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MonAcoustic, based in Daegu, Republic of Korea, is relatively new to the high-quality loudspeaker market. The company was established in 2020 by chief designer Jun Hyeog Seo and made its debut at the 2022 AXPONA. The company is taking a distinctively modular approach to its product lineup: The PlatiMon VC One MK2 is a two-way standmount ($9500/pair). It can be used independently or coupled with the PlatiMon VC Two ($12,100/pair), which adds two more "ways"—not just in the lows but also the highs (read on). Retailed as a four-way floorstanding stereo loudspeaker, the combination is priced at $…
I can't remember which audio show it was at, but I do recall the circumstances and impression. Shortly after Dynaudio USA introduced the Octave Audio brand to US audiophiles, I caught my first brief listen to Octave equipment in an acoustically handicapped exhibit room. The sound was so flat and uninvolving that I summarily assumed that Octave manufactured mediocre solid state equipment. With that gross error—Octave's founder/ designer/president Andreas Hofmann, 68, greatly favors the sound of tubes over transistors and has, since 1977 (footnote 1), embraced the design philosophy of tubes for…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
MonAcoustic's combination of the PlatiMon VC One MK2 and VC Two is the most complicated loudspeaker system that I have encountered in 37 years of measuring loudspeakers. As well as the VC One MK2, which can be used as a standalone two-way standmount, when it is used with the VC Two subwoofer/supertweeter module, the combinations can be used as a "3.5-way" system or a "four-way" system. The latter has four settings for what MonAcoustic calls the "Harmonic Tweeter" control.
I first performed a complete set of tests on one of the VC Ones, which was labeled "…
Dave Mason, the British guitarist/vocalist who passed away at 79 on April 19, conceded that some of his best-known songs fared better with other people's voices. "I may not be the best interpreter of certain songs of mine," he told me during a phone interview in 2018, during a break from his tour with Steve Cropper (footnote 1). "For example, I feel like Cocker's got the definitive version of 'Feelin' Alright?'"
"Cocker," of course, is Joe Cocker, and "Feelin' Alright?" is the Mason-penned classic first heard on Traffic's self-titled second LP on Island Records (ILPS 9081T), released in…
Lately, hi-fi's technical emphasis has shifted toward time, away from its longtime main focus on the frequency domain. I'm thinking the trend, which I consider a good thing, started years ago with growing awareness it might be better to accept some aliasing in order to avoid the phase distortion resulting from a "brick-wall" reconstruction filter. More recent examples include the approach to D/A conversion taken by CH Precision (footnote 1) and—dare I mention it?—the theory behind MQA (footnote 2). I also encountered the trend once on the analog side; I'm thinking of Haniwa, which makes phono…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Four-way, bass-reflex, two-cabinet floorstanding loudspeaker. Drive units: 1" (2.54cm) beryllium dome supertweeter (VC Two), 3.5" (89mm) AMT tweeter (VC One MK2), two 5.25" (133mm) midwoofers (VC One MK2), one 8" (203mm) woofer (VC Two), in bass-ported aluminum enclosures. Frequency response: 20Hz–40kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 3.5-way, 91dB/2.83V/1m; 4-way, 90dB/2.83V/1m. Nominal impedance: 4 ohms. Minimum impedance: VC One, 4 ohms at 50Hz; VC Two, 3.2 ohms at 40Hz. Min. amplifier power: 40Wpc.
Dimensions: 44.76" (114mm) H (w/footers) × 12.99" (330mm…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: VPI HMW-40 turntable; VPI 12" Fatboy tonearm with Lyra Etna λ Lambda cartridge, Ortofon Bronze Cadenza cartridge. Pro-Ject Classic EVO turntable with Sumiko Amethyst cartridge.
Digital sources: MacBook Air running Tidal, Roon, Qobuz. Bricasti M21 DAC, Musical Fidelity M1 CDT transport, Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T.
Preamplifiers: McIntosh C12000.
Power amplifiers: McIntosh MC462 Quad Balanced Stereo Amplifier, Linn Klimax Solo 500 (2), McIntosh MA252 integrated amplifier.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties The WATT/Puppy,…
Ola Björling speaks with Benjamin Großjohann, the inventor of the Coturn portable turntable, at High End Vienna 2026 about the next-gen CT-02, in a video interview that's now posted on our official YouTube channel.. It's the German company's latest diminutive table—built in conjunction with Thorens—and it sports a battery life of up to 20 hours, in addition to offering Bluetooth, line-out, and headphone playback options.
For more about Coturn by Thorens, see their official website.
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Ola Björling speaks with Aaron Leung of Skyanalog at High End Vienna 2026 about the company's two new cartridges: the triple-diamond 3D REF, and the P-1GC with its bespoke stylus profile, in a video interview that's now posted on our official YouTube channel.
For more about Skyanalog, see their official website.
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Phono Preamps/Moving-Coil Step-up Devices:
A+:
CH Precision P1 Phono Stage: from $31,000. As reviewed, $48,500 ★
Built with a sleek aluminum-alloy case with no screws visible on any of its surfaces, the Swiss-made CH Precision P1 is no less sophisticated inside. This solid state phono preamplifier offers multiple inputs, two of which address current-amplification circuits—an approach that, according to MF, produces "the best signal/noise ratios" and does not require cartridge loading to achieve flat response. For use with its voltage-amplification inputs, the P1 offers a menu-…