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High-Performance
Audio Gear Reviews,
Music News, Show Reports, Articles & More!
30 Years Of Service To Music
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Enjoy the
Music.com's May 2026 Luxury High-End Audio Review Magazine: Show Reports, World Premiere Reviews, & More
AXPONA and Montreal Audiofest coverage, in-depth editorials, and retro-gear reviews too.
The May 2026 issue of Enjoy the Music.com's luxurious high-fidelity audio
Review Magazine celebrates our love for music in all its forms. This issue delivers a broad mix of show coverage, editorials, technical features, and equipment reviews. The issue frames its content around both audiophile heritage and the current youthful momentum within our high-end audio world, as we position historic perspective alongside world premiere product coverage. Our comprehensive show reporting includes dedicated coverage of AXPONA and Montreal Audiofest 2026 that highlights major debuts, listening room impressions, and the music programming that defined each event. The show reports emphasize how live demos and meet-ups remain essential for evaluating flagship systems, spotting emerging trends, and our industry's ongoing growth
trajectory. As always, in the end what really matters is that you...
enjoy the music!
---> May 2026 Luxury High-End Audio Review
Magazine: Show Reports, World Premiere Reviews & More.
Catalog Kings Unite — BMG & Concord Merge To Create Independent Music Powerhouse
BMG and Concord have agreed to merge into a single, independent music company operating under the BMG name, creating a combined business controlled roughly 67% by Bertelsmann and 33% by affiliates of Great Mountain Partners, with Concord CEO Bob Valentine named CEO and
BMG's Thomas Coesfeld to serve as chairman. BMG and Concord announced a definitive agreement on April 28, 2026 to combine their publishing, recorded-music, theatrical-rights, and digital-distribution operations into a unified company that will operate under the BMG brand while keeping a recorded-music arm called Concord Records. The new company will be headquartered globally in Nashville with a European base in Berlin, reflecting the two
firms' existing footprints. The transaction is structured so that Bertelsmann will own about 67% of the combined business and affiliates of Great Mountain Partners will hold about 33%, with the latter receiving a one-time cash payment of $1.16 billion as part of the
deal.
---> BMG & Concord Merge To Create Independent Music Powerhouse.
AXPONA 2026 Show Recap And Acquisition By Sound & Fury LLC
AXPONA (Audio Expo North America) closed its 2026 edition, drawing
over 10,000 attendees to the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center and showcasing
hundreds of brands from many countries. The three-day event featured dedicated Listening Rooms, an expanded Ear Gear Experience, as Expo Hall and nightly live concerts that helped fuel a 15% attendance increase over 2025 and a notable jump in Gen Z passes.
It is great to see the audiophile audience getting younger, breaking
what felt like decades of age increase. Organizers and exhibitors described the atmosphere as energetic and generationally broader than in past
years. Liz Smith, AXPONA's VP and Event Director, said the show
"exceeded all expectations" and highlighted the surge in younger attendees as evidence that
high-fidelity audio is reaching new audiences. Days after the show, owners announced a change in stewardship:
with little known about Sound & Fury LLC, a company that has acquired
AXPONA....
---> AXPONA 2026 Show Recap And Acquisition By Sound & Fury LLC.
Part 6 — Best Of Montreal
Audiofest 2026 Blue Note Awards And Honorable Mentions
Celebrating the best high-end audio
exhibit rooms, plus an overview of the show and industry.
Montreal Audiofest Show Report By Rick Becker
This year's show report is dedicated to the memory of Ernie Fisher, Editor of
The Inner Ear, who was one of the first friends I made at the Montreal show when I was getting started. He passed away in the spring of last year, and I wanted to make this dedication in the Montreal report, where our roots are
deepest. In 2005, back in the days it was held at the Delta Hotel, and known as Le Festival Son et Image de
Montréal, Ernie sponsored a room which earned Best Rooms
recognition....
That's the kind of guy Ernie was—seeking out the best, no matter how unknown or unusual a company might be. He was, and still is, an inspiration for me. I hope the music in heaven meets his
expectations. Looking back after more than four weeks from the show, it's time to sit down and commemorate the Best Rooms and salute a bunch more as Honorable
Mentions. But first, a few comments on the show.
