Jason Victor Serinus

LAAS 2017

Jason's Day 2 Marathon Begins

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 07, 2017

One of the several rooms from Audio Plus Services at LAAS was headlined by the Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista CD player ($9999) and Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 800 integrated amplifier ($11,999) driving Focal Sopra No.2 loudspeakers ($13,995/pair) via Crystal cabling. Solid Tech's Rack of Silence ($5795) and assorted IsoAcoustics Iso-Pucks completed a chain whose electronicseven the loudspeakerhad less than 24 hours of break-in. Hence, beyond saying that the timbres were beautiful, I shall refrain from critical comments that most likely would not apply had the system been show-ready.

LAAS 2017

Jason's Last Day 1 Rounds

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 06, 2017

At first-time show venues with hosts of unknowns, some exhibitors luck out, while others unwittingly end up with unmanageable spaces. Alas, to retailer Brian Berdan of Audio Element in Pasadena did fall the distinct dishonor of two larger 2nd floor rooms with the noisiest, constantly-on air conditioning I have ever encountered at an audio show. Perhaps to compensate for an environment destined to repel rather than attract, Brian tilted the Wilson Audio Yvette loudspeakers ($22,500/pair) upwards, so that people who didn't even bother to sit would get more of a sense of all they can do.

LAAS 2017

Jason's First Day in Los Angeles Gets Underway

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 05, 2017

Industry veterans EveAnna Manley (left) and Mary Cardas (right) were in a particularly ebullient mood when I encountered them in the second-floor hallway. "We just got mansplained," laughed EveAnna. "Whatever you do, man, don't mansplain us," she continued, as the two women recounted the tale of entering an exhibit incognitothey were judges for the "Alfies," the LAAS awardsand discovering some salesman talking down to them.

LAAS 2017

LAAS: Jason’s First Impressions

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 03, 2017

As the second wave of registrants stood in multiple lines in the lobby of the Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles on the morning of Friday, June 2, the Los Angeles Audio Show was already off to a promising start. And what a promise it was. The night before show's open, when I encountered the force behind LAAS, Bob Levi of the Los Angeles & Orange County Audio Society, in a hotel elevator, he told me that pre-registration had already topped 7500 people. That number, it seems, has set new records for attendance at an audio show in Southern California. It also undoubtedly sets a pre-registration record for any first-time high-end audio show in the US that welcomes the general public.

LAAS 2017

The LA Show Does Indeed Hit the Ground Running

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 03, 2017

At the opening ceremony (leftright): Chip Moore (Executive Vice President Programming, LAOCAS), David Robinson (PFO), John Atkinson, and Marine Presson (LAAS).

Attendees were already moving from exhibit to exhibit on the first five floors of the Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles Friday morning when the opening ribbon-cutting ceremony began to take form. To John Atkinson went the honor of the opening keynote. Keeping it short, John reflected on his many years as editor-in-chief at audio publications, starting with Hi-Fi News & Record Review in England in 1982. JA's move to take the helm of Stereophile took place in May, 1986, a little over 31 years ago.

LAAS 2017 News

The Los Angeles Audio Show Hits the Ground Running Friday

Jason Victor Serinus May 29, 2017

For a first-time audio show, the Los Angeles Audio Show's (LAAS) June 24 stint in the Sheraton Gateway Hotel, adjacent to LAX, could very well move the bar higher for consumer audio show expectations. With 116 active exhibit roomsparticipation was intentionally capped so that show manager Marine Presson could keep a handle on things during this initial run348 brands and manufacturers, and a >8000ft² HeadGear Planet with 35 booths in the "affordable section" and another five in the "Xtreme section," this looks like it is going to be one helluva show.

Jason Victor Serinus

Warner Classics' Star-Studded Piazzolla Tribute

Jason Victor Serinus May 28, 2017

Newcomers to the music of Argentinean tango composer Astor Piazzolla (19211992) will undoubtedly join the already converted in hailing the arrival of Warner's two-disc CD compilation, The Sound of Piazzolla. Filled with one fascinating performance after the other, many of which were transcribed for the particular forces at hand when they were recorded between 1996 and 2016, this set will seduce many who are not already under Piazzolla's spell.

Jason Victor Serinus

Rímur: Trio Mediaeval Makes the Ancient Modern

Jason Victor Serinus May 21, 2017

Twenty-four years after The Hilliard Ensemble and saxophonist Jan Garbarek recorded Officium, the first of their three haunting, century-crossing collaborations for ECM New Series, Trio Mediaeval has done something similar with trumpeter Arve Henriksen. On their latest ECM New Series album, Rímur, the vocal trio of Anna Maria Friman, Linn Andrea Fugiseth, and Berit Opheim teams up with Henriksen to produce timeless versions of chants, hymns, folk songs and improvisations based on Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish sources from earlier times.

As We See It

Balance

Jason Victor Serinus May 16, 2017

Balance is certainly a lovely concept, as well as a lofty ideal. But achieving an optimal sonic balance in a high-end audio systemwhose final sound is determined, in part, by interactions among any number of components and that great bugaboo, the listening roomwhile maintaining some semblance of psychic equilibrium can be the hardest goal of all.

Jason Victor Serinus

Hi-Rez Bach Trios from Ma, Thile, and Meyer

Jason Victor Serinus May 14, 2017

Given the pedigree of its three artistscellist Yo-Yo Ma, mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile, and bassist Edgar Meyerthis new recording of Bach Trios is destined to become a best-seller. That the hour-long recording is available in multiple formats, including as a Nonesuch CD, 24/96 hi-rez download, LP, and MQA stream via Tidal Masters, and is filled with glorious music graand MQA stream via Tidal Masters, and is filled with glorious music grants it potential appeal to all music lovers, including audiophiles eager to compare formats.