The Latest
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Features Features
- Published: 13 August 2023 13 August 2023
Photo Feature – Hong Kong High-End Audio Visual Show 2023
In what seems like a stronger-than-ever comeback, the extremely popular Hong Kong High-End Audio Visual Show is back again for 2023. While this writer did not attend this year, SoundStage! Australia was fortunate enough to have had reviewer Peter Katsoolis’ bovver boots firmly planted on the flamboyantly carpeted ground of the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. He’s heroically submitted a pictorial summation of the weekend’s huge high-end audio fest.
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- Written by Barry James Johnston Barry James Johnston
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 August 2023 01 August 2023
Yamaha NS-2000A Loudspeakers
Yamaha needs no introduction, founded as Nippon Gakki Co. Ltd. in 1887, as a reed organ manufacturer, the company is a Japanese powerhouse of innovation across multiple industries. From motorcycles to outboard motors, pianos, to electronic keyboards, guitars, semiconductors, drum kits, Hi-Fi equipment, and mixing consoles, Yamaha is perhaps the only company that provides technologies and products at every step of the musical creative process. From the instruments that music is composed and performed on, to the mixers, effects units and monitors that it is recorded, mixed and mastered on, to the turntables, cassette decks, CD players, amplifiers and speakers, that inspire us at home, which complete and re-establish the creative cycle. Yamaha has an insight into the entire process, in a holistic manner unlike perhaps any other manufacturer. The NS-2000A, under scrutiny here, reaffirms the company’s creative power.
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- Written by Barry Jones Barry Jones
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 August 2023 01 August 2023
EGM Audio Emerald AC Power Cable
I have to confess that I’ve never been tempted to invest heavily in AC power cables. I do own some Merlin Tarantula Mk6 power cables which I bought several years ago (without audition) for a modest investment and found it to be difficult to quantify much of an improvement above the standard supplied cables. I’ve swapped them in and out of production over the years tending to favour whatever cable was (gasp) most easily manoeuvrable behind my cabinet! While there seems to be more debate on the effectiveness of AC cables than signal cables, I’ve always been intrigued and wondered what a serious quality type of AC power cable could make. Enter the EGM Emerald…
Monitor Audio Anthra Subwoofers Arriving in Late September
Announced by Monitor Audio very recently in the UK, the new Anthra subwoofer line is slated for arrival to Australian shores in September 2023.
Linn Debuts Flagship 360 Loudspeakers in Sydney
Linn’s forceful statement in modern top-tier loudspeaker design, exhibiting state-of-the-art technologies and advanced driver engineering, is manifested in the new 360 line of high-technology loudspeakers.
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- Written by Barry James Johnston Barry James Johnston
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 15 July 2023 15 July 2023
Metronome Technologie Le Player 4+ CD Player/DAC
On the 6th of January 1987, Astronomers at the University of California witnessed the birth of a Galaxy for the first time, and later that month, Ronald Reagan signed a secret order permitting covert sales of arms to Iran. Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Bill Haley and B.B.King were in the company of greats being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and it was a year that saw 80s rock reach new heights, with the likes of Whitesnake’s 1987. Movies like Full Metal Jacket, and Robin Williams’ iconic performance in Good Morning Vietnam, made their mark on pop culture history, and a small audio company, Metronome Technologie, was birthed in the beautiful French town of Toulouse.
Goldmund Announces Tethys Passive Loudspeakers
In an addition to Goldmund’s extensive wireless/active speaker models, the Swiss company has unveiled the passive 3-way Tethys loudspeakers.
Marantz Celebrates 70th Anniversary
Yes, it’s 70 years since Saul Marantz founded his eponymous company back in 1953. There’s no doubt as to the exceptional contribution the man and the company have made to the entire audio industry.
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- Written by Edgar Kramer Edgar Kramer
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 July 2023 01 July 2023
Soulnote S-3 Reference SACD Player & X-3 Clock Generator
Hey, they say there’s something about a name. When an audio company chooses ‘Soulnote’ for its branding, it’s making a powerful statement right from the outset. Soul… Note… Conjuring expectations, right? The company name hints at products aiming for the ethereal core of music, connecting art, the artist and along the creative chain to the music lover. Will the Soulnote S-3 Reference SACD Player and X-3 Clock Generator under review here fuse the spirit of music with the fundamentals of sonic performance?
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- Written by Tom Waters Tom Waters
- Category: Reviews Reviews
- Published: 01 July 2023 01 July 2023
Lumin U2 Streaming Transport
Lumin is an offshoot of Pixel Magic Systems Ltd of Hong Kong, a privately-held electronics equipment manufacturer founded in 2003 to create home theatre and home audio products. Lumin was created in 2013 to design and manufacture network players, network transports, network amplifiers and network music servers. It has been quite prolific and has launched many products that, without fail, have been accepted very quickly by audio enthusiasts around the world. People talk of Lumin whenever they talk of high-end music servers/players. The product in focus this time is the brand new Lumin U2 Network Transport.
Bowers & Wilkins’ 801 D4 & 805 D4 Receive ‘Signature’ Make-Over
Now in flagship Signature versions, Bowers & Wilkins has upgraded the 800 series entry level 805 D4 and the tour-de-force 801 D4 with a number of technical refinements and an all-new luxurious gloss finish.
ZenSati Cables Back in Australia
Danish cable specialist ZenSati has reached a partnership agreement with Absolute Hi End for Australian distribution of the company’s comprehensive cable products.
