In all fairness, this was far from the only room at T.H.E. Show whose sound was bright.
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When I heard the big Ventures at CES 2013, I was so impressed with their beauty of sound that I lingered far longer than my schedule allowed. John Atkinson was similarly impressed at the 2013 New York Show But here, paired with the same Phasure NOS1 DAC, XX HighEnd software, and similar if not identical electronics and cables, the bright sound led me to truncate my visit.
By now, the excellence of the big TAD Reference One loudspeakers ($78,000/pair), designed by Andrew Jones, has become well-known to Stereophile readers. Less familiar, perhaps, may be TAD’s Reference electronics: the TAD D600 CD/SACD player and DAC with external power supply, the C600 preamplifier with external power supply that Michael Fremer reviews in the June 2013 issue ($42,000), and M600 monoblocks ($68,000/pair).
For the first time, Andrew paired the TAD Reference chain with a prototype Blue Smoke Entertainment Systems Mk.II music server (approx. $8k). Scheduled for launch in a…
No one needs me to detail the strengths of McIntosh equipment, not the least of which is its consistently smooth midrange. But in a system that included the McIntosh C2500 tube preamp ($6500), MEN220 Room Perfect room correction ($4500), MC452 power amp ($8500), MPC1500 power controller ($4500), MCD1100 CD Player ($10,000), and XR100 speakers ($10,000), the tightness and impact of the bass was nothing short of startling. Call it the “Whoa! Factor.” Equally noteworthy was the very warm, large, and all-enveloping presentation.
That Albert Von Schweikert is an excellent speaker designer is widely known. Hence it was no surprise that the Von Schweikert Audio UniField Two three-way bookshelf loudspeakers with dedicated stands and active noise reduction ($8000/pair) were making exceptionally smooth music on an unidentifiable classical piece played on an outstanding system that included the YFS supercomputer HD.REF-3 LE ($15,500), EMM Labs DAC2X ($15,000), and Constellation Audio Centaur amplifier ($27,000) and Virgo preamplifier ($29,000). All this was powered and connected by Master-Built Signature power cords ($6200/…
Going all out, Totem Acoustics followed up its home theater room with a second room that included two completely different systems. Just finishing up playing when I entered the room, the “Boulder System”—Boulder 2060 power amp with “Made in the USA” XTC amp stand, 1010 preamp, and 1021 CD/Networking player—fed the brand new, just shipping Totem Acoustic "Forest Signature" loudspeaker in Cherry ($6000/pair). This was the same Boulder amp and preamp whose sound helped me wax ecstatic at Music Lovers Audio in San Francisco 22 days earlier. As for the all-important loudspeaker, it has the same…
There were two systems in Audio Summa’s room on the 10th floor of the Hilton, but I concentrated on the one with the brand new Kuzma 4-point NSE tonearm with Crystal Cable Silver/Gold ($6375) and Stabl M turntable ($18,500). Paired with Silverline Audio’s Sonatina Mk.IV loudspeaker ($5995/pair); Conrad-Johnson Classic 60SE stereo tube amp ($5000), ET-5 Triode tube preamp ($9500), and TEA2MAX triode tube phonostage ($6500); no longer manufactured BEL 101 Mk.IV stereo amps; Furutech Flux cables (Lineflux, Speakerflux, and Powerflux power cords); and HRT Music Streamer HD, MicroStreamer, and…
In my last post (and the story of why it was so long ago is an epic which I won't go into now), I observed that the listener I am today is a completely different critter than the one I was years ago. It's inevitable that time, experience, and liff its ownself change us—and change the way we perceive art.
Two readers—KBK and RankStranger—wrote in saying that they had acquired collections of classical discs in the hope that they might eventually gain an appreciation of the genre. Another reader—our esteemed Alan in Victoria—wrote in incredulously: "You guys keep hundreds of classical…
Exposure, the old-school British company best known for its high-value amplifiers and disc players, has entered the ever-growing iPod market with its new EXPO3 wireless dock. The EXPO3 uses a Bluetooth A2DP-equipped cradle to transmit music files to a base station receiver connected to your hi-fi. A fully-charged iPod is good for eight hours of fun; the base station can recharge both iPod and cradle transmitter, and you can continue listening to music while charging.
In addition, a mini-jack on the handheld cradle allows you to stream music from other devices to your stereo. The…
The trio of Paul Motian, Joe Lovano and Bill Frisell finishes a two-week gig at the Village Vanguard this Sunday, and if you’re in the New York area, you should drop in (though call ahead for tickets, as nearly every set, including the one I saw last night, has been packed). Here are three of the most creative jazz musicians around, each playing at the top of his game, a combination that doesn’t always make for the most coherent combos (think of the many “all-star bands” of yore that amounted to little more than blowing contests), but this trio is that rare thing, a truly equilateral triangle…