audio

[Mercman]

Nice coverage and great pics Chris. Thanks.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi AudioDoctor - You are 100% correct. I just checked my text messages and indeed the the Grand Integrated is $4,299 and the Pre is $2,999. Thanks for the correction.<br />

<br />

[Truth In Audio]

There were a number of excellent new digital audio products at RMAF 2011 that are omitted from the above list:<br />

<br />

1. dB Audio Labs' new battery-powered Asynchronous USB DAC; supports up to 24/192 files (debuted at RMAF)<br />

<br />

2. The new Mach 2 Music Mac Mini OSX Lion music server running from a PI Audio BatteryBuss (that also powered the connected hard drive) (debuted at RMAF)<br />

<br />

3. Auraliti linux-based music servers (of various types)<br />

<br />

4. Empirical Audio Overdrive Ultra DAC (debuted at RMAF)<br />

<br />

5. Red Wine Audio battery powered DACs (with USB input)<br />

<br />

The dB Audio Labs DAC and Mach 2 Music server ran the room that The Absolute Sound awarded Best Sound for the Money. Very interesting that all of these manufacturers get zero mention here.

[dummy]

Chris,<br />

<br />

Are you sure about the Burmester 111 Music Server 50,000$ price? I've read elsewhere that It was 70,000$. At that price, +/- 20k doesn't matter much in the end but still...<br />

<br />

Thanks for the pics. It looks droolin' good!<br />

<br />

[The Computer Audiophile]

The Bermester guy said they were trying to keep it under $50,000 :~)<br />

<br />

[AudioDoctor]

I was hoping to get a good deal...<br />

<br />

[dummy]

How generous of Burmester! ;-)<br />

<br />

A mighty great machine nonetheless!<br />

<br />

<br />

[granosalis]

What about new Zu Definition? Any comments?<br />

Thansk!

[Amused]

Any more specifics on what they displayed...how they sounded? I see that you listed a bunch of Gordon's products, but not so much of the Bryston/PMC room. Any observations on cabling choices?<br />

<br />

Thanks.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Jason - For the most part I don't like to comment on sound quality in the rooms. I used to comment much more until I realized it does more harm than good, again for the most part. Nearly all rooms sound lackluster and there's no way to narrow down the cause. Most rooms have components I've never heard in a good sounding room let alone a terrible sounding hotel room. Suggesting that a speaker or DAC etc... sounded bad, even though I've heard the component sound spectacular in other situations, is just misleading and doing a disservice to those who couldn't attend the show. Almost all systems are capable of better sound than what was achieved at the show. I'd hate to steer someone wrong by suggesting the new Ayre QA-9 D to A transfers sounded way too bass heavy when in reality it was the combination of all the components interacting with the room. I'm sure you get what I'm trying to say :~)<br />

<br />

The Bryston / PMC room was very crowded so I quickly moved on. I saw a ton of AudioQuest cable at the show. Much more so than any other brand. The preponderance of AQ cable may mean any number of things.<br />

<br />

Sorry for the long windedness and no real answers to "how did it sound."<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

[Gobbledigook]

Can be confusing. Burmester sounds like Bermester. T+A sounds like something rude, but stands for Theory+Application. As one of the few members of CA with T+A gear, I am naturally very curious what your impressions were with the R-series gear. <br />

<br />

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Gobbledigook - First, thanks for the spelling class :~)<br />

<br />

Second, I will get something from T+A in for review after CES. I talked quite a bit to the reps from T+A. It's an impressive company who has been doing this for a long time. Solid stuff.<br />

<br />

[plakey]

<br />

I heard that Wavelength was also coming out with a combo DAC and class D amp... was there any mention of that at the show?

[murrayp]

Hi Jason,<br />

<br />

First, I completely agree with Chris re sound at shows - a less than stellar sound proves absolutely nothing. But I think there is one small ray of light - if a room really does manage to sound good, then at least it proves that that system indeed can. Two friends and I did listen to the Bryston/PMC room and indeed it did sound wonderful to our ears, and on visits over two days. This is just kudos where it is due - however they did it, these guys achieved a very good sounding system and we were very impressed. If you search around a little you will find other similar comments. Hope this helps.<br />

<br />

[NickG]

Hi Chris, I'm looking to add a DAC with a few features like the new Peachtree. The TAD you are planning to review looks interesting. Do you know the price point on it? <br />

<br />

Meanwhile, I'm curious about the DCS debussy DAC. Their copy makes it sound like it is different than older versions of the product. I'm not likely to buy a new one, so I'm wondering if you know if an older version can be upgraded to match the features you wrote about recently?<br />

