We put bits of electronics, wires, and drivers together to create something ephemeral which we hope will also be ethereal. Digital bits seem a strange way to conjure music, but they are no stranger than the coded structure of our being. Someone wrote that code, just as someone wrote the code that operates the PS […]

  Gestalt Audio, German field-coil loudspeaker systems manufacturer Wolf on Langa’s U.S. distributor will demonstrate the LONDON speakers, while British electronics company SW1X Design will be represented by its U.S. distributor Lotus Group. The following is a complete list of equipment valued at more than $437,340 to be played at the show: Wolf von Langa […]

  Audio Note UK operates a little differently than the rest of the industry in the home stereo world. The company creates a complete array of components for stereo systems from cartridges to loudspeakers down to making the internal parts including transformers, resistors, capacitors, cables, solder, etc. Furthermore, company owner Peter Qvortrup insists upon complete […]

  HighResHiFi, U.S. Distributor of FINAL Electrostatics, Netherlands will demonstrate all new electrostatic panel speaker line-up in both multichannel and stereo configurations. 2024 California Audio Show – Final (final-audio.com) System 1 –  stereo & multichannel music audiophile: Final model 35  pair @ $27,000 BREAKING: Final to present it’s top of the range Model 35 at […]

  Audio Note UK will be represented by Bay Area dealership True Sound in a demonstration of the following system: AN-E/SPx Ltd Field Coil speakers TT Three with PSU4, ARM Three, IO Gold and AN-S9 SUT CD3.1X/II US premier:  Meishu Kapellmeister.

  Audio Cafe will demonstrate the following system: Clarisys Piccolo ribbon loudspeakers WestminsterLab REI pure class A monoblock amplifiers WestminsterLab Quest preamp WestminsterLab Autria Alloy cables LampizatOR Poseidon DAC Submit your questions in the COMMENTS section below. Tickets and prizes: CAS11 Tickets and Prize – Dagogo

  Audience AV and Atma-Sphere will demonstrate the following system in Room 1120: Audience AV ClairAudient 1+1 v5 mini-monitors Skylan speaker stands Atma-Sphere MP-3  Mk 3.3 Balanced Differential Design tube preamplifier Atma-Sphere Class D GaN-FET monoblock amplifiers MSB DAC Audience AV fronRow cable system   Submit your questions in the COMMENTS section below. Tickets and […]

Dr. Vinyl will join Sound Lab Electrostats Japan in Lobby Gold Ballroom in a demonstration of the following system: Pear Audio Blue Aras turntable w/ Cornet 3 arm – retail $15,000 Tru glider tonearm– retail $6,000 DS Audio Grand Master Extreme cartridge– retail $22,500 DS audio Master 3 Energizer – retail $17,975 CEC TL5 -retail […]

Note to the reader: In this article I am not claiming to have found a method in which affordable equipment performs at a SOTA level, but rather, a method of system building that has elevated my digital front end and offers flexibility to optimize any system I build and elevate the performance of speakers I […]

Publisher’s note: This article is co-authored by Fred Crowder and Earl Weed.   In this review, I explore the effect of a relatively new product, Arya Audio RevOpods, vibration control feet on the sound of my system. Over the years, I have used a variety of different devices to damp/isolate my equipment both from external […]

  Sound Lab Japanese Distributor Chris Stubbs of Sound Lab Electrostats Japan will be showing two new Sound Lab models in the Lobby Gold Ballroom. Electronics and cables to be provided by Dr. Vinyl. Per Chris: Models are (and note both are brand new): G7-3C (narrow model) & G8-5C (a slightly narrow version of what […]

  I occasionally express my nostalgia in the hobby of audiophilia through acquisition of inoperative or nominally operative audio devices versus vintage stereo equipment. The nostalgia or vintage systems I have built did not have a performance level sufficient to inspire me to listen to them more than a day or two. I have found […]

Audiophiles dig specifications. Most audiophiles are not technically savvy and rely on the brilliance of the design engineers of companies and their marketing departments to make purchase decisions, and what fun that is. Finding out how different designs make music in one’s own home makes for one of the noblest hobbies. Anyone can be a […]

  I’m not ready to be called old at 61, but I must admit I am making boneheaded mistakes I presume are associated with age. Such was the situation when I called Damon Gramont, Director of Sales and Marketing for Bricasti Design, to discuss a problem with the review unit of the Model 1 Series […]

  “Today will be a day long remembered. It has seen the death of Kenobi, and will soon see the end of the Rebellion.” – Darth Vader, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, 1977. It was on this pretext that the story of the second movie in the original Star Wars trilogy, Star […]

