Apple AirPods Pro 3: First Impressions

Sponsored: Radiant Acoustics Clarity 6.2 | Technology Introduction

Hegel H150 Integrated Amplifier Officially Announced

Sonus faber Announces Amati Supreme Speaker

FiiO M27 Headphone DAC Amplifier Released

Audio Advice Acquires The Sound Room

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T.H.E. Show 2019

Ayon Epsilon Gen 4 mono amps, Auris preamp, CD35, and S-10, Lumenwhite Kyara Speakers, BBS Audio Racks

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 12, 2019

I visited three large rooms on the second floor, and of which suffered from the same serious problem: soft convention-type moveable air walls whose porous surfaces and interior reek havoc with soundwaves and let sound bleed between rooms.

T.H.E. Show 2019

Wells Audio Innamorata II Level II Amplifier and Commander Level III Line Stage, Usher Mini Two Loudspeakers, and Verastarr Cabling

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 11, 2019

Dragon, Commander, Innamorata . . . did you ever get the feeling that Jeff Wells wants you to know that Wells Audio means business?

Not that you needed to heed the names: The sound was sufficient to let show attendees know that, as with the Esoteric/Von Schweikert system I had just heard, this system excelled in healthy, alive sound that included a fine midrange and a lively shine to the sound. I really enjoyed the sound on a track from JT Coldfire, and sat amazed that an exhibitor not only loved but also chose to play, of his own volition, Luciano Pavarotti's "Una furtiva lagrima."

T.H.E. Show 2019

Von Schweikert Endeavor E-5 MKII Speakers, Grand Prix Audio Rack, MasterBuilt Cabling and AC Management, Esoteric Grandioso Series PIX Transport, D1X Monoblock DAC, N-03T Network Audio Transport, G1 Rubidium Master Clock, C1 Linestage Preamp, Etc.

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 11, 2019

I don’t know about you, but I find the design of Esoteric’s Grandioso series enclosures quite attractive. In Long Beach, they also sounded great. Paired with Von Schweikert Endeavor E-5 MKII Speakers ($40,000/pair), an entire SUV full of Grandioso gear (including multiple outboard power supplies) impressed as exceptionally lively, solid, and musical.

T.H.E. Show 2019

Pro-Ject RPM 10 Turntable, Sumiko Songbird MC Cartridge, VTL TP-2.5i Phono Stage and VTL TL-5.5 Series II Line Stage, Meridian 218 Zone Controller, Vandersteen M5- HPA Monoblocks and Vandersteen Quatro Loudspeakers, AudioQuest Cabling

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 11, 2019

It always helps to end 7.5 hours of show coverage on a high note. That was certainly the case in the Audio Concepts room, where the midrange sounded gorgeous on a recording of Beethoven’s Paris Trio

T.H.E. Show 2019

Alaia Audio Ekahi Loudspeaker, Verito 1 integrated Amplifier

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 11, 2019

Please join me in giving a hearty shout out to newcomer Alaia Audio, whose exhibit proved that all is not parched in the state of Arizona.

T.H.E. Show 2019

TW-Acustic Raven GT II Turntable, Charisma and Miyajima Cartridges, Horning Aristotle Ellipse PM65 Speakers, Tron-Electric Atlantic Integrated SE amp and Convergence Signature Preamps, Silent Running Audio Scuttle and Ohio XL, etc.

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 11, 2019

Jeffrey Catalano has come cross-country to exhibit. I missed him at the last show. I simply must go to the High Water Sound room.

T.H.E. Show 2019

Arion Apollo Loudspeakers, LS-200 Linestage, 2A3 Tube Amplifiers, and HS-500 Hybrid Mono Amplifiers; EMM DA2 DAC; Wolf Alpha 3 Music Server; VPI HW-4 turntable, etc.

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 10, 2019

An intriguing system from MK Audio LLC of Charlotte, NC, brought to the fore Arion Audio’s nearly full-range AMT line-array Apollo System loudspeaker ($24,900/pair). The Apollos, which were paired with active subwoofers, claim an astounding 105dB sensitivity—sensitive enough to work with Triode Labs' 2A3 3.5W vacuum tube amplifiers (no price supplied). At least I think I was hearing the 2A3s, because also in the rack were Arion Audio’s LS-500 hybrid Class D amplifiers ($6995/pair). Preamplification was the company’s LS-200 hybrid line-stage ($3995).

T.H.E. Show 2019

CAD 1543 DAC Mk II, Audio Transport, Ground Controls, & Cabling; Aesthetix Mimas Integrated, Boenicke W8 SE speakers, Bibacord Interconnects, HRX SXR Rack

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 10, 2019

After trying more than once to get into the CAD room at Munich High End, I ended up hearing a significantly smaller version of their system in Long Beach. This time, the hybrid integrated amplifier was the excellent Aesthetix Mimas ($7000 without optional modules), which I’ve reviewed for the August issue of Stereophile, and the speakers the diminutive Swiss Boenicke W8 SE ($12,500).

T.H.E. Show 2019

EleKit TU-8600R integrated amplifier, Sparkler Audio S503 Spiral CD Player/Transport, AER Excenter Loudspeakers

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 10, 2019

You’re going to need to indulge me a bit, because, due to some communication difficulties, I’m not totally confident of some prices and components in this room. If I understood correctly, the handmade-in-Japan, 1-bit Sparkler Audio S503 CD Player/Transport costs $1650, and the build-it-yourself EleKit TU-8600R integrated amplifier, also from Japan, goes for $1785.

T.H.E. Show 2019

Evolution Acoustics Exact Maestoso Loudspeaker and Cabling, Dartzeel NHB Stereo Amp and Preamp, Wave Kinetics NVS turntable, Merging NADAC, Durand Tonearm

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 10, 2019

See that weird looking thing? It’s the outboard crossover to end all outboard crossovers, and it belongs to the relatively slim Evolution Acoustics Exact Series Maestoso 3-way loudspeaker system ($18,900). Heading an impressive and hardly bargain system from Blue Light Audio of Portland and The Audio Association of Anaheim Hills, the Maestoso made one of its first show appearances since I covered its debut at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest—was it three years ago?