Drove up to Franklin, TN to attend the annual Emofest this weekend with a bunch of friends. It was really a blast and I enjoyed the hospitality of this family-run business. Dan and Cathy are terrific people and everyone had a good time. On Saturday they do product demos and have "lid removed" gear on display with engineers to talk through their design choices. Very well made gear that is built in China and designed really all over with some engineers at the Franklin HQ.
On Sunday they have a blow-out BBQ feast with five or so live bands (all excellent) in two giant tents and then a generous 20+ piece auction of their products including the expensive gear. A very generous customer appreciation event. They give you a $50 off this is fraud just for showing up and the sale prices are terrific. I got the 5s for $330 plus tax down from $449 MSRP. Also, Franklin is a beautiful part of Tennessee. The audio club and I visited Jamie Tate's Rukkus Room studio and got a really fun tour and Jamie is a terrific host and storyteller.
What impressed me the most was TACT room correction software which they demonstrated with the TACt $15K piece but are currently building into their own HT processors in partnership with TACT's guy Boz. I think the first piece will be $1,500.
I also had heard good things about their pro monitors, the airmotiv series. I wound up buying the airmotiv 5 which has a 4" midrange and an AMT tweeter that goes up to 23K. Built in 100 watt amp which is split between HF and LF amp modules.
Its breaking in now in the background. I hooked up an Oppo 980H as a transport and then used a Black Cat Silverstar 75 ohm cable into my backup Benchmark DAC1 which has been updated and modded with Eichmann RCAs. Sounds great so far. The guys on Gearslutz say it takes around 1-2 weeks for the bass to level off and the highs to come down a bit. There is a slight smiley face out of the box. Sounding much better with 4 hours on it than out of the box. My wife and I wanted a system for the great room.
The mids and bass are fantastic and the AMT is improving with use. It's actually very clear. Imaging is superb.
They have a new Stealth series coming which will include a flagship Pro DAC, IEMs, over the ear cans, and some new Pro Stealth nearfields.
Here are a couple of reviews of the airmotivs.
Airmotiv 4
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-57...sktop-speaker/
Airmotiv 5
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content...nitor-speakers
On Sunday they have a blow-out BBQ feast with five or so live bands (all excellent) in two giant tents and then a generous 20+ piece auction of their products including the expensive gear. A very generous customer appreciation event. They give you a $50 off this is fraud just for showing up and the sale prices are terrific. I got the 5s for $330 plus tax down from $449 MSRP. Also, Franklin is a beautiful part of Tennessee. The audio club and I visited Jamie Tate's Rukkus Room studio and got a really fun tour and Jamie is a terrific host and storyteller.
What impressed me the most was TACT room correction software which they demonstrated with the TACt $15K piece but are currently building into their own HT processors in partnership with TACT's guy Boz. I think the first piece will be $1,500.
I also had heard good things about their pro monitors, the airmotiv series. I wound up buying the airmotiv 5 which has a 4" midrange and an AMT tweeter that goes up to 23K. Built in 100 watt amp which is split between HF and LF amp modules.
Its breaking in now in the background. I hooked up an Oppo 980H as a transport and then used a Black Cat Silverstar 75 ohm cable into my backup Benchmark DAC1 which has been updated and modded with Eichmann RCAs. Sounds great so far. The guys on Gearslutz say it takes around 1-2 weeks for the bass to level off and the highs to come down a bit. There is a slight smiley face out of the box. Sounding much better with 4 hours on it than out of the box. My wife and I wanted a system for the great room.
The mids and bass are fantastic and the AMT is improving with use. It's actually very clear. Imaging is superb.
They have a new Stealth series coming which will include a flagship Pro DAC, IEMs, over the ear cans, and some new Pro Stealth nearfields.
Here are a couple of reviews of the airmotivs.
Airmotiv 4
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-57...sktop-speaker/
Airmotiv 5
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content...nitor-speakers
That's awesome.
