THE HIGH END AND ULTRA HIGH END AUDIO WORLD
AUDIO SHOWS
CANJAM REPORTS
EQUIPMENT REVIEWS
AUDIO COMMENTARY
AUDIO PHILOSOPHY
CONCERTS
MY MUSIC
BREAKING NEWS
MORE OF MY SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE CAN BE FOUND ON MY YOUTUBE, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM AND LINKEDIN PLATFORMS.
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BREAKING NEWS
Good Things Come To Those Who Wait.” I recently purchased two fantastic sounding McIntosh pieces. I bought them used on EBay.com. The first piece was the McIntosh MVP881BR. When new sells for upwards of $8000. The second piece was a McIntosh MX136. When new sold for around $10,000. I easily constructed a 70 percent discount on both items. Both items are in mint condition. Be consumer smart out there.
There is a way to obtain high end and ultra high end audio gear. We are all not billionaires or wealthy celebrates. additionally, if you think that the latest state of the art gear sounds better than the gear of ten years ago, you might be wrong. So if you are budgetary here is my plan.
-Buy gear that is five to ten years old.
- Buy on sites such as Ebay.com.
-Spread you payments out over a 24 month period.
-Buy from high rated sellers.
-Read the product description over and over
-insist on insurance.
-Insist on a tracking number.
-Negotiate a price lower than the sales price offered.
BREAKING NEWS
Once again I will be going to the Naumburg Band Shell in Central Park, NYC on 5/12 to see and hear Stella Blue‘sat 4.30 pm.
BREAKING NEWS
I just bought a Nikon D3100 and a Nikon D2H with a number of lenses. I plan on using this equipment at various audio shows worldwide.
BREAKING NEWS
I am going to see and hear Grahame Lesh And Friends at The Brooklyn Bowl on 5/7 of this year.
BREAKING NEWS
New-used McIntosh MVP 881BR- CD-SACD, VIDEO PLAYER-to be installed into my big system today-4/18/2026.
BREAKING NEWS
I was at The Brooklyn Bowl last night 4/17/2026 to see and hear the band Lotus. They were fantastic. Check out my quick concert review page from the upper menu to read about the performance.
BREAKING NEW
I have been granted a press pass for the upcoming Vienna High End Society Audio Show taking place from 6/4 to 6/7 of this year. This show used to be held in Munich but has now moved to Vienna. With over 500 exhibitors and tens of thousands of attendees, The Vienna High End Society Audio Show is the largest audio show in the world. I look forward to covering this show for you on all my social media platforms; including on this website-https://scottmrifkin.info- Also on The Audio Traveler-Hosted By Scott M. Rifkin on Facebook and on YouTube.com under .. Scott M..Rifkin…I hope you will enjoy my coverage.
BREAKING NEWS
My Band, Music For The Free World, will be heading into the recording studio at Funkadelic Studios here in New York City. The first of two recording sessions will take place on Sunday August 33rd of 2026. I will be recording with
-Kris Gruda-Guitar
-James Paul Nadien-Drums
-Charlie Sabatino-Bass
-Ayumi Ashito-Saxophone
-Leo Ciesa-Drums
-Adam Dym -Winds
-Damien Olsen-Keyboards etc
-Nathan Michaels-Song Writer
-Laura Feathers-Keyboards
-Harry Weinberg-Saxophone
-Eric Basta-Recording Engineer
-Scott M Rifkin-Founding Member-Producer-Finsncial
Backer, Poetry-Words-Guitar-Synth
Machines
WHO AM I?
I am now in my 70s. My teenage years were spent listening to a fantastic era of music. The 1960s and 1970s had a profound affect on me. So much so that I still crave a return to this era. More specifically, I would love to go back to my days at The Fillmore East: where I spent my teenage years listening to the greatest bands of the time.
What exactly did I become? At first I became a musical nut. I thought about music 24/7. All my friends were the same way. We wanted to be like astronauts in our own musical spaceships. We wanted the plush carpets, dimmed lights and lava lamps in our rooms in our parents houses. But most importantly we wanted a fantastic stereo system. We wanted this to convince girls to come back to our rooms in our parents houses: when our parents were not around. Well, you know what happened next!
