News

Saturday March 4, 1–5pm, Suncoast Audio in Sarasota, Florida (7353 International Place, Unit 309, Sarasota) will be hosting its grand opening and Musical Artisans (8335 Keeler Avenue, Skokie, IL 60076) will host their winter open-house event, introducing Nagra Audio and the Helix 1 turntable by Mark Döhmann to the Chicago area.

Imagine that you own an audio store, and business is good. Sales are up, and you'd like to take on additional lines. It's a good position to be in, but it has its challenges. You need more space, for sure. But what if the only suitable space that's available is some distance from the original store. Will customers follow you to the new location? Adrian Low, owner of Audio Excellence, has had to face this challenge three times.

Saturday February 25, 12–5pm, Audible Images (161 Pineapple Avenue, Melbourne, FL 32935) is presenting Wilson Audio’s Alexx speaker. Guests will include Bill Peugh from Wilson Audio, Bill McKiegan from Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems, and Bob McConnell from Transparent Audio.

Thursday, February 23, 4:30–8:30pm, F1 Audio (311 E Dundee Road, Palatine IL 60074) will be hosting an event featuring the new Dynaudio Contour 60 loudspeakers (above), Nordost cables, Octave tube electronics, and music from MoFi. Factory representatives will be on hand performing demonstrations and answering questions.

For the first time in a decade, Grammy Award-winning audiophile label Reference Recordings (RR) has updated its website. Filled with new features, including new blog posts and an "Audiophile Corner," the website offers physical media and hi-rez downloads of a host of Reference Recordings made by legendary, Grammy-feted recording engineer/digital pioneer Keith O. Johnson, along with Sean Royce Martin, and other recordings on the RR Fresh! label recorded by the SoundMirror team.

On February 16, Universal Music Group and MQA announced a multi-year agreement that will encode UMG's huge catalog of master recordings in MQA. In the language of the press release, the agreement promises "to make some of the world's most celebrated recordings available for the first time in Hi-Res Audio streaming." UMG's labels include ECM, Interscope, Geffen, A&M, Capitol, Island, Def Jam, Decca, Verve, Blue Note, Virgin, and EMI.

The March issue kicks off with a look by Jason Victor Serinus at the state of audio shows in 2017 and Auralic's innovative and affordable streaming Altair D/A processor takes pride of place on the March Stereophile's cover. However, loudspeakers dominate this issue's interior, with reviews of super stand-mounts from Aerial, Bowers & Wilkins, and Wharfedale and an intriguing, room-friendly tower from the Swedish Larsen company.

Saturday February 11, 1–7pm, Kyomi Audio (Itasca, IL) is presenting the debut of Vivid's new flagship speaker, the G1 Spirit with designer Laurence Dickie; 12–5pm, Command Performance AV (Falls Church, VA) is holding a Rogue Audio event presenting Rogue's RH-5 headphone amplifier; 1–6pm, Esoteric Audio (Phoenix, AZ) is holding a Digital Audio Event featuring Roon 1.3 and dCS's new Network Bridge; 1–4pm, Deja Vu Audio West (San Diego CA) is holding an Open House.

Naxos, owner of online classical recording retailer ArkivMusic.com, has now launched ArkivJazz.com. A one-stop shopping destination for an international coterie of jazz lovers who seek CDs, vinyl, and DVDs, the site sells recordings from "all labels, major and independent." In addition to exclusive interviews and editorials, ArkivJazz also offers a VIP subscription that includes free US shipping and member-only specials, plus a complementary subscription to Downbeat magazine.

Saturday, February 4, 11:00am–1:00 pm, Encore Home Entertainment Systems (2115 Siesta Drive, Sarasota, FL 34239) is hosting Joe Perfito, president of Tributaries and Clarus Cable, for a discussion on the importance of cables.