News

Saturday, August 1, 11am–4pm, David Michael Audio (4341 Delemere Court, Royal Oak, MI 48073) will host an event showcasing and demonstrating MSB Technology's DACs and sources, including the new ground-breaking Select DAC (above). Confirmed guests include MSB Technology's Director of sales Vince Galbo and the company's CEO and Managing Director Larry Gullman. Larry has long experience in industrial engineering and digital electronics and has many innovations and patents to his name. Larry and Vince will be demonstrating the MSB Select DAC, explaining its innovative new technologies.

The most refreshing music I encountered at the huge 2015 Munich High End Show was an excerpt from David Chesky's children's ballet, The Zephyrtine, which Paul McGowan played in the PS Audio room. Hence it comes as no surprise that another of Chesky's recordings, his Rap Symphony, has just won the Independent Music Award (IMA) for Best Contemporary Classical Album.

High-end audio dealer Audio Den of Long Island (2845 Middle Country Road, Lake Grove, NY 11755) is hosting a music evening Friday, July 24, 5:00–8:00pm, to launch Technics' new Premium and Reference series integrated amplifier, network player, and speakers in North America.

Ayre's 20th-Anniversary edition of its MX-R monoblock stands proud on this 132-page issue's cover. Inside, John Atkinson finds it to be one of the best-sounding amplifiers he's auditioned, while Fred Kaplan enthuses over the sound of Simaudio's Moon Evolution 860A amplifier and Jon Iverson finds much to enjoy with Rega's affordable DAC-R. Loudspeakers from Wilson Benesch, Falcon, and Magnepan are reviewed, with the littlest, cheapest Maggie earning the highest praise from Herb Reichert.

Alma Music and Audio (5759 La Jolla Blvd., La Jolla, CA 92037) will host a very special event on Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19 at their retail showroom just north of San Diego. A host of audio luminaries will be there to demonstrate their products and answer questions including Dan D'Agostino of D'Agostino Master Audio Systems, Yoav Geva of YG Acoustics, Joe Kubala of Kubala-Sosna cables, Vince Galbo of MSB Technology, and Harry Lee and Sally Jeung of Aurender.

In a major plus for the accessibility of classical music on the web, Google Play Music recently launched its Classical Live initiative. Through an exclusive contract with five major symphony orchestras—Boston Symphony Orchestra and new Music Director Andris Nelsons, The Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, London Symphony Orchestra and Sir John Eliot Gardiner, New York Philharmonic and Music Director Alan Gilbert, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam and Music Director Mariss Jansons—the organizations will offer live recordings for download and streaming exclusively on Google Play for the first six months they are made public.

Established in 1980 by Victor Sima as Sima Electronics, Canadian audio company Moon by Simaudio Ltd. celebrates its 35th year in the audio business in 2015—or, as its ads say, "35 years of passion." To mark the event, Simaudio had a party at Executive Stereo, their Toronto dealer (see photo above). It was a fairly low-key event, with a handful of Toronto-area audio journalists—including yours truly—and representatives of Simaudio attending.