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Friday, March 07, 2025

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: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 September 2012

Jeff Fritz The longer I review high-end audio gear -- I’ve been doing it going on 15 years now -- the less inclined I am to buy it. You’d think it would be the opposite. After all, I’m exposed to an endless supply of the best products available. Do I cherry-pick review samples for myself? Of course. Being the editor-in-chief of the SoundStage! Network has its privileges, and I regularly exercise them when it comes to selecting products for my own use. It helps to have at my disposal the Music Vault listening room, a sonically neutral lab in which to audition the best components extant. So, yes, I get the best stuff, and it’s a blast to do this “job.” (I should also mention that I see my fair share of mediocre products, and the occasional real dog that doesn’t deserve the time it would take to pan it. But that’s another story for another time.)

: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 August 2012

Objectivist or Subjectivist? The July/August issue of Positive Feedback Online includes an article by Teresa Goodwin titled "Why I’m a Subjectivist." She begins by proclaiming, "In our world of music enjoyment there are subjectivists and objectivists. I’m a subjectivist." Her definitions are thus: "Objectivists believe in a dictatorial unyielding totalitarianism of science over human interaction with music. Subjectivists believe in total freedom to enjoy music however one chooses, without any scientific validation."

: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 July 2012

It was December of 2006. I’d flown into New York’s LaGuardia Airport from Wilmington, North Carolina, and got stuck there for what seemed like days (but was actually only half a day). I was on my way to visit Andrew Payor, of Rockport Technologies, in Rockport, Maine, who would give me a tour of his facilities. I would then listen to his current line of loudspeakers. I would then have the most pivotal experience of my audiophile life.

: Written by: Simeon Sandiford; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 June 2012

An enticing prelude

Simeon Sandiford For me, The World’s Best Audio System 2012 began when I met Howard Gladstone, president and CEO of Plitron Manufacturing, parent company of Torus Power, who was responsible for supplying power-conditioning equipment for the megasystem. We became instant friends, exchanging pleasantries as we traveled for 20 minutes in the courtesy shuttle from ILM airport to the Holiday Inn in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.

: Written by: Peter Roth; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 May 2012

TWBAS 2012 At this point, The World’s Best Audio System 2012 has been well documented. Nevertheless, having just spent three jam-packed days flying from Los Angeles to North Carolina and back for a engaging and engrossing Saturday “happening,” I’m happy to share some of my impressions.

Commitment. On reflection, I remain amazed by the sheer amount of effort expended by everyone involved to make TWBAS 2012 such a success. Following his decision to have another go at assembling an all-hands-on-deck supersystem, Jeff Fritz spent countless hours researching leads, contemplating complementary components, and balancing the already available against the potential of cutting-edge opportunities still in process. And that was just the beginning.

: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 April 2012

TWBAS 2012 Well, as I write this, it’s not really over -- we’re still about 12 days out from the start of The World’s Best Audio System 2012, which takes place March 30-31. But if you’re reading this on April 1, then the event is over, as it finished up just last night. Whew! You can read all about it and see all the photos on www.SoundStageGlobal.com. I’m hoping that all went smoothly, of course, and that the sound in my Music Vault listening room set new standards for the high-fidelity playback of music recordings. That is/was, after all, the ultimate goal of the entire exercise. But a lot of things would have had to come together to make that happen, and the variables and pitfalls are many.

: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 March 2012

By now you know which components comprise TWBAS 2012, which means it’s time for me to tell you why I chose them. This is the potentially controversial part -- the part where you learn about my decision-making process, and what differentiates these products from the pack.

But before I tell you why I chose each particular product, I should tell you what criteria I based my choices on. You’ve likely already figured this out, but I did not hear even one of them beforehand -- many were still in the R&D phase when I chose them. I don’t suggest you buy your state-of-the-art stereo system this way, but the unknown is part of what makes TWBAS 2012 so exciting -- like diving from the top of a skyscraper in a wingsuit.

: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 February 2012

On August 1, 2011, on our Ultra Audio website, the SoundStage! Network published “TWBAS 2012: The Selection Process Begins.” At that point, as I began the methodical process of deciding precisely which components would be mated in The World’s Best Audio System 2012, the virtual slate was clean. But as that process continued, I couldn’t help but reflect on the history of The World’s Best Audio System. It’s been one wild ride.

The whole thing began in 2003, when I first had the idea of setting up and writing about a no-limits-of-any-kind supersystem in my own listening room. It sure did light my fire -- what audio writer wouldn’t want such an assignment? The first TWBAS article, published in February 2004, profiled an audio system comprising products from Halcro, Wilson Audio, EMM Labs, and Shunyata Research. From then on, “TWBAS” was a regular column on Ultra Audio, a place in which I wrote about the best individual audio components I could find. Since then I’ve written some 40 installments, not counting multiple “Opinion” pieces and related features published on other SS!N sites: The TWBAS archives are spread across multiple versions of the SoundStage! Network’s Ultra Audio: the original articles (February 2004 through February 2009), the middle installments (up through June 2010), and the current iteration.

: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 January 2012

Mirage I can hardly contain my excitement. Of all the articles and reviews I write each year for the SoundStage! Network, none gets me more juiced than expounding on our The World’s Best Audio System events and diving into our coverage of the annual Consumer Electronics Show. Here’s your insider’s guide to what’s coming and where to find it, and a few tidbits of information that might pique your interest.

On Sunday, January 8, at about 4:30 p.m., the SoundStage! Network will broadcast streaming video and photos from the Mirage Hotel and Casino, revealing the components that will comprise TWBAS 2012 -- a two-channel audio system that I predict will be sine pari. Bookmark www.SoundStageGlobal.com right now. I’ll be there, along with our SoundStage! Network staff, and will host a number of the companies that will be participating in TWBAS 2012 in March. You’ll hear about the products and learn why they were selected -- mostly live.

: Written by: Jeff Fritz; Category: Opinion; Created: 01 December 2011

Jeff Fritz I’ve attended 11 of the last 12 Consumer Electronics Shows in Las Vegas, Nevada. I’ve been to Germany’s High End show (formerly in Frankfurt, now in Munich) for ten years running. I’ve done Rocky Mountain, Montreal, and I enjoyed several of the Stereophile shows way back in the day. I know audio shows pretty well.

But I didn’t realize how much politics is involved in the systems heard at shows until I started planning the first The World’s Best Audio System event in 2008. I’ve just finalized the companies and products that will make up TWBAS 2012, which gave me another opportunity to ponder how high-end politics work.