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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 07 February 2020 07 February 2020
Florida Audio Expo 2020: Speakers, Part 1
Florida’s fabulous wintertime weather was the excuse most of us used last year to justify visiting the first-ever Florida Audio Expo. No one knew what the show would be like, but we all had an inkling that the weather would be much nicer in Tampa in February than where we were coming from. So if the show didn’t pan out, which is a real possibility for any new show, it would still be a nice weekend away. Little did we know that the first Florida Audio Expo would turn out as well as it did.
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- Written by Howard Kneller Howard Kneller
- Parent Category: BloggingOnAudio BloggingOnAudio
- Created: 24 January 2020 24 January 2020
Howard’s January 2020 Trip to Japan: Accuphase Laboratory
Thanks to an introduction made by Canadian distributor Audio Alliance, Accuphase Laboratory was the first stop on my January 2020 trip to Japan. Traveling from my hotel in Tokyo’s bustling Ueno area in the Taito district, I arrived at a local train station to meet Kohei Nishigawa, Accuphase’s international marketing supervisor. “I came to pick you up in the Accuphase car,” Nishigawa offered. Sure enough, he directed me to the station’s parking lot, where we got into a white Toyota SUV bearing orange Accuphase logos on its sides and rear.
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- Written by Howard Kneller Howard Kneller
- Parent Category: BloggingOnAudio BloggingOnAudio
- Created: 20 January 2020 20 January 2020
A Day at Synergistic Research
On December 16, 2019, I visited Synergistic Research’s headquarters and factory, located in Santa Ana, California. Glad to avoid the unwieldy Los Angeles International Airport for the smaller and virtually painless John Wayne Airport, which is located only about ten minutes from my destination, I was greeted curbside by Andy Wiederspahn, Synergistic Research’s general manager.
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- Written by Howard Kneller Howard Kneller
- Parent Category: BloggingOnAudio BloggingOnAudio
- Created: 23 December 2019 23 December 2019
First Look and Listen: Magico’s New A5 Loudspeaker
Shortly before the beginning of 2018, Soundstage! Network founder Doug Schneider visited Magico founder Alon Wolf at the company’s headquarters and factory in Hayward, California, to hear the then-new Magico A3 loudspeaker ($12,300/pair, all prices USD). On December 17, 2019, almost two years after Doug’s visit, I arrived at Magico to hear the company’s new A5 loudspeaker ($21,800/pr.).
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- Written by Howard Kneller Howard Kneller
- Created: 03 December 2019 03 December 2019
Dragonfire Acoustics and Theoretica Applied Physics Hold Shocking Demos at the Chelsea Wine Vault
I was back at New York City’s Chelsea Wine Vault on October 19, 2019, for another audio event, this time featuring product demonstrations by Dragonfire Acoustics and Theoretica Applied Physics. As I have written before, the Chelsea Wine Vault mixes a gorgeous retail wine store with high-end audio. Now-retired Wall Street tycoon Andrew Hoover III, who stores his wine collection in the Vault’s commercial wine-storage facility, has so many high-end audio systems that he uses the Vault as his system overflow space. High-end systems are everywhere!
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 25 November 2019 25 November 2019
Tokyo International Audio Show 2019: Laurence Dickie -- Outside and Mostly Inside the New Vivid Audio Kaya S12
Vivid Audio has a new loudspeaker coming -- the S12. It’s part of the Kaya range, and it’s the brand’s smallest and most affordable loudspeaker yet. I covered the S12 when Vivid presented it at the recent Audio Video Show in Warsaw, Poland, and it was shown again at the Tokyo International Audio Show (TIAS).
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 24 November 2019 24 November 2019
Tokyo International Audio Show 2019: Electronics, Part 3
In my report on speakers, I mentioned that new hi-fi electronics are much easier to find at TIAS than speakers are. That’s why, for this Tokyo International Audio Show (TIAS) 2019 coverage, I wound up with one article on speakers and, with this final installment, three on electronics. Below you’ll find more electronic components that I found at TIAS 2019, with all but one from Japan-based brands. All the prices are in Japanese yen (¥). Right now, one US dollar is equivalent to 108.62 yen.
