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Professional Musician And Recording Studio Expert Rick Beato Speaks
Music lovers, audiophiles, and the world need to realize the music business....
Editorial By Steven R. Rochlin / Videos By Rick Beato
As a classically-trained musician since the early 1970s (at the age of 8), over the
decades questions about why I walked away from the music scene decades ago
occasionally pop up. During high
school there was a touch of studio time, and here is where my eyes were open to
the reality of recording music. As a percussionist and drummer, yes my set was a
bit more expansive than the average, yet within my head were tones, textures,
and sounds... upon seeing my percussion/drum set was immediately bumping up
against recording studio effort and time (and their desire to properly mic up such a kit).
Sadly, the apparent lack of concern, with one studio then saying I should just
use their kit within a small boxed room and dead / lifeless drum heads. Am recalling this story not for any ego or other
overly-inflated.... Yet to let musicians nowadays know, am talking about true musical
artists who have a vision... you intrinsically know who you are.
---> Professional Musician And Recording Studio Expert Rick Beato
Speaks.
Audience ClairAudient 1+1 V5 Personal Reference Monitor Review
The little engine that can.
Review By Dr. Michael Bump
Audience
President and CEO, John McDonald, is among those exceptional members of the
professional audiophile community who serve all consumer interests with quiet
equity, succinctly, non-judgmentally, and with knowledgeable authority. His
years of innovative experiences designing fine audio products have nurtured a
wellspring of advice on a variety of high-end audio topics. Above all and simply
stated, John is an exceptional individual any of us would consider fortunate to
have in our life circle. A perusal of the Audience
website offers an excellently-mapped library of not only the
comprehensive offerings of high-level Audience audio products, including cables,
power cords, power conditioners, OEM and DIY parts, accessories, and pro audio,
but also supportive pages on available upgrades, product/industry news, media
coverage (incl. published reviews/awards), as well as an extensive listing of
international dealers/distributors.
--->
Audience ClairAudient 1+1 V5 Personal Reference Monitor Review.
CEDIA 2026 Set To Redefine Smart Living: A Global Showcase For Immersive Home Technology & Innovation
CEDIA 2026 is gearing up to be one of the most influential events in the global
smart-home and custom installation industry, bringing together integrators, manufacturers, designers, and technology leaders for a
multi-day showcase of cutting-edge innovation. Held September 1st through 4th, the show promises a sweeping look at the future of connected living—from
whole-home automation platforms to immersive audio/video environments and advanced networking solutions. As the residential tech market continues its rapid expansion, CEDIA remains the anchor event where new standards, products, and partnerships take shape. This
year's show is expected to highlight major advancements in AI-driven home control,
energy efficient smart systems, and luxury AV performance. Exhibitors will unveil new flagship processors,
high-resolution speaker systems, architectural displays, and intelligent lighting ecosystems designed to elevate both convenience and lifestyle. Industry insiders anticipate strong emphasis on interoperability, with manufacturers showcasing platforms that seamlessly integrate voice control, automation routines, and
cloud-based monitoring.
---> CEDIA 2026 Set To Redefine Smart Living: A Global Showcase For Immersive Home Technology & Innovation. 
Electronica 2026: Munich Set To Showcase The Future Of The
All-Electric Society
Electronica 2026 returns to Munich from November
10th through 13th, bringing together the global electronics industry for four days of innovation, strategy, and
next-generation technology. This year's theme — "Empowering the All Electric
Society" — underscores the event's focus on the electronic systems, semiconductors, sensors, embedded platforms,
and immersive audio/video, that will drive future advancements in mobility, energy, and
AI. Organizers emphasize that modern electronics form the backbone of intelligent applications across every sector, especially as AI adoption accelerates worldwide. A major storyline for 2026 is the rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence across industrial and consumer-based
electronic systems. From Edge AI to AIoT, consumer electronics, machine learning, exhibitors will highlight how hardware, software, and connectivity must work seamlessly to meet growing demands for computing power, energy efficiency,
home electronics, and cyber resilience.
---> Electronica 2026: Munich Set To Showcase The Future Of The
All-Electric Society.
Pacific Audio Fest 2027: Music-Focused Premium Audio Experience
Pacific Audio Fest (PAF) will return January 15th through 17th, staging a music-first premium audio weekend at the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington in
Seattle's Southport. The three-day event promises live performances, immersive listening sessions, and a broad marketplace of premium audio brands, designers, and dealers. Organizers say the move to a new waterfront venue and a renewed emphasis on music aim to reconnect listeners with the emotional power of great recordings. The festival is being shaped as a music-focused audio experience for listeners at every level, from curious beginners to seasoned audiophiles. Attendees can expect demonstrations spanning vinyl playback, loudspeakers, headphones, streaming systems, amplifiers, and complete listening rooms. Exhibits will showcase both budget-friendly starter setups and high-end systems, giving visitors hands-on opportunities to hear how different gear changes the way songs and records come to life.
---> Pacific Audio Fest 2027: Music-Focused Premium Audio Experience. 
