"The two words I hate are 'dealer' and 'store'," he told me during an interview at an event he hosted at the—um, gallery he opened in March 2024. "It's just a relaxing place where people can come and listen to music." Melman's presence sets the tone: low-key, thoughtful, meticulous. Located in a rural setting about 45 minutes from Toronto, both the showroom and the landscape inspire relaxation.
A showroom that's pleasant to spend time in is hardly a new idea. Melman combines the space…
Analog sources: Dr. Feickert Analogue Blackbird turntable with EMT 912-HI tonearm and EMT JSD 6 moving coil cartridge, Sorane SA-1.2 tonearm with a Nagaoka MP-200 moving Permalloy cartridge, plus Audio-Technica ART20, Dynavector XX2A, Benz Micro Gullwing SLR, Hana Umami Blue and SL MKII moving coils. PrimaLuna EVO 100, MoFi MasterPhono, Sunvalley EQ1616D, and Schiit Stjarna phono stages.
Digital sources: HoloAudio Spring3 LTE and May KTE (Level 3) DACs, dCS Lina DAC with Master Clock; TEAC VRDS-701T and Sparkler Audio S515t CD transports.
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Velodyne Acoustics has appointed Playback Distribution as its exclusive U.S. distributor, with the partnership debuting at CEDIA 2025. Velodyne says the agreement renews its commitment to the U.S. market and is intended to provide integrators and dealers with consistent access to its subwoofer line.
"As a company with strong American roots, we're excited to partner with Playback Distribution to make Velodyne Acoustics more accessible to U.S. customers," said Mansour Mamaghani, owner of Velodyne Acoustics. "Playback brings the expertise needed to nurture and grow our…
Analog sources: J.Sikora Standard Max Supreme turntable with KV9 Max Zirconium tonearm, Aidas Tru-Stone Gold Web cartridge.
Digital sources: Tascam CD-200 iL player, HoloAudio May DAC.
Preamplifiers: Rogue Audio RP-7 (line). Tavish Audio Design Adagio, Manley Chinook (phono), Allnic H-5500.
Power amplifier: Air Tight ATM-1 2024 Edition.
Integrated amplifiers: Unison Research S6, Riviera Labs Levante.
Loudspeakers: Voxativ Ampeggio 2024, DeVore Fidelity Super Nine.
Cables: Interconnects: AudioQuest Pegasus, Triode Wire Labs Spirit II…
Description: Three-way, reflex-loaded, floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive units: 1" polyimide-diaphragm compression-driver tweeter with ferrite magnet mounted to a 6" × 5¾" aluminum horn; 2" midrange compression driver with a dome-shaped composite diaphragm and neodymium magnet mounted to a cast-metal 12½" × 7¼" horn; 15" paper-cone woofer with neodymium magnet and cast aluminum frame. Crossover frequencies: 500Hz, 6kHz. Frequency range: 32Hz–20kHz. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms. Sensitivity: 99dB/2.83V/1m. Recommended power: 8–80Wpc.
Dimensions: 40" (1026mm) H ×…
On August 14, 2025, Audio Advice announced it has acquired The Sound Room, a St. Louis–based audio, video, and home‑automation firm founded in 1983 by David Young. The move adds a St. Louis location to the company's footprint.
The announcement follows Audio Advice Live 2025, held August 1–3 at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Audio Advice, founded in 1978 and headquartered in Raleigh, NC, announced recent showroom openings in Nashville, TN, and Wilmington, NC. It said customers of The Sound Room will gain access to Audio Advice’s online resources,…
Description: Two-channel D/A processor. Digital inputs: two electrical (S/PDIF on RCA and BNC), one USB. Analog outputs: stereo pair balanced (XLR), stereo pair single-ended (RCA). Supported formats: PCM up to 384kHz, Native DSD up to 8×.
Dimensions: 18.1" (460mm) W × 2.9" (110mm) H × 11.5" (295mm) D. Weight: 22lb (10kg).
Serial number of unit reviewed: EDA220689. Designed and manufactured in Greece.
Price: $9999. Number of US dealers: 19. Warranty: 2 years standard; 7 years and lifetime optional.
Manufacturer: Ideon Audio, Parren 6, Neo Psychiko…
Young Americans lies mid-table in the Bowie album league, overshadowed by his artier-rock music. Fortunately, it has lost the tag of merely being a well-executed pastiche, but Bowie's joke that it was his "plastic soul" album has never done it any favors. To celebrate its 50th anniversary comes the release of a limited…
At the end of the review period, I encountered another issue, though this one was more easily addressed. A couple of times, at levels that were almost unreasonably loud, the Diptyques' diaphragms flexed so much that at certain frequencies in the bottom octave, they hit the magnet arrays, causing distortion and sonic distress. This so-called panel slap is a known problem with planar speakers, including Magnepans. Diptyque smartly includes magnetic bass regulators with its speakers. A bit larger than a business card, a regulator looks like a perforated refrigerator magnet. One or two of…
I measured one of the Diptyque Reference loudspeakers in RvB's listening room, driving it with his Krell FPB 200c amplifier. I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system with a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to examine the speaker's behavior in the farfield and an Earthworks QTC-40 mike for the nearfield responses. I managed to maneuver the heavy loudspeaker onto a small dolly for the measurements and positioned it so that it fired along the listening room's diagonal to push back in time the reflections of the Diptyque's output from the sidewalls. Nevertheless, the first…