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In the high-end audio industry, the representation of women in professional roles is strikingly low. Yet these women are integral to every facet of the industry, from engineering and design to leadership, proving that their contributions are vital. To name just a few: There's EveAnna Dauray Manley, who recently sold her company, Manley Laboratories, Inc., to music tech entrepreneur Dirk Ulrich. There's Inès Adler of Voxativ, whose "contagious passion for audio is built right into her components," which "makes every Voxativ visit a blast," I wrote about the Voxativ room at High End Munich 2025…
Aaron Sherrick of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s Now Listen Here is an old hand at making show systems sing. He pulled off his magic trick in Jersey as he has at shows far and wide, as well as inside his Harrisburg storefront.
Sherrick’s system included a VPI Avenger Direct turntable ($40,000; additional tonearm $6200), the new Backert Labs Optik Phono 1.1 ($11,500; intended for use with DS Labs optical cartridges). Phono cartridges were the DS Audio W3 ($5500) and W3 Mono ($5500). Other source duties called upon were a Rockna Wavedream Reference Signature DAC ($26,900) and an Innuos…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
Paul Miller measured the F-Dur turntable and its F-Note tonearm for sister publication Hi-Fi News. PM found the F-Dur superior to its predecessor, the older EAT Forte S, with its TPE-damped alloy platter, "continuous polymer belt with carbon fiber, and low-noise AC motor."
Paul found very low through-groove noise, at –74dB (DIN B-weighted), and very good absolute speed accuracy—just 0.045% slow. Peak wow was very low, at 0.02%, and flutter—higher-frequency…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Thorens TD 124 turntable with Korf TA-SF9R tonearm/HS-A02 Ceramic Headshell. Cartridges: Kuzma CAR-30 MC, Ortofon 2M Black LVB 250 MM.
Digital sources: Tascam CD-200 iL CD player, HoloAudio May DAC.
Preamplifiers: Rogue RP7 (line). Tavish Audio Design Adagio, Manley Chinook, PrimaLuna EVO 100, Allnic DT-5000 (phono).
Integrated amplifiers: Riviera Labs Levante, Unison Research S6 Black Edition.
Power amplifiers: Air Tight ATM-1 2024 Edition, Rogue Audio Stereo 100.
Loudspeakers: Voxativ Ampeggio 2024, Volti Audio Lucera,…
Atlantis Lab’s Yusuke Yasuda, and Decibel+’s Gabriel Andrés Toro brought one of the most surprising systems of the show, featuring Neoson tubed amplifiers and Atlantis Lab loudspeakers, both brands manufactured in France.
The system included also a HiFi Rose RS250A streamer ($2650), supplanting a misbehaving Audiobyte SuperHub ($4000). An Audiobyte Super Vox DAC ($4500), and two Neoson tube amplifiers were in use: the 10Wpc Genèse ($7885) and 20Wpc Evolution ($11,828). This front-end drove Atlantis Lab AT18 ($4960/pair) and AT31 ($14,194/pair) bookshelf speakers and AT16…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Belt-driven, two-speed turntable with AC motor, reviewed with 12" EAT F-Note tonearm with gimbal bearings. Pivot-to-spindle distance: 291.6mm. Effective length: 12" (304.8mm). Overhang: 13.2mm. Offset angle: 18°. Max, min null points: 125mm, 251.7mm. Height adjustment: 40–65mm. Cartridge weight compatibility: 5–15gm. Effective mass: 21.4gm. Nominal speeds: 33 1/3, 45rpm. Speed variance: <±0.09%. Wow and flutter: <±0.01%. Speed accuracy: <±0.09%. S/N ratio: 73dB. Comes with a record weight and a laser alignment tool.
Dimensions: 21.5" (…
In the 1990s into the 2000s, I had the pleasure of interviewing jazz drummer and composer Paul Motian for both Modern Drummer and DownBeat. Motian's playful yet cantankerous spirit shone through in both conversations. The first interview took place at the ECM Records offices in Midtown Manhattan. Motian was clutching The Harold Arlen Songbook, which he had just purchased at Colony Records, now sadly closed. The second interview, at a pizza joint next to the Village Vanguard, was a lively affair, with my friend the actor Ken Forman and guitarist Bill Frisell also in attendance.
Motian had…
Benny Audio's Tomasz Franielczyk and Supreme Acoustic Systems's Hiram Toro were on hand to present one of my favorite rooms of T.H.E. Show. SAS's room 219 was also no slouch.
The Benny Audio Odyssey turntable with its partnering tonearm ($45,340), mounted with a Hana Umami Red cartridge ($3950), all sat on an Esseci Design Equilibrium platform ($2955). An Air Tight ATH-2 Reference step-up transformer ($6975) raised the voltage and an Air Tight ATE-3011 phono amplifier $34,975) provided additional gain plus RIAA equalization.
An Audio Mirror WAVE tube DAC ($11,…
San Marcos, California's Audience AV and old friend Ralph Karsten of Atma-Sphere bought a fresh system to T.H.E. Show. The setup included an Exemplar Audio eXpression DUAL ES9028PRO DAC with outboard power supply ($5500) and a Sony UPBX-1100ES Disc Player ($700). Karsten's Atma-Sphere MP-1 Vacuum Tube Balanced Line Stage ($7850) and Class-D Monoblock Amplifiers ($6100/pair) drove a pair of Audience ClairAudient Bellare Loudspeakers in a debut ($36,000/pair).
An Audience Adept Response aR6-T4 power conditioner ($6900), Audience FrontRow Reserve HP PowerChord ($7600), Audience…
Verdant Audio's Scott Bierfelt and Linn business development manager Rachel Mackenzie presented a fine-sounding room comprised of Linn components.
Before the show, Bierfelt wrote via e-mail, "The intent, since this is NYC and space is at a premium, is to take a lifestyle system but one without compromise. For digital streaming, you need one box (Klimax DSM) and two speakers that are modest in size. Yet this is an elite DAC and superb speakers that will perform as well as any $145,000 system and can fit in almost any NYC apartment."
Considering that many of the Hilton…