The hierarchy of large loudspeakers in my experience begins at the top with the Sound Lab Prostat 922 at the Kimber Kable Exhibit at 2008 RMAF, Acapella Audio Arts Excalibur Triolon with its plasma tweeter, colossal midrange horn and a complete woofers column, followed by the Destination Audio Vista horn, the Dynaudio Evidence Master, the […]

A few short years back, some large Japanese global conglomerate poured its vast engineering resources into creating three components; the first, a D/A converter that would be the envy of all, one that decodes all known codecs, and performs at equivalent level as others’ flagship designs. Then it turned its attention to the creation of […]

  Several months ago a local dealer, Timbre Audio, hosted an open house featuring the principals of the company Computer Audio Design: Isabel Whitley and Scott Berry. CAD designs and manufactures passive external grounding boxes, among other products. Although I had heard of the company and had even read one or two reviews, I was […]

Read: Audio Note UK IO Ltd field-coil cartridge system Review   I group audio engineering kung-fu into 3 main categories: Concepts which have a solid theoretical basis. Concepts which have a plausible, but tenuous or inadequately researched theoretical basis. Pure Magic, based on intuition and experimentation! What we are talking about here, the sound of […]

  There are lots of cartridges out there, a handful of manufacturers being responsible for the vast majority of the technologies and shapes of them. Swapping cartridges in and out of the system to enjoy a slightly different flavor of one’s favorite music is part of the charm of the analog experience. That said, when […]

  Have you ever encountered someone who refuses to leave well enough alone?  Almost as soon as my original review of the EMM Labs MTRX amps had been submitted, Ed Meitner began tinkering with the design of the amps’ input boards. In the next five years, three iterations of the boards appeared on my doorstep, […]

Nearly six years ago in May 2018, then 38-year-old Russian violinist Lisa Batiashvili stepped onto the stage in the Berliner Philharmonie to play the Sibelius Violin Concerto with Paavo Jarvi conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker and the rest is history. The Sibelius work is known for its strenuous cadenzas and flowing passages that are incomparable in […]

The initial article regarding my search for a new digital front end concluded with a recommendation of the Aurender A20 (see review) as an excellent choice for those wishing to obtain great sound for a streamlined HiFi featuring a digital front end. This past week I spoke with an older industry insider who a couple […]

  Benchmark Media is known for its small-footprint digital-to-analog converters such as the discontinued DAC2 and current-production DAC3 series, as well as analog-to-digital converters. The AHB2 bridgeable stereo amplifier, a pair of which being the subject of this review, was first introduced in the fall of 2014, and was the topic of a recent discussion […]

TICKETS & PRIZES Top Prize: Audio Note UK M1 Phono Preamp, retail $3,400. 7/24/24 Update: Winner – Douglas Fong. Congratulations! 2nd Prize: PS Audio Sprout100 + ELAC speakers package, retail $1,099. 7/24/24 Update: Winner – Chris Kutina. Congratulations! Online ticket sale has ended. Please purchase your tickets at the CAS Registrar. Each ticket qualifies as one entry. […]

ROOMS 6 Rooms Updated: 7/18/2024 CAS Facebook page live streaming on Friday, 7/19/24 schedule at-a-glance: 10-10:15am: Sound Lab as represented by Sound Lab Elecrostat Japan, Dr. Vinyl, MA Recordings. 10:45-11am: Audio Cafe. System: Clarisys Piccolo ribbon speaker system, WestminsterLab REI pure class A monoblocks, WestminsterLab Quest preamp, WestminsterLab Autria Alloy cable system, LampizatOR DAC. 11:15-11:30pm: […]

This past September I had the opportunity to attend the Nelson Pass Amp and Speaker Camp, which is held each year in Sebastopol, California. The camp has been going on for some years and has grown in popularity. This was my first time and I found it to be a fun day out. I don’t […]

CAS10 (2023) Show Report CALIFORNIA AUDIO SHOW 2023 Hilton Garden Inn,  Emeryville, CA September 22nd through the 24th, 2023 Produced by Dagogo   Exhibitors at this year’s California Audio Show, held from September 22 through 24 at the Hilton Garden Inn, Emeryville, CA, showcased extraordinary electronics and speakers to the San Francisco Bay Area audiophiles. […]

    One of the highlights of the California Audio Show 2023 was getting a “goody bag” containing a double album and two CDs compliments of record producer Cookie Marenco.  All of the music was performed  by piano player Fiona Joy Hawkins and also included in the performance was the violin played by Rebecca Daniel.  […]

CALIFORNIA AUDIO SHOW 2023 Hilton Garden Inn,  Emeryville, CA September 22nd through the 24th, 2023 Produced by Dagogo   California Audio Show is back, taking place September 22nd through September  24th, 2023.  I have  attended a number of California Audio Show as both an attendee and writing for dagogo.com going all the way back to […]