Far Corners
Warning: Do Not Use
Friends, I must confess. I have not been as careful as one might wish, and certainly, hindsight is proving to me that my shivering fear and self-loathing are insufficient excuses for my laxity. But the […]
Month: October 2017
Far Corners
The Far Corners: Intraoperative Brain Mapping for Audiophiles
By Modest I. Predlozheniye Ah, dear readers! How have you been? Old Modest has spent the last few months traveling extensively through North America and has been collecting wonderful stories from the high-end audio frontier. […]
RMAF 2017
RMAF 2017: Nokturne Audio shows how torque matters with Lejonklou, JBL, and Linn
Lejonklou is not a high-fidelity manufacturer many audiophiles have probably heard of, and that’s too bad because Fredrik Lejonklou – the man behind the Swedish company – is on to something special with his incredibly transparent […]
RMAF 2017
RMAF 2017: The Audio Alternative goes deep with Vandersteen, VTL, HRS, Brinkmann, and AudioQuest
“Bass. How low can you go?” Familiar lyrics for me as I was a rabid Public Enemy fan in the late ’80s, and most of the early ’90s. The base they’re referring to was crack […]
RMAF 2017
RMAF 2017: The Marketplace
To some, this hobby of Audiophilia is a machine upon which your wallet goes into as a pig, and comes out of as a sausage. I beg you not to see it so much that […]
Components
Review: Merrill Audio Cara preamplifier
When was the last time your heart was sent racing by the opportunity to audition a preamplifier? Yup, line stages are not the most exciting components. They just sit there, allowing you to select your […]
RMAF 2017
RMAF 2017: Fidelis Brings Life To The Music
Saturday afternoon I wasn’t at my best. In fact, I wanted to go home. Faith in what “we” are doing as a hobby, community or industry was at an all time low, and I was […]
RMAF 2017
RMAF 2017: Ladders up at MSB Technology
For the “audiophile” breed of music lover who wants to confidently move away from vinyl, there is a way. Possibly you are younger or didn’t have a large vinyl collection to begin with, and don’t […]
Analog
Review: Living in the future with KEF LS50 Wireless + Roon + Shinola Runwell
KEF LS50 Wireless loudspeakers, Shinola Runwell turntable, Roon Labs, TIDAL and Spotify — all in one system. […]
RMAF 2017
RMAF 2017: Bluebird Music Sets The Table
Bluebird Music had a huge suite and lots of goodies. Richard Colburn and Jay Rein were showing off some new gear from SME, Chord, and Vienna Acoustics. Starting with the live gear on demo was […]
RMAF 2017
RMAF 2017: Old and new at Rogers High Fidelity, Burwell & Sons
I roam the halls looking for that next big innovation, that highly complex DSP controlled newfangled way of doing things. Sometimes I find it. Sometimes it’s good. However all too easily we can overlook the […]
RMAF 2017
RMAF 2017: Wireworld’s Headphone Cable Polygraph
As I was running around CanJam trying to keep up with all the coverage possibilities, I ran into Larry Smith from Wireworld, who I had first met at a successful local audio club event. Larry […]
RMAF 2017
RMAF 2017: JWM Acoustics with Aries Cerat, Etsuro Urishi, Douglas Connection make us jump
LeBron James could win the NBA’s league MVP every year, but he doesn’t. Yes, I’m talking about Doug White of The Voice That Is! and his extremely consistent and soundly dominating Tidal rooms. However, this year’s […]
RMAF 2017
RMAF 2017: Big News from Chord Electronics
Covering CanJam this year was a real blast. Every vendor seemed to have super exciting product introductions and Chord Electronics was no different albeit it was a more cerebral one. I’ll explain. As Chord fans […]
RMAF 2017
RMAF 2017: Voxativ single-minded in pursuit of great sound
It’s almost become a cliché for reviewers to say a loudspeaker’s drivers “speak with one voice.” I’ve used that phrase myself at least once in my Rocky Mountain Audio Fest coverage this year, and […]
RMAF 2017
RMAF 2017: Audeze Proves a Real Pro
Getting a seat at the Audeze table proved difficult. It seemed every time I peeked into the CanJam ballroom, the place was flooded all around the L-shaped seating area. Audeze had a strong showing at […]
RMAF 2017
RMAF 2017: Zesto steps up with new phono transformer
On the surface, the news sounds shocking: Zesto Audio has built its first component without a tube. But rest easy. President and designer George Counnas hasn’t forsaken his strategy of mixing 1930s valve concepts with […]
RMAF 2017
RMAF 2017: Classic Album Sundays
If you’ve ever heard of Chad Kassem, you know he’s a pillar of the vinyl resurgence, owner and founder of Acoustic Sounds and many other related ventures. If you’ve ever heard Chad Kassem speak, you […]
Canada
DVL Audio Album of the Month for October – Jazz legend Wes Montgomery
This is the fourth in a monthly series of album reviews I will be doing for DVL Audio here in Canada. I’ll be heading out to a local record store in Vancouver, digging through the bins, and […]
RMAF 2017
RMAF 2017: Mytek Digital – I’ll take Manhattan II
Mytek Digital had prime real estate near the tower elevators at this year’s RMAF. I wound up stopping by for a more lengthy time finally on Sunday when things were a little less crazy and […]