October
2024
High-Performance
Audio & Music Industry News
Essential high-end audio news you need to know.
Stay up-to-date on the latest audiophile and music industry news.
Coming Soon: Toronto Audiofest 2024
Show Report
The Toronto Audiofest
2024 show, held from October 18th
through 20th, is one of Canada's best luxurious premium high-technology home audio
and video showcases. The Toronto Audiofest is made available to audio companies who believe that supporting the audio industry and its community, including the many enthusiasts who come to attend shows, is important to the industry's development and overall
vitality. These shows represent the only way dealers and manufacturers can meet so many audio enthusiasts face-to-face in one place, people who have come to see, hear, and shop hundreds of brands and products in a festive, quality environment that can't be found anywhere else, and to share their findings with
others. The Toronto Audiofest 2024
event brings together hundreds of audio brands featuring top rated high-end audio and video
(audiophile and videophile) equipment from around the globe.
---> Toronto Audiofest 2024 Show
Report.
UK Audio Show 2024 Show Report
Discovering many glorious new companies and equipment too!
UK Audio 2024 Show Report By Clive Meakins
UK Audio Show was very enjoyable, I came across companies and equipment that were new to me. There was innovative thinking in evidence too. I also very much enjoyed the Alphason technical session where the highly experienced Mike Knowles clearly was very on top of his subject. The Bob Harris sessions were a masterstroke, they combined a love of music with highly interesting tales from the music
industry. The UK Audio Show at the Staverton Park Hotel, Daventry, UK took place 5th and 6th of October 2023. The show was expertly organized by Chester Group who operate internationally and has been running the UK show since 1997, however, times are
a-changin'. Not long before the show it was announced that Stereonet – a sponsor of the show – will be taking over for next
year.
---> UK Audio Show 2024 Show Report At The Staverton Park
Hotel.
High-End Audio Sound? Audiophile Music? Both? What?
Some basic questions about our hobby.
Article
By Roger Skoff
I First wrote about how music and sound interrelate to enhance each other
years ago within my
2018 article Coming At It From Both Directions ). At that time, I looked at it – even after more than half a
century as a music lover and audiophile – more from point of view of an
audiophile drawn to great music and cultural expansion by a love of great sound
than as a music lover carried inexorably in the other direction by a search for
greater involvement in and enjoyment of one of humanity's greatest arts. Now, like Joni Mitchell, I'm seeing things from both sides. Here are my
latest thoughts on the subject. They say that the difference between audiophiles and music
lovers is that music lovers buy a system to listen to their music and
audiophiles (I and my friends call ourselves "Hi-Fi Crazies") buy music to
listen to their system.
--->
High-End Audio Sound? Audiophile Music? Both? What?
The Art Of Loudspeaker Design And
Engineering
Loudspeakers are the most mature component of an audio system.
Editorial By Alan Sircom
Assembling a group of loudspeakers for review has never been too much of a problem.
There's a lot of them and there are always more to be had. But more is not necessarily better. The loudspeaker
maker's art is a diverse one, involving a skill set that stretches from cramming off-the-shelf drivers and a simple crossover in a wooden cabinet to extensive research by a group of PhDs into every aspect of transducer
technology. Trends in audio may come and go. Formats rise, fall... and sometimes rise again.
We've had hollow-state, solid-state, amps on chips, low power, high-power, wide bandwidth and all kinds of front-ends and amplifiers. And, unless you listen on headphones... you are always going to need
loudspeakers.
---> Editorial: The Art Of Loudspeaker Design And
Engineering.
Brand Value And Brand Values
Navigating complex structures of conglomerates, alliances, and joint ventures.
Editorial By J. Martins
After an inspiring Audio Engineering Society (AES) conference
on Automotive Audio in Gothenburg, Sweden, I had to reflect on the things I
learned about the automotive industry. One of the most interesting aspects was
meeting the teams from the multiple tiers of the automotive supply chain, and
most importantly meeting professionals from the manufacturers, from the brands,
and from the audio brands that are now embedded into OEM vehicles. A pleasant surprise was to meet the large audio team from
Ferrari. The famous Italian luxury sports car manufacturer, founded in 1939 by
Enzo Ferrari, is one of very few original automobile "name brands." Not
surprisingly, Ferrari is also one of the world's strongest brands and one of
the most valued car manufacturers by capitalization–fourth after Tesla,
Toyota, and BYD, and surpassing Mercedes-Benz (those things fluctuate and change
quickly, of course). Ferrari is now entering a new age with advanced, fast, hybrid,
and fully electric vehicles.
---> Brand Value And Brand Values.
