T.H.E. Show 2023

It has been too many years since I last encountered Von Gaylord Audio's Ling and Ray Leung of West Sacramento, CA. Celebrating 25 years in business, the couple now sells their equipment direct at half their old prices.

The best sound I have ever heard from an ATC loudspeaker poured forth in the room commandeered by Audiophile Zone of Los Osos, CA. On a 24/192 file of the Engegärd Quartet performing Haydn, every timbre sounded spot and believable. Switching gears to DSD64, highs were excellent and depth convincing on Frank Sinatra's "When You're Smiling." And, on 24/96 tracks from Spirit Hiromi, I was blown away by the excellent bass, believable piano timbres, and musicality of the presentation. If I could have stayed longer, I would have.

Upscale Audio saved one of its finest lookers, the Pathos InPol Legacy 100Wpc class-A integrated amplifier ($49,995), for Klipsch Klipschorn AK6 loudspeakers ($16,448/pair) and a REL Acoustics 212/SX subwoofer ($4999).

Focal Naim America mated its Vestia No.2 loudspeaker ($2800/pair), which resides one step up from entry level, with the Naim Uniti Nova 80Wpc integrated amplifier/streamer ($6900). It was a fine match.

In a brand déjà vu with High End by Oz, Ken Boyce's Cake Audio of San Clemente showed Lansche 5.2 "singing flame" loudspeakers with their plasma tweeter ($55,000/pair in either white or piano black), different Vitus components, and Albedo cabling. Room dimension and acoustics were different, of course, but both exhibitors had to cope with the challenges of air walls and sonic bleedthrough.

The billboard below the Aurender marquee announced for different musically themed listening sessions during the show. Hoping for a classical music interlude, I opted for Sunday's 11AM Live from Carnegie Hall. As much as the hour began with classical, I hadn't taken into account that many pop and jazz artists have also performed in Carnegie Hall.

"This actually sounds like music!" was the first thing I scribbled in my notebook. That might seem very bottom line, as in "I would sure hope so." But as readers who are familiar the sound of unamplified acoustic instruments and voices already know, it's not something you can take for granted at audio shows.