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- Written by: Doug Schneider
- Category: Features
Sennheiser's new IE 800 earphones so intrigued me when I shot them for our product coverage that I went back to my hotel, grabbed my B&W C5 earphones, and then went back to compare the two through listening. The IE 800s are priced at 600€, the C5s at 179€. I use the C5s all the time. Could the 800s be that much better and worth that much more?
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- Written by: Jeff Fritz
- Category: Features
Qualia & Co.'s marketing department is based in Los Angeles, their materials research is conducted in France, and their products are designed and manufactured in Japan. The products' prices and build quality are extreme by anyone's standards. So just who is behind Qualia & Co.?
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- Written by: Administrator
- Category: Photos
Companies featured in gallery below: Siltech, Crystal Cable, Ascendo, Margules Audio, Absolare, Inspire Hi-Fi, Tannoy, Sonus faber, KEF, Constellation Audio, Pathos, Amphion, NuForce, Orpheus, Soulution
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- Written by: Doug Schneider
- Category: Features
KEF's new LS50 speaker is said to be a modern-day homage to the classic BBC-designed LS3/5A monitor that was created in the '70s and used KEF-made drivers. It was, at least to some, the ultimate nearfield monitoring tool. To others, like me, it was an interesting little speaker, but with some problems. Perhaps more important, I'm a "minimonitor" guy, but I never wanted a pair of those. I'm not sure why; it's just that nothing about it excited me. But I can't say the same thing about the LS50. Read on . . .
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- Written by: Administrator
- Category: Photos
Companies featured in gallery below: Wadax, WideaLab, AudioNec, Raidho Acoustics, Hanss Acoustics, Audioaero, Forster Audiotecnik, Kharma, Kaiser Acoustics
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- Written by: Jeff Fritz
- Category: Features
There are watershed moments that can mark a shift in a company's direction. Certainly, when Tidal Audio of Germany introduced their Sunray loudspeaker back in 2003, that product informed Tidal's offerings for almost a decade. But time and technology march on, and yesterday's flagship is, well, yesterday's news. The brand-new Tidal Agoria might just signal the next watershed moment in Tidal's relatively short history of competing in the Age of the Superspeaker.
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- Written by: Jeff Fritz
- Category: Features
It was 2004 when I first heard the Gryphon Poseidon four-tower loudspeaker system (then $130,000 USD per pair). I was the first reviewer in the world to hear that speaker, as I traveled to Gryphon's home in Denmark for just that purpose after that year's Munich-based High End show in Germany (at that time, High End was held in Frankfurt). That listening session was an experience not to be missed -- the sound I heard that day left quite an impression. I remember coming away from that visit thinking that Gryphon had accomplished a remarkable feat: a company known mostly for its exceptional electronics had successfully transitioned into the realm of the superspeaker. That does not happen very often.
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- Written by: Jeff Fritz
- Category: Features
High End 2012 began on Thursday, May 3, but on Wednesday Doug Schneider and I attended the German premier of Magico's S5 loudspeaker, held at Life Like HiFi Studios, a retailer that seemingly carries every audio product under the sun. (The Magico event was sponsored by German distributor Audio Components.) We attended the event because Magico was promoting the S5 as having the highest price/performance ratio of any speaker they've ever offered. We were obviously anxious to hear just what the buzz was about and to decide for ourselves if it was indeed true. The S5 retails for $28,600 per pair in the United States.
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- Written by: Jeff Fritz
- Category: Videos, Features, & Photos
This is what it's all about. Dialed in. Warmed up. Ultra tweaked. Here's what I heard.
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- Written by: News Editor
- Category: Videos, Features, & Photos
The TWBAS 2012 system is made up of products from seven manufacturers from five countries: Vitus Audio (Denmark), WideaLab (Korea), Magico (USA), AudioQuest (USA), Silent Running Audio (USA), Esoteric (Japan), and Torus Power (Canada). The retail price of the system approaches $500,000 USD. Profiles on all the products can be found through this link.
