I have a soft spot for tube integrated amps. Some of the smoothest, hassle-free setups I’ve had have been around a classic tube integrated. At their best, they can totally beat a system based around separates in terms of transparency and dimensionality. At their worst, they’re overly warm, rolled off at the extremes, lack grunt […]

Snell Acoustics hosted a Q&A seminar as chaired by Dr. Joseph D’Appolito, who is infamous for his “D’Appolito Configuration” that has been adopted by many loudspeaker companies. In 2003, the good doctor, having created highly visible products for Usher Audio, joined Snell Acoustics, and in 2007 the $60,000/pair Illusion Reference Tower loudspeaker system was born. […]

Brian Smith of AudioNoteKits has been offering affordable AN solutions to audiophiles for many years, and recently he relaunched his website with more new product information. Products at Audio Note Kit are fabricated in Canada where labor is relatively affordable, plus the fact that you do the final assembly yourself, hence the lower costs of […]

The May Audio room showcased the Harmonix Reimyo CDT-777CD transport ($11,000) and DAP-999EX DAC ($9,000), a Mastersound 300 BSE amplifier ($6,100, 12wpc), ASW Genius 400 ($5,400 pair, 93dB/8Ω) speaker system as anchored by GutWire MaxCon Extreme AC line conditioner. I should know the sound of 300B amplifications as put forth by the Mastersound 300 BSE […]

Another item that showed certain promise was the Emerald Physics CS2.3 and smaller C3 Controlled Directivity Loudspeakers, $3995 and $2995 respectively. Single point-source speakers utilizing an open baffle design and a two-way dynamic dipole arrangement. It was an interesting design and execution. Compact and easy to place and very coherent, it will be interesting to […]

Bob Neil, a lifelong educator now 70 years old, who used to be a hardware reviewer for Positive Feedback and continues to write software reviews, is now a dealer for Audio Note UK, Blue Circle and Jean Marie Reynauld loudspeakers. In the picture above, from right to left on the rack, the show system featured […]

I have to admit that for many years I have lusted over the Audio Note UK Gaku-On amplifiers. Always financially out of reach and forever one of the finest musical reproduction products I have ever heard. On the opposite end of that spectrum I have never been as enamored with the Audio Note speakers. At […]

Snell Acoustics dominated the AKFEST with a Dr. D’Appolitto seminar and multiple of rooms. One of the most exciting products I’ve come across was the unveiling of the new Phantom Tower prototype, which was “95% ready” for formal release. Though described as the first “derivative of the $60,000 Illusion, the $20,000-per-pair Phantom Tower sounded big […]

My first stop was Tyler Acoustics room. I have known Ty Lashbrook for a number of years now and always look forward to seeing him at shows. Ty builds speakers and sells them direct to the consumer. No middlemen, dealers, distributors just straight on through to the end user. Consequently, he sells his wares for […]

Wadia, Dynaudio and XLO continued their very successful cooperation from CES in putting together a system, and they hosted attendees to two rooms. This time at AKFEST09 in the first room, sitting on top of the Stillpoint shelf was the Wadia 781i SACD/CD player. The amplification consisted of a full Octave system from Germany, as […]

Being the writer who lives in Las Vegas I am intimately familiar with the CES show. CES is open only to industry people, which has puzzled me for years. I have been covering it since 1997 and have watched it grow into the juggernaut it has become, move venues to increasingly higher costing locales and […]

Hi-fi enthusiasts in the U.S. have been uniquely blessed with multiple audio shows year round, that we no longer have to count ourselves less fortunate were we living beyond driving distance of a CES venue. There are now no less than half a dozen hi-fi shows every year in the U.S. alone, most notably the […]

The Scramble to Get to Denver Brian Ackerman, my genial host in the mischief that follows, was kind enough to allow me to bring along a fellow audiophile from Houston (Paul) that had an interest in making the trip and participating in the listening. The intent had been that both of us take the same […]

I admit to being a digital hater. I’ve always felt that digital never sounded as authentic as analog. Interestingly, things are changing. Over the last few years, I’ve started hearing digital sources that sound dimensional, have good overtones and don’t cause listening fatigue. I’m not sure about the technical details behind the improvements. The CD […]

