- BorderPatrol P21 EXD power amplifier21 June 2018, 8:58 pm
Back at the beginning of 2017, Greg Roberts, of Volti Audio, devised a clever way to bring his Rival floorstanders up to my penthouse pad, for what resulted in a rave review of those horn-loaded wunderspeakers. I live on the top floor of a seven-story, elevatorless building on a busy street in Greenwich Village. A vertical challenge? No problem! Roberts is resourceful in many things, from speaker design to his former profession, the building of custom homes. Affixing a pair of unguent-saturated... - Bricasti Design M15 power amplifier21 June 2018, 8:36 pm
On the second morning of a recent audio show, I walked into the exhibit room of Bricasti Design. "How about some Mahler?" asked cofounder and designer Brian Zolner. "Oh God. Not at 10am!"Thu, 06/21/2018... - Adams Takes the Violin Up, Down, Around, and Through20 June 2018, 4:08 pm
Twenty-five years after the premiere of John Adams' Violin Concerto, the music remains as vital, exhilarating, and strangely moving as the day it was birthed. An extremely demanding work, its three contrasting movements present a triathlon challenge of sorts to anyone who dares try to play them. Here, she who rises to the challenge is violinist Leila Josefowicz. Provocatively pictured on the CD cover as a curious cross between an athlete in repose and Rodin's reflective thinker...Wed, 06/20/201... - Listening #187: Shindo Mr. T19 June 2018, 4:40 pm
In the rural home in Cherry Valley, NY that my family and I inhabited from 2003 to 2017, we had dirty water but clean electricity. Evidence of the latter was seen in the results of tests performed by a technician from the local utility, National Grid—I told him I intended to do commercial sound recording on site, which was close enough to the truth that I considered my sin venal rather than mortal—and heard in the sound of my playback system, which rejected as superfluous or worse all ... - Highway 61 Revisited19 June 2018, 4:37 pm
I'm sitting in a rented Nissan just off Highway 61—yes, that Highway 61—looking out at a Shell station through the bug-stained windshield and across a litter-strewn, not-yet-planted cotton field. It's late March, and I've just left Clarksdale, Mississippi, on my way to Memphis. Leaving Clarksdale made me thoughtful, so I've pulled over to jot down a few notes. Tue, 06/19/2018...
- Jorma Salmi, 1948-201822 June 2018, 3:01 pm
The distinguished Finnish loudspeaker designer and one of the greatest theoreticians of speaker acoustics of modern times, Jorma Salmi passed away suddenly on May 27, 2018. Salmi’s work at Gradient became a portal into what ought to be the future of loudspeaker design. After working at Nokia and as the head of the acoustics laboratory of Lohja Corporation (a major Finnish company), Salmi founded Gradient with Jouko Alanko and Mikko Paloranta in 1984. Jorma and I became friends over the yea...
- Olagón: A Cantata in Doublespeak21 June 2018, 9:18 pm
Eighth Blackbird is a consistently cutting-edge chamber ensemble. But “cutting edge” doesn’t necessarily mean abstract, difficult music. The group’s projects are all over the map stylistically, and their latest, Olagón—”a conflicted wail of both mourning and victory”—takes as its point of departure the Irish legend Táin Bó Cúailnge, a marital dispute of tragically epic proportions between the warrior-queen Medhbh and her... - Coincident Speaker Technology Dynamo 34SE Mk. II Power Amplifier20 June 2018, 3:07 pm
Since my initial review of the Dynamo 34SE in 2015, the amp has undergone several significant revisions. On balance, the Mk. II version of this low-cost SET amp ($1495, 8Wpc) should be thought of as nothing less than a Dynamo on steroids. For starters, it has put on some weight, tipping the scales at 30 pounds, an eight-pound increase from the original, due mostly to the beefed-up power transformer. The chassis has been upsized and properly braced to reduce resonances. The 5U4G rectifier is gone... - New MartinLogan Subwoofers Offer Wireless Control, Wireless Room Correction, and Wireless Signal Connection19 June 2018, 5:24 pm
The following is a press release issued by MartinLogan. Lawrence, Kansas | June 19, 2018 – MartinLogan is proud to announce their new line of subwoofers: Dynamo 400, 600X, 800X, 1100X, and 1600X. These Dynamo subwoofers represents the most advanced, high-performance, affordable subwoofer systems ever brought to market. Dramatic bass detail and attack, superb extension, and room-shaking output ensure a compelling music and home theater experience. The X in the model names designates the inc... - JL Audio Fathom f113v2 Subwoofer and CR-1 Active Crossover18 June 2018, 5:58 pm
JL Audio is one of those companies that does one thing and does it well. In JL’s case, that “one thing” is designing and building some of the world’s best subwoofers. Over its 38-year history, JL has fanatically pursued technological innovation with a single, laser-focused purpose: reproducing the lowermost 2½ octaves with the highest fidelity. JL Audio holds an astounding 38 patents on woofer design (with six more pending), including those for a particular cone st...
- Munich HIGH END Show Report 201818 May 2018, 3:41 pm
It is no secret that many vintage audiophiles remember when $1,000,000 was a lot of money. Interest from banks were at ~8% and you literally could live off of just the interest, while keeping the principle $1,000,000 still safely in the bank. This was when a gallon of gas was 50 cents and a pack of cigarettes was about the same price. Fast-forward about 30 years and it seems that today everyone is a millionaire. Well, perhaps not everyone as there were months, years ago, when some of us lived ou... - Acoustic Solid Xtended-MPX Turntable + WTB-370 Tonearm18 May 2018, 3:40 pm
The texture of Geddy Lee’s 4001 Rickenbacher bass sounded solid, accurate, and agile. His bass lines add a magnificent rhythmic foundation to all of the songs. I could clearly hear, and follow, individual instruments within a wide and detailed stereo soundstage. Even during complex and thundering passages that would implode the imaging produced by most entry-level 'tables, the X-MPX created superb rhythm, impressive dynamics, and exemplary PRaT. Read More ... - Wholehouse High-Resolution Audio. Myth Or Reality?1 May 2018, 4:17 am
Like many out there, I struggle with the daily challenges of being an audiophile. Whatever that term means to you; it's usually a lifelong (unachievable) goal. For me, it means listening to the finest music reproduction possible, at all times. No matter where I am. If I am at home, that means my dedicated Audio Room. For the past year, I have spent numerous, unreported dollars, into turning my Home Theater into an Audio Room. For the most part, I have achieved my goal. A nice sounding (re: neutr... - Sennheiser HD 660 S Over-Ear Headphone Review1 May 2018, 4:16 am
Updating a much-loved product like the Sennheiser HD 650 is a tricky task. But having spent nearly 75 years in the audio business, Sennheiser understands the importance of reading the tealeaves. The personal audio industry is in a period of tremendous growth and no single segment is growing faster than the portable devices category. So with that, Sennheiser made a bold move. While many companies would have left well enough alone, Sennheiser took one of their most popular products, the somewhat h... - See More High-End Audio Reviews...30 April 2018, 1:26 pm
EnjoyTheMusic.com has many more high-end audiophile articles and reviews available this month. Click here to see them all. ...
