CAS 2013

Just when I thought I would have a weekend at home to catch up on things, it turns out the California Audio Show 2013 is happening in San Francisco at the end of this week. I told myself that I would do ALL of the audiophile shows in North America this year and Constantine Soo’s CAS is the one that I hadn’t planned on. It should have been on my list because it’s reasonably close to my home in Los Angeles AND I have a daughter living in the area so there’s a reason for my wife to come along. So I picked up the phone and spoke to Constantine and asked if there were any sales tables left…it turns out that there was one left. So AIX Records is bringing our gear, posters and plenty of high definition Blu-ray and DVD-Audio/Video discs to the show. If you’re a bay area resident, please come by and stop by the AIX table. They’ll be bargains and time for your questions.

Figure 1 – The AIX Records table at the CAF 2013

You might also want to plan on being at the CAS on Sunday around noon when I will present a seminar called:

High-End Audio: Secrets from Production to Playback

Award-winning producer/engineer and founder of AIX Records and iTrax.com Dr. Mark Waldrep will present an insider’s perspective on the HD-Audio production process from the source recording to the final speaker output. Most audiophiles believe that expensive equipment, cables and esoteric accessories are the primary factors in delivering amazing fidelity when in fact, the choices made by engineers and producers have the most impact on the sound you experience. Come and learn why Dr. Waldrep’s recordings have been described as, “…quite simply the most realistic and involving instance of recorded sound I can recall, from any source format. Mark Waldrep knows what he’s doing” by Andrew Quint, Senior Editor of The Absolute Sound magazine.

Following the standing room only presentation that I gave at the Capitol Audio Fest a couple of weeks ago, I’m hoping that the seminar room can accommodate a good-sized audience. I’ll be discussing the critical stages in producing REAL HD-Audio tracks, the choices that engineers have to make in the preparation of a high definition recording and the tools/formats that are required. If you want to see some of the spectragraphs that I’ve been making lately, come by the seminar.

There are a number of other seminars scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. As you might expect, the usual DSD supporters once again have their own seminar titled, “DSD Audio – Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow” on Saturday from 5-6 pm. The moderator is Cookie Morenco of Blue Coast Records. Panelists include Marc Finer from the Digital Entertainment Group, Patrick O’Conner from Downloads NOW, Gus Skinas from the Super Audio Center and Andreas Koch of Playback Designs. Why can’t there be a seminar that embraces all high-end formats…does it really have to be a repeat of the Newport Show panel?

On Sunday from 2-3 pm is another panel called, “Recording & Mastering – The Making of a Great Hi-Rez Recording”. This one sounds interesting and includes a number of prominent northern California engineers…many of whom are friends of mine. There are engineers Jack Kenny, Jeffrey Norman, John Nowland, Jon Reichbach of Sonic Studio, Michael Romanowski and Paul Stubblebine co-founder of the Tape Project.

I’ll be bringing my Smyth-Research Room Realizer, a couple sets of headphones, an Oppo BDP-95 universal player and 24″ flat screen TV to show off my recordings. Looking forward to seeing you.