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- Written by Howard Kneller Howard Kneller
- Parent Category: BloggingOnAudio BloggingOnAudio
- Created: 15 August 2019 15 August 2019
A Day with Ralph Glasgal, Founder of the Ambiophonics Institute
Audio retailer Larry Borden (Distinctive Stereo, in River Vale, New Jersey) and I recently paid a visit to Ralph Glasgal at his large, ultra-modern New Jersey home. Ralph, the inventor of three-dimensional (3D) imaging digital signal processing technology Ambiophonics and founder of the Ambiophonics Institute, is generally not known for aiming low. In fact, he hopes that Ambiophonics will succeed the stereo and 5.1 surround-sound formats. Before proceeding further, though, a few words need to be said about Ralph’s most interesting background.
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- Written by Hans Wetzel Hans Wetzel
- Parent Category: BloggingOnAudio BloggingOnAudio
- Created: 01 July 2019 01 July 2019
The Voice That Is: An Afternoon with Bricasti Design, Zesto Audio, and John Marks
I’ve been to a couple of dealer events over the years, and they’re all pretty similar. There are free snacks and usually alcohol. Two or three rooms might be set up for group listening, with a couple of talking heads -- sales guys or someone of note from the manufacturer -- giving a brief spiel, before talking through several pieces of well-trodden jazz music. Questions are encouraged, with brief answers the norm.
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- Written by Brent Butterworth Brent Butterworth
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 25 June 2019 25 June 2019
CanJam SoCal 2019: Earphones, Part 2
Here’s the last installment of my coverage of the CanJam SoCal 2019 headphone show, which occupied a large ballroom at the Irvine Marriott in Irvine, California, just south of Los Angeles. Although the show featured lots of new headphones and headphone amps, most of the action was in earphones -- and we’re talking high-end, exotic earphones, not the stuff you find at Best Buy. Here’s the second batch of cool earphones I found at CanJam SoCal 2019, presented in alphabetical order with all prices in USD.
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- Written by Brent Butterworth Brent Butterworth
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 25 June 2019 25 June 2019
CanJam SoCal 2019: Headphone Amps, Electronics, and Other Stuff
CanJam SoCal 2019, which ran June 22 and 23 at the Irvine Marriott in Irvine, California, featured not only lots of headphones and earphones, but also a whole bunch of new amplifiers -- as well as the debut of a couple of surprising and stunning new audio electronics we didn’t expect. Here’s what we saw and heard, with all prices in USD.
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- Written by Brent Butterworth Brent Butterworth
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 24 June 2019 24 June 2019
CanJam SoCal 2019: Headphones
Here’s the second part of my coverage of CanJam SoCal 2019, a headphone show that took place June 22 to 23 at the Irvine Marriott, in Irvine, California, just south of Los Angeles. This time we’ll focus on headphones, with all prices in USD.
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- Written by Brent Butterworth Brent Butterworth
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 24 June 2019 24 June 2019
CanJam SoCal 2019: Earphones, Part 1
CanJam is a series of headphone-focused shows that take place several times a year, in locales as diverse as London, Shanghai, New York City, and Irvine, California -- essentially a vast business park that sits anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours south of Los Angeles, depending on traffic. This year’s CanJam SoCal took place at the Irvine Marriott, just south of John Wayne Airport. Like every CanJam SoCal of the past few years, it was packed with headphone enthusiasts hoping to get a listen to the latest and greatest cans.
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 12 May 2019 12 May 2019
High End 2019: Conditioners, Cables, Connectors, and Accessories
The last installment of our High End 2019 coverage focuses on power conditioners, speaker cables, connectors, and accessories -- the things that can help jazz-up a hi-fi system and bring out its best. All prices are in euros (€) or US dollars ($).
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- Written by Gordon Brockhouse Gordon Brockhouse
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 12 May 2019 12 May 2019
High End 2019: Streaming and Lifestyle Audio, Part 2
Streaming is becoming the default source of music for more and more people. In 2018, streaming accounted for 75% of music-industry revenues in the US, and 46.9% globally. This trend was apparent in many of the new products launched at High End -- all-in-one wireless streaming speakers, amps, and DACs with streaming capability, and active speakers with built-in amplification. All prices are in euros (€) or US dollars ($).
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- Written by Jeff Fritz Jeff Fritz
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 12 May 2019 12 May 2019
High End 2019: Electronics, Part 5
These days, many audiophiles prefer to hide away their electronics where no one can see them. Either that, or they want those huge enclosures out front and center as talking points when someone enters the room. A company from the Netherlands presented another option . . .
