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Audio Video Show 2019: Streaming and Lifestyle Audio, Part 1
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- Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
- Category: Audio Video Show 2019
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.
Audio Video Show 2019: Electronics, Part 1
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- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Audio Video Show 2019
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.
Audio Video Show 2019: Warsaw-Style Vinyl Making
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- Written by: Jason Thorpe
- Category: Audio Video Show 2019
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.
Grand Opening -- North America’s First Focal Powered by Naim Store
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- Written by: Howard Kneller
- Category: Howard Kneller
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.)
UK Hi-Fi Show Live 2019: Sonus Faber’s Paolo Tezzon on the Olympica Nova loudspeakers
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- Written by: Doug Schneider
- Category: UK Hi-Fi Show Live 2019
The UK Hi-Fi Show Live 2019 afforded me an opportunity I don’t often get at shows -- time to sit down and have a lengthy conversation with a designer. Usually, they’re too busy -- or I am. But in the room of Absolute Sounds, Sonus Faber’s UK distributor, I noticed that Paolo Tezzon had some time on his hands at the same time I did. Tezzon is Sonus Faber’s acoustic designer, so I didn’t want to miss this opportunity. I caught Tezzon’s attention and asked, “Want to talk about the new Olympica Novas for a few minutes?” He was happy to oblige.
UK Hi-Fi Show Live 2019: Cables and Accessories
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- Written by: Doug Schneider
- Category: UK Hi-Fi Show Live 2019
I spent my final few hours at the UK Hi-Fi Show Live 2019 hunting for products I know many people enjoy -- cables and accessories. I can’t blame them -- once you’ve bought the speakers, amplification, and source components you really want, you probably want to try some tweaks to see if your components can be made to sound even better. All products are shown in the order I saw them, with prices in British pounds.
UK Hi-Fi Show 2019 Live: Turntables and Related
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- Written by: Doug Schneider
- Category: UK Hi-Fi Show Live 2019
Insofar as physical media products go, few audiophiles care about CDs anymore. I don’t think they ever will again. But vinyl -- that’s a totally different story. It’s back, it’s big, and it’s getting better.
UK Hi-Fi Show Live 2019: Speakers
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- Written by: Doug Schneider
- Category: UK Hi-Fi Show Live 2019
In my first UK Hi-Fi Show Live report, about electronics, I mentioned that show organizer Paul Miller moved this annual event from a hotel to the upscale Ascot Racecourse. I think that this was the smartest decision Miller could’ve made. If you’re going to showcase high-priced hi-fi gear -- and let’s face it: even entry-level hi-fi is priced way beyond what most people are willing to spend on sound equipment -- you’d better do so in a fitting location rather than a bunch of makeshift bedrooms-turned-soundrooms.
UK Hi-Fi Show Live 2019: Electronics
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- Written by: Doug Schneider
- Category: UK Hi-Fi Show Live 2019
Gloomy, rainy, shitty. That, to me, sums up the weather in Ascot, England, on October 26 -- maybe all of England, for all I know. On the brighter side, Paul Miller, who presides over the annual UK Hi-Fi Show Live, and is also the editor of Hi-Fi News and Record Review, has taken his event out of the hotel where it’s been held until now, and moved it to the Ascot Racecourse -- a seriously attractive, upscale venue that’s home to thoroughbred horseracing.
More than 90% of a 780D v2 for 60% of Its Price -- the Inside Scoop on Simaudio’s New Moon 680D DAC-Streamer
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- Written by: Doug Schneider
- Category: Doug Schneider
At the 2019 Toronto Audio Fest, to be held October 18 to 20, Simaudio will publicly display for the first time its new Moon 680D DAC-streamer, which is priced at $9000 (all prices are USD). On October 2, however, I visited product manager Dominique Poupart at the company’s factory in Boucherville, Quebec, Canada, to see the first 680D that came off the production line and learn more about it. I felt it important to go there because Simaudio has long been known for producing some of the best-sounding digital-playback products in the world.
