Well this was my second RMAF in as many years and it was with some trepidation and anxiety that I attended this year’s event. Like many others I have waded through the financial disasters of the past couple of years and have directly felt the sting in my family pocket book. I have heard numerous […]

(Left to right: Doug Schroeder, Jack Roberts, Constantine Soo, Fred Crowder, Ed Momkus. Not in the picture but at the Show also: Gary Lea and Phillip Holmes.) I know everyone says that the best part of going to audio shows is see old friends, and making new ones, and surely I would agree that this […]

Foreword I felt a very relaxed atmosphere this year at RMAF; despite the two power outages from an overloaded electrical service, and local fire department sweep of the building, there was a pervasive sense of ease. The haughtiness of HiFi headspace was deflated a bit by the recession, and manufacturers along with distributors and music […]

Aaudio Imports (Tidal speakers) A most bizarre show-going experience occured to me at Aaudio Imports’ Acapella (Larkspur Suite, see Coverage 1) and Tidal exhibits (Room 2004), in which the company’s dealers congregated. I mean his dealers are so supportive of the importer, their enthusiasm is a rarity in the industry. The Tidal speaker exhibit was […]

Foreword On the cover of this year’s Rocky Mountain Audio Fest official directory were the words “Remembering Al Stiefel”. In previous Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, I could always spot show founder Al Stiefel walking the venue. He was among the taller of guys and you could always see him way down the corridor. That day […]

Different Sounds for Different Folks I’ll cover the RMAF in a more conventional fashion with show reports, but your ‘Ole Beatnik’ wants to take this space to talk about two philosophical dilemmas that were brought to mind at this year’s RMAF. Dilemma #1 The idea for the first of these two dilemmas came to me […]

In the beginning, there were two choices: Thorens TD124 and Garrard 301. I had a Garrard 301 grease bearing white-paint version, and a TD124, MkII non-magnetic platter, so I won’t blow up my moving-coil cartridge. Both were in original plinths, looked like they had been in an attic for 20 years (because they had), and […]

You may have heard me discuss Peter before in the pages of Dagogo in reference to his philanthropic involvement with Stolen Childhoods and his recording offshoot Direct Grace Recordings. You only need to spend a few minutes with Peter to understand a few important things about him. He possesses a very creative mind; he is […]

Before I get into the record reviews let me tell you about one of my favorite vendors who I think has been present at every RMAF. The vendor is For the Records of Lafayette, CO. It is a vintage LP seller who fully guarantees all purchases. Owner Doug Gaddy is easy to work with, and […]

Strange, how sometimes things that are the least anticipated are ultimately the most enjoyable. I had occasion to travel to London on business in August and decided to try to contact Peter Qvortrup in hopes that he might have time for dinner at the hotel where I was staying, a 150-year-old former manor house on […]

Recently I had the opportunity to visit Brian Ackerman of Aaudio Imports at his place in Parker Colorado. It was a very enjoyable afternoon to say the least; Fred Crowder’s “Boys in Toyland” tag could not be more accurate! Caveat!!! Our fearless leader, Constantine Soo, did a very in-depth look at Brian’s operation, so I […]

If you’ve read very many of my reviews, you’ll know that I am against ugly speakers. It’s in the eye of the beholder, to be sure, but interior designers and most “significant others” behold AV equipment as eyesores. When speakers call attention to their looks, it makes it difficult to ignore the speaker and listen […]

Both my sons and even my wife were ahead of me when it came to listening to music from hard drives instead of little silver discs. Of course, I listen to most of my music from twelve-inch black disc called LPs. Still, I have a hold system upstairs that is totally digital, and in our […]

While using the NAT Plasma R Linestage, I got the feel that I was using the audio equivalent of a B52 bomber or a freight train. Its solidity of build and sound, and the no-nonsense design gave me an impression of what the designers of the B52 might’ve concocted for Curtis LeMay’s private stereo system. […]

As a traveling teacher and audiophile, one of the hardest things is to have access to a high level of quality music reproduction while away from home. Sure, if you’re just making week long trips it’s not a big deal; but if you have to work abroad for many months or even a year at […]

