AXPONA 2019
Raven Audio | AXPONA 2019
by Paul Elliott I have known about Raven Audio and their tube amps for a number of years when I met Dave Thompson and friends at an earlier Capital Audiofest. I was really impressed with […]
vacuum tube
Announcements
Rogers High Fidelity KWM-88 “CORONA” | AXPONA 2019
Something new from Rogers High Fidelity — a bit of old-world/new world. On the one hand, you have a completely hand-wired amp with a massive toroidal power supply — the PSU on this guy is […]
Florida 2019
Florida 2019: A Critical Eye II
by Paul Elliott I thought the show really very good. Run very professionally, far better than a “first effort”. I can only hope they can muster the energy to do it again next year. All […]
Florida 2019
The Sarasota Sound: A Visit to VAC and Suncoast Audio
Ahead of the Florida Audio Expo, I was wondering if readers realized just how much life there is in Tampa Bay audio. I grew up in Longboat Key, which sits just a bit below Tampa […]
RMAF 2018
RMAF 2018: Purist Audio, Classic Audio Loudspeakers, and Atma-Sphere
I caught up to Purist Audio Design‘s Jim Aud at RMAF, where the music flowed like water and the dynamics made the angels weep. This was a great room. Of course, this was also a Classic Audio Loudspeaker […]
Components
Auris Audio Fortissimo Integrated Amplifier Review
Auris Audio (website) is a somewhat new addition to the rich high-end audio tradition of the central European country of Serbia. If that strikes you as odd, let me assure you that yes, they’ve got a […]
Components
McGary Audio SA-1 Stereo Amplifier Review
One of the fun aspects of reviewing gear from small start-up companies is getting to know the owner/proprietor, who is also usually the designer and builder of the piece of gear I’m reviewing. Such is […]
AXPONA 2018
AXPONA 2018: Nick Doshi Builds a Time Machine
A few months before AXPONA, Nick Doshi of Doshi Audio showed up at The Audio Company, a superb local hi-fi store in Marietta, Georgia. The program was to show local audiophiles what tape machines could […]
AXPONA 2018
AXPONA 2018: VPI Fatboy dances with Gershman and VAC
Originally spotted in Munich at the High End Show, we’ve been anxiously waiting to hear the VPI Fatboy tonearm. VPI dropped the Fatboy details before AXPONA in a press release, so I was jazzed to […]
Far Corners
Far Corners finds Hot Treasures: Svecheniye 12AX7 Vacuum Tubes
By Modest I. Predlozheniye It is easy to get caught up in the latest trends in audio, especially when you travel the world as I do. I see a lot of new technology applied to […]
AXPONA 2016
AXPONA2016: Mobile Fidelity gets closer to the master tape than ever before with UD1-S LP pressing
Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs just can’t stay still. They’re always looking into how they can improve an aspect of their products, or their users end experience, or curating some of the very best analog, and […]
Analog
Peter Qvortrup talks three-motor turntables: Audio Note UK 2016, factory photos & new speakers
I had the rare opportunity recently to catch up with Audio Note UK head honcho, globetrotter, music lover, and hi fi-industry legend Peter Qvortrup, who graciously agreed to be assailed with questions by me regarding […]
Headphones
Review: Woo Audio WA5LE v2 vacuum tube headphone amplifier
Woo Audio offers a remarkably deep bench for those headphonistas interested in vacuum tube amplifiers. But when it comes to the 300b, arguably the finest audio tube the world has ever known, Woo Audio has only a couple […]
Headphones
Review: Woo Audio WA22 headphone amplifier
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 […]
Components
Review: Zesto Audio Bia 120
Adding Zest-o I first found the Bia 120 from Zesto Audio in, of all places, a Zesto Audio demo at an audio show. Crazy, right? Okay, maybe not, but that’s okay — that’s how I […]
Digital
Review: Cary DAC-100t Tube D/A Converter
By Brian Hunter The (Digital) Times They Are A Changin’ With the onslaught of technological change and market shift impacting traditional hi-fi, more established companies are dipping their big toes in the murky waters of […]
CAF 2014
CAF 2014: Did BorderPatrol just smuggle a headphone amplifier into town?
Capital Audiofest is currently underway, and I just snuck off for a quick update here. Yes, there’s going to be way more coming, but in the meantime, a teaser of a teaser. Brian Hunter and […]
Digital
LampizatOr DSD DAC: First Listen (Updated & Revisited)
Last fall, I received a DSD-only DAC from LampizatOr. I thought it was the berries, but I had some challenges with the unit. Specifically, this demo/prototype unit had some issues with fuses (in the directly connected […]
Newport Beach 2014
Newport 2014: Big Bad Woo Audio
Woo Audio, the New York-based company focusing on the high-end of the “personal audio” space, is renowned for creating something of an oasis at regional audio shows. It’s a bit of a cheat, really, since Woo […]
Components
Red Wine Audio, Part 1: Liliana Renaissance Edition mono block amplifiers
If you say “Red Wine Audio” to an audio nerd, chances are he’ll say something about batteries. Which is fair, as this is probably the thing the brand is best known for. Well, that … and all […]