- TECHNOLOGY: PRAISE OF A (NON)FORMAT: XRCD. An attempted description | JAPAN31 May 2018, 10:00 pm
COMPACT DISC FOREVER! t is 2018, and we live in a time of nonphysical ways of transporting musical content. The basic channel of sales, presentation and promotion of music is currently the Internet and streaming services, with a small addition of stores selling music files. And these are a fulfillment of the most secret dreams of engineers who always wanted to encode as much information as possible. It became possible thanks to hi-res files, or PCM files from 24/88.2 up, as well as DSD files.... - REVIEW: Black Cat Cable 3202 + 3232 | interconnect + speaker cable | JAPAN | RED Fingerprint31 May 2018, 10:00 pm
t happens from time to time that a Japanese traveling in the world falls in love with a place or person and that's where he sets up his business. But for a Westerner to start a company in Japan - it's a real rarity. And in the audio industry it is an absolute rarity. This is the case though - the BLACK CAT CABLE company located in the suburbs of Tokyo, where the production of its cables takes place. It is the work of an unusual person, Chris Sommovigo. This name has been known to us for at least... - INTERVIEW | THE EDITORS SERIES: YOSUKE ASADA, “Net Audio”/“Analog” | JAPAN31 May 2018, 10:00 pm
hen we published the first interview from “The Editors” series on January 1st 2012, I assumed that I might be able to carry out seven or eight more conversations (HF | No. 92: Srajan Ebaen | 6moons.com). Now we have the year 2018 and a total of twenty three interviews have been published during the five and a half years. The one that you are reading now is the twenty-fourth one. People representing the largest and most important audio magazines from all over the world, as well as tho... - TECHNOLOGY: BRIPHONIC – JUST THE BEST | record label/recording studio31 May 2018, 10:00 pm
WORLD PREMIERE | BLANK Japanese technical competence combined with in-depth devotion to a specific section of a given field have led to a situation where it is hard for the rest of the world to compete with this country in many respects. We have already written about many solutions – our admiration was usually mixed with disbelief. The admiration resulted from the fact that the actions taken contributed to much better sound that others can only dream of. On the other hand, in the nam... - REVIEW: Final Audio D8000 | headphones | JAPAN31 May 2018, 10:00 pm
here are several certainties that define the last few years in the context of the audio world. It is above all a change in the way of music distribution, the transition from the selling albums to the sale of individual tracks, as well as the explosion of the segment related to portable audio, including headphones. On a smaller scale, that is in the dimension of perfectionist audio, one should notice the appearance of a completely new category of headphones – magnetostatic ones. Planar head...
- EXOGAL Abandons MQA Development22 June 2018, 9:20 pm
EXOGAL Audio announced today that they are ceasing development of MQA for inclusion in EXOGAL products. June 22, 2018. Said Jeff Haagenstad, CEO of EXOGAL: "We have been evaluating MQA technology and watching the wider MQA ecosystem since early 2016. After much research on the fundamental technology and more importantly on the market demand for MQA,... Read More » The post EXOGAL Abandons MQA Development appeared first on Positive Feedback.... - World Premiere Review: Unique Innovation Technology's SMP - Perfect Music Purifier Speaker Cable21 June 2018, 4:30 pm
I described the noble first attempt by Unique Innovation Technology (UIT) to bring their outstanding new technology, demonstrated by their groundbreaking interconnects, to full bore with their speaker cables. I am truly excited by their progress and underscore UIT’s explanation of their current superb results as follows: "Perfect Music Purifier technology within the Perfect Music Purifier... Read More » The post World Premiere Review: Unique Innovation Technology's SMP - P... - The Alta Audio Hestia Titanium Loudspeaker - The Goddess With a Lovely Voice18 June 2018, 6:06 pm
Founded in 2013, Alta Audio is the creation of long-time industry presence Michael Levy. Alta's first speaker, the Celesta FRM-2, came about as a result of encouragement from his good friend and client, reviewer Martin Appel. With the support from those he respected, Michael was convinced he could develop a great line of speakers that... Read More » The post The Alta Audio Hestia Titanium Loudspeaker - The Goddess With a Lovely Voice appeared first on Positive Feedback.... - Peter Ledermann is the Artisan Smithy of Sound: The New Soundsmith Carmen Mk II Phonograph Cartridge!18 June 2018, 3:38 pm
I get emails from audio enthusiasts and music lovers around the world asking for recommendations of a relatively affordable phonograph cartridge that is warm, dimensional, musical, and has relatively high output so you don't have to use an expensive step-up transformer with it to play music. I have found that particular combination of traits in... Read More » The post Peter Ledermann is the Artisan Smithy of Sound: The New Soundsmith Carmen Mk II Phonograph Cartridge! appeared first on Pos... - HIFIMAN Electronics Ananda Planar Headphone Brings Out the Best in All Portable Devices, Especially Smartphones17 June 2018, 4:56 pm
ORLANDO, FL, June 11, 2018 – HIFIMAN, the leader in high fidelity personal audio, today announced availability of Ananda (SRP: $999), the company’s new open-back planar headphone designed to maximize performance of any personal audio source, especially smartphones and tablets. “Ananda is designed for music lovers who want one high-performance, extraordinarily comfortable headphone for all personal listening,... Read More » The post HIFIMAN Electronics Ananda Pla...
