On December 8, 12 days before an embargo on the news was lifted, I visited Wilson Audio in Utah. The occasion was the launch of the WAMM Master Chronosonic loudspeaker. Given its limited-edition production run (70 pairs), oversized dimensions (approximately 86" H with spikes x 26" W x 36.5" D), and high price ($685,000/pair), Wilson Audio's ultimate speaker is not slated for dealer and audio show demos. Instead, the only way prospective customers, dealers, and select press can experience Dave Wilson's magnum opusthe culmination of well over three decades of loudspeaker developmentis to journey to the Wilson residence in Provo.
Wednesday December 14, starting at 4pm, Utah Audio (77 East 10600 South, Sandy, UT) will be demonstrating a complete Dan D'Agostino system. And
Saturday December 17, from 1pm4pm, at Esoteric Audio (111 West Monroe Street, Suite 100, Phoenix, AZ), Dan D'Agostino and Bill McKiegan will be on hand for listening and discussion of the company's latest products.
We're celebrating the imminent arrival of our January 2017 issue, chock full of great stuff. MartinLogan's superb Renaissance ESL15A electrostatic is featured on the cover but we also have a rave review of B&O's groundbreaking BeoLab90 speaker, measurements of Auditorium 23's retro Cinema Hommage speaker, reviews of headphone amplifiers from Audeze and Woo Audio, and an interview with a veteran of both the audio and music industries, Joe Harley of AudioQuest and Music Matters.
Thursday December 8, 2016, Hi Fi Sales (1732 Route 70 East, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003) invites Philadelphia-area audiophiles to meet Gary Dayton from Bryston; December 10, and Sunday, December 11, Gary Dayton from Bryston will be appearing at a two-day open house presented by Wolfsong Audio (220 Indian Cove Drive, Dawsonville, GA 30534); Saturday December 10, Lavish Hi-Fi (1044 4th Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95404) invites Californian audiophiles to an afternoon of Music and Audio with GamuT; Saturday December 10, Take 5 Audio (105 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06510) will be presenting the Connecticut premier of amplification from Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems; and also on December 10, Evolution Audio & Video (5341 Derry Avenue, Suite S, Agoura Hills, CA 91301) celebrates their newly remodeled showroom!
"Our production line was stepping on its own toes," said Boulder Amplifiers' Rich Maez, Director of Sales and Marketing, as he welcomed me into the company's new, massive 23,000 sq. ft. manufacturing and testing plant in Louisville, CO. The move to a huge, brand-new building on 3 acres of land outside Boulder, in an area devoted to light industry, was greeted with sighs of relief by a team that had formerly found itself squeezed into an increasingly over-packed 10,000 sq. ft. facility.
Thursday, December 1, 69pm: Audioville (4340 Rue Saint-Denis, Montréal, Quebec, Canada) will host a Digital Music Seminar featuring the new AudioQuest NightOwl headphones (above); Saturday December 3, from 15pm will be a special day at Fidelis High End Audio (460 Amherst Street, Nashua, NH 03063); while also on Saturday, December 3, with the door opening at 4pm, JS Audio (4919 St. Elmo Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814) is holding a Holiday Open House.
Saturday November 26, Canadian high-end store Audio Excellence (661 Chrislea Road. Unit 1, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada L4L 8A3) is holding an all-day event featuring Bill McKiegan, president of Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems. Bill will be presenting the new Progression Mono amplifiers (above).
I am sad to report that, 19 years to the day after I recorded her performing Schulhoff's Sonata for Solo Violin for Stereophile's Duet CD, Ida Levin passed away on Friday November 18, after a lengthy battle with leukemia. She was 53. Our condolences to her family, her fellow musicians, her students, and to all who, like me, were thrilled by her playing. As a tribute to Ida, from now until January 1, 2017, we are offering Duet to our readers free of charge (though we will still have to charge shipping and handling).
This past Friday, November 17, critically acclaimed French audio startup Devialet officially opened the doors to their first US standalone store right here in SoHo, NY. This store joins five other standalones globally (Paris, London, Berlin) and, as of yet, no future plans of additional US locations have been disclosed.
Our final issue of 2016 kicks off with Robert Schryer recommending that doctors tell us to "take two Grateful Deads and call me in the morning." Meanwhile, for the 26th time, Stereophile's editors and reviewers have voted for the products that impressed them most in the past year. The results are in: 60 finalists and 9 winners in 7 categories; plus for the third year in a row, a section in which everyone nominated their personal product of the year. Some of the winners could be predicted, but others come from left field!
Wednesday, November 16, from 69pm, Command Performance AV (115 Park Avenue, Suite 2, Falls Church, VA 22046) is holding a Hegel Music Systems Event. Guest presenters will be Anders Ertzeid, Hegel's VP of Marketing and Sales, and Eileen Gosvig, Hegel's US Sales Manager, who will demonstrate the Rost integrated amp with enhanced Apple Airplay and the new Mohican CD player ($5000, above), which Art Dudley wrote about in his report from the recent New York Audio Show. Refreshments will be served.
On November 11, 2016, Veterans' Day, Wilson Audio Specialties announced that Daryl C. Wilson, 38, son of David Wilson and Sheryl Lee Wilson, has just succeeded his father as CEO and President of one of the world's leading high-end loudspeaker companies. Daryl, along with COO Korbin Vaughn, will now actively manage all aspects of Wilson Audio.
Wednesday November 9, 58pm, Dallas dealer Audio Concepts welcomes Dan D'Agostino, Wilson Audio's Peter McGrath, and John Quick from dCS to an open house, while in Maryland, Wednesday November 9 and Thursday November 10, 69pm, Gramophone celebrates its 40th Anniversary with a special two-day event at its Timonium and Columbia locations. Thursday November 10, 58pm, Southern California dealer Wilshire Media Systems hosts its Annual Fall Expo, Northern California dealer AudioVision San Francisco presents the "US Premier from Dynaudio New Contour Loudspeakers," 7:3010 pm, and Ontario's Audio Excellence is hosting a Nordost Event as part of their "Meet the Manufacturers" series, from 48pm.
Saturday November 5, 17pm, Toronto's Wynn Audio , who demonstrated a Goldmund-Tidal-Thales system costing $1,135,196 at last weekend's TAVES show, are opening their new showroom at Unit 31-20 Wertheim Court, Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 3A8.