AXPONA 2023 Sight And Sounds

April 19th, 2023
By: Carlin "Rick" Smith

The AXPONA 2023 show has come to end and I was there Friday.  Happy to report the show seemed back to pre-COVID levels of vendors and attendance.  I am sure it helped to have a sunny 75 degree day in Chicago at this tinme of year.  Below are some pictures and there are many others out there from various sources.

It is always great to catch up ... Read More.

Rocky Mountain Audio Fest - Cancels 2021 Show and Ceases Operations

September 3rd, 2021
By: Carlin "Rick" Smith

The pandemic certainly has taken its toll in so many ways and high end audio has certainly not escaped this impact.  The normal spring show, AXPONA, which last occurred in 2019 has been postponed to spring of 2022.  Now the show that has been with us for over fifteen years and was scheduled for ear ... Read More.

Exploring the Aurender ACS100 CD-Ripping Process

April 10th, 2021
By: Carlin "Rick" Smith

Background

It's been a while since I have written a new article but decided to sit down and share my thoughts on how Aurender digital transports capable of CD-Ripping work.  This would include as of date of this article three models - A30, ACS10, and ACS100.  For ... Read More.

32-bit Floating Point DXD - Format of Merit?

August 7th, 2020
By: Carlin "Rick" Smith

I came across this blog article from Brendon Heinst from TRPTK of The Netherlands.  I found the math and theory behind this fascinating.   I was hoping I could take a listen on my reference gear but after a fe ... Read More.

Creating and Archiving Playlists External to your Aurender

August 11th, 2019
By: Carlin "Rick" Smith

Introduction

On July 27th Aurender released the much anticipated version 3 of their Conductor application.  While the update was probably most important for the visual overhaul of the user interface there were a few other new features that caught my attention.  Conductor V3 also included the ability to backup or r ... Read More.

Two Weeks with The Bel Canto e.One Stream and Roon

May 12th, 2019
By: Carlin "Rick" Smith

We recently had a customer request the Bel Canto e.One Stream so we ordered a demo unit. I thought I would share some thoughts about using it with the native Seek app and also in conjuction with Roon.  Both were new experiences for me as I personally use Aurender music servers. While there is similarity the devices, both can ... Read More.

AXPONA 2019 Sights And Sounds

April 28th, 2019
By: Carlin "Rick" Smith

The AXPONA 2019 show has come to end. I was there only Friday this year due to a death in family so had to work quickly through the ever expanding venue.  Below are some pictures and there are many others out there from various sources.

First some general thoughts.

AXPONA was in its new location about ten miles further north at  ... Read More.

Reactions to Two Months Using Qobuz....

April 3rd, 2019
By: Carlin "Rick" Smith

As most of you know Qobuz has went into full launch for any willing subscriber to sign up.  The web site is still labeled beta and I suspect they are rapidly tweaking and certainly still adding content (more on this experience shortly).  This entry is written from the context of an existing TIDAL ... Read More.

AXPONA announces that spring schedule shall remain versus moving to fall

September 20th, 2018
By: Carlin "Rick" Smith

Well it appears feedback from the industry has caused AXPONA to remain in the spring versus fall for the forseeable future.

2019

April 12 - 14, 2019
Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center
​Schaumburg, IL

2020

April 17 - 19, 2020
... Read More.

R.I.P. Dave Wilson

June 8th, 2018
By: Carlin "Rick" Smith

It certainly has been a rough time recently losing many industry icons.  We pay tribute to Dave Wilson and his impact on high end loudspeakers.  I met Dave at many shows and while I would not claim to know him there was a geniue warmth and kindness that was evident.  Reading the many tributes to those who did know him confirm these perceptions.