- ARC REF 75SE Power Amplifier3 June 2018, 10:08 pm
Switching from the delicate, quirky vocals in Bjork’s latest, to Keith Jarrett’s classic The Koln Concert, to the pounding beats in High Contrast’s Night Gallery, through the new Magnepan .7 speakers, I realize I haven’t heard a moderate power tube amplifier offer up this level of sheer grip since the legendary Audio Research D79. 75 watts per [...]... - The Sensitive Sound Art-Majestic MC Cartridge30 May 2018, 8:55 am
Zeroing in on the tonal characteristics of a phono cartridge and keeping it within a budget that makes sense is often one of the biggest challenges facing an analog enthusiast, but it can be done. Depending on your system goals, the cartridge can be the ultimate tone control, and an easy way to express your [...]... - Issue 8825 May 2018, 12:50 am
Features Old School: The Magnepan Tympani 1D 995: Acoustic Energy AE-1 Journeyman Audiophile: Triangle Theta Aural Exam: Rotating Your Tubes! Walkabout: A visit to Munich HiEnd 2018 MINE AYO Wearables Hydrosilex Recharge Norlan Whisky Glasses BMW C Evolution and more…. Music Playlists: We share our readers choices from around the world Audiophile Pressings: Todd Rundgren [...]... - The REL T7i Subwoofer25 May 2018, 12:24 am
Usually, subwoofer discussions start with tales of thunderous, booming bass that rocks the house. I’ve been using REL subwoofers for about 10 years now and that’s not what this is about. They will certainly add major low frequency extension to whatever speakers you choose to mate them with, but that’s not what REL is about. [...]... - Bowers and Wilkins 705S224 May 2018, 11:37 pm
After a few months of constant listening, I want to say “Bowers & Wilkins new 705s2’s kick major ass,” but that would be so un-British. But they really do. Today, listening to Emerson, Lake, and Palmer’s Brain Salad Perjury, an ambient/electronica remix of a major slice of their catalog, I continue to be impressed at [...]...
- JE Audio HP20 Phono Stage15 June 2018, 4:00 am
With LPs on a seemingly endless comeback streak -- 2017 marks the 12th straight year of sales growth, according to Nielsen SoundScan’s figures, as reported in Billboard -- the demand for vinyl-related gear seems to have concomitantly increased: Turntables abound, with more models at more price points available than ever before. The number of available phono stages seems higher still, in a market well populated by less-well-known, specialty audio firms offering quality hi-fi at less-than-st... - Anthem STR Integrated Amplifier-DAC1 June 2018, 4:00 am
Anthem began as a line of less-expensive audio electronics made by Canadian manufacturer Sonic Frontiers, which in the 1990s was known for its tubed components. In 1998, Sonic Frontiers was acquired by loudspeaker manufacturer Paradigm, and in the years since has built a strong reputation primarily based on their solid-state power amplifiers and their AVM and D series of audio/video processors, and eventually the Sonic Frontiers name was replaced with Anthem. While there have been a few Anthem s... - The Best of Munich's High End 2018 -- Under €10,0001 June 2018, 4:00 am
Exploring High End 2018 throughout all four days of the show (May 10-13) with five other SoundStage! Network reporters -- the biggest team we’ve ever sent to Munich, Germany, where the show is held each year -- I could have sworn that the 2018 edition was High End’s biggest show yet, based on the many new products introduced. But on May 23, when the High End Society released the statistics for HE2018, there were some surprises: totals of 530 exhibitors and 19,899 visitors, which resp... - Munich's Mini-Tapefest1 June 2018, 4:00 am
Much as I love saying “I told you so!” I will resist crowing about what transpired at the recent Munich High End show. It was only a mini-tapefest, not a veritable flood, but I saw enough reel-to-reel machines and pre-recorded tapes to be able to argue that the format -- if not back so strongly that Maxell, BASF, TDK, et al., are reopening their factories for it -- is enjoying enough of a renaissance to create a dependable cult. ... - Recommended Reference Component: T+A Elektroakustik PA 3100 HV Integrated Amplifier1 June 2018, 4:00 am
As Jeff Fritz pointed out in in his May 2018 review of T+A Elektroakustik’s PA 3100 HV for SoundStage! Ultra, it bucks the current trend of including in an integrated amplifier such features as digital-to-analog conversion, network connectivity, and streaming. The stock PA 3100 HV ($23,500 USD) doesn’t even have a phono stage -- though you can add an optional internal moving-magnet/moving-coil stage ($1600). As Jeff stated in his review, “The PA 3100&nb...
- Bob Mielke’s Oakland A’s Strolling Dixieland Band, 1969-9221 June 2018, 10:27 pm
Here’s a slice of rollicking Americana from a time and place not so far away. Or was it? For nearly a quarter century Oakland A’s Swingers Baseball Band brought vintage jazz to ballpark audiences, Traditional Jazz events and private parties. It was a solid musical ensemble with a limited role at games: * Performing six [...] The post Bob Mielke’s Oakland A’s Strolling Dixieland Band, 1969-92 appeared first on Dagogo.... - Audio Blast: The Schroeder Method of Interconnect Placement18 June 2018, 4:12 pm
Introduction Recently I stumbled upon a method of connecting audio components I had never encountered, and it centers on the use of interconnects. I’ll not spend time discussing the efficacy of cabling; the reader will either be convinced of the merits of aftermarket cables, or will not. I do not intend to debate what I [...] The post Audio Blast: The Schroeder Method of Interconnect Placement appeared first on Dagogo.... - PS Audio Sprout100 integrated amplifier Review15 June 2018, 8:24 pm
If PS Audio’s Sprout100 has all the answers, you can just imagine the questions. I cannot tell you the number of times aspiring audiophiles and existing ones who share my penchant for travel ask me online and in person to make recommendations for them. And, what they have all in common is their particular criteria [...] The post PS Audio Sprout100 integrated amplifier Review appeared first on Dagogo.... - Sound Lab Ultimate 545 electrostatic loudspeakers Review13 June 2018, 6:01 am
Dr. Roger West and Dr. Dale Ream founded sound Lab on July 1, 1978. Their founding belief was that electrostatic transduction is the optimum loudspeaker technology. Over the decades since, the company has continued to offer updates to older products. The Sound Lab Ultimate 545, the subject of this review, is the same speaker that [...] The post Sound Lab Ultimate 545 electrostatic loudspeakers Review appeared first on Dagogo.... - Sonore Signature Rendu SE & Small Green Computer sonicTransporter i7 for Roon DSP Review8 June 2018, 10:52 pm
I heard about the wonders of a small device by Sonore called the microRendu, a product that takes an Ethernet audio stream from a computer or server and “renders it to a perfect, ultra-low noise USB feed to one’s USB DAC.” It purportedly boosts digital playback in terms of clarity and “musicality.” One of my [...] The post Sonore Signature Rendu SE & Small Green Computer sonicTransporter i7 for Roon DSP Review appeared first on Dagogo....
