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T.H.E. Show Newport 2012

Positive Hospitality

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 07, 2012

More than Carol Clark's smiles were flowing in the Positive Feedback Online Hospitality Suite on the third floor. You could smell the spirits in the entryway, even before you got close enough to feel the positive spirit. I wish I could have stayed more than 90 seconds. But I doubt you would have gotten many more blogs out of this very light drinker if I had.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2012

Kim Wilson Photography

Stephen Mejias Jun 06, 2012

I was pleased to meet Home Theater’s Kim Wilson. If Kim’s not reviewing A/V receivers and preamp/processors, she might be taking lovely photographs of musical instruments, landscapes, city scenes, architecture, and more. During T.H.E. Show Newport, Kim had a small booth near the Atrium pool&#151not a bad way to spend a sunny weekend. You can see more of her work here.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2012

Babyjdrums Classic Vinyl and Audio

Stephen Mejias Jun 06, 2012

Jason Smith of Babyjdrums Classic Vinyl and Audio had tons of classical LPs for sale, almost all in pristine condition (many were even sealed), and at bargain basement prices. Smith also sells hi-fi out of his home; his brands include PTE, Musical Surroundings, Denon, Soundsmith, and Synergistic Research. And he’s a drummer, on tour this summer with the Albert Lee Band.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2012

Audio Note Meishu integrated amplifier

Stephen Mejias Jun 06, 2012

Audio Note’s Dave Cope was unusually glum: The E/SPe HE loudspeakers ($9650/pair; seen in a lovely Russian birch plywood) are designed to be positioned in the corners of a room, but doing so here, in the small Atrium suite, meant that they’d be tucked beneath a strange overhang that seemed to rob the speakers of their charm. The effect, however, was largely music-dependent and I nevertheless heard glimpses of Audio Note’s characteristic drama, tone color, and texture, albeit on a smaller scale. I have no reason to believe that this impressive system wouldn’t sound wonderful under better conditions.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2012

B.M.C.&#151Stage III&#151Tandem

Stephen Mejias Jun 06, 2012

John Atkinson reported on B.M.C.’s new Arcadia loudspeaker ($36,300/pair) from January’s CES. But B.M.C.’s Carlos Candeias has already upgraded his design with SpeakON connectors between the outboard crossovers and the speaker cabinets, improved internal wiring, and a revised magnet construction in the midrange drivers. In addition, the speaker’s spikes now screw directly into the speaker’s base for better grounding. The changes come at no additional cost. “We improved the model, but that doesn’t always mean you have to raise the price,” said Candeias.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2012

Audio Artistry CBT36

Stephen Mejias Jun 06, 2012

John Atkinson reported on Don Keele’s unusual constant-directivity CBT36 loudspeaker from last year’s Rocky Mountain Audiofest. At T.H.E. Show Newport, Keele and Marshall Kay, president of Audio Artistry, purposefully created an “economy system” (an iPad running Media Monkey, Benchmark DAC1, Crown preamp, ATI amplifier, Behringer DSP processor) to show how well the speaker could perform under sub-optimal conditions.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2012

Hi-Fi Chair

Stephen Mejias Jun 06, 2012

I sat in the Hi-Fi Company’s Hi-Fi Chair ($1500) and, while I immediately felt ridiculous, I also kinda sorta liked it. A lot.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2012

Bluebird Music

Stephen Mejias Jun 06, 2012

Bluebird Music’s Jay Rein was pleased to show the Spendor Classic SP2/3R2 loudspeaker ($4295/pair), which takes the tweeter from Spendor’s SA-1 and combines it with the company’s original BBC technology, construction, and design.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2012

A Winning Combination: Parasound–KEF–Wireworld

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 06, 2012

This system is worth learning about, because it nailed tonalities spot-on. After going room-to-room for three days, I assure you that getting tonality and timbre spot-on is no mean feat. In fact, it's a pretty elusive goal for most components.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2012

Midrange Bonanza from Fidelis

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 06, 2012

Walter Swanborn of Fidelis AV (pictured kneeling next to Holger Stein of Stein Music) hosted the North American debut of the Harbeth M30.1 monitor ($6495 in tiger ebony finish). Paired with the LFD NCSE 75 watt integrated amplifier with SE phono stage ($6295), Palmer 2.5 turntable with Audio Origami arm and Dynavector XX2 cartridge ($11,995), MSB Media Transport ($3995) and MSB Platinum Signature DACIV with Signature power supply ($17,500), the system produced the strongest and most predominant midrange of any I heard at T.H.E. Show Newport Beach.