• "GPAF 2006", by Deborah Larson
  
• "Great Plains AudioFest 2006 Thank you!", by Bob Spence
  
• "GPAF 2006", by Bill Agee
  
• "GPAF 2006 Review", by Akhilesh Bajaj
  
• "GPAF Update and Comments", by Jim Griffin
  
• "Thanks Wayne", by Shane Moore
  
• "More Great Plains photos", by Jim Rivers
  
• "Does Wayne Parham know?", by Jim Rivers

Audio Note was represented by Mario Binner, who flew overseas to attend the show. He is a very gracious fellow, and quite knowledgable in his product line and audio in general. I was very impressed with Mr. Binner.

Mario Binner standing beside an Audio Note Sound System

Audio Note sent a very good mid-level system. I say "mid-level" because to Audio Note, that's what it was. They have various price points from around a thousand dollars to several hundred thousand dollars, so this system was towards the lower end of their price scale.

In fact, the preamplifier sent was damaged so I loaned them my Audio Note Kit 2, an entry-level amplifier. It sounded very nice to my ears, and many others commented how well the Audio Note room sounded. The rest of the system consisted of AN-E/Spe Speakers, a CDT2 MkII CD transport, DAC2.1x Signature DAC and TT2 Turntable with an ARM2 tonearm and an IQ3 cartridge.

Audio Note

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Abraxas Audio is the brain child of Jef Larson, who came and brought his lovely wife Deborah. They're really special at GPAF every year; Jef did a wonderful seminar on tube amp construction and Deborah always fills the halls with her warm smile. She even brought around some goodies to eat - Thanks Deborah!

Jef and Deborah Larson

Jef Larson makes each amplifier by hand, so each is an individual work of art. You would think that would mean each amplifier must cost several thousand dollars, but that's not the case. They are actually very inexpensive. In fact, on Sunday, Jef offered a special deal - An abraxasaudio amp and Brines speakers for $999. Amazing!

The abraxasaudio room sounded great, as always. It was one of the most popular rooms of the show!

abraxasaudio tube amplifiers

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Regards, Ron

Have not received it from the guy yet. Some tech details.

Ping

• http://www.sonicflare.com/archives/diy-quick-divorce.php

There were two Great Plains Audio Club rooms this year at GPAF, one run by Mark Margiota and another by Akhilesh Bajaj. Mark's room was virtually a second Audio Note room because his system contains a lot of Audio Note gear. It was a great sounding room, as always!

Mark Margiotta, ready to spin another disc

Mark has an excellent record collection, literally hundreds and hundreds of pressings, many very rare and most in great shape. So he not only prides himself in having a great system, but also for having lots of good software to use on it. The system consists of Audio Note Conquest 300B monoblocks with WE tubes, AN/e LX loudspeakers, AN LX speaker cables and ANVx interconnects, Audible Illusions Modulus 3A preamp, Meridian 508.24 CD Player and a Sota Comet turntable with Audioquest PT-6 tonearm and Sumiko Blue Point Special cartridge.

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Skip and Charlie discussing the Squeezebox digital audio server

Skip Pack setup a system entirely home made, and some of his gear is pretty sophisticated. The source is a laptop computer acting as a file server, connected through wireless 802.11g router to a Squeezebox. The Squeezebox system provides a user interface and DAC, and requests song files from the computer. Its (digital or) analog audio output is connected to an amplifier, a DIY GainClone in this case. With this setup, Skip sends sound remotely throughout his home without the need for physical connections. The speakers are Studio Series two π Speakers, built from a kit and modded with audiophile crossover components.

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MaxxHorn Immersion Loudspeaker
BassMaxx horn sub in background

Rhino Acoustics brought their newest creation to GPAF - A home hifi speaker called Immersion. Not only did it sound great, but it looked stunning. Rhino Acoustics is best known for their BassMaxx prosound horn subwoofers, and they brought one of those to GPAF too. The Immersion sounded just fine without a sub, but what's the fun in that?

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Azzolina Audio's Charlie Azzolina-Michlin

Azzolina Audio makes some very fine products, a whole line, in fact. The Basso basshorn is based on the Klipsch LaScala design, with the rear chamber ported for greater extension. The Alto mid/high horn is a large format horn using a Lowther driver and Le Cleac'h expansion. But Charlie didn't stop there, in fact, he specializes in triode amps, introducing the Soprano line stage, Baritone triode push-pull main amp and Tenor USB DAC. Now are you ready for this? Azzolina Audio brought these to market in an amazing seven months! But don't take that to mean Charlie is new to this, no sir. Charlie has been building and designing tube amps and audio gear for years so this was a natural extension of his audio passions. Good work, Charlie!

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