Finding a specialty hi-fi dealer is harder than ever, and it's probably going to get even harder in the years to come. As a result, many companies are looking for alternative methods to get their products in the hands of consumers.
On April 26, Cary Audio of the USA announced their new Direct Sales Program, which has not been designed to replace their current dealers, but to offer consumers a chance to order their products factory direct if there are no Cary Audio dealers around them. According to the company's press release: "We receive calls nearly every day from potential customers who want to know where they can audition and purchase Cary Audio products after finding no local dealers listed on our website. While we continue to support our independent authorized dealers, we realize that there needs to be a way for consumers in all parts of the US and Canada to enjoy our equipment. We have decided to implement a remote customer sales initiative to apply to those consumers who are at least 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the nearest authorized Cary Audio dealer. Products purchased will be shipped directly from Cary Audio to the consumer, and will carry our regular limited warranty and a 30-day satisfaction guarantee."
Cary Audio's Direct Sales Program takes effect immediately. Additional information is available on the company's website.
Since 1973, MartinLogan has been making award-winning electrostatic-based hybrid loudspeakers. On April 16, 2012, the SoundStage! Network team toured MartinLogan's state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The ten-part tour shows exactly how MartinLogan's unique speakers are made and has never-before-seen photos about the electrostatic-panel-making process. The MartinLoga factory tour can be found on SoundStage! Global, our special site dedicated exclusively to event coverage and company tours.
Do you want quick-and-easy access to all of the SoundStage! Network reviews? The 2012 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide is now online, featuring summaries from reviews published in SoundStage! Hi-Fi, SoundStage! Xperience, GoodSound! and Ultra Audio. Each review summary includes the price as well as a hyperlink to the complete review. All products are categorized by type, making searching quick and easy. The 2012 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide will be consistently updated as new reviews are published throughout the year. Buying guides are completed for the years 2009, 2010, and 2011.
Canada's Bryston has released the B135 SST2, their new flagship integrated amplifier. The B135 SST2 is the successor to the company's very popular B100 SST model, which was in their line for seven years. According to the company's April 4th press release: "The new B-135 SST2 delivers 135 watts per channel into 8 ohms and employs Bryston’s most advanced analog circuitry in the preamp section, providing audio aficionados with an ultimate performance solution in a compact chassis. . . . The Bryston B-135 SST2 includes provisions for seven high-level inputs, a pass-through feature (typically for home theater applications), one tape loop and a pre-out/main-in feature. A front-panel headphone jack is standard and a full-featured remote control is optional. Exceptional performance is derived from the use of three completely independent custom torodial power supplies engineered to prevent any possibility of channel-to-channel crosstalk, interference or interaction between digital and analog sections. Bryston’s proprietary ultra-linear input buffer results in the lowest possible noise floor and miniscule distortion levels."
The B135 SST2 retails in its base configuration for $4695 USD. It can also be ordered with an optional DAC and moving-magnet phono stage, priced at $600 and $1395, respectively. The B135 SST2, like the B100 SST, comes with a 20-year warranty. Bryston is expected to ship the B135 SST2 to dealers in May, 2012.
TWBAS stands for "The World's Best Audio System," a feature column on Ultra Audio as well as an event that takes place in Jeff Fritz's Music Vault listening room located in North Carolina, USA. TWBAS 2012 is made up of components from seven companies located around the world: Vitus Audio (Denmark), WideaLab (Korea), Magico (USA), AudioQuest (USA), Silent Running Audio (USA), Torus Power (Canada), and Esoteric (Japan). There is even a special TWBAS high-resolution recording from the 2L company of Norway, available for purchase on SoundStageRecordings.com.
TWBAS 2012 runs from March 30-31. Representatives from all the companies are in North Carolina right now and the SoundStage! Network team is currently there covering it. You can find the coverage on SoundStage! Global, the SoundStage! Network's special site designed specifically for events, company tours, and product launches. The first coverage item is online: a brand-new video from Chris Lang Photography of North Carolina, USA.
The SoundStage! Network will host seven of the world’s most prestigious audio manufacturers from March 30-31 as they assemble The World’s Best Audio System 2012 (TWBAS 2012). TWBAS 2012 -- based on Jeff Fritz’s long-running “TWBAS” column on Ultra Audio -- is an invitation-only event designed to explore and celebrate the current limits of what’s possible in cutting-edge audio reproduction. Representatives from AudioQuest (USA), Esoteric (Japan), Magico (USA), Silent Running Audio (USA), Torus Power (Canada), Vitus Audio (Denmark), and WideaLab (Korea) will all be on hand to tweak and evaluate the half-million-dollar system that will be set up in Jeff Fritz’s Music Vault listening room in coastal North Carolina.
Coverage of TWBAS 2012 will begin Friday, March 30, and run through Monday, April 2, on SoundStage! Global, the SoundStage! Network’s site designed specifically for show coverage, factory tours, and special events. There will be video and photos showing all the action as reported on by the writing team that will include Doug Schneider, Jeff Fritz, Peter Roth, Tim Shea, Kevin East, Randall Smith, and Simeon Sandiford. Chris Lang from Chris Lang Photography will contribute as well.
Salon Son & Image is Canada's longest-running hi-fi show, with this year's event commemorating its 25th year. Salon Son & Image 2012 runs March 22-25 in Montreal, Canada, and the SoundStage! Network team is currently covering it. Daily updates can be found on SoundStage! Global, the SoundStage! Network's special site designed specifically for event coverage and company tours.
The Netherlands-based Crystal Cable will show their new Absolute Dream cable series at High End 2012, which will be held May 3-6 in Munich, Germany. Absolute Dream consists of speaker cables, interconnects, and power cords, with FireWire and USB cables being released later this year. According to Crystal Cable's recent press release: "It is the first cable to use pure mono-crystal technology in both the core and the braided shielding. The pure mono-crystal silver core is covered with Dupont's Kapton and PEEK as dielectric and two shielding layers, one layer of silver-plated mono-crystal copper and one layer of gold-plated mono-crystal silver. The braid is covered by a transparent sleeve giving the cable a unique appearance while maintaining the Crystal Cable identity. . . . The cables are terminated using Crystal Cable-specified carbon Furutech connectors and newly developed identification barrels [that] hold laser-engraved serial numbers."
Absolute Dream supplants Dreamline as the company's top-of-the-line cables, although the Dreamline series will still be offered. The prices for the Absolute Dream cables will be announced during High End 2012.