News

Sort By: Post DateTitle Publish Date
Munich 2022News
Three New Speakers from Raidho
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 24, 2022  | 
At a well-organized Munich press conference, Danish speaker company Raidho, now owned by Dantax, introduced the successor to the X1, the Raidho X1t Super Mini Monitor (€5800, presumably for the pair and equivalent to US$6210). The speaker is equipped with the company's planar-magnetic ribbon tweeter, which claims 50 times less mass than conventional dome tweeters; a 5.25" tantalum-coated ceramic-on-aluminum midbass driver, which claims to raise breakup modes to 15kHz; and a rear port. Frequency range is 70Hz–50kHz, impedance >6 ohms, sensitivity 85dB, and black piano and white piano finishes.
Continue Reading »
AXPONA 2022New ProductsNews
Verdant Audio: Wilson Benesch, Canor, Weiss, Antipodes, AVM, Puritan
Julie Mullins  |  May 01, 2022  |  First Published: May 02, 2022  | 

Dealer/distributor Verdant Audio's room included a few important debuts, including the new Wilson Benesch Geometry Discovery IIIZ standmount loudspeaker ($31,000).

Continue Reading »
AXPONA 2022New ProductsNews
MoFi Distribution, Part 4: Wharfedale, BAT, MoFi x Fender
Julie Mullins  |  May 01, 2022  |  First Published: May 02, 2022  | 

The MoFi Distribution classic gear fun continued in Suite 346, with two pairs of Wharfedale Heritage Linton speakers ($1799/pair), stacked, with the one on top inverted so that the two tweeters were in the middle. One Wharfedale Linton stand ($399/pair) supported each side's stack.

Continue Reading »
AXPONA 2022News
MoFi Distribution, Part 3: Piega Ace Wireless and Premium Wireless speakers
Julie Mullins  |  May 01, 2022  | 

In addition to exhibiting a plethora of "classic" hi-fi gear, MoFi Distribution introduced a modern lifestyle system in Suite 340: the new Piega Ace Wireless series.

Continue Reading »
AXPONA 2022News
Aurender and Computer Audio Design: Two Different Companies, Same Peculiar Idea
Jim Austin  |  May 01, 2022  | 

Audio shows are great for hearing new components and systems—of course they are. But they can also be good for encountering new ideas. Over two days at AXPONA, I encountered the same curious idea from two manufacturers.

Continue Reading »
AXPONA 2022News
Bending Wave USA: Göbel Audio, CH Precision, Wadax
Julie Mullins  |  May 01, 2022  | 

A large, almost loft-style suite on the 16th floor housed a big, all-out system presented by Bending Wave USA, the Florida-based distributor/dealer for Germany's Göbel Audio (among other brands); their name nods to Göbel Audio's bending wave drivers.

Continue Reading »
AXPONA 2022NewsThink Pieces
It's a Wrap: AXPONA Reflections
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 01, 2022  | 

Exciting. Engrossing. Exhausting. Enjoyable. Nothing but e-words from me. I could go on, but not without breaking out the thesaurus. —Rogier van Bakel, Stereophile's newest Contributing Editor

Continue Reading »
AXPONA 2022New ProductsNews
Wilson Audio Dances with Audio Research, Clearaudio, dCS, Transparent, and Critical Mass
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Apr 29, 2022  | 
Of Morton Grove, IL dealer Quintessence Audio's three rooms at AXPONA, those in the ground floor Knowledge and Perfection showrooms remained. Since it's hard to imagine Perfection without Knowledge, reality cast the die to first cover a superb Knowledge set-up that mated Wilson Audio Alexx V speakers ($135,000/pair, or $151,000/pair in the show pair's special finish) with Audio Research electronics (see below), Clearaudio Master Innovation Wood turntable with TT-MI linear tonearm ($62,000) and Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement MC cartridge ($17,500), dCS's new Vivaldi Apex DAC/Clock/Upsampler system ($90,000), Transparent XL cabling with PWX power ($73,985 total), and Critical Mass Maxxum component stands ($75,000).
Continue Reading »
News
Michael Fremer enlivens impressive Audio-Ultra demos
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Nov 22, 2021  | 
Audio-Ultra, a Seattle-area (Sumner, Washington) dealership representing Magico, MSB, Taiko Audio, Kuzma, Vitus, StromTank, Equi=Tech, AudioQuest, Ansuz, and more, held an impressive two-day event November 12 and 13 at the Cedarbrook Lodge near SEATAC Airport. Of all the audio events I’ve attended over the years, this one, masterminded by Audio-Ultra’s Edward DeVito, made the most convincing case for the need of careful setup to fully appreciate the rewards of vinyl remasters of classic rock and jazz.
Continue Reading »
News
New Hampshire's AV Therapy Hosts a Listening Event This Weekend
Stereophile Staff  |  Nov 11, 2021  | 