---> Part 6 — Best Of Montreal Audiofest
2026 Blue Note Awards And Honorable Mentions.
"Woodstock Of High-End
Audio" Lone Star Audiofest 2026
The Lone Star Audiofest 2026 is set to return Memorial Day weekend, running May 22nd through 24th at the Embassy Suites in Round Rock, Texas. The
three-day event promises a mix of exhibitor rooms, seminars, and live demonstrations aimed at audiophiles, hobbyists, and industry professionals. The festival highlights a long tradition of
hands-on listening rooms, DIY, and a marketplace atmosphere where both established brands and
up-and-coming builders present loudspeakers, amplifiers, turntables, and DIY projects. Demonstrations and seminars will run alongside the exhibit rooms, covering topics that matters to audiophiles and music lovers alike. The festival's venue, the Embassy Suites Round Rock, places the show minutes north of Austin and provides exhibitor rooms open to the public Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4
p.m. Attendees can expect a casual, community-oriented atmosphere—described by organizers as
"the Woodstock of high-end audio shows"—with opportunities for
one-on-one conversations with designers and hands-on listening.
---> "Woodstock Of High-End Audio" Lone Star Audiofest 2026. 
audioXpress'
May 2026 Issue
Editorial: Hear No Evil
Designing the Dynaco ST-70 Series 3 Vacuum Tube Audio Power Amplifier
The Yin & Yang Circuit
Stabilizing Tube Feedback Amplifiers Without Much Math Part 1—Diagnostic Principles
Rediscovering The EF184: A Surprising MM RIAA Preamplifier
Building a KT170 Class-A Amplifier
Thoughts On Igor Popovich's Audiophile Vacuum Tube Amplifiers Books
Revisiting An Elegant Idea The Augmented Follower
New Expressions For First-Order Filter Phase Response And Group Delay Part 2
Hermon Hosmer Scott
And Much More!
---> audioXpress May 2026
Issue.
Montreal Audiofest 2026
Luxury Hi-Fi Audio Show Report
The ultimate audiophile and
music lover experience.
Montreal Audiofest 2026 (Salon Audio Montreal)
returned March
20th through 22nd, bringing Canada's premier high-end audiophile event to the city. Organizers
enjoyed welcoming thousands of music lovers and audiophiles eager to listen, see, and handle cutting-edge audio gear, with over
luxury 300 brands showcased under one roof. The three-day festival was designed for audiophiles, videophiles,
immersivephiles, and curious music lovers seeking modern immersive, hands-on
experiences. As the largest audio event in Canada, the event gathered top distributors, manufacturers, and retailers from the
high-end consumer electronics industry. Attendees joyously explore dedicated demo
listening rooms, vendor booths, and curated exhibits that highlight the latest in
luxurious loudspeakers, top-rated amplifiers, precision Hi-Res Audio DACs, turntables, immersive
headphones & portable audio, plus home A/V systems. The show's scale and industry presence
made it a
must-visit for anyone tracking trends in premium sound and home cinema.
---> Montreal Audiofest 2026 Luxury Hi-Fi Audio Show
Report.
AXPONA 2026 Features Audiophile Gear, Master Classes,
& Seminars
AXPONA 2026 is a three-day high-end audio event for audiophiles and industry insiders, running April 10th through 12th at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center just outside Chicago. AXPONA's programming emphasizes education and community: the schedule featured seminars, master classes, live concerts, and
after-hours events designed to pair technical deep dives with musical experiences. For attendees planning a visit, organizers and reviewers offered practical tips: plan your route through the many exhibit rooms, use the AXPONA app to track
must-hear demos, and expect international brands to debut flagship systems that are best experienced live rather than via specs
alone. Over three days, the AXPONA 2026 show combines a sprawling Expo Hall with many listening rooms, a trade pavilion, live musical performances, and specialty areas such as the Ear Gear Experience, and IASCA car audio showcase.
---> AXPONA
2026 High-End / Luxury Audiophile Show Report.
Why High-End Audio Transforms Listening Into A Deeply Emotional Experience
How high-fidelity audio reveals new layers of music, deepen presence, and turns everyday listening into a restorative ritual.
