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If you have been following my reviews over the last few years, I have taken a considerable interest in integrated amplifiers. This includes those from Pass Labs, Vitus, D'Agostino, Simaudio, BMC and more. It was not my intent when arriving at CES this year to focus on this subject, but I noticed that there seems... Read More »

Best Sound in Show Pro Audio LA took some folks offsite to a studio called The Realm to audition some gear, most notably the new Guzauski-Swist monitors. These are three-way triamplified speakers with outboard amplifier and dsp boxes sold along with them, and the sound was excellent. There were a few issues with room asymmetry... Read More »

The AES show has long been two shows in one: a scientific conference in one set of rooms and a trade show in another set of rooms. What is great about the event is that although the two are often disjoint, there are people who straddle both of them. Vendors who would normally just send... Read More »

RMAF. One of the best times ever. Ever. Since it started and till now, an event we have always looked forward to attending—together. People. Food. Music. Drink. The best moments that last for a life time. Good times for sure. Missed last year due to Carol's successful battle with cancer. No way could I attend... Read More »

One of the fastest growing distributors in Canada is Charisma Audio. Owner Bernard Li always puts on a good show and this time was no exception. This time he collaborated with Trevor Wong of Update TV and Stereo for his TAVES Exhibit. The new products on display in this room included two turntables, the Well... Read More »

Tis the season for TAVES and yet again, it provided a reason for celebrating sonic excellence. This is the one high-end audio show that I truly enjoy covering for many reasons. It is consistently well organized, personifies Canadian friendliness and in terms of size, number of exhibitors and visitors, it is a veritable Goldilocks. Some... Read More »

Jazz pianists are the archivists and barometric interpreters of the Great American songbook, a repository of melodic brilliance that legendary pianist Tommy Flanagan frequently called attention to. One Friday night @ ELARIO'S jazz club atop the Summer House Inn in La Jolla, playing to a packed room, Tommy noted that not all jazz trios or... Read More »

The registration lines at RMAF 2014…busy! The Intro… Shazam! How does time pass this bloody quickly? It seems like just the other day that I was at RMAF 2013. Lila and I had to host the PFO Hospitality Room without Dave and Carol Clark, who were dealing with Carol's ailments and couldn't make it. We... Read More »

Gary Dahl, Thom Mackris (of Galibier Designs) and I have been working on a high-efficiency speaker for a while now. This is the outcome of the enormous "Beyond the Ariel" thread on diyAudio. Gary was the first to arrive at the finish line, with the system that appears on the most recent pages of the thread. He's... Read More »

During the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2014, Myles Astor posted images and thoughts daily on the Positive Feedback Facebook page. Check out his reports here. RMAF Day One RMAF Day Two RMAF Day Three

Last year, in May, the remarkable (truly without equal) Herbie Hancock gave the commencement address at Soka University, where I teach humanities and literature, as well as coordinating the "Jazz Monsters" concert series which I founded in 2005 after decades of teaching at Cornell, Brown, Stanford, Brandeis, and UCLA. Herbie's eloquent message to our graduating... Read More »

The Capital Audiofest is one of the few true high-end audio shows left in the world, and as the industry shrinks all of these shows become more and more important. Long-time readers will recall that I have very mixed feelings about the current state of the high end audio industry, and because of that I... Read More »

Nick Cave. The man. The legend. To those who know him, he needs little introduction. He has been steadily churning out his own brand of beautifully macabre music since the '70s—from The Boys Next Door's beginnings in Australia, to the dark art punk outfit The Birthday Party that took up residence in Berlin, to the... Read More »

Bill Leebens. Jim Aud. EveAnna Manley. Knut Skogrand. Din Johnson of Ristretto Roasters. Andy Regan of Jerry Harvey Audio. Johan Coorg of KEF ESS Labs with Dared. More vinyl and audio accessories/bits and pieces over at the Atrium. Dan Muzquiz of Blackbird Audio. WyWires. More headphones and headphone amplifiers and more at the Atrium (courtesy... Read More »

One of the Audio Skies's rooms featuring Larsen speakers, Pear Audio Analogue, and Gamut.  Walker Aduio showing Slient Source Cables, Raidho Acoustics, and the littler Pass Labs amplifiers. The other Audio Skies' room with Gamut, and Pear Audio Analogue. Liked this room a lot. Quintessence Acoustics showing PBN Audio, Maker Audio, and Snake River Audio... Read More »

I realize that for many years I've opened my various show reports with a little rant of sorts, carrying on about things that bother me about the high end audio industry, or about trade shows like CES. I was thinking about what to open with this time, when a brief conservation with an industry friend... Read More »

GIK Acoustics showed with Odyssey Audio. Devialet showed with Focal courtesy of Audio Plus Services. Sonic Studio demonstrating with Marten Logan and Peachtree. Brooks Berdan room showing Chord Electronics, Magico, VPI, and Light Harmonic Cables. Gingko Audio showed with DanaCable, Wells Audio, and LampizatOr.  Another Brooks Berdan room, but this time showing Auralic, Spendor, Cardas,... Read More »

What a great time was experienced by anyone attending this year's event. Healthy attendance, crowded rooms, wonderful discussions (many heartfelt thanks to those who asked about Carol—is nice to see such love for her and for myself after such a year). And hats off to Richard Beers and his organization for putting such a stellar... Read More »

Turning; turning back.  2014.  Another year, another THE Show Newport Beach in the books. This has become a favorite audio event on my calendar; the combination of southern California weather at the end of May, a great venue, a solid organization, and a great turnout from audio and music distributors from all over. Richard Beers... Read More »