AXPONA: Herb's First Day
Because the energy is so strong, I always feel drawn to these rooms, and once there, I lose time, spend money, and feel young again
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LATEST ADDITIONS
AXPONA: Lower Level Vistas
Once Pro Musica Chicago discovered that one of the electrical outlets in their room was severely handicapped, as it were, and switched to another, the VTL TL5.5 preamp with phono stage ($10,500) and VTL S200 power amp ($12,500) delivered eminently neutral sound
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AXPONA's Solid Start
Even before 10am had rolled around on opening day, eager audiophiles were obtaining badges in the lobby of the Westin O'Hare
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Hitting Mailboxes and Newsstands Today: the May Issue
The least-expensive Wilson speaker and the most-expensive Vandersteen speaker go head-to head in the May issue, accompanied by reviews of PS Audio's affordable DSD DAC, Schiit's high-value Ragnarok integrated amplifier, Luxman's high-performance EQ-500 phono preamplifier, Vandersteen's unique monoblock amplifier . . .
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For Record Store Day: Dave Douglas, Dark Territory
First things first. Yes, Dave Douglas named his new album, Dark Territory, after my new book of the same title. This may seem odd: my book is about the history of cyber war; Douglas' album is a deep-dive exploration of improvisation, composition, and technology in the risky corners of jazz and electronica. But in an email sent out by his self-owned label, Greenleaf Music, he explains that both works are about "similarly mysterious murky waters of underground activity" and that he found my title fitting because, like the characters in my book, he and his band are "playing through a similar territory without rules where the dangers and challenges of technology are much greater than normal."
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Like a Sports Car for Your Head: The Audeze SINE and Cipher Lightning Cable
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
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On-ear portable headphones don't get a lot of love from headphone enthusiasts...that's about to change.
Two Big Audio Events in SoCal Friday and Saturday
First, The Audio Salon (Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Avenue, Unit F1, Santa Monica, CA 90404) is hosting a special Nagra event Saturday, April 16, from 4pm8pm.
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Second, Evolution Audio & Video (5341 Derry Avenue, Suite S, Agoura Hills, CA 91301) is hosting MartinLogan events on Friday April 15 (noon6pm) and Saturday April 16 (noon5pm).
Signet SL280 loudspeaker
Audio journalists tend to wander the corridors of a CES in a minor state of shell-shock. There are no carnival-barkers outside the rooms enticing one to enter (not yet, at any rate), but the sounds and reputations oozing from the open doorways yield little to the "hurry, hurry, hurry" crowd. The Signet room has always, it seems, been one of the quieter oases, often eschewing sound altogether while contentedly displaying their phono cartridges, cables, and various accessories. On a recent CES hunt, I was therefore intrigued to find them demonstrating two new loudspeakers, of all things, to the milling throngs.PS Audio UltraLink Two digital processor
Of all the products I've reviewed or auditioned, a select few jump out as "best buy" recommendations. Almost universally, such products are liked by a wide range of audiophiles, and seem to match well sonically to many systems. Moreover, these products all have outstanding value; they offer a higher level of musical performance than you'd expect from the price.
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Upward and (Hopefully) Onward
Editor's Note from 1974: As you can read in the following "As We See It," the last issue of Vol.1 No.12 (cover dated "Spring 1966") was perhaps not as "strong" as it might have been. If we had been doing things according to Proper Business Practice, we should have held back our best articles and our gutsiest reports until that issue, as a high-powered incentive for our subscribers to renew their subs. We didn't. There were better articles and a greater variety of topics covered in earlier issues, but Issue 12 was significant in that it set the pattern of topic emphasis, and the balance of reports versus other editorial material, that was to continue more or less unchanged for the next 7 years.
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