RMAF 2019--Innuos Music Servers

My latest show report from the 2019 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest is now live at Part-Time Audiophile. You can read it here.

RMAF 2019--Nordost, VTL, YG Acoustics

My latest show report from the 2019 RMAF is now live at Part-Time Audiophile. You can read it here.

Stealing more Pics from AXPONA...

I stole the above photograph from Jon Catuccio, who runs the Stereolist.com website. I got to hang out with Jon quite a bit during AXPONA; I've been writing reviews for him over the last few weeks and it was great to put a face to the name. Jon's a fairly young guy, which gives me hope for the future of high-end audio. Like Lance Kimmons of the Austin HiFi Society, Jon is extremely knowledgeable about audio--much more so than when I was his age. Jon also loves a good Cuban cigar, which makes him aces in my book.

The above photo is of the YG Acoustics speakers. (His photos are much better than mine, so I'll use 'em.) YG earned a bit of consternatation among the audio industry when they first appeared a couple of years ago for saying they made "the greatest speakers in the world" in all of their ads. Usually this type of hyperbole is greeted with contempt because most knowledgeable audiophiles feel that there is no "best," only differences in preferences. Many attendees I talked to (along with a few of the bigwigs at Stereophile magazine) are starting to think there may be something to YG's claim.

I first heard the YGs at CES ealier this year, and I felt that they were definitely among the finest speakers I've heard. They sound so precise and so coherent throughout the frequency extremes that they are able to achieve an unbelievavble level of realism. Well, word has it that they've made a few modifications to the upper section of their speakers (the one with the midrange-tweeter-midrange array), and they're even better. While I don't think I prefer them to the slightly more organic and warm balance of the Trenner & Friedl Dukes, they certainly make a compelling case for themselves. The YG room was consistently the most crowded room at AXPONA, and for good reason.

This second photo, also from Jon, is a wider shot of the Audio Power Labs 833-TNTs I just blogged about. This will give you a better sense of the size of these BIG tube amps (although I still love Ross Bennett's more romantic shot of the massive, glowing tubes).

Megasystems at CES 2011

The Consumer Electronics Show is all about putting your best foot forward and showing the industry what your company is capable of achieving. As a result, you see some pretty spectacular systems. While nothing quite trumped the Trenner & Friedl Duke/Rowland Research room, a few megasystems came quite close.

This system is from the German company Burmester, and their gear is famous for being very beautiful and ornate (more Italian than German in style). They're also known for being quite expensive. This state-of-the-art system included most of their premium line, and it sounded magnificent. For me, the Burmester sound is very meticulous and detailed and revealing. If you're looking for lush and romantic, look elsewhere.

Speaking of lush and romantic, the megasystem is from Kondo Audio Note and featured the legendary Ongaku amplifier, their new and quite massive turntable and a beautiful set of field coil loudspeakers. In the past, I've been frustrated by the inconsistency in the Audio Note setups at various audio shows...it's either the best sound I've ever heard or the worst. This time it was the former, and I was hypnotized by the gorgeous, fluid sound.

The system is from YG Acoustics. YG caught some flack in the audio press a couple of years ago for announcing in their print ads that their speakers were the absolutely best in the world. After a couple of years, however, people are starting to recognize that these huge aluminum speakers do offer a rarified level of performance. Even though this system was located in one of the big rooms downstairs at the Venetian (where the high ceilings are huge obstacles to achieving great sound), this system really sounded great and captured my undivided attention for quite a while.

One more system offered what I felt was first-class sound...the Wilson and Lamm room. Wilson speakers are not really my cup of tea since I prefer a slightly warm and romantic presentation. Wilson speakers are extremely revealing and often sound a little too relentless to my ears. Lamm amplifiers, however are a different story. I've never heard a Lamm-based system I didn't love, and this time was no exception. The Wilson Alexandria speakers were utterly captivating with the tubed Lamms, so this was easily the best sound I've ever heard from Wilson period.