A funny (but wonderful) thing happened at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2014...

GordonW

Speakerfixer
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Live vs. playback, with some rather astonishing results, in the Valve Amplification Company room at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2014. See here:

http://theaudiotraveler.com/2014/10/12/rmaf-2014-vac-versus-the-real-thing/

I unfortunately missed most of this happening- but I was there when Lyn Stanley (the singer at the center of this story) stated something to the effect of, that the VAC/Focal Grande Utopia system was the first thing that made her sound like, well... HER, that she'd ever experienced...

Unlike many "live vs. Memorex" style events in the past- this was an unplanned, impromptu happening- where the artist in question just happened to be in the room, and was struck with how strikingly similar the sound of the system was, to what she heard from herself singing. That's a little more profound, IMHO, than the typical test of this type, with random observers- because an artist is ALWAYS the MOST CRITICAL of their own sound, of ANYONE. For the artist, herself, to say this, IMHO, MEANS SOMETHING, significantly.

It is gratifying, to me, to have been a small part of what made this possible- that our 14+ hours of setup at the show, not to mention packing, moving and placing 6000+ lbs of gear, was a job well worth doing.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
I unfortunately missed most of this happening- but I was there when Lyn Stanley (the singer at the center of this story) stated something to the effect of, that the VAC/Focal Grande Utopia system was the first thing that made her sound like, well... HER, that she'd ever experienced...

Devil's advocate: If she never heard what she really sounds like, how does she know what she should sound like?

(I know for a fact that what I hear in my head when I sing is NOT what others hear. My kids have told me so :) )
 
Live vs. playback, with some rather astonishing results, in the Valve Amplification Company room at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2014. See here:

http://theaudiotraveler.com/2014/10/12/rmaf-2014-vac-versus-the-real-thing/

I unfortunately missed most of this happening- but I was there when Lyn Stanley (the singer at the center of this story) stated something to the effect of, that the VAC/Focal Grande Utopia system was the first thing that made her sound like, well... HER, that she'd ever experienced...

Unlike many "live vs. Memorex" style events in the past- this was an unplanned, impromptu happening- where the artist in question just happened to be in the room, and was struck with how strikingly similar the sound of the system was, to what she heard from herself singing. That's a little more profound, IMHO, than the typical test of this type, with random observers- because an artist is ALWAYS the MOST CRITICAL of their own sound, of ANYONE. For the artist, herself, to say this, IMHO, MEANS SOMETHING, significantly.

It is gratifying, to me, to have been a small part of what made this possible- that our 14+ hours of setup at the show, not to mention packing, moving and placing 6000+ lbs of gear, was a job well worth doing.

Regards,
Gordon.

You were part of this room? Nice! (And congrats!) I was in this room only once, but it was on Sunday morning after I had heard almost every room over the previous two days, and I had been taking cursory notes the whole time. It was, for me, my "best in show" award winner - exquisite sound and the best overall system I heard all weekend.

Unfortunately I missed both the violin demo as well as Ms. Stanley (I was present in the Saskia room last year when she debuted her previous album to many dropped jaws and spontaneous applause) and like you, I would take her assessment very seriously. She is not only a good musician but has a keen ear for the production value of a recording and hers are exceptional. I heard both albums (in various formats) over the weekend and they were always terrific - her tape-master in the J-Corder room was among the best pieces of source material I've ever heard.

Great showing!! :music:
 
DC, you came in at the right time. We basically left the equipment on all weekend (even left a CD playing, at moderate volume, on repeat overnight), and it kept getting better and better as the weekend went on (call it break-in, temperature stabilization, or whatever you want- it just got more "settled" over the entire time). By Sunday, it was quite a bit better than it was Friday morning, IMHO.

My only regret of the show itself, is that I would have liked to hear that tape master in the J-corder room. Not only did he have some great machines (man, that red Technics!), but he seemed like a totally cool guy as well. I bet it did sound good.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
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