Ken Micallef

Greenwich Village

Intellectual Property SpecialistIntellectual at IEEE

Writer at Stereophile

writer photographer faith walker

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Articles

Soulution's 787 Turntable and the Platter That Slid

1 week ago | stereophile.com | Ken Micallef

Soulution's 787 Turntable and the Platter That Slid AXISS Europe and Soulution's Cyrill Hammer presented a formidable system in Munich, featuring the debut of the Soulution 787 turntable. Remarkably, the 787 achieves linear tracking not by moving the tonearm, but by sliding the platter itself.
Needlework: Chord’s Ultima Phonostage Threads the Groove

1 week ago | stereophile.com | Ken Micallef

Needlework: Chord’s Ultima Phonostage Threads the Groove Designed by Chord Electronics’ founder and owner John Franks, Chord’s new flagship Ultima Phonostage expands the Ultima Reference range, joining the Ultima Pre preamplifier and Ultima Mono power amplifiers. The US price is TBA; the projected UK price is £18,000 (about $24,300). Franks was available for demos and interviews, accompanied by Chord’s Dan George and Maurice Tryner.
GAIA Goes Neo: IsoAcoustics Plants a Firmer Foot

1 week ago | stereophile.com | Ken Micallef |Jason Victor Serinus

Ken says: At High End Munich, IsoAcoustics introduced its new GAIA Neo and GAIA-TITAN Neo series of isolation feet. Designed for both consumer and OEM use, the Neo models improve on the established GAIA line with updated engineering. The first custom versions will be integrated into the new JBL Summit Makalu, Summit Pumori, and Summit Ama speakers, as well as the Marten Coltrane Extreme loudspeakers—all of which debuted at the show.
Tables Turned: Thorens Goes From Big to Bite-Sized

1 week ago | stereophile.com | Ken Micallef

Tables Turned: Thorens Goes From Big to Bite-Sized While Thorens CEO and owner Gunter Kürten was busy with customers, company representative Michael Gorny walked me through the brand's latest lineup of high-end products.
VPI Forever Model One Record Player

1 week ago | flipboard.com | Ken Micallef

1 hour agoThese 7 Surprisingly Good Headphones Are Shockingly Cheap On AmazonHave you ever bought headphones so cheap you brace for disappointment, then sit there stunned like, wait... these actually slap? Yeah, that. These 7 …1 hour agoAlready have a great DAC in your system? Add this tiny but talented unit to get hi-res streaming powersLindemann Limetree Bridge II review Lindemann Limetree Bridge II review A streaming transport with some feature gaps, but huge sonic talent Lindemann …
VPI Forever Model One Record Player

1 week ago | stereophile.com | Ken Micallef

The first commandment for a Stereophile reporter is to remain neutral about any product under review. But when a company has a history of making things you like, that isn't always easy to do.
The Horn Supremacy: Silbatone Goes Full Throttle

1 week ago | stereophile.com | Ken Micallef

South Korea's Silbatone delivered sound with startling intensity and scale. In a show known for polished, high end presentations, its Munich demo was an all out sonic spectacle—part sensory onslaught, part performance art. This was music as a full contact experience. Michael Chung, who owns Silbatone, co hosted the room alongside former Sound Practices editor Joe Roberts. Together they walked visitors through the system's technology.
Joseph Audio, Doshi Audio, SOtM, Funk Firm: Kicking Ass and Taking Names

2 weeks ago | stereophile.com | Ken Micallef

Joseph Audio's Jeff Joseph teamed with Nick Doshi to present another fantastic‑sounding room at High End Munich. The system included a Funk Firm Saffire turntable ($9800; all prices approximate when converted from euros) fitted with a Funk Firm FZ tonearm ($6800) and an Audio‑Technica VM760SLC dual‑MM cartridge ($800). Korea's SOtM—Soul Of the Music—offers a range of digital equipment, and in this system it was abundant.
Tune Audio, Trafomatic, Rockna: An Enigma in Sound

2 weeks ago | stereophile.com | Ken Micallef

Tune Audio, Trafomatic, Rockna: An Enigma in Sound This room presented a delightful enigma: a system consisting of largely unfamiliar-to-me brands that eclipsed much of the established competition. It delivered intricate detail and clarity with a sense of wholeness. The system featured a Rockna Wavedream Reference Signature DAC ($28,500, all prices approximate and converted from euros), digitally interfaced with a Rockna Wavelight Server ($6900).
Mastersound: Teaching Old Tubes New Tricks

2 weeks ago | stereophile.com | Ken Micallef

Mastersound's Antonio Ferro showed four products, including the flagship Spazio preamplifier ($21,500; prices approximate and converted from euros). It's a multidrive‑stage preamplifier that uses six ECC82 and three ECC83 tubes, provides RCA and XLR inputs and outputs, and includes MM/MC phono inputs. The new Mastersound single‑ended PF200 monoblocks ($100,000/pair) deliver 200W in class‑A via eight 845 tubes, feature automatically adjustable bias, and provide one XLR input.