This is the story about doing the impossible. This is a story about overcoming the Friend Zone. I received the OPPO HA-1 headphone amp ($1199) and PM-1 headphones ($1099) for review along with a pretty large shipment […]
I’m willing to put up with a lot of ugly in my audio – the various Nextel-painted Tannoy DMTs that have graced my living room attest to this – but my personal hierarchy tends to […]
It’s time for me to stop claiming that I’m not really that into headphone listening. Oh, I listen to loudspeakers more, it’s true. It’s easier to log a lot of hours listening when you’re not […]
I recently got embroiled in the old recurring chestnut, “Why aren’t there women audiophiles?” From my perspective, this should be a pretty short conversation. Someone asks the question, and I (or one of the other […]
Kirsten’s Final Thoughts and Gold Stars For the past few years, I’ve attended two big audio shows: T.H.E. Show in Newport Beach, and Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. Whichever one I’m attending at the time tends […]
If you follow The Audio Traveler, you’ll note that the Bricasti and TIDAL Audio system on display this year at RMAF mirrored the system that Scot had opportunity to hear at AXPONA earlier this year. So […]
STAX electrostatic headphones — or “earspeakers,” as they call them — are near-legendary. I’ve been hearing about them since I first started to get into this hobby, as one of the most venerable and grail-like […]
As is his wont, Steve Norber of PranaFidelity was once again cheerfully and seemingly effortlessly bringing great sound to the RMAF Atrium. This year, he elected to demonstrate his Fifty90 stand mount loudspeakers ($3,950). Preamplification […]
Armed with a George Warren turntable (about $4,200) with Ortofon Cadenza Bronze cartridge ($2,300), Snake River Audio cables, and Vienna Acoustics speakers, the folks from Rogers High Fidelity were well-prepared to demonstrate just what their […]
Danish company GamuT Audio brought a little bit of Denmark with them to the show, with their blue-skied backdrop and a live recording of the Danish blues act Shades of Blue. 2014’s been a good […]
Chapman Audio Systems speakers have impressed me over the past couple of years with the consistent solid authority of their sound. These are speakers that rock, and they tend to do so no matter what […]
Both Gary Alpern of True Audiophile and the man himself, Carlos Candeias of B.M.C., were on hand to show off the full extent of B.M.C.’s “Pure” line. I wrote about how impressed I was with […]
There are a few rooms at these shows I can nearly always count on to bring it in terms of a comfortable, pleasant listening experience: not gosh-wow fireworks or the kind of thing that sounds […]
Theoretically, the thing that should matter most when it comes to a hifi system is the sound, right? Well, yes, obviously. But I would be lying if I said it was only the sound that […]
Pachelbel’s Canon is kind of like the Baroque version of The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under the Bridge.” Everyone went through a phase of loving it — right before hearing it approximately eighteen jillion times. […]
“Sorry, no Tannoys this time,” the folks from Pass Labs teased in the hall, referencing the last time we crossed paths at CAS, “but it still sounds great.” I made a show of pouting over […]
Fostex really needs no introduction. Any DIYer worth his or her salt is familiar with their drivers; headphone aficionados will, at the very least, be familiar with the brand, both “directly” and not (MrSpeakers’ modified […]
In addition to their table downstairs in Can Jam, Astell & Kern were also hosting a veritable garden of delights in their room in the Atrium. There was apparently just too much shiny to fit […]
Audioarts of NYC has presented some of my favorite rooms at RMAF in years past, and this year they elected to exhibit on a Swiss theme with manufacturers Stenheim and Nagra. Stenheim’s Alumine speakers are […]
I’m always on the look out for great gear that will intrigue friends who otherwise throw up their hands and shriek “I don’t know nothin’ ’bout birthin’ babies!” when presented with putting together a sound […]
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