here's what one guy had to say about the revel room.
The Revel F228bes are incredible, the Revel room at AXPONA was one of the best, and it was a dead-simple chain - Auralic G2, Mark Levinson 585 Integrated, F228bes and they sounded better than rooms that cost several times as much.
The Performa was stunning! Angelo ( newrival) was in the room with me. He walked into the room blindly and didn't even know what speaker they were! He leaned over to me and asked what brand are we listening to. When I said the Revel Performa, he said no wonder why I liked them so much, I love Revel stuff! They had a wonderful sound. I stayed for 3 songs on this one.
Revell stuff sounds SO nice. I tell you the Perfoma3 F206 & F208 at $3.5K - $5K a set are about as high priced of a speaker I can hope to own on the used market. Right now I've seen the F206 at about $2600 so I'll still need a couple more years or so. That's my dream speaker...mated with a nice hybrid integrated.
With the F228Be doubling in price at $10K a pair, those are now in a new territory.... unobtainable for me but I hope to get a chance to listen. Maybe I'll check them out when one of the stores in the area gets them in.
the bookshelf is $4000
also read where a guy said the revel and new paradigms blew away the new $12000 magico
Amplifiers: MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800,Kinki Studio EX-M1
Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
Transport/Dac: L.K.S MH-DA004, North Star Design USB dac32, Cayin Venus cd-100i,
Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkI
Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra
Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic 2, Analysis Plus Black Mesh Oval 9,
Cerious Technologies Graphene Extreme
Interconnects: Analysis Plus Solo Crystal Oval, Analysis Plus Copper Oval-In Micro,
Cerious Technologies Graphene Extreme
Power Cables by: Cullen Cables, 6sons Audio, Swiss Cables
Interesting! There must be more magic in the Be tweeter, Ceramic drivers, and improved crossover?
Many seem to be adding in lines with Beryllium tweeters and Ceramic drivers. I REALLY wanted to listen to the SB Acoustics room. I read that some of the DIY kits sounded fantastic with their new Beryllium tweeter and Ceramic drivers. They had a 3-way towered designed by SB Acoustics, Jeff Bagby, and Javad Shadzi. They both had great things to say about the project.
Jeff "I will say that SB Acoustics is really **** up here. I do not know how much this tweeter will sell for, but whatever it is, I see absolutely no reason to spend more on a tweeter. This tweeter has sonic characteristics that I only associate with very few of the best tweeters I have ever heard. I have not listened to the Satori Beryllium but it's hard for me to believe it sounds a lot different. This is absolutely one of the best high frequency drivers I have ever heard regardless of price. I sold my Scan Illuminators and my Transducer Labs Berylliums, but I wont be getting rid of these. I may even switch over to these for my ultimate speaker build."
Javad "This was the first time I've worked with higher end SBA drivers, these drivers remind me that there is no substitute for good drivers that work well together. This tweeter and 5" mid could be used together with no padding which is nice, the smooth detail that these drivers produce is astonishing, with excellent dispersion the Ceramicos image eerily good, probably the best imaging speaker I've ever built."
FAMILY ROOM HDTV - Sharp AQUOS LC-70LE600U 70" | AVR/Streamer - Onkyo TX-NR3008 | Amp - Parasound HCA-1203A Blu-Ray/Media/Gaming - Sony PS3-320GB / Microsoft Xbox One | Broadcast - Xfinity X1 Platform Front Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Center Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Rear Spkrs - Artison Portrait LRS Sub - DIY Stereo Integrity HT 15 | Sub Amp - Dayton Audio SA1000 Wire - Audioquest Type 4, BJC Belden 5000 | HDMI - BJC Belden | Power Cables - Pangea | Surge - Monster
The Beryllium tweeter in the dyi kit sounded sweet. SB had their bookie with the $400 Beryllium tweeter and their floor standing kit without the Beryllium tweeter i told them they should have put the Beryllium un the floor stander. For a kit, they sounded quite good. No match for the preforma BE or the bigger Focal or Sonner but its a quarter of the price.
Living Room:,T+A PA 1530R, Tyler Highland H2, Aries Mini, High Fidelity Reveal RCA, Grant Fidelity Tube Dac 11, W4S recovery, Wireworld Platinum Starlight, PS Audio Direct Stream JR.
Have but haven't used in a while: LH Labs VI Dac, Cayin SCD50T
Living Room:,T+A PA 1530R, Tyler Highland H2, Aries Mini, High Fidelity Reveal RCA, Grant Fidelity Tube Dac 11, W4S recovery, Wireworld Platinum Starlight, PS Audio Direct Stream JR.