As I worked my way through college as a bus boy and then as a waiter, I was able to save enough money to buy my first stereo system. My college buddies were all working towards the same goal. In 1973 we went to our first audio show at The Statler Hilton Hotel here in New York City. Once there, we saw all the great audio companies of the time: Sansui, KLH, JBL etc. Soon after the show, I finalized my decision about what I wanted to buy. However, it had always difficult to convince my financially protective parents to buy big ticket items.They were products of the Great Depression and thought that all my money should go into the bank. But eventually my youthful logic won out: and without stipulations. Looking back at it, I don’t know why I needed their approval. I guess I was just being cooperative.
As the years went by, I continued going to all sorts of concerts. Sitting in the audience, I often wondered what it might be like to be a performer on the stage. So, upon a friends influence I got started, I bought my first guitar and started taking lessons. I must admit that I wasn’t making much musical progress. So it came to the point where I had to abandone trying to play classical guitar. I had to find a genre of music in which I could free myself from all the rules about time, harmony and reading musical charts. After a little research, I came across a genre known as Free Improvisation. I thus began to practice, jam, seek out and organize musicians, singers and poets who were interested in this genre of music. I knew that I would need to shell out some heavy bucks to get jam sessions started. After a while, I networked a number of people into playing with me. Our informal jam sessions gave way to rehearsals. Our rehearsals gave way to recording sessions. Soon after I founded: The Exploration Project and then Music For The Free World. Of course our music was a specialty music. We only had a small following. But at least we were playing what we wanted. We also came to appreciate the sophistication of what our music was about. But one thing was missing. We were all instrumental without any words or lyrics.
Then one day I got a call from an old friend. He invited my group upstate, that is upstate New York, for a paid gig! A real paid gig in which we were going to make $1000 per man. We would be playing in a big field house with a large audience. So I figured we better have some words or lyrics for this gig or we were going to flop. I then set out to write five poems not thinking that they were going to be good or that I had any real talent for writing. I spent a month crafting them down to size. The day of our performance was drenched with wind and heavy rain. Hardly anyone showed up to hear us play. Still we were getting paid. We could not just cancel the whole thing out. Besides we were already there after a two hour drive. So we played to an empty house, but we played. I got a chance to try out my finalized poems. The sound engineer and the stage manager, our only audience, liked what I had written. Thus confirming my new role as a poet. Since that time back in 2023, I have written over one hundred poems, performed them live and recorded them onto musical releases. I also am the administrator of my Facebook group….Poetry Around The World: where we have many contributors.
Which brings me into our current world of 2026. In this time, I find myself with the same passion I had as a hell bent teenage audiophile. I am still amazed that this hobby has kept me motivated for almost seven decades. I still look forward to meeting and discussing all things audio. One thing that I sadly see going on today is the lack of a budgetary philosophy among some audiophiles. The “I just want it quickly,” attitude that some audiophiles have shows A lack of art. This rush to judgement will come back to haunt them. It will take away their appreciation for what they have built snd bought and render their system to just another piece of living room furniture. So, although I am just one person with his own opinion about the high end and ultra high end audio in this world, I hope that you won’t fall into this trap. . Please be careful out there!
MY HIGH END PURCHASING PROCESS
-My Sound Signature-
I am sorry. I just can’t accept Nuetrality as a credible sound quality. It just reeks of boring and is old fashion. I prefer a smooth but accurate sound signature. That is why my system is composed of mostly McIntosh audio equipment. You might also be surprised to know that I have Cerwin Vega Cinema speakers which I have biwired to two of my MC 1.2KWs. Most audiophiles do not look at Cerwin Vegas to seriously. But then again, they haven’t heard them running in my apartment.
Additionally, I favor analog sound over digital sound. However, I do think that some aspects of digital sound have their place in a high end and or ultra high end system. I just can’t live with a digital sound all the time. It does a number on my nervous system.
-Matching your sound signature to audio gear.
