Laurence A. Borden: Earl, welcome to Dagogo. Please tell us about your educational background, and how you first became interested in audio. Earl Geddes: I first got started in audio when I was in High School as a singer in a Rock n’ Roll band, but soon found my interests were more aligned with the […]

Electrocompaniet is a company that has a special place in my personal HiFi history. This Norwegian brand of electronics has been around for about 40 years. As many of you know for many years, I listened to what we now call the QUAD 57 Electrostatic Speakers. I tried amps from QUAD, Marantz, McIntosh, Dynaco, Bedeni, […]

  Few manufacturers in audio have as rich a history as Tannoy. Though founded by Guy Fountain in 1926 to exploit a solid state rectifier he invented, for sake of audio discussion, Tannoy really entered the scene in sound reproduction in the 1940’s, with the invention and introduction of the Dual Concentric loudspeaker driver, a […]

In 2009, Neko Audio brought out their first product, the D100 Stereo DAC. To get the DAC out at a reasonable price point they offered it direct to the customer, avoiding the traditional dealer network and markup. It comes with a 30-day money back guarantee. Because it’s not all that heavy, shipping is also inexpensive. […]

by: Jason Kennedy AMG Viella 12 This substantial turntable comes from a man who produces OEM parts for other German companies, a man called Werner Roeschlau who clearly knows his engineering onions. The Viella 12 is a superbly finished high mass design that incorporates a number of refinements to the norm. The main bearing for […]

by: Jason Kennedy Publisher’s note: Jason Kennedy is a renowned and respected reviewer and photographer. Since 1988, his works have appeared on Hi-Fi Choice, Hi-Fi Plus and Hi-Fi Critic. Jason hails from the United Kingdom. Dr Feickert Acoustics Firebird Dr Feickert brought his latest and most substantial turntable to the High End. The Firebird is a […]

This is the third in a series I’ve been calling, “Boppin’ Down Memory Lane”. So far, I’ve talked about selected amps and floor standing speakers that I have had in the house over the last five years as a reviewer. This month let’s talk about smaller speakers; you know “mini-monitors”, “stand mounted”, or the really […]

The glory days, or golden age, of the high end are gone, and will never be seen again. The time frame is debatable. Some will point to the heyday of McIntosh, Marantz, Eico, Fisher, Dynaco, et.al.. Others, myself included, will point to the ‘70s and the first wave of high end audio from Japan, like […]

The Dagogo Poll was created on September 12, 2010. New surveys are posted on Mondays. The following are the results. Latest results from concluded surveys will be added to this page. Week of: 42. 2012-5-21 Are you a professional of the audio industry? (306 votes) Yes, I make my living either full-time or part-time in […]

Opus 3 Records When I was in my early twenties I discovered Opus 3 Records. For the purpsoe of this article, I only pictured one album cover since they all look pretty much the same. To me, this Swedish record label made the best sounding records I had ever heard. I also loved the eclectic […]

I love bargains, but not at the expense of others. I’ve always had a sick feeling about bankruptcy auctions, estate sales, and foreclosures. I understand that creditors need to get their money, but all I see is Tom Joad’s broken down Model T. On the other hand, if the seller is willingly giving you a […]

What initially brought my attention to the Melody Valve electronics was the GR Research speakers being offered by Angel City Audio, who is the U.S. importer of Melody Valve. Later, I heard the combination of PM845 monoblock amplifiers, Pure Black 101 preamp and GR Research LS6 loudspeakers at Lone Star Audio Fest. I was very […]

I remember when I bought my first CD player in 1984, it was like winning a popularity contest. Armed with the Yamaha CD-X1 player which carried a price tag of $600, I was no longer just another teenage audiophile; I was an audiophile with a CD player. On that very day, the salesman reluctantly sold […]

After going to CanJam at the RMAF, $2,000 doesn’t sound like so much for a headphone amp. Heck, before I went to CanJam I had no idea how big a deal headphones are nowadays. For those who haven’t caught on cans, people seriously into their cans want more than an iPod to play them on. […]

I’d like to begin this review of the Melody AN211 integrated tube amplifier by stating my theory on “good/absolute sound.” I’ve come to the realization that my personal preference to “sound” shifts based on place, time, mood, and almost more importantly, the particular recording. I think a lot of audiophiles act similarly, whether they realize […]

