High-End Audio Industry News

09 / 30 / 05

  Moscode 's new 401HR ("Harvey Rosenberg") tube/hybrid two-channel amplifier ($4.995), designed by none other than George Kaye, pays homage with this tube hybrid stereo amplifier that produces 200 wpc using a 'Class A' tube driver stage coupled to MOSFET power outputs. The low feedback dual-mono, dual-regulated hybrid design is hard-wired onto elastomer-mount circuit boards. Paying extra care to the signal path, the loudspeaker terminals are directly off the main circuit board to insure a short signal path. Moscode's own Maxi Caps are used with other high-end parts including MIT coupling caps, Edison Price Music Posts and Cardas connectors and internal wiring. Due to employing a very flexable circuit, 'tube rollers' can rejoice as choices include 6H30Pi, 6GU7, 6DJ8, 6922, 6FQ7, 5814, 7730, or 12AU7, with the supplied tubes being a pair each 6H30Pi and 6GU7.

 

09 / 29 / 05

  Telarc has just released new music titles and announced those soon to be available. Since 1980, Telarc has been honored with forty Grammy Awards for performance, production, and engineering, as well as Label of the Year from Gramophone, the French Grand Prix du Disque and Diapason d' Or; Japan's Record of the Year; and Germany's Audiophile CD of the Year. Their recent releases are available on hybrid Super Audio CD so that the music may be enjoyed in surround sound on SACD systems and have a CD layer for stereo replay on standard systems. New and upcoming titles include:

Paavo Jarvi: Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 and Martinu: Symphony No. 2
Cincinnati Symphony

Erich Kunzel: Howard Hanson: Bold Mountain Suite/ Symphony No. 2 "Romantic"/ Suite from Merry Mount
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra

Upcoming Multi-Channel SACDs in October:
Benjamin Zander/Philharmonia Orchestra: Mahler: Symphony No. 1

Robert Spano/Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus: Del Tredici: Paul Revere's Ride/ Theofanidis: The Here and Now/ Bernstein: Lamentation from Jeremiah

 

09 / 28 / 05

  Pinsh, a world leader in ribbon technology with over 25 years experience developing over 3,000 prototype ribbon drivers, has announced the availability of their floorstander 2.1 and upcoming availability of the company's larger 3.0 loudspeaker. Specializing in hybrid cone/ribbon audiophile loudspeakers, the Pinsh 2.1 uses their in-house ribbon tweeter that reproduces sound from 4kHz to 40kHz. For midrange and bass a 5-inch driver produces frequencies from 38Hz to 4kHz. This driver is specially designed and has a 75mm aluminum voice coil with no air gaps and produces an impulse response "fast enough to follow our Pinsh ribbon." The Pinsh 2.1 is 88dB/W/m sensitive and has a single tweeter and woofer in a single ported cabinet while the upper range Pinsh 3.0 has a pair of 5-inch midrange/woofers and has a sensitivity of 91dB/W/m and dual-ported cabinet.

 

09 / 27 / 05

  Ultimate Ears has released the Super.fi 3 Studio earphones ($100) that utilizes a proprietary, vented, single-speaker design. Ultimate Ears claims that unique acoustic engineering and construction techniques allow the Super.fi 3 Studio earpieces to produce deep bass to good levels while also providing clear mids and crisp highs. The shape and snug fit is said to be based on Ultimate Ears' 10 years of experience in handcrafting earphones from silicone impressions of customers' ears. This provides not only wearing comfort, but also 26dB of noise isolation. This is much higher than normal 'noise canceling' type closed ear headphones while also allowing the ear better ventilation than closed type headphones. Each pair of Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 comes with a leather case, an earphone cleaning tool, and a 10-piece fit kit to adapt the earphones to different ear shapes. The Super.fi line also offers two premium dual-speaker models with low- and high-frequency speakers in each ear. The Super.fi 5 EB (Extended Bass, $200), with 16dB of noise isolation is aimed at the aficionados of driving low end and the company's Super.fi 5 Pro ($250) has more neutral audio signature with 26dB of noise isolation.

 

 

  Audiophile specialist company Sound Mechanics has introduced their latest improvements on the company's S35 loudspeaker stand. With heavy rear metal frame for improved stability, anti slip treatment on grounding pillar, sand fill column, and heavy duty 3/8" spike for improved vibration transfer the stand will easily hold heavy loudspeakers while allowing loudspeakers to produce top notch sound quality. The S35 is said to be ideal for small bookshelf speakers such as LS3/5A, ProAc, etc. with a base width of 15" and stand depth of 12". Available colors include titanium metallic (standard), or metallic grey, cherry, rosewood, and silver with other wood types also optional.

 

09 / 26 / 05

  Outlaw Audio has many new products including their long-awaited Model 1070 AV receiver ($899) for both stereo and surround sound systems. The Model 1070 provides seven channels with 65 watt amplification and all the latest digital surround modes. Of interest is the availability of two-input DVI switching, digital four-way crossover or analog bass management for the "direct" inputs for DVD-Audio or SACD. Other news from Outlaw Audio include their 7-channel 125 watt per Model 7125 ($999) and Model 2200 monoblock with 200 watt amplification ($325) that features both RCA and XLR inputs.

 

 

  NorStone Design, producers of AV furniture and loudspeaker stands, now includes their new Epur Series with a remarkable purity that easily blends into virtually all decors. The Epur 4, with its 4 shelves, is wide and higher enough to hold most electronic devices and the top shelf easily handles high-end turntable designs. It stands at over 30 inches high and 29 inches wide. Also available is the Epur 3 that is both wider and smaller for those looking for a place for their LCD/Plasma television. Lastly, the Epur C is the corner TV piece for those with a CRT TV set. All the Epur products are equipped with a hidden wire path to floor for cable management while the stand's tubes feature ball bearing design for smooth movement.