Have but haven't used in a while: LH Labs VI Dac, Cayin SCD50T
Living Room:,T+A PA 1530R, Tyler Highland H2, Aries Mini, High Fidelity Reveal RCA, Grant Fidelity Tube Dac 11, W4S recovery, Wireworld Platinum Starlight, PS Audio Direct Stream JR.
Have but haven't used in a while: LH Labs VI Dac, Cayin SCD50T
Got a text from Skip on April 8 asking if I wanted to drive to Chicago with him. Wish I could have, but just too much going on right now since I recently moved. Reading this thread has really, really made me wish I could have gone. Looks like some awesome setups, but more importantly, looks like a lot of good (and not so good) Polkies were there.
I'm really hoping to make it to LSAF. The recent move along with a couple of other things are going to make it difficult, but my plan is to be there on Saturday afternoon.
Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out.-John Wooden
I'm not sure how literal to interpret it but I think we could have left out the "forget RMAF" comment. LSAF, RMAF and Axpona all have their place IMO and it's silly to rule the others out of the mix because one show happens to be bigger. LSAF is a grassroots show (mostly) with smaller companies and a few people who just set up their own systems and jam, Axpona sits on the other end of the scale, and RMAF sits right in between...they're all great shows and anyone who has access should attend any of those shows.
The point is if you can only make it to one big show, axpona should be it. This was an overwhelming consensus with everyone who attended both shows, regardless of what their actual participation in the event sided on.
The venue itself has a lot to do with this. The attention and care from those running the show was also huge. I saw reps from the show no less than a half dozen times in my room asking what they could do to make the show better for me.
Nope. For headphones RMAF is still it. I know there was representation there but not as much coverage. It isn't it's own event if you will.
RMAF used to be THE show in the US. AXPONA has stolen that spot and is still on the rise. Some reviewers are clamoring right now that it might be challenging the biggest shows in the World.
That’s probably how it’ll stay too as I think RMAF is as big as it’s gonna get. Denver just can’t compete with larger cities like Chicago on the hotel front, the Marriott in Denver is probably the best hotel in town believe it or not.
Either way hopefully there will be enough continued interest to keep RMAF alive, there’s a lot of tradition in having that show on the map,
Finally got some in depth coverage of the room. A little excerpt from his review:
I met Skip less than a year ago at a local audio meet. Skip brought along some really nice Mastersound integrated tube amplifiers and Rosso Fiorentino Fiesolo speaker. These had an unusual 3-way design using a ribbon super-tweeter. At the time of this event I was skeptical that they would be anything special. I've heard 100's of small stand-mount speakers, some of very high quality and price, and this didn't seem any different than any other I'd seen. What has stuck with me until this day, is the SS&I of these speakers. It is among the absolute best I've ever heard. Precise, 3-dimensional, well layered, and accurate. Now the story may have ended there, but the importer of Rosso speakers is Derek Skipworth, or "Skip" as he is known by his friends. Skip and I found a fast bond with each other. We enjoyed similar music, appreciated similar qualities in high-end gear, and spent hours listening to his wonderful gear.
Looks like it was fun, I really wish I could’ve gone. Good job Skip!
Anyone know of any shows in the Orlando area?
Not Tom or Trey or Jim just Micah
KEF Q150s, NAD 1155 preamp and 4155 tuner courtesy of DaddyJT, NAD C352 playing power amp, BJC Belden cables, Technics SL3200, Marantz CD6004 courtesy of Clipdat, Salamander Archetype rack, Millenium Falcon
I've always thought the goal of high-end audio was not to have your neighbors bang on the wall and say, 'Turn that darn music down' but to have your neighbors bang on the wall and say, 'Tell your friends to go home and you can practice later this week'.
I get so sick of being the village idiot around here.
"Electronic music is human sound adapting to indulge technology, and for some, it feels like the signature sound of energy. New and abstract sounds over hypnotic rhythms can conjure vast soundscapes for escape, pleasure, and transcendence."
Living Room:,T+A PA 1530R, Tyler Highland H2, Aries Mini, High Fidelity Reveal RCA, Grant Fidelity Tube Dac 11, W4S recovery, Wireworld Platinum Starlight, PS Audio Direct Stream JR.
Have but haven't used in a while: LH Labs VI Dac, Cayin SCD50T
Skip happy you got some coverage. Matt knows his stuff from what I remember from our quick conversations at Mikes.
Hope to make AXPONA next year, and maybe LSAF......
Next time your up this way let me know lol....
