Julie Mullins

T.H.E. Show SoCal 2025

Zesto Audio with YG Acoustics, Stillpoints, and Cardas Audio

Julie Mullins Jun 20, 2025

At T.H.E Show SoCal, tubed equipment didn't seem as prevalent as I've seen at some other shows, but it still had a presence—a very strong presence—in Zesto Audio's demo room 227. The California-based amplification and electronics manufacturer is led by George Counnas, who has also worked as an audio engineer in addition to designing equipment tubed hi-fi equipment, and his wife, Carolyn, who is responsible for Zesto's signature industrial design.

Re-Tales

Re-Tales #55: A Solo Gryphon Showroom in L.A.

Julie Mullins Jun 18, 2025

Often in these pages (and in Industry Update), we have reported ways various brands have experimented with the traditional hi-firetail formula. An example: the single-company dealership, adopted most recently by the Vervent Audio Group, parent company to Focal and Naim.

The latest to set up a single-brand dealership is Gryphon Audio Designs, which is preparing to open a "mono-brand" showroom in Los Angeles. Gryphon's implementation, though, is a radical departure from previous experiments in one respect: It's in the Pacific Design Center (PDC), a large (1.6 million square feet) multiuse facility that caters to the design community, including professionals in interior design, architecture, and the arts, as well as design enthusiasts. The idea is to give Gryphon products more exposure to architects, designers, and design enthusiasts. The PDC is not accessible to the broader public. Assuming all goes well, the Gryphon store will be open by the time this issue hits newsstands.

T.H.E. Show SoCal 2025

Common Wave: DeVore Fidelity with an Accuphase Stack

Julie Mullins Jun 17, 2025

T.H.E. Show in Costa Mesa wasn't large, but there were a few debuts including several in the six rooms presented by Common Wave HiFi. In room 327, the Accuphase C‑57 phono stage ($13,975) was part of a demo setup that also included an Accuphase E‑3000 integrated amplifier ($8950), which was shown on static display at AXPONA but was in use here for the first time in the US. When I was in the room, the class-A Accuphase E‑700 stereo integrated amplifier was in use, driving a pair of DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93 speakers ($8950/pair, more for custom finishes available).

T.H.E. Show SoCal 2025

Brane Puts the Boom in Boombox

Julie Mullins Jun 16, 2025

Although most of the products shown at T.H.E. Show in Costa Mesa lean toward the higher end and specialty markets, some affordable products from next-gen designers were mixed in, too—Chesky Audio's LC1 bookshelf monitor, for one, which has been receiving plenty of buzz. Another noteworthy example of a different sort—an active speaker—is the all-in-one Brane Audio Brane X portable speaker ($499) with a built-in true subwoofer.

T.H.E. Show SoCal 2025

Ayon Audio and Lumen White

Julie Mullins Jun 14, 2025

T.H.E. Show has plenty of jazz in the demo rooms, including Dave Brubeck's "Take Five," which I heard via Roon in the demo featuring Ayon Audio and Lumen White demo in Emerald Bay 1, a large banquet room, presented by USA Tube Audio Labs.

T.H.E. Show SoCal 2025

Tiki Time: Desmond's Tiki Tube Amps

Julie Mullins Jun 12, 2025

T.H.E. Show is enjoyable for many reasons—friendly people, a good vibe, some great-sounding rooms, and new hi-fi gear. There are introductions of new products from known makers and from some showing unexpected things. An example of the latter: L.A.-based Desmond's Tiki Tube Amplifiers, shown on passive display in the Marketplace area. Proprietor Desmond Bowe said these are just intended as examples "to get a conversation started" with the customer.

T.H.E. Show SoCal 2025

Boenicke Audio, Nagra, Luphonic

Julie Mullins Jun 12, 2025

Alma Music & Audio's Room 266 featured the Boenicke W8 SE speakers ($18,254/pair), from Switzerland—the smallest of the W lineup's three towers. Speakers in the W series—W is for wood—have cabinets made of that substance, American Walnut in this case. Each W8 SE rested on a patent-pending "SwingBase" suspension, which allows the speaker to move more freely within the horizontal plane, the company says.

T.H.E. Show SoCal 2025

Lots of Luxman at Common Wave

Julie Mullins Jun 07, 2025

L.A.-based dealer Common Wave Hi-Fi is presenting in six rooms in Costa Mesa this year. The one I visited was showing a Luxman PD-151 Mark II turntable ($5995) with Luxman's LMC-5 cartridge alongside other Luxman components from the 100-year-old Japanese maker's limited Black Edition Centennial series.

T.H.E. Show SoCal 2025

T.H.E. Show Returns to Costa Mesa with Fresh Vision and Broader Appeal

Julie Mullins Jun 07, 2025

T.H.E. SoCal show, held once again at the Hilton Orange County in Costa Mesa, California, kicked off today (Friday, June 6). It will run through Sunday, June 8. It's the show's 3rd year at the venue.

Re-Tales

Re-Tales #54: Fidelity Imports Stays True to its Passions

Julie Mullins May 19, 2025

Photo by Mark Henninger

Steve Jain, cofounder and managing director of Fidelity Imports, has been busy since launching the company six years ago in the Philadelphia area. In recent months, Fidelity has added two brands to their roster; they now represent 16 high-performance audio companies. Maintaining his early passions helped fuel his drive to start a business and continue its expansion and innovationaspects Jain believes differentiate Fidelity Imports from the competition. "I constantly want to keep trying to innovate and keep us ahead," Jain told me in a recent conversation over Zoom.