Home theatre wasn't neglected at RMAF either. Here we have the Epiphany Audio/Edge Electronics room…lots of picture and sound, and LOTS of drivers for the home theater fans.

Speaking of Edge, here's Steven Norber of Edge Electronics, complete with motorcycle helmet. (He left the leathers across the room!)

Back in the lobby, Dave Clark and I ran into Mark O'Brian of Rogue Audio, another of the exhibitors. I haven't had a chance to hear any Rogue audio designs in a couple of years…didn't get to at the RMAF, either. Guess I'll have to try again at CES 2005.

Also in the lobby were Srajan Ebaen and his wife. Srajan is a very good friend and esteemed member of the PFO editorial community, and has an extraordinarily fine audio publication in his sixmoons.com. It's friends like these that make events like RMAF a real vacation.

An ink outline study of a Kuzma reference table in play in the Jeff Rowland/Cabasse room.

I stopped by the Cogent True-to-Life Loudspeakers/The Dowdy Lama (clever!)/Teres Audio Room. Kazow, Batman! One of the terrific looking (and sounding) Teres turntables in solid Brasilian Rosewood (Jacaranda, amigos!), with a Schroder tonearm. Year after year, turntable design has become an ever higher art form, and more and more is found in those elusive grooves we carve.

As a matter of fact, this whole room was pretty remarkable, and drew a lot of traffic. The batteries stashed behind the horns had something to do with this… horn lovers spent quite a while looking this combination over.

A fresco of the Clearaudio Reference ‘table in the Audio Unlimited/Boulder/JM Lab/Clearaudio/Tara Labs room. Strikingly beautiful, and highly detailed in presentation in conjunction with Boulder electronics and the big JM's. The sound would not be to everyone's taste, of course… but that's the benefit of an audio show with a diverse offering of gear. You get to train your senses into sensibilities, and find the audio presentation that strikes you at the level of the soul.

The closer you got to the Clearaudio Reference, the more visually striking it was….

Rotating back to the mezzanine booths, Dave Clark and I encountered some familiar faces. Here Dave is chatting with Michael Hobson of Classic Records.

Dave Clark talks with Scott Markwell of Classic Records…

…and then shoots the proverbial with Charlie Kittleson, editor of Vacuum Tube Valley. Charlie is a good fellow, and has been keeping the tubes glowing over at VTV… we wish them well.

A fresco of the Art Audio Diavalo amplifier tube array… scrumptious!

Dale Fontenot of Cabasse North America in the Art Audio/Gill Audio Design/Cabasse room.

Overall, the Cabasse/Gill Audio/Art Audio room was a striking visual presentation, with good sound (for a show).

Dropping by the Star Sound/Audio Points/Sistrum Platforms/Sonoran room, I got to see some fine and familiar gear (above, the Sistrum SP-101 stand with its 2003 PFO Brutus Award)…

…and some intriguing new ideas. Here's an amplifier stand… for a guitar amp! Terrific notion, and long overdue. Wish I had a Mesa Boogie to drop onto that rack… would have been great fun.

Robert Maicks of Star Sound, a telephone audiobud of mine…

…and his associate at Star Sound, Brent Riehl, standing in front of their 2003 Brutus Award. I'm looking forward to much more from Star Sound/Sistrum… their products really work.