Opinion

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Opinion

Details: Written by Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 March 2015

A high-end audio system with those seemingly magical properties that can transport you out of your listening room and into a musical performance can be elusive. Audiophiles are notorious for spending, in some cases, obscene amounts of money in the building of such systems. What is a mystery to me is why, for many, building a system is done so haphazardly. Often, money is burned as components are bought and sold and bought again -- good for Audiogon -- all in an attempt to find the synergy that yields complete contentment. Is there a clearer path? To me, yes. For what it’s worth, here is my advice for attaining the sound of your dreams.

Details: Written by Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 February 2015

Jeff Fritz I really enjoyed the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show. I saw a number of innovative products and heard some very fine stereo systems. As always, there was good and bad, and gradations within each. So, in no particular order, here are my favorite products and experiences from my most recent trip to Vegas. And just because it needs to be said, I’ll include one thing that, uh, failed to impress.

Unlike in years past, the worst meal I ate in Vegas was at Mr. Lucky’s, at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. First, the basic breakfast -- eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns -- was $16. In my book, that’s too much. The hash browns were so undercooked that Doug Schneider asked, “What is that?,” a look of disgust on his face. I won’t go back. On the other hand, I had two excellent breakfasts at Hash House a go go, the home of twisted farm food. The same basic meal cost $9.50, but the potatoes were cooked just right, and the rest of the eats were also a step up in quality. Also on the menu are fresh-squeezed orange juice and tangerine juice. Nothing like a hearty breakfast before traipsing through the Venetian.

But my breakfast selections are probably of little interest to you; here’s hoping my observations of hi-fi are more pertinent. I’ll start with Dan D’Agostino.

Details: Written by Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 January 2015

Jeff Fritz Everyone is releasing their Products of the Year lists right about now, and we’re no different. Doug Schneider’s “Opinion” article, over on SoundStage! Hi-Fi, gave you the bare-bones facts about which product won which category. Here at SoundStage! Ultra, though, I’d like to get down to some unfiltered remarks about these components. So consider this article the insider’s edition of our Product of the Year awards list: what my thoughts were as we picked them.

Pioneering Design Achievement

Devialet 400 mono integrated amplifier-DACs ($17,495), SoundStage! Ultra

I don’t think we’ve seen a company like this before -- Devialet has shaken up high-end audio more than any other company in memory. The 400 system I reviewed combines the coolest lifestyle audio components with a price far below what you might expect to pay for the 400’s state-of-the-art sound, which made this award an easy choice. In fact, for Pioneering Design Achievement, Devialet was the only choice.

Details: Written by Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 December 2014

Jeff Fritz As I sit here on November 23, 2014, writing this editorial, I can say with certainty that this past year has seen a sea change in my relationship to high-end audio -- and I know, from hearing from many of you, that I’m not alone. I’ve been professionally involved in the industries collectively known as high-end audio for almost two decades, and without question, 2014 has been the most enlightening -- and frustrating -- of those years. But, ultimately, I’m less frustrated than hopeful and encouraged, because the advancements I’ve witnessed in high-end audio in 2014 have been unprecedented.

As I write this, I’m listening to Tidal, a CD-quality streaming service that launched in the US just a few weeks ago. (Tidal began in Scandinavia, as WiMP.) What I find so amazing about Tidal is that not only am I streaming an album I don’t technically own, I’m listening to it as if I did own it, and with the same resolution as if I’d bought the CD. Tidal has some glitches to work out -- from the field, I’m still hearing reports of dropouts, and Tidal’s catalog of some 25 million tracks (so far) is far from complete -- but the upside far eclipses the inevitable growing pains. Can I imagine a time when I don’t need my CD collection at all? Yes, I can, and I’m anxious for it. After all, it’s about the enjoyment of the music, not the physical stuff I own. I don’t need the mountain of CDs I’ve collected, and would very much like to rid myself of them and their clutter once and for all. I’ve discovered some terrific music since subscribing to Tidal at the beginning of November -- right now I’m listening to The Band Perry’s eponymous debut album, which I never bought on CD. Tidal has added more to my enjoyment of music than any other product in 2014.

Details: Written by Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 November 2014

Jeff Fritz In last month’s “The Luxury/High-End Conundrum,” I discussed reader Craig’s beef with the present landscape of high-end audio: “I am often frustrated by an increasing priority for and dedication to luxury. I have no problem with luxury or those who seek it, but it’s not what I am looking for. What to do?”

Craig’s frustration is understandable: A growing number of manufacturers are concentrating their efforts on the cost-instead-of-sense segment of the marketplace, which in recent years has seen $500,000 speakers and hundred-grand DACs. These products, far from being affordable for the average audiophile, not only dissuade some potential buyers from entering our hobby at all, but can supplant efforts by some companies to deliver great sound at real-world prices.

