T.H.E. Show 2022

Sort By: Post DateTitle Publish Date
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 17, 2022  |  7 comments
Look into the faces of Jashan Bahl and Anmol. The boy, who is 5, came to the show with his dad because he loves music and instruments. He's wide-eyed, curious, and ready to learn. He is the future of high-end audio.
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 17, 2022  |  3 comments
Given the legendary status of 300B tube-based amplification, this blog may surprise you. But in all my years at audio shows, I cannot recall more than one or two instances when I've been treated to a 300B-based product. If I'm wrong, then it's safe to say that those products did not leave a lasting impression. Since none of my audiophile buddies owns 300B-based electronics, that renders me, at this late stage of life, a 300B virgin.

Which made my half hour in the room sponsored by Oz Turan's High End By Oz even more enlightening...

Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 17, 2022  |  0 comments
First things first. This was one of the best-sounding rooms at T.H.E. Show. Given its sheer size, I have no question that some of the success was due to the various and sundry magical Synergistic Research accouterments—I counted 10 so-called "Acoustic Room Treatment" devices and 5 Synergistic Power Conditioning devices (including Purple fuses)—along with new Synergistic Racks (intended for internal use) and, no surprise, Synergistic Research cabling.
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 17, 2022  |  2 comments
After I joined Emiko Carlin, Senior Vice President for T.H.E. Show, for our wrap photo op, she said, "What? You missed the opportunity to see MC Audiotech's new speaker?"

What the ever-delightful, tell-it-like-it-is and then some Emiko says, Jason does (within reason)...

Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 16, 2022  |  0 comments
Jim Suhre, 86, is an independent speaker designer who for many years has brought his latest designs to audio shows. He didn't have a name for the speaker system he showed at Long Beach, which will go for $9000–$10,000/pair, but he did explain that his full system includes an integrated module with balanced interconnects and only one power cord.
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 16, 2022  |  0 comments
Alma Audio of San Diego went all out at T.H.E. Show, with three different rooms showcasing different products at different price points. Dominating their least-expensive room were Audio Alto's made-in-Slovenia AA 1A stereo amplifier ($1990), AA 1P preamplifier ($1990), and AA R101FR loudspeakers ($4000/pair).
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 16, 2022  |  3 comments
Ensconced in one of the Hilton Long Beach's larger rooms, Tom Vu had intended to present an all-TriangleArt system until the Great Egyptian Shipping God in the Sky announced total displeasure at the state of the world. Demanding a sacrifice for our collective sins, GESGitS blew a gasket and chose as his victims TriangleArt's Metis loudspeakers ($59,999/pair), which never reached the Hilton Long Beach. Borrowed Usher speakers saved the day.
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 16, 2022  |  0 comments
In an extremely large 2nd floor room, products from two US distributors, Reference Components and Audio Skies, joined forces in a single, powerful all-analog system. Of special note, on the LP Paris, were the absolutely compelling soaring silvery highs that Hilary Hahn's violin produced as she flew through Prokofiev's first Violin Concerto.
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 16, 2022  |  0 comments
In their second, considerably larger room at the Long Beach Show, AV Luxury Group International pulled out all the stops. Immediately catching eye and ear were Raidho Acoustics TD 3.8 3-way loudspeakers in Walnut finish ($117,000/pair). With a nominal impedance of 6 ohms, these babies can throw a huge, enveloping soundstage from as little as 50Wpc amplification.
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 16, 2022  |  0 comments
Last year in Long Beach, PBN Audio's Peter Noerbaek was so eager to show what his humongous speakers could accomplish without distortion that he cranked up the volume far louder than the New York Subway System at its worst. As I thanked my lucky stars that I was some distance away from the huge room's doorway when the eruption occurred, a member of T.H.E. Show staff came running. "The glass walls on our office are shaking!" he yelled, as he made show policy clear. Only after that did I feel safe to enter.

This time, perhaps the fear of God or Ray Kimber's beneficent presence radiated so strongly through his Carbon, PK10 Gold, and D60 cabling that Noerbaek hung loose.

Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 16, 2022  |  0 comments
This was a system tailored for mellow listening. In a room large enough for a Presidential Ball, timbres were spot on through Voss Luxury Audio gear. Whether on Dominique Fils-Aimé's oft-encountered "Birds," Stacey Kent's "The Summer We Crossed Europe in the Rain," The Bahamas' "Any Place," or an LP of vocalist Terry Evans and Dutch guitarist Hans Theessink performing "Got to Keep Moving," vocals sounded great and their accompaniment consistently smooth, laid back, and inviting.
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 16, 2022  |  0 comments
Once the volume was turned up, the fourth movement of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade filled Aaudio Imports' large space with exciting sound. Distinguished by appropriate bite and a solid midrange, the system also excelled on Ray Charles and Norah Jones' "Here We Go Again."
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 16, 2022  |  0 comments
In a large, exceedingly difficult-to-tame room, Acora Acoustics SRC-2 loudspeakers ($37,000/pair) did a superb job with voices. I sat mesmerized, trying to figure out who was singing "Largo al factotum," aka "Figaro, Figaro, Figaro, Figaro, etc . . .," from Rossini's The Barber of Seville.
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 16, 2022  |  0 comments
Ken Boyce's Cake Audio of San Clemente united many well-respected brands in a fine system that impressed many show goers. At the top of my "Wow, this is good" list were the lovely piano timbres on a 45rpm pressing of Eugene Istomin performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No.24, and good old Elvis' absolutely fabulous, prime voice, do-with-me-what-you-want rendition of "Fever." Not yet the overdone cynic of his later years, Presley perfectly gauged every single syllable and nuance in his surprisingly tasteful, no questions left to ask performance. Need I say that it would not have sounded half as mesmerizing if the gear had not been up to snuff?

Pages

X