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I wrote much of this column, including the title, in early April before the Trump administration announced "reciprocal" tariffs on imported goods. A random example: Switzerland, home of CH Precision, darTZeel, Goldmund, Orpheus Lab, Piega, Stenheim, Thorens, and Wattson, among other hi-fi companies, where the tariff is 31%. Before this issue closed, the Trump administration announced a 90-day reprieve for everyone but China, then exempted computers and smartphones (and a few other categories) from the China tariffs. Importers and foreign manufacturers I talked to at AXPONA in April were happy…
Most of what I know about audio I learned from drag racing. That's where I first recognized the relationship between force, geometry, and sound. When I was barely out of high school, I began consciously picturing sounds as a symphony of forces operating in a Cartesian space. In retrospect, this "Cartesian picturing" was probably inspired by the descriptive geometry class I was taking at Wright junior college in Chicago, but I didn't think of that at the time.
In my partner's tiny wood-framed garage, revving an engine with racing headers and no mufflers was a Level-6 noise event that made…
The 2.5W ZMF Aegis. Check out those transformer covers!
ZMF
At the end of the day Saturday, I met up with my peeps in ZMF's large double room, where a young woman in stylish black-and-white checkered pants was gathering up 121 tagged-and-numbered ZMF headphones that had been set out for attendee listening. Each of the large room's tables featured at least one DAC and two headphone amplifiers. That's a lot of wires and metal boxes and people shuffling about playing musical chairs, listening to their own choices of music. ZMF was giving head-fi aficionados access to their complete…
Photo by Mark Henninger
Steve Jain, cofounder and managing director of Fidelity Imports, has been busy since launching the company six years ago in the Philadelphia area. In recent months, Fidelity has added two brands to their roster; they now represent 16 high-performance audio companies. Maintaining his early passions helped fuel his drive to start a business and continue its expansion and innovation—aspects Jain believes differentiate Fidelity Imports from the competition. "I constantly want to keep trying to innovate and keep us ahead," Jain told me in a recent conversation over Zoom…
Underpinning a discussion about the merits of potentially costly specialist audio cables is an obvious question: Why do we need them? Doesn't almost all wire conduct audio signals with negligible distortion and very little loss of power? Specialist hi-fi cables seem expensive for what you get. Especially at the upper end, they seem like a worse value than electronics and loudspeakers. Depreciation is greater, too: Cables are almost a consumable.
But if you wish to finesse the quality endeavor of classic separates-based hi-fi systems, you cannot do without them. Fundamentally, it is not…
Cable properties
The most obvious and easily quantified lumped-parameter electrical properties of cables are inductance, resistance, and capacitance—L, R, and C. Can variations of these parameters subtly alter the system sound? Yes, they can. Manufacturers rarely tell us what these values are, probably because it would undermine the frequently obscure technical claims made for their products. For a loudspeaker cable, the "complex" electrical load, which includes the loudspeaker, is connected back to the amplifier output port (and in many cases, in addition, to the inverting input via the…
The most obvious and easily quantified lumped-parameter electrical properties of cables are inductance, resistance, and capacitance—L, R, and C. Can variations of these parameters subtly alter the system sound? Yes, they can. Manufacturers rarely tell us what these values are, probably because it would undermine the frequently obscure technical claims made for their products. For a loudspeaker cable, the "complex" electrical load, which includes the loudspeaker, is connected back to the amplifier output port (and in many cases, in addition, to the inverting input via the…
I began the test series I discussed in Colloms on Cables with the first company to respond to our request for review samples: AudioQuest (footnote 1). Their loom comprised a pair of Robin Hood Zero loudspeaker cables; Pegasus I/C interconnects, both unbalanced RCA and balanced XLR; Blizzard AC power cables; and Vodka Ethernet cables. AudioQuest has decades of experience with audio cables, supplying a huge range from high-quality "industrial" cables—some available in bulk for custom-install applications and manufacturing—to more familiar audiophile constructions. Their designs are highly…
Sidebar: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Linn Sondek LP12 turntable with Keel chassis, Karousel main bearing, Radikal motor control, Naim ARO tonearm, and Lyra Delos cartridge.
Digital sources: Naim UnitiCore network server and S/PDIF source; Roon Nucleus +; Naim ND555 Streamer-DAC with dual 555PS(DR) power supplies.
Phono preamplifier: Naim SuperLine-SuperCap DR.
Preamplifier: Townshend Allegri Reference.
Power amplifier: Naim NAP 250 (2023/4 series).
Loudspeakers: BBC LS3/5a 15 ohm (Marshall), FinkTeam KIM, Wilson Audio Specialties The WATT/Puppy.
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Meet audio legend Richard Vandersteen at three exclusive events on the West Coast. As the founder and head engineer of Vandersteen Audio he is renowned for groundbreaking speaker designs that have helped define high-end audio for decades. He's offering audio enthusiasts a unique chance to hear from him firsthand at these special events.
The first event takes place in San Diego on Wednesday, May 28, at Stereo Unlimited (3191 Sports Arena Blvd., San Diego, CA). The evening runs from 5:00 to 9:00 PM, featuring a detailed presentation at 5:30 PM, followed by a Q&A session and listening…
Munich’s annual High End show took place May 15–18 at the MOC Event Center. Considered the biggest and most important audio show in the world, High End Munich is where distributors meet with brand principals and often expand their portfolios. The show also draws throngs of European audio lovers and journalists.
Now read that again but with all verbs in the past tense. That’s right: it’s auf Wiedersehen to the Bavarian capital, because starting in mid-May of 2026, the show will be held annually in Vienna's more modern ACV (Austria Center Vienna), 220 miles due east. Whether the sleek new…