Vivid Audio Introduces Giya Cu Loudspeakers

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

Sennheiser Drops HDB 630 Wireless Headphones

Sponsored: Radiant Acoustics Clarity 6.2 | Technology Introduction

PSB BP7 Subwoofer Unveiled

Apple AirPods Pro 3: First Impressions

LATEST ADDITIONS

AXPONA 2023

Ultra Fidelis impresses with Vandersteen, HRS, and more

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 21, 2023

Harmonic Resolution Systems (HRS) unveiled its new, significantly less expensive EXR-1921-4V audio stand ($7795) at AXPONA. (I'd originally seen this stand at Definitive Audio's private Music Matters event in Seattle.) Put to good use in the Ultra Fidelis Room, it joined HRS's SXR-1921-5V audio stand ($11,550/frame), M3X2-1921 isolation base ($3995), R3X-1921 isolation base ($1975), and Vortex V150 isolation feet ($1630/set) to support a system that included Vandersteen M5HPA High Pass Amplifiers ($16,800/pair) and Kento Carbon loudspeakers ($41,700/pair)...

AXPONA 2023

Nordost partners with VTL, VPI, dCS, and Stenheim for JVS's Best of Show

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 20, 2023

I'd encountered the pairing of room sponsor Nordost with VTL electronics and Stenheim loudspeakers in this very same room last year. But this time, with one more year to learn how to tame an extremely large, semi-intractable listening space, set-up wizard Stirling Trayle scored a bullseye.

AXPONA 2023

Callas and SotM Surprise at AXPONA

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 20, 2023

As much as I was aware of the dizzying array of diminutive, Korean-made SOtM (Soul Of the Music) components, each identified by a different difficult-to-type assortment of upper and lower case letters plus numbers and dashes, I did not expect them to sound as good as they did. Allied to K Sound Lab's Callas Nostalgia Jr. loudspeakers ($26,990/pair), manufactured by a 25-year old company that is reportedly well known in Korea, the system displayed lovely colors, a rounded midrange, and enviable clarity on a file of "I am at Ease in the Arms of a Woman."

AXPONA 2023

Krell with Magico: Grounded, Clear, Smooth, and Solid

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 20, 2023

Add the phrase, "with extended low bass" and you've got a sense of the sound in the Krell room. Paired with Magico A5 loudspeakers ($28,000/pair), Krell's Vanguard DAC ($7500), KSA-i400 stereo amplifier ($36,500), and Anti-Cables, the system produced deep bass drums with excellence.

AXPONA 2023

MBL: That says it all

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 20, 2023

There were no surprises in the two adjacent MBL rooms jointly presented with Kyomi Audio. Sitting in the sweet spot before the big system, spaciousness and transparency were superb on an older modern instrument recording of Bach's Concerto for Oboe and other instruments. Ditto for Dolly Parton's adorable "Love is Like a Butterfly," which sounded simply and utterly beautiful.

AXPONA 2023

VANA Shows European Audio Team (EAT), Grimm, Atlas Cables, Ferrum, and Marten

Ken Micallef Apr 20, 2023

VANA CEO Roy Feldstein worked a room at AXPONA, no bells and whistles, no crazy demos or static displays. Roy simply plays the kind of solid gear that he excels in distributing, including European Audio Team (EAT), Kyomi Audio, Grimm Audio, Atlas Cables, Ferrum, Jorma and Marten loudspeakers, and Rekkord turntables.

AXPONA 2023

JBL: (Still) Rocking in the Free World

Ken Micallef Apr 20, 2023

A classic American brand, as flag-waving as the Fourth of the July, with an impressive history as a US industrial giant, all ears perk up when new JBL product is announced. Today's declaration brought to you by AXPONA: the new JBL 4329P Studio Monitor ($4500/pair).

AXPONA 2023

KLH Introduces the Model Seven Speaker

Ken Micallef Apr 20, 2023

Robert Schryer reviewed the KLH Model Three ($1799/pair) in December 2022; I reviewed the KLH Model Five ($1998/pair) in September 2021we each loved our respective pairs.

There's something honest and immediate about the revived KLH lineup; it feels right, looks right"mid-century modern!" says Don Draperand most importantly, sounds right. These are no-nonsense transducers that make exceptional music with most upstream components.

AXPONA 2023

Innuos Introduces the Pulsar

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 20, 2023

As I continue work on a follow-up review of the Next-Gen Power Supply Upgrade to the Innuos Statement music server and streamer ($21,700), Innuos has released its new Pulsar Network music player + USB reclocker ($6899). A stripped-down version of the flagship Statement, the Pulsar lacks both a ripper and internal storage. What it boasts instead is over 130,000µF of Mundorf capacitors, a large high-end inductor, and an audio-grade, 300VA toroidal transformer. The Pulsar favors its optimized USB output with reclocking over its non-dedicated USB, and lacks S/PDIF and AES/EBU outputs.

AXPONA 2023

Hear This with WestminsterLab and Von Schweikert Audio

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 20, 2023

Several surprises awaited in the AXPONA room sponsored by Gary Leeds's Hear This, North American distributor of WestminsterLab, and Von Schweikert Audio in association with Lampizator, NA and Small Green Computer. (Bonus points if you can read that out loud on one breath.) First was the "hard launch" of equipment from WestminsterLab: the Rei monoblock ($32,900/pair), which despite the title is not recommended for summer hikes in Yosemite, and Quest balanced preamplifier with full carbon-fiber component shielding upgrade ($25,100, or $22,900 in basic configuration). Next were the speakersnot the usual behemoths usually transported to shows by Von Schweikert Audio, but rather their smaller Endeavor SE ($27,000/pair plus eight Critical Mass Systems footers that cost $650 each).