After listening to the Maggies in both rooms at The Show Newport 2015, I had to sit down with Wendell and ask a few questions about these speakers. The .7s were on point in every possible way. The top end was detailed without sounding thin and the midrange was to die for. The bass was surprising in even the larger room and I could recommend these speakers to anyone without an ounce of hesitation! Definitely worth checking out!

Magnepan flexed its muscles with the all new Maggie .7s in two different rooms this year. These ultra thin speakers gave a good helping of the maggie magic without breaking the bank and supplied enough bass to satisfy especially in smaller or medium sized rooms. I took the time to chat with Alon Moscovitch – President and Owner of Shelley’s Stereo and covered the ins and outs their room. Priced at $1400, these speakers are tough to beat!

For those who appreciate the sense of accomplishment in making something that not only sounds fantastic but also leaves some cash in your wallet, bottlehead.com is the way to go. Making a serious statement this year at The Show, Dan brought out the big guns with their beautiful 10k amplifier powerful enough to run sensitive speakers. Cant handle the price of admission? No problem! Bottlehead has DIY kits that start as low as $99! Definitely on my radar to check out!

Spending $1,500 on a pair of loudspeakers is within the realm of possibility for some people, and the Spatial M3’s are so good at this price, that I am going to push Clayton Shaw for a review pair. No DSP nonsense. No squaky top end that sounds like someone is honking a bicycle horn. These loudspeakers were probably my favorite “Go-To” pair at the show and really piqued my interest as far as open baffle loudspeakers are concerned. The Spatial room combined reasonably priced electronics and an affordable cable loom from Anti-Cable, creating an overall package that I could have listened to for hours on end.

The M3’s top end was super detailed and crystal clear, yet the overall sound had just enough meat on the bones to keep these rather large floorstanders from sounding sterile or thin. The power amplification provided by Red Dragon had more than enough wattage to drive these engaging loudspeakers and the M3s handled dynamics with aplomb. Superb fidelity from a truly impressive new loudspeaker from Spatial Audio and sold factory direct. Keep up the great work Clayton!

Stepping into the Chapman room I expected great sound and John Gilmour delivered the goods. The mighty T5’s custom tribute edition sounded glorious, dynamic and ready for battle. Their are few in the industry that really know how to dial in a speaker like Mr. Gilmour and this was no exception. The stage provided by the T-5s was wide, deep and detailed. The blood pumping through the veins of the T-5’s was supplied by new comers Ampsandsound. As I sat down expecting high dollar prices thrown my way, Justin Weber replied with a ridiculous low price of $2400/show price for the PAIR of Casablanca monoblocks.

Ampsandsound.com, you are coming in loud and clear. You have my attention…

Legacy Audio teamed up with PS Audio to provide 2 of the best sounding rooms at The Show. I took a few minutes to chat with Bill Dudleson about the Aeris and V Speaker systems. The sound pouring from both speakers through the weekend was lifelike, cohesive and engaging. As I listened to the V’s, I didn’t hear a giant pair of speakers in front of me, I heard a musical experience I wont forget for many years to come.

Todd and Trevor Ryan brought the R630s to the show proving they know a thing or two about building a speaker worth chatting about. Teaming up with Auralic, they had the room thumping with good tunes and left ears satisfied with great tone and texture. While this room was a tad narrow for my taste, they still managed to create a wide enough soundstage to convince the R630’s can easily keep up with the big dogs. If you didn’t catch our review of the R610’s, here it is!

“Lounge Audio” is a familiar phrase at New Record Day. In fact, its often the subject of conversation even on a daily basis as the emails pour in. My review of the Lounge phono preamp has encouraged newcomers to the vinyl show and inspired many to dust off their old Technics and Duals. Bottom line, The Lounge MKIII is affordable and sounds awesome. Making its debut appearance at the show,  Robert walks us through the brand new Copla! For those who wanna hang onto the Lounge and move into the realm of Moving Coils, this is nothing but good news for you and your wallet.

I had a chance for a second helping of the Wilson sound at The Newport Show. When I first heard the Wilson’s at RMAF 2014, I wasnt all that blown away. Sunil and Scott Hicks from Sunny Components Inc. apparently have some tricks up their sleeved cause this room sounded fantastic. Check them out!

If taking out a second mortgage isn’t an option for a pair of Wilson’s, Sunny Components took the time to setup a room that starts the party with Golden Ear Triton’s that retail $2200/pair. Backing these sexy sounding speakers, Sunny used T+A to supply the goods and they delivered music without compromise. I take a moment and chat with Scott Hicks and cover the ins and outs of the room and learn a little bit more about what brought Sunny Components out to the show!

Chris from High Fidelity Cables spent most of the time hanging outside of the room demonstrating just how relevant their unique technology actually is. While their are some skeptics, I am certainly a believer and love what they bring to the industry… MORE music! Keep up the good work HFC!