The most recent example I’ve heard about is from Dan D’Agostino Master Audio Systems. Despite the fact that D’Agostino’s products have produced some less-than-stellar measured results on Stereophile’s test bench, the brand continues to be well thought of, particularly by buyers who admired his upper-end work at Krell over the years. Now we hear that D’Agostino will offer the Helius, a mono amplifier, for $250,000 USD per pair. I’m sure it will be huge and gleaming and sound revelatory, but with a price that will buy a house, it will never be owned by more than a few audiophiles. Clearly, the Helius is intended for the hyper-discerning, golden-eared audiophile who can’t get musical satisfaction from D’Agostino’s Momentum mono amp, which costs a mere $55,000/pair.

Details: Written by Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 October 2014

Jeff Fritz I recently received a letter from a reader, Craig, that I was going to answer in SoundStage! Ultra’s “Letters” section. But the more I thought about my response, the more I realized that this letter and its main subject deserved a more detailed response than I usually provide in “Letters.” So I decided to devote an “Opinion” to it. Here’s the letter:

To Jeff Fritz,

With respect to your recent column on closing the curtain on TWBAS: Bravo, Jeff. Bravo! I’ve said this before, but you are about the only member of the audio press who I care to read anymore. And this column is the perfect reason why. Like you describe, I was once a wide-eyed “audiophile” who was enamored with a lot of this ultra-expensive gear. And like you, I found my priorities change over time. I very much appreciate your willingness to buck the trends and tell the whole story, warts and all.

Details: Written by Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 September 2014

Jeff Fritz I began my column “The World’s Best Audio System” (TWBAS) on February 1, 2004. In that first installment, which introduced the first TWBAS event, I profiled the original Wilson Audio Specialties Alexandria X-2 loudspeakers, the Halcro dm68 mono power amplifiers and dm8 preamplifier, the EMM Labs DAC6e digital-to-analog converter, and a Meitner-modified Philips SACD1000 SACD/CD transport, along with a bevy of power products and cables from Shunyata Research. The total cost of that system was about $205,000. At the time, such a price would have been considered cost-no-object by most sane audiophiles.

Over the course of the next decade I spent considerable time and effort to make TWBAS enjoyable -- columns, videos, photo galleries, and hundreds of letters and postings on various Internet audio forums. In that time, by my count, we published some 65 “TWBAS” columns; most of them covered a single product that had been designed to challenge the state of the art in its category.

Details: Written by Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 August 2014

Jeff Fritz Last month, I wrote an “Opinion” piece titled “Can Someone Please Answer These Questions?!” One of my four questions was “Is Devialet really, really better than everything else?” I asked this because the buzz about Devialet’s integrated amplifier-DACs has been so ridiculously positive that I just needed to know the truth as heard through my own ears. This month I answer that question and another, about Devialet’s SAM system. But first, a bit of background . . .

At Munich’s High End 2014, Devialet introduced a host of new versions of their basic product: an integrated amplifier-DAC that is actually so much more. The 120 ($6495 USD), 200 ($9495), 250 ($17,495), 400s (two chassis, $17,495), and 800s (two chassis, $29,995), are all shipping now. These models, as Hans Wetzel explained in his recent review of the Devialet 120 on our sister site SoundStage! Access, are essentially last year’s versions, but with software upgrades that increase their power and improve their performance.

Details: Written by Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 July 2014

Jeff Fritz Being entrenched in high-end audio for the past two decades has given me plenty of insight into the inner workings of this business -- because I regularly talk with manufacturers and readers, I get to hear from both sides of that equation. And since I’m editor-in-chief of the SoundStage! family of publications, I know the press angle, too. But sometimes, I just can’t figure out the burning audiophile questions that are staring me right in the face.

This article is a cry for clarity. Here are my current stumbling blocks, most of them the results of attending Munich’s High End 2014 this past May. My e-mail is jeff@soundstagenetwork.com. Write in with a good answer to one or more of these and I’ll publish your response. Just include your name and your country of origin. Here they are:

Details: Written by Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 June 2014

Jeff Fritz listening I’ve just returned from Munich’s High End 2014. I had a great time. Doug Schneider and I have been saying for several years now that this annual show is the most important display of high-end audio products anywhere in the world -- it’s the best show, in the best venue, with the best organization of any event that has anything to do with promoting high-end audio. According to the High End Society -- the German organization that produces High End -- 18,000 visitors attended the 2014 show to see gear representing 900 brands. Part of the reason High End is so successful is its venue, the Munich Order Center (MOC). This 323,000-square-foot facility was designed and built to house conferences and trade shows. The building itself is bright and spacious, with 142 display rooms, large halls and conference rooms, and glass-paned atria. It’s accessible and logically oriented, and it’s surrounded by a great city -- everyone seems to love to come to Munich for its excellent restaurants, tourist attractions, and sheer walkability.