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"That's an impressive soundstage for a two-way monitor," I thought looking at the diminutive Confidence C1 loudspeaker, but hearing a wide, deep soundstage. Dynaudio's 25 lb pound, two-way ($7000/pair plus $450/pair for two) features a 7" woofer and the Danish company's acclaimed Esotar2, 28mm, soft-dome tweeter. The drivers are mounted on a baffle that is said to be decoupled from the cabinet. Dynamic range was superb driven by Simaudio Moon W-7M monoblocks, thought JA, who thought that this system's reproduction of Stereophile's new Attention Screen CD was one of the best he heard…
Masataka Tsuda designs and manufactures both Concert Fidelity and Silicon Arts components. What's the diff? Concert Fidelity is his tube line; Silicon Arts Design represents his thinking on—you guessed it—solid-state.
In Rick Brown's Hi Fi One room, Maestro Tsuda had both his state-of-the-art Concert Fidelity CF-80 line stage ($18,000) and Silicon Arts ZL-120 mono amplifiers ($23,000/pair), as well as a prototype of his SA SPA-4 phono stage ($18,000).
The front end was the "half price" Continuum Criterion turntable with Copperhead tonearm ($51,000). The speakers were the…
Signals-SuperFi's Chris Sommovigo poses with the new Continuum Criterion turntable and Copperhead Tonearm ($51,500). Well, he is the importer, after all. However, he is also the designer and manufacturer of Stereovox cables, and he had new AC cables, speaker cables, and interconnects to tout— Dragon AC ($3500), Dragon speaker ($11,000/pair), and Dragon interconnect (tbd). Why didn't he pose with his stuff?
"We're using all we brought," he confessed. So modesty is also sometimes a necessity.
(BTW, that slick rack the Criterion is sitting on is the Stillpoints ESS 405-26 ($…
Signals-SuperFi's Chris Sommovigo poses with the new Continuum Criterion turntable and Copperhead Tonearm ($51,500). Well, he is the importer, after all. However, he is also the designer and manufacturer of Stereovox cables, and he had new AC cables, speaker cables, and interconnects to tout— Dragon AC ($3500), Dragon speaker ($11,000/pair), and Dragon interconnect (tbd). Why didn't he pose with his stuff?
"We're using all we brought," he confessed. So modesty is also sometimes a necessity.
(BTW, that slick rack the Criterion is sitting on is the Stillpoints ESS 405-26 ($…
Peak Consult's Per Kristoffersen poses with his new floorstanding two-way Princess loudspeaker ($10,500/pair). "You know," he said, "it is really quite amazing what you can get out of a 5.5" driver."
That's not technically correct. I've built a few two-way loudspeakers and what I got out of a 5.5" driver was not amazing at all—just sad. But what Kristoffersen was achieving with the Princess was amazing. These are sweet little speakers—and those Stillpoints stands ($995/each) they are sitting on are pretty cool, too. They provided stability and fantastic coupling to the floor.
I never miss the John Atkinson Trio's performances. I like to watch my friends play music and it's a great chance to bond with my fellow audiophiles for an hour or so. But this year wasn't like other years—the boys just flat-out smoked! Allen Perkins of Immedia, already one of my favorite drummers, has been studying with Peter Erskine for a few years and he has burned away any clutter (not that there was much) and is now even more purely him than ever. Bob Reina's regular gigging with Attention Screen has focused his strengths and, I suspect, freed him from having to express everything…
I tried to get an arty shot of Bob Reina playing the Steinway. His chromaticism and inspired soloing made me aspire to a higher level of craft.
The John Atkinson Trio had 'em dancing in the aisles. In fact, only mom Elizabeth Donovan's gentle persuasion kept Ms. Stuelke from dancing on the stage. I think we all wanted to join her.