 

 

  Highland Audio's new Aingel 1202 ('Angel' in Celtic) satellite loudspeaker and Dord 165 subwoofer include top-notch design with high quality parts. Using a D'Appolito architecture and closely matched drivers, the 1202 is said to produce a three-dimensional soundfield that extends down to the lowermost frequencies with the aid of the company's Dord 165 subwoofer with it's metal-ceramic alloy oversized neodymium magnet. The treble on the mains are produces with titanium dome tweeter. Other configurations for the 1202 are offered to complete a surround sound system. 

 

09 / 19    to   09 / 25

  Holiday break. Please feel free to enjoy over 1,000 archived equipment reviews by clicking here. We also offer well over 85 show reports by clicking here.

 

09 / 15   to   09 / 18

  Enjoy the Music.com offers virtually live coverage of Italy's Top Audio & Video show! For the seventh year — more times than any mainstream website and nearly all print magazines — Enjoy the Music.com™  provides daily updates on one of Europe's most enjoyable shows. Incredibly beautiful products by Italian artisans will be highlighted, yet there are also products from other parts of the world to be seen and heard. Italy's Top Audio & Video show takes place at the Quark hotel in Milan (from September 15^th through the 18^th) and our coverage can be seen starting the very first day of the show by clicking here.

 

09 / 10 / 05

  We have just posted our Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) 2005 show report. Our 2005 coverage marks the 5th year we have reported on the show.  CEDIA is not an audiophile event as it mainly features multi-room entertainment systems, home automation and communication systems, home networking and integrated whole-house subsystems providing control of lighting, security and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems. Next week Enjoy the Music.com™ will begin our virtually live show coverage of Italy's Top Audio & Video show!

 

09 / 08 / 05

  PRIMEDIA's Home Entertainment Show 2006 (Stereophile show) will be held in Los Angeles at the Sheraton Gateway Hilton from June 1^st through the 4^th, 2006. While the first day of the show is strictly for trade, the remaining three shows are open to the general public. Attendees will enjoy home entertainment products ranging from loudspeakers, turntables, HDTV, home theater systems, computers, imaging products and much more. Free music and informative seminars will be offered to entertain and educate. Los Angeles has previously hosted the Home Entertainment show back in 1992, 1995, and 1998. Feel free to see our 1998 show coverage by clicking here.

 

09 / 07 / 05

  Linn has announced their Komponent loudspeaker system that is designed to deliver audiophile performance and visually mate well within a modern living environment. The system includes Komponent 110 floorstanding loudspeaker, Komponent 104 compact loudspeaker, Komponent 106 LCR (left/center/right) loudspeaker, and the Komponent 120 self-powered subwoofer ($1150, $500, $1000, and $1500 respectively). All full range models feature Linn's highly praised 2K Driver Array as found in the company's flagship Komri, Artikulat and Akurate. All Komponent loudspeakers are built using a unique aluminum extrusion and advanced damping materials. This construction also allows for relatively shallow dimensions that aid in wall-mounted using the supplied brackets. System performance can be upgraded by using these speakers in a multi-amplifier configuration or in AKTIV configuration where a single amplifier channel is dedicated to each drive-unit through an active crossover. The Komponent 120 powered subwoofer is a mere 20cm tall, therefore it can be discretely positioned under furniture, or be wall or ceiling mounted using a supplied bracket. The Komponent loudspeaker system is available in a choice of Silver or Graphite finish.

 

09 / 06 / 05

  Teresonic now offers two new models of loudspeakers, both featuring 101dB/W/m high sensitivity. The Ingenium ($9,975, pictured here) and Integrum ($7,950) loudspeakers are the result of many years in research and experimentation and is said to eliminate problems associated with multiple driver loudspeakers. Italian finishes and premium components include British Lowther DX-series drivers and German WBT connectors. Teresonic goes so far as to manufacture their own cabling specifically designed for these loudspeakers. Specifications include sensitivity of 101.5dB/W/m, 8 ohm load, 30Hz to 22kHz frequency response, and real wood finishes. Both models include a 30-day "Total Satisfaction Guarantee" and full three year warranty.

 

09 / 05 / 05

  High Fidelity Belgium 2005, their largest show to date, will take place on November 12th and 13th with over 50 presentations and 10 static shows. Both stereo hi-fi and home cinema products will be showcased in the over 1,700 m² of demonstration space spread between to hotels. Entrance fee is a mere €3. Venues are the Crowne Plaza Hotel Brussels Airport and four star Courtyardhotel in Evere near Brussels. A free bus will gladly transport show attendees between the two venues. Show organizers audioforum.be are finding great support from distributors, importers and manufacturers from around the world to insure the show is a success. Unlike most other show websites, Belgium has wisely chosen to provide their website in no less than four languages (Dutch, English, French and German), making their show a true international experience.

 

09 / 01 / 05

  September is a big month here at Enjoy the Music.com with new issues of both our Review Magazine and Superior Audio plus upcoming show coverage of Italy's Top Audio & Video show! New reviews within Superior Audio include Ars Aures' Midi Sensorial loudspeakers, Modwright's amazing SWL 9.0SE preamplifier, Ray Samuels Audio Emmeline XR-10B MM/MC phonostage, and longstanding reviewer John Gatski makes his first appearance of many within our pages with his assessment of the Pass Laboratories Aleph X2.5 stereo preamplifier. Our longstanding Review Magazine features Escalante Design's Pinyon monitor & Uinta subwoofer, the Opera Audio Droplet LP5.0 turntable, and Pacific Creek's Separo SE300I integrated amplifier. See the September issue of our Review Magazine by clicking here and Superior Audio by clicking here.

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