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LATEST ADDITIONS

DeVore Fidelity Gibbon X loudspeaker

Jim Austin Feb 12, 2019

In 2008, a pair of DeVore Fidelity's Gibbon Nine loudspeakers arrived at my home for a Follow-Up review. Within weeks, I wrote a check for them. That put me in good company: Several other reviewers who reviewed the Nines also bought their review pairs.

Ten years later, the Gibbon Nines are still my main speakers. That's the longest I've ever kept a pair of speakers in my main system, not counting the Polk Audio 7Bs I bought in 1980, when I was 16.

As We See It

There's No Business like the Audio Show Business

Jason Victor Serinus Feb 12, 2019

With this year's Consumer Electronics Show behind us, readers of our on-line show reports know the sad truth: that the largest industry-only technology show in North America attracted even fewer "high-performance" audio exhibits in 2019 than it did in 2018. The phrase "CES is dead" is now a mantra, and no one should be surprised if this year's poor showing proves to be the final nail in CES's coffin as far as high-end audio is concerned.

Florida Audio Expo 2019

Opening Ears Wider on Day One

Jason Victor Serinus Feb 11, 2019

Without question, some of the best sound at Florida Audio Expo came from the Danish trio of Aavik, Ansuz, and Børresen. This combination of electronics, speakers and cabling, expertly set up by industry pro Lars Kristensen, managed to overcome room-related problems and deliver some of the most spacious sound heard over my three days in Tampa.

News

Marching Onward & Upward

Stereophile Staff Feb 11, 2019

"48 pages of Audio Component Reviews" proudly proclaims the skyline on the cover of the March Stereophile, hitting newsstands, mailboxes, and tablets this week. DeVore Fidelity's Gibbon X graces the cover and is reviewed in depth inside by Jim Austin. DeVore's flagship speaker heads an impressive list of gear evaluated inside, from Shure, Spendor, Q Acoustics, KEF, Musical Fidelity, Rogue, Chord, Hegel, EMM Labs, Grandinote, Grado, Ortofon, Miyajima, Mutech, and Roon.

Florida Audio Expo 2019

Hearing It Like It Is in Tampa

Jason Victor Serinus Feb 10, 2019

I spent the entire first day at the Florida Audio Expo trying to get a sense of the acoustics in the basic listening rooms of the Embassy Suites by Hilton at Tampa Airport. At times, just when I'd begun to think that the faults with one system had more to do with room acoustics than anything else, I'd walk into another, totally untreated suite and discover that the sound was superb.

Florida Audio Expo 2019

First Impressions at the Florida Audio Expo

Jason Victor Serinus Feb 09, 2019

My first room, sponsored by House of Stereo, showcased Bob Carver's attractive Crimson 350 monoblock amplifiers ($9500/pair), a Bel Canto Black EX preamplifier/DAC ($18,000), Wolf Audio Systems' Alpha 3 music server with Flux Capacitor Clock ($6750), the striking KEF Blade Two speakers ($25,000/pair), new Audience Front Row cabling, and Stillpoints Aperture room-treatment panels.

Florida Audio Expo 2019

The Show is Open

Jason Victor Serinus Feb 08, 2019

With our own Michael Fremer drafted to cut the ribbon, the first annual Florida Audio Expo got underway right on time on Friday morning. Alan Nastir, Board member of the local Suncoast Audiophile Society, began the short ceremony by welcoming everyone and thanking the show organizers. From left to right in the photo above: Alan Nastir; Bart Andeer, President of the Suncoast Audiophile Society and Resolution Acoustics; Ammar Jadusingh (aka AJ), owner of Soundfield Audio; Mike Bovaird, proprietor of Suncoast Audio; and John Chait, a longtime DIY audiophile who is a member of both the Suncoast and Sarasota clubs.

Florida Audio Expo 2019

Preparing for the Florida Audio Show

Jason Victor Serinus Feb 07, 2019

It's noon and a sunny 76º, and already people are setting up for the inaugural Florida Audio Expo at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore. No sooner do I walk into the Dynamic Sound Associates room than someone asks me if I can please hold three long and hefty Luminous Audio power cables. With those monsters hanging over one shoulder, I snap my first photo.

Art Dudley Listening Tonearm Reviews

Listening #194: Sorane ZA-12 tonearm

Art Dudley Feb 07, 2019

Peter J. Walker (19162003), founder of Quad Electroacoustics and designer of some of the most well-regarded products in the history of domestic audio, famously believed that a properly designed audio-frequency amplifier should have no sound of its own. As for suggestions that his Quad II amplifier (19531971) sounded better than most, Walker was unmoved: "We designed our valve amplifier, manufactured it, put it on the market and never actually listened to it."

Historical J. Gordon Holt Reference

The Pros & Cons of Electrostatic Loudspeakers

J. Gordon Holt Feb 07, 2019

The main inherent advantage of the full-range electrostatic loud speaker system is that it allows a single diaphragm to embody the conflicting attributes needed for optimal performance at both extremes of the audio range. Its thin-membrane diaphragm can be made exceedingly light, for superb transient response and extended HF response, yet it can be about as large in area as desired, for extended LF response.