"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
"...I took a seat in the first row, which sounded much better than farther back in the room, and things quieted down as I listened to more sweet sound..."
"...I was very happy to again see Rosso Fiorentino loudspeakers in the US: I've really enjoyed the sound of some of this Italian company's models. Here, it was the Rosso Fiorentino Certaldo 2.5-way ($6500/pair), which kept company with the North Star Design Supremo DAC ($4000), which does PCM up to 384 kHz and DSD up to 256, depending upon input, Mastersound Box class-A 35Wpc integrated amplifier ($3000), and North Star Design Magnifico upsampling CD player ($4000). I'm not sure if the latter was used solely as a transport."
Great job Skip, congrats on getting the feedback, that has to feel good after all the work you’ve put in and risk you’ve taken over the last couple years. I’m thrilled to see that’s paying off now.
Home Theater
Parasound Halo A 31 OnkyoTX-NR838 Sony XBR55X850B 55" 4K RtiA9 Fronts CsiA6 Center RtiA3 Rears FxiA6 Side Surrounds Dual Psw 111's Oppo 105D Signal Ultra Speaker Cables & IC's Signal Magic Power Cable Technics SL Q300 Panamax MR4300 Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables Audioquest Forest USB Cable
2 Channel
Adcom 555II Vincent SA-T1 Marantz SA 15S2 Denon DR-M11 Clearaudio Bluemotion SDA 2.3tl's (Z) edition MIT Terminator II Speaker Cables & IC's Adcom 545II Adcom Gtp-450 Marantz CD5004 Technics M245X SDA 2B's, SDA CRS+
Stuff for the Head
JD LABS C5 Headphone Amplifier, Sennheiser HD 598, Polk Audio Buckle, Polk Audio Hinge, Velodyne vPulse, Bose IE2, Sennheiser CX 200 Street II, Sennheiser MX 365
Shower & Off the beaten path Rigs
Polk Audio Boom Swimmer, Polk Audio Urchin
A mention in Stereophile?! Hell yeah! Congrats Skip.
"Electronic music is human sound adapting to indulge technology, and for some, it feels like the signature sound of energy. New and abstract sounds over hypnotic rhythms can conjure vast soundscapes for escape, pleasure, and transcendence."
Comments
the bookshelf is $4000
also read where a guy said the revel and new paradigms blew away the new $12000 magico
Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
Transport/Dac: L.K.S MH-DA004, North Star Design USB dac32, Cayin Venus cd-100i,
Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkI
Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra
Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic 2, Analysis Plus Black Mesh Oval 9,
Cerious Technologies Graphene Extreme
Interconnects: Analysis Plus Solo Crystal Oval, Analysis Plus Copper Oval-In Micro,
Cerious Technologies Graphene Extreme
Power Cables by: Cullen Cables, 6sons Audio, Swiss Cables
Many seem to be adding in lines with Beryllium tweeters and Ceramic drivers. I REALLY wanted to listen to the SB Acoustics room. I read that some of the DIY kits sounded fantastic with their new Beryllium tweeter and Ceramic drivers. They had a 3-way towered designed by SB Acoustics, Jeff Bagby, and Javad Shadzi. They both had great things to say about the project.
Jeff
"I will say that SB Acoustics is really **** up here. I do not know how much this tweeter will sell for, but whatever it is, I see absolutely no reason to spend more on a tweeter. This tweeter has sonic characteristics that I only associate with very few of the best tweeters I have ever heard. I have not listened to the Satori Beryllium but it's hard for me to believe it sounds a lot different. This is absolutely one of the best high frequency drivers I have ever heard regardless of price. I sold my Scan Illuminators and my Transducer Labs Berylliums, but I wont be getting rid of these. I may even switch over to these for my ultimate speaker build."
Javad
"This was the first time I've worked with higher end SBA drivers, these drivers remind me that there is no substitute for good drivers that work well together. This tweeter and 5" mid could be used together with no padding which is nice, the smooth detail that these drivers produce is astonishing, with excellent dispersion the Ceramicos image eerily good, probably the best imaging speaker I've ever built."
HDTV - Sharp AQUOS LC-70LE600U 70" | AVR/Streamer - Onkyo TX-NR3008 | Amp - Parasound HCA-1203A
Blu-Ray/Media/Gaming - Sony PS3-320GB / Microsoft Xbox One | Broadcast - Xfinity X1 Platform
Front Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Center Spkrs - Coming...DIY Statement II | Rear Spkrs - Artison Portrait LRS
Sub - DIY Stereo Integrity HT 15 | Sub Amp - Dayton Audio SA1000
Wire - Audioquest Type 4, BJC Belden 5000 | HDMI - BJC Belden | Power Cables - Pangea | Surge - Monster
Living Room:,T+A PA 1530R, Tyler Highland H2, Aries Mini, High Fidelity Reveal RCA, Grant Fidelity Tube Dac 11, W4S recovery, Wireworld Platinum Starlight, PS Audio Direct Stream JR.