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- Written by: News Editor
- Category: Videos, Features, & Photos
SoundStage! Network publisher Doug Schneider photographed each of the TWBAS 2012 participants with their products. Featured in this gallery: Hans-Ole Vitus (Vitus Audio), Charles Kim (WideaLab), Tim Crable (Esoteric), Alon Wolf (Magico), Howard Gladstone (Torus Power), and Jett Logan (AudioQuest). (Unfortunately, Kevin Tellekamp of Silent Running Audio, whose racks were used to support the electronics in this system, could not attend on this day.)
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- Written by: News Editor
- Category: Videos, Features, & Photos
Photographer Chris Lang created portraits of the company participants, as well as the entire TWBAS 2012 team. (Unfortunately, Kevin Tellekamp of Silent Running Audio, whose racks were used to support the electronics in this system, could not attend on this day.)
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- Written by: News Editor
- Category: Videos, Features, & Photos
On March 30, the SoundStage! Network hosted a gathering at the Port Land Grille restaurant in Wilmington, North Carolina. TWBAS 2012 corporate participants were all present, as were a large number of writers from the SoundStage! Network staff. Photographer Chris Lang was on hand to capture the excitement.
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- Written by: Jeff Fritz
- Category: Videos, Features, & Photos
Setting up the Magico Q7 loudspeakers for TWBAS 2012 meant more than just placing them in the room, listening to a few tracks, making an adjustment or two, and then calling it a day. In the case of TWBAS 2012, a listening panel consisting of Vitus Audio's Hans-Ole Vitus, Magico's Alon Wolf, and me, along with three microphones and two software-based measurement programs, were called into service to get the Q7s dialed in to perfection.
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- Written by: Administrator
- Category: Videos, Features, & Photos
TWBAS 2012 setup and kickoff! Produced, shot and edited by Chris Lang Photography. Enjoy!
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- Written by: Administrator
- Category: Photos
Companies featured in gallery below: Axiom Audio, Magico, T+A, Totem Acoustic, Lyra, BitPerfect Sound, Pro-Ject, Zellaton, JRiver, Bryston, Genesis Advanced Technologies, Trigon
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- Written by: Administrator
- Category: Photos
On March 25, the SoundStage! Network sponsored a one-hour seminar and question-and-answer session featuring six digital-audio experts: James Tanner (Bryston), Jacques Riendeau (Oracle Audio), Dominique Poupart (Simaudio Moon), Jim Hillegas (JRiver), Steve Silberman (AudioQuest), and Joe Harley (AudioQuest). This gallery features images taken throughout the duration of this eye-opening, informative event.
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- Written by: Hans Wetzel
- Category: Features
There's no ignoring the obvious: a fine line divides the unique from the obtrusive, and the styling department of Germany's MBL has no qualms skirting it. The company's room was littered with gear from their Reference line of equipment, and its all-white finish was hard to miss, as were the logos adorning the monoblock 9011 amps, which were large enough for the legally blind to see.
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- Written by: Hans Wetzel
- Category: Features
Confident claims in audiophile literature are commonplace. More rarely seen, however, is confidence that's entirely devoid of embellishment, from someone looking you unerringly in the eye. Tim Ryan of SimpliFi Audio displayed this borderline-unsettling conviction as he explained the theory behind the Gradient SW-S ($6990 USD per pair), a triangular, non-ported dipole bass module with two 12" drivers, maneuvered by the included external crossover.
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- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Features
Raise your hand if you've heard of Zellaton speakers. I don't see many hands out there. That's OK -- I hadn't heard of them either, but I should have. The genesis of Zellaton speakers lies way back in 1930, when Emil Podzus patented a speaker cone made from foam solidified on a substrate and coated with a very thin film layer. Podzus also pioneered the use of differing speaker diameters for reproducing specific frequency ranges.
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