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Lawrence Audio and Jeff Rowland

Based in Taiwan, Lawrence Audio Co. (“Inspired by Musical Masters”) manufactures limited-edition and custom-made loudspeakers modeled after stringed instruments. Lawrence Liao, founder and chief designer, is also an interior decorator, music lover, and musician: He plays saxophone, violin, and piano.

Lawrence’s line includes the two-way, standmounted Mandolin; the slightly larger Violin; and the 3.5-way, floorstanding Cello ($18,000/pair), which was playing when I walked into the room.

The Cello uses an Air Motion tweeter, a rear-firing aluminum ribbon tweeter, and two 8” woofers…

Xact Audio: Daaaamn right!

You know the slinky hi-hat, the funky wah, the groovy bass line; the slow-building horns, the deep voice, the suggestive lyrics: Who’s the black private dick / That’s a sex machine to all the chicks? / (Shaft!) / Daaaamn right…

There was a party going on in the Xact Audio room. It seems there’s always a party going on when Zu Audio loudspeakers are involved. The system: The Beat MagDrive turntable ($26,500), fitted with Frank Schroder’s new LT linear tracking tonearm ($8900) and Lyra Atlas cartridge ($9500); Zu Definition Mk.4 loudspeakers ($13,000/pair); Allnic L-5000 DHT linestage ($19,…

Being and Dreaming with MBL

I’m not at all embarrassed or ashamed to admit that there have been times when I was so distracted by a system’s appearance that I couldn’t properly appreciate its performance. Similarly, there have been times when I was so overwhelmed by a system’s price, that I couldn’t even hear its music.

But, here, in the MBL suite, just as in the Wilson/VTL suite, the sound of music was so compelling that I was easily able to ignore those aspects that are beyond my appreciation and reach. It was easy to forget the system altogether, and simply focus on the music. In fact, it wasn’t so much about…

Sweet Streams from Salk and Van Alstine

Salk’s beautifully finished SoundScape 8 uses the same RAAL ribbon tweeter, Accuton midrange unit, and 12” side-firing passive radiators as the company’s larger SoundScape 10 and 12 floorstanders, but where those designs use single 10” and 12” woofers, respectively, the SoundScape 8 employs two 8” drivers. While the base price for the SoundScape 8 is $8000/pair, custom-finished models such as those seen here, which had a marble-like appearance, can cost up to $12,000/pair.

With a claimed sensitivity of “about 87dB,” the SoundScape 8s seemed comfortable driven with Audio by Van Alstine’s…

Blackbird Audio/Gallery & Colleen Cardas Imports: "Yulunga!"

San Diego’s Blackbird Audio/Gallery and Colleen Cardas Imports put together a system comprising Opera’s three-way Grand Mezza loudspeakers ($2795/pair); Unison Research’s 12Wpc Simply Italy integrated amplifier ($2450), Unico CDE CD player ($4120, with upgraded dual-mono DAC), and Giro turntable ($3995) fitted with a Transfiguration Phoenix phono cartridge ($4250); and the new Pure Audio (“More Music, Less Technology”) Vinyl phono preamp ($4500), an interesting dual-mono design with an aluminum and stainless-mesh chassis and user-selectable loading from 47 to 47k ohms. Cables were supplied by…

Sound and Beauty from Profundo

Sharing the Blackbird Audio room with Colleen Cardas Imports was Bob Clarke’s Profundo, out of Round Rock, Texas.

Clarke put together a distinct and absolutely gorgeous system: the beautifully proportioned, high-sensitivity Trenner & Friedl Pharoah loudspeakers ($12,500/pair); a groovy Funk Firm Vector turntable with FXR tonearm and Transfiguration Axia phono cartridge; Heed Audio Obelisk PRE linestage ($1900), PM monoblock power amplifiers ($4200/pair), and PX power supply ($1400); Clear cables from Cardas Audio; and Trellis equipment rack from Splintr Designs. The digital source…

Zesto, WyWires, and TAD take the whine out of Rickie Lee Jones

I loved the pure, clean sound and sense of touch and bloom that came with Ben Webster’s tenor sax on “Stars Fell on Alabama” from Billie Holiday’s great Songs for Distingué Lovers. And, in “A Foggy Day,” Lady Day’s voice was as rich and true as can be.

Later, I noted fine snap and brassy pluck to the sound of acoustic guitars during “Chuck E.’s in Love,” the opening track to Rickie Lee Jones’ self-titled debut, an album that people often love or hate.

One female listener was surprised by the sound: “This system takes the whine out of Rickie Lee Jones’ voice!”

“Is that…

Ayre Treatment

Here’s a picture of Ayre’s Michael Wiedmaier pretending to enjoy a martini. I also have a picture of someone pretending to take a hit from an oversized bong; a picture of someone else looking mesmerized by a lava lamp; a picture of someone dancing on a shag rug; a picture of someone else putting out an imaginary cigarette in a real-life ashtray; and a few other funny pictures, too.

I have no pictures of Ayre’s new AX-5 integrated amplifier, no comments on the sound quality of the system, no recollection of even listening to music while in the amazing Ayre room. I do recall very pleasant…

Ayre's AX-5 integrated amplifier: cool, cool, cool

Ah-ha! I found a picture of the gear in the fantastic Ayre room.

A MacBook Pro running Pure Music delivered signals to Ayre’s DX-5 universal player. The amplifier was Ayre’s interesting, new, 125Wpc AX-5. Speakers were Vivid Audio’s Giya G3. Cables were by AudioQuest.

The AX-5’s price hasn’t been determined, but Ayre is shooting for under $10,000. Units should ship by December.

My notes read: cool, cool, cool.

Audio Alternative relieves headaches fast

I walked into the Audio Alternative room with a nagging headache and walked out cured. I credit the system: Vandersteen Model 7 loudspeakers with M7 crossovers ($50,000/pair) driven by Audio Research’s Reference 250 monoblock and new two-chassis Reference 10 preamp ($30,000); AMG Viella 12 turntable fitted with a Lyra Atlas phono cartridge; and AudioQuest cables.

The song, believe it or not, was “Here Comes the Sun.” I sat in the back of the room and was impressed by the system’s combination of sweetness, impact, scale. When I moved to the front of the room, I heard greater clarity and…