At CAF Sean was knee deep in vinyl demonstrating his Definition Mk.IV loudspeakers ($12,500/pair in Hickory wood), He was using a beyond-super-cool vintage Luxman PD444…
search
Think hip, young, handsome, and smart—with (maybe) some grease under his fingernails. Besides being one of my favorite loudspeaker manufacturers, Zu Audio's Sean Casey and his daughters restore vintage motorcycles. Sean is also a dancing party guy with a pile of records that follows him around like dust follows Pig Pen. And . . . he's a Left Coast guy that gets to hang with mellow smart dudes like Nelson Pass (Pass Labs).
Jason Victor Serinus, Sasha Matson, and myself spent crazy time before the show started talking, scheming and dividing up RMAF rooms. But, in the end, after hours of planning, I finally declared, "You two cover the audio rock stars, I'll go find the rooms of the lesser known, still unknown, or up-and-coming, exhibitors that may have not made show-report headlines in the past.
One such newcomer was Dennis Fraker, of Serious Stereo ("We Build What It Takes") who, besides trafficking in alliteration, made Rosanne Cash's "She's Got Your Picture" sound sad, sexy and real. He was driving his…
JASON VICTOR SERINUS
Jonas Kaufmann: Wagner
Wesendonck-Lieder, plus scenes and arias from: Rienzi, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Die Walküre, Siegfried, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Jonas Kaufmann, tenor; Orchestra of the German Opera Berlin, Donald Runnicles
Decca 478 5189 (CD). 2013. David Groves, prod.; Philip Siney, eng. DDD. TT: 74:21
Jonas Kaufmann: Wagner
Wesendonck-Lieder, plus scenes and arias from: Rienzi, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Die Walküre, Siegfried, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Jonas Kaufmann, tenor; Orchestra of the German Opera Berlin, Donald Runnicles
Decca 478 5189 (CD). 2013. David Groves, prod.; Philip Siney, eng. DDD. TT: 74:21
It's no surprise that this all-Wagner CD from the most versatile tenor of the decade has received multiple accolades, including from my colleagues Robert Levine and Richard Lehnert. Released to commemorate the 200th anniversary of…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Kii Three's frequency response in the farfield, and an Earthworks QTC-40 for the nearfield responses. I fed MLSSA's single-ended analog output to the Three's balanced XLR jack using an adapter, and used the Kii Control to set the speaker's operating conditions, including setting the polarity to Pos, and disabling the contour and boundary equalization so that I'd be examining the Three's fundamental behavior.
Had I read Kal Rubinson's review text when I began taking the…
I started my second day at the Chicago show in the Dynaudio room, where the Danish loudspeaker company's Special 40 stand-mounts ($3000/pair) were being driven by an Octave 80SE integrated amplifier ($10,500) with its Super Black Box external power supply ($3000). Source was an Aurender server and the speakers were set up across the small room's diagonal. An arrangement of "What a Wonderful World" for voice and guitar was playing when I entered the room, followed by that audiophile staple, José Carreras's performance of the Ramirez Misa Criola. In both cases, the stereo image was superb, with…
The remarkably relaxed, smiling faces of AXPONA Tradeshow Coordinator Jordan Brereton (left) and VP/Event Director Liz Miller (right) say it all. Photographed after show's close, Jordan and Liz were poised to announce that under the leadership of JD Events Founder and CEO Joel Davis, their team of 8 had sold 8134 tickets—up 21% from 2017—and welcomed 5718 unique visitors to the largest consumer audio show in the United States. The number of tickets sold to students ages 15-25 increased by 27%. This to a show with 165 active exhibit rooms and an over-15,000 square foot exhibit hall that hosted…
If you do a Google search for "loudspeaker" combined with "full-range," "line source," "one-way," and "modular," you'll get results that match some, but not all, of the characteristics of the Ruel Audio R7. The Audience ClearAudient 16+16 comes the closest, with 16 drivers firing forward and 16 to the back, but its small full-range drivers are supplemented with eight 6x9" passive radiators, and it does not have modular construction. Plus, it appears not to be in production. For that matter, Google misses Ruel, but it has been granted a provisional patent.
It's a very interesting,…
Somehow, I managed to cover 19 rooms on the second day of LAAS. That included taking in a special half-hour MQA demo with Bob Stuart and Peter McGrath in the large Sunny Components room—reports from me and John Atkinson to come—and a bit of an after-hours presentation by JC Calmettes of Jadis in the Brooks Berdan room. While I certainly can tell you a fair amount about the sound in those 19 rooms, I have no idea what the temperature was like beyond the confines of the over-conditioned Sheraton Gateway LAX, because I first set foot outside the front door after dark on Sunday evening, when I…
As well as live music, the Montreal show offered a full schedule of seminars. Roon's Steve Silberman presented two seminars to packed houses on Saturday on getting the best from the Roon music app and the Roon Nucleus servers, including how to take advantage of the system's powerful DSP engine.
While the Roon seminars were held in the large St-Laurent 7 room, most of the other seminars took place in the smaller Outremont 3 room. Presenters included VTL's Luke Manley answering the question "Why Tubes?" and VPI's founder Harry Weisfeld talking turntables. I took in Elac's Andrew…
Ever since I reviewed PrimaLuna's ProLogue Premium, for the June 2012 issue, it has been the model I would turn to when I wanted a moderately priced integrated amplifier to try with a new speaker. It never disappointed me, and never seemed outclassed, even when the speaker was the MartinLogan Montis ($10,000/pair). At $2399, the ProLogue Premium to me represents the "sweet spot" for systems in the range of $4000–$10,000 or higher. Although its 35Wpc may not be enough for some speakers (depending on the room and personal preference), I never had any such problem, regardless of whether the…