Shows-Events

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Written by: Doug Schneider

Category: Features

Created: 15 October 2011

One company I've grown to admire over the last couple of years is Hegel Music Systems of Norway. But they've been around for much longer than the time I've known them -- Hegel has been making good-sounding, nicely styled, well-built hi-fi products that are reasonably priced for over 20 years. Their current line includes integrated amplifiers, power amplifiers, preamplifiers, CD players, and DACs. I reviewed the Hegel HD10 DAC on SoundStage! Hi-Fi in September and I was very taken by its performance, resulting in a strong recommendation, not only because of how well it played music but also because of its low price: $1200.

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Photos

Created: 15 October 2011

Companies featured in gallery below: Audio Research, Ayre, Musical Fidelity, Vandersteen, Behold, EAR, Thiel Audio, Electrocompaniet, Music Culture, Memory Player, Red Wine Audio, TAD, Wyred 4 Sound

All prices in US dollars unless otherwise indicated

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Written by: Jeff Fritz

Category: Features

Created: 14 October 2011

If you've ever attended an audio show, you've no doubt been aurally assaulted by a huge stereo system shoehorned into a dinky room playing at 115 decibels. At RMAF 2011, at least so far, that hasn't been the norm. Most of the floorstanding loudspeakers that I've heard have been fairly compact, and there have been a number of stand-mounted designs being demonstrated, particularly in the smallest of the exhibit rooms.

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Photos

Created: 14 October 2011

Companies featured in gallery below: Audeze, Schiit, HiFiMAN, Empirical Audio, Induction Dynamics, Luxman, Meitner, Oracle Audio, Peachtree Audio, Nordost, Sennheiser, VTL, Woo Audio

All prices in US dollars unless otherwise indicated

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Photos

Created: 02 October 2011

Companies featured in gallery below: Sutherland Engineering, Pass Labs, Tri-Art Audio, Reev Designs, Kudos

All prices in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Photos

Created: 01 October 2011

Companies featured in gallery below: Audio Analogue, Atohm, Hegel, Amphion, Kudos, TubeMagic, Audio Eden, Toronto Home of the Audiophile, Audio Note, Atlantic Technology, Parasound, Reev Designs, Coherent Speakers, Joseph Audio, Oracle Audio, AudioNote Kits

All prices in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated

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Written by: Doug Schneider

Category: Features

Created: 30 September 2011

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Photos

Created: 30 September 2011

Companies featured in gallery below: MartinLogan, Focal, Devialet, Paradigm, Anthem, Monitor Audio, Reference 3A, Antique Sound Labs, Totem Acoustic, Zu Audio, Ocellia, Liberty Trading, Vienna Acoustics, Esoteric, Oracle Audio, Monarchy Audio

All prices in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Photos

Created: 10 September 2011

Companies featured in gallery below: AudioQuest, MartinLogan, Sonus Faber, Monitor Audio, Atlantic Technology, GoldenEar Technology, Velodyne, Monster

All prices in US dollars unless otherwise indicated

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Written by: Doug Schneider

Category: Features

Created: 10 September 2011

Anyone who's followed me around an audio show knows that my short attention span precludes me from sitting through a demo that's four minutes long, let alone one that's 40 minutes. But that's the amount of time it took for QuantumLogic Surround Lab's demonstration in Harman International's mobile sound room, which was parked at the back of the exhibit hall.

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Written by: Doug Schneider

Category: Features

Created: 10 September 2011

Not that many people know how to throw a great party, and likewise, not many companies know how to make a great trade-show exhibit. Most of the booths and displays I saw at CEDIA Expo 2011 were dark, drab, and really ho-hum, but two really stood out this time: KEF and Digital Projection, for quite different reasons.

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Written by: Doug Schneider

Category: Features

Created: 09 September 2011

Most audio reviewers get excited about the really expensive equipment -- the stuff that costs in excess of ten grand. Invariably, that's what they look for at shows. It's the kind of gear that most people can't afford, so maybe this fixation lets these reviewers live in a fantasy world of lavish expense. On the other hand, I get really charged up about the affordable gear because it represents what I can buy. Fantasizing, at least for me, isn't all that much fun -- I want the real thing to be within my reach.

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Written by: Doug Schneider

Category: Features

Created: 09 September 2011

Light traffic is a good thing if you're talking about roads and freeways. In fact, in Indianapolis the road traffic is lighter than I've ever seen in any major city, making it a snap to get from the Courtyard Marriot near the airport, which is where we're stationed, to downtown, which is where CEDIA Expo is. It's almost as if everyone in the city left just to make it easier for us out-of-towners to get around. We like that.

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Photos

Created: 09 September 2011

Companies featured in gallery below: Audio Research, NAD, Definitive Technology, Devialet, Focal, Steinway Lyngdorf

All prices in US dollars unless otherwise indicated

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Written by: Doug Schneider

Category: Features

Created: 08 September 2011

It's been a while since we've heard much from Canada's Anthem, which is a subsidiary of Paradigm, Canada's largest and best-known speaker manufacturer. That changed just a couple of days before CEDIA Expo 2011, when the company sent out a press release about the new Statement M1 monoblock amplifier, which retails for $3500. It's a doozie, even if at first glance it doesn't impress. The design is basic black with styling similar to other Anthem products, but when I read the specs, my jaw dropped.

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Photos

Created: 08 September 2011

Companies featured in gallery below: Bryston, Anthem, Paradigm, ParadigmShift, PSB, Polk Audio, Totem Acoustic, Bowers & Wilkins, KEF, Energy

All prices in US dollars unless otherwise indicated

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Photos

Created: 22 May 2011

Companies featured in gallery below: NAD, Vandersteen, Siltech, NuForce, Ascendo, VTL, German Physiks, SurrounTec, Vienna Acoustics, Audio Resolution, Ultrasone, Zellaton, TW-Acustic

All prices in euros unless otherwise indicated

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Written by: Jeff Fritz

Category: Features

Created: 22 May 2011

Three preamplifiers, six power amplifiers, two integrated amps, two CD players, four loudspeaker models, a complete line of cables, power distribution, phono stages, spikes and demagnetization devices, and even racks as well as furniture. Gryphon Audio Designs of Denmark can assemble a number of complete audio systems using only their components. Although the breadth of their offerings is large, what's most impressive is the high quality with which they do it all. What's more, it's all designed and built in Denmark to world-class standards and then sold worldwide.

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Written by: Administrator

Category: Videos

Created: 22 May 2011

Without question, one of the fastest-growing segments of the market has to do with computer audio and music-server devices. At High End 2011, Austria’s Pro-Ject Audio Systems showed the new Stream Box SE, which retails for 700€ and has a wealth of features including support for 24-bit/192kHz playback and high-resolution USB. What’s kind of ironic about Pro-Ject offering such an innovative device is that the company is best known for turntables!

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Written by: Doug Schneider

Category: Features

Created: 22 May 2011

One of the things that irked us this year had nothing to do with the show. Instead, it was our beloved digs, Fleming's Hotel, which is where we stay every year.

Fleming's Hotel is located in the Schwabing district, which is close to the event center and closer yet to all the best restaurants. The place was as clean as it has been in the past and the breakfasts were good, but the water temperature in the shower kept fluctuating and the Internet kept cutting out. This isn't just irritating; it disrupts your work life.

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