NOTE: This article was first published in September 2023.
It was a mix of “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” (make that blue-green). This past Sunday, August 27, 2023, retired capital equipment salesman and full-time audiophile Jeff Kenton hosted the Chicago Audio Society at his riverfront home in a far corner of Chicago’s northwest suburbs.
The weather had been stifling, hovering between the 90s and 110 degrees Fahrenheit (adjusted for heat index) for weeks, but at last, it broke. At present, there was a cool breeze, and it was mild and sunny in the 70s.
People are seated outside on a sprawling deck that looks out onto a pier, an elevated, canvas-covered boat, and the Fox River, and indoors they mill about various rooms and a kitchen stocked with tasty chicken sandwiches baked by Jeff’s wife, Nancy, a soft-spoken and friendly nurse. In a screened-in porch, others are drinking strawberry daiquiris. And then, of course, there’s Jeff’s crowing achievement: an expansive blue-green room dedicated to two-channel listening and home theater.
Something Old, Something New
Upfront in Jeff’s domain, a towering pair of vintage blonde oak Infinity RS-4.5 dipole speakers captivates a small crowd with a velvety aural blanket that’s deep, detailed and natural. Employing ribbon tweeters and dual 12″ drivers covered in sheer black grill cloth, they are highly modded; both speakers feature revamped crossovers, have custom large, rectangular openings cut into their inside top quarter panels, and are no longer sealed, but sport rear ports, making them “more musical,” Kenton says. They sit atop customized outriggers made by a local carpenter that allow them to be angled slightly forward for optimal listening.
Now if you think vintage is king here, you’d be mistaken. The reference system also employs the latest PS Audio Air Lens digital streamer that “promises total galvanic isolation when streaming ethernet or WIFI, but only has HDMI out for I2S or Spdif/coax out,” Kenton says via text. The sound, he writes, is “virtually identical on I2S with my externally clocked Uptone EtherREGEN into my lowly iFi ZenStream, but I have three external power supplies Vs. 1 on the PS.”
Some of the other newfangled features include the following:
- MacMini M2 Pro
- More acoustic room treatments
- Michael Green power cords and interconnects
- Audio-GD R7HE mk2 NOS dac with regenerative power supply
- https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-66-audio-gd-r7he-mk2-da-processor
- Audio-GD DI-20HE DDC with regenerative power supply
- OCK-2 10 MHz master clock linking DAC & DDC
- HAF/Home Audio Fidelity room correction filters with crosstalk cancellation – integrated and switchable thru Roon
The mood is festive. Of course, there’s the usual audiophile talk; a local vinyl record shop and used audio equipment dealer is hawking his pristine vintage bookshelf speaker and tube amp setup out back, and there’s talk about concerts and albums, while some guests share photos and tales about their home hi-fi systems, however, above and beyond the common bond of audio, people are laughing and connecting at a deeper level.
A Korean Connection
Sitting across the table from Jong Gyu Kim, President of Zenith R&D Lab in Lincolnshire, IL, my wife Belle reads his name tag and asks, “Are you Korean?” He says, “Yes,” and Belle utters some words in Korean. Eyes widening, he leans forward smiling. Belle informs him that she spent nine years of her childhood in Seoul, Korea, where her parents were missionaries. As they converse, they discover that Belle’s family had lived very close to where he grew up. Belle shares a story of how a pair of doctors–who were formerly playmates of hers in Korea (and whose father was an interpreter for her dad)–and several Korean churches helped raised substantial funds to replace a wheelchair accessible van for Belle’s sister, who uses a wheelchair. He shares a biblical verse from I Peter on his smart phone. It feels like a holy moment.
The Usual Suspects
Of course, later, as a lifelong audiophile, Mr. Kim shares photos on his phone of his home hi-fi and tells us about some of his other high end equipment and exploits. We share more photos and stories. Later going inside, he plays an extraordinary recording of drums, a bowed bass or viola, and piano that mesmerizes us with its rich and vivid detail. Jeff Kenton grouses that it’s not using his new DAC, but using the internal DAC of his Oppo HD player. No matter. It sounds amazing.
Positive-Feedback’s Michael “Muppet” Laurance is here with his wife, Amy Laurance, and, some 30 yards behind him sits Chicago Audio Society president, Rich Sacks, and Brian Walsh, a highly respected turntable specialist based out of Chicago that some say is better technically than the celebrated Michael Fremer. My acquaintance through Facebook’s audio pages, Mark Massura, made the drive out from Chicago proper; earlier this year, he offered me his ticket to AXPONA when he couldn’t make it (unfortunately, it was non-transferable, and I got in via press pass–thanks, Mark!). There are, of course a lot of other familiar faces that I see periodically at these events.
It was ‘Fun In the Sun’ at Jeff Kenton’s Riverside Chicago Audio Society Meeting!
9/1/2023
Photos and text by Juan C. Ayllon
Chicago-based audiophile, Mark Massura, listens intently to the reference hi-fi system at the front of the room.
