AXPONA
AXPONA 2014: Grimm Audio makes it simple
I was bedeviled by two rooms, in particular, at this year’s AXPONA. One was Endeavor Audio. The other? Grimm Audio. And by “bedeviled”, I mean “woken up by”. Look, I get it. You gotta get […]
AXPONA 2014
AXPONA
AXPONA 2014: Happy Birthday and a Video Interlude
Happy birthday to me … Happy birthday to me … Happy b-i-i-i-rthday, to me-e-e-e-e, happy birthday to me! What’s that? Yes, today is May 6th, 2014 and today is my 45th birthday. Thank you for all […]
AXPONA 2014
AXPONA 2014: Astell&Kern sets the bar
I think the winner of “Most Coveted Audio Product for 2014” will probably go to Astell&Kern for their spectacular AK240 portable audio player. A dual-differntial DAC and head-amp, the $2,495 AK240 is everything to portable […]
AXPONA
AXPONA 2014: Zu Audio and Peachtree at the top of their game
Okay, folks. Here’s another Best In Show Contender, and no, it’s not just because Zu Audio‘s Sean Casey and Peachtree Audio‘s Jon Derda are some of the most interesting up-and-comers in audio’s high-end. Though, that […]
AXPONA
AXPONA 2014: Channel D launches Pure Vinyl 4.0 and the crowd goes wild
At first glance, Channel D‘s Dr Rob Robinson was demo’ing the same system that he’s shown at the last several shows. There was a pair of $7,500 Joseph Audio Pulsars were paired with $2,795 Lynx […]
AXPONA
AXPONA 2014: Sennheiser’s Big Guns
Sennheiser has been making headphones for just about forever, and offers solutions to just about every possible market segment. You’ve got in-ear, on-ear, over-ear. You’ve got mobile. You’ve got pro audio and consumer audio. You’ve got wireless and wired. […]
AXPONA
AXPONA 2014: JansZen and exaSound
JansZen and exaSound are two brands doing their darndest to confuse my ability to capitalize. Ahem. Anyway, if you’ve heard of these brands, it’s because they both tend to do what they do extraordinarily well. […]
AXPONA
AXPONA 2014: Emerald Physics and PS Audio dazzles
Walter Liederman of Emerald Physics ought to be pleased with himself. He’s managed to shepherd to market a relatively affordable, reliably excellent, state-of-the-art audio experience in his Emerald Physics lineup. I don’t think it’s been […]
AXPONA
AXPONA 2014: King Sound and Purity Audio Designs
Electrostats are awesome. There. I said it. They’re fast, detailed, and revealing — front them with different gear, and they’ll provide you a clear window into what it is that your other gear does. Match it […]
AXPONA
AXPONA 2014: Woo Audio, joy inside the fishbowl
Woo Audio had the room almost directly under the escalators, with a giant glass wall fronting it. Sonically, it would probably be best described as “catastrophe”. Well. If it was something other than a headphone […]
AXPONA
AXPONA 2014: High Water Sound and the session that wasn’t
Jeff Catalano is a wizard. This is known. He routinely pulls a maestro-level performance out of his setups, even if it sometimes feels like he’s having to get extra mojo from pulling things out of […]
AXPONA 2014
AXPONA 2014: Noble Audio is almost too pretty to wear
I’ve gotten into custom in-ear monitors lately, as an alternative to headphones. You know. Because of the “do”. Those headphone headbands are always mucking about with my finely coiffed curls. And the cumbersome earpieces are […]
AXPONA
AXPONA 2014: Purist Audio Design goes Luminist
I get the distinct feeling that Jim Aud of Purist Audio Design has been making audio cables since before I was born. I’ve had the pleasure of having a set of his Praesto Revision cables […]
AXPONA
AXPONA 2014: Bricasti Audio, TIDAL Audio and the height of elegance
There is a line that I like to draw, down the middle of the audiophile community. On the one hand, there are those that gravitate toward a “tonal sound”. On the other hand, there are […]
AXPONA 2014
AXPONA 2014: Obravo Headphones
David Teng of Obravo sat behind a sparse table at the Ear Gear Expo, adorned only with only a couple of tidy boxes and two pairs of headphones. That’s what caught my eye, actually. The headphones. Not because […]
AXPONA
AXPONA 2014: Bob’s Devices and VPI
I’ve recently had a chance to fiddle about with one of Bob Sattin’s hand-wound legendary step-up transformers, the Cinemag 1131. That experience was, in a word, great. But it was also instructive — I learned, for […]
AXPONA
AXPONA 2014: Spatial has got your skinny
Clayton Shaw’s newest project, Spatial Audio, is about to start shipping their newest loudspeakers, the Hologram M2. Prices start at $1,995/pair for the standard model; $2,495 will land you the “Turbo” version that sports an […]
AXPONA 2014
AXPONA 2014: AIX Records drives Oppo’s new toys, sparks applause
Oppo Digital has been on my radar for at least seven years. I had to do some math there, but I moved into my house in ’07 and I brought an Oppo player with me […]
AXPONA
AXPONA 2014: Hulk meets Tyler Acoustics and goes Rogue
Tyler Acoustics had a Big Green Monster on display here at AXPONA, and I’m pretty sure that color is a first for me at an audio show. I’m not going to be able to refrain […]
AXPONA
AXPONA 2014: Auralic Teases
Xuanqian Wang and Richard Colburn of Auralic were on hand to show off their Gemini headphone amp/DAC combos. If you haven’t seen them, they’re rather striking — a tall, columnar headphone stand finished in lacquered […]