Listening Room Face Lift

It has been a crazy summer at On A Higher Note as we threw ourselves into an extensive renovation, updating both listening rooms and more.  Although our larger listening room is still completely torn up, we took a quick snapshot of the current state of our smaller listening room here to share.  More to follow.

Can you smell the new paint?  (It’s Benjamin Moore, Mayonnaise, Eggshell finish).

Bergmann (Denmark)

Originally, our plan was to launch the Bergmann Modi at AXPONA 2020 but the pandemic thwarted our plans.

With AXPONA 2021 now postponed to April 2022, thank goodness we came up with a plan last month to debut this magnificent turntable around the country, starting October 2nd at Gig Harbor Audio in Washington.

Erik Owen, the proprietor of Gig Harbor Audio, is as much of a vinyl enthusiast as we are.  He is also a British loudspeaker connoisseur.

We started discussing the debut of the Graham Audio LS8/1 (a Derek Hughes Signature Series, a limited edition of 100 signed and numbered by Derek Hughes) at Erik’s and have made a decision to host our first live “Mid Range Magic” event there.

“Mid Range Magic” Music Events are live music events held at local dealers’ locations with the sole aim of sharing an experience where the audience is able to make a deep emotional connection with a curated music presentation, and of course, enjoy the camaraderie around the room (more to come).

See here for updates about the event and further discussions below about our system for the Mid Range Magic Live Presentations.

After that, we have also scheduled the same event at Joe and Mike Heusi’s TIMBRE in Houston, Texas on the 14th of October.

See here for updates on that event, and check back with us here with other event posts from us in other areas.

Bergmann Audio Modi Turntable side (with Origin Live arm)

This Bergmann’s airbearing Modi turntable is capable of accepting a second 9 -12” tonearm, representing Bergmann’s latest design and an effort to offer their air-bearing platter technology to a larger segment of the audiophile clientele with built-in flexibility.

Equipped with remote ON/OFF for the pump & electronics, this turntable design has your convenience, budget, aesthetic pleasure and a listening experience rid of mechanical noise at the table level in mind.

Hand made Danish design, this turntable retails for @ $9,995 which includes an Origin Live “Silver” tonearm.

Graham Audio (United Kingdom)

LS8/1, Derek Hughes Signature Series, Limited Edition of 100 (Premium Teak Finish with Stands)

Designed by Derek Hughes, the Graham Audio new LS8/1 ($9,700 in premium teak finish, with stands, signed and numbered by Derek, ed: 100) incorporates the same innovations behind the improvements that the current LS5/5 model has over its predecessor.

Based his new design on the classic LS3/6 genre from the BBC, with judicious application of better modern materials in magnets, metallurgy, driver materials and glue, for example, Derek Hughes was able to gift these new and improved speakers better bass extension.

With an additional 3dB increase in sensitivity together with greater power handling, the LS8/1 is capable of nearly 10dB greater sound pressure level, boasting a recreation of the gestalt of live music unmatched by others.

Artesania (Spain)

There is a new addition to our family – as we just installed a black Artesania Audio AV rack ($4,600 in graphite) into our smaller listening room.

See more in another post, “An Overdue Addition to Our Family”.

In addition, we also placed the Artesania Decoupling Discs underneath the spikes of the LS8/1 and under the Track Audio feet with the Bergmann “Modi” to instantly achieve audible sonic improvement, gaining a more articulate and an extended bass with a noticeably cleaner midrange.

See “Music Session with Steve Williams” for more details about our tips and tweaks to hear vinyl on LS8/1’s.

See “Early First Listening Notes for Graham Audio LS8/1” for our first reaction to the Graham Audio LS8/1’s.

Stay tuned as we will be sharing more updates and upgrade news as we finish this slow-going renovation of listening space, our office space and our outdoor space.