- NAD VISO HP50 with Roomfeel Headphone Review22 June 2018, 2:40 pm
NAD VISO HP50 with Roomfeel Headphone Review “Headphone listeners listen to recorded music that was designed to be heard in a room”. That sums up Paul Barton’s design of Roomfeel. Roomfeel is a target frequency response design for a headphone that takes into account the room gain and soundstage of a neutral loudspeaker in a reference listening room. It is interesting to me as there is subjective/objective correlation ... - dCS Network Bridge Review15 June 2018, 1:58 pm
Who : dCS aka data Conversion Systems from Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Creators of British designed, manufactured and assembled digital audio products. Think the Rolls Royce of HiFi build quality combined with McLaren performance. What : The Network Bridge. A digital to digital converter with Ethernet input and digital audio output. The Network Bridge feature set includes Roon Ready support, UPnP /... - Naim Uniti Atom Review7 June 2018, 2:05 pm
Here's my video review of the Naim Uniti Atom. In short, I loved it and placed it on the C.A.S.H. List. Products Informtion: Product - Naim, Uniti Atom ($2,999) Product - Link Quick Start Guide - Link Associated Music: Computer Audiophile 100 Playlist Computer Audiophile PJ4CA Playlist &... - What AirPlay 2 Means for Your Listening Setup4 June 2018, 3:10 pm
What AirPlay 2 Means for Your Listening Setup Apple has finally released the AirPlay 2 framework for streaming audio and video on a wi-fi network to compatible devices. Announced just about a year ago at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, then delayed along with the HomePod, the first device to fully leverage this protocol, AirPlay 2 was released last week as part of iOS 11.4. It is not, however, available on macOS yet, nor on iTunes for Windows, and presumably... - My Quest for a New DAC Part 1 - The Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ with Uptone JS-2 Power Supply24 May 2018, 8:03 pm
In the introductory article in this series (link), I outlined my background, described my current system, and what I am looking for in my next DAC. In this article, I'll dive into my evaluation of the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ (MSRP: $2195). I have had my eye on the Mytek Brooklyn DAC for quite some time, since it was in the same price range as the Codex, with similar format support, but with the additional capability of full MQA decoding. I never managed to give it a serious l...
- Graham Nash Talks About the Release of "Over the Years"— A Retrospective With A Twist (Corrected)19 June 2018, 5:50 pm
AnalogPlanet last spoke with Graham Nash in 2016 upon the release of This Path Tonight, his latest collection of new songs. On June 29th RHINO will issue Over the Years a new 30 track, 15 song CD retrospective also available on vinyl as a 15 song double LP set. Over the Years includes songs originally released on CSN and CSN&Y albums as well as songs from the records he made with David Crosby and of course from his solo albums beginning with 1971's "Songs For Beginners".... - Analog Corner #8511 June 2018, 4:13 pm
A.J. van den Hul's vintage, limited-edition Thorens Reference turntable was a hit at the 2002 Frankfurt Show. "I was worried about doing it," Speakers Corner's Kai Seemann told me. "If it didn't sell, I'd be out a substantial sum, but I took a chance and pressed 1500 copies, figuring if I did manage to sell them all, it would probably take three years." Seemann was talking about Ella Fitzgerald's legendary 1950s Gershwin Song Book boxed set, originally released on Verve, which his reissue labe... - "On the Radio" Exhibit at San Francisco International Airport7 June 2018, 11:19 pm
Heading home after addressing the San Francisco Audiophile Society last April, your editor noticed and video'd this cool exhibition of old radios on display at SFA. He's always got you on his mind. Well often anyway.... - Analog "Guru" Wally Malewicz R.I.P.7 June 2018, 8:13 pm
... - Cocteau Twins "Head Over Heels" Reissued by 4AD6 June 2018, 6:15 pm
Sounding more like the recording engineer accidentally fed only the reverb buss to the 2 channel master instead of the intended mix of "dry and wet", the Cocteau Twins' ethereal, reverb drenched Head Over Heels released in 1983 became a much imitated template for "wave", "shoe gazing" and other musical genres that followed in its wake.Primary Category: Album ReviewsCategory: Album ReviewsArtist: Cocteau TwinsAlbum: Head Over HeelsCred Label: 4AD CAD 3709 180g LP+ MP3 dow...
- Go behind the scenes at this historic recording studio - CNET16 June 2018, 5:47 pm
Rudy Van Gelder built his recording studio in 1959, where he went on to record nearly every great jazz artist there.... - These stereo Bluetooth speakers beat Apple HomePod and Google Home Max - CNET16 June 2018, 4:47 pm
If you care about the sound of your music or movies, the Kanto YU6 is a good reason not to buy a sound bar or smart speaker.... - Affordable and audiophile come together in the Creative Aurvana Trio headphones - CNET9 June 2018, 6:17 pm
Aurvana’s delicious Trio in-ear headphones impress the hell out of the Audiophiliac.... - Adam Audio’s spunky new T5V desktop speaker - CNET9 June 2018, 5:47 pm
The Audiophiliac lends an ear to the newest, most affordable Adam audio monitor speaker.... - Store your vinyl in style with these affordable, handcrafted LP racks - CNET2 June 2018, 6:17 pm
Most of Pratherteam's racks, made by a husband and wife outfit based in Ohio, cost less than $100....