I walked into the local Best Buy the other day and spied an alternative future, a display of Micro-SD Chips preloaded with music. The things were so small that if you were to drop one while standing on a lawn you might not find it! I shuddered as I considered what such technology, along with […]

Learning from the past must be a lost pursuit in some kind of inherent human retardation. Consider all the wars we’ve fought, several times over. All our current money problems? It’s all happened before. Now consider that when our audiophile friends in Japan started dusting off old Western Electric gear (and Klangfilm, RCA, Altec, Leak, […]

Yujean Kang of Tangram Audio, the U.S. Importer of Audio Tekne of Japan, was particularly proud of being the U.S. representative of the Japanese company. It was not because he thought the products would sell like pancakes; on the contrary, his pride of representation stemmed from the fact that not everyone who could afford it […]

Potentate Of Panels Kings rule. They dominate, squash their enemies, and take their captives and concubines and issue edicts. They act as though they are God, and some have gone so far as to proclaim themselves a god. They lay siege, amass armies and, if not in the mood to forge alliances, take over enemy […]

WARNING: Any audiophile who has no self-control over his or her audio spending (unless you’re very wealthy) should not read this review! “A Really, really (really!) High End Company” As you can guess from the opening sentence of this review, Ypsilon components are expensive – $36,000 for the PST 100 MK2, the subject of this […]

I have recently read several reviews of the Harbeth M40.1 speakers, a speaker I have only heard at shows. I especially enjoyed Art Dudley’s review. In his conclusion of the review he mentioned that with the addition of the Harbeth M40.1s there were now fourteen speakers he could live with but he did not name […]

Editor’s Note: Please note this article is not authored by a medical doctor and therefore should not be considered as such. You should consult your doctor before taking any drugs or substances. Dagogo offers no guarantee and/or implications of any kind on the safety and soundnesss of the author’s advice. Proceed at your own risk. […]

This installment of Gary Lea Interviews is on a chat with Hiram Toro, the man behind Koetsu USA. Hiram distributes Koetsu, Chario and Montegiro to name just a few of his products, he also has a very interesting story to his audio career. It is one of many things that speak to his character. GL […]

I thought it might be fun to talk about four of my favorite sultry female vocal albums, since most of us have just finished living through the hot summer nights of August, right? In no way am I suggesting that these are the four best Sultry albums, heck they don’t even all come from the […]

Introduction Two friends, Paul and Sarah, are in the process of upgrading their electrical service. To date, they have replaced all the wiring between the power company’s transformer outside their house on the property line and their service panel, the wiring from the panel to each AC outlet and the outlets themselves. Unlike most of […]

Phillip Holmes talks serious music via the $6,000 Jaton Real A&V-803 loudspeakers A pleasant surprise from the last day of 2009 CES was meeting George Cheng of Jaton Audio. Fellow Dagogoan Gary Lea asked me to check out the Jaton room after I told him I hadn’t been in to visit. George was slowed by […]

This year’s CES was a really enjoyable one for me for the first time in a few years. Not only did I see and experience a good deal of new and exciting equipment, I also made a lifelong friend, met some other really great people and best of all, I met a pair of beautiful […]

For many years at CES or the nearby The Home Entertainment Show, I have visited Roger Sanders and listened to his demonstrations of his electrostatic speakers. The sound has always been good and reminiscent of the many years when I owned electrostatic speakers, such as Radio Shack speakers with electrostatic top ends, Quad ESLs, both […]

I met Ian Grant at this past year’s Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. He and his lovely right hand Rachel Zhang took such pity on me because I had no voice, thanks to a bit of recent surgery. They were incredibly patient and answered all of my questions without the slightest hint of being flustered, despite […]

Already having been intrigued, and subsequently surprised, by the Azur 840C player I felt it only natural to investigate the newer offerings of the Azur line, the 840E Preamp and the 840W Amp. They have a lot to live up to, as the player is a pleaser. If this combo would surmount the challenges and […]