The problem is that younger people often don't know what to listen for. They are hearing the undivided whole. Which is fine. It is just as it should be, in fact. But I am convinced that once they learn what they are…
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One of the most obvious solutions to the problem of attracting a younger audience to high end hi-fi is mentoring. It is undoubtedly clear that younger generations of music lovers can distinguish between poor and good quality sound. They can, after all, hear a wider range of frequencies than older folks. And they do, after all, love music. So, what is the problem?
Hiram Toro explained that he took the reigns of Koetsu USA when his close friend and Koetsu importer Ronnie Caplan unexpectedly passed away. Before Ronnie succumbed to complications following a heart attack, Hiram had promised his friend that he would take care of everything, fully expecting that Ronnie would recover from his illnesses. Hiram kept his promise and has maintained the Koetsu presence in the US market for the past two years. When he decided that that wasn't enough fun, he added Chario loudspeakers and Montegiro turntables to the roster.
From left to right: Hiram…
Putting together a loudspeaker kit may be an art of an older generation. I had model airplanes and cars, but I often hear older audiophiles talk about the first loudspeaker they ever built. It always kind of freaks me out.
You BUILT a loudspeaker?
Jon Iverson did it, John Atkinson did it, John Marks did it, Art Dudley does it all the time, and countless others do it, too, I'm sure. I have never put together a loudspeaker kit, but it strikes me as being a whole lot of fun, and a way to gain a better understanding of how a loudspeaker works. At the Rocky Mountain Audio…
Cheap Trick was always one strange looking act. Never more so than in the late Seventies. And now folks, we have the film to prove it.
In the old film footage that’s available for the first time as part of a new 30th anniversary boxed set of the band’s one great album, Live at Budokan!, there’s pretty boy Robin Zander, out front, dressed all in white, with his long blonde hair all wispy and cute (every toss of it brought another wave of teenage girl shrieking), next to Rick Nielsen who remains perhaps the hardest rock guitarist ever to watch. His whole hyper nerd persona, complete…
When I ran into Tyler Beebout and Jackson Paddon, they were all wide-eyed and jittery.
"Have you seen those alien speakers yet? You have to check them out! After listening to them, I feel like I've spoiled myself for the rest of my life. I don't know what to do now."
Shit, I hadn't seen the alien speakers yet. They were talking about ViV Laboratory's exotic Evanui Signature single-driver horn-loaded loudspeaker ($60,000/pair).
"Wow," I said. "It kind of looks like a flower."
"No, E.T.!" exclaimed the Evanui's designer, Koichiro Akimoto.
The…
In my opinion, few rooms at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest could compete with the sound produced in the Ayre Acoustics/Vandersteen Audio suite. To me, the music created by this combination just sounded right. It was effortless, involving, and realistic without being overly etched or bright.
With all the new, well-kept hair on his head, Ayre's Steve Silberman was almost unrecognizable. Here we see him striking a dashing pose. Married life must be treating him well. Steve was especially excited about Ayre's joint venture with DPS. We first reported on the DPS Ayre turntable from…
The more I hear Vandersteen Audio's loudspeakers, the more I find myself admiring their relaxed, controlled, natural sound. Richard Vandersteen, the fighter pilot featured in a recent banner ad on this website, was happy to present his Quattro Signature Mk.2 ($11,700/pair). It utilizes a 6.5" mid-bass driver derived from the Vandersteen Model 5A and sounded exquisite driven by Ayre amplification.
Talk about effortless. Another room which I thought offered superb sound was occupied by Moscode, Von Schweikert, Esoteric, Placette, PS Audio, and Cardas. I think I heard the most beautiful music of all that reproduced at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in this very room. I don't even know what was playing, but what this system excelled at was communicating the all-important space between the notes.
The speakers were Von Schweikert's VR-5 Anniversary Edition ($28,000/pair); disc player was the Esoteric DV-50S; cables were Cardas Golden Reference; at the helm was the Placette…
The newest iteration of the Moscode hybrid power amp ($6495) retains the hefty aluminum faceplate which opens forward for easy access to the tubes.
Do you know about Oswald Mill Audio? Check out the website; it's fascinating.
Truth is: I'm not really into exotic loudspeakers.
I like my loudspeakers to look like loudspeakers. To me, a simple wood box is beautiful. But I was more than impressed by the extraordinary Oswald Mill Audio AC1. Completely hand-built out of solid Pennsylvania ash, it takes about a month to complete a single pair of AC1s. Each speaker uses a single 15" Alnico paper-cone woofer and a vintage compression driver for the midrange. Due to the finite quantity of the specific late '40s to early…