Jadis DA88S MkII Vacuum Tube Integrated Amplifier Review
The ultimate music machine.
Review By Dr. Jules Coleman
Too often, I have been guilty of 'burying
the lead.' Not this time: the Jadis DA88S MkII integrated amplifier is the
most musically convincing and enjoyable vacuum tube stereo integrated amplifier
I have ever experienced – in my home or elsewhere. From the moment it was
installed in my system until the moment shippers were summoned to remove it,
this handsome piece of kit brought joy and fulfillment to my listening
experience that had eluded me since my decade-long love affair with various
Shindo-centered reference systems fell victim to life's often unforeseeable
and unwelcome interventions. At different times my Shindo systems were anchored by the (no
longer in production) Sinhonia push / pull monoblocks featuring the F2 output
tube as well as the ne plus ultra 300B Ltd monoblocks. The former offered
a dynamic realism that the 300B Ltd could not match, while the latter offered a
texture, color, and density that was in equal measure beguiling and bewitching.
--->
Jadis DA88S MkII Vacuum Tube Integrated Amplifier Review.
World Premiere Review!
MACO MACARIA Open Baffle Loudspeaker Review
A soundsational experience that puts you close to the soundstage.
Review By Rick Becker
Coming
around a corner at Capital
Audiofest in 2023 I was stopped in my tracks by an incredible-looking
open baffle speaker in grey granite. The large 15" full-range driver on top
looked vaguely familiar but the speaker itself was a completely fresh design.
Before I could figure out who the manufacturer was, a lovely familiar woman
appeared at my side. It was Deborah Ann whom I had met at the Toronto Audiofest
in 2022. There, she had been showing magnificent sounding open baffle speakers
from Lii Song (China) driven by a Galion tube amplifier, made in China but
voiced by Thomas Tan in Canada. I was eager to review the Lii speaker but she
was hesitant about the possibility both in Toronto and again when we met at
AXPONA the next year, as she is technically only the Canadian distributor for
Lii Song.
--->
MACO MACARIA Open Baffle Loudspeaker Review.
World Premiere Review!
KBL Sound EXtrema Interconnects, Himalaya Pro 2 Power Cables, And EXtrema Digital Cable Review
An awe-inspiring musical experience with extended frequencies and razor-sharp transients.
Review By Tom Lyle
As
a high-end audio equipment reviewer, I've heard many brands and types of
high-end audio cables. However, the sound quality of KBL Sound's
reference-quality cables, which included their EXtrema interconnects, Himalaya
Pro 2 power cables, and an EXtrema digital cable, differed significantly from
all the other audio cables I've heard or reviewed in the past. Their superior
sound quality was obviously due to their elaborate construction techniques and
materials used. For this review, I was sent two of KBL Sound's EXtrema interconnects, one terminated with RCAs and one terminated with XLRs. I was also sent three Himalaya Pro 2 power cables and one EXtrema digital cable. It's a shame I wasn't sent more KBL Sound cables to review.
--->
KBL Sound EXtrema Interconnects, Himalaya Pro 2 Power Cables, And EXtrema Digital Cable Review.
iSonic Cleaner 6.2-PRO Ultrasonic
Vinyl LP Cleaner Review
Ultrasonic deep cleaning and spin drying 10 LP
records in 30 minutes.
Review By Bob Grossman
The
iSonic Pro 6.2-PRO is the latest variation and upgraded record cleaner design
from a company that specializes in commercial ultrasonic cleaning machines. They
have styles and sizes for various products with personal and industrial
applications. The iSonic company has dozens of cleaner models for medical
applications, jewelry, and personal items used in the home. Jerry Fan of iSonic
said, "Over the past six years, we have made a lot of progress with cleaners
for audio systems." Jerry modestly told me he "doesn’t know too much about
anything else, but we do know about ultrasonic cleaners!" They started with
processing 5 to 10 records for cleaning only, then added the PRO accessory kit
for spin drying with an in-water filter two years ago. Those developments were
with the model P4875II+MVR10-PRO which was an upgrade to the early model
P4875II+MVR5 or MVR10....
--->
iSonic Cleaner 6.2-PRO Ultrasonic Vinyl LP Cleaner Review.
World Premiere Review!
PS Audio Aspen FR5 Loudspeaker Review
High-tech innovation and true-to-life sound.
