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Category: Aron Garrecht

Around 15 years ago, my wife and I upgraded from a condo to a large duplex. During our search for our next home, I had but three criteria: a two-car garage, space for a wine cellar, and a decent-sized spare room that I could convert into a modest home theater. At the time, I never would have called myself an audiophile, and I knew diddly-squat about room acoustics or how to treat them. All I knew was I wanted a big screen, a high-quality projector, and a half-decent 7.2 surround-sound system.

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Category: Jason Thorpe

It began right after the YG Acoustics Peaks Ascent speakers went back to Colorado. The speakers had spent their final weeks in Canada over at Rob’s place, and Rob had been loving the experience. He’s had three different sets of speakers in his system over the past while, including my own Aurelia Cerica XLs and, after the YGs went back, my Focus Audio FP60 BEs.

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Category: Roger Kanno

When I was first approached about reviewing NAD Electronics’ new Masters M66 preamplifier, the Canadian company’s PR rep proposed sending along one of NAD’s M23 power amplifiers to complement the new flagship preamplifier. Sure, no problem, I thought, but what about using the M66 with two M23s, operating in bridged mode? According to the company’s specifications, this setup should deliver a pulse-pounding 700Wpc into 8 ohms, making for an absolutely killer state-of-the-art system. Lenbrook Industries, NAD’s parent company, must think similarly, because this same setup was used at the AXPONA show in Chicago, back in May, to drive the $60,000-per-pair (all prices in USD) DALI Epikore 11s. Lenbrook distributes DALI in North America. So, it wasn’t long before a big stack of boxes arrived on my doorstep from NAD.

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Category: Jason Thorpe

At 7200 feet above sea level, Santa Fe, New Mexico, is the highest state capital in the US. I’ve experienced higher altitudes, but nothing approaching this in the last 40 years. A couple of hours after arriving in Santa Fe for the launch of Siltech’s new Master Crown series of cables, I ran across the road from my hotel to the gas station to buy a few bottles of water. As I stepped up on the curb, I felt a touch lightheaded and way more out of breath than I expected. That ain’t right, I thought to myself.

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Category: Jonathan Gorse

A couple of years ago while reporting from High End in Munich, I was enjoying the superb million-dollar system in Nagra’s room, when they introduced a presentation by a recording engineer named Mike Valentine. With so much to report on, I wasn’t sure I could spare the time to stay, but thanks to my fascination with the recording process, I couldn’t resist. What followed was one of the most engaging presentations I have ever heard—on any subject.

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Category: Jason Thorpe

So, I got a panicked call from my buddy Marc. It was a veritable audio emergency.

I’ve known Marc for about 14 years—he was originally (and still is) my wife’s friend. They’d gone to the same high school in her small town, and were part of the same still-close friend group. Marc works in the movie industry, and for a number of years he stayed at our house during the week to avoid the two-hour commute back home.

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Category: High End 2024

You know what I like? A good deal. Call me a cheapskate if you want, but after having heard plenty of uber-cheap audio gear alongside some truly stratospheric systems, I must conclude that deep pockets are not a prerequisite for great sound. Luckily, the folks putting on High End 2024 agree, so they’ve come up with the Soundsclever initiative. Five manufacturers are participating, and the sole criterion is that they must present a complete system that costs less than €5000. I am both excited and surprised to report that the Soundsclever systems presented here are not just competent, but truly impressive—at any price.

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Category: High End 2024

As many of the best stories do, this one started over a beer. Or two. At the tail end of Saturday at the High End 2024 show in Munich, Germany, Anders Ertzeid, Hegel Music Systems’ VP of sales and marketing, mentioned that they had a fridge full of beer that they needed help with. I am always keen to assist—from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.

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Category: High End 2024

As a first-timer here at High End 2024, I was struck by the scale of this event. The show venue is roughly the size of the state of Rhode Island (perhaps that’s a slight exaggeration), and yet is filled to capacity. What’s mind-boggling about the World of Headphones section of the show is that it takes up about one-eighth of the total floor space of the exhibition hall. When you consider that headphones are absolutely miniscule compared to, say, a pair of Vivid Audio Moya M1s, you realize that that’s a lot of space to devote to just headphones. It’s clear that High End 2024 is really serious about ’phones.

