We had a terrific Rocky Mountain Audio Fest this year. Attendance was up which must have been due to Al and Marjorie and all their hard work to promote the show. Our thanks to them for the great show.

Our room was greeted with very serious accolades. We were very pleased with the sound that we had this year. Kara Chaffee of deHavilland fame brought her new prototype 50A amplifier. They are a renaissance version of the original 50A amplifiers that Fischer introduced in 1954. There are classic designs that when complimented by modern production capabilities can far surpass the originals. I am reminded of the Quad 57's. These amplifiers will convince most listeners that solid state is not capable or recreating music the same way. The 50A's created an eerily life like presentation. A couple of times I turned the lights down in our room and the performers just appeared in the room. It was stunning. We are very excited to get a pair of the production models. I have no doubt the 50A's will be classics.

We owe a debt of gratitude to Jonathan Tinn from Play Back Design. His new CD/SACD player the MPS-5 stunned both Kara and I. It created tremendous depth and layering with a rich and complete portrayal of the musical event.

What is clear to me after looking at all the “crazy new equipment” in other rooms is that the core of creating realistic music is simply solid engineering and not fishing trips with new shaped speakers and shiny drivers. Those appear to be much more of a marketing tool than a real understanding of the engineering challenges that need to be addressed. The equipment in our room has changed very little. We upgraded our cables to Kubala-Sosna and took advantage of a terrific new CD player, and of course Kara's new 50A amplifier. Our equipment is designed for music lovers and designed to keep, and is not recommended for equipment freaks who like to change out every 6 months.

My Top Ten Rooms of Attainable Audio at the RMAF – in No Particular Order and for No Particular Reason? by John Zurekhttp://positive-feedback.com

DeHavilland Electronics with Wilson Benesch speakers. The room we revisited the most. Sound to die for.

Nice photo of one of the Prototype 50A's. The production models will have real binding posts and will have a very finished look. Kara has a very complete vision for these amplifiers. Quad owners should take note. More info at www.dehavillandhifi.com