High Water Sound's Jeffrey Catalano is renowned for assembling fantastic-sounding systems, room after room, year after year. Just as compelling as his sonic assemblages is his exceptional taste in music on vinyl. He did it again at T.H.E. Show NYC 2025, where he was joined by Colin King’s Gestalt Audio of Nashville..
Audio Group Denmark's Peter Hansen, Børresen founder Michael Børresen, and Aavik's Lars Kristensen brought multiple products in two separate configurations to T.H.E. Show.
Larry Borden of the New Jersey dealer Distinctive Stereo is one of the most affable show hosts I've encountered. He's perpetually ready with a warm smile and another captivating tale about one of the many marathons he has completed.
Peter Qvortrup and Adrian Ford-Crush brought a smashing Audio Note UK system to New Jersey, including the US premiere of the brand's TT Three Reference turntable ($63,000). It fed an AN-1S Sogon tonearm ($16,730), fitted with an IO I moving coil cartridge ($5586), then into an AN-S8 step-up transformer ($18,130).
Sharing one of two HiFi Loft rooms with owner Jason Tavares, 2WA Group (led by Walters Schofield and Swanbon) showcased a system built around SPL components and Falcon Acoustics speakers.
The first thing to know about T.H.E. New York International Audio Show is that it’s not in New York. The three-day event, Oct 24–Oct 26, 2025, was held at the Hilton Hasbrouck Heights, a New York bedroom community available by train, rental car, or personal vehicle if coming from Manhattan. Your ability to get to the venue was anyone’s guess, as no directions were shown on T.H.E. Show’s website.
McIntosh, which is based in my home state of New York, has long been in my audio life. It was the "house sound" where I grew up. My parents' stereo system was powered by a pair of MC75 tubed amplifiers (fed by a Marantz 7B preamp, driving Bozak Concert Grand speakers). In my father's recording studio, McIntosh amplifiers powered the monitors.