LATEST ADDITIONS

Capital AudioFest 2024
Chesky Audio
Ken Micallef  |  Nov 27, 2024
The buzz was palpable weeks before I hit the show. David Chesky’s son, Lucca, had designed a pair of small bookshelf speakers—the LC1—while still in high school and developed the speakers while interning at Princeton University with Professor Edgar Choueiri, the brains behind Bacch SP.
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Capital AudioFest 2024
Audio Thesis: T+A Elektroakustik, Turnbull Audio, Rosso Fiorentino, Silent Angel
Ken Micallef  |  Nov 27, 2024
Derek Skipworth of Arlington, Texas’s Audio Thesis was on hand to showcase several components at CAF2024.
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Warsaw Audio Show 2024
Heads Up: Fezz Electronics + Pylon Loudspeakers = Fine Sound in Warsaw
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Nov 27, 2024
Perhaps my biggest discovery at the 2023 Warsaw Audio Video Show was Fezz Audio's reasonably priced line of excellent-sounding electronics.
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Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Sonus faber Sonetto V G2 loudspeaker
Tom Fine  |  Nov 26, 2024
Here's a hard truth: A written review of a full-sized speaker—any speaker, really—is, at best, semi-useful. We all listen differently, we have different musical tastes, our system electronics are different, and our listening rooms vary a lot. You will gain a general picture of a speaker's capabilities and foibles from John Atkinson's measurements, and I can tell you how the speakers sound to me, in my room. But that's it. You need to hear them for yourself before making a buying decision. The best I can do is tell you how my music brain felt when the speakers were in my house and making music.

But hey, that's better than nothing. If you're in the market for a pair of modestly sized, reasonably priced floorstanding loudspeakers, I encourage you to read on as I describe the lively musical times I spent with the Sonus faber Sonetto V G2s ($6499/pair).

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Products of the Year
Stereophile's Products of 2024
John Atkinson  |  Nov 26, 2024  |  First Published: Nov 22, 2024
When Stereophile's Product of the Year Awards were first published, in 1992, we decided that unlike some other publications and their awards schemes, we would keep the number of categories to a minimum. That way, we would avoid what the late Art Dudley once described as the "every child in the class gets a prize" syndrome.

This decision led to some interesting contests. In Loudspeakers, for example, high-value minimonitors compete with cost-no-object floorstanders. In Analog Products, turntables compete with tonearms, phono cartridges, and phono preamplifiers. And in Amplification, single-box integrated amplifiers go up against separates, and low-power tube designs compete with high-power, solid state behemoths. In Budget Product of the Year and Product of the Year, products from every category competed against each other: Out of all the products that Stereophile reviewed over the whole year, which product offered the best bang for the buck or sounded the best overall?

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Warsaw Audio Show 2024
Peak Consult of Denmark Premiers with Extraudio of The Netherlands
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Nov 25, 2024
Although I did happen upon Peak Consult speakers in Munich and Southern California in 2023, we last reviewed a Peak Consult speaker almost 18 years ago. Hence my excitement when I encountered genuine full-range sound (albeit too loud) in the room that paired a new reworking of the company's El Diablo loudspeakers ($79,000/pair) with Extraudio electronics.
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Capital AudioFest 2024
Robyatt Audio: Quad, VPI, Thai-Scandinavian Engineering, Tzar, April Sound, Java HiFi, Sonore, and Finley Audio
Ken Micallef  |  Nov 25, 2024
Robin Wyatt always gives great room, and this year’s CAF appearance was no exception. Prancing like a jolly bartender offering beautiful audio reproduction in place of libations, Wyatt’s room creates anticipation and soon enough, audio ecstasy.
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Capital AudioFest 2024
Border Patrol, Living Voice, Triode Wire Labs
Ken Micallef  |  Nov 25, 2024
Gary Dewes and Pete Grzybowski, the minds behind Border Patrol Audio and Triode Wire Labs, respectively, conjured a sonic space that wasn't merely heard, but felt. A room where sound didn't just exist, but seized the listener, demanding attention.
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Capital AudioFest 2024
Semrad Audio, EM/IA with Garrard, Sorane, Mutech
Ken Micallef  |  Nov 25, 2024
Show attendees entered John Semrad and Dave Slagle’s room and let out an involuntary gasp. The components on display epitomized bespoke, handmade craftsmanship, of the highest quality, with purity and provenance their bywords.
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Capital AudioFest 2024
Popori Acoustics and UniQue Home Audio with Applied Physics, VAC, Roon, Rythmik, Snake River Audio, Solid Steel, ASC, ViaBlue
Ken Micallef  |  Nov 25, 2024
At the risk of giving these social media upstarts more attention, my old friend Jason Messina (aka The Audiophile Junky) could be found in the Popori/UniQue room, which is a funny thing. The only time I’ve seen Jason even close to being immobile—i.e., not making videos, which he does, hitting the ground running (I’ve seen it)—is at a show!
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