Have but haven't used in a while: LH Labs VI Dac, Cayin SCD50T
Living Room:,T+A PA 1530R, Tyler Highland H2, Aries Mini, High Fidelity Reveal RCA, Grant Fidelity Tube Dac 11, W4S recovery, Wireworld Platinum Starlight, PS Audio Direct Stream JR.
Have but haven't used in a while: LH Labs VI Dac, Cayin SCD50T
Anyone experience the Bass Off
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
Living Room:,T+A PA 1530R, Tyler Highland H2, Aries Mini, High Fidelity Reveal RCA, Grant Fidelity Tube Dac 11, W4S recovery, Wireworld Platinum Starlight, PS Audio Direct Stream JR.
Have but haven't used in a while: LH Labs VI Dac, Cayin SCD50T
I'm really hoping to make it to LSAF. The recent move along with a couple of other things are going to make it difficult, but my plan is to be there on Saturday afternoon.
The venue itself has a lot to do with this. The attention and care from those running the show was also huge. I saw reps from the show no less than a half dozen times in my room asking what they could do to make the show better for me.
Is there a CanJam at Axpona?
RMAF used to be THE show in the US. AXPONA has stolen that spot and is still on the rise. Some reviewers are clamoring right now that it might be challenging the biggest shows in the World.
Either way hopefully there will be enough continued interest to keep RMAF alive, there’s a lot of tradition in having that show on the map,
https://www.avnirvana.com/threads/axpona-2018-official-show-report.2658/page-2#post-23069
Current Gear:
Torus RM15 -> Emm Labs DAC2x and TSDX Transport -> Cary SLP-05 preamp -> Boulder 2060 stereo amp (w/ Audioquest WEL Signature) -> new speakers
Rotel RA1592 Super Integrated -> Sonus Faber Olympica 3
Rotel RC1570 preamp -> Rotel RB1582 amp -> Focal Kanta 2
Old Gear:
Speakers: BW PM1 (3.5/5), CM10s2 (3.75/5), BW800D3 (5/5), Rockport Aviors (5/5), Sonus Faber Stradivari (5/5), BW 802D2 (4.5/5), Martin Logan Summits (4.25/5), Martin Logan Vantage (4/5), Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor (3.75/5), AV123 Strata Mini (3.5/5), ML Mosaic (3.25/5), Onix Ref1 (3/5), Sonus Faber Concerto (2.75/5), SF Concertino (2.5/5), Axiom M22ti (2/5), Polk LSi9 (3/5), LSi7 (2.9/5)
Source: Squeezebox 3 -> PS Audio Digital Link III -> Cary 306/200 CDP -> Cary 306 SACD -> EMM LABS DAC2X/TSDX
Preamplification: Rotel RC1070 -> Rogue Perseus -> Cary SLP98 -> Cary SLP98F1 -> Cary SLP05 (sold and then repurchased)
Amplification: HK AVR330 -> Rotel RB1070 -> Rotel RB1090 -> Plinius SA102 -> Cary 211FE -> Classe M600 -> Boulder 2060
Subwoofer: Infinity Entra2 sub -> SVS 25-31PC+ sub
Anyone know of any shows in the Orlando area?
KEF Q150s, NAD 1155 preamp and 4155 tuner courtesy of DaddyJT, NAD C352 playing power amp, BJC Belden cables, Technics SL3200, Marantz CD6004 courtesy of Clipdat, Salamander Archetype rack, Millenium Falcon
Resident Child of Club Polk
I get so sick of being the village idiot around here.
