Day three began with a return visit to the PGE Narodowy stadium to visit a few big rooms I was unable to access day one, including the big Avant-Garde G3 speakers driven by Kondo electronics sourced with Kondo's turntable and phono preamp and a Studer A80 tape deck.In another big room Magico demoed for the first time ever at a show the big M7s driven by Pilium Cronus mono blocks and sourced via an MSB DAC. I hit the room twice and both times the music being... Read More

I spent day two at the Radisson Blu Sobieski hotel where most of the Polish manufacturers displayed and demonstrated their products. Others were there too of course, including some of the bigger players who took the larger first floor rooms. Aavik, part of Audio Group Denmark, debuted a major $60,000 phono preamp at the show that Michael Børresen demoed and explained in a detailed interview (photo at the top). That starts the video. It has multiple inputs including... Read More

This year's Warsaw Audio Video Show was well attended as always and because the biggest crowds show up on Saturday I spent almost all day Friday covering the stadium exhibits, which are mostly, but not all, the larger corporate participants like Technics, Pro-Ject, JBL, Marantz, Denon, McIntosh, Senheiser, Focal, Yamaha, etc. plus many smaller "high end" brands like Hegel, Pro-Ject, Transrotor, Dali, Unison Research, Clearaudio and many others... Read More

Last weekend's Warsaw Audio Video Show was a great success: well-attended by the industry and consumers alike. There was a lot to see, hear, and if you were there to shop for records, so much to buy at very reasonable prices. Big international brands displayed at the sports stadium, smaller Polish and other nationality brands unfamiliar to American audiophiles showed at the Radisson Sobieski Blue Hotel, while a few of the larger, more established brands were... Read More

Our man in Japan, whose website is Rice Field Records took in the recent Tokyo Audio Fair and produced this video report. The show always has a great vibe. Attendees are respectful and most often want to hear classical music and good jazz. The presentations are useful too. Enjoy! Read More

Our man in Tokyo Michael Schoolnik went to the recent Tokyo International Audio Show and shot some footage you'll enjoy watching. And here are some timings.0:00 Intro0:25 Accuphase2:05 Ortofon3:24 Luxman5:12 Sforzato6:43 Triode9:08 Esoteric10:20 McIntosh Read More

Last winter I was asked by the High End Society, organizers of the High End Munich show to assemble and moderate a panel discussion revolving around vinyl playback. We agreed on the topic "Has Vinyl Playback Technology Gone As Far As It Can Possibly Go?" and I got to choose the participants, all of whom agreed to take part. In the photo above, (L-R): Ortofon's Chief Officer of Acoustics and Technology, Leif Johanssen, WAM Engineering / WallyTools... Read More

By Sunday most everyone is beat to a pulp and ready for the show to be over but go on it must! For those covering it there's never enough time. As I began assembling day four's videos I realized I'd missed some key ones that should have been posted on days one, two and three, so in addition to what I managed to get on day four, you'll find some earlier coverage. This one begins on the show floor with Audio Research's Dave Gordon who runs us... Read More

Day Three included two breaks in the normal convention coverage flow: first in the A.M. I moderated a seminar titled "Has Vinyl Playback Technology Gone About As Far As It Can Go?" with participants Mark Dohmann (Dohmann Audio), Craig Milnes (Wilson-Benesch), Leif Johannsen (Ortofon) and J.R. Boisclair (WallyTools/WAM Engineering). All over the past decade have advance the art and science of vinyl playback, so their take on the question was interesting and... Read More

Day two's coverage begins and ends with visits to the main floor mayhem where you can find newly minted dreamers as well as veterans who do well selling accessories, records, inner and outer sleeves, etc.I stopped by Rega, Thorens, where the finished edition of its big turntable was on both static and active display, Acoustic Signature, which showed a new Tango Apex NEO phono preamp and a new €50,000 TA 10000 NEO tonearm. The 50K tonearm price point has become a... Read More

New product debuts abounded at High End Munich. I was trying to cover products in the analog domain—turntables, cartridges and phono preamps—and found many each day, but while I was at it I came upon many other new and exciting products you'll see in this day one coverage. All prices are approximate. The day started with a curious coupling of Technics and Lamborghini. It seemed that Lamborghini wants some vinyl playback caché and Technics wants some luxury to rub... Read More

"Vertere's new high-end tonearm is designated the SG-II PTA, as it looks—at a brief glance—similar to the SG-1 PTA tonearms. However, looks can be deceiving, as the SG-II only shares three parts with its junior siblings: the fine tracking force weight, the lift lower mechanism, and the silicon nitride triple bearing assembly. The SG-II-PTA HB will sell for £13500, €16998, and $16995. It will be available from July.

AXPONA 2024 hosted 10,391 attendees from 42 states and 31 countries at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center April 12-14, 2024— 14% increase over 2023. It was the best attended AXPONA yet.As with 2023's strong vinyl sales, the doom and gloom crowd was again wrong. This is a vital and growing hobby that has something affordable for every music lover but aside from shopping at a price point, there's so much fun looking at and listening to... Read More

AXPONA Saturday began for me moderating a reissue panel titled "Second Time Around: The World of Reissuing and Remastering" with a group of the best: Chad Kassem (Analogue Productions), Shane Buettner (Intervention), Abey Fonn (IMPEX) and Julia Miller (Delmark Records). I keyed off of the recent and somewhat controversial Rhino High Fidelity "Marquee Moon" reissue, asking each whether their task was to release a reissue as close as possible to the... Read More

I was getting a whole lotta love on a crowded AXPONA elevator this past weekend, really enjoying the incoming. A guy stepped off at my floor and said “I guess a lot of people know you. I don’t...but nice meeting you”. This'll sound obnoxious and self-serving but I said to him, “Are you new to this?” “I am,” he replied. “I’m only here because my fourteen-year old daughter wants a turntable”. How great is that? I handed him a business card and told him if he had... Read More

The organizers of the Southwest Audio Fest in Dallas must have felt like Hannibal Smith, who used to say, "I love it when a plan comes together." Gary Gill and Lou Hinkley took a chance by selecting as the show venue the upscale Hilton Anatole and it definitely paid off. Upon entering the lobby, I quickly sensed I was in for a memorable show experience. The hotel's sheer size and impressive facilities could rival a Las Vegas resort. In addition to the... Read More

Audio shows have personalities. For example, AXPONA has a business-like atmosphere. I typically feel rushed, like I am thirty minutes late for an appointment. When I go into a room to listen, I feel like I am on a timer. Don't get me wrong; it is a fantastic show that exposes many brands not seen at other shows, and I wouldn’t miss it, but "relaxed" is not the term I would use to describe the show's overall vibe.The Florida Audio Expo offers... Read More

Here's coverage of days 2 and 3 of the Florida International Audio Expo. This truly was an international Expo as you'll see. Products were on display from everywhere from Latvia to the U.K. to France, Canada, Finland, Austria, Czech Republic, Vietnam and Denmark.Product prices were equally wide-ranging. There was something for everyone at the show, though there was less analog and vinyl than hoped for.Loudspeakers were as usual an important part of the show... Read More