Audio Federation - high-end audio blog

June 7, 2024 by Michael

Munich High End Show 2024 – Fave Videos

This is an awesome 4 hour plus video of walking around the Munich High-end Audio Show 2024. This is very much like really walking around from room to room.

High quality video and extremely high-quality audio – better than the best record label and CD quality sound I have heard to date on YouTube.

Some of my faves were the Voxativ room, Thrax, and Aries Cerat. ZenSati was interesting in a kind of better-pipedreams kind of way. He didn’t get to Acapella (MOC) or Audio Note (Marriott). The 2nd and 3rd comments on this video link to the several hundred rooms visited.

A geekier 5 hour tour, showing the backs of many systems and speakers, but has lesser sound quality:

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October 8, 2023 by Michael

Audio Note room II at CAS 2023

This is a photo of the larger room, highlighting the Audio Note AN-E SPx LTD field coil loudspeakers.

Previous commitments prevented me from attending this show except to help Neli setup and teardown the room. But I did get to hear this room for an hour right before closing [after a nice 4-day warm up, things were sounding good. There is something super-efficient [albeit with a side of guilt] with swooping in to hear everything at its best at the end of a show, amiright? :-)].

The biggest surprise for me was that there was a enhanced sense of resolution that, for me, when it reaches a certain level, has always become addictive emotionally as well as intellectually: my mental defenses are somehow lowered I am more aggressively sucked into the music. With none of that diamond driver or slight etchiness (spell correct suggests itchiness, and maybe that is a better word? It is not usually in-your-face, but it is always there somewhere in the sound mix when listening to these particular drivers).

The main takeaway was the increased dynamics of the midrange (and maybe lower, the low-end of various tracks seemed to respond differently to the set up in that particular Frankenstein hotel room). If it was this dynamic with a Meishu Tonmeister, can’t wait to hear it with a even better, more dynamic, amp (and in a decent room). But that will have to wait until we rearrange things in the dining room in our latest digs (photos forthcoming).

September 21, 2023 by Michael

Audio Note at Dagogo California Audio Show 2023

Audio Note UK will have two rooms at the show in Emeryville in the S.F. Bay Area [between Oakland and Berkeley].

One staffed by Neli (Audio Federation) and one by Nick and Lee (True Sound).

The larger room will have the U.S. debut of Audio Note’s AN-E SPx LTD Field Coil speakers.

See ya all at Hilton Garden Inn Emeryville, CA 94608 September 22-24, 2023

in Audio Note / HRS 0 comments

August 16, 2022 by Michael

Other Pacific Audio Fest 2022 show reports

We thought we’d post links to other show reports which mention our rooms – to help drive traffic to them for those of us who still get our news and information from someplace else besides the facebook feed. [is that snarky? cynical? realistic? yes, I think realistic].

Jeff Day on Positive Feedback did a wonderfully warm, human and wide ranging Pacific Audio Fest 2022 show report [although I was overwhelmed with supporting Neli at this show – you have no idea how guilty I feel about being so lazy and slacking off posting such a minimal show report this show – only one or two photos of each room – until I read Jeff’s report. Still feel bad, but – in addition to learning a few things about how I can make better show repots in the future – through his report I get to feel like I can really see the show through someone else’s eyes].

Jeff Day had nice things to say about our Audio Note room and Vincent on Positive Feedback. Thanks Jeff!

Jeff Day had nice things to say on positive feedback about our Acapella room as well. Thanks again, Jeff!

Greg Weaver said nice things about our room on his Audio Analyst YouTube channel. Thank you, Greg! We appreciate it.

And I agree, that rendition of Brothers in Arms was special, in fact, for me, almost hallucinogenic, revealing unexpected artistry and majesty in the guitar-work and the way Mark Knopfler manipulated its tone in this old, old, old standard. And the Audio Note DAC5 Sig always has a tendency to expose the subtle embellishments expert musicians make with their instruments and voices – making the whole experience in general very very intimate. The way I think of it is like a consummate singer (and musician) sitting next to me late at night, nothing else going on around us, singing just to me about life, love and tragedy with all the awe and angst and excitement that a trained human voice can possibly convey. It can often be completely overwhelming emotionally.