Here I heard a pair of Sopraninos in two different configurations. The first was atop EnigmAcoustics M1 loudspeakers ($14,900/pair). Paired with Ayre's V5-XE amplifier and K5-XE preamp, a Mac Mini as source, and Cardas' Golden Cross speaker cables, Clear balanced interconnects, and USB cable, the system produced a…
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I've previously praised EnigmAcoustics' Sopranino self-polarizing electrostatic supertweeter ($3690/pair), which I first encountered at T.H.E. Show Newport Beach. The Sopranino claims a flat response to beyond 40kHz and fully passive operation without the need of external bias.
Photo by Ola Björling.
As reported here on July 7, 2026, Denmark-based Dynaudio will exit the US pro and consumer audio markets by year-end.
Dynaudio is a speaker-centric company founded in 1977. It produces most or all of its own speaker drivers in its Skanderborg, Denmark, factory and in a Chinese factory.
Via email, I spoke with Julien Bergere, Dynaudio's Chief Commercial Officer. Bergere provided context and details lacking in the original press release, and confirmed American owners of Dynaudio speakers can expect their warranty to be fully honored.
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On July 2, major US audio distributor AXISS Audio filed a federal lawsuit against Michael Bovaird and his businesses (Suncoast Audio, Luxury Hi-Fi Distribution, and Clarisys Audio), Michael Gefteas, aka The Greek Audio Geek, and his business (Bespoke Audio), and Florian Wiegand, part owner of Clarisys Audio. In separate Facebook posts, The Greek Audio Geek and the other defendants have pushed back.
In a legal notice to the Hi-Fi Community, posted on its website, AXISS owner Cliff Duffey writes, "After very careful consideration over the past several months, we made the difficult…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Direct-drive, three-speed (33 1/3, 45, and 78rpm) manual turntable with digitally controlled twin-rotor coreless brushless DC motor; 4-layer body; magnesium S-shaped tonearm; built-in high-speed switching power supply; individually numbered, limited edition. 3-layer aluminum diecast, rubber, and brass platter: 13 5/64" (332mm) diameter, 7.9lb (3.6kg) including heavy rubber turntable mat. Startup time: 0.7 seconds to 33 1/3rpm (about 0.4 rotation); electronic braking. Wow and flutter: 0.025% WRMS. Static-balance tonearm with precision gimbal bearing,…
This developing story will be updated as information comes available. Go here for our latest update.
In a tersely worded press release that was leaked before its planned July 8 release date, Dynaudio A/S of Denmark announced its decision "to focus its future market development efforts on Europe and Asia as part of its long-term business strategy. As a result, the company ... will cease operations of its commercial activities in North America and permanently shut down its U.S. subsidiary in the fall of 2026."
The statement, issued from Dynaudio headquarters in Skanderborg, Denmark…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Vinyl playback: Technics SL-1200MKV turntable with KAB 3-speed mod, fluid damping, and tonearm wiring; Hana SL MK II, Nagaoka MP-700, Ortofon 2M Bronze and 2M Blue, Shure V15 Type III, and Audio-Technica AT-VM95 cartridges.
Phono preamplifier: Pro-Ject Phono Box RS2.
Digital playback: dCS Bartók APEX streaming D/A processor.
Preamplifier: Benchmark LA-4.
Power amplifier: Benchmark AHB2.
Loudspeakers: Bowers & Wilkins 808.
Accessories: Butcher Block Acoustics equipment rack, SME and Technics turntable cables, various cables and…
Imagine being a Michelin-star–level chef, but your food is delivered via carrier pigeon in the middle of winter. The inherent compromise must be infuriating, exacerbated by complaints from customers displeased with the food's presentation, temperature, and guano topping. Now consider speaker designers. They devote their lives to optimizing the combination of materials, cabinet shapes, drivers, and crossovers—and then their love child is placed in rooms they have no control over and fed with electronics, some of which are, through sheer statistical probability, going to be suboptimal. Yet they…
Most of us, most of the time, live in the world of good enough. On a Saturday, we might drive our Ford Fiesta to pick up a polo shirt at Banana Republic, then dine at Outback Steakhouse, and later get ready for bed with a mug of Celestial Seasonings Caramel Apple Dream tea while watching an episode of Hoarder House Flippers.
Though nearly all of us have to factor convenience and cost into what we consume, to much of the planet's population, our mediocrity looks like an affluent fantasy. I recall my first, utterly blissful visit to a US shopping mall as a college freshman. I couldn't…
Will yet another $150,000 turntable fly in 2012? I'm speaking metaphorically, of course, but if any designer could make a turntable literally fly, it would be the Onedof's designer, Aleks Bakman.
Bakman's credits include structural analyses of airplane wing assemblies and engine attachments, and parts of the airframe and landing gear for helicopters. He's also worked for NASA, and participated in the design of the next generation of the Space Shuttle. (You can read more about his background on Onedof's website (footnote 1). You're guaranteed a laugh at the bottom of the page.)
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Sidebar 3: Measurements
The Silent Pound Bloom loudspeaker was measured in a large conference room 11'11" H × 25'3" L × 15'8" W on top of a PT&D MDT turntable and with an accelerometer attached to the glass crossover cover. The speaker was measured on the tweeter axis at a 36" microphone distance. From the center of the tweeter to the floor was approximately 58". The first reflection was off the floor at about 5ms, limiting farfield resolution to 200Hz.
The equipment used for the measurements was a GRAS 40BD ¼" microphone and a 26CB preamp, with an SCM2 measurement ¼…