High End at High Altitude
By Oliver A. Masciarotte
It being my seventh trip to Denver’s mile-high Tech Center district, I thought I knew what to expect. An audio engineer friend and I decided to drive to Colorado from Minneapolis, and the road trip proved to be an excellent way to turn down our internal throttles, set the cruise control on my hybrid, and experience the immense Midwest plains dotted with towering wind turbines. The weather was unseasonably warm and the traffic sparse, enabling us to ignore the piloting and discuss the technology that would be unveiled during the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest’s 11th iteration.
On one topic of discussion, we both agreed. Many engineers would debate the fact, but consumer electronics (CE) wags the tail of the pro audio dog. Whether it’s the resurgence of vinyl, the triumph of downloadables, or the rise of portable and personal listening, pros should regard audiophiles as harbingers of things to come. One reliable gauge of music consumption trends is the three-day Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF), which is the largest of many audio shows in North America.
Read the full report here.