It was a mix of “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” (make that blue-green). This past Sunday, August 27, 2023, retired capital equipment salesman and full-time audiophile Jeff Kenton hosted the Chicago Audio Society at his riverfront home in a far corner of Chicago’s northwest suburbs.
The weather had been stifling, hovering between the 90s and 110 degrees Fahrenheit (adjusted for heat index) for weeks, but at last, it broke. At present, there was a cool breeze, and it was mild and sunny in the 70s.
People are seated outside on a sprawling deck that looks out onto a pier, an elevated, canvas-covered boat, and the Fox River, and indoors they mill about various rooms and a kitchen stocked with tasty chicken sandwiches baked by Jeff’s wife, Nancy, a soft-spoken and friendly nurse. In a screened-in porch, others are drinking strawberry daiquiris. And then, of course, there’s Jeff’s crowing achievement: an expansive blue-green room dedicated to two-channel listening and home theater.
Jeff and Nancy Kenton
Something Old, Something NewUpfront in Jeff’s domain, a towering pair of vintage blonde oak Infinity RS-4.5 dipole speakers captivates a small crowd with a velvety aural blanket that’s deep, detailed and natural. Employing ribbon tweeters and dual 12″ drivers covered in sheer black grill cloth, they are highly modded; both speakers feature revamped crossovers, have custom large, rectangular openings cut into their inside top quarter panels, and are no longer sealed, but sport rear ports, making them “more musical,” Kenton says. They sit atop customized outriggers made by a local carpenter that allow them to be angled slightly forward for optimal listening.
Now if you think vintage is king here, you’d be mistaken. The reference system also employs the latest PS Audio Air Lens digital streamer that “promises total galvanic isolation when streaming ethernet or WIFI, but only has HDMI out for I2S or Spdif/coax out,” Kenton says via text. The sound, he writes, is “virtually identical on I2S with my externally clocked Uptone EtherREGEN into my lowly iFi ZenStream, but I have three external power supplies Vs. 1 on the PS.”
Some of the other newfangled features include the following:
- MacMini M2 Pro
- More acoustic room treatments
- Michael Green power cords and interconnects
- Audio-GD R7HE mk2 NOS dac with regenerative power supply
- https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-66-audio-gd-r7he-mk2-da-processor
- Audio-GD DI-20HE DDC with regenerative power supply
- OCK-2 10 MHz master clock linking DAC & DDC
- HAF/Home Audio Fidelity room correction filters with crosstalk cancellation – integrated and switchable thru Roon
The mood is festive. Of course, there’s the usual audiophile talk; a local vinyl record shop and used audio equipment dealer is hawking his pristine vintage bookshelf speaker and tube amp setup out back, and there’s talk about concerts and albums, while some guests share photos and tales about their home hi-fi systems, however, above and beyond the common bond of audio, people are laughing and connecting at a deeper level.
A Korean Connection
Sitting across the table from Jong Gyu Kim, President of Zenith R&D Lab in Lincolnshire, IL, my wife Belle reads his name tag and asks, “Are you Korean?” He says, “Yes,” and Belle utters some words in Korean. Eyes widening, he leans forward smiling. Belle informs him that she spent nine years of her childhood in Seoul, Korea, where her parents were missionaries. As they converse, they discover that Belle’s family had lived very close to where he grew up. Belle shares a story of how a pair of doctors–who were formerly playmates of hers in Korea (and whose father was an interpreter for her dad)–and several Korean churches helped raised substantial funds to replace a wheelchair accessible van for Belle’s sister, who uses a wheelchair. He shares a biblical verse from I Peter on his smart phone. It feels like a holy moment.
The Usual Suspects
Of course, later, as a lifelong audiophile, Mr. Kim shares photos on his phone of his home hi-fi and tells us about some of his other high end equipment and exploits. We share more photos and stories. Later going inside, he plays an extraordinary recording of drums, a bowed bass or viola, and piano that mesmerizes us with its rich and vivid detail. Jeff Kenton grouses that it’s not using his new DAC, but using the internal DAC of his Oppo HD player. No matter. It sounds amazing.
Michael “Muppet” and Amy LaurancePositive-Feedback’s Michael “Muppet” Laurance is here with his wife, Amy Laurance, and, some 30 yards behind him sits Chicago Audio Society president, Rich Sacks, and Brian Walsh, a highly respected turntable specialist based out of Chicago that some say is better technically than the celebrated Michael Fremer. My acquaintance through Facebook’s audio pages, Mark Massura, made the drive out from Chicago proper; earlier this year, he offered me his ticket to AXPONA when he couldn’t make it (unfortunately, it was non-transferable, and I got in via press pass–thanks, Mark!). There are, of course a lot of other familiar faces that I see periodically at these events.
Mark Massura, at left.However, soon it’s time to say goodbye. Jong Kim says he’s going to squeeze in a round of golf before heading home and, shaking hands, we depart. What a lovely way to wrap up the summer!
Thanks, Jeff and Nancy Kenton! And a special thanks to Rich Sacks, president of the Chicago Audio Society. Cheers!