Toronto Audiofest 2026 To Deliver
Canada's Best Fall Season Immersive High-Fidelity Audio Experience
The Toronto Audiofest 2026 returns October 16th through 18th at The Westin Toronto Airport, promising one of
Canada's most immersive high-fidelity events of the year. With more than 100 exhibitors and thousands of attendees expected, the show continues its mission of elevating
high-quality sound and strengthening the community of music lovers and audiophiles across Ontario. Over three days, visitors can explore hundreds of brands, audition
cutting-edge loudspeakers, amplifiers, turntables, digital sources, and personal audio gear in professionally tuned rooms. The festival spans 8,000 sq. ft. of curated listening spaces designed to showcase the latest innovations in
immersive high-end audio. The venue's reconfigured demonstration rooms offer an elegant, acoustically optimized environment ideal for serious
listening. A major highlight is EARVANA, Canada's only dedicated headphone event, featuring top global brands and new product launches. Attendees can test flagship headphones, portable DACs, and personal audio systems in a focused,
hands-on environment.
---> Toronto Audiofest 2026 To Deliver Canada's Best Fall Season Immersive High-Fidelity Audio
Experience. 
Freely Giving: Innovations, Partnerships, And Celebrating Audiophile Culture
Journey over three decades celebrating pioneering online audio journalism, groundbreaking industry firsts, and influential partnerships that helped shaped the modern high-fidelity audio landscape.
Editorial By Steven R. Rochlin
First, please allow me the honor to humbly thanks the many
thousands of music lovers who have helped us shape today's high-fidelity audio
landscape. We freely, at no cost, promoted many other (partner) publications, as
my feelings are that a bundle of wood is stronger than a single twig. Yes all
boats rise in high tide. From day 1, Enjoy the Music.com was
launched online during 1995 as a way to easily answer the many questions I was
receiving from other music lovers and hi-fi enthusiasts online. Answering the
same basic questions from various people during the very early days of the
Internet, when at that time information was scarce, I felt having various common
questions and answers on a website was the logical action (to save me time from
answering the same questions over and over again). This was before Google, and we worked alongside Yahoo in the
1990s in getting them to 'find' audiophile websites. As I recall, it was
Lucio Cadeddu of TNT-Audio who started/worked with us for a 'Hi-Fi Circle' or some such, which means we different online
guys worked together to promote one another, as search engines were still very
primitive and did not always find / crawl websites.
--->
Freely Giving: Innovations, Partnerships, And Celebrating Audiophile
Culture.
World Premiere Review!
Merrill Audio Element 116MX Review: High-End Monoblock Power Amplifiers With Exceptional Clarity & Dynamics
Our exclusive In-depth listening tests reveals the 116MX's exceptionally low noise floor, expansive immersive soundscape, and reference-level transparency.
Review By Tom Lyle
In this review, I will describe and sonically examine Merrill
Audio's Element 116MX monoblock power amplifiers. Given the number of Merrill
Audio reviews I have written over the past decade, I suppose some may accuse me
of favoritism. I'm often chosen to review their components simply because I
live close to their factory. As a bonus, they can deliver their products
personally and then help me set them up, rather than simply shipping them to me.
The Element 116MX is Merrill Audio's newest component, and the most powerful
and most pricey amplifier I've reviewed from them. It is a significant upgrade
over their earlier
Element 116 (sans MX), which Dr. Michael Bump reviewed in the summer of 2019
in Enjoy the Music.com. In this very positive review, he remarked that the Element
116 "delivers some of the best amplification anywhere." Merrill Audio claims that the Element 116MX "offers greater
clarity, detail, and dynamic range."
--->
Merrill Audio Element 116MX Review: High-End Monoblock Power Amplifiers With Exceptional Clarity &
Dynamics.
SVS Pinnacle Loudspeaker Review: The Flagship Full-Range Towers That
Transformed My Listening Room
The towers that walked into my listening room as a loaner and never left (maybe).
Review By Dwayne Carter
A few weeks ago, I buried a pair of speakers. Not literally.
They are still sitting in the corner of my listening room, draped in a moving
blanket, waiting for me to make a decision I keep avoiding. But for all
practical purposes, my Martin Logan Summits are gone. Fifteen years of service,
a panel that crackled and then went silent mid-song, and a hole in my room where
my reference speakers used to live. If you read my Lyngdorf TDAI-2210
review, you already know the story. The Logans died during that review, one day in, with a glass
of bourbon in my hand and The Cure cut off at the knees. What I had on hand that
day, sitting in their crates and not broken in, was a pair of new, SVS Ultra
Evolution Pinnacles. They were supposed to be a short visit. A review loaner.
Speakers I would write up, box back up, and ship back to the dealer with a
polite thank-you note. That might not be what happens. Today, I have the pleasure of reviewing the SVS Ultra
Evolution Pinnacle, the flagship floor-standing speakers from a company most
people still think of as a subwoofer outfit.
---> SVS Pinnacle Loudspeaker Review: The Flagship Full-Range Towers That Transformed My Listening
Room.
Try A Screen Driven Driver Stage
Article By Rikard Berglund
From Sound Practices
Issue 8
Some output tubes (211 and 845) need a very
high drive voltage with low distortion. Some tube freaks have used the 300B tube as a driver
but it is very expensive. Others have tried to use a triode connected EL34 but it is not
linear enough. A pentode driven on the screen grid is very linear. I have tried this concept in a new driver
stage, as shown on the accompanying schematic. The first two tubes V1 and V2 form an
asymmetrical mu-follower. V3 is a screen grid driven pentode. Adjust the potentiometer R9
to 350V DC at the plate of V3. You can use many different tubes for V3. I made distortion measurements for some different tube types with the results given in
table 2. EL36 and 5881 are the two best tubes. The linearity of these two tubes in this
"enhanced" mode is even better than for a 300B tube used as a driver.
---> Try A Screen Driven Driver
Stage.
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