search

Margules i-240 integrated and MS-01 prototype server meet Raidho's TD3.2 speakers, RSX Tech and DH Labs cabling and more

AV Luxury Group International, based in Las Vegas, unveiled a system that stood out for its speed, openness, and impressive range of colors. A case in point: O-Zone Percussion Group's "Jazz Variants," that did a fine job of evoking the system's well-controlled deep bass and striking highs.

Heading the front end were Margules of Mexico's i-240 integrated amplifier ($6000, below), a pure class-A tubed component that outputs 25Wpc into 4 ohms; a prototype Margules M-S01 media server ($TBD) whose DAC can handle DSD128 and PCM up to 32/192, and works with either Roon or Volumio…

Alma Music & Audio Shows Boenicke W8 Speakers, Nagra Classic Amp and Pre, MSB Premier DAC, Innuos Statement Next-Gen, and more

It's been far too long since I've encountered Boenicke Audio loudspeakers. Organic in design, with their inner chambers carved out of wood, and sometimes abetted by Bybee devices, they're capable of throwing a huge soundstage from a relatively small footprint. The floating W8 ($8500/pair), used in one of three rooms from Alma Music & Audio of San Diego, include, in addition to what you see on the front, a side-firing woofer and a rear-firing tweeter.

Joined with an Innuos Statement Next-Gen music server ($21,700), MSB Premier DAC ($27,950), Nagra Classic Pre and Classic Amp…

Alma Audio pairs the Wilson SabrinaX with Bricasti's M25 and M21, the Innuos Statement, Kubala-Sosna cabling, and more

One of the many qualities of Wilson Audio SabrinaX loudspeaker ($19,000/pair) is the ability to let you hear, without editorializing, the unique sonic qualities of the electronics that precede them. Thus, with the help of Kubala-Sosna Sensation cabling, a Finite Elemente HD09 ED amplifier stand, and Nemesis Decorac acoustic paneling (bottom photo), could I hear the lovely midrange, impressive bass, and unglamorized highs produced by Bricasti's M21 DAC/Preamp ($16,000) and M25 Stereo Amplifier ($18,000) with the essential help of an Innuos Statement Network Music Server ($15,100 with 1TB…

Analog Corner #268: Grado Lineage Epoch phono cartridges

Brooklyn-based Grado Labs has been in business for 64 years, manufacturing moving-iron phono cartridges, headphones, and, for a while, even a unipivot tonearm with a wooden armwand, as well as the sophisticated, S-shaped Signature Laboratory Standard arm.

The company's founder, Joseph Grado, who well deserves the appellation "legendary," died in 2015, at the age of 90. He began as a watch builder at Tiffany & Company, and started making phono cartridges in 1953, as the hi-fi boom took off. He retired in 1990 and sold Grado Labs—still located in the same Brooklyn building where he'd…

Analog Corner #268: Grado Lineage Epoch phono cartridges Page 2

For the Lineage Epoch, Grado specifies an output of 1.0mV; a frequency response of 5Hz–75kHz; average channel separation of 33dB, 10Hz–30kHz; inductance of 8mH; resistance of 90 ohms; and a mass of 12gm. The recommended vertical tracking force (VTF) is 1.5–1.9gm.

One issue that must be addressed with a low-output MI that produces the flattest measured response when loaded at 47k ohms is the choice of phono preamplifier. If your phono preamp offers only low impedances for its MC input(s), you're probably out of luck—or at least you won't maximize the Epoch's performance. That's also…

Joseph Cali Systems Design Showcases Gryphon Audio's prototype EOS 2 loudspeakers, Antileon Evo power amp, Pandora preamp, Ethos CD/DAC, and more

Joseph Cali, aka the producer/husband of singer Lori Lieberman, made audio news with his sneak peak of Gryphon's prototype EOS 2 loudspeakers ($20,800/pair). A successor to the Mojo S, the EOS 2 is the first Gryphon speaker with a beryllium-dome tweeter.

Paired with Gryphon's Antileon Evo power amplifier ($39,000, below), Pandora preamp with external power supply ($32,000) and Legato Legacy phono card ($8890), and Gryphon Ethos CD/DAC ($39,000), the system paired wonderfully with Innuos's Statement server with prototype power supply ($15,000) and Phoenix Net network switch ($3995), a…

Garth Powell's Musicianship shares honors with AudioQuest's Mythical Creatures, CH Precision, Steinheim's Alumine 5SE loudspeakers, and more in one of many rooms from Sunny's Components

Chalk it up to show karma, but I've now covered two consecutive shows where the accuracy of CH Precision's latest gear has lent itself perfectly to comparison demos. In this case, it was AudioQuest's now-completed Mythical Creatures line of "characteristic impedance" cabling.

Having discussed the theoretical and practical foundation for characteristic impedance cabling at length in a recent AXPONA blog, I'll focus herein on the presentation by AudioQuest's Chief Engineer, Garth Powell. Garth's life as a percussionist began at age 11, 48 years ago. Four years later, he began to…

PranaFidelity's purna/ma amp and Dhara loudspeakers team up with E.A.R. USA's Acute Classic CD player and Townshend Allegri Reference Mk.II preamp

Together in one room, PranaFidelity's Steven Norber and E.A.R. USA's Dan Meinwald guaranteed fine sound from great and unusual music. First came a fascinating CD of a 1973 analog recording, Conference of the Birds, on which the David Holland Quartet (whose members included Anthony Braxton) performed "Four Winds." "The Dhara speakers are finally finished," said Norber of a 40lb standmount ($7950/pair with stands), which includes dual 6" woofers and a 30mm tweeter, and boasts a frequency range of 38Hz–23kHz, a sensitivity of 88.5dB, and an 8 ohm nominal impedance.

Together with…

Katli Audio pairs Usher's ML-801 loudspeaker with Conrad-Johnson, Cocktail Audio, and Esoteric gear

Katli Audio of Chino Hills, CA, the US importer of Usher Audio loudspeakers, paired Usher's ML-801 ($1l,950/pair in satin wood finish) with rarely-encountered-by-me Conrad-Johnson and other components.

The ML-801 has a specified frequency range of 28Hz–38kHz, and a sensitivity of 87dB. A three-way, four driver design with two 8" carbon-fiber woofers, it uses a new 1.25" magnesium-alloy tweeter and magnesium-lithium alloy midrange unit.

On Allan Taylor's "Colour to the Moon," a lovely warm midrange stood out in a nice, wide soundstage. Doing the remaining honors were…

AXPONA!

I'm writing this one week after returning from Schaumburg, Illinois, where I attended my first real audio show since the Florida Audio Expo in early 2020, just as the pandemic was starting to gain momentum. Everyone I talked to was hopeful, but no one could predict what attendance would be like or what people's attitudes would be.

There were a few glitches, mainly logistical: Shipments didn't arrive or arrived damaged. One exhibitor had to carry an integrated amp to the show on his lap, first on a bus and then on a plane. (I didn't think to ask: Did the amplifier fit in the overhead bin…