CES 2015
CES 2015: A long overdue wrap up
Before, after and during. That’s when I heave out the long sigh. An audio show — any audio show — wrings that out of me. But this year, CES was … different. Whinging For me, […]
CES 2015
CES 2015
CES 2015: Dazzled by ENIGMAcoustics, NuPrime and Celsus
There was a lot going on in the ENIGMAcoustics room at CES this year, from the marvelous Mythology M1 loudspeakers to the delightfully clever devices from Celsus Sound and Nuprime. What I was not expecting, however, was […]
CES 2015
CES 2015: Beyond Pono, Ayre still hot
I suppose that some of you, reading this, do in fact live under a rock or are otherwise sheltered from the world, and in so doing, have completely missed the hullabaloo around Neil Young’s high-resolution […]
CES 2015
CES 2015: GoldenEar and the case for effortless, affordable power
Sandy Gross is a fine gentleman, and one of the few “old-school” manufacturers that is still out there innovating after 40 years. He was one of the Founding Fathers of Polk Audio, and when they […]
CES 2015
CES 2015, The Personal Audio Perspective: Audeze EL-8
by Warren Chi Eight months ago, in the dead of night, my partner at Audio360 (and brother in life) Michael Mercer drove me to an undisclosed location. It was there that we had the opportunity to […]
CES 2015
CES 2015: Aurender rocks hard on the digital audio toys
Computer audio is hard. This is a gong I’ve beaten on before, so it really shouldn’t be surprising that I’m still hitting it. Hard, you say? What’s so hard about it? You just [insert list […]
CES 2015
CES 2015: Sony’s High Resolution Walkman is totally lux
I have a soft spot for the old Walkman brand. I carried one of the originals pretty much everywhere when I was a kid, and echoes of those painful, turbulent and largely destructive times echo […]
CES 2015
CES 2015: Acoustic Zen and Triode Corp crack space, let in the monsters
I am entirely suspicious of Twin Audio‘s Santy Oropel and Acoustic Zen‘s Robert Lee. Neither gentleman is exactly sporting Incredible Hulk physiques, yet someone had to move those massive speakers and equally massive amplifiers both […]
CES 2015
CES 2015: DeVore Fidelity, a new Gibbon, and a ride with The Driver
It was 9 p.m. Time to go and The Driver was ready. A quick shuffling. Half of us were pointed one way, the others went to the other car. DeVore had been rather deliberately vague. […]
CES 2015
CES 2015: Pass Labs and a suite full of new gear
Pass Laboratories doesn’t really “do” audio shows. Sure, you can find their amps at AXPONA, T.H.E. Show, RMAF and others. In fact, it’s damn near impossible to not find them at shows. But they don’t show up. That […]
CES 2015
CES 2015, The Personal Audio Perspective: Beyerdynamic’s Custom Street, Custom Pro Plus, Custom Studio
by Warren Chi It’s almost a firm rule nowadays: whenever a portable circumaural (over ear) headphone is met with success, an even more portable and supraaural (on-ear) version must follow. That is the way of […]
CES 2015
CES 2015, The Personal Audio Perspective: Audiofly’s AF250 and AF240
by Warren Chi I am a sucker for finely-crafted second acts. Protagonists, having glimpsed their destiny, resolve to embrace the unknown, and embark on an epic journey of transformation and self-discovery. Along the way, our […]
CES 2015
CES 2015: Questyle brings cool tech to portable players
The portable digital audio player (DAP) market has heated up considerably in the last 12 months, much to the surprise and chagrin of just about anyone who owns an iPhone. But it’s true — with […]
CES 2015
CES 2015, The Personal Audio Perspective: HiFiMAN’s HE1000 (Part II of III)
by Warren Chi Stepping into HiFiMAN‘s booth was like stepping into a personal audio clubhouse. Not only was it chock full of gear, but it seems that many of our friends descended upon them right […]
CES 2015
CES 2015, The Personal Audio Perspective: HiFiMAN’s HE1000 (Part I of III)
by Warren Chi You’ve probably heard all about the HE1000 by now. It’s the newest flagship headphone from HiFiMAN‘s latest generation of headphones, which includes the HE-400i and HE-560, both of which are very good […]
CES 2015
CES 2015: ADL hits with the updates
By Michael Liang* Alpha Design Labs (ADL) is a subsidiary of Furutech, Japan. Yes, the same Furutech that supplies high-end audio connectors to premium cable companies. ADL specializes in personal audio products. Their variety of […]
CES 2015
CES 2015: GamuT is a sexy beast
I will admit that I’m a newcomer to GamuT, with my only real experience with the brand being enthusiasm from George Counnas of Zesto Audio for their amps (Newport 2012, RMAF 2012, and Las Vegas 2013) […]
CES 2015
CES 2015: AudioQuest strikes with NightHawk headphones
One of the highlights of this year’s CES was the release of the NightHawk from AudioQuest. This may be placing some undue pressure on the headphone to over deliver, but that’s not really what I’m […]
CES 2015
CES 2015: D’Agostino brings new MLife and Cinema Standards
There are a lot of things you can say about audio’s high-end. But every now and again, you’re faced with a product that is so awesome-looking that you can’t help but look at the price […]
CES 2015
CES 2015: Burson and Audeze light up the phones
Burson Audio has been a player in the personal audio space for long enough I’m not bothering to do a fact-check on. They’ve just “been there”, hovering in my audio line-of-sight. Like a bat. Not […]