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With New Reference Speakers, JBL Scales a Sonic Summit

"Immerse yourself in extraordinary acoustics and thrilling inspirational insights," trumpeted the JBL "Summit of Sound" press release. Present at the event were Harman Luxury Audio top brass Dave Tovissi, Jim Garrett, and Paul Neville, with Harman's David Glaubke moderating. The men proudly pointed to the elevated sonics of their new Summit speakers, including the JBL Ama ($19,995/pair with stands), the JBL Pumori ($29,995/pair) and the JBL Makalu ($44,995/pair).

The Makalu is a 3-way floorstanding reference loudspeaker with a 12" woofer and 8" midrange driver, both made with JBL'…

Glory and Hallelujah: My Time at Kondo Audio Note

My last stop of the show was a real highlight. The only Kondo Audio Note equipment I'd heard up till then was at a friend's home in New York City. His setup included a Kondo Ongaku integrated amplifier, a Kondo KSL-SFz SUT (step-up transformer), Kondo silver interconnects (KSL-LPz and Ls-41), and Kondo KSL-SPz silver speaker cables. The sound was consistently beautiful, very natural, with a touch of romanticism.

But even that setup didn't prepare me for what I heard in Munich. The show system was fronted by a Kondo Ginga turntable ($68,000) mounted with a Kondo IO-XP MC cartridge ($8900…

Revinylization #65: Six Doors Albums on All-Analog LPs from Rhino

For Warner Music Group, the Doors have been a deep vein of music gold. Their albums have never been out of print, and the catalog has enjoyed regular reissues for decades. Each new version of the Doors' first six albums sells well enough to prompt another trip to the vaults.

The latest moonlight drive down love street is a series of all-analog LPs from Rhino High Fidelity (RHF). A limited-edition numbered box set version sold out in days; un-numbered single LPs will sell until the production parts wear out. Cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearant Mastering using his Studer A-80 tape machine and…

Tiki Time: Desmond's Tiki Tube Amps

T.H.E. Show is enjoyable for many reasons—friendly people, a good vibe, some great-sounding rooms, and new hi-fi gear. There are introductions of new products from known makers and from some showing unexpected things. An example of the latter: L.A.-based Desmond's Tiki Tube Amplifiers, shown on passive display in the Marketplace area. Proprietor Desmond Bowe said these are just intended as examples "to get a conversation started" with the customer.

Bowe is a musician. He started out with guitar amplifiers. He began making his Tiki hi-fi creations during the COVID pandemic as he…

Charles Tolliver and Strata-East

The why behind most artist-owned labels tends to be a thicket of motivations. They have more adventurous tastes. They are more artist friendly. They are anxious to be the ones in charge of the money for a change. For jazz trumpeter Charles Tolliver, co-founder of the record label Strata-East, the motivation was a combination of all these factors and more.

During a break in the hectic schedule that preceded the April 2025 release of 32 reissues from the famed Strata-East catalog—including the work of Charlie Rouse, Pharoah Sanders, and Cecil McBee—I caught up with Tolliver and his son Ched…

Ayon Audio and Lumen White

T.H.E. Show has plenty of jazz in the demo rooms, including Dave Brubeck's "Take Five," which I heard via Roon in the demo featuring Ayon Audio and Lumen White demo in Emerald Bay 1, a large banquet room, presented by USA Tube Audio Labs.

The demo system featured equipment that's been around for a while but has received iterative updates, including tube amplification from Ayon, including the Kronos Signature preamp/DAC ($10,995) with a pair of Orthos EVO Gen 4 monoblock amplifiers, which drove a pair of Lumen White Kyara speakers ($49,000), which have ceramic drivers…

Rock of Life: The <I>Brothers In Arms</I> CD Turns 40

The Compact Disc needed a big win—and fast. During its first few years in the marketplace (footnote 1), the format wasn't living up to lofty expectations. Part of the problem maybe was that most of the CDs released up to that time came from analog sources.

But then on May 17, 1985, the CD's savior arrived: Brothers in Arms, the fifth studio album release by British rock stalwarts Dire Straits. Trumpeted as one of the first "full digital recordings" in the pop/rock oeuvre, Brothers in Arms was an undeniable smash international hit from a band that had struck it big already. Exactly 40…

Rock of Life: The <I>Brothers In Arms</I> CD Turns 40 Page 2

How Dorfsman set up the room in AIR Montserrat tells more of the sonic tale. He deployed Sennheiser MD 421 microphones on the toms, an Electro-Voice RE20 and AKG D12 on the kick, Shure SM57 and AKG C451 with a 20dB pad on the snare, more 451s for overheads and the hi-hat, and Neumann U87s a bit farther back in the room for ambience.

Clark's piano sat alone in a very tight, dead-sounding booth in the far-right corner of the live room and was miked with AKG C414s. His Hammond B-3 sat diagonally across from it, just beyond the barrier and to the right of the drums. The B-3's Leslie…

Voxativ's Latest: Another Charge for the Senses

Inés Adler's contagious passion for audio is built right into her components, and it makes every Voxativ visit a blast. At this year's High End Munich, Adler showed two new products: the Voxativ Streamer/DAC with FM-DAC technology ($16,000), and the Hagen2 Monitor Compact full-range loudspeaker with AF-2A AlNiCo driver ($6900/pair), the first iteration of which Herb Reichert recently reviewed for Stereophile.

The system also featured the 30Wpc single-ended Voxativ T805 class-A tube amplifier ($34,900); the Voxativ 9.88 loudspeaker system, a modular setup with Pi monitor, mid-module,…

Tonar — A Cartload of Cleaning, Clamping, and Candy

If it's large and yellow, it's got to be Tonar! The European analog-accessories giant showed up in full force at Munich, its towering yellow signage and jam-packed booth instantly switching my brain into consumer overdrive.

A partial list of accessories included the Knosti Disco Antistat ($86, review forthcoming at AnalogPlanet.com), the Tonar Wash & Dry vacuum machine ($600), Tonar Vinyl Cleaner ($16/0.5L, $24/1L), Tonar Stylus Timer ($27), Tonar Trackurate scale ($38), Tonar No Rumble Pads ($24), Tonar Simple Alignment Protractor ($17), Tonar Record Clamp ($76), and the Tonar Eco…