Day one

Day one of any major hifi show is always interesting. By the time the door is open to the press or public, all the hard work and chaos of set up day is finished. Clothes are pressed, shoes cleaned, equipment's polished and running, the tunes have been selected. The music begins to play. Like any starting enterprise or activity, fresh, shiny and new is a combination of uncertainty and hopefulness: uncertain how things are going to play out, and hopeful you'll do better than imagined. Today is the first day of the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver. This year we're at a new venue called the Gaylord. This mega hotel and convention center complex near the airport reminds me more of Las Vegas than Colorado. Have a look: The Gaylord sits alone and completely out of place on the eastern prairie lands that define the beginnings of America's Great Plains. It wasn't that long ago in our country's history that westward-bound pioneers got their first views of the Rocky Mountains after their long journey from the East—and knew the hardest and most challenging terrain they would face lay due west. But, today, we're pioneers of a different sort. On display in our room are the new AN3 loudspeakers and Stellar Phono Preamplifier. And what a room! I'll have plenty of photos and stories yet to tell in the coming days. Hope to see you here!