EAR
Yoshino had a nice selection of products here at High End 2013 in Munich.
The front faceplates are chromed and my camera seemed to capture this wavy
effect from the carpet below. Rest assured they are single color solid chrome
without any patterning.
Harmonix room had all the company latest
and greatest gear on active display.
My award for Coolest Looking Tube Amplifier of the day goes to
Auris Audio and their Tpianta monos made in Serbia (€17,000) and not for sale until around Q4 2013. These can also be couture per se as you can customize the wooden bits and wrapped leather to virtually any
color/type of your choosing. And this brings up something that brings a big
smile to my face. You see, those who have done quite well seem to want
something more than just a product out of a box. They want to have their gear
'personalized' to their liking.
Graziella from the company Colotube was
helping hand out literature here at the High End 2013 Munich show.
Van den Hul cartridges... and if you never had a Frog MC cartridge, seriously, you should try
it. Of all the cartridges i have reviewed, the Frog may not be the last word
in resolution, but holy &%#@ can it play music!
v-moda new vamp versa ($600) is perhaps one of the hottest portable DAC/headphone amp units and for $100
more you can get an integrated and easy to use CNC machined and anodized metal case for iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy SIII.
Even my buddy Tyll Hertsens of InnerFidelity gave it a thumbs up.
v-moda plans to
make a CNC case for the Galaxy Note II and others phones in the future for the most popular
models.
Well, well, speak of the devil as here is Tyll
with Andy Regan of Cardas Audio fame. My award for Most
Forward-Thinking Guy In His Industry (headphones/portable audio) goes to...
Tyll! Sure he writes for another magazine, but so what! i recall about 18
years ago Tyll being this gorilla marketing Internet crazy Hawaiian shirt
wearing guy doing what he could to promote his then company Headroom.
C'mon, who in their right mind always wears a Hawaiian print shirt at shows,
let alone any other crazy outfit? Tyll is a true jewel in this industry and whatever
InnerFidelity are paying him, it
really is not enough so give the guy a 20% raise. Seriously, have you been hearing anything new from HeadRoom lately? No. Why'd they get rid of that
guy? Yipes and glad no one i know
invested in HeadRoom post-Tyll and wonder if the owners learned something. And
this brings up...
DISCLAIMER: Due to receiving praise from
more than a few people for mentioning the stock DDD in my
New York Audio Show report, if you bought a year or so ago DDD was at
around $10. During the NYAS it was at $35.40 (April 12). Today, less than a
month later, it closed at $43.85.
Please let it be known here and now if you choose to take on risk within Wall
Street (stocks, bonds, FX, etc) you are on your own. Investing has inherent risks and you
should always seek a licensed professional. Steven R. Rochlin is
neither a 'professional' investor nor licensed, so anything you choose to do
is of your own choice and Steven R. Rochlin nor Enjoy the Music.com
shall be held responsible/liable for something you choose to do. Add in
all the other usual Wall Street investing disclaimers here. Trading
stocks/bonds, FX (especially if you use leverage), etc has risk and you are
100% on your own. This is
real risk folks with very real possibility of complete financial loss!
We now return you to my High End 2013 show
coverage already in progress.
Nagra used the Munich show for their premiere of their Nagra D/A 32-bit/384kHz and DSD unit plus their MPS (multiple power supply).
The Silbatone room featuring their
price-no-object tube amplifiers and of course vintage Western Electric
hornspeakers.
YG Acoustics, a speaker that always seem to make great sounds, had their Sonja 1.1/1.2, which were being driven with
Auralic electronics and impressive Kubala-Sosna cables.
Ayon Audio electronics were driving the top-line Blackfire XS
speakers (€50,000)
NAD's new D7050 powered streamer handles 24-bit/192kHz, UPnP, Wi-Fi, airplay, Bluetooth with
Apt-X, etc. Cute, small and easy plug-n-play device.
E.A.T. (Euro Audio Team) E-GLO tube phonostage with separate power supply (€5500).
Naturally the phonostage complements the company's Forté, Forté S and E-Flat turntables. The E-Glo is an all-tube design with four ECC83s and two ECC88s.
It provides a variety of load/etc adjustments and can be used with virtually
every cartridge on the market today.
E.A.T.'s new E-GO 12" tonearm in silver (€6500)
is custom designed and made for them by Graham Engineering. This twin-motor turntable/arm combination is designed to work together and can eliminate a host of matching problems. The arm evolved from the Phantom
and features new internal wiring for better detail retrieval and enhanced freedom from any mechanical resistance. The upgraded pivot design
provides greater dynamics according to the company. Magneglide, a patented magnetic
stabilization system, optimizes unipivot tonearm behavior.
---> Next page.
High-Performance Audio Reviews