- Review: PS Audio Sprout 100 DAC/Integrated Amplifier22 June 2018, 10:00 am
“Dad, why does he always get to do things before I did?” That was my daughter voicing mild complaint over the prospect of her younger brother receiving a Sprout. A Sprout, you say? Indeed, I’m speaking of PS Audio’s gateway drug into high-end audio, the venerable Sprout integrated amplifier/DAC/phono preamp. It seems that receipt of a Sprout has become something of a coming of age moment in my family. My daughter got the first generation sample I reviewed when she was a j... - Audio Cassette Revival: For Real?16 June 2018, 12:00 pm
by Carlos Guzman With the new tape revival around the world, more and more audiophiles are getting into the exclusive, and sometimes expensive, hobby of open reel playback. Many companies have resurrected the old “pre-recorded” reel tapes market but this time with exclusive music and performers dubbed on high quality tape from ATR or RTM, running @ 15ips on a 1/2 Track format and with such a high sound quality that right now this is the best media to take you closer to the &ldqu... - Chasing, and Finding, the Dragon in Venice15 June 2018, 10:00 am
by Darryl Lindberg Every year-and-a-half or so, Catherine and I retreat to Venice for about a month both to enjoy a significant change of scenery and to recharge our batteries—such are they are. We have no substantive agenda other than to wander around in this fascinating, charming, culturally rich, and timeless city. Of the few activities we do plan, music events are high on the list. Venice is a city with a spectacular musical history, a tradition of great music and grea... - AXPONA 2018: Lee’s Best of Show14 June 2018, 10:00 am
I was really burned out from a long work week at nearby Northwestern University. I was so looking forward to AXPONA as the medicine to my working man blues. The only thing stopping me was insane traffic between Evanston and Schaumburg where the new hotel venue was. This was post-apocalyptic Atlanta traffic. But finally we arrived and it was worth the hassle. AXPONA was really superb this year. The Renaissance Center staff was friendly and the venue was beautiful. Ve... - AXPONA 2018: Best of The Show, Wrap-Up, and Why I am an Audiophile12 June 2018, 4:00 pm
Audio shows are more than new gear releases and demonstrations to me. They are a chance to connect with the strange personalities that embody what it means to be an eccentric. Sometimes our interests can be socially unfortunate, but it’s during these few moments of the year at audio shows where we audiophiles can feel normal in our priorities, lusts, and musical tastes. AXPONA 2018 proved to be our largest display of geekdom yet. Sprawling more lateral and vertical real estate than shows o...
- The Music-First Audiophile and Spotify Connect22 June 2018, 3:14 pm
Missing: Richard D. James. I Care Because You Do. Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2. Drukqs. Four downright essential Aphex Twin albums and nowhere to be found. Missing too was Prefab Sprout’s Crimson Red (from 2013) and Luna’s debut Lunapark (from 1992). Missing from where exactly? Tidal. Despite an advertised 50 million+ songs, for this electronic/indie music […] More... - KIH #59 – Ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?21 June 2018, 3:47 pm
The devil’s vocabulary? That really was the header of a reader email. The contents were even more sulfuric. “A side thought on the FirstWatt SIT-3. I’ve been reading your reviews since you used wood, water etc. similes which I found helpful if a bit twee even back in the day. These last few years you’ve […] More... - 10 ‘must-hear’ active loudspeakers19 June 2018, 9:57 am
Not everyone taking an interest in a better hifi system wants to engage in the sport of hi-fi: mixing and matching amplifiers to extract the best performance from a pair of passive loudspeakers before adding a DAC and network streamer. Many modern hi-fi buyers have a thirst for better sound quality at home but derive […] More... - Not new news: Electrocompaniet’s ECI 6DX18 June 2018, 8:51 pm
It’s not new but it’s new to me after iconic Norwegian hi-fi manufacturer tagged yours truly in an Instagram post today about their ECI 6DX: a single box of electronics that plays elegantly to this website’s editorial lean toward super-integrated amplifiers where amplifier, DAC and network streamer come together under one roof to dispense with hi-fi […] More... - KIH #58 – Close encounters16 June 2018, 7:37 pm
Fielding it. Near, far or mid? That’s today’s question. On a recording/mastering console where our music is made, the studio monitor speakers tend to sit at less than 2.5 metres from the listener. Often they sit as near as 1 metre right behind the console. In the home, 2.5 metres is where things tend to […] More...
- Erica Morini—Milestones of a Legend (13 CD box set)18 June 2018, 5:18 pm
The violinist Erica Morini was born in Vienna and made her debut in 1916 with both the Berlin Philharmonic and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestras under the baton of the legendary Arthur Nikisch. The critics hailed her as one of the best players before the public and she enjoyed a fifty year career appearing all over the world with every major orchestra and conductor of her day. Morini retired from playing in 1975 and is reported to have never played the violin again. She died in New York City ... - André Cluytens—The Complete Orchestral and Concerto Recordings (65 CD box set)18 June 2018, 5:17 pm
The Belgian-naturalized, French conductor André Cluytens occupies an interesting position in the pantheon of French maestros. He was the first French conductor to sell a million records and was also the first conductor after the war to record a Beethoven cycle with the Berlin Philharmonic. In 1957 when Cluytens commenced his performances, the Berlin orchestra was still very much under the influence of Furtwängler, who had died fours years before. Yet today it is Pierr... - Andy Zimmerman—Half Light; 180g vinyl limited edition, Newvelle Records15 June 2018, 5:02 pm
Newvelle Records is a relatively new label (started in 2016) devoted to producing top-tier jazz recordings exclusively on 180g translucent blue vinyl, from newly recorded music, and with jazz musicians of the highest caliber. Including beautiful artistic album covers, poetry and stories—these are luxury products. The founders are jazz pianist and composer Elan Mehler and Parisian business executive Jean-Christophe Morisseau. It is a subscription based model only ($400 per ‘Sea... - Peter Oundjian conducts Vaughan Williams8 June 2018, 5:47 pm
Ralph Vaughan Williams (RVW) (1872 – 1958) is the composer who best captures the elegiac nature of 20th Century English classical music. Unique works featuring flowing melodies, gorgeous harmonies, and with few exceptions (the war-like 4th and 6th Symphonies, among them), gentle flowing rhythms. Pieces like The Lark Ascending, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and the masterpiece on this recording, Serenade to Music, represent Vaughan Williams at his pastoral best. This rece... - Bright Circle—Beth Levin, piano8 June 2018, 5:35 pm
A delightful, recently released Navona Records CD arrived at the office last week. The latest recording by Brooklyn-based, Serkin-trained pianist Beth Levin called Bright Circle. Bright Circle contains masterpieces of Romantic piano literature by Schubert (Sonata No. 20) and Brahms (Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel), and a wonderfully passionate, neo-romantic piece for solo piano, Ode to Music (2015) by American composer David Del Tredici (b. 1937). Levin has a fl...
