Jason Victor Serinus

Ocean Audio: Finley Audio cables meet Serhan Swift speakers meet . . .
AXPONA 2023
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 19, 2023  |  1 comments
In the Ocean Audio room in which Finley Audio, Les Davis Audio, Small Green Computer, Serhan Swift loudspeakers, and Boulder Audio joined forces, my attention was first drawn to Serhan Swift of Sydney, Australia. In 2013, after nearly four decades of producing loudspeakers, Brad Serhan teamed up with Morris Swift of Oneaudio. As a follow-up to their active DSP Active loudspeaker, the men have created the mu2 Mk II passive loudspeaker ($7950/pair).
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Audio-Ultra showcases CH Precision and Magico
AXPONA 2023
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 19, 2023  |  12 comments
If you wanted to hear an admirably smooth, solid, all-of-one-piece system with a huge soundstage and extremely fast and firm bass, Ed DeVito's Audio-Ultra exhibit was one of the best to visit. It was also the only room where you could hear CH Precision gear with the latest upgrades and the diminutive Magico A1 standmount loudspeakers ($9400/pair in silver finish).
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Accuphase A300 monoblocks and other debuts from AXISS Audio USA
AXPONA 2023
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 19, 2023  |  6 comments
With the assumption of audiophile Cliff Duffey (above) as President of AXISS Audio USA (aka AXISS Distribution Inc.), and the addition of T.J. Goldsby as Vice President of Sales and Dealer relations, the company has added more lines than can comfortably fit into a headline.
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Next Level HiFi & Børreson's new X3 loudspeaker
AXPONA 2023
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 19, 2023  |  1 comments
Børresen has sprung a welcome surprise on audiophiles. Long known for its expensive loudspeakers, Michael Børresen's Danish speaker company has launched the X3 loudspeaker ($11,000/pair). Exhibited by Next Level HiFi, which sells products from Audio Group Denmark, the speaker excelled in a snappy yet pleasing three-dimensional presentation, highlighted by the company's fabled huge soundstage.
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Estelon and Vitus Audio Lead the Way with a Million Dollar System
AXPONA 2023
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 15, 2023  |  5 comments
There's nothing quite like starting off the show with a million dollar system. Holding court in the huge Schaumburg D partition of the Convention Center, the imposing Estelon Extreme Mk II bi-amped loudspeakers ($269,000/pair) received their juice from two Vitus Audio MP-S201 Mk I stereo amplifiers ($230,000/total) via Crystal Cable Art Series cabling ($330,000). But they were just the start of a system where each amplifier required three power cables, put out up to 500W/pc into 8 ohms and 1000W into 4, and weighed more than I can type without getting back spasms. (Okay: Each weighs 125kg. I don't dare convert that to lb.)
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AXPONA 2023 Starts Tomorrow
AXPONA 2023News
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 13, 2023  |  3 comments
AXPONA (Audio Expo North America), the largest audio show in North America, will get underway April 14–16 in the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center in the Chicago suburbs. As exhibitors begin the often challenging task of assembling their gear, Jim Austin, Ken Micallef, Michael Trei, Rogier van Bakel, et moi prepare ourselves for the discoveries that lie ahead.
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Karan Acoustics Master Collection POWERa Mono power amplifier
Audacious AudioSolid State Power Amp Reviews
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 13, 2023  |  24 comments
It began with a bad outlet. Perhaps two weeks after my husband and visiting friend created several delightful holiday light displays in the living room, one of the living room outlets died. Every time I tried to plug in part of the light show, it, along with the living room sound system and reading lights, lost power. If the Grinch didn't exactly steal Christmas, he sure tried to guarantee it would arrive silently under the cover of darkness.

I moved fast. Distributor Wynn Wong would arrive from Toronto in less than a month, to install two Serbian-made Karan Acoustics POWERa monoblocks ($106,000/pair) for review. These monoblocks weigh an astounding 231lb each, with a shipping weight of 286lb; each contains two 2700VA toroidal transformers and a 210,000µF bank of custom capacitors. Each monoblock requires two 15A power cables, one for each amplifier stage.

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April 2023 Classical Record Reviews
Music and Recording Reviews
Jason Victor Serinus, Stephen Francis Vasta  |  Apr 06, 2023  |  2 comments
Dvořák: Violin Concerto, Trio Op.65; David Del Tredici: Pop-Pourri, Adventures Underground; Schumann: Piano Works.
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Esoteric Grandioso M1X monoblock power amplifier
Audacious AudioSolid State Power Amp Reviews
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Mar 24, 2023  |  15 comments
At AXPONA 2022, I eagerly headed to the Esoteric exhibit, where I spoke with Keith Haas, national sales manager of 11 Trading Company, Esoteric's US distributor. When I learned of the forthcoming Grandioso M1X monoblock ($35,500 each), the culmination of a complete revision of the company's top-selling M1 monoblock (now discontinued), I worked with Haas and Editor Jim Austin and set up a review.
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Recording of April 2023: Stravinsky: Violin Concerto & Chamber Works
Recording of the Month
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Mar 15, 2023  |  7 comments
Stravinsky: Violin Concerto & Chamber Works
Isabelle Faust, violin; Les Siècles, François-Xavier Roth, cond.
Harmonia Mundi 902718 (reviewed as 24/96 WAV download). 2023. Jiri Heger, prod.; Aurélien Bourgois & Alix Ewald, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½

You might think that by 1931—the year Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) completed his unforgettable Violin Concerto in D Major—orchestral instruments were the same as those used today. Far from it. According to the website of Claire Givens Violins, pure-gut D strings began to disappear after WWI and were wound with aluminum after WWII. Gut A strings ceded to synthetics in 1970, and gut E strings transitioned to steel between 1910 and WWII. With no consistency between modern orchestras, the string sections we hear in live performances and on electrical recordings set down since 1926 are, for the most part, a grab bag. Wind instruments and pianos have changed as well, and halls have increased in size and pitch has risen. Put all that together, and you can well understand why this "period instrument" recording of music Stravinsky completed between 1907 and 1931 is a revelation.

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