One of the first things that really intrigued me as a budding audiophile was the notion that wire made a sonic difference in an audio system. I was just getting used to the idea that separate components, each individually made a difference, never mind the wire that lashed them all together. After some experimentation, it […]

Robert Lighton Audio displayed their RL10 speaker ($20,000), along with Audio Note UK electronics. The RL10 uses a 10” alnico magnet, hand-made paper cone woofer, and a 1” fabric dome with alnico magnet tweeter. The cabinet is magnificent solid wood – teak or mahogany. Robert’s other business is designing and manufacturing extremely high quality furniture. […]

The New York Audio & AV Show 2012 NYC has not had a major audio show in approximately five years. As such, this year’s show, organized by The Chester Group International and TH.E. Show USA and held at the Waldorf Astoria Friday through Sunday, April 13-15, 2012, was met with a mixture of excitement and […]

Furutech / TAVES / Acoustic Technologies Down at the pavilion I met up with Simon Au who is the owner of Audiyo.com which distributes Furutech and Mundorf capacitors amongst other brands. Simon Au, together with Sauve Kajko of Canada Hi Fi Magazine, are the two main individual responsible for organizing the upcoming Toronto Audio and […]

Coup de Foudre / Wilson / VTL In French, Coup de Foudre literally mean a “bolt of lightning”. Figuratively, it also means “love at first sight”, which I think makes more sense for Montreal dealer Coup de Foudre. Whatever real meaning the name represents, you can be sure it is not “Cook the Food” which […]

Gershman / Mastersound / April Music At the 2011 TAVES, the Toronto Home of Audiophiles had a pair of Gershman Black Swans on display, and it was one of the nicest sounding room of the show. Once again, the Black Swans did not disappoint. Paired with the April Music Stello CDA500 CD player ($3,799), and […]

5/24/2002: We have made a price correction on the product, which is mentioned toward the end of the article. Our apology to readers if this caused any confusion. -Pub. Once again the focus of my reviewer’s attention is the affordable and unflappable Eastern Electric Minimax DAC! – this time the DAC Plus version and in […]

Robert Lighton Audio displayed their RL10 speaker ($20,000), along with Audio Note UK electronics. The RL10 uses a 10” alnico magnet, hand-made paper cone woofer, and a 1” fabric dome with alnico magnet tweeter. The cabinet is magnificent solid wood – teak or mahogany. Robert’s other business is designing and manufacturing extremely high quality furniture. […]

Last month, I started this short series “Boppin’ Down Memory Lane” by talking about the most memorable amps I have had in the house over the last five years as a reviewer. This month, I want to talk about floor standing speakers. It has been my pleasure to review speakers from Audio Note, Audio Space, […]

Soundscape – the name is evocative of the experience which is being created, the merging of millions of musical minutiae into one image, the audio “picture” created for the listener. I like listening to musical landscapes, and I like the music the Salk Soundscape 10 makes. Jim Salk’s (No relation to Jonas Salk; too bad, […]

Dear reader: this is not only an audio review – it’s also a story about how creative companies can drive progress and improvement in tough economic times. In the January 2009 edition of Dagogo I reviewed the Lindemann 820S, which was then Lindemann’s flagship disc player. Priced at $21,700, the 820S played SACD’s and incorporated […]

Prologue For the record, I believe that an average of only 60% of our audio system’s potential is being tapped consistently with the way we use them, and most of the deterrents to full utilization of our system’s potential are present in the form of suboptimal power, suboptimal listening environments, inadequate vibration control and most […]

Sweet Sweet Kandy I have long maintained that it makes a lot of sense to consider the system as a whole rather than gambling on individual components. What do I mean by gambling on individual components? Well if we assume that all components in a stereo system have a sonic signature or “voice” then it […]

The Klipsch Image X10i headphones are the best looking, most comfortable wearing, and best-sounding ear buds I have ever used, including some that were molded to my ears. As I learned at this year’s CanJam, there are many more high-end phones than I ever dreamed. So, I in no way claim to have heard anywhere […]

The “Salon Son & Image 2012” Montreal Hi-Fi Show represents the third audio show I have covered for Dagogo within the last six month. The previous two shows were TAVES 2011 (Toronto Audio Video Entertainment Show) and the CES 2012. Some of my friends have asked me whether I get tired from all the travelling, […]