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Category: High End 2024

Yes, it’s a stupid title, but it gets to the point. At SoundStage! we know that sensible people—especially the sort of people who are serious about headphones—appreciate it when you get to the point. Here it is: Focal brought two new pairs of wired headphones to Munich, the closed-back Azurys and open-back Hadenys. They’re quite good, and they’re affordable—€549 for the Azurys, €699 for the Hadenys. On the left side of the pond, the prices are the same in US dollars.

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Category: High End 2024

Italian speaker manufacturer Sonus Faber has been on a tear developing impressive speakers lately, but this will not surprise you if you visit the SoundStage! Network sites regularly. I say this because publisher Doug Schneider and our video team recently paid the Sonus Faber folks two visits, first at their headquarters in Italy, and then at the House of Sound in New York. You can read about his encounter with the new Suprema loudspeaker over on SoundStage! Hi-Fi.

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Category: High End 2024

I have a recurring dream. It’s not exactly a nightmare because it’s not overtly scary. I emerge from it more perplexed than unsettled. It goes like this. I’m sitting in the corner of a dimly lit room, and right there in the middle of the room is what’s ostensibly a single Vivid Audio Kaya 45 speaker. This right here is odd, huh? A dream about a speaker?

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Category: High End 2024

I popped in to the Crystal Cable headquarters here at High End 2024 to let founder Gabi Rynveld know how much I enjoyed reviewing the company’s Art Series Monet speaker cables a while back on SoundStage! Ultra.

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Category: High End 2024

I’ve yet to have the chance to have a proper listening session with any of Q Acoustics’ speakers, but I hope to change that soon. In recent years, the British brand has earned a reputation for high-performing speakers that are affordable enough for almost anybody, and the world has taken notice. When I learned that a new generation of the venerable 3000 line of passive speakers was being shown for the first time at High End 2024, I zipped over to Q Acoustics’ exhibit room to see what they’re all about.

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Category: High End 2024

Okay, I exaggerated a little in that title, but I couldn’t resist. The D120 speaker from Totaldac is new indeed, but rather than being “totally” new, it’s more of an “evolution” than a “revolution.” I’d never heard of this company before the days leading up to High End 2024, but I’m glad to have been introduced.

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Category: High End 2024

After Matt’s somewhat unsatisfying “factory tour,” I decided that I should stop by Göbel’s room, which it shared with Pilium Audio and Kronos Audio, to see what’s what with its speakers.

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Category: High End 2024

Upon entering Gryphon Audio Designs’ room, I encountered Anthony Chiarella, the company’s North American director of sales and marketing. The room was jammed full—standing-room only—but there was no music playing. Chiarella explained that I’d have to wait about ten minutes before they could play music, as they play it really loud, and so does the room next door. The two exhibitors had agreed to alternate demos so as not to bother each other.

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Category: High End 2024

SoundStage! began publishing in 1995, which makes us quite young compared to many of the brands we cover. For example, PSB and NAD recently celebrated their 50th anniversaries. KEF was founded in 1961, so it’s over a decade older than those two brands. Klipsch was founded in 1946, and Luxman was founded in 1925!

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Category: High End 2024

I am sad. It’s true that I wear my heart on my sleeve, and that’s why I never play poker. So I walked into the Estelon room and saw the brand new Estelon X Diamond Signature Edition speakers. From a distance, they immediately evoked the XB Mk II speakers that spent several months in my listening room. That’s what made me sad, because I’ve never been so unhappy when a product left my house.

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Category: High End 2024

About 44 miles outside of Munich, just down the River Isar into Lower Bavaria, lies the small town of Landshut. Landshut is known mostly for its medieval architecture and reenactment of the Landshut Wedding. Held every four years, this festival is based on the 1475 celebration of the marriage of a Bavarian duke to the daughter of the king of Poland. It’s a cute, quaint little town in the Bavarian countryside, but it is also home to Göbel High End, a manufacturer of extreme audiophile speakers and cables.

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Vitus Audio
Vitus Audio