World Premiere Review!
Merrill Audio Element 110 Monoblock Power Amplifier Review
A significant accomplishment!
Review By Tom Lyle
I would understand if some readers of Enjoy the Music.com assumed that I
was in cahoots with the high-end audio company Merrill Audio. This is my fifth
review of a Merrill Audio component. Within the April 2015 issue I reviewed Merrill
Audio's Thor monoblock power amplifiers and, also that year, Merrill's
Taranis power amps. In 2017, I reviewed Merrill's outstanding Christine
Reference preamplifier. Then, in 2018, I reviewed their mighty 118
monoblock power amplifiers. I have reviewed many of Merrill Audio's products
because their headquarters are about twenty miles from my home. The owner of
Merrill Audio, Merrill Wettasinghe, has hand-delivered each review component
I've reviewed. While he is here, and because Mr. Wettasinghe and I are both
audiophiles and music lovers, we often listen to some music after setting up the
equipment. Afterward, we frequently get something to eat at a local eatery. Does our professional friendship influence my
reviews of Merrill Audio's high-end audio equipment?
--->
Merrill Audio Element 110 Monoblock Power Amplifier Review.
World Premiere Review!
Synergistic Research PowerCell 8 SX Review
Pushing your sound system to the next level with innovative technology.
Review By Rick Becker
After catching more than 48 gigs during the nine-day 21st
Rochester International Jazz Festival, I rode home after the final show with the
sound of live music etched in my mind. The Brubeck Bros. had been scheduled for
Kilbourn Hall, an acoustically rich 444-seat performance hall at the Eastman
School of Music, but heavy rains overnight and during the day resulted in
buckets spread throughout the hall to catch nature's dribbles. It was
rescheduled for Kodak Hall, the main venue at the Eastman Theater with enough
seats for everyone who wished to be there. I sat reasonably close, maybe 8 rows
back in the center to catch a mix of the Steinway piano, the drums, the electric
bass, and the electric guitar. Splendid. And easy to hear why this venue is used
for the premium Headliner performances at JazzFest and the Rochester
Philharmonic Orchestra the rest of the year. I typically buy a JazzPass,
allowing me to attend as many performances as I wish among the multiple smaller
venues. Fast footwork and careful pre-planning helped me maximize this annual
music festival.
--->
Synergistic Research PowerCell 8 SX Review.
High-End Audio Spotlight: World Premiere, Gear Reviews, & Acoustic Insights
Continuing our celebratory salute to three decades of high-end audio journalism,
Enjoy the Music.com's August 2025 Review Magazine kicks off with Roger Skoff's thought-provoking Viewpoint essay,
"Pump Up The Volume? When Is Loud Too Loud?", exploring the art and science of musical dynamics and why true emotion often lives between pianissimo and fortissimo. There's a
forward-looking editorial by audioXpress, titled "The Endless Mysteries of
Acoustics." It delves into advanced subjects like room impulse response paradoxes,
real-time acoustic simulation, modeling of floor finishes, etc. Getting back to loudness,
Hi-Fi+'s Editor Alan Sircom writes about The Loudness Wars of the first years of the 21st Century,
plus the 'make it bigger' as a driving force, and more. Within our equipment section, this issue presents a World Premiere
Review as Paul Schumann examines the Pilot Radio Vacuum Tube Stereo Preamplifier.
We also put the Rotel Michi X5 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier through its paces.
We revisit the Ayon Audio Crossfire EVO vacuum tube mono amp, feature The Complete Guide
To High-End
Audio, and just for fun we added Nelson Pass' sensational Slot Loaded Open Baffle
loudspeaker DIY project.
---> High-End Audio Spotlight: World Premiere, Gear Reviews, & Acoustic
Insight.
Audio
Dreamin': AES Show 2025 Unveils The Future Of Sound
The Audio Engineering Society's (AES) flagship gathering returns to the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center October
23rd through 25th, promising an immersive "Audio Dreamin'" experience for more than 10,000 audio professionals,
audiophile enthusiasts, and sound engineering students from around the globe. With registration already open, attendees will converge to explore the latest breakthroughs in audio technology, ranging from
modern immersive sound formats to AI-driven signal processing and
classical stereo. Whether you're a seasoned engineer fine-tuning your mastering chain or a newcomer eager to dive deep into acoustics, AES Show 2025 delivers a curated blend of exhibits, technical papers, and hands-on demos designed to inspire and inform every corner of the audio
lifecycle.
CEDIA 2025 Luxury Audio / Video And Integrator Event
CEDIA Expo/CIX returns to the Colorado Convention Center in Denver from September 3rd through 6th, co-located with Commercial Integrator Expo for the third consecutive year. Attendees will explore ~300 exhibitors showcasing smart home and commercial AV technologies—spanning luxury audio, immersive home theater, integrated lighting, outdoor living, and Work-From-Home solutions. The show floor will feature an immersive Smart Stage thought-leadership sessions, interactive demos, and the Launchpad area, where emerging brands unveil pioneering products that elevate sound, display, and control systems. This unified event enables integrators, designers, architects, and manufacturers to discover cutting-edge innovation, compare solutions side-by-side, and gain insights from industry experts. This
year's expo spotlights strong category growth with more than 50 new-to-show companies joining established brands and mid-sized enterprises. In audio, many innovative companies will deliver premium listening
experiences.
