Too many exhibitors saw too little of us. Worse yet, we heard too little of them to write anything fair. We could say they were lovely. We could complain that they sounded terrible. The exhibitors, though, would know that we barely ducked our heads in the door. Worse yet were the poor folks lining the… Continue reading CAS 2013: A Children’s Treasury of Missed Opportunities, or, The End
Category: CAS 2013
CAS 2013: Highend-Electronics presents Voxativ, KR Audio
Alfred Kainz’s Highend-Electronics rooms are quickly moving to the top of my must-see list. Recent shows have let you count on seeing some very large KR Audio tubes mated to some very large Voxativ speakers. Imagine my face when I walked in to find the familiar Kronzilla SX ($23,000) and KR P-130 preamp ($5500), but… Continue reading CAS 2013: Highend-Electronics presents Voxativ, KR Audio
CAS 2013: Music First Audio
Where. Do. You. Even. Start? Music First Audio is part of Stevens & Billington. S&B does magnetics. MFA is the brand of the boxed product. MFA California is Warren Jarrett, who is a complete madman. No, I don’t really know him well enough to judge, but only a madman puts together a system like this,… Continue reading CAS 2013: Music First Audio
CAS 2013: Steven Lester Co. presents Tannoy
As I’ve mentioned, the California Audio Show is less of an industry event and more of a dealer show. The room run by Steven Lester was a fine example of that, with audio quality taking a back seat to the overall experience that Lester offers. The system here centered on the $33,000 SIM2 Lumis UNO… Continue reading CAS 2013: Steven Lester Co. presents Tannoy
CAS 2013: Pass Labs
Pass Labs was on hand despite their lack of a Bay Area dealer. We listened to vinyl here, spun on a Merrill-Williams REAL turntable, with a Triplanar arm and an Ortofon MC Anna cartridge. The speakers were YG Acoustic‘s diminutive, perfect-for-hotel-rooms, Carmels ($18k per pair). Electronics were, of course, by Pass. Phono preamplification was handled… Continue reading CAS 2013: Pass Labs
CAS 2013: Elite Audio presents Linn
The California Audio Show is less of an industry event and more of a dealer show. This means something interesting in practice. Instead of manufacturers demonstrating their most stunning audio, what you get is folks demonstrating what they can bring to the table. There was no better example of this than the room run by Michael Woods of… Continue reading CAS 2013: Elite Audio presents Linn
CAS 2013: Salk Signature Sound
Forum favorite Jim Salk (of Salk Signature Sound) brought two pairs of speakers to the show, his Soundscape 8 ($7995) and Veracity ST ($4195). The source was the superb Auralic Vega DAC fed by Salk’s own Salk Stream Player ($1295). Amplification came from the usual Salk dance partner, Audio by Van Alstine, in the form of… Continue reading CAS 2013: Salk Signature Sound
CAS 2013: A Brief Musical Interlude with Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony
All of the audio shows I’ve attended have been blessed with live music, but I’m sorry to say that I haven’t often taken advantage of this for more than a few minutes. There’s always something else calling my attention away, even as I walk through the bar area, grab a drink, and say, “Hey, that… Continue reading CAS 2013: A Brief Musical Interlude with Musicians of the San Francisco Symphony
CAS 2013: HeadMasters, Round 2
In your head Our label mate, Mike Mercer, tugged on our coats a bit on Friday to let us know that we were getting off easy. He was going to cover the Headmasters show-within-a-show, and hang out with his redonkulous ALO Audio Studio Six in the Head-Fi meet. We didn’t have to worry about it.… Continue reading CAS 2013: HeadMasters, Round 2
CAS 2013: Von Schweikert Audio, Raven Audio
This room featured Von Schweikert Audio‘s new VR-100 XS speakers ($145,000 for the set). These consist of a four piece set: two towers with four 7″ magnesium-coned woofers, two 5″ magnesium mid-range drivers, and a ribbon tweeter. The “XS” in the name refers to the separate subwoofers with 15″ magnesium drivers. Amplification was provided by… Continue reading CAS 2013: Von Schweikert Audio, Raven Audio