Review By Ron Nagle
PS Audio was founded in 1973 and shipped its first products in 1974. The company
began life with audio designers Paul McGowan and Stan Warren, with Paul now at
the helm. While most may already know, for those unfamiliar, PS Audio is a
company specializing in high-end audiophile equipment and the sound recording
industry. It designs and ships audio amplifiers, preamplifiers, power-related
products, digital-to-analog converters (DAC), streaming audio devices, plus
music management software and cables. Each weighing 26.62 lbs, the PS Audio Aspen FR5 is a new
compact two-way stand-mounted loudspeaker. At $3500, it represents the least
expensive of the four speakers in their Aspen series.
--->
PS Audio Aspen FR5 Loudspeaker Review.
World Premiere Review!
Synergistic Research Pink Fuses Review
Gentlemen, start your engines!
Review By Rick Becker
First,
let's dispose of all the Barbie jokes about Synergistic Research's new Pink
fuses. Aftermarket fuses have been a legitimate category for years now and the
Pink fuse is a lot closer to Oppenheimer than Barbie. Coming only a year after
the release of the Master fuse, this new fuse caught me by surprise. Usually, technology trickles down, and this time Ted Denney,
fuse maestro extraordinaire, borrowed some tricks learned in the development of
the Master fuse and his Voodoo Server – namely, a new high-voltage
conditioning process that claims to improve texture and resolution. Another
improvement comes from a new conductivity treatment developed for what is likely
his new, yet-to-be-released, Reference power conditioner that is said to improve
low-level detail retrieval, yield improved tonal color, and deliver greater
dynamic performance. I suspect this latter treatment was also used on the new
PowerCell 8 SX which I recently reviewed and awarded a Blue Note Award. The
PowerCell 8 SX certainly exhibited those very same improved qualities.
--->
Synergistic Research Pink Fuses Review.
World Premiere Review!
Naim Audio NAP 350 Reference Mono Amplifier
And NVC TT Phono Stage With NPX TT PS Review
The Naim analog system sounded like listening to the master tape.
Review By Tom Lyle
In
the early 1990s, I often visited one of the local high-end audio salons near my
home. During one of these visits, while my friend and I were bothering the staff
with silly questions, I asked a salesperson which CD player or turntable was
playing the loud, awesome-sounding music in the background. Their answer? A Naim
Audio FM tuner. To say that I was impressed (and embarrassed) is an
understatement. This was my first experience, my first experience with Naim. After this experience, my audiophile friend and I started
believing that Naim had a mystic aura surrounding them. In those pre-internet
days, rumor had it that this audio company was run by nonconformists, at least
compared to the other "major" audio companies we were familiar with. Eventually, I learned more about the UK-based Naim. Finally,
about two months ago, I received my first Naim components for review, which
included a pair of Naim Audio NAP 350 Reference monoblock power amplifiers, a
Naim NVC TT phono stage, and its accompanying NPX TT power supply.
--->
Naim Audio NAP 350 Reference Mono Amplifier And NVC TT Phono Stage With NPX
TT PS Review.
World Premiere Review!
TriangleArt I-20 Single-Ended Integrated Amplifier Review
Taking the single-ended triode to a new realm.
Review By Paul Schumann
The single-ended triode is the most venerable of amplifier
designs. The Western Electric amplifier designs of the 1930s have stood the test
of time. Kondo Audio Note, Audio Note (UK), WAVAC Audio, and Wavelength Audio,
among others, pushed the envelope of SET design during the triode revival 30
years ago. Today, designers are continuing to revisit this classic
configuration. TriangleArt has thrown its hat into the ring with its new I-20
Single-Ended Integrated Amplifier. TriangleArt is already familiar to Enjoy the Music.com
readers because of its phenomenal equipment, which has garnered several Blue
Note awards. So I was stunned when the I-20 Single-Ended Integrated Amplifier
fell into my lap. The I-20 is TriangleArt's first venture into single-ended
amplification. Like many of its components, it takes a different tack on the
tried-and-true SE design.
--->
TriangleArt I-20 Single-Ended Integrated Amplifier 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.
Best Of 2024 Blue Note Equipment Awards
Celebrating the best high
fidelity / high-end audiophile gear of 2024!
High-End Audio
Awards By Enjoy the Music.com
Enjoy the Music.com's
Best Of 2024 Blue Note Awards celebrates the many great achievements
by audiophile manufacturers within the high-end audio and Hi-Res Audio industry. Our
2024
Blue Note Awards is a culmination of more than two decades of reviewing high-end
audio equipment and carefully
choosing what products have earned special recognition for our annual awards. Our Best Of
2024 Blue Note Award celebrates the finest products we have reviewed during the
previous 12 months. Recipients have
been carefully chosen after much debate and consideration by our staff of
reviewers. With each passing
year our industry has experienced great advancements in technology including analog
circuitry, vinyl LP and analog playback, digital-to-analog
converters (DACs), loudspeaker design, personal media
players, and more.