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 24 November 2019 24 November 2019
Tokyo International Audio Show 2019: Turntables and Related
CDs and even SACDs are still big in Japan -- and so are records. Japanese audiophiles still love physical media for music playback. As a result, it’s not surprising to see new CD and SACD players at the Tokyo International Audio Show (TIAS) 2019, like the ones I covered from Luxman, as well as turntables and related products, which are featured below. All prices are in Japanese yen (¥), with one US dollar equivalent to 108.62 yen.
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 23 November 2019 23 November 2019
Tokyo International Audio Show 2019: Speakers
New loudspeakers aren’t as easy to find at the Tokyo International Audio Show (TIAS) as they are at other shows. Part of the problem lies with the Japanese manufacturers -- some make loudspeakers, but more companies seem to be focused on electronic components. As a result, although it happens, it’s actually not that often you see a loudspeaker debut from a Japanese brand.
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 22 November 2019 22 November 2019
Tokyo International Audio Show 2019: Electronics, Part 2
Each year at the Tokyo International Audio Show (TIAS), two of Japan’s best-known electronics brands exhibit in rooms that are side by side -- Luxman and Accuphase. Sometimes, the two companies even release similar products at the same time (though, as you’ll see below, their new products this year weren’t similar).
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 22 November 2019 22 November 2019
Tokyo International Audio Show 2019: Electronics, Part 1
“It’s a terrible trip to an amazing city.” That’s what Jeb Roberts, one of our copy editors, texted me when he found out I was about to leave to cover the annual Tokyo International Audio Show (TIAS), held this year from November 22 to 24.
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- Written by Gordon Brockhouse Gordon Brockhouse
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 10 November 2019 10 November 2019
Audio Video Show 2019: Headphones and Related Products
At Audio Video Show 2019, there was a large area devoted to headphones at the Warsaw National Stadium. At many of the tables, attendees waited patiently for 15 minutes or more for a chance to audition headphones and related products.
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- Written by Jason Thorpe Jason Thorpe
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 10 November 2019 10 November 2019
Audio Video Show 2019: Electronics, Part 2
I’m going to finish off my show reporting with my last series of electronic products. At this, the close of the Audio Video Show 2019, I’d like to draw your attention to the sheer number of products we’ve presented in this show coverage. It’s a large cross-section of items, but without trying too hard I know that -- if we had time -- we could have unearthed a significant number of additional components.
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- Written by Jason Thorpe Jason Thorpe
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 10 November 2019 10 November 2019
Audio Video Show 2019: Speakers, Part 3
More speakers! Such a diverse group -- so many ambitious designs, all coming from different countries. Audio Video Show 2019 was noticeably larger than the 2018 version, with more exhibitors, more products, and what felt like a greater number of attendees. And that meant lots of multicultural speakers for us to cover.
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- Written by Jason Thorpe Jason Thorpe
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 10 November 2019 10 November 2019
Audio Video Show 2019: Turntables and Analog Related, Part 2
Well what do you know? There were a whole bunch of analog pearls hidden within the fleshy innards of Audio Video Show 2019. While my initial feeling was that there were fewer turntables actually in use this year, what I found made up in quality what it lacked in quantity.
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- Written by Jason Thorpe Jason Thorpe
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 10 November 2019 10 November 2019
Audio Video Show 2019: Speakers, Part 2
While I was walking around the Radisson Blu Sobieski and National Stadium, it seemed like every room had new products. Every. Single. Room. Usually we have to hunt for these, but there was no escaping components that needed our attention. We found a wealth of opportunities for show coverage here at Audio Video Show 2019. All prices are shown in Polish zlotys (zł) or euros (€). (Currently, the zloty trades at approximately US$0.26. Note that prices in Europe typically include value-added tax, which in Poland is 23%.)
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- Written by Gordon Brockhouse Gordon Brockhouse
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 10 November 2019 10 November 2019
Audio Video Show 2019: Streaming and Lifestyle Audio, Part 2
The day-one crowds at the Warsaw Audio Video Show were pretty good, but on day two the joint was jumping -- among the busiest I’ve ever seen at a consumer audio show. Moreover, the demographic mix was far more diverse than the male boomer crowd you typically see at North American audio shows. There were lots of young couples and singles, and young families with children, too. And the kids didn’t look like they were at the show under protest.
