Shows-Events

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Category: Features

Created: 13 October 2016

If you judge products purely by the amount of attention they attract at audio shows, headphone amps are as hot a product category as headphones themselves. Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2016 showcased numerous new headphone amps, ranging from tiny models that fit in a pocket to ones the size of classic McIntosh tube amps. Here are a few of the most interesting new headphone amps I saw at RMAF. All prices in USD.

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Category: Features

Created: 10 October 2016

At every audio show, you’ll find all sorts of odds and ends that don’t fit into major product categories but are fascinating nonetheless. The 2016 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF) devoted an entire hotel ballroom and a large hallway to accessories, records, and CDs, and I also found a few other interesting little products hiding out in some of the demo rooms on the upper floors of the Denver Marriott Tech Center. Here are a few of my favorites, with all prices listed in USD.

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Category: Features

Created: 10 October 2016

Although there were a few new power amps, preamps, and DACs introduced at the 2016 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF), the real action was in integrated amplifiers. This is a hot category because most of the new integrateds incorporate not only a preamp and a power amp, but also a DAC. Many add a phono stage and/or Internet or network streaming, making them true all-in-one entertainment systems -- just add speakers.

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Category: Features

Created: 10 October 2016

Most new audio product introductions occur at the big electronics trade shows such as CEDIA, CES, IFA, and Munich’s High-End. But being the biggest consumer audio show in the US, the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF) sees more than its share of new product introductions and North American debuts -- including numerous new speakers. There were way too many models for one person (me) to cover, so I’ll just share some of my favorites here. All prices in USD.

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Category: Features

Created: 08 October 2016

The Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF) is the biggest consumer audio show in the US, and without question one of the best places in the world to hear all sorts of new audio gear, from $100 desktop amps to $100,000/pr.-plus tower speakers. It also incorporates CanJam, a show where most of the major audiophile-oriented headphone and headphone amp manufacturers display their latest creations.

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Written by: Doug Schneider

Category: Photos

Created: 02 October 2016

As I mentioned in the caption for the first gallery, attending TIAS is a fun, interesting, and educational experience. This second and final gallery documents where I went on the last day of TIAS 2016 (Sunday, October 2), which was held on the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors of the Tokyo International Forum. I started on the sixth floor and worked my way down, and I made sure to take at least one photo in every display room. Enjoy!

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Written by: Doug Schneider

Category: Photos

Created: 02 October 2016

I’ve now been to Japan twice for TIAS. Both times I found it to be a fun, interesting, and educational experience. As a result, I thought it worthwhile to showcase some photos from the last day of TIAS (Sunday, October 2) to help demonstrate what the experience is about. The gallery below shows the trip from my hotel and breakfast to the Tokyo International Forum, where TIAS 2016 was held.

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Written by: Doug Schneider

Category: Features

Created: 01 October 2016

There weren’t as many introductions of speakers as there were electronics, but there were still some very exciting and important new speakers showcased at TIAS 2016. I’ve highlighted them in this article. All prices in Japanese yen (¥).

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Written by: Doug Schneider

Category: Features

Created: 01 October 2016

My first two articles about electronics at the Tokyo International Audio Show (TIAS) highlighted three well-known Japanese brands: Luxman, Esoteric, and Accuphase. This article focuses on several companies from outside of Japan. All prices in Japanese yen (¥).

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Written by: Doug Schneider

Category: Features

Created: 30 September 2016

The first installment on electronics at the 2016 Tokyo International Audio Show (TIAS) focused on two Japanese brands: Luxman and Esoteric. This part focuses on just one, Accuphase, because it had so many new and interesting products to show. All prices in Japanese yen (¥).

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Written by: Doug Schneider

Category: Features

Created: 30 September 2016

I love the Tokyo International Audio Show (TIAS) for three reasons: (1) Tokyo, as a city, is a wonderful place to visit; (2) the event is extremely well run; and (3) you can often find products from great Japanese brands that aren’t always easy to find elsewhere. Case in point: the newest electronic components from Esoteric and Luxman, which made their debuts at TIAS. For Luxman, the three shown below were the company’s only new releases at TIAS 2016. Esoteric had many more introductions, but I focused on the three new Grandioso-series products, which represent the company’s top offerings. All prices in Japanese yen (¥).

