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Audio Note’s Dave Cope was unusually glum: The E/SPe HE loudspeakers ($9650/pair; seen in a lovely Russian birch plywood) are designed to be positioned in the corners of a room, but doing so here, in the small Atrium suite, meant that they’d be tucked beneath a strange overhang that seemed to rob the speakers of their charm. The effect, however, was largely music-dependent and I nevertheless heard glimpses of Audio Note’s characteristic drama, tone color, and texture, albeit on a smaller scale. I have no reason to believe that this impressive system wouldn’t sound wonderful under better…
Jason Smith of Babyjdrums Classic Vinyl and Audio had tons of classical LPs for sale, almost all in pristine condition (many were even sealed), and at bargain basement prices. Smith also sells hi-fi out of his home; his brands include PTE, Musical Surroundings, Denon, Soundsmith, and Synergistic Research. And he’s a drummer, on tour this summer with the Albert Lee Band.
I was pleased to meet Home Theater’s Kim Wilson. If Kim’s not reviewing A/V receivers and preamp/processors, she might be taking lovely photographs of musical instruments, landscapes, city scenes, architecture, and more. During T.H.E. Show Newport, Kim had a small booth near the Atrium pool—not a bad way to spend a sunny weekend. You can see more of her work here.
Although I had a bit of a tough time navigating some of the halls, especially at the more meandering Atrium, signage at T.H.E. Show Newport was pretty good overall. You wouldn’t find audiophiles accidentally turning up at the Whitacker Wellness Institute.
I walked into Muddy Waters. Folk Singer. But there was nothing muddy about it. The clarity, in fact, was intense. Muddy’s voice was big and present, full of texture; his guitar was similarly powerful.
I failed to note the model of the turntable (gah!), but I was pleased to see the MMMC-R phono preamp, reviewed by Michael Fremer in our October issue and measured by John Atkinson in February. The CD player was from Enlightened Audio Design.
Turning to more upbeat music, played through the EAD, I noted a detailed, dynamic, fast sound, with precise imaging and tight, muscular…
More than Carol Clark's smiles were flowing in the Positive Feedback Online Hospitality Suite on the third floor. You could smell the spirits in the entryway, even before you got close enough to feel the positive spirit. I wish I could have stayed more than 90 seconds. But I doubt you would have gotten many more blogs out of this very light drinker if I had.
As familiar as I am with Eficion's flagship F300 three-way loudspeaker, which I discussed earlier I've spent little time with its smaller brother, the F250 ($10,000/pair). The wonderful sound in this room made me regret our late acquaintance. Although not ideal for my large listening room, the 3-way vented Eficion F250 with an Air Motion Transformer (AMT) tweeter has found its made-in-heaven complement in Z-Infinity Audio electronics.
Z-Infinity Audio manufactures customizable tube amplifiers. Its founder/designer, Zsolt Mathe of Redmond, WA, explains that while he's been in the component…
As fate would have it, on my third attempt to enter the Venice Audio Suite—intense conversation made the other passes futile—Mark Waldrep of AIX Records/iTrax had brought in some of his hi-res files for store proprietor Peter Selesnick to hear. The room was quiet, and for good reason: the sound was too beautiful to talk over.
Mark was playing Robert Prosseda's 96/24 DVD-A of Chopin's Ballade in G minor and The Old City String Quartet's 96/24 Blu-ray of Mozart's Clarinet Quintet. The music was heavenly, and the lovely sound of the system supplied perfect end-of-day solace.
Doing…
Ever wonder how Sunil Merchant of Sunny Components managed to set up all that equipment in his four different rooms? This peak behind his shower curtain tells the tale.
Oh, did I love the sound in this room. When I initially entered, Sunil Merchant, aka Sunny of Sunny Components—one of three Sunny's displaying at the show, but the only one with four rooms—was playing a so-called jazz LP that, for worse rather than better, whisked me back to the time that my very nuclear and highly combustible family of three joined my Uncle Herman and Auntie Anna at a resort in the Catskills. The music was so late 1950s that I could almost hear the women at the card table as they commenced yet one more round of canasta.
Realizing that I was about to jump out of my skin,…