Features
Nordost Event at Audio Connection Australia
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- Written by Peter Katsoolis Peter Katsoolis
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 30 October 2019 30 October 2019
Who’s up for a bit of Hi-Fi dominance and submission? On 15 October, at Audio Connection in Sydney, attendees got to experience exactly that in the form of the latest Nordost QRT devices, the QPoint Resonance Synchronizer and QSource Linear Power Supply. First introduced at Munich earlier this year, the devices have already garnered a number of awards for their ability to “synchronize” the performance of individual system components. The indefatigable Björn Bengtsson of the Nordost design team was on hand, en-route to the Melbourne Hi-Fi Show 2019, to demonstrate the rather obvious improvements these products bring to even the highest calibre of audio systems.
StereoNET Hi-Fi Show Melbourne 2019 – Part 2
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 24 October 2019 24 October 2019
Chris Murphy from Hi-Fi Collective at the tune-spinning is usually synonymous with wisely-chosen music that avoids audio show clichés. In a lengthy audition (by audio show standards), Murphy spun a variety of music with a common theme: beautiful song writing. Lucinda Williams and Bruce ‘The Boss’ Springsteen among others were delightfully and quite captivatingly rendered via the new and very, umm…
StereoNET Hi-Fi Show Melbourne 2019 – Part 1
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 24 October 2019 24 October 2019
Contrasting last year’s marathon which had me landing from a Linn event in Bangkok, directly uber-ing from Tullamarine airport to the show and hard-clutching high-gear for reporting, my preparations for attending the newly-named StereoNET Hi-Fi Show were rather less feverishly frenzied. Arriving in Melbourne a few days early allowed some R&R, highlights of which were the excellent Melbourne Museum and the guided tour of Parliament House. Ditto for savouring the excellence of this wonderful city’s culinary delights climaxing with the discovery of the institution that is Pellegrini’s for the absolutely best coffee you’ll have outside of Rome’s finest. That morsel of recreational respite aside, Friday October 18 saw me arriving at the Pullman Mercure Hotel Albert Park ready to rock.
Rotel Resurrects Revered Michi High-End Brand
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 09 October 2019 09 October 2019
In the early 1990s Rotel, already a 20-plus year old company with a rich audio history, announced the release of an all-out attack on the high-end audio space. It launched the now-iconic Michi brand with a limited range of super high quality products featuring advanced circuit designs born from astute engineering and bearing a distinctive Japanese styling (the gorgeous redwood side panels enhanced the elegant lines) married to superb build quality. Now, 30-odd years on, we again see the emergence of the Michi brand with an aim to revive the glory of the nascent products of yesteryear.
Interview – DEQX’s Kim Ryrie & Alan Langford
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- Written by Barry Jones Barry Jones
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 22 September 2019 22 September 2019
Reviewer Barry Jones recently spent some time at DEQX’s Sydney headquarters where he met with Founder Kim Ryrie and General Manager Alan Langford to discuss the company’s rich history, its proprietary digital technologies and highly advanced processors. DEQX’s unique and refined products has seen the digital specialist grow into a powerful force in the digital signal manipulation field.
“The Best Seat in the House” – Music Night at Sturmans Audio Visual
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- Written by Peter Katsoolis Peter Katsoolis
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 17 September 2019 17 September 2019
Bricks and mortar Hi-Fi stores, and the personalised customer service and experience they bring, are increasingly under threat from direct from manufacturer sales, ‘net only marketers and lounge room ‘distributors’ who often have neither the resources nor the know-how to support either the customer or the product. The latter might be big on Facebook but when it comes to crucial issues like component selection, system matching, installation, and tuning, the value of an ongoing face to face relationship for the consumer (and for the manufacturer too) cannot be overestimated. This was ably demonstrated at an event held by Sturmans AV in Wollongong recently.
MrSpeakers Re-Launch Event in Sydney
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 21 August 2019 21 August 2019
As much as the headphone space in the low-to-mid price levels is somewhat oversaturated with products from around the world, the high-end echelons are a freer, more open space, where a few companies are able to stretch the boundaries of technology to create special products. MrSpeakers is one of the latter and from the company’s entry points, right up to the flagship electrostatic headphones, there is umm… loud and clear evidence of very clever engineering.
Naim & Focal ‘Reloaded’ in Australia
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 05 August 2019 05 August 2019
At a trendy corporate functions venue in hip downtown Melbourne, Naim and Focal reaffirmed their powerful presence in the local market via a new partnership with major Australian distributor BusiSoft AV.
Store Feature – Sydney Hi-Fi Castle Hill
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 22 July 2019 22 July 2019
From L to R: Michael Bigley, Owner Goran Sasic & Radiance AV’s Chris Strom
Recently, one of Sydney’s most prestigious audio retailers, Sydney Hi-Fi Castle Hill, underwent an extensive renovation which saw complete refits to the store’s numerous 2-channel and home cinema studios. There was a calling… an enticement too powerful to resist so, camera and audio recorder in hand, SoundStage! Australia marched off to Sydney’s Hills district to delight in the treasure trove of in-house audio joys and catch up with the store’s approachable owner Goran Sasic.
Audio Solutions Opens Doors to New Bowers & Wilkins Sound Studio
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 21 June 2019 21 June 2019
As one of the premier audio specialist stores in Sydney, Audio Solutions should be considered a de rigueur stop for the enthusiast on a journey to audio and music bliss. The store is home to some of the best Hi-Fi on the planet and owners Tony Stantzos and Nick Papas could not be better hosts and whether you’re a curious listener, in for a chat, or on the market with intent burning the proverbial hole, Audio Solutions’ doors are always open.
SoundStage! Australia’s High End Munich 2019 10 Favourite Exhibits
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 01 June 2019 01 June 2019
Once again this year saw High End Munich grow by percentage points indicating that high-end audio is indeed in a healthier state than some would have you think. Numbers across the board – exhibitors, trade visitors and overall attendance – increased by up to 8.6 percent which, when dealing with significant numbers to start with, translates to a substantial shot-in-the-arm for the industry at large. Also importantly, trade visitors came from all corners of the world – 72 countries in fact, according to a report sent to me by High End Munich organisers. And the spectrum of exhibitor offerings ranged across all the ‘disciplines’ of audio, as always. Once again, all those stats pointing to a firm indication of a healthy and resilient industry building further upon its oft-underestimated buoyancy.
Record Store Day 2019 at Len Wallis Audio
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- Written by Peter Katsoolis Peter Katsoolis
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 22 April 2019 22 April 2019
On 13 April 2019, Len Wallis Audio again hosted the holy trinity of Australian audio manufacturers, Döhmann Audio, Les Davis Audio, and Brigadier by Serhan+Swift to celebrate Record Store Day 2019. Record Store Day was originally conceived to celebrate local independent record stores and vinyl culture at a grass roots, community-based level. It has since grown to become an internationally observed, sometimes compulsive Valentine’s Day for records that, for some, is in conflict with RSD’s founding ethos.
