There aren’t many manufacturers that offer a soup-to-nuts system approach. McIntosh and Linn come to mind. Naim is up there. GamuT has been edging in on it for a while. Little Perla Audio hasn’t been […]
by Rafe Arnott The Vandersteen Model 7 MK II speakers ($62,000 US) are Stereophile ‘Class-A’ recommended, but at only 83.5 dB efficiency, they never really held much interest for me because I’m one of those […]
Some folks just get used to winning. The 1996 Yankees come to mind. Sure, ’97 was an off-year, but you just knew what was coming. Walking into this room felt a whole lot like that […]
by Rafe Arnott Austin HiFi‘s room at Newport was an interesting one for me. First off, it was packed the whole time I was there and I had to play musical chairs for about 15 […]
An entire month passed since we got back from Munich and our combined efforts produced more than 50 extended show reports, many of which are closer to mini-reviews than a mere system and price tags list […]
Magico did not bring the highly expected M-Project in Munich’s High End 2015 show but maybe it was too much to ask, after all they did brought the Ultimate III last year, so instead, we […]
“Current Mode Amplification” is a magical phrase that brings out the inner meerkat from the headphone enthusiast crowd, and will cause spontaneous synchronized head-swiveling. Only a couple of companies are pursuing this interesting approach to amplification […]
by Rafe Arnott The Audio Note UK room at the 2015 Vancouver Audio Show was my favorite, hands down, and David Cope, this time teaming up with Warren Jarrett from SMAudio in Fullerton, did not […]
by Rafe Arnott Von Gaylord Audio was showing off a complete system at Newport Beach this year, from DAC to speakers, to cabling, Von Gaylord represented with their top-notch tube-amplifier designs and weighty, heavy-duty construction. […]
When you think of Rosso Fiorentino speakers concepts like pricey, great sound and Italian artisanry come in mind. Now take the pricey part out of the equation but keep the artisan finish and melodic sound. […]
Though there are quite a few pretenders, there are few true giants in high-end audio today. AudioQuest is one of those giants. There are, I think, two knee-jerk reactions that the “typical audiophile” will have […]
Weeks before the show I found myself chatting with Jonathan Carr, designer among other things of Lyra, a range of bespoke moving coil cartridges and we promised to discuss things when finally face to face […]
by Rafe Arnott Jeffrey Catalano of High Water Sound is a very cool cat. Not only was he spinning some of the best and rarest jazz, blues and folk LPs I’ve had the pleasure to […]
There is something about historic brands, they have a special charm which I find irresistible. We have witnessed the re-birth of famous 19th century maisons in watchmaking and something similar happened with a few legends […]
by Rafe Arnott Marten is a company, in my experience, whose loudspeakers are often discussed in hushed tones by serious audiophiles who nod their heads solemnly when they speak of rendition, resolution and focus. Having […]
Despite having read several glowing reviews about Kyron’s dipole speaker systems this was the first time I had the chance to spend some time listening to them. The Australian firm brought in Munich their smaller […]
Some would say that Reinhard Thöress of Thöress Audio makes high-end audio like it’s supposed to be made. Simple. Pure. Direct. Tubed. I’ve been a fan for years — I’ve owned his phono preamp for several […]
Winding up Tim de Paravicini isn’t difficult — just tell him he’s wrong. Doesn’t matter about what, the Engineer of Fine Audio is pretty much ready to go toe-to-toe with anyone over anything. I’m having […]
TAD Labs brought a show-stopper room, featuring their new Compact Evolution One (CE-1) loudspeakers. This system was, in a word, dominating. The speakers, shown here in an olive finish, are elegant and quite robust — but […]
It happens periodically, where there will be this groundswell of resentment over pricing in high-end audio. As if the wallet of any individual were what was driving the price of any particular product. Instead of […]
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