News

Just in time for the New Year, Audio High has released a new set of 23 of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas, performed live by Robert Silverman and available in MQA, hi-rez, CD-quality, and MP3 formats. If the prospect of one of Canada's most feted pianists offering his mature thoughts on Beethoven in superb sound is not, in and of itself, sufficient reason to tempt you, the fact that the MP3 files can be obtained for free, with the others available for a donation to the Silver Linings non-profit charity, certainly will be.

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 1pm–4pm, 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.

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!

Thursday, December 1, 6–9pm: 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 1–5pm 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.

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).

There's a lot happening, in Raleigh and Charlotte (featuring Michael Fremer's Turntable Set-Up seminar), and in Edmonton, Calgary, and Ontario.

Wednesday, November 16, from 6–9pm, 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.