Many consider the prospect of paying thousands of dollars on cables as among the most abominable aspect of our hobby. The most prevalent rationale against investing in high-dollar cable products, is the belief that with all the money we’ve spent to get the supposedly best-sounding CD player, amplification and loudspeaker at our respective levels, our […]

The small details in the music are more obvious. The large movements are more impactful. The soundstage has opened up. The ambience reveals more of the recording venue. The rhythms are more alive. The background is quieter and I’m hearing parts of recordings I’ve not heard before. No, I’m not describing a new CD player […]

This is a review of the Audiotop “Digital” CD/DVD enhancer/mold release formula. I was introduced to this product by Brian Ackermann of Aaudio Imports when I attended a private show he sponsored with Ricardo Reyes of Musical Artisans. I was focusing on the interesting and excellent equipment they were demonstrating when Brian asked if I […]

This is the first time I have sat down to write a review and actually been agitated or angered by a product. Yep, I am definitely upset with these particular speakers and with Albert himself to a degree. Let me explain by way of discussing the speaker itself and then my conclusion about its performance. […]

As you progress down the audio upgrade path, of which some would describe as careening down the slippery slope of audiophile hell, you start to notice that upgrades usually get more and more expensive. If you have enough money, you may be able to build a system that rivals the best available. Nonetheless, even if […]

Editor’s Note: Brian Ackerman of Aaudio Imports is not a strange face to readers of Dagogo. This time, the president of the U.S. distributorship has taken to the roads again, and this time he traveled to the land of the stinking onion in his trusted Land Rover-ful of audio gear. Dagogo Senior Reviewer Ed Momkus […]

Albert Von Schweikert and here Wednesday night with one of his main dealers who came to listen to my system. It was a good night and they really enjoyed themselves. Manny was blown away by the sound and Albert had been raving about my system to him since December. I have to admit that it […]

Word got out that not only am I a vinyl lover, I listen to a lot of mono, too. I haven’t gotten into 78s, but I do have a second tonearm and a true mono moving-coil EMT cartridge mounted with its own Auditorium 23 transformer, so I guess I am pretty serious about mono. The […]

After listening to the AMR CD-77 for what must be the best part of a year, then the matching AM-77 amplifier and before the addition of the LS-77 monitors completed the trilogy, I’d anticipated this final review was going to be particularly straightforward, as the only ‘work’ involved was the actual writing. All evaluation was […]

There were a few pieces of equipment I had long wanted to hear in my own home. First, on the list was to hear some good Lowther-based speakers in my own system. Second, was to spend some time with the new version of the phono cartridge that had been this young man’s first audiophile love: […]

I recently spent half a day talking with the venerable Michael Fremer of Stereophile, formerly of The Absolute Sound and Listener and the one man most credit with driving the resurgence of vinyl as a still viable and preferred medium for music delivery. I doubt anyone would argue the point that Michael is an icon […]

This is the first of a new, quick “blast” of an article format I will use when updating a product I have reviewed. Prepare to be “blasted”! Bottom line: Hey! Why not get to the bottom line first? That’s what everyone really wants anyway. The Legacy Audio Focus SE version, which stands for Silver Anniversary […]

When I wrote the review of the Jasmine LP2.0 SE phono stage, I suggested that it might lend itself to tweaking. I didn’t mean to denigrate the parts quality, and still don’t, because you’ll see these parts in products costing more. Considering the rather low price, the outboard power supply, and the nice metal work, […]

Introduction Many will approach this review with an expectation that these amps will, of necessity, sound like a classic 300B single-ended triode design, in other words, will present with a harmonically rich midrange and upper bass but suffer from serious flaws at the frequency extremes. This would, however, involve a substantial underestimation of the capabilities […]

It was after eight in the evening and darkness had fallen. I settled in my chair, tapping into the reserve two hours of brainpower to be applied to the craft of reviewing. There came a sharp knock at the front door. Opening it, I saw a silhouetted figure in the darkness (the blasted front light […]

The M75 mono block amplifiers are a little deceiving on the surface. With the champagne colored metal work and the acrylic windows, it suggests that it might be a “hi-fi” sounding amp, full of sound and fury. Under the skin though, it proves to be a pragmatic design, and might be the most practical power […]