--->
Best Of 2024 Blue Note Equipment Awards.
Capacitors
And Inductors
Article By
Grey Rollins
You
know that thing with metal balls hanging from strings? The one where you pull
back a ball on one end, let go, and it hits the others, knocking the one on the
opposite end loose? (It is called a Newton's Cradle if you want to Google up a
picture.) Okay, now imagine slipping a piece of paper between the middle balls.
That's actually a pretty good visualization of a capacitor at work. The paper
represents the insulator between the plates and the balls are electrons. When an
electron enters one side of the capacitor, one leaves the other side. If two
enter on one side, two will leave on the other. After a period of time, the
balls that left return, and an equal number of balls from first side leave. In the real world, the balls in a Newton's Cradle are obeying
Newton's Laws of Motion. An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon
by an outside force and all that. In a real world capacitor the motivating force
is electrostatic repulsion.
---> Capacitors and
inductors.
The Intro
Editorial By Art Dudley
Passions run high among music lovers. We vilify
"bad" musicians
(the ones we dislike), and we elevate marginally functional savants with a couple of
two-minute singles and some album
filler under their belts. When it comes to more unique and productive figures like Phil
Spector, Jimi Hendrix, Wilhelm Furtwängler, John Cage, or [insert your own heroes and
villains here], music fans either revere them as gods or dismiss them as meaningless.
Sometimes there are shades in between, but perspective is at a premium. This tendency to paint things black or white spills over to the equipment we use
to play back our favorite recordings. i've seen the cognoscenti dismiss people on the
basis of no more information than their choice of power amp, though I suspect few
of us are quite so one-dimensional in truth. Anyone with an internet connection can
publish broadsides proclaiming their love for equipment and music and aim verbal
barrages at their musical "enemies."
---> The intro by Art Dudley.
Voices From The Fringe?
Editorial By Joe Roberts
Audio today consists of a much wider range of practice than
you'll find reported in the glossy mags. Some of the most interesting activity in the
hobby takes place outside the borders that commercial producers of contemporary equipment accept as their playing field. There are vintage
gear enthusiasts, modifiers of old and new gear, and people who build things that the manufacturers are wise to avoid - products with limited popular
appeal or which are not economically viable to manufacture. Except for Audio Amateur/Glass
Audio, there's no dedicated forum for do-it-yourself audio, one of the most rewarding facets of our hobby. Only a
few decades ago DIY was an important part of the hobby for people as committed to it as we are. What
happened?
---> Voices from the
fringe?
Home Theater, 50% Style
Article By Dan Schmalle
Well, you guys who missed the last meeting are really gonna kick yourselves. You missed Rick and
Tina cutting a rug at our vintage disco. The meeting was obviously quite informal.
I had managed to scrounge the proper parts to repair one damaged crossover in time for the meeting so
we got to hear the A7's in stereo. Attendance was light so we pushed back the chairs and cranked 'em
up and danced. Now I don't like horn speakers as a rule, but these A7's aren't bad.
With the Stereo 70 the tweets seemed a bit harsh and throaty. I later adjusted the crossover for 6dB
attenuation and they really smoothed out. The real surprise was how nice
the triode amp I've been putting together sounded with them. I am now willing to concede that triodes
and horns can sound very good. Thanks to Mike for inspiring me to try 'em.
---> Home theater, 50%
style.
SoundStage
Are we all too busy being serious about our systems to kick back and have fun with the music? A game of 'pass the Bluetooth' at a party has Andrew Everard wondering....
Article By Andrew Everard
Yes, our hi-fi systems
are there to be refined, optimized and listened to with rapt attention paid to
every nuance – but are we losing some of the fun of just enjoying the music?
Andrew Everard's been wondering... As a hi-fi reviewer, I get used to the incredulous reaction
when I tell people what I do for a living: 'What?' they almost invariably
exclaim, 'You get paid to listen to music?' That one's a bit akin to the
way some bristle a bit when I says I'm a journalist, then relax considerably
when I explain what I write about: 'Oh, not a real journalist, then,' was the
best response to that one. But for all that, doing what I do has treated me
pretty well over the years; yes, I get to listen to great music played on
usually fairly excellent equipment, and there's always something to pique the
interest and lead to further explanations.
---> SoundStage
Article By Andrew Everard.
Aavik Acoustics RIAA R-180 Phono
Preamplifier Review
Excellent transparency and musicality deliver musical bliss.
