“Koetsu was one of the first brands I distributed after I founded AXISS Audio Distribution over 30 years ago,” Manzano explained outside one of AXISS’s many rooms at AXPONA. “I was despondent that, following the 2023 death of Fumihiko Sugano, son of Koetsu founder and designer Yoshiaki Sugano, this touchstone brand was no longer available. So, with my new company, Analog2Fidelity, I’ve brought together the original…
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Arturo Manzano, a longtime admirer of Koetsu phono cartridges, has reassembled Koetsu’s original team of artisans to bring the acclaimed brand back to the international market.
High Water Sound’s Jeffrey Catalano could give a master class in room setup. A veteran of hundreds of audio shows, he not only presents exceptional-sounding rooms but also curates adventurous vinyl selections. I invariably leave his room with music titles scribbled in my notebook, like recipes for marvelous dishes.
At this year’s AXPONA, Catalano showcased an impressive array of cartridges, including a DaVa Soul Field ($9750), a Fuuga ($9995), a Red Sparrow ($16,500), and a Miyajima Infinity ($3745), each mounted on a TW-Acustic Raven 10.5" ($6000), TW-Acustic Raven 12" ($6500), or Glanz…
At an early-morning breakfast, Michael Børresen, co-founder and chief designer of Audio Group Denmark, unveiled the Børresen M2 loudspeakers ($190,000/pair) and their companion Bass Modules (price to be announced). Also shown for the first-time North-American audience was the Aavik R-880 phono preamplifier ($70,000), designed to work with DS Audio optical cartridges. The R-880 enables users to adjust high cut, low cut, and absolute phase on the fly.
Børresen described the M2s as an attempt to retain the sonic qualities of their inspiration—the larger M3s—in a cabinet sized for…
John DeVore brings more than music to his rooms: he brings thoughtfulness, a sense of discovery, and superbly curated recordings.
At AXPONA 2025, DeVore’s system featured a Well Tempered Lab Kauri Mk II MC cartridge ($2000), mounted to the integrated tonearm of a Well Tempered Lab Versalex turntable ($4850). A Grimm Audio MU2 streaming DAC/preamplifier ($17,500) handled digital.
Amplification included a Leben RS-30EQ tube MM phono preamp ($3495) and a Leben CS-600X 30Wpc EL34 integrated tube amplifier ($8995), driving DeVore Fidelity Gibbon Super Nine loudspeakers. The Nines are…
Kathryn Dawn Lang was country ... until she wasn't. A native of the Canadian province of Alberta, lang (who prefers her name lowercase) grew obsessed with Patsy Cline and country music in general before she was out of college. She joined the Patsy-focused country act The Reclines in 1983 in Edmonton. They released their first album, A Truly Western Experience, in 1984.
Styled as "cowpunk" by many, the album caught the ear of pub-rocker Dave Edmunds, who produced the band's next, rockier album, Angel with a Lariat. That album, in turn, found its way to Patsy Cline's one-time producer Owen…
Joe Henderson: Multiple
Milestone/Craft CR 00845 (LP). 1973/2025. Orrin Keepnews, prod.; Elvin Campbell, Al Vanderbilt, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
Milestone/Craft CR 00845 (LP). 1973/2025. Orrin Keepnews, prod.; Elvin Campbell, Al Vanderbilt, engs.
Performance ****½
Sonics ****½
The essence of jazz is supposed to be the free-flowing exploration of ideas and expressions. Yet hardcore fans of the music have the unnerving habit of supporting and denigrating the work of the same player from record to record. Artistic growth is often seen as a negative. Even devoted fans might not follow an artist who veers off into a stylistic direction they abhor. The classic example is Miles Davis, who went through…
Marchand Audio Video, Davis Acoustics, Jadis, and Crescendo in Harmony
Have you heard The Wall? Not the Pink Floyd album, but a three-way, 51"-tall rectangular-parallelepiped speaker ($42,000/pair in the Walnut finish). Powered by a 50Wpc KT170 tube-based Jadis i70 integrated amplifier ($19,900) and an analog, tube-staged JS2 Mk.IV DAC ($12,000), The Wall didn’t just look like walls—albeit attractive ones—in the Marchand Audio Video room, or merely occupy the long wall they were set against.
Have you heard The Wall? Not the Pink Floyd album, but a three-way, 51"-tall rectangular-parallelepiped speaker ($42,000/pair in the Walnut finish). Powered by a 50Wpc KT170 tube-based Jadis i70 integrated amplifier ($19,900) and an analog, tube-staged JS2 Mk.IV DAC ($12,000), The Wall didn’t just look like walls—albeit attractive ones—in the Marchand Audio Video room, or merely occupy the long wall they were set against.
With their side ports, these speakers are intended to be placed against the wall;…
Hearken Audio’s Dazzling Setup with Jean Nantais, Robyatt Audio, Miyajima, Bastanis, Cinnamon Audio, MasterBuilt, Yeti, HRS, Stein, and 432 EVO
Hearken Audio never fails to put on a demo that sounds very good and looks very good, with products that stray from the norm. Still, this year’s demo sounded particularly good.
Hearken Audio never fails to put on a demo that sounds very good and looks very good, with products that stray from the norm. Still, this year’s demo sounded particularly good.
The analog front end included a Jean Nantais Reference Garrard 401 turntable ($14,000, not including the Garrard turntable) fitted with two tonearm setups: the Glanz 1200s ($12,375) with a Miyajima Zero mono cartridge ($3420), and the Bird of Prey ($23,750)…
Before I heard the new Soulution 717 monoblocks ($109,975/each), I spoke with Cyrill Hammer, Soulution’s CEO and chief designer, and Cliff Duffey, president of AXISS Audio. The conversation was illuminating. The listening? Something else entirely.
This was certainly one of the most expensive systems at AXPONA. Take the source: a $199,975 Transrotor Artus FMD turntable, fitted with the company's 9" TRA-9 Chrome tonearm ($8795) and 12" TRA-9 Ruthenium tonearm ($9995). On one arm sat a DS Audio Grand Master EX optical phono cartridge ($22,000); on the other, a Transrotor MC Tamino ($19,975…
One Saturday not long before press time for this issue, I received an email from Technical Editor (and former Editor) John Atkinson with the subject line, "20 Years Ago."
"Just read your May 2005 As We See It for the first time in many years," John wrote. "Great stuff!"
Could 20 years really have passed since I wrote that piece? Back then, I was in a different career, indulging my hi-fi passion by contributing to Stereophile on the side; now I'm in my seventh year as Stereophile editor. Then I was still a youngish dude; now I am an oldish dude. "Time flies" just doesn't capture it…