NY Audio Show 2014

Halfway through the show I called home, and my wife informed me that the plumbing in the downstairs bathroom was clogged, and the dog had gone outside and rolled around in something dead. And she wondered: Was I having a nice time? It was time for me to pick up the pace.

Saturday dawned hot and bright—unnaturally so for the end of September—and showgoers showed up well before the 10:00am starting time: So much for my hopes of getting a jump on the crowds. Still I went for an early listen at the room shared by Volti Audio, Raven Audio, and Triode Wire Labs. The price of the three-way, fully-horn-loaded Volti Vittora loudspeaker ($21,500/pair without optional ELF subwoofer) has risen slightly since I wrote about it a year or so ago—yet it still endures as perhaps the best bargain in US-made hi-fi.

Reliable readers of show reports will remember Robert Lighton as a successful designer and manufacturer of furniture who, a few years ago, turned his enthusiasm for domestic audio in general and Audio Note gear in particular into a side career by putting his own imprint on the basic Audio Note loudspeaker formula. Robert Lighton Audio of New York City has now progressed to designing and manufacturing its own high-efficiency loudspeakers, including the two-way RL5 ($10,000/pair)—the solid sapele mahogany enclosure of which is seen here in Robert's hands. . .