Notable Audio Products is the distribution side of Jeff Fox’s Command Performance AV dealership in Falls Church VA, and Jeff had sort of a late ’90s New York Yankees approach to RMAF 2019–stack the room with talent and win it all in the end. When you think about all the brands in that room–Joseph Audio, Doshi Audio, J. Sikora, Cardas Audio, Aurender, Kuzma, Koetsu, Ortofon, Berkeley, Modulum Audio and Artnovion–it’s no wonder that I walked away from that room thinking “It’s going to be hard to top that.”
One of the primary reasons to visit the Notable Audio Products room was to check out the J. Sikora turntables, which I first heard in Munich. J. Sikora is helmed by Janusz Sikora from Poland, and I met his enthusiastic and gracious son at High End 2019 and spoke with him for some time about these designs. Jeff Fox is now the distributor of these very intriguing turntables and brought along the entire line, everything from the $7995 Initial to the $28,995 Reference. J. Sikora is also making a tonearm with a Kevlar arm tube that costs $5295 to $6995 depending on options.
Another reason to visit the Notable Audio Products room was to witness the debut of the new Joseph Audio Pearl 20/20 Graphene loudspeakers ($36,995/pair). Jeff Joseph has been quietly replacing the drivers in his top line with new magnesium woofer coated with graphene, and redesigning the crossovers to maximize performance. I first heard this change at High End 2019 with the Joseph Audio Perspectives and noted an even clearer, more transparent sound. With his flagship Pearl design, Jeff has proven why he’s one of the most respected speaker designers in the industry.
The entire Notable Audio Products system was mesmerizing, with deep bass response that was complex in its ability to show off both warmth and impact. This was a system that was alive with color and texture, and so engaging that more than once I told myself that this is it, the sound I’ve always wanted in my home, the type of sound that could keep me happy for a long time. It just sounded right to my ears in every respect. What more could you want?
I’d love to have heard that system!
Agreed about the Joseph speakers. To my ears they produce wonderful tonal color in the sense of the exact timbral characteristics of voices and instruments, rather than the more homogenized sound of most systems.