RMAF 2016 Show Report
Seaton Sound
Rocky Mountain International Audio Fest & CanJam 2016
RMAF 2016 Show Report By Kemper Holt

  One picture tells the whole story in Mark Seaton's room, all the speakers are active so all you need to do is supply a source, and you're done. The Catalyst 8C towers ($6440 per pair), are tri-amplified using DSP crossovers to direct the three ICEpower amps to their proper driver, 500W to the woofers, 350W to the coaxial mid, and 150W to the tweeter. The 8" coaxial mid/tweeter is freshened up recently for smoother response, especially off axis.

The F18+ subwoofer, ($2295 each), houses an 18" high excursion driver with a Nomex/fiberglass cone, and a 4000 watt Class D amp which offers much better delivery of current into low impedance loads then typical of the genre. The F18+ allows for adding additional subs, non-powered slaves at ($1095 each) up to a total of four all being driven by the big amp in the F18+, a really great way to get a smoother and more equal bass response for more seats than just the sweet spot.

Mark added a MiniDSP Dirac series processor ($799) including the needed UMIK-1 microphone and used the built in Dirac Live room correction to tame room modes. A Baetis Audio Revelation II server completed the uncomplicated system.

Mark played Bela Fleck's "Sweet Pomegranates" at a fun (read loud) level, great bass extension and impact, good soundstage, kick ass dynamic swings, loads of detail especially in the treble, cymbal crashes come through very realistically. Bela's "Flight of the Cosmic Hippo" followed with more of the same comments in my notes. To stretch the limits of the system, (and the neighboring rooms), Mark selected "Jazz Variants" from the O-Zone Percussion Group, the bass drum hits were crushing as the room got pressurized, as well as my chest, not boomy at all, quick to stop with little overhang, all the percussion instruments were placed across the stage with specificity and clarity, just stunningly good playback of a song I know well. 

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