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A speaker brand new to me, Kroma Atelier from Spain, caught many an eye and ear with the US premiere of their small black Mimi Xtreme standmount loudspeaker ($12,600/pair in white, $13,860 in black, left in photo) with Mimi stands ($3600/pair). Introduced by Tim Lukas's Matterhorn Audio Group of Boston, whose other brands include FinkTeam and Creek, the speaker is claimed to work with amps that output as little as 15Wpc. With a 6.5" midrange with proprietary cone, and a special AMT neodymium-ribbon tweeter designed by Mundorf to Kroma Atelier's specifications, the speaker boasts a 4 ohm…
A direct-sales company new to me, MK Audio of Charlotte, North Carolina, journeyed cross-country to present their Arion Audio Apollo 9 loudspeaker system ($35,900/pair) with full DSP and advanced room correction. The Apollo 9 is also available in Dual-Pack Woofer Package ($5900) that includes two additional woofers with two amps. With AMT drivers built in-house, the speaker is an open-baffle design with a claimed whopping 105dB sensitivity.
The woofers, which crossover around 120Hz, are also open-baffle, housed in a separate cabinet to avoid interaction with the main cabinet. For more…
I first encountered consistently handsome Rosso Fiorentino speakers at a show years ago, and immediately encouraged a now-retired distributor to pick up the Italian brand. I'm so happy to discover that AudioThesis is now bringing them into the US.
Rosso Fiorentino Fiesole speakers ($8500/pair) with matching Fiesole Stands ($1500/pair) were paired with a Norma Revo IPA-140B ($8000) and Norma Revo DS-1 CD player/DAC ($6000), a Lumin P1 streamer ($10,000) acting as a transport into the Norma Revo DS-1's DAC, AudioQuest Niagara 7000 power conditioner ($9800) and Dragon cabling, and…
"Why do you need all of those microphones?"
I've been asked this question more than once, by musicians you may have heard of. I'm not going to name names, but if you press me I might. Let's see where this goes.
It's a reasonable question, sometimes. Still.
I've had serious conservatory musical training, but I wouldn't call myself a musician—not anymore. At one time, I would have. Now, I would say that I'm a recording engineer and music producer. So, why would a musician with no technical training or professional technical experience consider themselves a proficient,…
Another speaker surprise from Matterhorn Audio Group of Boston. The midrange exceled through FinkTeam Borg floorstanding loudspeakers (starting at $36,490/pair), shown next to the Kim standmount (starting at $12,990/pair). The sound of Dominique Fils-Aimé singing "Birds" was as fetching as Chris Botti's "What a Wonderful World" was lovely.
The German Borg is specified as extending down to 32Hz, with a roll-off of –6dB by 41Hz. High frequencies extend above 30kHz, again with roll-off. Average impedance is 10 ohms, dropping to 6.5 ohms at 20kHz, and sensitivity is 87dB. Completed with…
"Really nice alive sound." Simple words, they. But truth be told, they only apply to a limited number of systems at an audio show and far beyond, in the supposed "real" world.
This room was hosted by Darin Forkenbrock of JaguarAudio.com (center in photo above, flanked by stepfather Richard Brunne, left, and Randy Forman, right), contained brands that I rarely discover at shows. Terminating at Avantgarde Zero TA loudspeakers ($15,995/pair), the system began with a Kuzma Stabi M turntable ($24,875) with Kuzma 4-Point 9" tonearm ($6995), Phasemation PP-2000 cartridge ($6995), and…
So large in size that few if any dealers will ever be able to carry them, the prototype Genesis Prime+ loudspeakers ($680,000/system) exhibited a beautiful midrange on an LP of Oleta Adams singing "Don't let the Sun Go Down on Me." Ditto for the voice of Mel Tormé, accompanied by George Shearing on "You'd Be So Nice To Come To."
Both LPs were played on a VPI Avenger Direct turntable ($36,000) with Wand tonearm and a Goldenberg Maestro cartridge ($6000). The phono stage was a VPI prototype (projected at $6000). The line stage preamplifier during my time in the room was the Viola…
Without doubt, of all the systems I evaluated at the 2022 Pacific Audio Fest, the imposing, hardly bargain-basement set-up assembled by Elliot Goldman, of Florida-based Bending Wave USA, was one of the Top Three Best Sounding. Only equipment capable of top-level sound reproduction could have worked together synergistically to deliver such convincing full-range sound.
When I entered the room, Elliot was playing a 1994 digital mastering of Peter Hurford's analog recording of J.S. Bach's Passacaglia & Fugue for Organ in C minor. Although I was still settling in and taking photos while…
Is it possible that two of the best-sounding rooms at the show could be on the same floor? You know the answer.
It takes a superb system to hold its own against Bending Wave's powerhouse. Yet Jeff Joseph's considerably more financially modest undertaking wooed over one show attendee after the other. Opinions were unanimous amongst those I spoke with. If Bending Wave's set-up didn't walk away with Best of Show, this system did. If there were other contenders for Top Two, I regretfully missed them.
First, the components:
Joseph Audio Pearl Graphene loudspeakers ($44,…
Ed DeVito, whose by appointment Audio-Ultra showroom is located a short ride from SEATAC airport, had planned to exhibit his Dohmann Helix 2 Base turntable ($33,000) with optional Carbon Fibre Top ($2700) and composite armboard ($2600). The table was equipped with the even newer Kuzma Safir 9" Arm with Silver Kondo wire XLR ($22,000) and Ortofon Verismo cartridge ($6999). But when he finished setting it up to perfection in his showroom, it sounded so right that he decided to leave it where it was.
Hence, one night after Michael Fremer visited Ed's showroom, did yours truly drive…