SoundStageAustralia.com

Details: Written by News Editor News Editor; Category: News News; Published: 01 April 2020 01 April 2020

World Exclusive: Dutch Master's Personal Collection Flagship Cartridge Debuts in Melbourne

Dutch company Van den Hul, known for decades as maker of superb cables and cartridges employing exotic materials and technologies, has shipped the sole sample of its new flagship cartridge to Australia for a global debut.

Details: Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer; Category: Reviews Reviews; Published: 01 April 2020 01 April 2020

Gryphon Audio Designs Ethos CD Player/DAC

How can an audio component, which is effectively a device with a specific function, stray as far away as possible, design-wise, from the ubiquitous plain rectangular box and still fulfil its purpose? What’s more, as an industrial designer, how to free yourself, how to deviate from constraints enforced by the rigours of architecture, functionality, usability, performance? Irrefutably, Gryphon Audio Design’s new Ethos CD player is proof-of-concept. It eschews design convention, seemingly tossing away the rule book…

Details: Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer; Category: Ed Comment Ed Comment; Published: 01 April 2020 01 April 2020

Racks Not Ruin – SGR Audio’s Revamped Hi-Fi Rack & Manufacturing in Australia

For three years now, the extraordinary audio support systems from Australia’s own SGR Audio have been my reference racks-du-jour for component isolation and general vibration control at the highest level. My two three-tier Model V Statement racks not only perform as advertised – the Model V Statement features no less than six combined isolation strategies – but are also superbly built, beautifully finished and rather attractively designed.

Details: Written by News Editor News Editor; Category: News News; Published: 27 March 2020 27 March 2020

Retailers Awarded for Excellence

Recently, major Australian high-end audio and headphones distributor BusiSoft AV presented a number of awards to outstanding retailers around the country.

Details: Written by News Editor News Editor; Category: News News; Published: 23 March 2020 23 March 2020

Line Magnetic New Partnership In Australia

Valve amplification specialist Line Magnetic’s attractive retro-styled electronics are now available in Australia via new distribution partner Line Magnetic Australia.

Details: Written by News Editor News Editor; Category: News News; Published: 20 March 2020 20 March 2020

Thorens TD 1600 Turntable for Imminent Australian Arrival

Following the acquisition of the Thorens distribution rights in Australia by BusiSoft AV late last year, the company has announced the imminent arrival of the new TD 1600 turntable.

Details: Written by News Editor News Editor; Category: News News; Published: 16 March 2020 16 March 2020

High-End Audio Distributor Nirvana Sound Opens its Doors

New distributor and retailer, Melbourne’s Nirvana Sound, hits the Australian high-end audio scene with a powerful statement of enlightenment.

Details: Written by News Editor News Editor; Category: News News; Published: 15 March 2020 15 March 2020

Arteluthe Available in Australia

ZenSati Australia has announced the local availability of Canadian high-end specialist Arteluthe’s new Stiletto loudspeakers.

Details: Written by Tom Waters Tom Waters; Category: Reviews Reviews; Published: 15 March 2020 15 March 2020

432EVO High-End Music Server

432EVO is an imaginative and inventive audiophile music server brand founded in Belgium in 2013 by parent company Klinkt Beter. It was considered that music servers of the era were inadequate – Klinkt Beter wanted to do… better. 432EVO products are designed by Frederic Vanden Poel who was intrigued by 432 Hz tuning, so he decided to create a better music server with that tuning in mind. Frederic has been researching, designing and improving 432EVO’s range of dedicated music servers since 2015. 432EVO claims that 90% of listeners prefer music playing in the 432 Hz tuning over the tuning all other music servers use (much more on this later). Listeners felt it gave a more relaxed and natural presentation.

Details: Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer; Category: Reviews Reviews; Published: 15 March 2020 15 March 2020

Vermouth Audio Reference Cables

Since its ‘Big Bang’ in the 1970s the vast universe of cable manufacturers has been in constant expansion. How does a nascent ‘Alpha’ star differentiate itself from the countless supernovas permeating the audiophile cable galaxies? Well, Vermouth Audio’s budding brightness combines high materials quality, exemplary build, intelligent design and an ambition to create a neutral and simultaneously engaging sonic presentation.

Details: Written by News Editor News Editor; Category: News News; Published: 04 March 2020 04 March 2020

Michell Engineering Announces New Cartridges

With the release of the new Cusis line of Moving Coil cartridges, analogue specialist Michell Engineering now covers all the high-end turntable bases.

Details: Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer; Category: Reviews Reviews; Published: 01 March 2020 01 March 2020

Audio Research Reference 160S Stereo Power Amplifier

While a number of American audio brands reached iconic status in what some have described as high-end audio’s ‘Golden Age’ from the late 1970s through to the early 1990s, many others have either disappeared altogether or have lost much of their former gravitas. The world moves on… potent and innovative new players have joined the fray. Having said that, Audio Research (like its sibling McIntosh Laboratory) remains a powerhouse in high-end audio. In fact, 2020 marks Audio Research’s 50^th Anniversary. Yes, it’s half a century since founder William Z. Johnson formed the Audio Research Corporation. Today, a skilled team of engineers and designers continues to boldly propel the company onwards, producing superb electronics while mindfully respecting the iconic American brand’s heritage and stature. In the Reference series, Audio Research presents its most powerful design statements. Here, we look at the just-released Reference 160S stereo power amplifier.