- Music In The Mountains20 February 2018, 7:49 am
"In year’s past, the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF) has been hampered by an aging, rather stale venue, and backward looking management. This year, things were looking up with the hosting hotel being newly refreshed and the exhibitors better able to cope with the remodeled rooms." Oliver Masciarotte provides his retrospective of the 2017 show.... - Droidisk – An inexpensive compact music server11 February 2018, 12:49 pm
John Reekie revisits his Raspberry Pi based music server with a new offering: the ODroid HC1 ("home compute server"). "The HC1 has the distinguishing feature of a SATA port, so that it connects to a hard drive without going through USB. It also has a Gigabit Ethernet port and a much faster processor than the Pi." Get ready to sharpen your command line skills!... - JWM Acoustics Alyson AML II24 December 2017, 12:20 pm
JWM Acoustics aims to deliver custom-designed products to meet the needs of individual audiophiles who purchase for the long haul. Patrick Dillon spends time with their standmount Alyson AML speakers and finds them capable of performance that marries unique style to exceptional musical resolution.... - PS Audio BHK Signature 300 Mono Amplifiers4 October 2017, 12:40 pm
When PS Audio set out to build a world-class power amplifier, nobody anticipated them using tubes in a design for the first time. The resulting hybrid monoblocks are big and powerful but how do they sound? Patrick Dillon takes a listen and feels the new amps are the best he's heard in his rig.... - Bernstein On Broadway: Bringing West Side Story To A Modern Audience27 July 2017, 5:15 pm
In 2013, the San Francisco Symphony took on a monumental project, a re–staging of the beloved West Side Story. After listening, Oliver Masciarotte came to realize that the album’s production must have been a heroic effort, and wanted to know more......
- Yamaha R-N303 Network Stereo Receiver Review20 June 2018, 2:00 pm
The Yamaha R-N303 is one of Yamaha’s new entries into the market of wireless receivers. The R-N303 features connectivity with AirPlay®, Bluetooth®, Ethernet, Wi-Fi®, Wireless Direct, and a phono stage. So you should, in theory, be able to play music from pretty much any source. The post Yamaha R-N303 Network Stereo Receiver Review appeared first on HomeTheaterHifi.com.... - Focal Sib Evo Dolby Atmos® Speaker System17 June 2018, 4:06 pm
The Focal Sib Evo Dolby Amos Speaker System does the almost impossible - a big speaker room filling sound with small drivers. This is not an easy engineering feat, but for small to medium size rooms the Focal Sib Evo Speaker system offers 5.1.2 sound with a deep low end and those important height channels without cutting up your ceiling. The post Focal Sib Evo Dolby Atmos® Speaker System appeared first on HomeTheaterHifi.com.... - Brennan B2 Review13 June 2018, 2:00 pm
The Brennan B2 is a new, unusual, and I think, a rather useful kind of product. The Brennan B2 can be thought of as kind of a personal jukebox… insert your CDs into its built-in drive, and the Brennan rips them to an internal hard drive, catalogs them, and makes them available for playback. The post Brennan B2 Review appeared first on HomeTheaterHifi.com.... - Cambridge Audio CXA-60 Integrated Amplifier Review11 June 2018, 2:00 pm
Some guys get sweaters, others get ties. But my wife is pretty amazing and this year, she went and got me the Cambridge Audio CXA60, an amp I have lusted over since it was released. Woo-friggin’-Hoo!!! The post Cambridge Audio CXA-60 Integrated Amplifier Review appeared first on HomeTheaterHifi.com.... - Emotiva Airmotiv T2 Floor Standing and C2 Center Channel Loudspeaker Review4 June 2018, 2:00 pm
Emotiva’s Airmotiv T2 towers and C2 center channel speaker are very impressive, competing favorably with products costing far more. Despite their industrial looks, the Emotiva Airmotiv T2 and C2 speakers not only excel at home theater, but the towers are some of the most articulate stereo speakers around. Two eight-inch woofers in each cabinet can energize large rooms at high volumes while producing such deep bass that a subwoofer may not even be needed. The air-motion-transformer tweeters...
- Darwin Cable Company Truth II Interconnect and Power Cables22 March 2017, 8:45 pm
There is one thing that all high end audio components require to function as a system, and that is signal and power cables. No getting around it. Of course, there is no market segment more controversial than audiophile cabling. This is partially due to questionable scientific claims and pricing that would make even true believers raise an eyebrow. The great Read more...... - Audioengine HD3 Powered Speakers & DAC Review7 February 2017, 4:02 am
Multi-function powered speakers are all the rage in 2017, and no other company has been more at the forefront than Audioengine. They have been making affordable, great sounding, and versatile powered monitors since 2005, along with DACs, headphone amps, and accessories. There are a number of things I find refreshing about Audioengine. First, their pricing makes Read more...... - Burson Cable+ Active RCA Cable Review24 January 2017, 5:10 pm
A lot of excellent HiFi products are designed and produced in Australia, and none more than Burson Audio belong in the upper tier of offerings from Down Under. Not only do Burson’s products sound excellent, but they also do not make cookie cutter gear, and inject original thinking into the process. I reviewed and loved Burson’s superb Read more...... - Bryston BCD-3 CD Player Review10 January 2017, 9:17 pm
Canadian heavy hitters Bryston surprised everyone a few years ago with their introduction of a speaker line, which now, after wide acceptance and a slew of positive reviews, are considered class leaders in many circles. In fact, the Mini T three-way monitor is my current reference. Possibly more surprising is Bryston’s introduction of the BCD-3 CD Player, with Read more...... - Okki Nokki RCM-II Record Cleaning Machine5 December 2016, 6:37 pm
At the beginning of the year, a good friend called me over to his garage and surprised me with a gift of around 500 vintage vinyl records he had little patience to deal with. I gladly took them off his hands. When I got home and started sifting through the albums, I realized there were hundreds of original pressings of Read more......
