I call the Charney and ToolShed room at the 2024 Florida International Audio Expo the John Richardson room, because John reviewed both brands for PTA over the last year. We’re talking single full-range high-efficiency drivers, of course, and 300B tube amplification, but both brands can be considered “boutique” because there’s someone out there who’s making them one by one.
Words and Photos by Marc Phillips
Still, I wasn’t quite prepared for the sound quality–even though John is over the moon about Charney and ToolShed Amps and purchased the review samples. (This room, in particular, was constantly packed.) Once I sat down in the sweet spot, my shoulders relaxed and my jaw unclenched and I floated along with some acoustic bluegrass music or another and I was, for a few minutes, really in love with this sound. It was delicate, detailed and holographic.
The Charney and ToolShed system consisted of the Charney Audio Companion Excalibur in a gorgeous cherry and rosewood finish ($19,800/pair). These are obviously further up the line than the Maestros John reviewed–those AER bd-3 drivers from Germany are quite expensive. ToolShed amps brought the Transcendence DHT “Hg” power amplifier (from $7,500) and the Tanoshi IDHT line preamplifier (from $6,500)–which seems very affordable for amps that are this beautiful.
The system in the Charney and ToolShed room also included a Wavelength Audio Cosecant N2 DAC ($4,000), a Human Audio Libretto II CD player ($11,500), which also sported a very elegant look and handled 24-bit 192kHz files, a HifiLogic Lucas Audio Lab music server (from $8,700), a Puritan PSM156 power conditioner (from $1,800) and cabling from Hapa Audio.
It was difficult to catch all of the subtlety in a system like this at a crowded show with exuberant attendees–I probably would have preferred a private after-hours audition in the Charney and ToolShed room more than any other exhibit room at 2024 FLAX. If these two companies return for the 2025 FLAX, I’ll be sure to arrange that audition.
