By Juan C. Ayllon
CHICAGO, IL — His brow furrowed, he clapped his hands together, producing a harsh, ringing slap echo. “You need some room treatments,” Chris announced. An executive at Foster Electric USA (they make Fostex speakers and OEM drivers for major audio, car and theater applications) he knew. “You have some nice equipment,” my friend noted, glancing at the drivers in my vintage, mahogany Von Schweikert speakers, “but you’ve got to do something with this room.” Read More... By Juan C. Ayllon
CHICAGO -- “That definitely sounds better!” my wife effused after hearing a few bars of Steely Dan’s "Aja" with the newly installed Roon Labs’ music player. She had no idea how good it would get. Read More... By Juan C. Ayllon
CHICAGO -- My wife, Belle, and I had enjoyed listening to his Destination Audio Horn Loudspeakers so much at Audio Expo North America (AXPONA) that when I heard that Warsaw, Poland’s Sam Wisniewski (the principal at Destination Audio) was staying in town through May 21st to present his speakers to the Chicago Audio Society, I invited him to join us at our house for a listening session on my home system and dinner. He accepts, and a few days later, he arrives with some vacuum tubes, cables and his preamplifier, which he’s curious to hear on my system. Read More... By Juan C. Ayllon
ROSEMONT, IL, April 22, 2017 — Topping seven and a half feet tall, the shimmery black monoliths sport two sealed and self-powered 1,000 watt 15-inch subwoofers, four nine-inch ceramic mid-bass drivers, two seven-inch ceramic mid-rangers, two beryllium tweeters, and two five-inch aluminum ribbon super tweeters (one rear-firing). Each. They are two towering angelic beings standing amongst a series of pillar-like bass traps. Their voices -- luscious, full, pure, detailed and never sibilant -- caress and envelop the enchanted crowd below. Other-worldly and sublime — they are the very best in the show by informal consensus. At $295,000, the Ultra 11s are the “cost is no object” flagship of Von Schweikert Audio, one of 400 vendors showcasing their best to 6,723 attendees at Audio Expo North America (AXPONA) at the Westin O’Hare from April 21-23. Read More... By Juan C. Ayllon
CHICAGO – My friend, Ken, and his 33 year old son, Ricky, had just driven an hour to my house to witness my newly acquired LampizatOr DSD Komputer music server that I’d raved about in my home two-channel stereo system. “It’s a good thing my son has the Maps app on his iPhone,” Ken exclaimed. “It found a more direct route!” Read More... By Juan C. Ayllon
CHICAGO — I thought I had nailed digital playback in my hi-fi system, but then it began happening too often. Yet another dropped song. Warbling passages on others. An increasing awareness of unpleasant graininess and digital edge with some of my best recordings. My Toshiba C-55 Satellite laptop was now too slow to accommodate some high res songs and its memory was maxing out. And like that, my search for a new music server was on. “Why don’t you let me build you a new one?” my software developer friend offered. Read More... By Juan C. Ayllon
Editor's Note: This article first appeared in the Issue 7, May 23, 2016 edition of Copper; Journal of Music and Audio The high tenor vocals of Jim Ferguson, 65, conjure Chet Baker, but with richer harmonics and emo- tion. A singing bassist, the Nashville native has played with a diverse crowd, from Charlie Byrd to Al Jarreau and country/pop artist Crystal Gayle. When I posted on Facebook that I’d downloaded an al- bum of country superstar Brett Eldredge for my 23 year-old daughter, Ferguson quipped, “I’ve worked with Brett. The guy has pipes!” Turns out, so does Jim Ferguson. Read More... By Juan C. Ayllon
ROSEMONT, IL – With Chicago O’Hare International Airport nearby, the intermittent roar of passenger airplanes overhead underscore the fact that on the weekend of April 15-17, 2016, the Westin O’Hare is the destination of choice for some 5,934 attendees. A few actually run across River Road to its entrance. Such is the excitement as they eschew the sun and 70-degree weather in favor of 400 exhibitors’ indoor displays at Audio Expo North America (AXPONA) 2016. You’ll never mistake the exotic gear here for that sold at big box stores – nor its purveyors, for that matter. Most are engineers and/or entrepreneurs with their own boutique home audio businesses. Read More... By Juan C. Ayllon
ROSEMONT, IL, April 16, 2016 — It’s sunny, maybe 72 degrees F outside today, but despite the balmy weather, inside some 5,934 attendees are milling through displays hosted by 400 exhibitors at the Westin O’Hare this weekend. It’s the annual Audio Expo North America (AXPONA), after all. He’s affable and relatively slender, with short black hair pushed up, a stubbly grey beard, and a button down black shirt hanging out over his blue jeans. Unlike many vendors wearing ties or business casual here, Lukasz Fikus (51) remains one of home audio’s more galvanizing figures. Renowned for his vacuum tube based digital to analog converters (DACs), he takes a few minutes from his busy schedule to talk shop. Read More... |
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