- Ansuz Acoustics D2 cables19 June 2018, 2:51 pm
We missed the boat with the first round of Ansuz cables, but arrived nice and early for the D2 series. Replacing POM, Aluminium, Ceramic, and Diamond respectively, the P2, A2, C2, and D2 lines form the main thrust of Ansuz cable lines, with X-Series as the most affordable line, and D-TC as the absolute cost-no-object range. We tried D2 as a complete family, from mains lead through line-level interconnect and digital cables right through to speaker cables. We also included the new Mainz8 D power ... - SIMAUDIO LAUNCHES NEW MiND2 STREAMING PLATFORM19 June 2018, 11:03 am
Canadian premium hi-fi manufacturer, Simaudio, is renowned for its MOON range, and with the launch of its new MiND2 streaming platform, delivers a world of high performance streaming. The MiND2 (MOON intelligent Network Device) streaming platform is an intuitive way of organizing, streaming and listening to music. MiND2 allows the playback of the full spectrum of file formats, including DSD and MQA (via local and TIDAL Master files). MiND 2 is the second generation of the MOON intelligent Networ... - Rega Aphelion MC cartridge19 June 2018, 9:56 am
Rega published a book last year, an autobiography of sorts that charts the oft challenging history of the company and its products; they called the book A Vibration Measuring Machine (reviewed inHi-Fi+ Issue 149).This tells you a lot about Rega’s approach to designing turntables, one where the aim is to extract maximum detail from the vinyl groove with the minimum of distortion being introduced by the ‘measuring’ process. While most other turntable makers appear to base their d... - AURALiC VEGA G2 streaming DAC/preamp19 June 2018, 9:47 am
At the Munich High-End show 2017 AURALiC held a press conference in which the firm announced that it had all new G2 versions of its popular VEGA Digital Audio Processor and ARIES wireless streaming bridge under development along with a new master clock called the Leo G2 and an upsampling processor called the Sirius G2. Of its next-generation VEGA AURALiC said, “with a completely redesigned internal architecture focused on advanced isolation techniques and a novel approach to clocking, the ... - conrad-johnson ET7 line preamplifier19 June 2018, 9:17 am
One of the foundation stones of American high-end, conrad-johnson has returned to its core recently. The company built its reputation on high-performance tube (valve) amplification, and although subsequent diversions into solid-state, and digital audio have often been greatly received, it’s those deceptively simple, high-performance tube line-stages, phono stages, and power amplifiers that are first to pop into your head when the c-j name is uttered, and it’s those products – a...
- Diana Krall getting back to basics?22 June 2018, 7:18 pm
... - Authentic Sound: challenging classical music on clavichord12 June 2018, 4:16 pm
... - Paul Simon - the long goodbye6 June 2018, 3:30 am
... - Update on Jerome Sabbagh project2 June 2018, 3:30 am
... - Yanni, Laurel and the differences in hearing17 May 2018, 2:22 pm
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- Wyred 4 Sound STP-SE Stage 2 Preamplifier10 May 2018, 3:47 pm
The Wyred 4 Sound STP-SE line stage preamplifier was originally introduced in 2009 and has been gradually updated and improved over the years. This latest, top of the line model includes many parts and technology that we find in cost-no-object preamplifiers from some of the most respected and expensive brands. There are three variants of the STP-SE preamplifier. All are available in basic black or silver and include over 164,000 uF of capacitance, more than many power amplifiers. The STP-SE, $19... - Paradigm Persona B Loudspeakers7 April 2018, 10:29 pm
The Paradigm Persona B is the smallest speaker in the new Persona product line. It is a stand mounted, 2-way speaker using beryllium for the dome of the tweeter and also for the cone of the mid-woofer driver. While this very light and strong material is being used by several manufacturers in their tweeters, Paradigm is the only one to apply a beryllium cone to a woofer. The Persona B has a list price of $7000 for a pair, and the dedicated stands are $1200 per pair. The included aluminum brackets... - Valvet E2 Stereo Power Amplifier17 February 2018, 11:22 pm
Valvet High-End Audio, of Bargteheide, which is near Hamburg in northern Germany, has been making high quality audio components since 1982. Owner and designer Knut Cornils has a goal for all of his components: “(T)he transmission of music free from artefact or manipulation, music that stimulates the senses! A simple but well-thought-out circuit, short signal paths and the best, reliable components”. This sounds like a great goal, so let’s see how successful he is with the E2 po... - Focal Sopra No1 Loudspeaker14 January 2018, 11:17 pm
Focal of France has been in the loudspeaker business for many years. They are a well-regarded supplier of raw drivers for speaker builders. Many of their drivers are used in commercial products from other loudspeaker manufacturers. Several years ago, Focal introduced a full line of finished loudspeaker systems, ranging from the top-of-the-line Utopia series, the slightly less ambitious Utopia Evo, Sopra, Electra, Aria, and completing the line with the lowest price Chorus series. At the most rece... - Emerald Physics EP100.2SE Stereo Power Amplifier19 November 2017, 10:56 pm
The Emerald Physics EP100.2SE digital stereo power amplifier, in its latest silver enclosure is a beautiful looking and powerful component. It weighs 16.5 pounds with its large toroidal power transformer and has a rated power output of 100 Watts per channel stereo and 270 Watts mono. It has a retail price of $2,200 and is regularly discounted to around $1,500. The unit under review was purchased along with the factory recommended and sonically worthwhile Audio Magic Beeswax fuse option. The amp...
- Upcoming Review: NAD 50.2 Digital Music Player19 June 2018, 3:55 pm
Upcoming Review by Steve Graham And now, for something completely different – The NAD 50.2 Digital Music Player In a complete about-face from the LP groove I’ve been in lately, a NAD 50.2 Digital Music Player has taken up residence in my system. Before you analogists start sending off nastygrams to my long-suffering editor, please note that no records or turntables were damaged, abused or displaced during this process. My ancient, but well-loved, Cambridge 840C CD ... - Data Privacy Statement 5/25/1825 May 2018, 2:51 pm
Posted by Noam Bronstein Boring housekeeping stuff, no audio content. Today, the European Union implemented G.D.P.R., their new data privacy internet regulations. This is to protect all EU users and customers from improper collection and use of their personal data. Just to cover our butts, I’d like to make the following points about our business model, since Wall of Sound does have readers in the EU. WoS is a free service, we have never collected personal information about our audience. Ac... - Ortofon Quintet Red Vs. Quintet Bronze Comparison Review15 May 2018, 4:30 pm
Comparison review By Steve Graham Ortofon vs Ortofon… Quintet Red vs Quintet Bronze… Low Output Moving Coil vs Low Output Moving Coil… Elliptical Stylus vs Fine Line Stylus The Quintet Red The Quintet Bronze, though it looks more orange to me I’m a long-time Stereophile subscriber, but there are times when I feel like an even poorer relation than usual, while reading the monthly exploits of Messrs. Fremer, Dudley and Reich... - DIY Tube Phono Stage Build, Needing a Sponsor29 April 2018, 7:31 pm
Attention: Tube-Loving, Vinyl-Spinning, but DIY-averse Wall of Sounders! A Proposed Phono Preamp project, by Steve Graham Our first foray into DIY tubing was a success, judging by the over 22,000(!) views across all sections of the project. A few people actually took the plunge and built their own, too. The two Aikido line stages I built both sold and as far as I know the gentlemen that bought them are happy with their purchases. At least I haven’t had any com... - Double TT Review: Pro-Ject’s ‘The Classic’ SB Super Pack & Funk Firm’s Flamenca15 April 2018, 11:50 pm
Double Turntable Review, by Steve Graham Pro-Ject Audio Systems “The Classic” SB Super Pack The Funk Firm Flamenca Mars and Venus, Cats and Dogs, Tubes and Transistors, Blondes and Brunettes…… In my short career as an audio reviewer, I thought there were two types of reviews that would be hard to write. The review where I disliked a component but didn’t want to crap all over it, and the review where I really, really liked a piece of gear but didn’t want to s...
