Audio Federation - high-end audio blog

May 22, 2021May 22, 2021 by Michael

Show News: RMAF and Capital Audiofest 2021 a go; Seattle and Munich cancelled

As of this moment in time:

We will be showing, with Audio Note U.K. and Peter Qvortrup, at RMAF: Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2021 in Denver, CO OCTOBER 8, 2021 – OCTOBER 10, 2021

We will be showing at Capital Audio Fest in Washington D.C. 2021 November 5th – 7th, 2021 — with Acapella Audio Arts, and Hermann Winters.

We will NOT be showing at T.H.E. Show, Los Angeles next month: June 11-13 in Long Beach. We think it is still too soon. About 1% of the typical audiophile-aged American population has died of COVID [let us never forget] and for a significant percentage of people, that still looms large enough to sway them from attending a hifi show with crowded [in the best(?) case], stuffy [the ventilation turned off because it is too noisy] hotel rooms. [and, practically speaking, the associated return on investment may be even less than the average, near-zero ROI of the typical show ;-/. Then again, this may be the same argument used by those exhibiting – the ROI is usually so close to zero, anyway, why worry about it? :-). [many of us go just because it is fun, we get to meet many friends, and to try and expose the general public and new audiophiles to much-better-than-average high-quality music reproduction].

Pacific Audio Fest [a late surge in COVID in Seattle at the last minute during planning and scheduling] and Munich HighEnd have both been cancelled for 2021 – but both are good to go next year, 2022.

We are so happy things are getting back to normal…!

April 7, 2021May 22, 2021 by Michael

Pacific Audio Fest – Seattle July 30 – August 1, 2021 (Cancelled)

Got our (first) jabs [10M+ people and hardly anyone died here (compared with most areas, percentage-wise) with one of the most serious lockdowns anywhere (a lot of smart people here in Silicon Valley) – but we think we are one of the last on the vaccine lists because… almost no one died here].

So, finally, we’re signed up for the new audio show set up by Lou Hinkley (Daedalus Audio) and Gary Gill (Capital Audiofest).

“The Pacific Audio Fest is the first major audio show promoted by exhibitors and music lovers for music Lovers and exhibitors!”

Neli and I met Lou back in the early days of RMAF in 2004, 2005. We’d be unloading, or loading, our audio-laden overloaded vehicles together at the Denver Marriott… or listening to each other party until the wee hours as he had the exhibit room right above ours [and we had the room right below his :-)]

And Gary Gill has been running CAF for a few years and has one of the most amazingly welcoming and friendly (to audiophiles and exhibitors, both) vibes for any show at any times.

Promises to be a great show. And we’ve never been to Seattle, so that will be fun too.

[No one seems to be able to make a decision whether the word[s] Audio Fest has a space in it or not. So we won’t either :-)].

January 1, 2021 by Michael

Happy New Year 2021

Can we have a less crazy year this time? And with fewer crazies? Pleaseeeee…?

We have all heard about cranking it up to 11… to drown out the world outside. But we are about to need a ’12’ … 🙂

Happy New Year everyone!

-Mike and Neli

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December 19, 2020 by Michael

Audio Note M9 RIAA Signature Phono Stage (photos)

We have a ton (100s) of Audio Note M9 RIAA Signature Phono Stage photos. Some made it into the awesome Fred Crowder review over on Dagogo: Audio Note M9 RIAA Signature phono stage Review.

A lot didn’t…

I am going to spread them out a little. Sometimes something awesome looking gets to be overwhelming when presented all at once. At least, that is how it is for me!

Too bad the edges got cutoff – but this is the best photo that shows the inside of the two boxes side-by-side with their labels still being visible

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November 30, 2020 by Michael

Audio Note U.K. Belt-driven CD transport

Audio Note U.K. Belt-driven CD transports are in the works and reports are of significant improvements over the previous level 6 transport [we have the level 5 CDT-five transport, which is amazing…].

Some photos have been posted and we thought they were worth sharing here – because they show the immense lengths and out-of-the-box thinking that goes on at Audio Note [maybe this is why they sound better than what we have heard anywhere else – and cost more too :-)]

The ‘wood’ is panzerholz (which is bulletproof. You know, just in case. But seriously measurements and listening tests show that panzerholz ranks among the very best regarding its acoustical damping characteristics -see Google for more audiophile scuttlebutt). Called Permali at Audio Note because the former name is apparently trademarked.

in Audio Note / Featured Audio Note Posts / News 2 comments

November 26, 2020December 22, 2020 by Michael

Audio Note S9 Phono Step-up Transformer: the photos

Audio Note S9 Phono Step-up Transformer with integral (brown) PALLAS interconnect.

