Alan Taffel

2 days ago | theabsolutesound.com | Alan Taffel

In an increasingly unpredictable world, the fact that AXPONA 2025 played out exactly as expected was something of a comfort. Old friends and familiar brands converged on Schaumberg from around the globe, “Hey, now” boomed through the halls, and steakhouses grilled up prime fare for the winers and diners. In my category, there was just one surprise, which was the relative dearth of significant introductions.

1 week ago | theabsolutesound.com | Alan Taffel

Goldmund’s new Telos 800 occupies a small and rarified niche in the audio market. It’s a stereo power amp that, at an eye-watering $89,000, costs as much as—more, really—than most high-end monoblock pairs would fetch. There are other members of this elite class from the likes of Soulution, MBL, and Constellation, and they all beg the same question: If you had that much to spend on amplification, wouldn’t you just go the monoblock route? For me, the answer is not as obvious as it might seem.

1 month ago | theabsolutesound.com | Alan Taffel

Early in the gestation of any new speaker, its designer must determine the product’s mission. What is this speaker meant to accomplish? Who is it for? What will its listening environment be? For the bulk of its 22-year existence, YG Acoustics speakers shared a mission instigated by its founder and chief designer, Yoav Geva. Regardless of a particular model’s size or price point, Yoav uniformly aimed to create products that excelled in specific technical metrics.

1 month ago | theabsolutesound.com | Alan Taffel

Estelon speakers have always been among the most beautiful in high-end audio. They’re all smooth surfaces and curves, tapering at the waist. Looking at them, you couldn’t be faulted for assuming their shape was the predominant design parameter, with sonic considerations coming in a distant second. But, in fact, Estelon speakers are prime exemplars of form following function. Those edgeless enclosures? They eliminate parallel surfaces, minimizing internal standing waves. The sexy waist?

Nov 21, 2024 | theabsolutesound.com | Alan Taffel

Maybe it was the just-over election or the sudden cold spell that settled on Washington, but the Capital Audio Fest (CAF) seemed just a tad less festive this year. Attendance got off to a promising start on Friday but ebbed by Saturday afternoon. This despite the welcome presence of multi-generational families checking out the goods. Come Sunday, when systems were, as usual, sounding their best, journalists had their pick of seats.