(Re: Best. Not only did I visit considerably less than half the active rooms at the show, but Brian Damkroger and I also did our best to avoid duplicate coverage of systems Stereophile covered at previous shows in 2023. In case of VAC and Von…
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Once again, VAC paired four of its amplifiers with Von Schweikert loudspeakers in a huge room sponsored by The Audio Company. Distinguished by sophisticated lighting design and fabulous sound, this system, which can fill rooms far larger than the Dutch & Dutch 8cs that so impressed me at PAF, vied with them for my personal Best of Show.
By the time I reached PAF's large Marketplace near noon on Saturday, the place was pretty active. Saturday was the busiest day by far at PAF, with reportedly far greater attendance than at last year's show launch in the middle of summer. I left the show early on Sunday, but from what I could see, the coincidence of Day 3 with Seattle Pride put a major damper on attendance. In 2024, the third installment of PAF moves to the weekend after Labor Day.
It took two visits until this room got silent enough for me to get a handle on what was going on sound-wise. There was a lot going on, and it was not always easy to parse.
The big items of note were prototype Spatial Audio Lab open-baffle loudspeakers (price and release date TBD) that descend to 30Hz and two components from Don Sachs and Lynn Olson Design, the Statement 300B monoblock amplifiers ($18,500–$19,900/pair) and Raven preamplifier ($4600). Both products will be manufactured by Spatial Audio Lab later this year.
The monoblocks, based on Lynn Olson's circuit, employ two…
There were multiple world and North American premieres in the large room shared by JMF Audio and Ideon Audio. The exhibit was set up by the two companies' North American distributor, Michael Vamos's Audio Skies, in cooperation with Michael Farnsworth's dealership, Farnsworth Audio, of Draper, UT.
Three of the premieres were in use when I visited during a sparsely attended Saturday morning press conference: the JMF Audio HQS 7001 mono amplifiers ($77,000/pair—review forthcoming), JMF's new PRS 1.5 dual-mono preamplifier ($36,000) with upgraded power supply and transformer, and the Ideon…
In the hallway outside the JMF Audio/Ideon Audio room, Benno Baun Meldgaard, former speaker designer for Gamut, Raidho, and Gryphon, discussed his prototype Hydra loudspeaker. Expected in October, the cost for the for the entry-level 3-way floorstander—the smallest model in Baun's forthcoming Reference line of speakers—is projected at "around $150,000/pair."
Above the Hydra, at the top of the Reference line, will sit a 4-way model with three 14" woofers. It has a projected price of perhaps $400,000/pair. All models are designed to have a frequency response of 16 or 17Hz–30kHz, ±3dB, and a…
"It's the gateway drug to the High End," Vanatoo's Rick Kernan quipped of the larger of Vanatoo's two diminutive active loudspeakers. He was speaking of the successor to the Vanatoo Transparent One Encore that I reviewed in 2019, the Transparent One Encore Plus (T1E+) active loudspeaker ($650/pair, up from $599/pair four years ago).
The T1E+ offer a better tweeter, better Bluetooth support for Apple and Android, a DAC that continues to process files up to 24/96 but converts them to 24/48, and a removable power cable. The new power cable inlet, installed at my urging, unfortunately only…
Entering Klaus Bunge's intentionally low-lit Odyssey room was like entering another dimension. Showgoers may have had no idea what the purpose of the room was—even I couldn't discern it from the display—but they could not possibly have been less than fascinated.
If you spent a while in the room, peered beyond its candlelit fantasy, and could get Bunge (above) to talk about audio rather than politics or his sheer exhaustion from his huge journey, you learned a bit about his $4200/pair loudspeakers—speakers that aren't even listed on his website, but that expand on his Kismet…
One of the highlights of my visit to PAF 2023 was the debut of Klaudio's $80,000 Magnezar Turntable. The world of super-premium turntables is curiously large and active these days, and it's not that surprising to hear of another one hitting the market. From the first glance, though, it was obvious that Klaudio's Magnezar was something extraordinary. For starters it eschewed the "platter plus pods" structure that's become synonymous with super-premium turntables. Instead, it's a modern take on the traditional plinth, armboard, and platter configuration, giving it a chunky, more integrated look…
The relationship between Linear Tube Audio (LTA) and Daedalus Audio loudspeakers is so close that the special pair of LTA 20Wpc Ultralinear+ power amplifier monoblocks ($6800/each) on display in room 2106 at PAF—the second of these companies' two joint rooms—boasted a custom faceplate designed specifically for their owner, Daedalus founder Lou Hinkley.
The system was also distinguished by Daedalus Audio Argos v.3 loudspeakers (above, $15,850+/pair), a pre-production prototype of the forthcoming LTA R2R + ZOTL DAC ($TBD), LTA flagship MicroZOTL preamplifier Level 2 ($5750), three…
Visiting Chuck Miller's Millercarbon room at PAF gave me the opportunity to check in on Townshend Audio, a quirky British manufacturer of audio gear best known for its well-engineered and very effective isolation products. I've always respected the engineering that went into the development, and liked their "luxurious execution meets form follows function" aesthetic. I've always smiled too, at their straightforward, almost simplistic approach to marketing, one that assumes customers will use logic and common sense to make purchase decisions. The Townshend products in use included $2650/pair…