AXPONA's Major Start

AXPONA's Major Start

The doors of the 2017 AXPONA—taking place this weekend at the Westin O'Hare in Rosemont, close to Chicago's O'Hare airport—had opened but 15 minutes when yours truly (far left) joined (L–R) Steve Guttenberg (The Audiophiliac blog for CNET.com/ Stereophile), panel moderator Chris Martens (Hi-Fi+), Conor Cawley (Tech.co), Steve Rochlin (Enjoythemusic.com), and an audience of at least 50–60 people to discuss "What does 2017 mean for audio?" I didn't know what to expect, or what to discuss besides the resurgence of vinyl and the promise of better sound through MQA. But thanks to excellent questions from Chris and attendees, and some truly stimulating contributions from my fellow panel members, I think some major ground was covered.

Record Store Day Saturday Marks 10th Anniversary

Record Store Day Saturday Marks 10th Anniversary

Robert Baird gets ready for the big day with a special reissue on two 180gm LPs of Elton John's live 17-11-70 album. (Photo: Jana Dagdagan)

Are record stores who have the product in hand breaking ranks and selling on eBay to the highest bidders?

ZMF Atticus Sealed Over-Ear Headphones

ZMF Atticus Sealed Over-Ear Headphones

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

To my eyes, the Atticus is one half of a two part experiment by Zach Mehrbach, Founder and CEO of ZMF Headphones. His past has been dominated by the venerable, but in my opinion underperforming, Fostex T50RP planar magnetic driver. I guess Zach sees his future with a more modern—though more common—dynamic driver. It seems to me he's designed these latest two headphones as an experiment to find out just how good a headphone he can build using two different types of dynamic driver: the Atticus with a TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer) diaphragm driver; and the Eikon with its bio-cellulose cone and rubber surround.

Mark Levinson No.526 preamplifier

Mark Levinson No.526 preamplifier

The Mark Levinson No.526 is the first preamplifier designed by a new 12-person team led by Todd Eichenbaum, director of engineering at the Harman Luxury Audio Group's Engineering Center of Excellence (ECOE), in Shelton, Connecticut. Designed to fit the price niche between the company's least and most expensive preamps—the No.326S ($10,000) and No.52 ($30,000)—the No.526 costs $20,000.

Recording of May 2017: The Gilded Palace of Sin

Recording of May 2017: The Gilded Palace of Sin

The Flying Burrito Brothers: The Gilded Palace of Sin
A&M/Intervention SP 4175 (LP). 1969/2017. Larry Marks, prod.; Henry Lewy, prod., eng.; Kevin Gray, remastering. AAA. TT: 35:24
Performance *****
Sonics ****½

The International Submarine Band, the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and finally, just Gram Parsons. He was a Snively on his mother's side, scion of a vast citrus-growing fortune. A trust-fund baby who, unlike most of the struggling musicians he hung out with, could go to a bank and withdraw large amounts of cash. When he was 12, two days before Christmas, his father killed himself. Seven years later, on the day he graduated from high school, his mother finally drank herself to death. He lasted one semester at Harvard before becoming a denizen of Los Angeles, and eventually a powerful force in the Sunset Strip music scene.

Innovative 1 Minute Escape

Innovative 1 Minute Escape

For this 1 Minute Audiophile Escape, we visited longstanding New York hi-fi shop Innovative Audio. This video features three (out of their many) systems readily available at the time of our visit.

Because this 1 Minute Audiophile Escape features a bit more gear than our other videos, here is a list of gear in order of appearance...

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