3.1 - Polk: LSiM703, LSiM706c, PSW125 | PS Audio Quintet | VooDoo-Hubbell IG 8300 | Acoustic Panels, Acoustimac Bass Traps
6.1 - Pioneer Elite SC-05 | Pio BDP-51FD | Polk: RTi8, CSi5, F/Xi3, CSi3 | HSU Research VTF-2 MK4 | PS Audio: Quintet, Power Port Classic | DCF124BW x3 SC | Pangea: AC-9SE x2, 14SE, 14 PC | AQ Chocolate x2 HDMI | M850SW | Acoustic Panels, GIK Soffit Traps
3.1 - Polk: LSiM703, LSiM706c, PSW125 | PS Audio Quintet | VooDoo-Hubbell IG 8300 | Acoustic Panels, Acoustimac Bass Traps
6.1 - Pioneer Elite SC-05 | Pio BDP-51FD | Polk: RTi8, CSi5, F/Xi3, CSi3 | HSU Research VTF-2 MK4 | PS Audio: Quintet, Power Port Classic | DCF124BW x3 SC | Pangea: AC-9SE x2, 14SE, 14 PC | AQ Chocolate x2 HDMI | M850SW | Acoustic Panels, GIK Soffit Traps
Living Room:,T+A PA 1530R, Tyler Highland H2, Aries Mini, High Fidelity Reveal RCA, Grant Fidelity Tube Dac 11, W4S recovery, Wireworld Platinum Starlight, PS Audio Direct Stream JR.
Have but haven't used in a while: LH Labs VI Dac, Cayin SCD50T
Hope to make AXPONA next year, and maybe LSAF......
Next time your up this way let me know lol....
"...I took a seat in the first row, which sounded much better than farther back in the room, and things quieted down as I listened to more sweet sound..."
"...I was very happy to again see Rosso Fiorentino loudspeakers in the US: I've really enjoyed the sound of some of this Italian company's models. Here, it was the Rosso Fiorentino Certaldo 2.5-way ($6500/pair), which kept company with the North Star Design Supremo DAC ($4000), which does PCM up to 384 kHz and DSD up to 256, depending upon input, Mastersound Box class-A 35Wpc integrated amplifier ($3000), and North Star Design Magnifico upsampling CD player ($4000). I'm not sure if the latter was used solely as a transport."
https://www.stereophile.com/content/jason-time-travels-day-three
HT - Polk 703's * NAD T-758 * Adcom 5503 * Oppo 103 * Samsung 60" series 8 LCD
Parasound Halo A 31 OnkyoTX-NR838 Sony XBR55X850B 55" 4K RtiA9 Fronts CsiA6 Center RtiA3 Rears FxiA6 Side Surrounds Dual Psw 111's Oppo 105D Signal Ultra Speaker Cables & IC's Signal Magic Power Cable Technics SL Q300 Panamax MR4300 Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables Audioquest Forest USB Cable
2 Channel
Adcom 555II Vincent SA-T1 Marantz SA 15S2 Denon DR-M11 Clearaudio Bluemotion SDA 2.3tl's (Z) edition MIT Terminator II Speaker Cables & IC's Adcom 545II Adcom Gtp-450 Marantz CD5004 Technics M245X SDA 2B's, SDA CRS+
Stuff for the Head
JD LABS C5 Headphone Amplifier, Sennheiser HD 598, Polk Audio Buckle, Polk Audio Hinge, Velodyne vPulse, Bose IE2, Sennheiser CX 200 Street II, Sennheiser MX 365
Shower & Off the beaten path Rigs
Polk Audio Boom Swimmer, Polk Audio Urchin
Current Gear:
Torus RM15 -> Emm Labs DAC2x and TSDX Transport -> Cary SLP-05 preamp -> Boulder 2060 stereo amp (w/ Audioquest WEL Signature) -> new speakers
Rotel RA1592 Super Integrated -> Sonus Faber Olympica 3
Rotel RC1570 preamp -> Rotel RB1582 amp -> Focal Kanta 2
Old Gear:
Speakers: BW PM1 (3.5/5), CM10s2 (3.75/5), BW800D3 (5/5), Rockport Aviors (5/5), Sonus Faber Stradivari (5/5), BW 802D2 (4.5/5), Martin Logan Summits (4.25/5), Martin Logan Vantage (4/5), Sonus Faber Cremona Auditor (3.75/5), AV123 Strata Mini (3.5/5), ML Mosaic (3.25/5), Onix Ref1 (3/5), Sonus Faber Concerto (2.75/5), SF Concertino (2.5/5), Axiom M22ti (2/5), Polk LSi9 (3/5), LSi7 (2.9/5)
Source: Squeezebox 3 -> PS Audio Digital Link III -> Cary 306/200 CDP -> Cary 306 SACD -> EMM LABS DAC2X/TSDX
Preamplification: Rotel RC1070 -> Rogue Perseus -> Cary SLP98 -> Cary SLP98F1 -> Cary SLP05 (sold and then repurchased)
Amplification: HK AVR330 -> Rotel RB1070 -> Rotel RB1090 -> Plinius SA102 -> Cary 211FE -> Classe M600 -> Boulder 2060
Subwoofer: Infinity Entra2 sub -> SVS 25-31PC+ sub