It's like asking which comes first, the cart or the horse, while ignoring what's in the cart. For audio, the cargo is music. Without music, there's just noise (as in test signals and chatrooms).
After music come the medium (cart) that contains it, e.g. the file, platter, or disc, and the…
Stenheim was founded by four engineers who previously had worked at Goldmund. A couple of years…
Description: Two-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker with aluminum enclosure. Drive units: two 6.5" (170mm) coated cellulose-cone woofers, 1" (26mm) soft-dome tweeter. Frequency range: 35Hz–30kHz. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Sensitivity: 93dB (half-space). Maximum power handling: 125W, 250W peak. Minimum recommended power: 10W. Supplied accessories: precision mounting spikes, floor-saver discs, and a spanner.
Dimensions: 37.2" (945mm) H × 9" (230mm) W × 10.8" (275mm) D. Weight: 100lb (45kg) each.
Finish: Metallic Light Gray, Dark Gray, with black…
Digital sources: Roon Nucleus+ file server; Ayre Acoustics C-5xeMP universal player; MBL N31 CD player/DAC; Ayre Acoustics QA-9 A/D converter; NetGear Nighthawk router.
Preamplifier: Ayre Acoustics KX-8.
Power amplifiers: Ayre Acoustics VX-8, Parasound JCA100 Tribute monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: MoFi SourcePoint 888.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Vodka (Ethernet), AudioQuest Coffee (USB), DH Labs (1m, AES3). Interconnect: Ayre/Cardas (balanced). Speaker: AudioQuest Robin Hood. AC: AudioQuest Dragon Source & High Current; manufacturers' own.…
So I walked into room 4.2 F213 expecting to love the Reference model (approx. $28,500), paired with the Thales Simplicity II tonearm ($9900) and the new Thales Magnifier phono preamplifier ($42,000, all prices approximate, converted…
Sossa represents Merason DACs and QLN speakers; Rossi, his namesake electronics. Their Munich system included the new Merason Mountain DAC ($22,000), which had debuted at AXPONA; an Innuos Statement music server ($21,700); and an Innuos PhoenixNET network switch ($4250; all prices approximate,…
Japan’s Phasemation has always occupied a special place in my audiophile fantasies. I’ve heard the company’s products in the rooms of American Sound’s Angie Lisi at AXPONA, but auditioning a complete Phasemation system? Never had the chance—until Munich.
A Yukiseimitsu Audio AP-01 Rec-Player and tonearm ($49,975) was fitted with a Phasemation PP-2000 MC cartridge ($7999), which uses custom-made 35µm 6N oxygen-free copper wire wound around an iron core. Either a Phasemation EA-550 Phono Amplifier ($9600) or Phasemation EA-1200 Tube Phono Amplifier ($19,800) fed the recently…
I’d been in touch with Muarah Audio’s US distributor, Octopus Audio, ahead of the Munich show, as I’m currently reviewing the company’s entry-level MT3 turntable for AnalogPlanet. But having that deck in-house didn’t prepare me for the striking flagship MT1 EVO ($8700) or the new Ilumnia loudspeakers. And the room offered more surprises still.
The MT1 EVO, equipped with a $2250 Muarah MY-1/9 tonearm, was fitted with an Aidas Mammoth Gold LE MC cartridge ($11,300; all prices approximate, converted from Euros), and routed through the Polish-built Circle Labs V1000 phono…
This post has been edited to add newly received information.
Having recently read Tom Fine’s review of Amphion’s flagship floorstanders, the Krypton3X ($25,000/pair), in the June issue of Stereophile, I was eager to hear them. As luck would have it, the Finnish speaker company’s display in one of the MOC’s four huge halls included a small, sound-proofed listening booth. Before heading inside, I encountered Amphion CEO Anssi Hyvönen, who founded the company in 1998.
"Finland is a quiet place," he told me, smiling wryly through the opening-day din. "It’s good for speaker…