There are a couple of ways to match your sound signature to audio gear. Firstly, you must go to a lot of high end and ultra high end audio shows. If you are going to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on a system, don’t cut corners on doing your research. I advise that you go to at least four major audio shows before you buy. Of course, even by going to shows, you will never be able to determine how your selected system will sound in your home. Therefore you need a step two, three and even four. Do your due diligence.
Step two might involve joining a local high end society-headphone club Such as Headfi.org. This will put you in contact with a worldwide group of people. I, myself, live in New York City and am a member of The Audio Club of Athens, Greece. I actually traveled to Greece to meet up with them. Many of these clubs and societies put on big shows and smaller size get together. Perhaps you will find a member in these groups who has the equipment that you desire or even better still is looking to buy similar equipment. There is negotiation power in numbers when it comes to a group purchase.
-Determining what you can afford to pay
Although most people would look at the photos i have provided of my audio systems on this website and say that it is expensive stuff, I would not agree. You see that there are many ways to skin a cat as the expression goes. The first aspect of my purchasing philodophy is TIME. I built my system over a fifteen year period making one purchase a year. The next factor to consider is NEW or USED. Considering that if you buy new, you might only get a three year warranty, used done right works well. I must admit that I traveled the used route often.The used route can offer a savings percentage of up to 50 percent. But you must be careful! Seller ratings, proximity of the seller to the buyer, are major factors. Yes! Just recently I was almost burned buy a seller. But I protect myself by using PayPal and its extended 2 year payment plan with no payment needing for the first month to avoid disaster. Thus enabling me ttime to see if the shipment really did arrived and whether it was in the described condition.Finally, RESEARCH. Take the time to find out everything there is to know about the sellers auction history. Find out about complaints etc. Do your due deligence.
- Applying the rules of Math to my purchasing process
Well you see, If X equals great sound and to get X cost $1000 USD. Then 2X must give you double great sound and be worth $2000 USD. Let’s look at phono cartridges as an example. I have two McIntosh MT 10 turntables. One of which has a Grado Prestige Black MC phono cartridge on it. the Black cost me under $100.00 USD. I am very satisfied with the Black’s sound. So, Black equals good sound at $100.00….My other MT 10 has the Grado Prestige Gold IC cartridge on it. The Gold offers slightly better sound than the Black: Therefore X + 1 equals better sound at $260.00. But how about those very expensive phono cartridges. Say the ones that cost over $10,000 USD. Those should offer you 100Xs great sound as compared to your good sounding Grado blacks and golds. BUT YOU KNOW THAT THEY DON’T. So are those expensive $10,000’USD phono cartridges really worth it. Mathamaticslly they are NOT! So why do so many people buy them? Especially because that wasted money could be used to purchase other equipment. Technology in high end audio will only go so far as a sales technique. Great sound out trumps-no not our president! Don’t get politically radical on me now! Hahaha!-technology at every price point. That is why the iconic brands and equipment of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s still sound great and are in high demand., so please don’t be fooled! Or at least be aware of this pitfall before you buy anything.
-Finding my discount
Walk out of any negotiation for audio equipment if the sales representative says to you that his or her price is firm. Be aware that if you are buying from a second hand online store or an actual physical retail store that the item you are buying was purchased used at a huge discount: and that the reselling establishment has jacked up the price significantly..
Finally, ”look to Nickle And Dime as my late mother said to me. When your deal is all but done, hit the seller with a request for free-small extras. Such things as free shipping back to your audio pad or an extra year or two in the repair warranty. Remember, it is a buyers market not a sellers market. You are the Man, not the seller!
-Finding great audio companies
One of the best ways to discover great high end audio companies is to take out a subscription to a couple of audiophile magazines. I, myself, have two subscriptions. The first is to The Absolute Sound. The second is to Stereophile magazine. Additionally, if I am traveling internationally, I try to buy copies of that nations audio magazines. Often times, these magazines are given away for free at the various audio shows I have attended.
Of course I have already mentioned the importance of attended audio shows. So we don’t have to go back to a discussion of that. Right!
