T.H.E. Show Newport 2016 Report
The Home Entertainment Show 2016

T.H.E. Show Newport 2016 Marketplace
Part 1: Darin Fong Audio, Quality Record Pressings, Acoustic Sounds, HDtracks, Chesky Records, Noble Audio, and Linear Tube Audio.

  There was an abundance to see within T.H.E. Show's Marketplace and car show area! To report on each and every vendor would in itself take a solid day! Alas, my schedule of business meetings with manufacturers, distributors, VCs, music industry professionals, and yes an evening with my ex too, did not permit such luxuries. So i had to pass on some items already reported on within our previous 200(!) show reports. We all know about the Pioneer and other portable digital audio players... or the immense variety of vinyl LP cleaners. Thus my Marketplace report provides you fun details and a few highlights.

Darin Fong Audio is touting their Out Of Your Head software ($149). Basically it gives you the sound of listening to a home audio system within a room yet via headphones. Think of it akin to a loudspeaker emulation DSP effect, yet with headphone listening. So phase and timing changes combines with magic coding and you get a semblance of enjoying music via loudspeaker, yet you're using a set of head-cans.

Bob Levi, President of the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society, is holding up Quality Record Pressings vinyl pressing of Linda Ronstadt. Bob and i were discussing that great recoding and he was incredibly happy to see it remastered / re-released via high quality vinyl LP. For those unfamiliar, Quality Record Pressings is owned by longstanding music lover Chad Kassem, who also owns Acoustic Sounds. You can see Enjoy the Music.com's exclusive video tour of Acoustic Sounds' offices here and another video of Quality Record Pressings manufacturing plant here.

HDtracks and Chesky Records were offering a variety of the very best Hi-Res Music. Audiophiles worldwide are familiar with HDtracks and Chesky Records. David Chesky, who is a world renown composer and pianist, has many great albums from orchestral to jazz and much more! If you love music and desire to procure the very best digitized music, then check out HDtracks. Want more details? If so, then see Enjoy the Music.com's video interview with David Chesky at this link. 

Noble has debuted their universal line of in-ear monitors that is now shipping. The wise guys, as in very smart and savvy, offered a limited edition rose gold version of their in-ear monitors a few months back that sold out within 24 hours! While not pictured, those who appreciate custom in-ear monitors must check out their Kaiser 10 CIEMs (review-ish of the Noble K10s is here). The Noble K10s are my personal reference for music enjoyment. While mine were Noble's very first CIEM in rose gold, called Tiger Stripe, i bought my wife a set of K10 with a Lotus flower design. Remember at the top of this page i mentioned an evening with my ex, who travels the world on a regular basis. During our evening discussion we talked about audio and i suggested she get a pair a pair of K10s. Yesterday via e-mail she conformed she, too, is getting a set! Is there any better way for a reviewer to recommend a product than to have a set personally, buy a set for his wife, and also have his ex buy a set too? So, what are you waiting for? Another review? Ok, then how about a review of the Noble 3 Universal Fit In-Ear Monitors at this link.

Love the license plate!

Linear Tube Audio's ZOTL40 stereo amplifier, and my love of OTL continues, are an improved version of David Berning's original MicroZOTL. The ZOTL40 is a stereo unit that can easily be set to be a monoblock. OTL means there is no output transformer for this vacuum tube amplifier, unlike more traditional designs. This 40 Wpc stereo unit is $5800, and there is a 10 Wpc unit available for $2600. Headphone lovers can choose Linear Tube Audio's MicroZOTL2.0 that has two selectable inputs, a Class A preamplifier output, and power output of 0.5W with a 14 Ohm load (1W at 4 Ohms). Both parts quality, and sound quality, is top-notch! Check 'em out if you have the opportunity. And yeah, here we go (again) as we have a World Premiere review of the Linear Tube Audio microZOTL 2.0 headphone amplifier at this link.

---> T.H.E. Show Newport 2016 Marketplace Part 2.