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 12 May 2019 12 May 2019
High End 2019: Turntables and Analog-Related Gear
When Jason Thorpe can’t make it to a hi-fi show, we sorely miss him -- he just won’t stop until he uncovers every last new turntable and phono-related product at every show he attends. Jason, unfortunately, wasn’t at High End, so it was up to me to look for new and interesting products for analog playback. Here’s what I found, with all prices in euros (€) or US dollars ($).
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- Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 12 May 2019 12 May 2019
High End 2019: Electronics, Part 4
This year’s High End show had plenty of introductions of reasonably priced electronic components, even though I would say that many of them were network-streaming products. And even those that were not, like integrated amplifiers, preamplifiers, and DACs, often had streaming capabilities built into them. So, while my colleague Gordon Brockhouse, of SoundStage! Simplifi, concentrated his efforts on streaming-type products, I found a few more intriguing electronic component introductions from High End 2019 that were not mostly streaming-based. All prices are in euros (€) or US dollars ($).
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- Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 11 May 2019 11 May 2019
High End 2019: Speakers, Part 4
At High End 2019, it seems you can’t walk more than a few meters before you trip over a new loudspeaker. Although there were innumerable new models to see this year, there were a few that really caught my eyes . . . and ears. All prices are in euros (€) or US dollars ($).
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- Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 11 May 2019 11 May 2019
High End 2019: Listening to “Kind of Blue” (and “Sketches of Spain”), Yet Again
When I first heard that two of Miles Davis’s classic albums, Kind of Blue and Sketches of Spain, were being remixed in Dolby Atmos, I feared the worst. As I headed into the packed demonstration room to listen to the remixes of these great albums, I had thoughts of Davis, Coltrane, Adderley, and others bouncing around above my head.
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- Written by Jeff Fritz Jeff Fritz
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 11 May 2019 11 May 2019
High End 2019: Speakers, Part 3
Speakers, speakers everywhere! We experienced the wildest, most-ambitious design at the show, and a high-end stalwart introduced more affordable models. And, oh, a Danish brand demonstrated its best loudspeaker yet . . .
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- Written by Gordon Brockhouse Gordon Brockhouse
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 11 May 2019 11 May 2019
High End 2019: Headphones and Portable Electronics, Part 2
About a week before I got on a plane to Munich, Doug Schneider asked me if I’d like to cover headphones and related products at the show. Absolutely -- a big chunk of my listening is done through ’phones, so I’m really interested in the category.
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- Written by Jeff Fritz Jeff Fritz
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 10 May 2019 10 May 2019
High End 2019: Speakers, Part 2
Big, impressive speakers are always a highlight at High End, and the 2019 event was certainly no exception. Speakers I saw came in lots of configurations, sizes, and at every price point imaginable. Multi-way dynamic speakers seemed more common than any other type, though an array of horn-type models were also plentiful. Let’s start with the former . . .
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- Written by Roger Kanno Roger Kanno
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 10 May 2019 10 May 2019
High End 2019: Electronics, Part 3
Even though the audio show held in Munich each spring is called “High End,” it still offers frugal audiophiles like me plenty to see and hear. High End 2019 didn’t feature a lot of gear at mass-market prices, but it did include many excellent new products that provide high value for their cost. Here are a few of the electronic components that caught my eye for providing interesting features at relatively reasonable prices. All prices are in euros (€) or US dollars ($).
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 10 May 2019 10 May 2019
High End 2019: Electronics, Part 2
In the online hi-fi world, I noticed a new and welcome trend. Instead of companies waiting until High End actually starts to announce new products that would be shown there, as most did in previous years, many companies announced them days or even weeks in advance to start getting word out. They either e-mailed the information out to group lists or posted it on social media (usually Facebook) as a story or a link to their website. Since I’m online almost all the time, these early releases helped me get my initial coverage up more quickly. Here’s the first batch of hi-fi electronics, with all prices in euros (€) or US dollars ($).
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- Written by Gordon Brockhouse Gordon Brockhouse
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 10 May 2019 10 May 2019
High End 2019: Streaming and Lifestyle Audio, Part 1
Munich’s High End is mostly about serious high-end audio, but this year’s edition also had a lot of fodder for my primary beat, “convenient, lifestyle-oriented hi-fi,” to quote the blurb for SoundStage! Simplifi on our network portal. On the first day, I came across more Simplifi’d audio products than I can cover in a single report, and there are many halls that I haven’t yet visited, so check back for further updates. All prices are in euros (€) or US dollars ($).
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 10 May 2019 10 May 2019
High End 2019: Speakers, Part 1
Munich’s High End still reigns supreme as the world’s largest and most important hi-fi show, which is why we love it. One problem its size poses, however, is that it’s next to impossible for our team to cover every product presented during the show’s four-day run. I doubt we’ll achieve 100% coverage of the show this year, either -- but that doesn’t mean we can’t do better than in the past.
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