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- Written by Howard Kneller Howard Kneller
- Parent Category: BloggingOnAudio BloggingOnAudio
- Created: 13 September 2019 13 September 2019
GT Audio Works, Zanden Audio Systems, and Triode Wire Labs Hold Demo at Sound Insight Audio Store
Thirty years ago, audio manufacturers often conducted product demonstrations at audio society meetings. At these demos, the manufacturers gained exposure for their products, had the time to discuss the products in some depth, and happily for all, offered the demo samples at a discount at the event’s conclusion. But at some point, it became harder and harder for many of the societies to find manufacturers who were willing to hold demos, and the number of them gradually decreased.
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- Written by Howard Kneller Howard Kneller
- Parent Category: BloggingOnAudio BloggingOnAudio
- Created: 11 September 2019 11 September 2019
Discogs and Audio-Technica Crate Diggers Record Fair and Concert
It was early in the morning of July 27, 2019, at New York City’s PlayStation Theater, when Aub Driver, Discog’s public relations lead, told me that he and his team, readied for the Crate Diggers Record Fair and Concert, were there for the long run. The event occurred in two parts. First, beginning at 10:00 a.m. and running throughout the day, an almost countless number of retailers sold records, tapes, CDs, and assorted musical paraphernalia from tables stacked with crates, thus the event’s name. That part of the event, which featured several live DJs, was free.
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- Written by Brent Butterworth Brent Butterworth
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 09 September 2019 09 September 2019
RMAF 2019: Headphones, Earphones, Amplifiers, and Accessories, Part 2
Here’s the fourth and last segment of my coverage of the 2019 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, which took place from September 5 to 8 at the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, located near the Denver International Airport. This column finishes off my headphone-related coverage with headphone amps, accessories, and one more set of headphones, all of which I found in the large ballroom that hosted the HeadSpace headphone section of RMAF. All prices in USD.
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- Written by Brent Butterworth Brent Butterworth
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 08 September 2019 08 September 2019
RMAF 2019: Audio Components
Occupying several floors of the new Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center near Denver International Airport, the 2019 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest hosted a decent number of new stereo components. Because I was able to attend the show for only a few hours, I know I missed several new product introductions, but here’s what I found in my brief RMAF tour, with all prices listed in USD.
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- Written by Brent Butterworth Brent Butterworth
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 07 September 2019 07 September 2019
RMAF 2019: Speakers
The 2019 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest kicked off with a press day on Thursday, September 6, and three days of general admission to follow. I was able to fly up from Los Angeles for only a very abbreviated, roughly six-hour visit, but I was able to see several notable product launches -- although I know I missed a couple of them, too.
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- Written by Brent Butterworth Brent Butterworth
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 07 September 2019 07 September 2019
RMAF 2019: Headphones, Earphones, Amplifiers, and Accessories, Part 1
The 2019 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest took place from September 5 to 8 this year in its new home at the colossal Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, near Denver International Airport. For the last several years, there has been a CanJam headphone show held as part of RMAF, but CanJam pulled out this year. Still, the HeadSpace section of RMAF held a large variety of headphone companies -- not as many as the CanJam/RMAF did, but still quite respectable, and I found plenty to write about in the large, quiet ballroom that hosted HeadSpace.
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- Written by Howard Kneller Howard Kneller
- Parent Category: BloggingOnAudio BloggingOnAudio
- Created: 28 August 2019 28 August 2019
Canvas Audio Hi-Fi OLED TV Sound Stand Pre-Launch Event at the Chelsea Wine Vault
In June of this year, I attended an interesting product pre-launch event at a unique venue. Let’s take the product first.
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- Written by Gordon Brockhouse Gordon Brockhouse
- Created: 22 August 2019 22 August 2019
MartinLogan Unveils Revamped Motion-Series Speakers
On the evening of August 20, 2019, I attended an event at Georgia Home Theater in Marietta, Georgia, at which MartinLogan previewed seven new loudspeakers in its Motion series. The revamped Motion series includes two stand-mount models, three floorstanders, and two center-channel speakers.
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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, though, I should address Ralph’s 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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