New York Audio Show / 2014

Wes Bender Studio / NYC has supported this event since its 2012 inaugural roll out which took place at the famed Waldorf=Astoria Hotel.  This time around, the New York Audio Show 2014 is coming to Brooklyn & promises to be the franchise's best thus far and we're really excited to be exhibiting for the 3rd year in a row.

Please be sure to plan a visit with us.  We'll be enjoying great tunes in Suite 388.  This year our show partners include:

Zesto Audio /  We're thrilled to showcase Zesto's entire lineup -- including their critically acclaimed BIA-120 amplifier, Leto line stage and the US debut of their new Andros "Mk2"? phono stage (which Stereophile and the Absolute awarded their highest honors to).

Marten of Sweden /  Also making its US debut is Marten's Getz 2 loudspeaker.  We feel the Getz 2 is the ideal full range loudspeaker for the discerning NYC music lover looking for high performance, gorgeous Nordic design aesthetics with fit and finish befitting its looks all built into a real-world sized package that will work in any NYC listening room -- and all at a price point that will truly give speakers costing upwards of 3x their price of admission!

EAR by Tim de Paravicini / Tim de Paravicini needs no introduction.  He's been called the "Gandalf of the audio world" and his accomplishments are duly noted world-wide.  Handling the digits at the show for us will be Tim's superb DSD-DAC and Transport.  Sporting an all tube front end, and able to playback both PCM and DSD in their NATIVE format, we feel its near impossible to experience music better in the digital domain.

Waveform Fidelity /  Paul Kaplan has been very busy this past year.  So much so, he's re-badged his company, removing his own name from the moniker.  His new cable craft raises the bar yet again.  Trust me, Paul is up to wizard type stuff here.  This is not your typical wire terminated with spiffy gold connectors.  Paul is applying "technology" and science that uses physics and other wizardry to achieve levels of sonic performance that had me going REALLY?!?

Stillpoints / Want even more performance out of your already excellent system?  We've never heard a system that couldn't be improved by carefully tuning the components with the use of resonance control devices and techniques.  The fact is that regardless of how well made ones components are, they are adversely affected by vibrations and other sonic killing interference.  Stillpoints manages to squelch these anomalies by decoupling and isolating your components.  Their ingenious devices work.  Pure and simple.  We'll be showcasing a fully implemented Stillpoint system approach in our suite.  

There's more coming, so check back again sooner than later.

Tri-Planar's U-12 makes the Audiophiliac's list of great sounding audio bling

Steve Guttenberg (AKA The Audiophiliac) included the jewel-like Tri-Planar U-12 tonearm in his photo-album of Audio products engineered to excite your eyes and ears 

Tri-Planar's first arm in decades is one of the worlds best!

Tri-Planar U-12 tonearm / © Wes Bender

Writing for Audiophila.com, reviewer Henry Wilkenson takes a first look at the venerable tonearm manufacturer's 12" of analog love:

"I had an opportunity to hear the U-12 tonearm recently. The arm was mounted on the fantastic Redpoint Model MG turntable ($39,000) with the Transfiguration Proteus cartridge ($6,000). I was immediately struck by the arm’s rock-solid imaging and its wide soundstage, with images clearly fixed within the stage. One example was the excellent Speakers Corner reissue of Lou Reed’s Transformer (Speakers Corner / ALSP 4807). ‘Take A Walk On The Wild Side’ is a particular favorite. Not only were the images truly palpable, but the tonal solidity and textural detail of the vocals was astounding."

"The Redpoint turntable is known for producing rock-solid bass, but the U-12 was able to take its bass performance to another level. Drum and upright bass lines were more clearly delineated, in fact the best that I have heard in this regard."

"The Tri-Planar U-12 handled everything thrown at it with no sweat. It will allow you to extract the very best performance that your cartridge and turntable can produce.  The Tri-Planar Ultimate Mk VII is one of the world’s best 10-inch tonearms. As good as it is, the U-12 is better, and deserves to take its place as one of the best tonearms available today. Yes, it is expensive, but its jewel-like precision and build quality more than justify the purchase price. If you are in the market for a tonearm of this quality, and you have a turntable that is capable of utilizing this arm’s extraordinary sonic performance, you owe it to yourself to audition the Tri-Planar U-12."

Give us a buzz to schedule some time to audition the U-12 / Redpoint / Transfiguration system that Henry experienced.

Sandy NYC

Lower Manhattan viewed from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade the day after the storm. © 2012 Wes Bender

It goes without saying that Hurricane Sandy pulled out all the stops as she wreaked havoc on our city.  To those of you who were put out by her ravages, my thoughts and prayers go out to you.  I hope you and yours are safe and sound.  Our location here in Brooklyn was thankfully spared most of the carnage that impacted much of the city.  

That said, we're available for a listen if you're stuck with nothing to do!  Give us a call or reach out via email.

Said the English poet & playwright, William Congreve: "Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak."  We couldn't agree more!

TAS Buyer's Guide weighs in on Townshend & Helius

In their annual Buyer's Guide, The Absolute Sound raved about the Townshend Audio Rock Mk. 7 turntable as well as the Helius Designs Omega Silver Ruby -- their flagship tonearm.  

Here's what they had to say about the Townshend Audio Rock Mk. 7:

The Townshend Rock 7 turntable is the latest realization of Max Townshend's unique and uniquely effective ideas about vinyl playback, including the fluid-contaiing trough that damps the arm at the cartridge end. With its own lack of resonant signatures of any type and its silent background, and with the trough taking up the cartridge vibrations that might otherwise go into the arm itself (and come back later to disturb the sound), the Rock 7 is truly remarkable in its truth to what is really on the record. The bass performance in particular is superb. And the Rock 7 has the solidity and neutrality of mastertape sound to a startling extent. The Townshend is convenient to use and stable in setup, and the ingenious suspension is so effective that outboard isolation devices are not needed. The price is modest, indeed, by high-end standards, but the sonic results are spectacular.

On the Heilus they opined:

Designer Geoffrey Owen has significantly advanced his tetrahedral bearing design, which uses twelve large rubies to produce a captured bearing with extremely low friction and single-point contact on all surfaces. This dynamically balanced arm with non-coincident bearings provides a very stable mechanical platform for a wide range of cartridges without adding its own coloration.

While it is not the last word in ease of setup and lacks adjustable VTA during play, the Omega Silver Ruby's ability to reproduce a rock-solid, precise, and complete soundstage, without truncating the rear of the stage, is reference quality. It has exceptional tonal neutrality and clarity across the sonic spectrum, with deep, dynamic, and articulate bass without bloat or overhang, and naturally extended highs without any stridency.

Schedule an appointment to audition both components at the studio.