Another way to find great audio companies is to become friendly with your local high end audio atelier. I like using that word. Once there, you could lounge around in one of their sound salons, smoke a cigar and ask for a glass of scotch. NOT! Or Maybe it will work. I dare you to try it! Best of luck to you. But don’t mention my name when you do it.
-Keeping it all looking great- Maybe to please the wife!
Not really one of my problems as I am not married. But still I hate an eclectic look when it comes to the way my system looks. I like the beauty of those black, blue and green McIntosh pieces. I enjoy the ambiance that those colors create. It puts me in the mood to listen to music. So, if you have a wife-partner etc, he, she or it is probably right when she says“ it better look good or else.”
-Your research
”Only Fools Rush In.” As the saying and song go! Think about it! You are spending as much as a house in most cases when you pull the trigger on all that audio equipment. I myself, when new and at the original retail value, spent about 300K on my system: and that doesn’t include the cost of my vinyl, reel to reel tape and cd collections. In 1995, when I bought my apartment, I only dropped 90K, really only 30K and the rest in a mortgage. So be smart. if you do not spend the first year or two just window shopping for great equipment, you might be making a mistake. It’s not the stuff that you have already seen and liked, but the stuff that is still out there that you haven’t noticed yet. What you haven’t heard yet could be better.
-Repairs
A three year warranty just doesn’t cut it to me! That is why I mostly buy used pieces. If your in warranty, then you must think about the shipping costs to get your piece of equipment to the repair shop. Being that I don’t own a car, I depend on the usual USPS, FedEx, UPS etc to get the job done. In one case, I discovered that the repair shop gets a lower shipping rate than I could ever get. So therefore, I arrange it so that the repair shop would pay my shipping costs both ways and then I would repay the repair shop. I must have saved about $300 that way.
BREAKING NEWS
My visit on 4/6/2026 to the McIntosh House Of Sound here in New York City.
Today, now meaning yesterday, was a very special day. I traveled to Chelsea from my Upper East Side apartment here in New York City. You see, I pre arranged a tour at The McIntosh House Of Sound: located in a beautiful town house at 357 W 17 St. Upon ringing the brown door bell, I was greeted by Ricky Miranda, the Audio Experience Manager.We proceeded into the main level of this multi level house. He took my coat and proceeded to get right down to it! We took the lift up one flight to the kitchen level of the house. I was offered my choice of beverages when I noticed some other people seated at a long kitchen table. Ricky introduced me to the two gentlemen. One saying to me,”I know who you are! You’re The Audio Traveler.” . It was the first time that I had been recognized as The Audiio Traveler.
The kitchen level Of the town house spanned the complete length of the building: from its street front to its rear garden. We walked to the rear room where we encountered our first listening system.: a mostly all tubed system of McIntosh tubed mono locks, tubed preamp, tubed cd player along with these space aged Sonos Faber mid size speakers.I think I requested some Miles Davis Kind Of Blue which was presented digitally. I took my IPhone out and began to do a panning video, which you can now view on one of my social media platforms. The sound in that room was so exquisite. The rear ported Sonas Faber speakers pushed the sound out from the back creating what I would almost call surround or panoramic. I was pleased.
Next up we took the elevator up to another floor where we entered another rear positioned room. In it were a pair of big line arrayed McIntosh speakers. They were huge: spanning from the floor to the tops of the already higher than normal ceilings. Directly next to the McIntosh line arrays were two three stacked McIntosh amplifiers. I think their designated model numbers were MC 2000: meaning that each stack gave off a maximum of 2000 watts per stack. Ricky selected some Floyd DSOTM and the room began to pound away. It was impressive. I began to think, as should every audiophile, about how this amazing system compared to my own home mostly McIntosh system. But unfortunately, I would have to remember it and wait until I got home to do and A to B comparison test. I kind of do these A to B Memory Tests often so as to confirm or not confirm my big home system to that which is considered State Of The Art. After fourty high end shows worldwide, I will let you, the reader, contact me at Scottsmrnyc@aol.com to discuss my thoughts .
