search
They say that with age comes wisdom, and judging by some of my younger self's misguided choices, that adage could be true, at least for me. In 1984, after graduating from college with a degree in audio production, I moved back to England, where I had spent most of my teen years as a boarding school inmate. I had friends and connections there, and despite being a US citizen, I had some kind of sketchy work authorization that allowed me to work legally in the UK for up to six months. I connected with my old school friend Morris Gould, and we found a flat in South London to share as I looked for…
In 1957, the grease-bearing Schedule 1 301 was replaced by the Schedule 2 version, which introduced an oil bearing with oil-retaining sintered bushings, minimizing user maintenance. There is spirited debate among 301 aficionados as to which bearing sounds better, but as often happens with vintage gear, the earlier and much rarer Schedule 1 grease-bearing models have more value to collectors.
To build a 301 Advanced, Garrard starts by removing every part from the vintage donor chassis. The aluminum is then stripped to bare metal, partly for safety reasons—the original used lead-…
Being an audio reporter definitely has its perks—like when you're in a spacious Munich room, listening to top-tier systems deliver music with astonishing scale and precision.
Managing director Robert Sikora of J. Sikora, the Polish turntable manufacturer, showed two products, including the Standard Max Supreme ($33,800, all prices approximate when converted from Euros) with a KV9 Max tonearm ($10,800) and a DS Audio Grand Master cartridge ($15,000). I also took in the world premiere of the J. Sikora Aspire ($6400) with a KV9 tonearm ($4600) and DS Audio DS-W3…
Danish loudspeaker maker Storgaard & Vestskov, a relatively young company, operates from Bornholm, a small island in the Baltic Sea. Their 150,000ft² production hub handles everything in-house: R&D, milling, varnishing, and final assembly.
S&V engineer Jens Posselt, a veteran of the Danish audio scene with more than 40 years' experience, now works alongside CEO and designer Casper Vestskov Poulsen and co-founder Kim Storgaard, the company's VP of sales.
Despite its short history, S&V offers multiple loudspeaker models,…
Reporting on High End Munich is like navigating a blizzard. As I pushed from room to atrium to hall to lobby, products seemed to whiz by me, their presenters vying for attention in this international maelstrom of hi-fi. Amid my mad dash, a small speaker manufacturer from Sweden caught my attention: Guru.
Recalling Epos and early KEF, Guru—an offshoot of People Audio AB—produces visually distinctive speakers with matte and woodgrain finishes, slatted ports, silk-dome tweeters, and a range of mid/bass driver materials, including polypropylene, reinforced paper…
TechDAS turntables appeared in several rooms. In Room F219, I was particularly taken with the Korf tonearm and the intricate latticework design of the Exquisite Vord Cartridge.
The TechDAS Air Force V Premium turntable ($17,000, all prices approximate when converted from Euros) and Korf TA-AF10 tonearm ($2800) were fitted with the Exquisite Vord Cartridge ($6600), which fed an Engström M-Phono phono stage ($29,000). A Wadax Studio player ($39,800) completed the front end.
Amplification came from an Engström Monica preamplifier ($60,000) connected to an Engström Eric…
Dual sales manager Lothar Mertens presented the company’s full line of manual turntables, along with an intriguing prototype: the CS 718Q, a manual direct-drive 3-speed model.
The manual lineup includes the CS 418 belt-drive 3-speed turntable ($590, all prices approximate when converted from Euros); the CS 518 belt-drive 3-speed ’table with Classic Dual tonearm ($750–900); and the CS 618Q direct-drive 3-speed model with auto-lift and stop functions ($1300 and up).
"It all started with the CS 701 turntable in 1973," Mertens explained of the CS 718Q prototype. “That was…
The Nyquist ONE DAC ($21,990) debuted at the show. The company employed common superlatives to describe the product, calling it "a complete reimagining of our Nyquist series of digital-to-analogue processors," and promising that it offers "a vastly improved power supply and new circuit board layout."
The current Nyquist will be discontinued, but all future digital modules will be compatible with previous Nyquist models. Expected availability for the ONE is October 2025.
Brinkmann also introduced new color options and OLED displays as standard across all components.…
One of the things I value most in life is clarity. In my work, in my intellectual pursuits, and in my relationships, I try to cut through the noise and find the place where I can clearly see facts, goals, feelings, the big picture. If I can find clarity, it's much easier to form opinions, make plans, and take action. Success becomes more likely.
In audio reproduction, my values are similar. I can't enjoy music if the system is producing a clouded, muddy, overly warm, or otherwise unclear sound. I want the electromechanical representation of music to be richly detailed, sharply focused,…
Setup and rocking
These big, heavy speakers are packed in wooden crates. Two adults in good physical shape, with strong backs, are required to move them around. They're not on wheels and thus need to be "herc'd" into place. I set them up on rugs for easier shifting to their final places and toeing in.
From the start, the Krypton3Xs sounded familiar. They presented the same sharp-focused images and fast dynamics as my smaller studio monitors, and they did it on a room-filling scale. In fact, I ended up moving them farther back and apart after my initial, instinctive setup.…