Jason demonstrated the Theoretica Applied Physics Bacch-SP adio Stereo Purifier with DAC ($30,000) for me, and I was duly impressed, if a bit spooked. Who knew there was so much audio action happening behind my head?
Also in the room, a Roon…
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At the risk of giving these social media upstarts more attention, my old friend Jason Messina (aka The Audiophile Junky) could be found in the Popori/UniQue room, which is a funny thing. The only time I’ve seen Jason even close to being immobile—i.e., not making videos, which he does, hitting the ground running (I’ve seen it)—is at a show!
Although I did happen upon Peak Consult speakers in Munich and Southern California in 2023, we last reviewed a Peak Consult speaker almost 18 years ago. Hence my excitement when I encountered genuine full-range sound (albeit too loud) in the room that paired a new reworking of the company's El Diablo loudspeakers ($79,000/pair) with Extraudio electronics.
"The core of Peak Consult’s designs are its cabinets, to which we apply crossover and driver technology," explained Sales and Marketing Manager Mike Picanza. Picanza should know. He formerly ran the UK branch of Dynaudio for 10 years and…
Here's a hard truth: A written review of a full-sized speaker—any speaker, really—is, at best, semi-useful. We all listen differently, we have different musical tastes, our system electronics are different, and our listening rooms vary a lot. You will gain a general picture of a speaker's capabilities and foibles from John Atkinson's measurements, and I can tell you how the speakers sound to me, in my room. But that's it. You need to hear them for yourself before making a buying decision. The best I can do is tell you how my music brain felt when the speakers were in my house and making music…
Listening I: Well-known tunes with the reference system
After that break-in period, I started listening critically using my reference system (dCS Bartók streamer/DAC, Benchmark LA-4 preamp, Benchmark AHB2 power amplifier). I had noticed during break-in that these speakers put out a lot of bass energy, more than I expected from 6.5" woofers. So I turned to my trusted Bass Test playlist on Qobuz (footnote 4). My go-to test of fast and deep bass these days is "Flea" by St. Vincent from All Born Screaming. There are deep beats, deep synth sounds, a bassline that goes to the bottom…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Three-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive units: 1.1" (28mm) "DAD (Damped Apex Dome) Arrow Point" tweeter with copper shorting ring, 6.5" (165mm) "Camelia" midrange unit mounted in cork internal enclosure, two 6.5" (165mm) pulp-cone woofers. Crossover frequencies: 280Hz, 2.5kHz. Frequency response: 35Hz–40kHz, –3dB. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Sensitivity: 89dB/2.83/m. Power handling: 50–320W.
Dimensions: 42.6" (1081mm) H × 12.1" (308mm) W × 16.3" (530mm) D. Weight: 73.6lb (33.4kg) each.
Finish: walnut or wengè wood, black.…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog source: Technics SL-1200MK7 turntable with Ortofon 2M Blue MM cartridge.
Digital sources: dCS Bartók streaming DAC, Oppo DV-981HD universal disc player.
Line preamplifier: Benchmark LA4.
Power amplifier: Benchmark AHB2.
Receiver-streamer: T+A R 2500 R.
Loudspeakers: B&W 808.
Accessories: Butcherblock Acoustics Rigidrack equipment rack, SME turntable cable.—Tom Fine
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system, a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone, and an Earthworks microphone preamplifier to measure the Sonus faber Sonetto V G2's quasi-anechoic frequency- and time-domain behavior in the farfield. I used an Earthworks QTC-40 microphone, which has a small (¼" diameter) capsule, for the nearfield responses.
The Sonus faber loudspeaker's voltage sensitivity is specified as 89dB/2.83V/m; my B-weighted estimate was 88.6dB(B),…
Perhaps my biggest discovery at the 2023 Warsaw Audio Video Show was Fezz Audio's reasonably priced line of excellent-sounding electronics. With a lineup that includes the Equinox Prestige tube DAC, designed by Lampizator, and the new Olympia monoblock whose auto-bias feature—controlled by a microprocessor—fine-tunes bias between tracks, Fezz electronics again joined with Pylon Audio loudspeakers and, for analog, Muarah turntables to produce fine, life-enhancing sound with fundamental integrity that speaks volumes.
With a computer as a source, I listened to Doug MacLeod's "Sweet…
Derek Skipworth of Arlington, Texas’s Audio Thesis was on hand to showcase several components at CAF2024. His spartan room featured a T+A Elektroakustik SDV 3100 HV Streaming DAC preamp ($38,900) and a T+A Elektroakustik A 3000 HV power amplifier ($24,275), driving the striking Rosso Fiorentino Siena Series 2 loudspeakers ($40,000/pair).
Audio Thesis’s biggest announcement
Audio Thesis’s biggest announcement was the global launch of Turnbull Audio. Not to be confused with Devon Turnbull of OJAS fame, this Turnbull is a cable company, which outfitted the Audio Thesis room at CAF.…
The buzz was palpable weeks before I hit the show. David Chesky’s son, Lucca, had designed a pair of small bookshelf speakers—the LC1—while still in high school and developed the speakers while interning at Princeton University with Professor Edgar Choueiri, the brains behind Bacch SP.
Sandy Gross, veteran and founder of Polk Audio, helped choose the drivers and contributed to the design, I was told. And they were selling for $498 apiece.
The LC1 cabinet exploits a composite, multi-layer, high-mass, non-resonant material, features a 1” dome tweeter, a 6.5” polypropylene cone…