We next made our way to the main floor. Through a doorway and then into a dark cavernous room. On the far wall towards the back were stacked the most amount of McIntosh pieces I have ever seen in one place in my life. There must have been at least thirty amps and preamps stacked together into four sections. The place was dark. All of a sudden Ricky pressed some sort of control button and boom! all the McIntosh pieces lit up to full power. Then, he asked my, what videos, if that is the correct word these days to use! I wanted to watch. The screen was enormous. i couldn’t decide. So Ricky put on a Roger Waters live concert with Comfortable Numb selected as the piece being played. Well, as the song proceeded on the screen the audience can be seen with tears in all their eyes as they sing along to the song.”I have become comfortable numb.” How did Ricky know that Comfortable Numb and Echos were my favorite Floyd tracks.I felt the music in that big powerful home theater room running through me! As you can guess, I also became choked up because of it. Isn’t that the beauty of music. Isn’t that also the beauty of McIntosh.
So what can I say to you to finalize my visit to the McIntosh House Of Sound? What words can I use to describe my journey to it? I will offer a couple of words. But there will be no in-depth discussion. it has already been discussed and more importantly felt! If you have never been to the McIntosh House Of Sound, here in New York City, please call them to make an appointment! No! You can’t just show up unannounced! ICONIC, HISTORIC, FANTASTIC, SUBSTANTIAL, STATE OF THE ART & AMERICAN MADE
BREAKING NEWS
My thoughts on The New York Audio Show held on October 24 2025 and October 25 2025 At The Hilton Hasbrouck Heights in New Jersey.
We in the New York City Metro area have been suffering for a long time. Not since the old days of the early 1970s has New York-New Jersey had a great show worthy of the largest metro area in the country. I remember being a teenager and going with my pals to The Statler Hilton across from Penn Station to hear the latest hifi. Back then it was Quadraphonic Sound. Which I fell for hook, line and sinker;. buying a Garrard zero 100 turntable, Sansui QR 6500 Quadraphonic Reciever and four Audio Analyst three way speakers.
Since that time, others have tried nobly to resurrect the New York Show. My friends at The Chester Group held the effort down for many years. Each year watching the amount of exhibitors and attendees dwindle. Eventually the Chester Group sold their show to The Show! The Show, having offerings in a number of other American cities, took it over in 2025.
So off I went to New Jersey on that October 24th morning via the New York City Subway and NJ Transit to Hasbrouck Heights.The walk from the Hasbrouck Heights NJ Transit train Station to the Hilton was confusing to say the least.The NJ Transit train tracks blocked me from getting over to the other side. I had to zig zag my way along industrial style streets with the trucks wizzing by In order to get there.
Finally I arrived and was glad to see that my press pass was waiting for me. There seemed to already be a crowd assembled in the lobby of the hotel.I smiled at some of the attendees and began to look at the program guide.I was pleased to see that there were approximately seventy rooms of audio available for listening.This was a vast improvement from the shows that took place in Manhattan and even the one that took place at the Brooklyn Marriott way back when. So I made my way down to the lower level where the extremely large size audio salons were located. Once there I strolled around and found the Legacy Audio and the Von Schweikert salon rooms. These were huge rooms with multiple audio set ups in them. One of the Legacy Audio rooms even had a multi channel home theater set up and was showing a number of independent films. There were two other huge rooms in the lower level that were also interesting. In one of the other oversized salons was an exhibitor who had these full size speakers with external cross over units. I believe it was the Fred Layton room. The components in that room were old school, which automatically appealed me. I took a seat in the back and stayed there for a while soaking up the sound.
Making my way up to the three upper floors, I over heard a couple of exhibitors talking. They were upset by the fact that upon their arrival the day before, there was no assistance in helping them lug their audio gear up to their display room. They vowed not to return to the show in the future. I was sadden to hear this. But was still pleased to see all the improvements going on overall with the New York Audio Show.
The upper rooms were filled with exhibitors. There must have been fifteen to twenty exhibitors on each floor. Many rooms were filled with collaborating exhibitors. i don’t think it would be possible to discuss the goings on in these rooms. Perhaps I have left a couple of photos in the photo galleries of this website to help you get a feel for what these upper floors were like.
