It’s official; T.H.E. Show Newport has become the premier U.S. hi-fi show. Following the success of last year’s inaugural event, this year’s show expanded to an adjacent second hotel and saw a 50% increase in ...

What do soft sea breezes, Tommy Bahama print shirts, and Wayfarer shades have in common with high-end audio? It could only be T.H.E. Show, Newport Beach. Fresh off its 2011 debut, this consumer-attended success story ...

In late May I visited the Magico factory in Berkeley, California, to hear the new Q7 flagship loudspeaker. I’m getting the Q7 for review in early August and wanted to learn about its design as ...

I finally made the trip across the Atlantic to see the Munich high-end show for myself, and what a show it is. This annual event has gradually increased in importance over the years to the ...

Munich High End is not only the biggest high-end-audio show in the world; it is also the oddest. Where else in the world would you be greeted at the door by three guys in lederhosen, ...

If you audiophiles think that new and improved models are coming onto the market at an accelerated pace, try dipping a toe into the photography biz. Within the last few months, we’ve seen the announcement ...

Please check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. The KEF exhibit was dwarfed in the Omni’s high-ceiled, lobby-level ballroom, but it didn’t seem to bother the cutting edge Blade loudspeaker–TAS’ current cover story-a ...

Let me start with what you won’t get with Maggie’s new flagship ribbon/quasi-ribbon dipole three-way, the $14k 20.7s. First, you won’t get all of the dynamic range that you get with well-designed cone speakers. Indeed, ...

Please check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 4. Summoning an audible gasp were the Audio Power Labs 833TNT monoblocks ($175k). Engineered and built in Columbus Ohio, nothing adequately describes what it’s like to ...

Please check out Part 1, Part 3, and Part 4. I observed a different side of the YG Anat 3 Signature ($119k) at Axpona. In rotation with the YG entry level Carmel, the Anat was ...

Please check out Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. As consumer audio shows go, Axpona Jacksonville was small scale in terms of scope (at least compared with Newport or RMAF) but big-hearted in its ...

Those of you who’ve read Robert Harley’s review of Constellation Audio’s Reference Series Altair linestage preamp and Hercules monoblock power amps in our September issue already know that our Mr. H.—a man not given to ...

Before I start gurgling about Raidho Acoustics of Denmark’s outstanding, newly improved, tiny (7.87” x 14.6” x 14.2”), handsome, ribbon/dynamic, two-way stand-mount mini-monitor, the $17k C1.1, let me say a few words about realism and ...

This year’s CES was high on audio excitement, but (with several exceptions we will come to) not so high on fidelity. But…that’s okay. I’m sure that the vast majority of ultra-high-end loudspeaker-makers probably figure that ...

It’s finally time to drop the phrase “the resurgence of analog.” The boom in LPs and the products to play them has long since passed the “resurgence” phase and is now a full-fledged, integral component ...