1 Minute Audiophile Escape: Music Matters 12
Last week, at Seattle dealer Definitive Audio's 12th Music Matters, there were six different systems being demonstrated. With the inevitable craziness of such a well-attended event, I wasn't able to get enough footage for each room to have its own standalone minute. I therefore compiled shots from each room to give you a visual overview.
1 Minute Audiophile Escape: Vivid, Luxman, Koetsu, Stealth
The path of an audiophile is one of arduous sonic pursuit. Such a worthy cause is often accompanied by an unquenchable aesthetic thirst.
With this video we introduce the "1 Minute Audiophile Escape": the first of many in our series of experiential segments purely dedicated to audiophile eye candy.
A Binaural Video Report: the Sound of PS Audio’s IRS Vs
In the first two parts of our video coverage of Jana Dagdagan's and my visit to PS Audio in Boulder, Colorado, we toured the factory and I interviewed the company's founder Paul McGowan. In this final video, I listen to three of my own recordings played on the legendary IRS V loudspeaker system, driven by PS Audio's BHK 300 monoblocks. I recorded the sound with Sennheiser's "Ambeo" binaural system, which mounts microphones on the outer surfaces of a pair of earbuds, and if you listen along on headphones, you will hear what I heard!
A Conversation with Philly Audio Retailer Doug White
This past weekend, John Atkinson, Herb Reichert, and I drove down to Philadelphia to visit audio retailer Doug White of The Voice That Is. In this video, Doug and JA discuss the challenges of a rapidly changing internet based market, the differences between buying online versus buying from your local dealer, and much more.
A First Look at Marantz's Reference 10 Series at D+M's Euro HQ
Last week, Paul Messenger and I represented Stereophile at a Marantz press conference announcing the New Reference Series: the SA-10 SACD player/DAC and the PM-10 amplifier. The conference was held at D+M's European Headquarters located in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Josh Bizar of Music Direct, Andy Quint of The Absolute Sound, and I were the only Americans present at this session. (And naturally, the most severely jetlagged.) We were joined by nearly two-dozen international audio journalists from a handful of countries.
A Lady Audiophile Walks Into a Bar
Photo: Dan Havlik
A lady walks into an audiophile bar. She sees four men. They all turn to look at her.
All the first audiophile sees is some lady in a bar. He thinks nothing more. Can't be bothered. Let's face ithow often do you even see a lady audiophile?A Tour of Steve Guttenberg's System
In this video, Steve Guttenberg, "The Audiophiliac" and a regular contributor to Stereophile's "As We See It" column, gives us a tour of his system in Brooklyn, NY.
A Video Tour of AudioQuest
Before the Los Angeles Audio Show, I spent a few days in southern California, and was able to schedule a visit to AudioQuest's massive facility in Irvine. In this video, Bryan Long (VP Operations), accompanied by Joe Harley's dog Pumpkin, gives a condensed version of his usual tour, which is normally well over an hour.
A Video VPI Tour with Mat Weisfeld
Last week, I embarked on a nearly three-hour public transportation trek from Queens to Cliffwood, NJ to take a tour of turntable and tonearm manufacturer VPI Industries, with Mat Weisfeld as my host. During the tour, I got to meet every member of the VPI family, learn about each step of the process, and get a firsthand look at a couple of unreleased products!
A Visit to Focal in France
There is a particular art that many Americans have mastered, involving the collective lamentation of the unwelcoming nature of the French towards American touristswhether this has been experienced firsthand or not is irrelevantcoupled with inexplicable, unwavering desire for all that the French stand for. The art, the wine, the cheese, the architecture, the haute coutureit is all of these, yes, but it is (I believe) the all-encompassing French vibe that we are drawn to.
It was all this that summoned me to France for a personal getaway last November, during which I snuck in a brief day trip to the factory of renowned audio giant Focal. Located in Saint-Étienne, a city in east-central France, Focal's headquartersor self-described "undercover facility, production site"is no more than a couple hours from Paris by train.