The priciest loudspeaker ever to have taken up residence in my listening room was the Akira from German company Tidal Audio,1 which I reviewed in the November 2018 issue of Stereophile.2 Designed by Tidal founder and CEO Jörn Janczak, the Akiras cost $215,000/pair! “The sheer resolution of the Akiras continued to astonish me throughout my auditioning,” I wrote in my review, concluding that “The Akiras are the best-looking, best-built, best-sounding speakers I have had in my listening room—as they should be at the price.”
Ah, the price. As good as the Tidal loudspeakers sounded and as heroically as they were engineered and built, I don’t think I ever really came to terms with what they cost. So my ears pricked up when I read in Robert Deutsch’s October 2018 report from the Toronto Audiofest3 that Janczak had launched Vimberg, a loudspeaker brand that, while still expensive in absolute terms, would be much less so than the Tidal models while preserving the Tidals’ sound quality. At $31,000/pair, the subject of this review, the Vimberg Mino, resembles the Akira in being a large three-way floor stander using Accuton drive-units from the German company Thiel & Partner, but is one-seventh its price.
The Mino
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Denne historien er fra April 2020-utgaven av Stereophile.
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My last Far East trip
First comes the anticipation, that initial jet of warm water, that miraculous searching, finding the sweet spot, then heaven on earth as it cleans and caresses.
Riding the Common Wave
In the e-commerce era, brick-and-mortar dealerships must give customers compelling reasons to stop by. Los Angeles hi-fi dealership Common Wave's owner Wesley Katzir keeps customers coming through the door with a simple idea: that music matters in our everyday lives and that what he enjoys, other people will enjoy, too.
Mind Games to the bottom of the rabbit hole
After a wild decade in the biggest pop music group ever, John Lennon's post-Beatles years were spent in protest, in various kinds of therapy, in immigration court, and in search of a new musical identity.
Trane meets the Motor City
Detroit became a destination for migrating African Americans early, starting with the Underground Railroad; the city's proximity to Canada was convenient for those seeking to escape Southern slavery.
Vital art never rests
At this late date, it seems impossible that there could still be \"lost\" albums lingering in the vaults by musicians as important and successful as Johnny Cash and Paul McCartney.
DUKE IN 10
TO COMMEMORATE THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF DUKE'S DEATH, ROBERT BAIRD SELECTS A DOUBLE HANDFUL OF EXEMPLARY TRACKS FROM PERHAPS AMERICA'S GREATEST MUSICAL GENIUS.
Piega Coax Gen2 811
It's funny how we discover some music in unexpected, twisting ways.
Pass Laboratories XP-27
One of the pleasures of reviewing-and also using-products from Pass Laboratories is an encounter with Nelson Pass's writing, which can usually be found in the owner's manual and is always competent, insightful, and sometimes funny.
EMT 928 II
Modern turntables are a paradox.
Dynaudio Contour 30i
Ah, Denmark. Land of the Vikings and blue-eyed, blond-haired folk with faces sculpted just so.