Seattle HiFi and Modwright
PAF 2023
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 25, 2023  |  2 comments
For the second year in a row, the first room at PAF I entered was dominated by Dan Wright's ModWright equipment. Presented in equal partnership with Seattle HiFi, who carries all the components on active display, the room was headed by ModWright's new KWA 99 fully balanced, class-AB, compact MOSFET monoblocks ($7500/pair introductory price—normally $9000). Mated with the matching LS 99 fully balanced tube preamplifier ($6500 introductory price), the system produced extremely quiet, absolutely lovely sound. This was a great start to the show.
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Pacific Audio Fest Gets Underway
NewsPAF 2023
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 23, 2023  |  2 comments
The Pacific Northwest's premiere/sole audio show, the Pacific Audio Fest (PAF), takes place today through Sunday June 25 at the Doubletree by Hilton at SEATAC airport near Seattle. Attendees, who judging by pre-registrants, could double or triple 2022's inaugural PAF attendance, will discover 41 active exhibit rooms, eight exhibitors in "Record Row," seven exhibits (from six companies) in the "Headzone," and at least nine booths (from eight companies) in the "Marketplace" at the other end of a large shared ballroom.
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Antipodes Oladra server/streamer/reclocker
Audacious AudioMedia Server Reviews
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 21, 2023  |  0 comments
Servers, servers, servers. How we who embrace digital hi-fi love them for their potential to make files and streams sound better (more alive, vital, streams sound better (more alive, vital, musical, moving, transparent) than music served from a computer. How we curse them when we experience the limitations of their software. How we despair when, shortly after ascending to Peak Digital Mastery, we download a software update that hurls us back into the Valley of Digital Unknowns.

I've climbed then slid down multiple hi-fi peaks as I've moved from computer to a Roon-equipped NUC, Roon Nucleus+, and Innuos Statement Next-Gen music servers. Along the way I've reviewed the original Innuos Statement from Portugal and the Antipodes Audio K50 from New Zealand. Now I'm exploring Antipodes's top-of-the-line server/streamer/reclocker, the Oladra ($25,000), which is designed for precise clocking, low noise, and high bandwidth.

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T.H.E. Show Bounces Back and Then Some
T.H.E. Show 2023
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 16, 2023  |  3 comments
T.H.E. Show VP Emiko Carlin (left) with Pandora Pang of On A Higher Note (right)

As one of the first US audio shows to reopen as the pandemic seemed to be winding down, T.H.E. Show's attendance figures had no way to go but up. Thanks to some good PR and the excellent choice of a new venue, The Hilton Costa Mesa in Southern California's Orange is the New Red County, attendance exceeded expectations. Saturday, for example, was so packed that I couldn't get into a number of rooms on floors 2 and 3.

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Loveliness and More from Von Gaylord
T.H.E. Show 2023
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 16, 2023  |  1 comments
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.
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More from AGD
T.H.E. Show 2023
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 16, 2023  |  0 comments
No sooner had I finished listening in the Audiophile Zone room than ATC's Leland Leard corralled me into the AGD room. There, Alberto Guerra, AGD President and CEO, introduced me to his AGD/Ocean Way system and discussed the rationale behind his "tube" GaN MOSFET class-D amplifiers.
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ATC and AGD Sing in Audiophile Zone's Room
T.H.E. Show 2023
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 16, 2023  |  0 comments
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.
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Volt's Fabulous Showing with Margules, Scanspeak and More
T.H.E. Show 2023
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 16, 2023  |  1 comments
It took three attempts and a show near closing time for me to squeeze into the Volt room. Not only were there only three seats, arranged in a line in the center of the room parallel to the side walls, but the space was also illumined by a frequently changing light show that proved as enticing to show goers as those transformative "Eat Me" morsels in Alice in Wonderland.
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Pathos Gets All Dressed Up for Klipsch
T.H.E. Show 2023
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 16, 2023  |  5 comments
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).
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Cabasse from Upscale Audio
T.H.E. Show 2023
Jason Victor Serinus  |  Jun 16, 2023  |  0 comments
After an absence of several years, French speaker manufacturer Cabasse has returned to the US market. Distributed by Upscale Distribution, Cabasse showed the 43lb Rialto all-in-one streaming loudspeaker system ($3995/pair). Complete with built-in rear-firing woofers powered by a 450W amplifier, the Rialto has a two-way coaxial speaker in front whose treble and midrange are each powered by 300W amplifiers. That's 1050Wpc total!
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