News

. . . is here and Art Dudley feels that in the age of streaming, there is still life in the CD medium, as typified by Rega's new Apollo player. Art's enthusiastic review is joined by reviews of EgglestonWorks' 20th anniversary Viginti speaker; Bryston's BP17³ preamplifer; Rogers High Fidelity's single-ended 65V-1 amplifier; the NOS Formula xHD DAC from Italian company Aqua Acoustic; and comparisons between preamplifiers from Ayre and PS Audio.

The Los Angeles Audio Show (LAAS), scheduled for June 8–10 in Orange County, opposite the John Wayne International Airport at the former sites of T.H.E. Show, seems to have been cancelled. Although the LAAS website briefly contained a note that conversations were in progress about the possibility of the show being saved by the Los Angeles & Orange County Audio Society (LAOCAS), that note has now been removed.

A selection of gear from Gryphon Audio Designs, the Danish firm founded some 33 years ago by Flemming Rasmussen, will be introduced to listeners at a special event on Thursday, May 3, at The Sound Environment, 11021 Elm Street, Omaha, NE.

Friday April 13 and Saturday April 14, Canadian dealer The HiFi Attic is holding events at its Vernon location (Friday, 3–9pm, 3108 30th Avenue, Vernon, BC V1T 2C2), and Kelowna location (Saturday, 10am–5pm, 1292 Ellis Street, Kelowna, BC V1Y 1Z4). Featured will be Bowers and Wilkins 700 series speakers, AudioQuest, and BlueSound/MQA.

Spring may be a little late arriving this year, to judge from the weather in New York, but the May issue is on its way to subscribers, newsstands, and tablets. Featuring Bowers & Wilkins' impressive 702 S2 speaker on the cover, which is reviewed inside by Kal Rubinson, this issue features reviews of amplifiers from Luxman, Mark Levinson, NAD, and Parasound; phono cartridges from Soundsmith and Audio-Technica; an intriguing NOS DAC from HoloAudio; Art Dudley on a DeVore Fidelity speaker; and, believe it or not, a smartphone that offers both hi-rez and MQA playback.

Things change. Montreal's annual hi-fi show used to be called Salon Son et Image, but now it's called Salon Audio Montreal—or, for non-Quebecois, the Montreal Audio Fest. It takes place in a Hotel that used to be called the Hilton Bonaventure, but is now called the Bonaventure Hotel. It's a consumer-oriented show that used to charge admission, but is now open to the public, free of charge. You can bring the whole family for all three days of the show and still have money left over for smoked-meat sandwiches and poutine: think of it!

The Montreal Audio Fest runs from 11am to 8pm today, from 10am till 6pm on Saturday, and 10am to 4pm on Sunday.

AVTech Media Ltd (UK) has purchased the Home Tech Network from TEN: The Enthusiast Network, it was announced today. The Home Tech Network's six brands including Stereophile, Sound & Vision, Shutterbug, AnalogPlanet, Audiostream, and Innerfidelity will join with AVTech Media's Hi-Fi News, Hi-Fi Choice, Home Cinema Choice and the Hi-Fi Show Live. The new company creates a global powerhouse delivering the largest single specialized AV group on the planet, reaching more than three million enthusiasts/CE consumers through print, digital, social, video and events.