LATEST ADDITIONS

To celebrate its 15th anniversary, Estelon unveiled its new A‑Series Aurelia (17,900 euros/pair with stands), Aurelia Centre (7500 euros/each), and Aurus (13,500 euros/each).

At T.H.E Show SoCal, tubed equipment didn't seem as prevalent as I've seen at some other shows, but it still had a presence—a very strong presence—in Zesto Audio's demo room 227. The California-based amplification and electronics manufacturer is led by George Counnas, who has also worked as an audio engineer in addition to designing equipment tubed hi-fi equipment, and his wife, Carolyn, who is responsible for Zesto's signature industrial design.

Often in these pages (and in Industry Update), we have reported ways various brands have experimented with the traditional hi-fi–retail formula. An example: the single-company dealership, adopted most recently by the Vervent Audio Group, parent company to Focal and Naim.

The latest to set up a single-brand dealership is Gryphon Audio Designs, which is preparing to open a "mono-brand" showroom in Los Angeles. Gryphon's implementation, though, is a radical departure from previous experiments in one respect: It's in the Pacific Design Center (PDC), a large (1.6 million square feet) multiuse facility that caters to the design community, including professionals in interior design, architecture, and the arts, as well as design enthusiasts. The idea is to give Gryphon products more exposure to architects, designers, and design enthusiasts. The PDC is not accessible to the broader public. Assuming all goes well, the Gryphon store will be open by the time this issue hits newsstands.