astell&kern – Part-Time Audiophile

Vancouver Audio Festival 2018: Shelter from the storm on Opening Night

April 21, 2018 // 1 Comment

First the rain came straight down. Then the rain came sideways. Then it seemed to be coming up at me from the ground as I ran from a coffee shop to make my way to Hi-Fi [...]

CES 2017: Products and Places, a Tour

January 30, 2017 // 0 Comments

by Brian Hunter While studying photography post grad, I came across a photographer who had been at it since nearly the inception of the medium. To her, black and white was [...]

Review: Cayin HA-1A MK2 tube headphone amp

January 29, 2017 // 5 Comments

By John Grandberg More audiophiles these days are embracing the pleasures of headphone listening. There’s an ever-growing selection to choose from, but enthusiasts soon [...]

CES 2017: 12 hour Tour – Technics, DEG, Mytek, Sony, ELAC, Nagra, MSB, SweetVinyl, dCS, AudioQuest, Musical Surroundings

January 24, 2017 // 0 Comments

This year, I decided to do the accelerated CES 2017 tour. With some loss of good judgement, I created a flight plan in and out of Vegas from Seattle in a single day with [...]

RMAF 2016: CanJam Photo/Video Tour

November 29, 2016 // 0 Comments

At CanJam this year, Brian at Audio Head pulled out the toys and took us all along for a multimedia tour. You’re welcome to the ride-along. Many thanks to Brian [...]

Focal Launches Flagship Headphone at The Source A/V

June 22, 2016 // 1 Comment

By Brian Hunter This weekend was a steamy one for residents of southern California. Temperatures rose above 100 degrees in certain parts of the sunny city of angels, but many [...]

Newport 2016: Sugarcube SweetVinyl

June 18, 2016 // 1 Comment

I recall being 9 years old, breaking the seal on my dad’s fresh LPs, giving them a clean and accidentally spilling LAST cleaning fluid everywhere with that darn dropper, [...]

CanJam SoCal 2016: Astell&Kern Copper, 320, and more

March 22, 2016 // 2 Comments

I am sad to report that Astell&Kern still has not launched their $10,000 portable ultra-player, the fabled AK960. And this is despite all of those April 1st [...]

Best of 2015 and Product of the Year

December 30, 2015 // 7 Comments

2015 is over, much to my shock and chagrin. Honestly, I’m not quite sure how it happened. No. Seriously. I kinda feel like I’m Rick Grimes; I just woke up, [...]

RMAF 2015: CanJam round up

November 6, 2015 // 1 Comment

Hitting the CanJam at RMAF is a highlight for me, and an instant reminder of the health and vibrancy of (at least one corner) of the high-end audio industry. This year, there [...]