Mark brought an Innous Statement Next Gen Music Server ($25,000), a Mearson DAC1 MKII ($8500), and an Innous Phoenix NET network switch ($4350) to complete the all-digital front end.
Vinni Rossi’s Brama Integrated Amp (rated at 200Wpc into 8 ohms, 400Wpc into 4 ohms, $47,995) drove the QLN Reference 9 Loudspeakers ($42,000) in a worldwide debut.
The Reference 9 Loudspeaker, QLN’s flagship, is a 3-way bass reflex speaker with a 6dB-slope crossover between midrange…
Messy and human, Shpongle's 2013 release, Museum of Consciousness, found much love from ampsandsound’s Weber-built system. The analog front end—an SME Model 20 MK2 turntable ($31,900) with an Ortofon Classic SPU GE MkII “nude” MC cart and Auralic Vega G2.2 DAC/Preamp…
System one included the debut of the NAD Masters M66 BluOS streaming DAC/preamplifier with Dirac Live bass control and room correction ($5499); the NAD Masters M23 stereo power amplifier; PSB's flagship Synchrony T800 3-way, bass-reflex speaker with three 8" woofers, a 5 1/4" midrange, and a 1” titanium dome tweeter ($11,998/pair); and a PSB SubSeries BP8 subwoofer ($1499/each).
System two featured the NAD Masters M10V2 BluOS…
After my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I noticed candles, a lot of them. 47 to be exact—I counted. Most were assembled in small groups on the floor, on ledges, in corners, behind lamps, peering like malevolent jack-o'-lanterns.
The back half of the room was devoured by a curtain of inky black linen. No light could escape or enter. Was this the prelude to some unholy pagan sacrifice out of a fever dream? Were we about to be bled…
It was the debut of the all-new BAT REX 300 Power Amplifier ($15,000) and VK-85 Preamplifier ($12,500). BAT's clever tagline "Crossing the Rubicon: The New Romance of Solid State" hints at a bold departure, suggesting their new solid state designs capture the magic usually associated with tubes, in a new form.
The REX 300 Power Amplifier Power features only two gain stages, with zero global feedback in a fully balanced circuit from…
The room also presented the world debut of Linear Tube Audio’s Aero DAC ($3600) with an Innuos ZEN MK3 music server ($3649), Atma-Sphere MP-1 preamplifier ($26,000), and Atma-Sphere Class D monoblocks (that's their name; $6130/pair). Cabling was by Anticables: Level 4.2 Flex speaker cables ($350/pair), the new Perfect Music 4 XLR interconnects ($935/pair), Level 3.3 USB ($215), and Level 3…
That turntable was a TW-Acustic Raven GT2 ($12,500), its copper accents mostly obscured in the photos by a record, equipped with a Raven 10.5 tonearm ($6500) and a Fuuga MC cartridge ($9995). The…
One night, though, a low rumble vibrated through the wall. It was the unmistakable growl of Dave Holland's acoustic bass, weaving its way through "Sauerkraut 'n Solar Energy" from Norman Blake/Tut Taylor/Sam Bush/Butch Robins/Vassar Clements/David Holland/Jethro Burns. This was…
The system included the Dynavector XX-2 cartridge ($TBD) in a world debut, a Well Tempered Lab Amadeus Jr. turntable ($3350), a Lejonklou Entity MC phono stage ($2795), a Lejonklou Boazu integrated amplifier ($4195), and a pair of JM Reynaud Bliss Jubilee loudspeakers with matching Magic stands ($3500/pair). Necessaries included a…
Fox presented a J. Sikora Initial Turntable ($10,750) with an Origin Live Zephyr 12” Tonearm ($1700) and an Aidas Durawood Cartridge ($4950). A Sutherland TZ Vibe transimpedance phono preamp ($1400) fed a Naim Uniti Nova integrated amplifier ($6899) and two sets of DeVore Fidelity speakers: micr/Os ($3950/pair) and O/babys ($5700/…