
Prices listed in CA$. Be honest: When you saw the speakers in the above photo, did you immediately think, โTannoyโ? Me, too. Theyโre actually the Vintage 15 model ($49,950) made by Fyne Audio, and they looked gorgeous โ and massive โ when I saw them in person in retailer Gramophone Audioโs room. They also sounded…

Prices listed in CA$ except where otherwise noted. Some demos blow away my expectations with their sound, and the Charisma room fell into that category. Aside from the fact Charisma Audio wasnโt well known to me, their speakers being demoed looked diminutive, so I expected sound to come out of them in, shall we say,…

Prices listed in CA$. Throughout the years at audio shows, the Hearken Audio room has consistently offered me a peaceful interlude to everyday noise, but not just noise of the external kind, but the internal one that happens inside my head. Invariably, the Hearken room will be a wellspring of mellifluously-flowing, earthy, rich-toned sound that…

In the sultry heat of a Southern afternoon, amidst the intoxicating scents of cotton candy and the rural festivities of the Mississippi-Alabama Fair & Dairy Show, a rebellious rhythm began to play. It marked the homecoming of Tupeloโs most illustrious son, the King of Rock โnโ Roll, Elvis Presley. The year was 1956, a transformative…

Prices listed in CA$. Something most of us can relate to is how important speaker placement is. When I entered retailer Elite Audioโs room, it was immediately apparent the folks setting up this system knew how to position speakers in a difficult room. The speakers โ the chic-looking Triangle Magellan Cello 40th Anniversary Edition in…

Prices listed in US$. Iโm going to get this out of the way: Every time I visit a On a Higher Note exhibit room, I turn into a sap. I get wishy-washy. I canโt help it. Thereโs something about the systems that proprietor Philip OโHanlon is able to put together that allows those systems to…

In the musical crucible of New York City, on a day woven into the fabric of rock folklore, Bob Dylan, a lyrical architect of the times, entered Studio A of Columbia Recording Studios with a message reverberating with the echoes of change. October 24, 1963, marked the day โ a day where the crisp autumn…

Prices listed in CA$. Many exhibitors at this yearโs Toronto Audiofest were showcasing panel-style loudspeakers, including electronics manufacturer Atoll Electronique, who was presenting the North American launch of the companyโs SDA300 Signature Streaming, DAC Amplifier ($6,999, and hence the SDA in the model name), paired with a pair of Final Audio Model 7 Hybrid electrostatic…