Introduction For many years I was one of those equipment owners who was driven by owning the latest and greatest equipment. Strangely enough, about the time that I passed the age of 55 and started to think about grandchildren and retirement, I became somewhat less obsessed with the equipment I owned and more focused on […]

Early in 2010 I wrote a review entitled “A Flight of Lowthers”. After that review I decided to purchase the pair of Teresonic Magus that had the Lowther Alnico Silver Drivers. I use them in my video and digital system. This driver paired with the Magus bookshelf cabinet became Teresonic’s production model known as the […]

The second California Audio Show by Dagogo has come and gone with great success. This year the show was held close to the San Francisco International airport which, from what I over heard, was very convenient for both attendees and manufacturer/distributors. The show was spread across all five floors of the hotel and all the […]

The first two segments of my show report (Part V, Part IX)considered rooms which were assigned to me for coverage. I now turn my attention to systems which inspired or surprised me. Size and price of the system was not the ultimate determinant of which were the most worthy of comment. When you walk out […]

There are systems you never forget for good reasons, and there are systems you never forget for other reasons. The Music Lovers Audio/Musical Surroundings room I’ll never forget for one reason, it had the most stretched soundstage I’ve heard at a show from a non-panel speaker setup; the only system I recall sounding wider was […]

Music Lovers/Musical Surroundings (Redwood Room) System included Ayre DX-5 Universal A/V Engine, K-5xe preamplifier, and V-5xe power amp; Wilson Audio Sophia Series 3 speakers; Clearaudio Ovation Turntable, Concept MC Turntable, Talisman v2 Gold Cartridge; Fosgate Signature Vacuum Tube Phono PreAmp; Tesla Series cables, power cell, Acoustic ART and Galileo Cables; and Grand Prix Audio Core […]

LB: Jacob, welcome to Dagogo. Please begin by telling us a bit about your early exposure to music while growing up in Asia. Jacob George: Larry, thank you for taking the time to do this interview with me. A great pleasure. I was born and did all my schooling in Singapore, and came to New […]

Every once in a while I hear someone say, or even read online that a certain audio system actually sounds better than live music. I am amazed at how often people ask the wrong question. This would have to be one of the more obvious examples. I’ll try to explain what I’m saying at the […]

Janis Ian Between The Lines Limited Edition “BOXSTAR” 180g Vinyl Remastered by Kevin Gray from Original Analog Tapes Lacquers cut using Acoustech’s all-analog system Pressed at RTI Tracks: 1. When the Party’s Over 2. At Seventeen 3. From Me To You 4. Bright Lights and Promises 5. In the Winter 6. Water Colors 7. Between […]

Audio Federation Tel. 303-546-6503 URL: http://www.audiofederation.com/ Email: mike&neli@audiofederation.com CD’s used for Test Purposes Brothers in Arms – Dire Straights (XRCD 548 3572 Universal) Rosa Passos & Ron Carter (Chesky Entre Amigos SACD 291) This is K2 HD Sound (FIM K2 HD 078) Solveig Slettahjell – Silver, ACT 9715-2 – acts 1-&5 Kelly Blue – Wynton […]

Let’s talk about synergy. It’s a term that’s discussed on a regular basis in the audiophile community. It seems an ill-defined concept applied to all manner of systems without regard for a technical definition. I spent half an hour punching search terms into my browser, such as: “audio terminology”, “audio glossary”, “audio glossary synergy”, “audio […]

I have had the great fortune over the years of meeting several gentlemen who are truly passionate about the art of analog record playback. Each of them embarked on his own journey in turntable design. Tom Vu is one such recent acquaintance. Last year we met over the phone and ended up discussing vintage and […]

Introduction Over the past 12 months or so, I have had the pleasure of auditioning four unique families of cables. Each cable design is quite different from the others in terms of finished product, but each gives unique insight in their interpretation of the sonic truth. The focus of this review is the Tel Wire […]

You might ask why I would review a tonearm that has been on the market for quite some time. Well, the answer is simple: It’s a unique product, it fits the needs of certain cartridges, and it’s an outstanding bargain. Description Some people are scared to death of handling tonearms, and of course this is […]

