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There were so many product introductions at this past High End show in Munich that it was simply impossible to keep track of them all. But one of the more interesting premiers, and perhaps less publicized but no less important, took place in Hall 4.1, Room E109, Sponsored by Wod Audio, Today we’ll hear from... Read More »

Today I begin sharing my experiences during High End Munich 2025, beginning with a discussion with the CEO and Lead Engineer of Berlin’s world-class Audionet electronics.

Kalista’s flagship $65,000 DreamPlay X Optical Disc player/Streamer/DAC/Preamp and the similarly fashioned $64,000 Mantax DAC, represent both a no-holds-barred and an unparalleled level of versatility to the regeneration of digital music.

In this episode, I share the experience of my February trip to Orlando, Florida, to assist my friend and colleague, Maurice Jeffries, with the installation of the Kronos Sparta turntable into his reference system. Have a look…

Last week’s tour of the Valve Amplification Company, as presented by VAC’s Maestro Kevin Hayes, set the stage for today’s conversation with Kevin about the new VAC flagship amplifier, the Statement 455 iQ Musicbloc™.

After that conversation, I also share my experiences with the evolution of the entire VAC Statement series of amps, the 450iQ, the 452iQ, and this new masterpiece, the 455iQ. If that may be of interest to you, take a look at it here…

Today, I’m pleased to present something that I’ve been wanting to accomplish and have talked about doing for more than a decade…a visit and factory tour of one of America’s most iconic, highly regarded, and premier electronics manufacturers, the Valve Amplification Company, or VAC for short, in Sarasota, Florida.

Kevin Hayes and his father, Channing, founded the company in Sarasota, Florida, nearly thirty-five years ago in 1990. Kevin appeared on the channel previously, in Episode 54 in early August of 2021. With that episode, he took the time to share the remarkable VAC story. It is a truly amazing conversation, and I have linked it in today’s description for those who may have missed it originally

Last week I brought you eight wonderful-sounding rooms I encountered during the Sophomore Southwest Audio Fest, held at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas. Today, I’ll recap my choices for the top five performances turned in over that three-day event.

These systems include the Lalique Room, by Krystal Clear Audio-Video, the Batik Room, sponsored by Next Level HiFi, the Edelweiss Room, sponsored by High End by Oz, the Wyeth room, featuring the Reference Line of MBL electronics by MBL North America, and the Carpenter Ballroom, sponsored by the Valve Amplification Company, and Acora Acoustics.

It’s hard to believe that this was just the second Southwest Audio Fest… The attitudes, the spirit, the overall upbeat and enthusiastic tenor of this sophomore event were so positive, so fun, and so engaging, that I’m even more convinced than I was after the premier show that with proper marketing and sensible management, the Southwest Audio Fest has the potential to become a premier event on the annual show circuit.

That said, in this episode you get an idea of eight amazing performances I heard during my time at the remarkable venue that hosts this up-and-coming event, in Dallas, the Hilton Anatole. Are you ready? Here we go…

With previous episodes “216,” from March 2nd, and “218,” from last week, March 16th, I’ve shared some of my experiences with, and taken you on several room visits, at the 2025 Florida International Audio Fest. Today, we’ll dive into the highlights of my Top Five Rooms at the 2025 show. For clarity, all system pricing information is provided in today’s Description section.

First, we start with Room 451, sponsored by Ball Audio Distribution And System Solutions (or, BADASS for short!), and Margules Audio. Then on to Brandon 2, sponsored by Supreme Acoustic Systems, followed by a visit to Salon 1, sponsored by Next Level HiFi, then we move next door to Salon 3, sponsored by Clarisys Audio, and finally, a visit to the Palm Room, sponsored by the Valve Amplification Company, Acora Acoustics, and Scott Walker Audio. Ready, set, go!

This week finds us midway through the most hectic time of the year for me, spring show season. With Florida and Southwest behind us – and with plenty of coverage of the Southwest Audio Fest to follow here soon – but with AXPONA and High-End Munich still to come, I find myself almost overwhelmed by the sheer volume of my workload.

With the additional challenges of this season, combined with the enduring popularity and remarkably enthusiastic reception that my after-hours curated LP sessions continue to enjoy at shows, today I revisit a seemingly incongruent topic. Many audio hobbyists seem to believe that audiophiles are people who listen to gear, while music lovers aren’t as demanding and simply choose to revel in the music, regardless of the gear used, and that the two are somehow necessarily disparate objectives. Let’s dive in…

In episode 216, from March 2nd, I shared my overall impressions of the sixth Florida International Audio Expo, from the new venue, the Sheraton Tampa Brandon Hotel, to how I perceived the event, and highlighted my impressions of the importance of a very affordable, and overachieving, monitor, developed and presented by nepo baby Lucca Chesky.

All things considered, it was both an ambitious and very enjoyable event, with some exceptionally well-done presentations from many exhibitors and manufacturers. Today, I’ll share some of the more impressive accomplishments there. As always, all equipment pricing detail is presented in today’s Description section.

If you saw my coverage of last March’s inaugural Southwest Audio Fest, held at the beautiful Hilton Anatol in Dallas, you’ll recall that this freshman event earned near-universal acclaim from the members of the press. This new event was lauded as showing remarkable potential to become one of the premiere events on the American show circuit.

While I have been trying to go to this show for several years now, thwarted repeatedly by bad weather conditions canceling my flights and making it impractical to reschedule, or last year, with a scheduling conflict for a surgical procedure, I finally made it for the 2025 edition of this event.

Many of you will recall that I had the opportunity to be the first to listen to, and report on, the $280,000-a-pair Børresen M3 loudspeakers here at the channel, with Episodes “E140: First Listen: Børresen M3 Loudspeaker,” in September of 2023, and “E158: World Premiere-The Børresen M3 Loudspeaker,” from January of 2024.

If you’ve been following my “Second Space” series of episodes, which are explorations of considerably more affordable products than those that I more typically cover, like those that are integrated into my own Hyper-Audio reference system, you will know that I’ve recently spent some time covering the amazing work being done by Audience, of San Marcos, California.

Today will feature the last episode covering my four-day visit to GTT Audio in Long Valley, NJ, two weeks ago, and will focus on one of the most significant, engaging, and important analog products I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing, the KRONOS Discovery Phonostage.

In this week’s episode, Bill Parish and I discuss the introduction of the latest products to join the Audionet Scientist Series of electronics, the Mach linestage and the Schrödinger monoblock amplifiers. These products may represent the most important product introduction in Audionet’s nearly three-and-a-half-decade history.

Today Bill Parish and I discuss the relevant takeaways, and perhaps the deeper significance of what my latest extended stay at GTT and listen to the production release of the KRONOS Perpetual Turntable may have to offer.

Today we Have a look at what is coming over the first months, and on into the year 2025.