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Sensorium AVR

As Jason Victor Serinus mentioned, there was a party going on in the Music Hall room; and, while this meant that you really couldn’t evaluate the sound of the system, it also meant that you were bound to actually have fun.

Hmm: Evaluate sound or have fun, evaluate sound or have fun?

Oh, darn. I guess I’ll have fun.

While in the Music Hall room, it occurred to me that, instead of roaming around the entire RMAF looking for stories, I could have spent my entire time with the company’s Roy Hall and Leland Leard and simply waited as the stories came to me.

It was in…

Pro Musica: Dynaudio & Naim

Chicago retailer Pro Musica, led by recording engineer Ken Christianson, had two rooms at AXPONA. The first featured a system built around Dynaudio's Confidence C2 Signature loudspeakers ($13,500/pair in standard Mk.II finishes; $15,000/pair in Signature finish). The electronics were a Naim NAP 300 amplifier with 300PS power supply ($11,495), Naim 282 preamp with NAPSC2 ($6795), Naim SuperCap2 DR preamp power supply ($6595), Naim UnityServe SSD server ($3045), Naim NDS streaming player ($10,995) with Naim 555PS DR power supply ($9645). Speaker cable was Naim NACA5 ($15/foot) and the equipment…

Grand Prix Audio Monza equipment supports Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital Sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD Transport & Rossini DAC & Rossini Clock & Network Bridge; EMM Labs DV2 DAC; Intel NUC7i7BNH with 8GB Ram, 128GB SSD running Roon; Linksys routers (2), Small Green Computer Systemoptique optical isolation bundle, two TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters plus multimode duplex fiber optic cable; Small Green Computer linear power supply (3) & 200W Linear Power Supply; external hard drives, SSD USB sticks, iPad Pro.
Power Amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Master Systems Progression monoblocks.
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Krell K-300i integrated amplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment

Digital sources: dCS Rossini DAC & Rossini Clock; Mytek Brooklyn DAC+; Apple 2017 MacBook Pro computer with 2.8GHz Intel i7, SSD, 16GB RAM; Intel NUC7i7BNH with 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD running Roon; Linksys routers (2), Small Green Computer Systemoptique optical isolation bundle, TP-Link gigabit ethernet media converters plus multimode duplex fiber optic cable (2); Small Green Computer linear power supplies (4) & Small Green Computer 200W Linear Power Supply; external hard drives, SSD USB sticks, iPad Pro.
Power amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Master…

Raidho's Slim Floorstanding XT-2

Moderately Priced Speakers. That's my assignment for this year's CES show report—as well as moderately priced turntables and other phono equipment—Moderate being defined this time as priced from $4000/pair to $18,000/pair. Personally, I have trouble considering $18,000 speakers as being moderately priced, but this designation should not be viewed as anything but a convenient way of subdividing the task of reporting, so that Herb Reichert, reporting on "Low-Priced (defined as under $4000/pair), Jason Victor Serinus, writing about "High-Priced" speakers (above $18,000/pair), and myself have…

Innuos Statement music server Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport & Rossini DAC & Rossini Clock & Network Bridge; EMM Labs DV2 DAC; Roon Nucleus +; Linksys routers (2), Small Green Computer Systemoptique optical isolation bundle, TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters plus multimode duplex fiber optic cable (2); Small Green Computer linear power supply & Small Green Computer/HDPLEX four-component 200W linear power supply (2); external hard drives, SSD USB sticks, iPad Pro.
Power amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Master Systems Progression monoblocks.
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Wolf Audio Systems Alpha 3 SX music server Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport & Rossini DAC & Rossini Clock & Network Bridge; EMM Labs DV2 DAC; Roon Nucleus + with linear power supply; Linksys routers (2), Small Green Computer Systemoptique optical isolation bundle, TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters plus multimode duplex fiber optic cable (2); Small Green Computer linear power supply & Small Green Computer/HDPlex four-component 200W linear power supply (2); external hard drives, SSD USB sticks, iPad Pro. Power amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Master Systems Progression…

MBL Noble Line N11 line preamplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 3: Associated Equipment

Digital sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport & Rossini DAC & Rossini Clock; EMM Labs DV2 DAC; Roon Nucleus+ music server with linear power supply; Linksys routers (2), Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModules (2), TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters plus multi-mode duplex fiber optic cable (2); Small Green Computer/ HDPlex four-component 200W linear power supply (3); external hard drives, SSD USB sticks, iPad Pro.
Power amplifiers: Dan D'Agostino Master Systems Progression monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia…

Cardas gets inside your head

Audiophile sensibilities have long found a comfortable home inside George Cardas’ head. Also in George’s head for the past two years has been the design of a single-driver, dynamic in-ear monitor that would fulfill his desire for a non-fatiguing portable listening experience. The as yet unnamed little gems are just entering production, and are expected to retail in the $300–$500 range. A quick listen confirms that George has indeed managed to do something quite special: glorious midrange. I gladly accepted a sample pair for review; I reckon I’ll be spending a good chunk of time with George’s…

Esoteric Grandioso C1X line preamplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital sources: dCS Rossini SACD/CD transport, Rossini DAC, and Rossini Clock; Synology 5-bay NAS 1019+; Roon Nucleus+ music server, Uptone Audio etherRegen, Small Green Computer Sonore opticalModule, TP-Link gigabit Ethernet media converters (2) with multimode duplex fiberoptic cables, Linksys routers (2), and Arris modem, all powered by (3) 300W four-component linear power supplies; external hard drives, SSD USB sticks, iPad Pro; Apple 2017 MacBook Pro computer with 2.8 GHz Intel i7, SSD, 16GB RAM.
Preamplifier: Dan D'Agostino Momentum HD.
Power…