In addition to building his SLA-powered electronics and making babies, Vinnie Rossi is now the new US distributor for WLM loudspeakers. How does he do it all? The front-ported Diva Monitor ($5000/pair) uses a paper-cone coaxial drive unit, has a handy tweeter control on its back panel, and is said to provide an impressive 95dB sensitivity.
I was pretty much stunned by the gorgeous Scheu Diamond ($2995 without tonearm). Standard finishes for this 'table are black, clear, blue (!), pink (!!), and gold glitter (!!!), but the one we see here, made special for the show, boasts an elegant wood finish. The Diamond uses an external motor with speed controls, and, as shown, sports a Schroeder Model 2 tonearm ($2450) and Allaerts Mk.2 cartridge ($5300). We listened to a couple of tracks off the excellent Fleet Foxes album, and I was impressed by the wide soundstage and overall smooth presentation.
Like me, Vinnie Rossi (left) has recently become heavily interested in vinyl. For the show, Vinnie teamed up with Tom Hills of Hudson Audio Imports, US distributor for Scheu-Analog turntables. You can't see it here in the picture, but a small and wonderful stack of vinyl LPs, including Leila's <i>Blood, Looms, and Blooms</i>, Iron and Wine's <i>Our Endless Numbered Days</i>, and the Buena Vista Social Club's recently released live album are waiting to be played.
At last year's CES, the crowds surrounding the Red Wine Audio room were so large and enthusiastic that I had very little opportunity to speak with Red Wine's owner, Vinnie Rossi. Here, at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, I decided to beat the crowds and make Red Wine Audio my first stop.
I would rather go to the dentist than go to the airport. I would rather go to the gym than go to the airport. I would rather go to <i>church</i> than go to the airport. The entire process—missing your train, waiting, waiting, getting there, finding your way around, checking in, going through security, getting undressed, removing your laptop, showing your identification to three different people, submitting to an additional random search, collecting your things, getting dressed again, sweating, crumpling your papers, making your way to the terminal, waiting, waiting, waiting, boarding the plane, waiting some more—is exhausting. But you know this. The flight was smooth, though terribly uncomfortable; either I have gained more weight than I realized, or planes are getting smaller.
We will have live coverage from the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest.
I first encountered Avalon Acoustics' loudspeakers about 20 years ago. The hi-fi shop I worked for sold Jeff Rowland Design Group electronics, and Jeff Rowland insisted that no loudspeaker better showcased his electronics than the Avalons. Rowland sent us a pair of Ascents, and we were startled by their gem-like, faceted cabinets and remarkable soundstaging. As we packed them up to return them to Colorado, I remember thinking, <I>I could live with these speakers.</I>
Last December, when Wadia Digital announced that it was releasing an iPod docking cradle that could access the digital signal <I>before</I> it had passed through the player's own D/A converter, many audiopundits were surprised. <I>I</I> was disbelieving, and nearly told Wadia's John Schaffer that he was shining me on. After all, Apple has tiptoed around the whole issue of consumers being able to digitally copy their iTunes files, going so far as to wrap its iTunes Music Store files in digital rights management (DRM) code.
And tomorrow we leave for Denver to cover "America's Audio Show," the <a href="http://audiofest.net/2008/">Rocky Mountain Audio Fest</a>.
John Lennon of the Beatles was born on October 9, 1940. He would have been 68 this week. To celebrate, Lyric Hi-Fi & Video (1221 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY) will be spinning Beatles and Lennon albums all day long, from 10am to 6pm. Fans are invited to stop by and enjoy.