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Category: Features

Created: 19 September 2016

I’ll conclude my coverage of the 2016 CEDIA Expo with a roundup of the rest of the interesting speakers I saw. All prices in USD.

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Category: Features

Created: 18 September 2016

It’s safe to say everyone attending the 2016 CEDIA Expo -- a trade show that focuses on custom-installed A/V and home automation -- knows that traditional wired audio systems and home-theater systems are playing a shrinking role in most people’s lives. So it’s no surprise that the Expo saw the introduction of several new wireless music systems and soundbars -- products designed primarily for convenience, but that can deliver impressive sound quality if they’re designed for performance rather than the lowest possible price.

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Category: Features

Created: 18 September 2016

Most of the action in audio electronics at the CEDIA Expo involved new A/V receivers, surround processors, and multiroom audio systems. There were a few interesting stereo products launched at the Expo, though. Some incorporated a few nods toward custom installation, such as networking capability and easy interfacing with multiroom gear, but all will work fine if your system has just two speakers and you play only music. Here are the new two-channel audio products I found at the CEDIA Expo, all priced in USD.

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Category: Features

Created: 18 September 2016

So much of the focus at the annual CEDIA Expo is on home-theater sound. Naturally, there are always interesting new subwoofers on display, from state-of-the-art slab shakers to stealthy models designed to be tucked into a corner or built into a wall. Here are some of the most interesting new subwoofers I saw (and in some cases, heard) at the CEDIA Expo. All prices in USD.

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Category: Features

Created: 16 September 2016

There aren’t many mainstream audio products featured at CEDIA, but there are innumerable boutique audio products designed for custom installation -- including, of course, lots and lots of new speakers. On the first day of the show, I saw new high-end tower speakers, and new in-wall and in-ceiling speakers. There were way too many to pack into one blog post; I’m planning at least one more CEDIA 2016 post devoted to speakers, one focusing on subwoofers, plus another devoted to wireless speakers and soundbars.

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Category: Features

Created: 15 September 2016

The Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association Expo, better known as the CEDIA show, kicked off on September 14 in Dallas with a handful of press events and a special press-only preview event. Most of the audio products at CEDIA are targeted at built-in, multiroom audio systems or custom home theaters, but because almost all the major audio manufacturers attend, you never really know what you’re going to encounter. Despite today’s abbreviated schedule, I found a few products that shocked and surprised me -- and that anyone involved in audio would have to be pretty curious about.

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Category: Features

Created: 06 June 2016

When SoundStage! published my report about the MQA demo at Munich’s High End 2016 a few weeks ago, we ruffled some feathers -- not only of the people behind MQA, but of some audio writers who were already on the record with effusive praise of MQA. Fortunately for me, the MQA folks knew I would be attending last weekend’s T.H.E. Show Newport Irvine, California, and were willing to give me a more useful demo.

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Category: Features

Created: 05 June 2016

While strolling the halls of the Hotel Irvine, site of last weekend’s T.H.E. Show Newport 2016 in Irvine, California, I encountered numerous interesting products that didn’t fit into categories large enough to populate an entire column. So I thought I’d wrap up my new products coverage with a column full of somewhat random stuff: headphone amps, acoustic treatments, and more. They’re arranged here in alphabetical order by brand, with all prices listed in USD.

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Category: Features

Created: 05 June 2016

It’s always fun at audio shows to watch how the choice of source devices evolves. At T.H.E. Show Newport 2016, the source devices of choice were computers, record players, and half-inch analog tape. I’m sure there was a CD player somewhere, but I didn’t notice it. Here are the most interesting developments in source devices I found at the show, with the products arranged in alphabetical order by brand and all prices in USD.

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