Jason Victor Serinus

Nordost QNet network switch & QSource linear power supply
Miscellaneous
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Oct 05, 2022  |  90 comments
"A switch? Why do I need a switch?" That was my response to Meredith Gabor, head of marketing and PR for cable and accessories manufacturer Nordost, after she dropped the news. She had just arranged with Jim Austin for me to write a shorter, "ancillary" review of the new Nordost QNet Network Switch ($3199.99) with its optional QSource linear power supply ($2749.99) and premium QSource DC umbilical interface cables ($339.99 for 1m). Why did I need an expensive QNet switch when my router was functioning reliably? Good question.
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dCS Rossini Apex D/A processor
Digital Processor Reviews
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Sep 21, 2022  |  22 comments
The text, from Gary Bruestle, a speaker-positioning wizard at Definitive Audio in Seattle, left my mouth watering: "Have you heard the Apex version of a Rossini or Vivaldi yet? It's stunningly good. Addictive, even. ... I usually have a hard time relaxing and listening to music in the showroom, but the Rossini Apex DAC had me in its thrall for a few hours yesterday."
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September 2022 Classical Record Reviews
Music and Recording Reviews
Jason Victor Serinus, Stephen Francis Vasta  |  Sep 09, 2022  |  7 comments
Prism IV: Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Mahler: Symphony No.4, Žibuoklė Martinaitytė Ex Tenebris Lux and Consolations: Music by Bach, Chopin, Dushkin, Handel, Kreisler, Liszt, Massenet, and others.
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Octave Jubilee Mono SE monoblock power amplifier
Audacious AudioTube Power Amp Reviews
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Aug 26, 2022  |  67 comments
When I was a young man, blind dates were always laced with anxiety. (Proms were even worse. Once, when I arrived in a rented tux and my father's prized dress gloves, my date's father ordered me to take out the trash.)
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August 2022 Classical Record Reviews
Music and Recording Reviews
Kurt Gottschalk, Jason Victor Serinus, Stephen Francis Vasta  |  Aug 12, 2022  |  4 comments
Shiva Feshareki, Daphne Oram: Turning World, Mari Samuelsen: Lys, Maurice Ravel: Concertos Pour Piano, Mélodies, Shostakovich: Symphony No.11 and Various Artists: Creation.
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Rhapsody Out West: Alsyvox Botticelli, Pilium, Taiko, Esoteric, and Vyda
PAF 2022
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Aug 05, 2022  |  First Published: Aug 07, 2022  |  4 comments
One more straggling post from the Pacific Audiofest: As indicative of the New York / West Coast melting pot, internationalism was the bottom line in a system assembled by Bob Vineyard, proprietor of Rhapsody Out West's Portland, Oregon showroom.
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A Personal PAF Postscript
PAF 2022
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Aug 05, 2022  |  10 comments
So, just how hot was it? Residents of Florida, Texas, and other southern states may laugh, but the greater Seattle Area is ill-equipped to cope with temperatures that topped out at 96°. Nor could the poor Doubletree Hilton at SEATAC's air conditioning keep upper-floor hallways cool; those with glass-faced enclosures facing the sun reached fry-me-an-egg levels. At some hours of the day, the temperature in the elevator was ridiculous.
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The Pacific Audio Fest's Inaugural Outing
PAF 2022
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Aug 05, 2022  |  4 comments
How does anyone adequately and fairly evaluate a first-time audio show in a new location? Especially when it's handicapped by unusually hot, mid-90º weather and yet another COVID surge that was accompanied by admonishments to mask up indoors?

First, I rejoice that the show brought together so many old friends in such a convivial manner. A case in point: Marjorie Baumert, head of the former Rocky Mountain International Audio Fest (left above), headed west from Denver to support show organizers Gary Gill (right above) and Lou Hinkley (hard at work elsewhere) as volunteer coordinator. With such heart helping to guide the operation, the feeling in rooms and hallways was as positive as it gets.

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High End By Oz: Thrax Spartacus 300B amplification, Børresen 05 loudspeakers, and much more
PAF 2022
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Aug 05, 2022  |  2 comments
As at T.H.E. Show in Long Beach, I was smitten by the round, colorful, and illumined sound of Thrax Spartacus 300B monoblocks ($97,500/pair). Seduced, won over, serenaded into submission. And then some.
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ModWright Debuts its Analog Bridge
PAF 2022
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Aug 05, 2022  |  2 comments
If any company's sonic signature has changed from the first time I encountered it, it's Dan Wright's ModWright. While Dan still does tube modifications to products from other companies—his Cambridge CXN V2 Tube Modification ($1500/mod only) to the Cambridge DAC was part of the show system—the KWH225i class-AB Hybrid Integrated ($9750), PH9.0X Tube Phono Stage ($4750), and world debut Analog Bridge (maybe $2900/TBD) are 100% ModWright.
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