Two Audiophile Societies Host Elac’s Andrew Jones
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- Written by: Howard Kneller
- Category: Howard Kneller
In August of this year, the New York and Long Island audiophile societies, respectively known as The Audiophile Society and The Audio Syndrome, hosted Andrew Jones, vice president of engineering for Elac. Each audio society’s events are typically well-attended; however, this meeting, held at a member’s home, was packed to the proverbial rafters. This was due not only to the attendance of members from both clubs, but the opportunity to witness Jones demonstrate Elac’s newest active speaker, the three-way, floorstanding Navis ARF-51 ($3999.96/pair, all prices USD), and provide insights concerning its design.
What Amazon Music HD Means for Audiophiles
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- Written by: Gordon Brockhouse
- Category: Gordon Brockhouse
On September 17, the audio world sucked in its collective breath after Amazon announced a new streaming service offering lossless CD-resolution and high-resolution music. Amazon Music HD has over 50 million CD-resolution tracks, plus “millions” of “Ultra HD” tracks with higher-than-CD resolution, up to 24-bit/192kHz.
A Visit with Muraudio’s Murray Harman and Rob Runolfson
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- Written by: Roger Kanno
- Category: Roger Kanno
A recent business trip took me to Canada’s national capital, Ottawa. In addition to being the political center of Canada, it’s the home of the National Research Council, where SoundStage! performs its loudspeaker measurements. It’s also the location of electrostatic loudspeaker manufacturer Muraudio.
CEDIA Expo 2019: Speakers, Part 3
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- Written by: Brent Butterworth
- Category: CEDIA Expo 2019
Here’s the final segment of my three-part coverage of new speakers from last week’s CEDIA Expo, which took place at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. While conventional freestanding speakers aren’t the focus at the CEDIA Expo, I explore several new models below -- as well as one of the weirdest in-wall speakers I’ve ever seen. All prices in USD.
CEDIA Expo 2019: Soundbars and Subwoofers
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- Written by: Brent Butterworth
- Category: CEDIA Expo 2019
Unlike most consumer hi-fi shows, the 2019 CEDIA Expo tradeshow, which took place at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver last week, always features lots of new soundbars and subwoofers. Few audiophiles consider these components essential for music listening, but most of them are designed to sound as good with music as they do with movies, so they’re worth consideration -- especially in rooms where you don’t want the audio gear to be the focus of your decor. All prices in USD.
CEDIA Expo 2019: Electronics
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- Written by: Brent Butterworth
- Category: CEDIA Expo 2019
Traditional stereo audio has never been a major category at the Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) Expo, which ran for three days last week at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. But it’s the most important show of the year for makers of surround-sound receivers and processors, and they usually bring along a stereo piece or two, too -- as well as cutting-edge home-theater electronics that may interest many audiophiles.
CEDIA Expo 2019: Speakers, Part 2
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- Written by: Brent Butterworth
- Category: CEDIA Expo 2019
Here’s the second part of my coverage of new speakers I saw at the 2019 CEDIA Expo, which took over the Colorado Convention Center in Denver last week. In this part, we’ll look at some of the more exotic designs often seen at the Expo but almost never seen at other North American shows, including some in-wall and on-wall models. All prices in USD.
CEDIA Expo 2019: Speakers, Part 1
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- Written by: Brent Butterworth
- Category: CEDIA Expo 2019
The Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) Expo took over the Colorado Convention Center in Denver last week, showcasing a lot of new audio products in addition to countless smart-home devices. Many of the new audio products were so-called “architectural” models -- in-wall, in-ceiling, and outdoor speakers -- and many others were targeted at high-end, custom-installed home theaters. But there were plenty of products of interest to enthusiasts of traditional two-channel audio, including notable new speaker introductions from many major brands.
GT Audio Works, Zanden Audio Systems, and Triode Wire Labs Hold Demo at Sound Insight Audio Store
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- Written by: Howard Kneller
- Category: Howard Kneller
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.
Discogs and Audio-Technica Crate Diggers Record Fair and Concert
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- Written by: Howard Kneller
- Category: Howard Kneller
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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