On Friday, November 12, AV Therapy of Nashua, New Hampshire, will host its first annual “Groove Event,” in loving memory of Mark Terletzky, its late co-owner and Groove Champion. This is the store’s first in-person event in two years.

Continue Reading »
News
A Spooktacular Event in Houston
Stereophile Staff  |  Oct 25, 2021  | 
Please join 3mA Audio in Houston, Texas for a fun “Spooktacular Audio Show” on Saturday, October 30th starting at 4pm “until the last person leaves.”
Continue Reading »
News
The Graham Audio LS8/1 Loudspeakers Debut in the US
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Oct 13, 2021  | 
Jake Snider of Gig Harbor Audio and band Minus the Bear stands between Philip O'Hanlon of On A Higher Note (left) and Gig Harbor co-owner Erik Owen (right).

After two years of COVID-enforced isolation, the ever-dapper Philip O'Hanlon, founder and president of On A Higher Note distribution, flew to the PNW (footnote 1) to present, on October 2, the US premiere of the Graham Audio Limited Anniversary Edition LS8/1 loudspeaker. At $9700/pair with stands, the Graham Anniversary Edition LS8/1 looked right at home in the tastefully appointed, main floor showroom of three-floor Gig Harbor Audio, a dealership located a major swim or easy drive from the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area.

Continue Reading »
NewsT.H.E. Show 2021
T.H.E. (First Post-Pandemic) Show Starts Today
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 11, 2021  | 
It's been a long time coming, but it is finally happening. As I write these words, T.H.E. Show (aka The Home Entertainment Show), the successor to the late Richard Beers' original T.H.E. Show that began as an alternative high-end showplace to CES, is about to begin in the Long Beach Hilton. (That's Long Beach, California, for the uninitiated.) Dealers and exhibitors have set up in 20 or so rooms and numerous marketplace booths, said their prayers, enjoyed dinner in the hotel or in downtown Long Beach, and begun to burrow in for the night. As they do, components cook, cables settle, and the acoustic gods and karmic gatekeepers prepare to hold their traditional midnight meeting of the minds to decide each exhibitor's fate.
Continue Reading »
News
High End Munich Canceled for 2021
Stereophile Staff  |  Apr 27, 2021  | 
Due to the ongoing pandemic threat, High End Munich 2021, which had been rescheduled to September 9-12, has been canceled for this year.
Continue Reading »
News
The FTC Proposes Eliminating Its "Amplifier Rule"
John Atkinson  |  Feb 08, 2021  | 
When I joined Hi-Fi News in the mid-1970s, one of that magazine's stable mates reviewed cars. An automotive writer appeared in the pub one lunchtime—"I rolled another one," he said, as he joined us at the bar. It turned out that one of his tasks was to take a car he was testing to the skid pad to see how many lateral G's the car could handle. Of course, the chances of a consumer turning that car over were minimal, but the reviewer was investigating the edges of the performance envelope.

As I became familiar with audio measurements, it struck me that the equivalent of the skid pan test was the thermal preconditioning we perform when we get an amplifier on the test bench. Even if an end-user doesn't drive his amplifier into thermal meltdown, the edges of the envelope need to be explored.

Continue Reading »

Pages

X