Locrian Audio: 18-month flashback

[Basile: Locrian Audio]

Thank you for your welcome and support for the first 18 months of our operation.

I am excited to give my fellow audiophiles an update on the inaugural 18 months of Locrian Audio in Dallas. We established the business to offer another view of the high-end audio with components not readily available in the US market. Our vision remains to allow space for experimentation in the pursuit of an outstanding listening experience, without the pressure of sales people. We gravitate around open baffle and omnidirectional speakers and electronics with realistic dynamics and natural sound. We are delighted to frequently have similarly minded audiophiles visiting us for 2-3-day listening sessions, where together, we have the chance to explore several facets of audio components and delve into the impact of the sound when rotating units in and out of the reference system.


Learning the ropes

The first 18 months were a learning experience for us, during which we focused on understanding how the market works and how audiophiles make decisions when the time comes to buy equipment. Many believe that financials, and the pursuit of a deal, are key driving forces. What we found to be the main consideration was whether the sound “spoke” to them and if it was within their expected “norm.” Next came the design of the unit and lastly, the financials. If a unit exceeds expectations, most audiophiles will overcome budgetary limits, within reason.

 

[Synaxis]

Very nice!

I remember hearing your room at the SWAF - you had it sounding among the best rooms at the show!

 

[Basile: Locrian Audio]

Interacting with clients

We concentrated on devoting significant time with potential clients. Short demos (under 1 hour) led to some sales, but we always considered them “impulsive” as they did not provide adequate time for properly evaluating an expensive audio component. We strongly encourage our clients to dedicate at least 5-6 hours of listening time and experimentation, and for at least 2-3 visits. As mentioned earlier, we host clients in our listening studio in Dallas for 2 to 3 day sessions. These visits usually include a 3 stage approach: a. Listening to the reference system with multiple sources (analog and digital), the same tracks in different media and a mix of optimal and average grade recorded material. This basically establishes the boundaries of the system relative to recordings and the differences between digital and analog options. b. Experience the sound impact of a variety of tonearms, cartridges, transports and DACs. The purpose here is to determine the base line preference for a source system for further listening, and accentuate the strengths and limitations in components and media. At this stage, many realize that what they like is not necessarily the most expensive option. c. Experiment with amplification components and speakers. At this experimentation phase, clients often opt to bring their own units for evaluation. Upon concluding the reference audio chain, we can then begin the exciting part of several hours of critical listening.

After such listening sessions, clients come away with a clear picture of what they like, what is secondary and what they should steer away from. As an added benefit, several myths are debunked, the most prominent one being the impact a cd transport has and the effect of cartridges on the music reproduction, transparency and overall realism. Experiencing 5-6 cartridges consecutively with the same recording can be an eye opener on how the entire system is transformed and fine-tuned.

 

[Basile: Locrian Audio]

Memorable moments

During these past months, we are proud of several accomplishments. For the first time in the US, we provided a place to audition the German Physiks speakers with a wide range of models. We had a very successful presence at the SouthWest Audio Fest, where we received acknowledgment as one of the best sounding rooms, despite room size limitations. While at the SWAF, we introduced several Accuphase products to the US market from their 50th Anniversary line. We brought Ypsilon Electronics and Transrotor turntables to the Dallas market, as well Glanz and Moerch tonearms. Furthermore, we have witnessed success across the US and have secured several international sales for pre-owned equipment.

 

[Basile: Locrian Audio]

The journey ahead

Looking ahead, we would like to build on what has been our hallmark: dedicating time to our clients. We shall focus on demanding auditions, irrespective of whether they lead to sales or not. Moreover, we aim to expand awareness on omnidirectional speakers, and German Physiks in particular, and wide frequency drivers. Lack of exposure to these in the US has led many audiophiles to ignore them because of their under-representation in the local audio market. Lastly, we shall zoom-in on the Accuphase products, which have significantly elevated their performance with the 50th Anniversary edition, Transrotor turntables, Shelter and ZYX cartridges, and Glanz and Moerch tonearms.

We look forward to meeting many more from the audiophile community in our premises in Dallas and at our German Physics dealers in Atlanta (Hi-Fi Chambers, https://hifichambers.com/) and Chicago (SORAsound, https://sorasound.com/)

.

 

[Basile: Locrian Audio]

Very nice!

I remember hearing your room at the SWAF - you had it sounding among the best rooms at the show!

Thank you.

 

[Basile: Locrian Audio]

The UK reviewer Terry Ellis has given the Borderland Mk IV his Best of 2024 Stand Out HiFi Product Award. He announced this in a video he posted on his YouTube channel at the end of last week. You can find the section of the video with the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3ZIYgQK.

You can download a copy of the award logo here: https://bit.ly/3BjXsbL.

Here is a good, if rather long quote from Terry’s video:

"The best sounding speaker I had here to review this year was the German Physiks Borderland Mk IV. What a stunningly good hifi speaker they are. And I think it’s the combination of the very wide-band DDD driver and how that has no crossover until the bass region. And how free-sounding the speakers are because they are not constrained by a cabinet around the DDD driver, so there’s no cabinet around the vocals, around the midrange and around the treble. So that all just sounds so free. But then, the built-in 12-inch passive subwoofer produces a lot of great bass, but also blends and supports the upper bass and vocal regions so well that you get a lovely full and warm and fantastic vocal."

Here is a link to Terry’s original very enthusiastic review of the Borderlands : https://bit.ly/4aMnBfj

 

[Basile: Locrian Audio]