Aaudio Import's Brian Ackerman, whom I have encountered at shows for well over 20 years, noted that the Ypsilon Phaethon SE Integrated Amp ($52,000) with "bridged single-ended" output stage has silver-wound transformers. Outputting 110Wpc into 8 ohms and 170 into 4, it joined Ypsilon's tubed DAC 1000SE ($52,000), whose discrete,…
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Once the volume was turned up, the fourth movement of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade filled the large space with exciting sound. Distinguished by appropriate bite and a solid midrange, the system also excelled on Ray Charles and Norah Jones' "Here We Go Again."
In a large, exceedingly difficult-to-tame room, Acora Acoustics SRC-2 loudspeakers ($37,000/pair) did a superb job with voices. I sat mesmerized, trying to figure out who was singing "Largo al factotum," aka "Figaro, Figaro, Figaro, Figaro, etc . . .," from Rossini's The Barber of Seville.
I once attended the Metropolitan Opera Pacific Northwest Regional Finals, and one aspiring baritone after the other threw away this aria. Their nervous energy was major, but their performances strangely uninvolving.
How different then, to hang on every word and note of Roberto Servile's…
Ken Boyce's Cake Audio of San Clemente united many well-respected brands in a fine system that impressed many show goers. At the top of my "Wow, this is good" list were the lovely piano timbres on a 45rpm pressing of Eugene Istomin performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No.24, and good old Elvis' absolutely fabulous, prime voice, do-with-me-what-you-want rendition of "Fever." Not yet the overdone cynic of his later years, Presley perfectly gauged every single syllable and nuance in his surprisingly tasteful, no questions left to ask performance. Need I say that it would not have sounded half as…
Yes, it's a mouthful. And perhaps the name will change. But as for now, the new SVS Prime Wireless Pro Powered Speaker Pair ($800/pair), an active/passive self-powered combo whose 200Wpc driver amps are housed in one of the two speaker cabinets, is due out in mid-August. This is a fine-sounding alternative to a sound bar, complete with a 24/192 DAC and an active digital crossover. Connection will be either wired or wireless, with options including DTSS, Play-Fi, AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, aptX Bluetooth. Play-Fi will enable listeners to stream 24/192 signals.
There's more.…
After I joined Emiko Carlin, Senior Vice President for T.H.E. Show, for our wrap photo op, she said, "What? You missed the opportunity to see MC Audiotech's new speaker?"
What the ever-delightful, tell-it-like-it-is and then some Emiko says, Jason does (within reason). Posing concluded, off to the 2nd floor we dashed to discover Mark Conti in the throes of packing. Quickly was the TL-12 ($TBD), due in September, unshrouded. This baby will have the same drivers as in the Forty-10 loudspeaker, arranged vertically, and coupled to a transmission-line–loaded 12" woofer. The first-order…
First things first. This was one of the best-sounding rooms at T.H.E. Show. Given its sheer size, I have no question that some of the success was due to the various and sundry magical Synergistic Research accouterments—I counted 10 so-called "Acoustic Room Treatment" devices and 5 Synergistic Power Conditioning devices (including Purple fuses)—along with new Synergistic Racks (intended for internal use) and, no surprise, Synergistic Research cabling.
But all that would have amounted to little if the rest of the components hadn't been up to snuff. No problem there. In a surprise…
Given the legendary status of 300B tube-based amplification, this blog may surprise you. But in all my years at audio shows, I cannot recall more than one or two instances when I've been treated to a 300B-based product. If I'm wrong, then it's safe to say that those products did not leave a lasting impression. Since none of my audiophile buddies owns 300B-based electronics, that renders me, at this late stage of life, a 300B virgin.
Which made my half hour in the room sponsored by Oz Turan's High End By Oz even more enlightening. Admittedly, a half hour is a long time to spend in a room…
Look into the faces of Jashan Bahl and Anmol. The boy, who is 5, came to the show with his dad because he loves music and instruments. He's wide-eyed, curious, and ready to learn. He is the future of high-end audio.
The current state of the high-end could be felt strongly at T.H.E. Show. This may not have been a record-setting blockbuster affair—attendance felt light on Friday and Sunday, but very healthy and engaged on Saturday—but it was one where a plethora of major and second-tier brands at all price points were on display. There was time aplenty to linger in rooms, and plenty of…
Are well-heeled audiophiles ready for a knob-free future? Gryphon Audio Designs thinks so. In contrast to Gryphon's volume knob–dominated Pandora preamplifier, the Danish company's new Commander offers nothing on its bold front panel to grab or turn.
Instead, there's a large, extra-thick, triangular glass protuberance that extends dramatically below the chassis's vertical dimension. That's where you'll find an "on/off" button, the main unit's only physical switch.
A 4.3" TFT capacitive touch screen incorporated within that triangular glass panel controls all this preamp's…
It took just a few minutes, working from the front-panel triangle, to name the inputs and match input levels. Fresh out of the box, the Commander sounded opaque, overly smooth, and "closed in." It was time for break-in, as this unit was factory fresh. I listened for about an hour, but that's all there was time for as I was leaving the next day for the UK to attend SME's launch of the new flagship Model 60 turntable. (See the article and the video posted on the AnalogPlanet YouTube channel.) Before leaving for the airport, I set Roon to stream Qobuz through the dCS Vivaldi One at low volume…