---> CEDIA 2025 Luxury Audio / Video And Integrator Event.
IFA 2025 To Feature Immersive
Music Experiences
WWith an impressive 215,000 attendees from 138 countries and featuring ~1800 exhibitors plus 187 conference speakers, the 101st edition of IFA is scheduled from September 5th through 9th in Berlin. Berlin's popular Messe Berlin conference center will transform into the world's consumer-tech showcase as IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung) features consumer electronics and home audio. While other events may feature legacy devices, now in its 101st edition, IFA offers attendees every facet of tomorrow's lifestyle: from smart home music distribution and automation to AI-driven voice-activated audio connectivity, digital gear, mobile hi-fi solutions, and much more! Attendees navigate themed show areas that unite global brands, innovative startups, and reseller forums under one sprawling roof, ensuring that buyers, press, and enthusiasts all find their niche. Building on its century-long legacy, today's modern IFA 2025 introduces immersive experience zones designed to spark creativity and community. The IFA Creator Hub offers influencers and storytellers live-stream studios, podcast booths, and VIP lounges.
---> IFA 2025 To Feature Immersive Music Experiences.
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues In Theaters September
This Is Spinal Tap, released in 1984, is a landmark mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner
(also plays a role as Marty Di Bergi) that chronicles the fictional British heavy-metal band Spinal Tap on their American comeback tour. Fronted by David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer),
plus assorted drummers, the film adopts a documentary style—complete with backstage interviews, on-stage mishaps, and impromptu jam sessions—to parody the excesses and absurdities of rock
'n' roll culture. Its improvisational dialogue, devised by the principal actors, lends an authentic spontaneity to moments like the notorious on-stage meltdown over miniature Stonehenge props, broken amplifiers, and the endlessly quoted line,
"These go to eleven." Beyond its unflinching send-up of tour-bus banter and egotistical rock personas,
This Is Spinal Tap resonated for its affectionate satire rather than mean-spirited mockery.
---> Spinal Tap II: The End Continues In Theaters September.
Pump Up The Volume? When Is Loud
Too Loud?
Roger Skoff writes about musical and audio dynamics.
Article
By Roger Skoff
Do you know what a piano is? Sure you do;
It's big keyboard instrument that you can play music on, and that's been used by everyone from (in nothing like chronological order) Mozart to Franz Liszt (perhaps the first true rock star) to Sergei Rachmaninoff, to Yuja Wang, to
"Fats" Domino, to "Fats" Waller, to Elton John, to the neighbor kid who drives you nuts with his awful and incessant practicing next
door. Do you know, though, how a piano got its name? It's not actually just a
"piano", but a "pianoforte" – a name derived by combining the two classical music terms for
"soft (piano) and "loud" (forte), and it became hugely popular – completely replacing its predecessor, the harpsichord, because, unlike the
harpsichord's single volume level, it can be played as loud or as quietly as the player wants, and more easily convey feeling or emotion. (Instead of the
"plectra" that a harpsichord uses to pluck its strings – always with the same force – a piano has
"hammers" that can strike its strings as hard or as softly as the player wants, and produce whatever volume level may be
desired.)
--->
Pump Up The Volume? When Is Loud Too Loud?
World Premiere Review!
Vintage Warmth Meets Modern Clarity: Pilot Radio Vacuum Tube Stereo Preamplifier Review
Elevating your hi-fi setup with a blast from the past.
Review By Paul Schumann
My dad passed away last August. This has brought back many fond memories of him.
One of my earliest memories was of my dad's sound system in the bedroom beside
mine. I only got a few peeks in there since my presence in that chamber was
normally strictly verboten. Besides the fantastical sounds that I could
hear, I remember the orange glow coming from the Dynaco ST 70 and a mixture of
the mingled aromas of solder and fresh vinyl. My dad only had his special music
room a couple of years before my brother arrived. I moved into my dad's sanctum,
and his audio system, vinyl, and tapes were banished to the basement. Such are
the sacrifices of a parent. Even in the basement, that great stuff was behind a
locked door to keep it away from my grubby mitts. My dad spent quite a bit of time down there when I was young,
but as the years passed, the basement became the domain for my brother and me.
--->
Vintage Warmth Meets Modern Clarity: Pilot Radio Vacuum Tube Stereo Preamplifier Review.
600 Watts Of Musical Bliss: Rotel Michi X5 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier Review
A modern Swiss Army Knife stereo integrated amplifier for music lovers.
Review By Brett Rudolph
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of attending the Florida International Audio
Expo 2025. It was an incredible show, and the week I got home, I got even better
news. My editor had arranged for me to review the new Rotel Michi X5 Series 2
solid-state stereo integrated amplifier with phono stage and Hi-Res Audio DAC
here at Enjoy the Music.com. Michi is a designation that represents a
flagship series of components within Rotel's family of products. Originally
introduced to the market in 1993, it showcased all the best that Rotel had to
offer. However, the components as we know them today were reintroduced to the
market in 2019. These latest incarcerations continue to showcase the best Rotel
has to offer while keeping audiophile values alive. Of course, all the labels aside, the thought of getting an
integrated amplifier excited me personally.
--->
600 Watts Of Musical Bliss: Rotel Michi X5 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier
Review.
More reviews & articles within our Review Magazine.
High-Performance
Audio Gear Reviews,
