CAS 2014
CAS 2014: In Which We Take Awesomeness Where We Find It
As a closer to my California Audio Show coverage, I’m going to tell you a little story about how I broke my own rule. CAS was really meant to be the cherry on top of […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: I left my heart in San Francisco
Running around the Westin San Francisco hotel for three days with a press badge on, feeling like John Atkinson (or even, shrudder, Scot Hull), certainly had its moments. Even though I’ve been attending high-end exhibitions […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: Eficion’s near-perfect tweet
No other speaker component gets as much attention from innovators and fiddlers as the tweeter. It’s easy to understand why: your ears can forgive some weaknesses in the bass or even the midrange, but if […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: Stunt Systems, Sight and Sound with JBL and Mark Levinson
Again, ignore the misleadingly soothing pianist in the lobby. One of the real pleasures at an audio show comes when the big guns bring out all of their dogs and ponies. Some may systems are […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: Stunt Systems, Sony, Pass Labs and Blue Coast
Ignore the misleadingly soothing pianist in the lobby. One of the real pleasures at an audio show comes when the big guns bring out all of their dogs and ponies. Some may systems are stunt […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: True Audiophile presents Spatial, Audion, Human
It’s almost mean to make Gary Alpern, the True Audiophile, wait until the very end to see his room covered. After all, we opened our coverage with pictures of him from a midnight listening session […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: Headmasters, with Eddie Current, Questyle, Audeze, Headamp
Next to a rain-soaked dumpster full of old Altec drivers, the Headmasters ballroom had to be the saddest place in the HiFi world. The Westin’s air walls are a perfectly uniform shade of County Jail […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: Wyred4Sound keeps it simple
You can lead music lovers to a better lifestyle system, but can you make them buy? That’s the question a lot of companies are asking as they seek to offer an alternative to crappy department-store […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: LRE speakers, clearly different
Reviewers are prone to wax poetic about speakers they like, often saying they “present a clear window to the music.” Not many transducers literally are a clear pane of glass, though. The new Clara from […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: Electra Fidelity and Fritz Speakers
The (self-described) dashing duo of Fritz Heller of Fritz Frequencies and Tony Chipelo of Electra Fidelity joined forces again for this show, and they seemed to be far too happy about it. Just look at […]
CAS 2014
Intermission and a tease, what could be better?
We’re going to take a short break from CAS 2014 while my outstanding field contributors collect their wits and their thoughts. With that said, this seems an excellent time to let slip that Part-Time Audiophile will […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: Wells, Bybee, Chapman
In this age of tiny Class D amplifiers and pocket-sized DACs, the Wells Audio Innamorata Signature amplifier ($13,000) reminds me of the cancerously large boxes that characterized the receiver wars of the late 70’s. It’s […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: Headmasters visit with Sony
In addition to their big demo, Sony also brought a number of their hi-res listening devices to show off. The HAP-S1 ($999.99) won high marks for me when I experimented with it at T.H.E. Show […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: HeadMasters visit with Oppo
Oppo was on hand to show off their PM-1 and the new PM-2 headphones. The PM-1 ($1,099) is a lightweight planar magnetic headphone. The newer PM-2 ($699) is an even lighter-weight planar magnetic headphone. Both […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: Loggie Audio and YG Acoustics, metal-machine music
I’m always a bit suspicious of high-end speakers sporting cabinets that cost the designers a chunk of change to manufacture. You know, rare hardwoods, automobile-painted polymer resins, structural foam, even metal. The result usually is […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: Those Nerds Took All my Money!
Folks who’ve hung around the industry for a while know Steve Holt. He spent years fronting for MIT Cable before striking out on his own with the joint ventures of Kool Kat Jazz Records (selling […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: Olive ONE is one elegant solution
Recently, I had a small dinner party with some friends. Or that would be the refined way of putting it. Really, I had some friends over, we cooked an enormous dinner together, and then we […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: Soundscape, Martin Logan, and a 300b
Marc Silver, the big fella himself, helmed the room presented by Santa Rosa’s Soundscape AV. If last year’s exhibit was a giant temple to all things Martin Logan, this year’s exhibit was a very small […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: AudioVision SF brings Nordost, produces 3D sound from flat cable
The first time I ever saw Nordost cable was 20 years ago at a now-defunct high-end store in Dallas. I looked behind a KEF 107/2 speaker and saw it was connected with this ultra-cool looking […]
CAS 2014
CAS 2014: Burwell & Sons and the best fun you could be having
There’s something about stepping off an elevator to a blare of funk music that makes you suddenly feel a bit like you’re in a Quentin Tarantino movie. Or maybe like you’re Pam Grier. Either way, […]