Audio Snake Systems

Is Tony Rice the "best" guitarist in bluegrass music? Before you scold me for looking at the world that way — stuffing artists into neat little pigeonholes and ranking musicians the way most people rank baseball players — bear in mind that I don't do it half as much as I used to. And since kids can be forgiven for thinking like that, I have let myself off the hook for all those nights I drove around town with my pals, arguing over whose guitar heroes were the "best," like some adolescent McLaughlin Group in plaid flannel shirts. (John McLaughlin: "Who's heavier, Jeff Beck or Jimmy Page?" Jack Germond: "I think it's Jimmy Page." John McLaughlin: "Wrong again. Pat Buchanan, who's heavier...?"). But the title of this month's music feature is a deliberate, and hopefully thought-provoking, reference to the fact that a great many fans, fellow musicians, and critics all consider Tony Rice to be the best in his field. Fans, like teenagers, can be forgiven. In fact it's nice to think that there are any people at all left in this age of music-as-product who can be moved to such praise by a contemporary performer.

Siltech recently launched a new, flagship series of audio cables called Master Crown. As with everything they do, the launch would be a first-class event. With the help of US Siltech distributor, Monarch Systems, based in Englewood, CO, a press event was held Friday, June 20th to introduce and demonstrate the advantages of this new product to the audio press. Monarch Systems was founded by two audio industry veterans, Jon Baker and Rich Maez, and with the assistance of their Marketing Manager, Jaclyn Schnirring, they played host to seven members of the press in a spacious, beautiful home in the gated community of Las Campanas, to the west of the heart of old Santa Fe, at a location they call La Casita....

This weekend, from May 9th to 12th, is HIGH END at M.O.C. in Munich. This trade show will feature luxurious premium home and portable music reproduction systems, inspiring listening enjoyment, and top-of-the-line luxurious audio technology. HIGH END audiophile and high-end audio event is without a doubt the most important marketplaces and trading rendezvous for the high-performance audio industry, with many international trade visitors from around the world. Music lovers from ~100 countries are visiting Munich to discover high-quality home and portable audio trends, exchange views on legacy stereo versus modern Dolby Atmos immersive, learn the latest news, plus network and conduct business.

Yes, this is the Mark 2 version of Triangle Art's L-200 vacuum tube stereo preamplifier. No, I have not heard the L-200 Mark 1 on its own within my system; just at shows in a complete Triangle Art system. So I have no reference to tell anyone sonically what the difference between Gen 1 and Gen 2 is. The new version utilizes a new circuit configuration described as a symmetrical signal flow layout. It is a two-module component, with the power supply isolated in a separate enclosure connected to the main preamp with an umbilical. Once in the main preamp enclosure, the power is separated into a dual mono configuration which feeds two isolated line amplification stages. Each power supply filter incorporates proprietary chokes and Mundorf capacitors. The line stage amp incorporates more Mundorf caps, AMRG resistors, and custom output transformers in a single-ended output transformer design....

I grew up listening to music through my dad's Dynaco ST70. My Dad was a DIY guy; it was the best kit available in 1960. I inherited it and the matching PAS preamp my sophomore year of college. I then bought a pair of ADS L620 speakers to go with them. That kept me happy for 20 years. I eventually replaced my ailing Dynaco gear with a Jolida JD202 integrated. The Dynaco and Jolida were very similar, using EL34 pentodes in an ultra-linear configuration. A little later, the ADS speakers made way for the Thiel CS1.5s. These were both two-way bass-reflex speakers. In the last few years, my interest in lower-power amps and high-efficiency speakers has led me away from the pairings I had so long, but I will always have warm memories of listening to music with them....