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…
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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.
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…
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 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…
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…
For looks alone, few systems could top that from Ontario-based Wynn Audio. Perhaps the most eye-catching CD transport on the market, the Kalista DreamPlay X CD Transport ($68,800) with large outboard power supply, teamed with the DAC in the Métronome AQWO CD Player ($20,000) to create an awesome front end. Next to them, the unusual Vimberg Amea Bookshelf speakers ($18,000/pair; above) looked somewhat tame (which they weren't).
Throw in the first US showing of Karan Acoustics' POWERa Stereo Amplifier ($53,000; below), which outputs 650Wpc into 8ohms and includes Critical Mass Systems…
John McGurk's Audioshield distribution, together with Johnathan Ellis's Audio Chamber of Murrieta, CA, featured a system that delivered fine, clear, all-of-a-piece sound that brought a smile to my eyes and happiness to my heart.
In a system based around CREDO Audio Switzerland EV1202 Reference (Custom Shop Rough Cut Finish) loudspeakers ($19,995/pair), the recently reviewed Meitner MA3 Integrated D/A Processor/Streamer with Volume Control ($10,500), van den Hul Grail Phono Stage ($8995) and cabling—all distributed by Audioshield—with the addition of a VPI Industries Prime…
Hands down winner of my "Anything but Hotel California" Unusual Music Award, the first of Common Wave Hi-Fi of Los Angeles' three rooms kept platters spinning and visitors happy.
The brainchild of Wes Katzir, who is one savvy with-it dude, Common Wave Hi-Fi is a dealership / social listening gathering space located in the Los Angeles Arts District. The first of their set-ups I visited immediately converted me to the cause.
Headliners:
DeVore Fidelity O/Baby 90dB sensitive, White Oak finish loudspeakers ($5600/pair) with matching stands ($995/pair),
Audio…
There were no seats available. Nor was there any real reason to sit. Assembled partly for the fun of it, with components more common to DJs than audiophiles, Common Wave Hi-Fi's Club set-up was designed for enjoyment plain and simple. You've got to hand it to a dealership/social gathering place that devotes as much time to entertaining its guests as selling equipment. They go hand-in-hand, actually, if you do it right.
Heading the system were Ojas Artbook shelf speakers with horn mod ($5500/pair in this color) and matching CW Custom Stands ($1100/pair). I believe this speaker is…
"This has to be one of the best sounding rooms at T.H.E. Show," said self to self. Listening to Count Basie and his Orchestra's rendition of "After the Rain," the beauty, clarity, and absolute spot-on rightness of every single high-end parameter I could think of impelled me to write in my notes, "The price reflects the pedigree of the sound."
Not that anything in this system approached the six-figure range. The impressive, infrequently encountered QLN Signature SE Monitors ($17,995/pair in standard finish—$23,995/pair as shown) from Sweden and the virtually ubiquitous at T.H.E.…