Jana Dagdagan

AXPONA 2018

Jason's Binaural Video at AXPONA

Jana Dagdagan Apr 27, 2018

Constellation’s Irv Gross (right) welcomes Jason to the Precision Audio room.

On Saturday April 14, I followed Jason Victor Serinus around AXPONA with my video camera while he played recordings from MA and John Atkinson.

AXPONA 2018

Herb's Binaural Video at AXPONA

Jana Dagdagan Apr 23, 2018

After visiting the Expo Hall with Herb Reichert, we move on to the Schaumburg Renaissance Hotel's upper levels to visit a few rooms, capturing binaural sound so, on headphones, you can hear what Herb heard.

AXPONA 2018

Herb Visits the AXPONA Expo Hall

Jana Dagdagan Apr 20, 2018

In the first of the videos we shot at AXPONA 2018, Herb Reichert takes you along with him in a brief exploration of the Expo Hall, featuring Gayle Sanders' Lamborghini, Todd Garfinkle of MA Recordings, a crowd of headphone wearers, and a mysterious abundance of lab coats.

Jana Dagdagan

A Visit to Focal in France

Jana Dagdagan Apr 02, 2018

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.

Interviews Jana Dagdagan

KEF's Jack Oclee-Brown on Making Affordable Speakers

Jana Dagdagan Feb 09, 2018

Back in the early summer of 2017, Jack Oclee-Brown, KEF's Head of Acoustics, visited John Atkinson to set up the KEF Reference 5 loudspeakers in his listening room. JA's review of the Ref 5 was published in October 2017, and during Jack's visit JA talked to him about the design of that speaker. But they also discussed KEF's affordable "Q" line of speakers and the challenges a manufacturer faces in bringing an inexpensive loudspeaker to market, the subject of this interview.

Interviews Jana Dagdagan

Vandersteen's Richard Vandersteen Talks Loudspeakers

Jana Dagdagan Jan 26, 2018

"Richard Vandersteen doesn't look like a typical loudspeaker designer," wrote Ken Kessler when he interviewed Vandersteen in the July 1988 issue of Stereophile. JA talked speakers with Richard Vandersteen at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, held January 9-12 in Las Vegas, NV.

CES 2018 Jana Dagdagan

A Final Binaural Video Report from CES: DeVore, dCS, D'Agostino

Jana Dagdagan Jan 22, 2018

As I wrote in our first video report from the 2018 CES, held January 9-12 in Las Vegas, NV, for our video coverage we purchased Sennheiser's "Ambeo" binaural system, which mounts microphones on the outer surfaces of a pair of earbuds. In this report, John Atkinson listens to some of his recordings in the DeVore Fidelity and dCS/D'Agostino rooms and offers his thoughts on what he had just heard. He also talks to exhibitors about their thoughts on the show and offers some final comments before heading to a bar for a well-earned beer. But first, John Quick of dCS and Rob Darling of Roon Labs find themselves in a bar featuring a mechanical bull. Will they try to ride it?

CES 2018 Jana Dagdagan

CES: The First of 2 Binaural Video Reports

Jana Dagdagan Jan 19, 2018

For our video coverage of the 2018 Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas, we purchased Sennheiser's "Ambeo" binaural system, which mounts microphones on the outer surfaces of a pair of earbuds, thus allowing the ears' pinnae to influence each mike's pick-up pattern. The Ambeo connects to an iPhone. In this report, John Atkinson visits the Lamm, Vandersteen, and VTL rooms, talks to exhibitors about their systems and their thoughts on the show, listens to some of his recordings, as well as some chosen by the exhibitors, and offers his thoughts on what he had just heard. But first, Michael Fremer shows off his Karaoke skills!

Interviews Jana Dagdagan

NoHo Sound Intends to Revolutionize High-End Audio Retailing

Jana Dagdagan Dec 27, 2017

LR: NoHo Sound's Chris Petranis, Alex Roy, taxidermy bear, & Ron Kain

In an industry constantly perplexed by the absence of youth, diversity, and appreciation for the hobby, three audiophiles set out to revolutionize the industry with the opening of a new hi-fi shop in New York City that is anything but ordinary. NoHo Sound & Stereo (NoHo Sound for short) is located in a swanky loft in the lower Manhattan district NoHoopen seven days a week, by appointment only, with a second location in Chelsea. In addition to selling hi-fi, they host weeklyyes, weeklylive music events of all genres, where startups like Groupmuse and Sofar Sounds use their space for performances, with 100% of proceeds going to the musicians. They also host events in collaboration with the nearby World of McIntosh Townhouse.

Interviews Jana Dagdagan

GoldenEar's Sandy Gross Talks Loudspeakers

Jana Dagdagan Dec 04, 2017

The January 2018 issue of Stereophile, which will hit newsstands at the end of this week, features GoldenEar Technology's flagship Triton Reference loudspeaker on its cover, with a review inside from John Atkinson. When GoldenEar's co-founder and president Sandy Gross visited JA last July to set the speakers up in his Brooklyn listening room, John asked Sandy about his loudspeaker design goals, his preferences in sound quality, his tastes in audio, and the state of the high-end audio market.