Hegel H150 Integrated Amplifier Officially Announced

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Florida Audio Expo 2023

Focal, Naim & the Focal Stone8 Outdoor Speaker

Rogier van Bakel Feb 21, 2023

One new Focal product was present at the Florida show, sitting on the floor in a corner: the Littora 200 OD Stone 8 outdoor loudspeaker ($799 each), shaped like a roughly 17" pebble. Littoras are "designed for listening in marine, coastal and wet settings," says Focal. Oddly, an indented band of indeterminate function runs around the back of the speaker's faux-stone enclosure, doing nothing to make the model 8 seem like a naturally-occurring object. Humph.

Florida Audio Expo 2023

More Headphones: Warwick Acoustics, Aperio, Bravura, Sonoma

Rogier van Bakel Feb 20, 2023

While my collection of personal audio is pretty much complete (with high-end entries from HiFiMan, Audeze, Focal, and Sennheiser), I'd consider an addition from Britain's Warwick Acoustics if I were currently in the market for further headphone bliss. Warwick's Aperio Black (above)a $32,000 combo of a balanced electrostatic amp/energizer plus an accompanying open-back headsetis near the top of Mount Olympus.

Florida Audio Expo 2023

Headphones in Florida: Moon Audio, Auris, Aurender, Chord, Audeze

Rogier van Bakel Feb 20, 2023

A friend had advised me to go listen to the single-ended Auris Nirvana IV headphone amplifier ($5700), deeming it "in some ways" an improvement over Auris's beloved Headonia model. Mission accepted.

Florida Audio Expo 2023

Von Schweikert Audio, VAC, Synergistic Research, and Scott Walker Audio

Rogier van Bakel Feb 20, 2023

On the third and last day of the Florida Audio Expo, I realized I hadn't listened to Von Schweikert speakers in donkey's years. With only 35 minutes to spare till closing time, I made my way to the third-floor room where, according to the show literature, I should hear a pair of Von Schweikert Endeavor floorstanders ($31,000) being driven by a generous complement of multikilobuck tube components. Sure enough, the candy-apple-red speakers were there, tethered to a VAC Master Signature preamp ($44,000 with a phono stage), and from there to VAC Master 300 monoblocks ($74,000/pair). The $36,000 VPI Avenger Direct turntable was in repose when I arrived, ceding front-end honors to a $28,000 Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Reference 3.

Florida Audio Expo 2023

Børresen, Aavik, and Ansuz

Rogier van Bakel Feb 19, 2023

No hyperbole, no exaggeration: This morning, a pair of Danish speakers made me cry. Not mainly because of the hole they'd be burning in my meager finances if I actually shelled out the $100,000 needed to own them, but because of the emotions they evoked . . . without even seeming to break a sweat.

What's extra crazy is that the song that made my eyes well up wasn't some audiophile chestnut.

Florida Audio Expo 2023

Endow Audio, Bravura, Hegel, iFi

Rogier van Bakel Feb 19, 2023

At 32, David Strunk is one of the younger designers and entrepreneurs at the Florida showand yet he's somewhat of a veteran. Strunk started seriously tinkering with electronics and audio when he was still in britches. Four years ago, he and his father, Tim, started Endow Audio with a hugely ambitious goal: redefining high-end speakers' capacity for sounding just like live music.

Florida Audio Expo 2023

Gershman Acoustics, VAC, EMM Labs, Wolf Audio, Cardas

Rogier van Bakel Feb 19, 2023

Mind if I slap some quick virtual labels on Gershman Acoustics' $17,000 pair of Grande Avant Garde speakers? From my notes: "Very big-sounding for small floorstanders." "Their brawn belies their size." "Elegant overachievers."

They're all that...

Florida Audio Expo 2023

AV Luxury Goods: Raidho and Margules

Rogier van Bakel Feb 18, 2023

If you're pressed for time at a busy audio show, it can be a mistake to walk into a room just to say hi to an industry contact. Should the music speak to you, and the sound is dead-on, you may succumb to the temptation to sit down for a longer-than-expected listen. That's what occurred this morning. You know what? I regret nothing.

Mexican electronics company Margules and Denmark's Raidho speakers, both brands represented by distributor Bruce Ball's AV Luxury Goods, have a rare synergy.

Florida Audio Expo 2023

On A Higher Note: Graham Audio, Moonriver, Bergmann, Cardas

Rogier van Bakel Feb 18, 2023

It's a personal thing, perhaps a shortcoming: I don't care for harps, having never heard a piece of harp music I found appealing. Truthfully, that didn't suddenly change when I heard French Canadian harpist Isabeau Corriveau perform in the Embassy Suites room outfitted with hi-fi gear from On a Higher Note, distributor Philip O'Hanlon's company. (O’Hanlon can be seen on the right in the photo.) But Corriveau is a fetching presence and a helluva musician, and it was impressive to listen to her play along to A Leap of Faith, a vinyl disc of her own music. With eyes closed, I had a hard time reliably delineating the sonic boundary between live instrument and recorded music.

Florida Audio Expo 2023

Fidelity Imports, Q Acoustics, Audia Flight, Unison Research, Perlisten, and Soulnote

Rogier van Bakel Feb 18, 2023

Remarkably, much of the Embassy Suites' 10th floor was taken up by relative newcomer Fidelity Imports, an import and distribution company started four years ago by industry veteran Steve Jain, who'd held management positions at Klipsch and Pioneer. Jain, 46, likes to move fast. After first signing three British companies in short orderCyrus Audio (amplification), Q Acoustics (speakers), and QED Cable (duh)he looked to other parts of the globe for further expansion. These days, his stable includes 17 brands, including Slovakia's Neo (high-end audio racks), Italy's Audia Flight (amps, preamps, CD players), and Japan's Soulnote (amplifiers and other stereo components).