Review By Tom Lyle
In July of
2021, I reviewed the Aavik Acoustics
I-180 integrated amplifier, D-180 DAC, and S-180 streamer / network player. In the review, I practically raved about
the sonic quality of all three components, so it was no surprise that Aavik earned
a hard-fought Enjoy
the Music.com 2021 Blue Note Award within
our
September 2021 issue. The three Aavik components bestowed a 2021 Blue Note award are
not cheap, but neither are they extravagantly priced at $7200 each. That is
certainly reasonable for high-end audio components that I thought were some of
the best I've ever heard within and above their price range. Not only that, but
these three components took a surprisingly noticeable step up in their sonic
performance when used together. I'm willing to admit that their good looks might have
initially contributed to me liking them, especially when the three components
were stacked on top of each other - an Aavik stack.
--->
Aavik Acoustics RIAA R-180 Phono Preamplifier Review.
Listen To What
You Like
Roger makes a shocking suggestion.
Article
By Roger Skoff
Do
you remember the Knights Templar? Or the story of King Arthur and the search for
the Holy Grail? In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, they actually
found it, and to everyone's surprise, it turned out not to be some
jewel-encrusted chalice, designed and fit for the use of kings or better, but
the simple clay vessel of a carpenter or a man of the people. As portrayed in the movie, the significance of
the Grail lay not in what it was made of, but in the way that it was regarded by
those who beheld it. Perhaps surprisingly, there's a fairly good parallel to
that in High-End audio. Our Holy Grail – the thing so many of us have
always sought – has always been (at least after Harry Pearson first described
it as such ) "the absolute sound": a perfect reproduction of the experience of
hearing live music played in person. That was my hope for years, too, and it's been
the goal of most of the audiophiles I've known, ever since I first got into this
hobby....
---> Listen To What You
Like.
Interview With David Chesky
On Music And his new venture the Audiophile
Society.
Article By Steven R. Rochlin
The Audiophile Society is the brainchild of composer, pianist, and audio pioneer David Chesky. The new label will focus on bringing even more realistic three-dimensional recordings to market with their Mega-Dimensional Sound, The Audiophile
Society's name for their unique two-channel 3D audio that can play on all existing two-channel stereo, while showcasing emerging artists working in a multitude of genres. The ultimate goal of The Audiophile Society is to change the way you hear
music. According to David Chesky, "The interesting thing about audiophiles is that they
are cool with collecting LPs, CDs, and open reel tapes, but at the same time
very open to new ideas like what we are trying to do. I work a lot in the
classical world where it is so hard to get people to like something new, we call
it the un-acceptance of the unfamiliar. But audiophiles are the opposite
and are eager to try out the newest technology and embrace it if it is indeed
better.
---> Interview With David Chesky
Concerning Music.
Do You Really Need To Buy A Bugatti?
How expensive our hobby doesn't need to be.
Article
By Roger Skoff
As I understand it,
Bugatti's latest-model car costs something like $4,500,000, goes well over 200 miles (320kM) per hour, and costs – at least the earlier Veyron model did – about $23,000 just for one of its regularly scheduled oil
changes. I might be wrong, though; I haven't done any serious Bugatti shopping lately, and I
don't ever intend to. I did, once have a super exotic car, though – a 1953 Siata factory team race car that had been built for that
year's Targa Florio road race. I was just a kid, then, no more than about nineteen years old, and, frankly, although something more practical would certainly have been a far better choice, I
didn't know any better. The car was extremely beautiful, very fast, and VERY prestigious: Everywhere I drove it, it was the center of attention, and I could enjoy the hope that, as its driver, I must be something special,
too.
--->
Do You Really Need To Buy A Bugatti?
World Premiere Review!
Rogue Audio Stereo 100 'Dark' Vacuum Tube Amplifier Review
Musical purity and natural ease bring out the very best in your loudspeakers.
Review By Ric Mancuso
Rogue Audio's designer Mark O'Brien has been on a tear lately
with updated and new models that are setting the bar higher for the competition.
I recently wrote about the new Rogue Audio Pharaoh II and the Sphinx Model 3 before
the Stereo 100 Dark as reviewed here. You might say, they all came first under the checkered
flag. Mark is a high-performance car and motorbike enthusiast, along with being
driven — no pun intended — by his passion for premium audio high-end sound.
I guess you could call him a gearhead. Hey, aren't we all at some level? Funny,
how speedy motorbikes are a thing with other audio designers in the industry. To
name a few, EveAnna Manley of Manley Audio, Sean Casey of Zu Audio, and Mark O'Brien
of Rogue Audio. I have an exercise bike.
--->
Rogue Audio Stereo 100 'Dark' Vacuum Tube Amplifier Review.
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High-Performance Audio Reviews
