LATEST ADDITIONS

Beyoncé: Cowboy Carter; Various Artists: We Still Can't Say Good Bye: A Musicians' Tribute to Chet Atkins; Old 97's: American Primitive.

I cannot recall a single instance where I was less than thoroughly satisfied—thrilled, usually—by the sound Marten loudspeakers made at shows. Given how tricky show set-up often is, Marten’s track record of stellar sound is no mean achievement.

Triode Japan premiered two products at High End Munich: the Triode Evolution Pre Preamplifier and the Triode Evolution Musashi Integrated Amplifier ($10,830). The latter runs in class AB in a push-pull configuration, outputting 100Wpc into 8 ohms. It uses four KT 150 and four 12AU7 tubes for its power and pre stages, respectively.

Jazz leads a hand-to-mouth existence. It was born in the red light district of New Orleans in the early 20th Century, and has never fully overcome its disreputable origins. Jazz lacks the support from governments, foundations, and rich donors that other, more decorous art forms enjoy. Jazz is too much of the street to be considered high culture, yet its audience is tiny compared to the masses who consume popular music. Pop stars like Taylor Swift perform in huge stadiums. Important jazz musicians play the Bar Bayeux in Brooklyn.

In the Tune Audio/Trafomatic room, the Tune Audio Marvel (€15,840/pair), a 97dB, 8 ohm nominal, two-way, horn loaded loudspeaker, stood sci-fi bold and fantastic looking in slate gray with a candy apple red horn. The Marvel’s single 8" full range driver joined to a folded back-horn was paired to a 1" compression driver given expression by an epoxy compound tractrix horn.

I get excited when a room showing “budget" gear knocks me for a loop. As is sometimes the case, a well-curated, carefully set up budget system can make music in spades, hitting the high notes of tone, staging, and dynamics.

I know from experience that the manner in which a sound system occupies its environment affects every listening session, its feel and its quality. Which is what first attracted my attention to Fern & Roby products: This is serious, quality audio gear that looks elegant and unpretentious. The component I'm about to describe, Fern & Roby's new, $8500 Amp No. 2 integrated amplifier, is bureau friendly. It looks more stylish than tech-savvy, and it is not big or heavy, but its sound quality would put the sound of many amp farms to shame. A system consisting of an Amp No. 2, a pair of Raven speakers, and a Montrose turntable exemplifies owner-founder Christopher Hildebrand's materials-based, simple-is-better, form-follows-function design ethic.