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T.H.E. Show Newport 2013

Wadia Does It All

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 04, 2013

Kevin Wolff of VANA Ltd., the US distributors of Vienna Acoustics and Primare products (left) joined Sunil Merchant (right) in his second Sunny Components room to show off the absolutely brand new, impressively slim and stylish Wadia Intuition 01 ($8500) shown atop the equipment rack. This new all-purpose baby combines 350 watts of class-D+ amplification with a 32-bit AD/DA digital preamp that, on USB, can decode both 384/32 and DSD files.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2013

The Marketplace Heats Up

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 04, 2013

“Get ‘em while they’re hot,” was the operative term at the sizable Marketplace off the Hilton lobby, as early attendees snatched up what they could while they still could.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2013

Reference Recordings’ Lovely Jan

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 04, 2013

The lovely Jan Mancuso, beautifully bedecked in bountiful floral bouquet, beams positive vibes throughout "The Marketplace" as she smilingly extols the praises of Reference Recordings’ ever-expanding catalog of superbly recorded classical, jazz, and blues, including Stereophile’s "Recording of May 2013," Doug MacLeod’s There’s a Time, which is now available on LP and which Jan co-produced.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2013

John Atkinson Sounds the Cowbell

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 04, 2013

Despite being the kick-off seminar presenter on Friday, and starting just one hour after the doors opened, John Atkinson herded almost a full house to "Garbage In, Garbage Out." An expanded version of a seminar he originally delivered at RMAF 2012, the description reads:
Making value judgments on audio components using commercial recordings has pitfalls that many writers gloss over. The way recordings are made drastically affects what you hear from your system, explains John Atkinson using his own recordings as examples.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2013

The Trumpet Shall Sound!

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 04, 2013

A trumpet fanfare? For the opening of the largest consumer audio show in North America, nothing less would suffice. As Bob Levi (right), President of the largest audio society in North America (or perhaps the entire galaxy), gave the cue, the ribbon could be cut and the music could pour forth. The trumpet player was William Artope Jr, whose band gave concerts later in the show.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2013

The Momentous Ribbon Cutting

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 04, 2013

You thought ribbon cutting was simple? Not when the esteemed ribbon cuttersfrom left to right, David Robinson (Positive Feedback On-Line, in white shirt), Michael Fremer (Stereophile and AnalogPlanet.com), Robert Harley (The Absolute Sound), and John Atkinson (Stereophile)were faced with 1001 photographers, a ribbon that looked as though it was manufactured of industrial-strength mylar, and a giant golden scissors that couldn’t cut its way out of a paper bag. No wonder Bob Levi of the Los Angeles & Orange County Audiophile Society (far left) and show organizer Richard Beers look relieved when the ribbon finally snapped.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2013

Holger Stein

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 04, 2013

Holger Stein (center), designer of the Stein Harmonizers that have such a baffling effect on system performance, was beaming in the Hilton lobby. Perhaps he was thinking about all the attention his new phono cartridge is getting.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2013

EveAnna Manley

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 04, 2013

Racing in shortly before the show was to begin, Manley Labs’ one-and-only EveAnna Manley was liberally dispensing hugs and smiles in the lobby.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2013

The Showman

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 04, 2013

Last year, after my photo of him briefing a cadre of adoring acolytes appeared on this site, Richard Beers forbid me to ever publish pictures of him that were taken unawares. So this time, with his full knowledge and consent, the miracle man whose expertise and persistence makes T.H.E. Show(s) possible, has allowed me to reveal to the world what he looks like at 10:12AM, before his 25th cup of coffee.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2013

The Lines at the Irvine Hilton

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 04, 2013

It was 10:10AM on Friday, 50 minutes before the start of the T.H.E. Show Newport Beach, and the lobby of the Hilton Irvine was abuzz with activity. Folks were standing 510 deep, in multiple lines, waiting to register or retrieve their pre-registration badges. Close by, at the entrance to the lobby, photographers for multiple publications and organizations were establishing turf, staking out the best spot for catching every smile, grimace, and nuance of the 10:30AM ribbon-cutting ceremony. And in the midst of it all, hotel visitors whose deepest association with audio is that it rhymes, more or less, with rodeo were eyeing the whole thing with a mixture of curiosity, incredulity, and downright dread.

Welcome to T.H.E. Show.