KEF Debuts New Finishes for Blade One Meta and Blade Two Meta

Sennheiser Drops HDB 630 Wireless Headphones

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T.H.E. Show 2019

TW-Acustic Raven GT II Turntable, Charisma and Miyajima Cartridges, Horning Aristotle Ellipse PM65 Speakers, Tron-Electric Atlantic Integrated SE amp and Convergence Signature Preamps, Silent Running Audio Scuttle and Ohio XL, etc.

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 11, 2019

Jeffrey Catalano has come cross-country to exhibit. I missed him at the last show. I simply must go to the High Water Sound room.

T.H.E. Show 2019

Arion Apollo Loudspeakers, LS-200 Linestage, 2A3 Tube Amplifiers, and HS-500 Hybrid Mono Amplifiers; EMM DA2 DAC; Wolf Alpha 3 Music Server; VPI HW-4 turntable, etc.

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 10, 2019

An intriguing system from MK Audio LLC of Charlotte, NC, brought to the fore Arion Audio’s nearly full-range AMT line-array Apollo System loudspeaker ($24,900/pair). The Apollos, which were paired with active subwoofers, claim an astounding 105dB sensitivity—sensitive enough to work with Triode Labs' 2A3 3.5W vacuum tube amplifiers (no price supplied). At least I think I was hearing the 2A3s, because also in the rack were Arion Audio’s LS-500 hybrid Class D amplifiers ($6995/pair). Preamplification was the company’s LS-200 hybrid line-stage ($3995).

T.H.E. Show 2019

CAD 1543 DAC Mk II, Audio Transport, Ground Controls, & Cabling; Aesthetix Mimas Integrated, Boenicke W8 SE speakers, Bibacord Interconnects, HRX SXR Rack

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 10, 2019

After trying more than once to get into the CAD room at Munich High End, I ended up hearing a significantly smaller version of their system in Long Beach. This time, the hybrid integrated amplifier was the excellent Aesthetix Mimas ($7000 without optional modules), which I’ve reviewed for the August issue of Stereophile, and the speakers the diminutive Swiss Boenicke W8 SE ($12,500).

T.H.E. Show 2019

EleKit TU-8600R integrated amplifier, Sparkler Audio S503 Spiral CD Player/Transport, AER Excenter Loudspeakers

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 10, 2019

You’re going to need to indulge me a bit, because, due to some communication difficulties, I’m not totally confident of some prices and components in this room. If I understood correctly, the handmade-in-Japan, 1-bit Sparkler Audio S503 CD Player/Transport costs $1650, and the build-it-yourself EleKit TU-8600R integrated amplifier, also from Japan, goes for $1785.

T.H.E. Show 2019

Evolution Acoustics Exact Maestoso Loudspeaker and Cabling, Dartzeel NHB Stereo Amp and Preamp, Wave Kinetics NVS turntable, Merging NADAC, Durand Tonearm

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 10, 2019

See that weird looking thing? It’s the outboard crossover to end all outboard crossovers, and it belongs to the relatively slim Evolution Acoustics Exact Series Maestoso 3-way loudspeaker system ($18,900). Heading an impressive and hardly bargain system from Blue Light Audio of Portland and The Audio Association of Anaheim Hills, the Maestoso made one of its first show appearances since I covered its debut at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest—was it three years ago?

T.H.E. Show 2019

Bowers & Wilkins 800D3 Speakers and DB1 Subwoofers, McIntosh C1100 Preamp, Aurender A30 Server, Solid Tech Racks, Synergistic Research AC Conditioner

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 09, 2019

When I entered my penultimate Scott Walker Audio room, Kevin Wolff of Bowers & Wilkins was playing outtakes from a 1989 recording by Branford Marsalis. The sound of Marsalis's sax was so distinctive and, to my ears, beautiful that I began to smile. (Trumpet was another instrument whose sound this system conveyed with perfection.) As Kevin segued into a 16/44.1 file of Thomas Dolby's "I Scare Myself," I scribbled in my notebook, "This is a system that reminds you of what the high end is all about."

T.H.E. Show 2019

Gryphon Pandora Preamplifier, Magico S5 MkII Speakers, Sonorus Reel-to-Reel Deck, Acoustic Signature Storm Turntable, Synergistic Research cables, Artesiana Racks

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 09, 2019

Oh boy, was soundstaging excitingly three-dimensional in the Scott Walker room that headlined Gryphon electronics. Listening to 15ips tapes played on a Sonorus reel-to-reel deck ($19,500) by Philip O'Hanlon, of Gryphon distributor On a Higher Note, the extraordinary depth on Sarah Vaughan's "When Your Lover Has Gone" certainly seized my attention.

T.H.E. Show 2019

VAC Master Signature Preamp, Magico M2 Speakers, MSB Premiere DAC, Synergistic Research Cables, Power Tech Stand

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 09, 2019

Tonal beauty, clarity, and transparency were just some of the hallmarks of a system that, to my ears, was musical to a "T." (Should that be "M"?) I loved the warm yet neutral sound of a recording by Ana CaramI detected no extra "tube-like" sweetness, for exampleand the system's ability to present music with a quality I can best describe as "grace": not scientific, I know, but when the spirit moves you, the least you can do is acknowledge it.

T.H.E. Show 2019

Magico A3 Speakers, Constellation Argo Amp, MSB Discrete DAC, Aurender ACS10 Server, Synergistic Research Accessories

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 08, 2019

In the second Scott Walker Audio room I visitedsince I visited five of them, I know it's going to start sounding like "Five power cables, four balanced interconnects, three phono cartridges, two mighty monoblocks, and a speaker shaped like a pear tree," but it really did sound like Christmas in most of these roomsthe Constellation Argo integrated amp ($29,000), Magico A3 Speakers ($12,300/pair), and MSB Discrete DAC ($12,500) vied for pride of place with an Aurender ACS10 server ($6000) and Synergistic Research PowerCell 12 UEF SE Power Conditioner ($6,495), Atmosphere cabling ($18,500), and various room acoustics products ($3,500), plus a Solid Tech Rack ($2,600).

T.H.E. Show 2019

Synergistic Research PowerCell AC Conditioner, McIntosh MC462 Amp, Elac Adante Speakers, Bluesound Streamer

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 08, 2019

Scott Walker Audio staked out its own mini-empire at the Hilton Long Beach, occupying six of the hotel's largest suites on the third floor. The first one I encountered revealed the inimitable Ted Denney of Synergistic Research staging a pretty ballsy demo. Ted set up two identical systems in adjacent rooms, both with a McIntosh C2600 tube preamp ($7500) and MC462 Amplifier ($9000), Elac Adante AF61 floorstanding speakers ($4995/pair), Bluesound Node 2i streamer ($500), and Solid Tech Rack ($2600). The difference was that one system took advantage of a Synergistic Research PowerCell 8 UEF SE power conditioner ($2995), new Synergistic Research entry-level Foundation interconnect and speaker cables plus UEF Blue power cords ($4000), and a host of various Synergistic Research room acoustic products ($6500), which in my experience are quite effective if nonetheless baffling to many.