Features
Factory Tour – Göbel High End
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- Written by Jean-Marie Liere Jean-Marie Liere
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 22 June 2023 22 June 2023
On the occasion of their 20 years in business, and to inaugurate their brand new factory in a new industrial estate about 40 minutes outside Munich, Oliver Göbel invited members of the press, some of his best dealers and their clients to visit his new premises. And I was invited along on behalf of SoundStage! Australia by my good friend and Chief Editor Edgar Kramer.
Factory Tour – Gryphon Audio Designs
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 15 June 2023 15 June 2023
One of the many exciting things about High End Munich is its location. Yes, Munich is a vibing city, but there’s a double whammy there. For me, it’s also a handy gateway to the rest of Europe. Man, the mere thought of traveling, in little more than an hour, between countries which are remarkably different culturally, architecturally, gastronomically and societally is so, so foreign to Aussies. We’re flying six hours and either still over Perth or above the ocean in the middle of nowhere. What? Yeah. So, post-show, it’s become a regular escapade to jump on a trip or two to Europa-at-large. Sometimes, I’m just a wonder-eyed tourist. Other times, I’ll visit an audio manufacturer… and am equally wonder-eyed. In those instances, I don’t just rock-up, the journey is usually a pre-arranged affair months in advance. A company knows I’ll be in Munich and extends a welcoming hand. This year, I synched-up with eagle keeper and lion master Rune Skov, who extended his lean-machine inked arms to a 10-dude Aussie junket. We’re to experience the machinations in the Gryphon Audio Designs’ lair. Or should I say the lion’s den… or eagle’s nest… you know, wherever the Gryphon creatures live.
SoundStage! Australia’s 10 Favourite Exhibits at High End Munich 2023
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 04 June 2023 04 June 2023
High End Munich 2023 was, once again, a resounding success. In fact, beyond expectations. As always, the sheer mass of exhibits makes it difficult to showcase all that’s happening at this global flagship audio event. Kudos to SoundStage! founder Doug Schneider and Senior Reviewer Jason Thorpe for their outstanding coverage. Herr Schneider tackled new products launched at HEM, providing finger-on-the-pulse updates made ‘live’ on the SoundStage! Global website within the show’s commencing few hours (see it here). Herr Thorpe tackled interest pieces and a variety of exotica while yours truly would compile my usual ‘10 Favourite Exhibits’ and noteworthy selections post-event. On the show’s last day, on Sunday afternoon, I travelled to Denmark at Gryphon Audio’s invitation while Jason skipped across to Italy to say g’day to Unison Research, Audia Flight and Gold Note. I’m back in ‘the Mountains’ now to bring you my picks of High End Munich 2023.
Finding Nirvana – Melbourne’s Newest High-End Audio Store
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 08 May 2023 08 May 2023
Did you know that a place of enlightenment is but a short drive away? Believe. Yes, ‘Bodh Gaya’ can be found in the heart of Melbourne. I’m talking about Nirvana Sound, where visitors will be elevated and inspired by the veritable treasures of high-end exotica. On my recent visit, I chatted to the good people at Nirvana Sound who, with their discerning taste, are responsible for bringing to market some of the world’s most luxuriously exciting audio products.
Australian Hi-Fi Show 2023 – Part 2
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 03 May 2023 03 May 2023
In Part 2, I continued the journey of discovery as I progressed along the long dual carriage corridor, going room-to-room, on level 9 of the Novotel Central Hotel Sydney.
Australian Hi-Fi Show 2023 – Part 1
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 02 May 2023 02 May 2023
In an audio enthusiast-invigorating return to Sydney, the Australian Hi-Fi Show staged its much-awaited comeback at the Novotel Central Hotel to eager crowds while presenting a medley of hi-fi from entry level to the high-end.
RIO Sound & Vision VIP Pre-Launch Tour and Gala Opening
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 11 April 2023 11 April 2023
They had a dream. Dynamic duo Paul and Denise Riachi, founders of RIO Sound & Vision, envisioned a unique audio and visual retail space on a scale unlike anything this country, and likely the world, had ever seen. A grand environment where the Melbourne couple’s love of music and film could be showcased in an expression of excellence with unrivalled magnitude. SoundStage! Australia was invited to a VIP preview tour and, later that night, the gala opening where celebrities, media and key industry personnel were treated to a unique achievement in the audio/visual retail sector. (The Riachi’s are seen above with Aussie Boxing Champion Michael Zerafa and iconic movie characters).
The Tivoli Hi-Fi Experience
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 01 March 2023 01 March 2023
Not the beautiful gardens in Paris of old, nor a picture-perfect township just south of Rome. No, Tivoli Hi-Fi is more like the famous Copenhagen fun park, a joyful namesake and audio Mecca not just for Melbournians but for audiophiles and music lovers from all around Australia.
Factory Tour – Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 15 January 2023 15 January 2023
Who would have thought cacti could be considered beautiful? The prickly mono-tone plants are hardly… aesthetically pleasing. But to my eyes, there’s an alien-like beauty in the impenetrably thorny forms. They’re… peculiar. Yet, despite their pin-pointed armour, the poetic paradox is that they offer lifesaving, fluid-filled fleshy stems. They’re everywhere across the North American west. Legions of them, reflecting across the windscreen on the drive to Pheonix, across Arizona’s parched landscape. I’m on a… relentless (yes, fully intended) mission to once again meet-up with the man himself. Dan The Man. At the Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems facility in Cave Creek out beyond the sparse Phoenix outskirts.
Wilson Audio Factory Tour & WAMM Master Chronosonic Audition
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 01 January 2023 01 January 2023
There’s a distinct feeling, a saturating melancholy as we drive the open road through the American West. It’s the vistas of barren desert and red-earthed canyons. The romantic depictions in Hollywood-SuperScope and panoramic art inspired by the folklore of pioneering wagon train settlers, fortune-seeking adventurers and fierce pony-riding warriors. It’s with that mood-blanket that I launch into the road trip – to Salt Lake City and on to Provo – across cracked desert hard-bordering snow-crowned mountains. In Provo, at the foot of the soaring Rockies, we arrive at Mountain Vista Lane, Wilson Audio HQ.
SoundStage! Talks Australia Video: How Dan D'Agostino Maintains Momentum - SoundStage! Talks Australia
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- Written by News Editor News Editor
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 19 December 2022 19 December 2022
SoundStage! Australia Editor in Chief Edgar Kramer visits Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems’ Phoenix facility to have a chat with the man himself, Dan D’Agostino, to discuss the company’s products and future direction.
Audio-Technica Shows New Flagship Cartridge & Turntable at Audio Connection
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 15 December 2022 15 December 2022
Audio-Technica celebrates its 60th Anniversary since the company’s inception by founder Hideo Matsushita, with the release of a flagship cartridge and a limited edition commemorative turntable.
