LATEST ADDITIONS

Rogier van Bakel  |  Apr 15, 2024  |  8 comments
During a ferocious storm one recent Saturday, firefighters knocked on my door and urged my family and me to evacuate. The gale had smashed loose a neighbor's large propane tank and plunged it into the choppy waters of the fjord we live on. An explosion was possible, we were told. Five minutes later, our teenage daughters, our dogs, and my wife and I were in the car on our way to safety. (No blast occurred.)

Coincidentally, the last thing I'd read that turbulent morning was the Washington Post's front-page story about the late Ken Fritz (above), a diehard audiophile who'd spent 40 years creating "the best stereo system in the world," and, as I wrote in the April 2024 issue's My Back Pages, alienating members of his family in the process. Both the evacuation and the Fritz tale put me in a pensive mood. If you'll pardon the triteness, each reminded me that life is precious and fragile, as are our relationships with loved ones. We can't afford to take either for granted.

Ken Micallef  |  Apr 13, 2024  |  15 comments
In the room operated by Brooklyn’s John DeVore, we time traveled to the 1940s and 50s as he spun pristine shellac 78s on an EMT turntable, playing through the world premieres of both his O/bronze Loudspeakers (30,000/pair) and the 7Wpc Komuro Amplifier Company K300S direct-coupled SET 300B stereo amplifier ($20,000).
Rogier van Bakel  |  Apr 13, 2024  |  0 comments

The amiable and loquacious Jason Zidle is a product manager at Lenbrook, the Canadian company behind NAD and Bluesound. Lenbrook also imports Denmark’s storied DALI speakers. At the Renaissance hotel in Schaumburg, the star performers in the Lenbrook space are a handsome pair of just-launched DALI Epikore 11 floorstanders ($60,000/pair).

Ken Micallef  |  Apr 13, 2024  |  8 comments
Meeting up with Tone Imports’ Jonathan Halpern and Pitch Perfect Audio’s Matthew Rotunda was like a family reunion for me. Along with John DeVore and Twittering Machines’ Michael Lavorgna, Halpern is one of my oldest friends and audio guides. His east coast (or Midwest) appearances are rare since he restationed himself in the sunny California desert. His and Rotunda’s ability to assemble a beautiful sounding system remains the same as it ever was.
Rogier van Bakel  |  Apr 13, 2024  |  0 comments
On Thursday night, Chris Shaw, one of Focal’s setup men, was having a tough time. He’d almost finished dialing in the 584-lb Focal Grande Utopias EM Evo speakers, but their bass (14Hz at -6dB) caused a ceiling light fixture in the large Focal/Naim room to rattle. Shaw pushed a printed show banner out of the way to make space for a ladder. A few minutes later, thanks to some sticky tape, the distracting noise was gone.
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 12, 2024  |  First Published: Apr 11, 2024  |  2 comments
Distributor Aldo Filippeli of the Luxury Audio Group sure knows how to get the press’s attention. Schedule a room in the Convention Center that he can set up beforehand, invite the press to hour-long sessions before the show begins, and ensure that we come away fulfilled. When Alexander Vitus Mogensen, CEO of Vitus Audio, quipped, “This is the best sounding room at the show right now!” he was telling the truth. In all honesty, if it doesn’t turn out to be one of the top five best sounding rooms at AXPONA 2024, if not the best, I’ll be surprised.
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 12, 2024  |  First Published: Apr 11, 2024  |  0 comments
Thomas Conrad, Andrey Henkin  |  Apr 10, 2024  |  0 comments
Jim Snidero: For All We Know; Noah Haidu: Standards II; Adam Schroeder & Mark Masters: CT!; Dino Betti van der Noot: Let Us Recount Our Dreams.
Ray Chelstowski  |  Apr 10, 2024  |  1 comments
The Allman Brothers Band: Manley Field House, Syracuse University, April 7, 1972; The Babys: Live at the Bottom Line, 1979.
Jason Victor Serinus, Stephen Francis Vasta  |  Apr 10, 2024  |  0 comments
Neave Trio: A Room of Her Own; Gidon Kremer: Songs of Fate; Trio Zimbalist: Piano Trios of Weinberg, Auerbach, & Dvořák.

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