In this SoundStage! Talks episode, Konstantinos Pilios—the CEO of Pilium Audio, which is based in Athens, Greece—talks with SoundStage! editor-in-chief Jeff Fritz. Find out how this young Greek company has risen to such prominence in the ultra high end. Learn about Pilium’s existing product line, and what’s coming to market soon. Also, how does the exercise industry figure into Pilium’s history? Watch to find out!
This profile of Perlisten CEO Dan Roemer is intended as a precursor to the review of Perlisten’s R7t loudspeaker, which will be published on July 15.
Make no mistake, Munich’s High End is no ordinary hi-fi show—the scale is so jaw-dropping that you need to recalibrate your senses. The show comprised three vast exhibition floors, each seemingly the size of a major indoor concert arena, housing 550 exhibition rooms and 1500 brands. It was an awe-inspiring demonstration of the scale, richness, and power of the global audio industry. Everyone from the exhibitors to the visitors seemed to be revelling in the experience—in short, this show is to audio what Le Mans is to motor racing.
Dynaudio has been designing and building loudspeakers for more than 40 years. In that time, the company has contributed some fairly significant products, like the Consequence loudspeaker back in 1983, the Evidence Master in 1989, the Confidence C1 Signature in 2011, and of course, the Special Forty in 2017.
Ernest Jenning Record Co. EJRC181, Geenger Records GNGR108, Peculiar Works PW009
Format: LP
Musical Performance: ****
Sound Quality: ****
Overall Enjoyment: ****
Brooklyn-based indie band Savak has released five albums since 2016, including its newest, Human Error / Human Delight. The album was developed and recorded during the pandemic, and the band wrote and arranged the songs on Zoom. Currently, Savak consists of Sohrab Habibion and Michael Jaworski on guitars and vocals, with Matt Schulz on drums, so the trio pulled in a number of bass players to fill out the band.
You may be wondering why I’m once again writing about Vivid Audio’s flagship loudspeaker, the G1 Spirit. That’s a good question. And there’s more than one answer.
On April 15, just two weeks ago, we launched a brand-new feature on this site: Reference Systems. I’ll tell you all about that, but first, let’s recap what’s been available on SoundStage! Ultra.
Near the top of the SoundStage! Ultra homepage, you’ll find the regular tabs that are always present in the menu:
The most anticipated SoundStage! Ultra review of 2022 did not get off to the smoothest of starts. Full disclosure: the missteps had absolutely nothing to do with Gryphon Audio Designs or SoundStage!
Nonetheless . . .
Just recently, I received two fairly large boxes courtesy of FedEx. In and of itself, this is not a newsworthy happenstance, as non-Amazon packages arrive at the Thorpe residence with some frequency. Frequent deliveries are the blessing and the curse of the reviewer. Being a fairly materialistic male—or a gear whore, as my friend Neil calls me—the blessing part is obvious. I just loves me some box opening. The curse? Well, each component that arrives also has to leave, so I can’t just rip everything open like my daughter does on Christmas morning. No, I have to note the orientation of each bag, document, piece of foam and wire, and remember how everything fits together. I learned my lesson years ago, and now I take photos of each step of the unboxing so I can reassemble it all when it’s time to return the product to the manufacturer or distributor.
Lazy Eye Records America/Compass Records 7 4781 1
Format: LP
Musical Performance: ****
Sound Quality: ****½
Overall Enjoyment: ****
Colin Hay, lead vocalist and guitarist of the Australian band Men at Work, has released a series of albums under his own name since 1987, all well received by fans and critics. I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself, his 14th release, features the UK-born singer-songwriter’s interpretations of songs made famous by others. He coproduced the album with producer and multi-instrumentalist Chad Fischer, who provided the arrangements and much of the instrumentation.
Page 8 of 41