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AXPONA 2016

Moving on Up at AXPONA

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 19, 2016

From left to right: Larry Marcus president of Paragon Sight Sound, Nick Doshi of Doshi Audio, Dave Wilson, Peter McGrath, John R. Quick, dCS America, Jon Zimmer of Transparent Audio.

At an after-hours press listening session sponsored by Paragon Audio/Video of Michigan, Dave Wilson was in a major upbeat mood for the show premiere of Wilson Audio's new Alexx loudspeaker ($109,000/pair). . . The Alexx, Wilson's successor to the MAXX 3, acquitted itself admirably through the Doshi Audio 3.0 line stage, 3.0 phono stage, and 3.0 tape stage ($16,999/each), as well as their Jhor mono amplifiers ($29,995/pair); dCS Vivaldi digital system ($115,000 total); Transparent Opus cabling and power conditioning ($208,360 total) along with an extra-long version of John Marks' Esperanto Audio Small-Batch S/PDIF cable on Peter McGrath's Sound devices portable digital.

AXPONA 2016

More Saturday Fun at AXPONA from Herb

Herb Reichert Apr 19, 2016

Audio shows are tribal gatherings and, when they are going strong, they can become musical hoedowns. At every one of these tribal gatherings you can find Peter McGrath and Wilson Audio Specialties making the biggest campfire and singing the best songs. Why? Because they can. Decades of experience have made Wilson demos the Big Eventand this year's version, presented by dealer Paragon Sight and Sound, may have been the best ever. They introduced the new Wilson Alexx speaker($109,000/pair). Was it amazing? Of course it was. It was powered by a range of Doshi Audio tube electronics which appeared to do their jobs on some newer, higher level than I am used to.

AXPONA 2016

Saturday at AXPONA with Herb

Herb Reichert Apr 18, 2016

I was talking to a couple of oldster audiophiles standing outside the glass-walled Woo Audio room. They were raving about some Von Schweikert Audio speakers when I interrupted them to ask, "Have you heard the Abyss headphones?" They laughed and smirked

AXPONA 2016

AXPONA: Jason's Friday Finish

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 18, 2016

I scored big this year, because my floors included High Water Sound's room. As usual, Jeffrey Catalano was a breath of fresh air, playing LPs of music not encountered in other rooms

AXPONA 2016

AXPONA: Herb's Friday Postlude

Herb Reichert Apr 17, 2016

I always laugh at Andrew Jones's demonstrations, because every time he plays some bass-slamming blockbuster, the curtains behind the speakers start flapping in the breeze from the force and velocity of the speaker's rear port.

AXPONA 2016

AXPONA: Herb's First Day

Herb Reichert Apr 17, 2016

Because the energy is so strong, I always feel drawn to these rooms, and once there, I lose time, spend money, and feel young again

AXPONA 2016

AXPONA: Lower Level Vistas

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 17, 2016

Once Pro Musica Chicago discovered that one of the electrical outlets in their room was severely handicapped, as it were, and switched to another, the VTL TL5.5 preamp with phono stage ($10,500) and VTL S200 power amp ($12,500) delivered eminently neutral sound

AXPONA 2016

AXPONA's Solid Start

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 16, 2016

Even before 10am had rolled around on opening day, eager audiophiles were obtaining badges in the lobby of the Westin O'Hare

News

Hitting Mailboxes and Newsstands Today: the May Issue

Stereophile Staff Apr 16, 2016

The least-expensive Wilson speaker and the most-expensive Vandersteen speaker go head-to head in the May issue, accompanied by reviews of PS Audio's affordable DSD DAC, Schiit's high-value Ragnarok integrated amplifier, Luxman's high-performance EQ-500 phono preamplifier, Vandersteen's unique monoblock amplifier . . .

Fred Kaplan

For Record Store Day: Dave Douglas, Dark Territory

Fred Kaplan Apr 16, 2016

First things first. Yes, Dave Douglas named his new album, Dark Territory, after my new book of the same title. This may seem odd: my book is about the history of cyber war; Douglas' album is a deep-dive exploration of improvisation, composition, and technology in the risky corners of jazz and electronica. But in an email sent out by his self-owned label, Greenleaf Music, he explains that both works are about "similarly mysterious murky waters of underground activity" and that he found my title fitting because, like the characters in my book, he and his band are "playing through a similar territory without rules where the dangers and challenges of technology are much greater than normal."