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Gramophone Dreams #12 Contacts

Sidebar: Contacts

Roksan Audio, Jubilee Close, Townsend Lane, London NW9 8XD, England, UK. Tel: (44) (0)20-8900-6801 Web: www.roksan.co.uk. US distributor: Rutherford Audio, 12649 E. Caley Avenue #116, Centennial, CO 80111. Tel: (303) 872-6285. Web: www.rutherfordaudio.com

Focal-JMlab, 108 rue de l'avenir, 42353 La Talaudière cedex, France. Tel: (33) 04-77-43-57-00. Web: www.focal.com. US distributor: Focal North America, 9641-82 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta T6C 0Z9, Canada. Tel: (888) 340-4403, (780) 439-3901. Web: www.focal.com/usa.

Suffering and Celebration in Glorious SACD Sound

Not having listened to Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.6, aka the "Pathétique," in quite some time, I had forgotten how heart-tugging beautiful it is. While there are many recordings of the work, few can possibly sound as good and feel as right as the new hybrid SACD from Channel Classics with Iván Fischer conducting the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Due out October 7, when it will also be available for download in high-resolution format from nativedsd.com, the recording also enlists the fine Brno Czech Philharmonic Choir for its atmospheric pairing, Borodin's Polovtsian Dances.

Tchaikovsky…

RMAF 2016: Herb's Wild West Preview

I flew to Denver in a tin can. It had no insulation, no tube traps, no RPG diffusers, no noise-cancellation circuits. It was extremely noisy and it had plastic seats—very much like those white stacking lawn chairs they sell at Home Depot. Instead of fold-down trays for hot food, this plane had little iPhone shelves on the backs of all the seats. But the woman piloting the tin can was amazing. If I didn't look out the window I couldn't tell if the plane was in the air or on the ground. Life in the can was loud but cool runnin'.

Just before I left Brooklyn, I discovered that I…

RMAF 2016: Day 0 with Jana (and John Jameson)

Thursday, October 6th, 2016. Heart revving. Mind blackening. Bones liquid. Chills. Aches. Slight fever. The works.

As soon as we got to the Denver Marriott Tech Center, the anxiety began. I am not normally an anxious mess, but this was a special occasion: I was about to attend my first major audio show, the Rocky Mountain Audio Festival 2016. (I did attend the 2015 New York Audio Show, but that doesn't compare to the size of RMAF—even taking into account this year's construction-induced compaction.)

AudioStream's Michael Lavorgna and I made the 50-minute ride from Boulder to…

Dealer events in Cambridge & Canada Thursday

Thursday, October 13, 6–8pm, Blink High End (129 Franklin Street, Cambridge, MA)02139) is presenting an evening with Raidho, Aavik,and Ansuz. Star guests will be Michael Borresen and Lars Kristensen who will be showing their Raidho Acoustics D5.1 flagship loudspeaker ($250,000/pair), the Aavik Acoustics C-300 preamplifier ($36,000) and M-300 monoblock power amplifiers ($96,000/pair), along with Ansuz Acoustics DTC cables and accessories. This is a system unlike anything you have heard before, they say.

Please RSVP by phone (617) 225-0700 or via email.

Thursday, October 13…

RMAF 2016: Day 1 Liftoff

On Friday morning at 9am, the blogging team of (left to right) yours truly, John Atkinson, Herb Reichert, and Jana Dagdagan gathered for a strategy meeting in the newly remodeled restaurant of the Denver Marriott Tech Center. As it ended up, I opted to cover rooms in the lobby, on the mezzanine, and on floors 5, 6, and 10 (45 rooms). John, who could only stay for two days, went with floors 7 and 11, and the independent Magico exhibit at the nearby Hyatt (24 rooms)—as well as all the other things you need to do when you're the Editor of the world's largest-circulation audiophile magazine. Herb…

RMAF 2016: Herb's Friday Morning

I believe deeply in the importance of bricks-and-mortar audio dealers. I see audio salons as regional pilgrimage sites. I see them as places to hang out, educate myself, and dream about how perfect life will be when I get that new tonearm and cartridge I'm lusting for. They are also the best place to buy perfectionist audio.

In New York, we have at least nine high-end audio dealerships, and each is radically different in vibe and product roster. At each one I learn about and experience a completely different musical-aesthetic viewpoint. I believe this type of direct contact with…

RMAF 2016: Day 1 with Jana

At 10am sharp on Friday, energized with a belly full of scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and a regrettable amount of watery hotel "coffee," I set out to make good use of the designated press-only hours. My assignments: the 2nd floor, a few seminars of my choosing, Classic Album Sundays, and a last, mysterious task—anything else of interest.

Oddly, this instead turned into a good full hour of wandering in and out of vacant and/or unprepared rooms. In my hyper-caffeinated state, the complete abandonment made me begin to wonder if I had tripped and fallen onto the set of The Shining. Around…

RMAF 2016: More Marvels on the Marriott Mezzanine

Mmmmm!

Forgive the alliteration overdose, but that was my reaction to Peachtree Audio and Zu Audio making good sound together. Peachtree's David Solomon, operating an iPad while jacked up on enough caffeine to enable a mouse to fly to the moon on its own steam, seemed caught by surprise as non-industry showgoers appeared in his room during the time reportedly reserved for the press. (What was going on with that, folks at the RMAF registration desk?) Packaging was still strewn about, and this security-minded veteran of both a New York junkie neighborhood and an Oakland barrio had to move…

RMAF 2016: Ascending to Floor 5

Before me, the name Auralic. Inside the room, that company's new Polaris wireless streaming amplifier ($3800), paired with Ryan R630 loudspeakers ($5000/pair). Outputting 120Wpc into 8 ohms and 180 into 4 ohms, the 10 lb Auralic Polaris supports PCM up to 384/32 and DSD up to 256. Containing a wireless streaming unit, optional internal music storage, DAC, phono stage, preamp, and amp, it does almost everything but wash windows. Happily, you won't need it for that, because I found it delivered a clear as well as nice-sounding rendition of Beethoven's Eroica, as preserved on a 24/88.2 file…