Introduction Pure Note was one of those extremely quiet, unassuming, cottage industry, niche manufacturers that have a passion for audio. They have been in business for years and years as strictly an American web-based company. In fact, their roots actually reach back to pre-Y2k. I have actually known them since those earliest of days; even […]

I am way into German engineering. From my Mercedes to the Glashuette Original watch I would wear if I were a white collar kind of guy, the Germans have left a very powerful mark on consumer goods design and execution. I really guzzled down the cool aid the first time I heard my Behold system. […]

Publisher’s Note: This Review is first published in the Offiical Directory of the 2nd (2011) California Audio show. The people at Ayon Audio, from the designer to the assemblers, seem to have all their ducks in a row (or electrons in a row?). It’s one of the few companies that can turn out a product […]

Publisher’s Note: This Review is first published in the Offiical Directory of the 2nd (2011) California Audio show. The Legend There are several names in the Audio Biz that could be called legends; Altec, Audio Research (AR), Fisher, JBL, Marantz, Quad, Scott, and more. The LS-3/5A speakers are unique on the list of legends because […]

I first heard of the Torus power conditioners from Steve, my longtime audio bud in Birmingham. He has always liked Bryston products, owning some over the years. What really got my attention though was when he sold his Audience aR1p and purchased a power conditioner that Bryston used from a company called Torus. The Torus […]

Last year at this time, I was one of the intrepid audiophiles that attended the first ever California Audio Show. It was a nice show with a number of flaws not unusual for an inaugural show. The hotel was perhaps the main problem. This year’s CAS was held at a new venue with much improved […]

The Loggie Audio room was making some fine sounds with the ever-compelling Acapella High-Violoncello II speakers, fed by Ypsilon hybrid monoblocks, Ypsilon valve preamplifier and phono stage, Bergmann Magne Turntable, Lyra Titan I cartridge, and cabled throughout using the superb Stage III line of cables. This system was big, bold, dynamic, and engaging as I […]

The exhibit of Audio Image Ltd. of Emeryville, CA. Now this was a room that was well attended and sounded better every day. It was a good debut for the new Audio Research mono blocks, and the Magico Q3 were sounding as good as I have ever heard them. Cables were all MIT: Oracle MA […]

The Sony Dream Machine sitting on the nightstand in my room was the first piece of audio equipment to meet my gaze as I checked into the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Burlingame, CA. For a split second the temptation seized me to play one of my demo discs, but I came to my senses. I […]

Amarra:: Sonic Studio My favorite wake-up call at the show was Amarra:: Sonic Studio. Early (way too early) Friday morning, their room across the hall from mine was blasting Cat Stevens. The guys from Sonic Studio were enthusiastically showing their new feature-rich Amarra software accompanied by a pair of Focal speakers, Parasound Halo power amplifier, […]

The Rooms At the Blue Coast Records’ portion of the Blue Coast Records/Tim Marutani Consulting exhibit, you were greeted by the smiling face of Cookie Marenco who is surely excited about what they are doing. Blue Coast Records was founded by producer/engineer Cookie Marenco and French engineer Jean Claude Reynaud in 2007. They are known […]

Setting up is hard to do! Whether your knowledge of audio show is from actually going to shows or strictly from show reports, I promise that you have no idea of the amount of work involved in transforming a hotel room into a showroom where your equipment will sound at least respectable. Think about it […]

This just in: Bay Area dealer Audio Image Ltd. (Emeryville, CA) in Lobby Bayside Room will debut the brand-new Audio Research Ref 250 monoblock amplifiers. Priced at $26,000 the pair, these amplifiers are not even on AR’s website yet, and the first production pair is due to arrive next Monday at the dealership. According to […]

The 2nd California Audio Show is just a week away, and details of systems are coming in gradually. Before I talk about the details, I want to encourage attendees to pick up a copy of the Official Directory to the 2nd CAS. In addition to 4 new commentaries by Dagogo reviewers, there will also be […]

One of Dagogo’s recent polls revealed that 38% of those responding had spent nothing on room acoustics. I found this both disturbing and thought provoking. Why would anyone totally overlook this area of our hobby (though maybe they have tried some free things). Still, most rooms need a little more than you can do for […]