Manufacturers' Comment
Editor: Thank you for your time and effort put into the measurements of our amplifiers for this review. Your measurements are correct, but we must point out that the Margules U280-SC Black is definitely not a conventional tube amplifier. It has a different design approach, so it should be treated as such, and your comments are a good opportunity to explain the engineering behind the amplifier and to shed light on why Jason Victor Serinus's auditory evaluation and your technical measurements have differing outcomes.
Respectfully, and in the interest of…
That is me you see hanging out the car window like an old hound dog—ears flappin' in the slipstream—a big smile on my face. I am happy in the wind 'cause I am heading down to Rockville, Maryland to Capital Audio fest (starting today, November 3, and running though Sunday November 5) where I will see at least 60 fine audio rooms and I'll chatter on a panel about "The Virtues of Vintage" with old pals, Art Dudley, Joe Roberts, and Blackie Pagano. I'll be cruising the Rockville Hilton Hotel halls meeting new people and visiting the rooms of some old and (hopefully) some new friends. Tickets for…
Perhaps you've heard this before, but it bears repeating: Veteran exhibitors and attendees alike have a great deal of loyalty and affection for this seven-year-old show and its busy founder, Gary Gill. I was reminded of that during my very first stop on day one of Capital AudioFest 2017, when Kevin Hayes of VAC described the reasoning behind the decision to assemble such a large, expensive, and distinctly ambitious playback system: "In light of the move to this time of year, we wanted to help Gary and the show by doing something exceptional." The result: a system built around the mighty Von…
Although Halloween has just passed, I've just experienced a vinyl horror courtesy of the US Mail.
Recently, while idly combing the Web for LPs (something I rarely do), I came upon a 1962 deep-groove, mono reissue of pianist Tadd Dameron's 1957 release Mating Call with John Coltrane on Prestige Records. The cover was still in the shrink with a 77 cent price sticker on it. It had the Bergenfield, NJ address on its yellow labels. And the LP itself was billed as being in VG++ condition. The seller, therecordparlour is his eBay name, wanted $50. While it wasn't a first pressing, it was a…
I like the word tenacious. I consider myself tenacious. I admire tenacity. But I have to ask, what is Tenacious Sound? It is an audio dealer in Syracuse, New York, that is about to "tenaciously" open a new store in Nashville, TN. Tenacious had two rooms at the 2017 Capital Audio fest. The first was upscale and featured John Bevier demonstrating the hottest speaker of the moment, one I think sounds fast and lucid in a sometimes-thrilling way, the TAD ME-1K ($14,290/pair). The TADs, which JA tells me will be reviewed by Thomas J. Norton in the January 2018 issue of Stereophile, were driven and…
I began the second half of my Friday in the room sponsored by Tone Imports and Connecticut dealer Old Forge Studio, enjoying a mix of the familiar and the unfamiliar. In the former category was the enduringly recommendable PTP Solid 12 turntable (2950 Euros, available direct) from the Netherlands—a cleverly refurbished idler-drive Lenco with a smart Corian plinth—with a Thomas Schick tonearm and an EMT TSD 75 SFL cartridge ($2100), itself driving the EMT-specific version of Auditorium 23's step-up transformer ($2200).
In their first US show appearance in recent memory were…
Fyssion? That rhymes with "fishin'," right? Every year I pop in the Fyssion room and every year I start thinking of fishin' before I even sit down, because these Fine Southern Gentlemen remind me of how good the bass fishing must be in their home state of North Carolina. I always cause a little friction 'cause I try to get them to have a room sheet with info about the gear they are playing and they always say, "Why should I do that?" I grin and explain that, "No words from you gets no words from me." They all laugh.
They know I'm a city boy, and they having me on. This time I spoke softly…
There's a strain of music collector that lives for the obscure, the out-of-print, the never-heard- of-it before.
Many are deejays—professional or only-in-their-minds. Whatever their status, they are the most dedicated crate diggers, content to spend hours laboriously going through boxes of 7 inch 45s, looking for their holy grail. Although garage rock fans are obsessed, it's the R&B fanatics who become most consumed. Finding that elusive, unknown, super cool jam that no one else has, drives them into basements, thrift stores and swap meets.
The market for rhythm & blues,…
Pros: Tactile, clear, colorful, and remarkably spacious sound; beautifully made gear
Cons: Audiophile music, audiophile demonstration protocol.
The sound in the room that featured the Daedalus Apollo 11 speaker ($22,800/pair), a selection of tubed electronics from ModWright, and cabling by WyWires was superb: detailed without sounding etched, and pleasantly liquid and warm, with good texture and a really great, spacious sense of scale. On top of all that, the gear from both brands is gorgeous: as rich and colorful in appearance as in sound.
But when I entered the room and sat…
Just one week after Capital Audio Fest, the three-day New York Audio Show opens on Friday, November 10, in Manhattan's Park Lane Hotel. With two live references close by—the great outdoors of Central Park is just one block away, and Carnegie Hall is just one block farther in the other direction—the three-day show promises 25 or 26 active listening rooms and up to 100 brands.
Although in exhibit room numbers, the show remains virtually unchanged from last year, there is one major difference. The hotel's ballroom, which last year was divided up to host vendors, seminars, and an exhibit from…