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- Written by Jason Thorpe Jason Thorpe
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 10 November 2019 10 November 2019
Audio Video Show 2019: Turntables and Analog Related, Part 1
I had high hopes for a multi-part analog article for this show report, as I recall being inundated with turntable after turntable at last year’s Audio Video Show. However, in the first two days here at the show I haven’t seen anywhere near as many analog rigs, so I’m a little skeptical of whether I’ll be able to glean enough products to warrant a second part. But no matter! Let’s get it on, shall we? All prices are shown in Polish zlotys (zł) or euros (€). (Currently, the zloty trades at approximately US$0.26. Note that prices in Europe typically include a value-added tax, which in Poland is 23%.)
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- Written by Doug Schneider Doug Schneider
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 09 November 2019 09 November 2019
Audio Video Show 2019: Coffee with Peter Lyngdorf
“I’m too old to do something only for money,” Peter Lyngdorf said wryly as we sat at Costa Coffee, just down the street from Warsaw’s Radisson Blu Sobieski Hotel, where I was staying. It was a day before Audio Video Show 2019 opened.
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- Written by Jason Thorpe Jason Thorpe
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 09 November 2019 09 November 2019
Audio Video Show 2019: Speakers, Part 1
Between the Radisson Blu Sobieski and National Stadium exhibits, it didn’t take long to fill up my buffer with a whole pile of speakers to write about. Audio Video Show 2019 seems to have grown this year, and there’s a ton to cover. Let’s get right down to it, with all prices shown in Polish zlotys (zł), euros (€), or British pounds (£). (Currently, the zloty trades at approximately US$0.26. Note that prices in Europe typically include a value-added tax, which in Poland is 23%.)
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- Written by Gordon Brockhouse Gordon Brockhouse
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 09 November 2019 09 November 2019
Audio Video Show 2019: Streaming and Lifestyle Audio, Part 1
You might not think a major stadium, built for events like soccer, basketball, and motorcycle racing, would be suitable for an audio show. But Warsaw’s PGE Narodowy, or National Stadium, is the main venue for the Audio Video Show, and it works really well. There are two levels of exhibits at the stadium, some in hallways, and others in box suites overlooking the athletic field. Two hotels also serve as venues for the Audio Video Show -- these host mainly high-end exhibitors.
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- Written by Jason Thorpe Jason Thorpe
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 09 November 2019 09 November 2019
Audio Video Show 2019: Electronics, Part 1
There’s a planted, landed feeling of comfort that I acquire at shows, and it’s directly associated with the various hotel lobby bars. At the Montréal Audio Fest, it’s the brutalist architecture and excellent club sandwich in the Hotel Bonaventure Montréal. Back in my CES days, I acquired my center when I saw the same crusty bartender pouring my morning coffee at the now-demolished, where-bums-go-to-die San Remo Hotel.
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- Written by Jason Thorpe Jason Thorpe
- Parent Category: Shows-Events Shows-Events
- Created: 07 November 2019 07 November 2019
Audio Video Show 2019: Warsaw-Style Vinyl Making
Vinyl is a labor of love -- every aspect of it requires personal interaction. I’ve known this for years now. Setting up a cartridge, aligning it, cleaning the stylus. Cleaning a record -- both a wet wash on a machine or a quick swipe with a carbon-fiber brush. All a part of the life cycle of an LP-based system.
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- Written by Howard Kneller Howard Kneller
- Parent Category: BloggingOnAudio BloggingOnAudio
- Created: 06 November 2019 06 November 2019
Grand Opening -- North America’s First Focal Powered by Naim Store
On October 31, 2019, I attended the grand opening of the first North American Focal Powered by Naim store, in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona. With stores already open in Seoul, South Korea, and Lyon, France, Focal’s and Naim’s French parent corporation, Vervent Audio Group, seeks to further expand the global footprint of these two well-known European audio brands by building a worldwide network of stores to showcase their products. (The Lyon store is called La Boutique du Son.)
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