I want to end my 2019 California Audio Show reports by thanking Constantine Soo, publisher of Dagogo, for his faithfulness in putting on this wonderful show in Oakland each year. Having written for Dagogo for so many years and living here in the San Francisco Bay Area, I know how hard it has been to keep this show going.
Yes, the show is small, but that’s what I love about it. Even so, about ten more rooms would make it the perfect size. Here’s a brief look at who you could visit with and pick their brains at this year’s show.
I hadn’t seen Peter in several years, and it was great to catch up. Peter is a legend in the high-end community. He was in the Audio Note room every time I went by, and he was visiting with every audiophile who approached him. You won’t get opportunities to spend time with people like Peter at the really big shows.
Julian Margules, owner and chief designer of Margules Audio, was in their room all three days. If you aren’t familiar with Margules Audio, you need to be. Their electronics and speakers are very high-end and not as expensive as they sound or look. Julian is a fountain of design knowledge.
Dr. Roger West of Sound Lab is another legend to many audiophiles. Since 1978, Dr. West has produced some of the best electrostatic speakers in the world. It is always a privilege to get to talk with him and to hear his wonderful speakers. Dr. West presented a seminar at this show.
Jim Salk of Salk Sound made the trip from Pontiac, Michigan to be at the California Audio Show. Their speakers are custom-built for a specific customer, which means each pair of our speakers is unique in some fashion. Who wouldn’t want to talk to him about his beautiful speakers and their great sound?
Lyn Stanley, named Female Jazz Vocalist of the Year for 2018 by radio programmer Saul Levine of KKJZ-88.1 FM, was at the show talking to people about her appreciation for the audiophile community and playing cuts from her new Direct-to-Disc album, London With A Twist: Live At Bernie’s. I’ve spent some time with this album, and I think it’s her best yet. This is simply fantastic music and not just fantastic audiophile music. By the way, if the LP is too rich for your blood, the hybrid SACD also sounds great. Thanks and good luck Lyn!
For years I thought of David as Mr. Audio Note at audio shows. A few years ago David thought he could give up the audio show treadmill and open an audio store, Old Forge Studio, that doubles as a recording studio. Becky wrote about David here in her interview for our “Dealers Worth the Drive” series. David is now bringing his years of experience with SET amps and high-efficiency speakers to America with some great audio from New Zealand. And, he’s always happy to visit with audiophiles and share his expertise.
George and Carolyn Counnas of Zesto Audio are some of the best people in Audio. They are always very welcoming and spin some really great tunes. They are very knowledgeable about music and audio and willing to share that knowledge with you. By the way, Becky interviewed Carolyn for the “Women in Audio” series, and this interview should be published soon. If you don’t know about this series, you’ll find it here.
As I said at the beginning of this post, I would love to see the show grow a little bit but not too much. You just can’t have the same experience at the big shows. Looking forward to next year already!