Thanksgiving is traditionally a day for over-eating… and now… over-photographing [if that is possible :-)].

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

The S9 is Audio Note U.K.’s top-of-the-line step up – [it helps increase the output of those uber high-end phono cartridges enough to feed a standard full-function preamp or dedicated phono-stage].

Fred Crowder has reviewed this phono step up in comparison with more pedestrian brands on Dagogo at: Audio Note S9 Phono Step-up Transformer Review .

For my part, once I heard the S9, I would never willingly go back to anything else – not to say that the AN S4 on a small system isn’t entirely wonderful and, of course, much more appropriate – and we hear it regularly in this context.

Thinking about it now – my appetite for audiophile description of sonic differences is currently near-zero – now that I require my music to have powerful quasi-medicinal capabilities to relax and assuage a worried and angry mind.

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November 19, 2020 by Michael

CES 2021 complimentary registration Dec. 1- 11

The 100% digital (online) conference lives on. Although Neli tells me Ray Kimber (KimberKable) is setting up an exhibition this year – CES is certainly dead with respect to high-end audio in my opinion and what I want to get out of an audio show.

Munich – a real show for audiophiles – is scheduled for September next year as a show you-can-actually-attend – but Neli tells me there is talk that this may have to be put off again and delayed until 2022.

The Keynote speakers, below, for CES 2021 are sure – boring? I think that is too nice of a word… How about shockingly uninteresting?

I might sign up for grins – just to see what Ray’s booth looks like from my office… 🙂

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November 15, 2020 by Michael

New device puts music in your head

We’ve been trying to reproduce the original sound field using 2 (or more) speakers for a long time. Here is anther way… (link to AP news story) (link to RollingStone story)

LONDON (AP) — Imagine a world where you move around in your own personal sound bubble. You listen to your favorite tunes, play loud computer games, watch a movie or get navigation directions in your car — all without disturbing those around you.

That’s

the possibility presented by “sound beaming,” a new futuristic audio technology from Noveto Systems, an Israeli company. On Friday it will debut a desktop device that beams sound directly to a listener without the need for headphones.

But this is a little discouraging…

The listening sensation is straight out of a sci-fi movie. The 3-D sound is so close it feels like it’s inside your ears while also in front, above and behind them.

The ‘inside the head’ effect has always seemed to me to be quite ‘unreal’ and takes away from the enjoyment of headphones. The above technology, however, seems like it could put the holographic soundfield between the head and wherever we want the sound to be coming from – right?

I guess if there was wall of these transducers, we might conceivably be able to do something quite realistic…

From the Noveto Systems website [why do none of the major sites link to the source of the tech they are talking about? What a bunch of SEO cowards].

SoundBeaming works using ultrasonic waves and beamforming to place sound just outside the ears. The waves are generated using Noveto-developed proprietary DSP algorithms and pushed into the air via a custom-designed transducer array. From the inside it may look like a small speaker, but you won’t hear anything coming out.

The Israeli company ‘patented’ the tech, so we’ll see what happens with it, if anything [besides beaming ads directly into our head why we are out and about – scary thought. Hey, a dystopian world gives rise to dystopian thoughts].

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November 2, 2020 by Michael

Resistor Mag added to the Audiophile’s Guide

Rafe Arnott of Part-Time Audiophile fame, and Managing Editor in charge of AudioStream, and InnerFidelity fame, has started his own magazine: Resistor Mag.

Rafe is one of the powerhouses of energy in our business and hopefully has some of that energy left [ unlike the rest of us, 🙂 ] for his new endeavor.

Not that new, apparently started this April and launched July. It has been added to the, now venerable, Audiophile’s Guide to the Galaxy, the Magazines section.

On the about page:

“Resistor Mag favors cultural over commercial impact; handbuilt craftsmanship over effective branding. We will remain fairly indifferent about measurements and specifications, while placing a premium on the more enduring aspects of arts, culture and the musicality of playback from hi-fi.

We realize that design and architecture are about more than just aesthetics. We are more inclined to venerate the things we love than to disparage those we do not.

More specifically, think of Resistor Mag as the tape on a reel-to-reel for laying down the tracks of writers, photographers, artists, musicians and entrepreneurs who are resisting the temptation to be basic and will work towards a shared goal of being interesting, inspiring and humorous.”

Neli and I wish Rafe the best of luck.

Check it out if you get the chance…!

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