Editorial By Steven R. Rochlin
There is a quiet
kind of astonishment the first time a familiar song arrives to your ears, and
into your soul, thanks to truly excellent high-fidelity audio gear. The melody
you thought you knew opens like a book you have read a hundred times and
suddenly notice a sentence you had never seen before. That discovery is not
novelty for novelty's sake. It is the music, your favorite tune, finally being
allowed to speak with clarity and space… as recorded using million$ in
recording studio and mastering equipment. High-end audio is not about being
louder in volume or just add 'sparkle'. It 'restores' the intention behind every
musical note. When a recording is reproduced with exceptional fidelity in mind,
not the cheapest route to sound, the small human aural gestures that make music
feel alive becomes audible. A breath before a phrase, the scrape of a bow, the
microdynamics (or the briefest of pauses) of a finger on a string all become
emotional signposts. It is part of being human, not AI.
--->
Why High-End Audio Transforms Listening Into A Deeply Emotional
Experience.
World Premiere Review!
Geshelli Labs TORC DAC Review: Does This Value-Priced Compact DAC Deliver Big-League Sound?
We explore how the bargain-priced TORC DAC delivers performance that easily exceeds expectations.
Review By Tom Lyle
Over
the years, I have encountered many audiophiles who are unwilling to go into debt
or spend all their money on high-end audio components or systems. While some of
these individuals are new to high-end audio, others are more experienced, yet
both groups consistently assemble impressive audio systems. What these
audiophiles share is their love of music and the pursuit of sound quality, which
is far superior to that of mass-market audio gear found at Big Box Stores. For
music lovers and audiophiles who are not wealthy, or simply prefer not to
splurge on expensive gear, they, instead, piece together their setups using
pre-owned equipment, budget-friendly components, or both. If one of these types of audiophiles asked me for a
recommendation for an affordable, excellent-sounding DAC... read on. Geshelli Labs designs and manufactures DACs and headphone
amplifiers, and is a family business founded by husband-and-wife team Geno and
Sherri Biscegliana.
---> Geshelli Labs TORC DAC Review: Does This Value-Priced Compact DAC Deliver Big-League
Sound?
How To Do A Proper Listening
Test: Part 1
Article
By Ethan Winer
There are two ways to assess the quality of audio devices:
measuring and listening. Measuring is usually the better choice because the
results are absolute, and repeatable because they avoid the vagaries of human
hearing perception. But when measuring isn't practical or possible, a
listening test using a music source is perfectly fine. For example, listening is
needed to compare CD quality at a 44.1 kHz sample rate to "high definition"
audio at 96 kHz. Both will measure the same if the frequency response is limited
to the audible range, but some people believe they sound different. Another
example is when comparing MP3 bit-rates, especially higher values such as 256
versus 320 kbps. It's pretty much impossible to "measure" the effect of
lossy compression using traditional means because the frequency response changes
from moment to moment. Listening tests are also useful for comparing loudspeakers
because there are so many variables such as off-axis response, dB per octave low
frequency roll-off slope, distortion that varies continuously with volume level,
and separate distortion amounts for the woofer and tweeter.
--->
How To Do A Proper Listening Test: Part 1.
Quad PA-One+ Triode Vacuum Tube DAC /
Headamp Review
The quintessential audiophile tube amp for headphones.
Review By Gary Alan Barker Of Headphone.Guru
When
I reviewed the Quad ERA-1 Planar Magnetic Headphone I knew that Quad had made
the occasional tube amp over the years, but considered them to be a speaker
manufacturer, what I didn't know (until I had researched for the ERA-1 review)
was that they had started as an amplifier company, such are the pitfalls of
redefining loudspeaker technology and producing one of the best sounding and
highest respected speakers of all time, the ESL (Electrostatic Loudspeaker). As
fate would have it Quad is, in fact, an audiophile amplifier company who also
designs and builds speakers, hence when I discovered the Quad PA-One+ at RMAF
2018, I agreed to hold onto the ERA-1 until a review sample could be
sent. Then I was informed that there would be a slight delay as a whole new
amplifier was being released the Quad PA-One+.
--->
Quad PA-One+ Triode Vacuum Tube DAC / Headamp Review.
Discover more hi-fi reviews and expert articles within our Review Magazine.
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