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The 2016 edition of AXPONA (also known as Audio Expo North America) was held at the Westin O'Hare hotel in Rosemont, IL just a short distance away from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport from April 15-17, 2016. AXPONA is the premiere audio show in the Midwest. While one will see a number of high end and... Read More »

As usual for the Munich show, the numbers of rooms that I can call truly excellent were quite limited. Now, one can debate as to whether this was due to "show conditions"; poor rooms with thin walls, poor electrical power (I have witnessed this first hand many years ago), poor choice in matching of components... Read More »

Tape cassettes recorded directly from an analog master tape, the so-called "Master Compact Cassette". And the box! The Hemiola Records company specializes in reel analog tapes that are master tape copies. The Tone Tool turntable, Sprocket model. Prices starting from €108 900—without the arm, of course. The Swiss Goldmund is a synonym for high-end. The person... Read More »

The Italians from Pathos have a sense of style—in the photo there is the new INPOL Heritage integrated amplifier, which resembles the INPOL topology developed by the company. In the system there was also the Endorphine CD player and Frontiers speakers. The inexpensive TEAC TN-300 turntables in any color and with a USB output. Mark... Read More »

Hideaki Nishikawa-san, the TechDAS constructor, is signing a printout with the May High Fidelity cover. "Japanese style? – Sure, with pleasure…" Einstein has prepared a premiere – The Tonearm, presented on the Air Force III turntable. The German Trigon company does not often surprise us with new products, but now demonstrated a few novelties at... Read More »

Ever since the annual AXPONA/Chicago high-end show relocated in 2014 to the jazzy Westin O'Hare, located just down the street from the show's former home, the far more modest Doubletree Inn, I have approached this annual event with a combination of cautious optimism and mild trepidation. You see, whatever its shortcomings as a hotel (tired... Read More »

Hark, now hear the sailors cry Smell the sea and feel the sky Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic And when that foghorn blows I will be coming home And when the foghorn blows I want to hear it I don't have to fear it and I want to rock your gypsy... Read More »

A Personal Audio Odyssey  Dan Wrights ModWright Tryst headphone amp was stunningly musical & engaging. CanJam SoCal 2016 was a very special time for me, and it was a raging success for Head-Fi.org and the personal audio community. A good friend recently said on the phone, "Sounds like it couldn't have gone any better," he... Read More »

Best Sound in Show The 78 project brought in a live acoustic band, Sean Walsh and Ray Williams, sat them down in the conference room, stuck a microphone in front of them and recorded them with a portable Presto lathe. The recording, well, it sounded like something out of an old Presto, but the band... Read More »

As always, I enjoy writing about a professional audio conference for the high end community. The AES show is really two things, it's a bunch of people upstairs selling hardware mostly to professional production people, and it's a different bunch of people downstairs talking about science and technology. What makes the AES different from other... Read More »

People. What makes shows such fun. Couldn't, didn't get enough, but here are few of our many friends that make attending shows such a great time...

Astell & Kern. GamuT, Audio Skies, Pear Audio Blue, Lucky Dog Audio.    GTT Audio, Audionet, Kronos, Kubala Sosna, YG Acoustics. Kii Audio, Audionet, GTT Audio. PranaFidelity, Kuzma, Luxman, Kubala Sosna, Kouldb Tape. Kuzma Stabi-Reference 2 turntable, Technics RS 1500 reel to reel, Luxman D-06u SACD/CD player, PranaFidelity purna/ma amplifier $8950, PranaFidelity purna/ca preamplifier, PranaFidelity Vayu/fs... Read More »

Westchester, New York, November 6, 7 & 8 Roaming the sparsely populated halls of the Rye Brook Westchester Hilton during opening day of "New York Audio Show 15," the event looked to be a bust. Instead of the usual throng of audiophile fiends blocking access to popular rooms, one could stroll the show's two floors,... Read More »

The TAVES Consumer Electronics Show is one event that I always look forward to. It is, by far, the show with the friendliest crowd that I have ever encountered any high-end audio show that I have attended over the past 35 years. It is also very well organized and always features a good number of... Read More »

So there is a lot to see and hear at RMAF. So much, that just getting to the majority of rooms, saying hello, taking a few shots, and giving a quick listen becomes not only mind boggling, but physically boggling. So here is Part 2. Will have a lot more to say in the conclusion.... Read More »

Always a great time, but man are we getting old. Hard to do the shows like we used to in the past... just not able to make all the rooms nor sit and spend any amount of time. When we did, we found ourselves too beat to get up and continue. Even so, we did hear... Read More »

The Audio Oasis! Awards Time is short…on to my Audio Oasis! Awards. These I give to the rooms that were of high quality, drawing me in to sit down and really get into the music. You know:  An audio oasis! Rest for the weary audio traveler and all that. For me, that's a sign of... Read More »

I have some more pictures to share from RMAF and a few more thoughts about the show.  Below is a picture of the Einstein/AF-2 room. I think the AF-2 is a great looking table, but nothing much was happening when I visited the room so I really don’t have much to share beyond the pictures.... Read More »

Damn! Unbelievable! Yet another trip to Denver done; another annual circuit in the Earth's orbit; the 12th RMAF is in the books. The only one of these that I've missed was the 2008 show, when I had just temporarily relocated to Virginia Beach, Virginia. Otherwise, I've seen them all, from the very beginning, when Al Stiefel... Read More »