<br />

I'm also curious if you think the Peachtree can compete purely on a sound basis with the Ayre QB9?<br />

<br />

The Mytek preamp looks like it would compete very well also. You don't mention it in your post, but have you expressed thoughts on the Mytek approach/sound on the blog somewhere?<br />

<br />

Thanks

[barrows]

The dCS Debussy is upgradeable. You can buy a used one with confidence that it can be upgraded to 24/192 USB capability (but this is a hatdware upgrade, so will have to be done through a dealer).<br />

Peachtree vs Ayre QB-9, which model Peachtree? These are going to sound quite different. And the feature sets are very different as well, the Ayre being a straight USB only DAC, and the Peachtree products having many more features, depending on model. Both these products have good dealer representation, show you should arrange for in home trials if you are serious about auditioning them. Remember, good dealers are often willing to ship products for trial periods, so you do not have to have a local dealer to get a trial at home.<br />

BTW, kudos for Chris C. for not commenting too much on show sound; having set up show demo systems, it is quite obvious to me that getting decent sound in show systems is usually quite problematic. The only impression one should take away from show auditions is that if something sounded good at the show, it can sound much better with proper set up in most homes. Bad sound at a show is proof of nothing, and should be mostly ignored.

[NickG]

Thanks, Barrows. I was thinking of the new Grand Pre Chris wrote about. While I don't expect it to sound exactly like the QB-9, I'd like something with a similar sonic signature, but with more features. I'm in the market for a pre as well as a DAC and like the idea of 'integration' without compromise (a very different debate, I know). That doesn't mean I have couldn't buy, for example, an Ayre pre and the QB-9, but it seems that a well designed DAC ought to be something I could attach my CD player to. Maybe attach a Squeezebox too, but that is just a 'nice to have'.<br />

<br />

I'm not the type that will fuss much with computer gear, as my time is limited and I don't have a natural inclination to do tech support. I like to turn things on, leave them on, and press play. I prefer not to test various cables and soundcards or do tube rolling. I do however, use software and a high quality microphone to measure and adjust the freq. curve in my room, as that has been the most noticeable upgrade I have ever done.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Nick - The Price of the TAD C2000 preamp / DAC is about $25,000.<br />

<br />

[NickG]

Thanks, Chris! Put me down for two :-)

[VT Skier]

Nick, I'm afraid Ayre and Peachtree sound nothing like each other, although it's hard to say what the Grand will sound like after having only heard it with the SF Elipsa SEs, which I'd never heard before either. But generally, IMO, Ayre is a little cooler, tending more toward neutral, and Peachtree tends to be warmer and less "accurate".

[Part-Time Audiophile]

Chris -- nice write up!<br />

<br />

But a note about sound quality at shows ....<br />

<br />

At RMAF this year, some rooms sounded just great. Some, not so much. But it simply isn't true that most rooms sound bad at shows. Most sound quite fine. Maybe not their absolute best, but there is quite a bit of effort that goes in to those rooms. Enough so that when you're in a room that gets it wrong, it's a shock that the sound quality is actually and actively bad. Now, making a big deal out of a bad sounding room is probably nothing but snark, but making nothing out of a great sounding room is worse. <br />

<br />

LSA sounded very good. Joseph Audio sounded very good. Volti sounded fantastic. Sjofn sounded fantastic. The little Brodmann was fantastic. The giant Cessaro was, literally, stunning.<br />

<br />

The big YG? Not so much. Ditto the Magico room. Ditto the Burmester room. Rosso Fiorentino had some issues with some bass-heavy tracks and so did the big Brodmanns. At least one widebander had a serious mid range suckout, and another seemed to completely lose track of the bass entirely. Does that mean that any of those speakers suck? Hardly. But their failures do nothing to take away from the successes of the other rooms.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Scot - The fact that the words bad, good, great, and fantastic are subjective adjectives doesn't make this any easier. Your good may be bad in my mind and vice versa :~)<br />

<br />

It would be really interesting to bring measuring equipment into the rooms and see how flat they really <s>are</s> aren't.<br />

<br />

[Miki]

Nice report, can't wait to read more on some specifics. The one thing that is really new to me is Ayre's QA9 Analog to Digital Converter (can we call it ADC ?). That is quite interesting and I would like to know more about it. Does it come with a dedicated software (Win, OSX, Linux) or no software is needed at all. For someone with large vinyl collection that just might be the thing. <br />

[curbfeeler]

"The preponderance of AQ cable may mean any number of things"<br />

I would suggest it means they spend a lot of dough on marketing. I have been disappointed by their products with frequency. In my experience AQ is purveyed by mid-level brick and mortar or large online vendors.