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Recording of December 2024: <I>Faces at the BBC</I>

Faces at the BBC, Complete BBC Concert & Session Recordings 1970–1973
Rhino R2726026 603497827824 (8 CDs/1 Blu-ray). 2024. Rob Caiger, prod.; Nick Robbins, Dave Corbett, engs.
Performance *****
Sonics ***½

The record business was awash in money and power. Vinyl LPs were still five bucks, and while the pressings could be suspect, the music-buying public still snapped them up en masse. Even in that world of gatefolds, inserts, and textured covers, Faces' Ooh La La remains an impressive sleight of hand. Made up of remnants from two other bands—The Small Faces and The Jeff…

To Attract Young Audiophiles, Stay Out Of Their Way

In the September issue of Stereophile, in this space, I proposed a way to attract more young people to hi-fi. To reach younger people with your products, I argued, speaking mainly to manufacturers, create products that have integrity about them and that also tell a story. Products with a message, products endowed with meaning. Use good materials, classic designs, historically important circuits. To improve value and performance, keep the parts count low and assembly simple. These products need to be reasonably affordable, but it's okay to ask young people to stretch for something fine.

I…

Bending Wave and Tone Imports: Göbel, Wadax, Riviera Audio Labs, Shunyata

Bending Wave’s Elliot Goldman and Tone Imports’ Jonathan Halpern brought a change of pace to the Jackson Suite, with not one or two but eight US debuts for the rowdy Capital Audiofest (CAF) crowd.

That new gear smell included the Göbel Divin Comtesse Loudspeakers ($60,000/pair), new Wadax Studio Player ($39,800), and a baker’s dozen of new Shunyata cables, including Theta interconnects ($1370/2m pair), Denali power distributor ($6000), Typhon T30 power conditioner ($6500), T30 umbilical cable ($2000), T30 power cable ($2000), Alpha X NR power cable ($2850), and Theta speaker cables ($…

Command Performance AV: J.Sikora, Doshi, Audiovector, REL, Gryphon, Marten, SOTA, Transparent, Solid Tech

The high-end audio world, with its shiny boxes and astronomical price tags, often gets a bad rap. People dismiss it as a playground for the wealthy, a place where form trumps function. But Jeff Fox, the mastermind behind Command Performance AV, isn’t buying it. He’s here to prove that high-end audio isn’t just about showing off; it’s about experiencing the blood, guts, and beauty of music. If the prices start to rise, at least you were warned.

I stepped into Command’s Democracy showroom and was greeted by a surreal sight: a young man, garbed in a garish red wig, cavorting like a…

DALI Debuts EPIKORE Series Speakers in New York

Following the release of their statement product KORE loudspeaker in 2022 and the impressive EPIKORE 11 4½ way floorstander ($60,000) in 2023, DALI has introduced three new EPIKORE models, two more compact floorstanders and a stand-mount loudspeaker, to expand the series into a full line. All were on display and in action for the press in multiple listening rooms at Park Avenue Audio in NYC.

In attendance were Thomas Knudsen, DALI Sales Manager, and Jason Zidle, Lenbrook North American Brand Manager for DALI, although the discussion was led mostly by Thomas Holm, DALI Senior Product…

Cube Audio + Lampizator + Tekton = Fine Sound

"At last, a fine midrange!" scribbled I with relief after visiting one too many rooms where any semblance of midrange warmth had been exiled to Siberia.

It felt like a homecoming, albeit a strange one—in that just as I began to sink into or groove on what was playing, the track abruptly shifted to another. Such demos, alas, always strike me as more about sound than music. Even with that reservation, the sound on Camo & Krooked's "Witch Doctor" and Hugo Barriol's "Hold My Hand" was sufficiently engaging to make me wish I could have heard far more.

By the time we got…

Mozzaik Audio Embraces Distortion

My goal, in writing reports on the Warsaw Audio Video Show, may be to mix products from Polish brands with a few noteworthy premieres. But when a chance meeting during dinner led to the discovery of Mozzaik Audio, headquartered in Croatia just a few countries south of Poland, my interest was piqued.

It piqued further when I learned that the company's amplifier, which has been marketed in Europe for three-four years, "embraces distortion." The amp, which outputs 500Wpc into 4 ohms, has several settings intended to manipulate "psychoacoustic distortion" for optimal sound. According to…

Supreme Acoustic Systems: YG Acoustics, Bergmann Audio, AirTight, Cardas

Supreme Acoustic Systems and Axiss Audio brought the kind of equipment that gooses my reviewer’s jones for new review gear. From the Brutalist looking Bergmann Audio turntable to the fantastical YG speakers to the fetish worthy AirTight amps, I tried to maintain dry palms while taking notes.

Specifically, the SAS system in Room 628 consisted of the Danish Bergmann's Galder & Odin Signature turntable ($43,615), mounted with an AirTight Opus 1 cart ($15,975).

AirTight amps included an AirTight ATE-3011 Reference Phono Amplifier ($34,975), new AirTight ATC-7 Stereo Line Control…

Gershman Acoustics with VPI, Infigo, VAC, Cardas

Ofra Gershman brought her 30th anniversary Black Swan Speakers ($95,000/pair) to CAF2024. These speakers feature the company’s patented “Separate Sub Alignment System,” which physically separates the tweeter and midrange from the woofer. “This unique design not only allows for custom time alignment,” states the Gershman website, “ensuring that high, mid, and low frequencies reach the listener in perfect synchronization.”

Paired with upgraded drivers, the internal “Bass Trap” and an advanced crossover network, these speakers . . . “create an immersive and organic listening experience…

Alma Music & Audio with Technics, Innuos, Accuphase, Amphion, Hana, Kubula-Sosna, GigaWatt

Bill Voss of Technics was tardy to his Alma/Technics room at Capital Audiofest 2024, so Stereophile managing editor Mark Henninger and I sidled in, invited show attendees, and spun some discs. By the time Bill arrived we had a small party going.

As usual, Bill had a crate of choice vinyl. We grooved to an OG Frampton's Camel, swung our limbs to alto saxophonist Art Pepper's Meets the Rhythm Section, and spun some sweaty nineties twelve-inchers. Bill arrived with coffee and donuts, none the wiser.

Mark made a video with Bill presenting Technics’ new SL-1300G turntable ($…