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The official closing time of HE 2007 was 5pm on Sunday. I was surprised to see, then, that there were some people registering even as late as three o'clock Sunday afternoon. Now, that's real devotion to the hobby!
It's about time this great composer was recognized for the deep well of complexity and musical emotional he brought to the concert (and recording stage). If you can listen to the Second Symphony and not experience that dark three o'clock of the soul, then maybe music just isn't your thing.
Michael Kennedy offers an appreciation—including free music and lots of recommendations. Bravo!
When I was in GuangZhou, my hotel was a nexus for American couples meeting their adopted Chinese babies. My heart went out to these newly minted families doting over their new additions, eyes brimming with hope and love.
Elizabeth Fitzsimmons proves that I didn't have a clue how immediate and profound that love was. You guys of the male persuasion might want to read this when you're alone, so that nobody will see you weeping.
An enduring aspect of Audio Shows is the meeting up of old friends, colleagues, and acquaintances, who all share a sense of belonging to a single community. Shown here in a chance meeting at the Grand Hyatt's entrance are (l–r): veteran speaker designer Richard Vandersteen, tube amp manufacturer Mark O'Brien of Rogue Audio, and Stereophile's associate publisher Keith Pray.
As Robert Deutsch mentioned in his report from the 2007 Montreal Show, Ofra (left) and Eli (right) Gershman of Gershman Acoustics have been exhibitors at just about every audio/home theater show the past few years. As in Montreal, the Gershmans were demming their new Sonogram speaker at HE2007. More conventional in appearance than their flagship Black Swan, the Sonogram, photographed here by Larry Greenhill, is priced at a very competitive $2500/pair.
Other Stereophile writers, like Wes Phillips and Stephen Mejias, had mentioned how impressed they had been with the sound in the Sjöfn room, but what I had not appreciated until I visited the Swedish manufacturer's room towards the end of the Show was: a) how small these speakers were; b) how good the stereo imaging was despite the speakers being right up against the wall behind them; and c) how much thunderous bass was being produced by just two reflex-loaded 4" woofers! Of course, the Guru speaker ($1800/pair), photographed here by Larry Greenhill, is designed to take advantage of…
At CES, the Vandersteen/Audio Research room always strikes me as being like an oasis—and not just because of the potted plants they have in the room. And so it was in the room sponsored by New Jersey dealer Audio Connection at HE 2007: music presented without hype or bombast, and simply relaxing to listen to. The speakers were the Vandersteen 5As ($16,900/pair +$5000 for carbon fiber cabinets), with Audio Research PH7 phono stage ($5995), CD7 CD player ($8995), Reference 3 line-stage preamp ($9995), and Reference 110 amplifier ($9995). The analog front end was the Clearaudio…
"We had more traffic on Friday than we had all of HE2006," said Dynaudio's Mike Manoussellis.
"Really?" Ayre's Steve Silberman yelped when I told him Mike had said that, "I probably should have been there!"
Yes, Steve, you probably should have. I was stopped time and time again by audiophiles wanting to hear the MX-Rs I wrote about. They'd come to HE2007 to hear the gear they'd read about in Stereophile and almost nothing I've written in the last few years generated more buzz than that review.
Besides, almost everybody who asked that followed up with, "And how's…