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T.H.E. Show in Costa Mesa wasn't large, but there were a few debuts including several in the six rooms presented by Common Wave HiFi. In room 327, the Accuphase C‑57 phono stage ($13,975) was part of a demo setup that also included an Accuphase E‑3000 integrated amplifier ($8950), which was shown on static display at AXPONA but was in use here for the first time in the US. When I was in the room, the class-A Accuphase E‑700 stereo integrated amplifier was in use, driving a pair of DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93 speakers ($8950/pair, more for custom finishes).
Often in these pages (and in Industry Update), we have reported ways various brands have experimented with the traditional hi-fi–retail formula. An example: the single-company dealership, adopted most recently by the Vervent Audio Group, parent company to Focal and Naim.
The latest to set up a single-brand dealership is Gryphon Audio Designs, which is preparing to open a "mono-brand" showroom in Los Angeles. Gryphon's implementation, though, is a radical departure from previous experiments in one respect: It's in the Pacific Design Center (PDC), a large (1.6 million square feet) multiuse…
Though clearly built more for performance than for looks, the Thales TTT-Compact ($13,200), designed and built in Switzerland by Micha Huber (footnote 1), ranks among a handful of today's most elegant new turntables. Like the Spiral Groove SG 1.1 or the AMG Viella 12, the TTC-C, true to its name, is compact and self-contained, with its belt and built-in motor hidden under the platter.
That Huber was once a watchmaker is evident in every aspect of the densely packed TTT-Compact, which measures approximately 18" wide by 3.5" high by 12" deep. From the packaging and instructions to its muted…
Setting up the Simplicity tonearm is far from simple. First you install your cartridge in a slotted headshell that will eventually lock into the arm's pivoting carrier (think of the old Dual system) using low-profile screws (supplied). The screws should be tight enough to prevent easy movement and loose enough to permit further adjustment.
You then slide the headshell into a large jig (supplied) called a Sight Unit, making sure there's enough clearance between the headshell and the carrier's transparent acrylic top plate, to avoid breaking the cartridge's cantilever. Unlike the arm's…
At T.H.E Show SoCal, tubed equipment didn't seem as prevalent as I've seen at some other shows, but it still had a presence—a very strong presence—in Zesto Audio's demo room 227. The California-based amplification and electronics manufacturer is led by George Counnas, who has also worked as an audio engineer in addition to designing equipment tubed hi-fi equipment, and his wife, Carolyn, who is responsible for Zesto's signature industrial design.
At T.H.E. Show, Zesto presented a new digital-to-analog converter with analog-tubed output section, the Athena DAC ($15,000) with ESP…
SVS is best known for subwoofers, but the company also makes speakers. Demo'd at T.H.E. Show in Costa Mesa were a couple of examples: the SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle flagship towers ($5000/pair; read Sasha Matson's review), which were playing when I visited the room, and a pair of rear-ported Ultra Evolution standmounts ($1200/pair; stands not included), which were set up in a system with the SVS SB-5000 R|Evolution subwoofer ($2000), which debuted at AXPONA. A Hegel H400 integrated amplifier ($7500), class-AB with DAC and streamer, provided amplification and digital front end in a single…
Bowers & Wilkins and Abbey Road Studios have announced the 801 Abbey Road Limited Edition loudspeaker, a model that commemorates the companies' 45-year relationship. Production is capped at 140 pairs.
The new loudspeaker starts with Bowers & Wilkins's flagship 801 D4 Signature platform and adds studio-inspired cosmetic changes. Each cabinet is finished in Vintage Walnut and trimmed with red Leather by Connolly, a nod to the control room in Abbey Road's Studio Two. A numbered plate on the rear identifies the run, and each buyer receives a hardcover book documenting the brands'…
As I write this, the current US president recently put into effect large import tariffs on almost every country except (oddly) Russia and North Korea, then paused for most countries (including EU countries) for 90 days (except for 10%, and then another 10%). The 145% tariff on Chinese exports wasn't paused (except for computers and smartphones).
Tariffs are the dominant force in our industry right now, due partly to the added cost but also to the uncertainty they create. New products, especially those made in China, have been delayed because prices can't be set. Companies in Europe and…
The first commandment for a Stereophile reporter is to remain neutral about any product under review. But when a company has a history of making things you like, that isn't always easy to do.
Reviewing the VPI Avenger Direct turntable with its 12" FatBoy tonearm, I concluded, "The Avenger Direct recasts records I thought I knew well, revealing secrets and expressing a purer sense of each one's interior life." Covering the VPI Scout 21 for Stereophile's sister website, AnalogPlanet in October 2024, I wrote, "this $3300 table seriously swung and played it all warm and toasty, displaying a…
The Forever One's three-point suspension uses Sorbothane, not springs.
Setup
The VPI Forever Model One arrived complete. Its manual detailed essentials: chassis, clamp, gauge/rod, motor assembly/cover, finger lift, flash drive, belt, power cord, jig, platter, tonearm, and isolation feet. If my experience of other VPI turntables is any guide, the Forever Model One should be straightforward to assemble. By the time this review is published, setup videos should be available.
VPI supplied their Goldy MC cartridge and a pair of VPI-branded, Nordost-made DIN-to-RCA interconnects…