BREAKING NEWS
CanJam NYC 2026 at The Marriott Marquis 3/7/2026-
I attended CanJam NYC 2026 on March 7. This was my 43rd High End Audio- High End Headphone/Amplifier show worldwide. But! because I live only blocks away from the Marriott Marquis, it was a home game for me: not much traveling for the audio traveler this time.
The thing I like about NYC is that it is big and full of hype and grit. It’s a tough place to live but it is a beautiful place at the same time. So, I took the subway down to W 45 St and Broadway. I arrived early so that I could procure my media press pass. Once there, I grabbed a cup of coffee from the Starbucks on the lower level of the Marriott Marquis and then sat down near the central CanJam check in area. I said hello to some friends I had met from previous shows. Then I whipped out my IPhone to start taking photos. There was an outer banquet hall set of exhibitors just setting up, So I mosied right up to the Final Inc.display where I met a very friendly group of Japanese people. Although they were in the throes of still setting up, one nice fellow took the time to set me up with a silver looking set of headphones as well as a two tiered headphone Amp. I sat there for quite a while enjoying Miles Davis- Bitches Brew while drinking the remainder of my own coffee brew! Get it! Hahaha! I thought the products from Final sounded so so sweet. If interested here is their info. Final Inc., Kwa Tee Kun, 4-44-1 Nakasaiwaicho Saiwai Ku, Kawasaki-Shi, Kanagawa-212 0012, Japan…YlEmail is the best at…..khawi@final.inc.com……There are a number of phone numbers on the business card they gave me. To many to list here.,
Once the show officially started, I started walking into each of the many salons, that is what I call the audio rooms. Sounds so fancy. I like that! Quickly the crowd increased, Before you knew it, the grand banquet hall filled up to capacity. The CanJam was on!
I had brought a pair of vintage Stax Earspeaker 4070s which I knew would draw some attention my way. They are very rare and were bound to set me up for some meet, greet and one on one interviews. Before you knew it, I met two long haired hippies from Georgia, Cameron Watson and Jordan McLaughlin. They started their own company called Hex Audio LLC in Atlanta, Georgia- Phone numbers- Cameron-770 765 5235 and Jordon 770 765 5227. Their company recreates vintage Stas Earspeakers from yesteryear. So we decided to post ourselves up in the center of the main banquet hall and see who would be drawn our way.
Earlier in the day I met Adam Sohmer, President of Sohmer Associates. He invited me to a private get together at one of the grand luxury suites he had procured at the Marriott Marquis. Dinner was going to be served. Some how or another I didn’t make the connect. Looking back at it now, I wonder what his motivation was about. Perhaps there was going to be a job offer, being that his company was involved with public relations. I now wonder if I had made a mistake! Luckily I sent him a text in response to his invite in which I included my phone number.
So, I continued to walk around the various rooms of the CanJam. I think I hit every one of the rooms. However, I did not get to attend any of the lectures presented.I did however notice that all the lectures offered were very technical in their nature. I am myself a little on the old school side. I do not place technology over personal listening skills. So that the lectures did not interest me too much!
One great disappointment for me was the lack of a Stax Earspeaker presence at this Canjam. I did notice that in the event program guide,Stax had been listed And described. But nowhere could I find their room. However, there were other exhibitors who had electrostatic amplifiers. So I used them to listen to my Earspeakers.
MORE ABOUT SCOTT M RIFKIN
I am not a corporation or an LLC. I am not
sponsored by any companies. That is why this website is a.info and not a .com or .org. I am a private lifelong audiophile now in my 70s.I pay for my own expenses. These includes such things as airfares, hotels and food. Additionally, I own all the audio equipment. None of the audio or headphone companies have given free equipment.. I believe that there are financial limits to the due process of building a system. Spending money for its own sake is not the way to go. Finally, my thoughts on the relationship between technological advancement in audio and price points may or may not match up so smoothly. I firmly believe that only your ears should be the judge of great sound. The philosophy is not to jump quickly. Take the year or two to do your listening research. It is not what you have already heard but what is still out there to be listened to!