The Bongo Beat Newsletter – Summer 2019

Rocky Mountain High

In just a few days we will be in Denver for the 16th Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. The move to a new location and the price increase for rooms has created a lot of discussion over the summer, but we’re looking forward to seeing people and hearing some great music. We are also giving away a pair of Vanatoo T1E speakers as part of our RMAF coverage, so keep reading to find out more!

In the last few weeks, you may have noticed a few additions to our website, but if not, we invite you to take a look. Becky has added two new columns that should appear fairly regularly. The “Women in Audio” column has already gotten some nice feedback. Let us know who you would like to see featured in an interview here. There are some wonderful women who are making significant contributions to the audiophile world, and we know you would like to read more about them.

The “Dealers Worth the Drive” column recognizes some of the best audio stores around the country. Again, feel free to let us know your favorite dealer, and you may see a feature story about them in this column soon. Just last week we made the trip over AudioVision SF and will be doing a feature on this store soon to celebrate their 20th birthday.

Our “Boppin’ with The Beatnik” stories haven’t gone away. We will also continue to have “Thoughts from The Audio Beatnik” from time to time, but frankly, he hasn’t done much thinking lately (just kidding)!

Thank you for reading what we write! We appreciate it, and we welcome your feedback. We’re hoping to meet many of you in person at the shows.

Thanks for your support,
Jack, The Audio Beatnik (jack@theaudiobeatnik.com)
Becky, The Beatnik’s Wife (becky@theaudiobeatnik.com)

Introducing Drew Gagliano, Our Newest Reviewer

In our last newsletter, we mentioned that we’ve added a new reviewer, Drew Gagliano. Hopefully, by now you have had a chance to read one of his posts. Here’s a little more information about Drew.

Drew’s exposure to music began as a child with his father’s stereo; an Onkyo Integra integrated with Snell Acoustics Type J speakers. Listening to that system sent his life down a musical path, including being an accomplished first-chair clarinetist in his school’s orchestra, while competing in solo and ensemble contests at the state level. Eventually, he swapped out the clarinet for two Technics SL-1200MK2 turntables and a DJ mixer, starting a rewarding hobby of mixing records and exploring music.

Opening the door to HiFi with a subscription to Stereophile prompted him to attend his first audio show. It proved to be an enlightening experience, completely changing his expectations about what’s possible with high-end audio reproduction. Today, he is passionate about listening to music and writing about the gear that makes it sound so good.

Win Vanatoo T1E Speakers

Help us boost our coverage of the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest’s 16th year. We plan to be there from start to finish bringing you pictures of what we see, who we see, and what we think is the best of the show. Every post will be labeled RMAF. For every one of our RMAF posts you share on Facebook, you will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a pair of the Vanatoo Transparent One Encore speakers. See our review of these speakers here. And, see complete contest rules here.

  • Hana ML
  • High Fidelity Cables
  • Audience 1+1 V3
  • Fern and Roby Raven II Loudspeakers
  • Voxativ Absolut Hagen System
  • Innuos MK3 Music Server
  • Gershman Acoustics Studio Loudspeakers
  • Orchard Audio 100w Monoblock Amplifiers
  • Audio Note AN-E/SPe Loudspeakers
  • Women in Audio: Carolyn Counnas, Zesto Audio
  • Dealer Worth the Drive: AudioVision SF

and anything else we line up at RMAF!

Product Reviews:

Music Reviews:

Show Reports:

Women in Audio:

Dealers Worth the Drive: