The Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF) 2016 Report

In this report for audioXPress, Oliver A. Masciarotte’s provides his personal perspective as he explores the most interesting new products at The Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF) 2016. In his Show Report from Denver, CO, Masciarotte finds headphones and earbuds, wired and wireless solutions, new digital players, DACs, amplifiers, speakers and much more. This article was originally published in audioXpress, January 2017, and is now available online.

audioXpress January 2017 is now available. This month, we review Kii Audio’s new Kii Three speakers, and report on the most interesting new products at The Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF) 2016. We explore Near Field Magnetic Induction (NFMI) wireless audio applications, and the new USB Audio Device Class 3.0 specification for USB Type-C. We discuss streaming DSD over the Internet, revisit the Helmholtz resonator, explain how to build a Low-Power, Class-A Power Amplifier, and interview Michael Carnes of Exponential Audio. There is a lot to read inside this issue!

Seen for the first time at the 141st Audio Engineering Society Convention in Los Angeles, IsoAcoustics’s new Aperta 300 speaker isolation stands expand the acclaimed Aperta series, designed to support center channel speakers or studio monitors in horizontal configuration, providing a wider base and supporting up to 60lbs (27.2kg). Also new from the Canadian company are the new GAIA speaker isolation feet, designed using IsoAcoustics patented isolation principles, replacing existing ball-casters, cones and spikes in high-end speakers.

RMAF 2016 in Denver, held on 7-9 October, marked the largest-ever public showcase of MQA (Master Quality Authenticated)-ready products, supported by hundreds of MQA albums available to download. The MQA team was recently recognized at the British Engineering Excellence Awards (BEEA), held on 6 October in London and, at RMAF 2016, MQA’s founder, Bob Stuart, was awarded the Rocky Mountain International Hi-Fi Press Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award, while the company won the Innovation category for the second year running.

Bluesound introduced its new Pulse Soundbar at CEDIA 2016 and will be showcasing it at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2016 in Denver (7-9 October). This is the world’s first soundbar to support Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) high-resolution audio, joining Bluesound’s family of MQA-ready wireless Pulse speakers and Node players, enabling wireless hi-resolution music streaming to any room in the home.