Maestro Please, May I Hear Another?
I always seek out Wilson Audio's room at the HE shows. Is it because Wilson always gets great sound? It does—but, as the big dog on the block, they probably don't have to attend. The company supports the high-end community, not just by showing up, but by sending Peter McGrath and his fabulous recordings.
Mentoring at the Amplifier & Speaker Workshops
They were a hit at last year's Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, so I asked Bob Cordell (resting his dogs in the photo), Peter "PJay" Smith, and Darren Kuzma to give a repeat performance of their seminars on amplifier and loudspeaker performance at HE2007. These ran throughout the Show, and I kept being stopped in the corridor by audiophiles who would say something like "Now I know what tube amplifier clipping sounds like" or "Now I know what is meant by 'dynamic range.'" I was reminded by something I had been told years ago, perhaps by Jon Iverson: that the only difference between an audiophile and an ordinary person is that the audiophile had a mentor who showed them how to listen. Bob's, PJay's, and Darren's efforts will create many, many audiophiles.
Modesty Is a Virtue
Signals-SuperFi's Chris Sommovigo poses with the new Continuum Criterion turntable and Copperhead Tonearm ($51,500). Well, he is the importer, after all. However, he is also the designer and manufacturer of Stereovox cables, and he had new AC cables, speaker cables, and interconnects to tout— Dragon AC ($3500), Dragon speaker ($11,000/pair), and Dragon interconnect (tbd). Why didn't he pose with his stuff?
Modesty Is a Virtue
Signals-SuperFi's Chris Sommovigo poses with the new Continuum Criterion turntable and Copperhead Tonearm ($51,500). Well, he is the importer, after all. However, he is also the designer and manufacturer of Stereovox cables, and he had new AC cables, speaker cables, and interconnects to tout— Dragon AC ($3500), Dragon speaker ($11,000/pair), and Dragon interconnect (tbd). Why didn't he pose with his stuff?
Morgan "Go-Go" Jet Stuelke
The John Atkinson Trio had 'em dancing in the aisles. In fact, only mom Elizabeth Donovan's gentle persuasion kept Ms. Stuelke from dancing on the stage. I think we all wanted to join her.
Moscode Moves Up
George Kaye was showing not one, but two new products: the Moscode 402P!
Music Courtesy of John Marks
Stereophile columnist John Marks brought an encyclopedic knowledge of music and musicians to the magazine when he started his "Fifth Element" column in March 2001. At HE2007, he played some of his favorite recordings in as many rooms as he could, including his own recording of the Herbert Howells organ piece Larry Greenhill mentioned in another posting (Master Tallis's Lament, a personal favorite of mine) and an extraordinary choral recording, When David Heard, from the young composer Eric Whitacre. As you can see from this photo taken in the Egglestonworks, Rogue, and Echobusters room, Showgoers very much appreciated John's efforts.
Music Hall—Roy Hall—All Music
Music Hall's Roy Hall can usually be relied on to introduce some high-value components at each CES or HE show, and he didn't disappoint this time, either. The Music Hall Trio is a combination CD player, integrated amplifier (50Wpc), and AM/FM tuner (80 assignable presets, remote controllable). Not bad for $999—and, given Roy's track record, it's pretty certain to sound good, too.
New CD from Reference Recordings
A tradition at HE SHows is the "bazaar: in one of the hotel's ballrooms, where record companies and accessory manufacturers do a brisk business. Here, Marcia Martin of Reference Recordings shows off their latest release Serenade, a recording of the same vocal group, the Turtle Creek Chorale, as in their best-selling Rutter's Requiem CD.
Nice 'Stache
Jeff Wong (left) and Ken Kessler compare mustache waxes at the Classic Records event.