O'Hanlon had the brand spanking new Graham Audio LS8/1 Limited Edition standmount loudspeakers ($9700/pair, with stands). When I told him I owned a pair of the Spendor BC1s, upon which the Grahams are based, O'Hanlon fiendishly poured more whisky down my throat, wrestled me to the carpeted hotel floor, and introduced me to golden Montreal harpist, Isabeau Corriveau (bottom photo…
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Alma Music's Fabio Storelli and On A Higher Note's Philip O'Hanlon tempted me with promises of serious sound, female entertainment, and triple-distilled whiskey. I fell into their room and almost spent the night.
I have a theory about Greg Roberts, Gary Dews, and Pete Grzybowski, respective owners of Volti Audio, BorderPatrol Audio Electronics, and Triode Wire Labs. I knew guys like these three in high school, whip smart dudes who had the best music, stayed up late playing that music, but were somehow at school the next morning before anyone, pushing their grades to the max. Me? Slacker.
That's why the Three Volti Musketeers always play music loudly, pre and post show hours, checking the rig, always experimenting. I can attest to this phenomena, as I was up early and late, researching room…
Literally everything in this room, except Doug White of The Voice That Is and Vinnie Rossi, was new.
This room gets my vote for the most beautiful looking system of the show. A stunner.
Tidal Audio's new The Piano G3 loudspeakers ($64,000/pair), in piano black finish, were a knockout, and Rossi's new Brama "collection" of components were at once, sleek, and statuesque.
Regarding Tidal Audio's The Piano G3s, the press release, paraphrased, stated "The cabinet is even more silent and rigid, all new drivers, the new diamond tweeter has no hard contact to the cabinet, new…
Andrew Jones enthuses about his new MoFi SourcePoint 10 speakers
CAF 2022 was all abuzz with news of Andrew Jones's new MoFi Electronics 10 standmount loudspeaker, the SourcePoint 10 ($3699/pair, Stereophile review by John Atkinson scheduled for the February 2023 issue). With a specified sensitivity of 91dB/2.83V/m and an impedance of 8 ohms, the two-way, reflex-loaded speaker features a 1.25" soft-dome tweeter concentrically mounted in a 10" woofer. But that's not all that was on display and in use in the MoFi room.
In the listening room, in addition to Jones' speakers…
Val Acora returned to CAF with his new quartz QRC-1 and QRC-2 two-way Scanspeak driver-equipped loudspeakers, the quartz cabinet material a variation on his former granite-enclosure models. Why quartz? Acora said quartz is more forgiving, easier to work with, provides a more rigid material that holds drivers more securely, and has better sound.
Spinning a vinyl disc on big system one, the RCA Living Stereo version of Ernest Ansermet's The Royal Ballet Gala Performances including the The Nutcracker, the music floated, apart from the hi-fi system, with excellent detail, resonance…
Steve Jain, Managing Director & cofounder of New Jersey's Fidelity Imports had [edit] six rooms (!) at CAF, all packed with enough hi-fi goodness to make my North Carolina grandmother give-me-my-inheritance-now to buy more gear!
My CAF running buddy (and superior artist, journalist, and fine fellow), Michael Lavorgna, of must-read audio site TwitteringMachines.com, corralled me (after two refreshing Sazeracs) into the Fidelity Imports room, where the French-made Diptyque DP107 speakers ($7999/pair) were making fast, streamlined, thrilling music. The 86dB/W/m, 6 ohm Diptyque DP107 is…
India's Rethm loudspeakers, California's Ampsandsound, and China's Auralic combined forces to make unique sounds at CAF 2022.
Stereophile, I'd not heard Jacob George's Rethm Maarga speakers. But I have heard, drooled over, and yearned to review Justin Weber's Ampsandsound amplifiers (Jim Austin, are you reading this?!) after covering them at the last NY headphone show. Justin brought his new Black Pearl 300B stereo power amplifier ($16,000) and The Preamp ($1850, both available…
Legacy Audio founder and designer Bill Dudleston (center) brought his Aeris and Calibre loudspeakers to CAF, joined by Now Listen Here's James Thompson (left) and Aaron Sherrick (right).
Their system included an Innuos ZENmini server w/LPSU ($2498), a Bel Canto Black e1X DAC/preamp ($13,500), a Bel Canto Black e1X amplifier ($10,500), with Legacy Audio Aeris speakers w/Wavelett II processor/DAC/preamp ($27,792/pair), and Legacy Audio Calibre speakers ($6050/pair). Transparent Super speaker cables ($2000/pair), Transparent Super XLR interconnects ($1500/pair), Transparent Premium…
I have a confession, one I'm hesitant to make for reasons that will soon become clear, but my conscience compels me to make it.
I have a new dog. A puppy. Her name is Ella Wren.
Yes, "Ella" honors Fitzgerald, who started her career singing on the streets in Harlem, not many blocks from here, some 90 years ago. Wren was the puppy's shelter name; we liked it, so we kept it. To me she is a beauty: brindle all over with a long, elegant snout and sad brown eyes. She's nearing 40lb at just 4½ months: She's going to be a good-sized dog.
We don't yet know what kind of dog she is…
John Wolff brought his Classic Audio Loudspeakers T-3.4 Field Coils ($29,500/pair) to the Show. This speaker comprised an all wood cabinet, 300 HTZ radial wood Tractix horn, two 15" woofers, a "4" beryllium tweeter diaphragm by Truextent loaded into 6475 2" throat field-coil compression driver," and a 16 ohms impedance. They weigh 350lb apiece.
Atma-Sphere's Ralph Karsten was not in attendance, but his amplifiers were, including his MP1 preamplifiers ($12,100/pair), and MK3.3 Novacron monoblocks ($12,000/pair): 60Wpc; four Russian 6C33 power triodes per channel; class-A, Circlotronic®…