- Business In Audio: Essence22 June 2018, 12:22 pm
Our Business In Audio series is a set of interviews where we delve into the challenges of growing and developing a company in today’s audio market and economy. This is a slightly different slant to the usual product focused discussions. Here we are more focused on the people and the business challenges in staying relevant […] The post Business In Audio: Essence appeared first on Headfonics.... - FiiO Q5 Review20 June 2018, 12:08 pm
Tonality8.7Build Quality9Functionality8.8Matchability8.9 8.9Our Score$349.99FiiODisclaimer: The FiiO Q5 was sent to us in exchange for our honest opinion in this review and does not have to be returned. Many thanks to FiiO for giving us this opportunity. It has been a few years now since FiiO first pitched the concept of a swappable amp card system […] The post FiiO Q5 Review appeared first on Headfonics.... - RIVA Arena Wireless Speaker Review17 June 2018, 11:55 am
8.1Our Score$249RIVADisclaimer: The RIVA ARENA was sent to us a sample in exchange for our honest opinion and does not have to be returned. Riva is not a site advertiser or affiliated with Headfonics. We thank the team at RIVA for giving us this opportunity. I have recently covered Riva’s $499 Festival model and found […] The post RIVA Arena Wireless Speaker Review appeared first on Headfonics.... - Shanling M0 Review15 June 2018, 12:18 pm
8.5Our Score$109ShanlingDisclaimer: The Shanling M0 was sent to us a sample in exchange for our honest opinion and does not have to be returned. We thank the team at Shanling for giving us this opportunity. Until the end of June 2018 the M0 will be a promo price of $99, thereafter it will revert to […] The post Shanling M0 Review appeared first on Headfonics.... - Campfire Audio Comet Review13 June 2018, 12:04 pm
Tonality8.6Build Quality8.8Comfort & Fit8.5Matchability8.7 8.6Your Score$199Campfire AudioDisclaimer: The Campfire Audio Comet was sent to us a sample in exchange for our honest opinion and does not have to be returned. We thank the team at Campfire Audio for giving us this opportunity. The launch of the Comet actually took me by surprise. I was not […] The post Campfire Audio Comet Review appeared first on Headfonics....
- Sennheiser, Sonoma, Bowers & Wilkins, etc.21 June 2018, 8:04 pm
The The UPS delivery man was unhappy.... - The bleeding edge of DAP technology has fresh cuts.19 June 2018, 5:44 pm
The 900-pound gorilla of high-end digital players that is Astell & Kern, recently held a private invite-only press event in Los Angeles.... - HifiMAN announce easy-to-drive Ananda open back planar18 June 2018, 5:43 pm
Who likes new headphones? C’mon raise your hands… don’t be afraid, no one here is going to slap it down.... - Measuring emotional connections to music11 June 2018, 5:37 pm
Is there a response curve to show how one connects to a piece of music?... - True-Fi headphone software correction6 June 2018, 7:01 pm
Software retailing for $79 USD that claims a ‘Studio Reference’ standard....
- I Saved Latin! A Tribute to Wes Anderson22 June 2018, 6:33 pm
The music chosen by Anderson to help populate his films is like a rich, delicious ramen in a cozy noodle shop full of smiling staff, lustrous woods and the coziest of curiously-patterned seat cushions.... - Review: Soulution 330 – a Swiss amp goes for a Highland fling16 June 2018, 12:55 am
Some prefer to pair their whisky with food and while I am a fan of that, a good whisky with outstanding high-fidelity gear is a pairing I often prefer.... - Update: Naim products on their way13 June 2018, 9:37 pm
I just wanted to let readers know that there is some cool gear winging its way to the house for review.... - PS Audio Stellar three-fer11 June 2018, 8:31 pm
Initial listening impressions of the PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC/pre and Stellar Mono Blocks.... - Steve Tibbetts – Life Of8 June 2018, 6:21 pm
1954. Mamie Eisenhower launches the first nuclear-powered submarine. Guitarist Steve Tibbetts is born is born in Madison, Wisc. ...
- The Magical Magico A3 – THE Show 201821 June 2018, 6:23 pm
The last and final favorite of THE Show this year. The Magico A3 ($9.8k) on full color, no-bleed display in... - Technics, YG Acoustics and D’Agostino – THE Show 201814 June 2018, 6:58 am
While I would be lying if I were to say that I wasn’t a little disappointed that D’Agostino didn’t bring... - HiFiMAN Really Wants You To Use Your Cellphone – The New Ananda Headphone12 June 2018, 5:56 am
HiFiMAN is clearly positioning themselves as a perfect accompaniment to your cellphone with their newest planar magnetic creation called the... - A Podcast Recap – THE Show 20188 June 2018, 4:34 pm
A full recap of The Show from Irvine is available for your listening pleasure in audio form, up now on... - Ryan Speakers, PASS Labs and PS Audio – The Show 20187 June 2018, 8:18 pm
There are many pairs of things that provide a greater value together than apart. Peanut butter and jelly, Jack and...
- 1MORE Spearhead VR Gaming Review18 June 2018, 5:00 am
The post 1MORE Spearhead VR Gaming Review appeared first on HeadPhone.guru.... - PS Audio Sprout100 – Value Personified!12 June 2018, 5:08 pm
The post PS Audio Sprout100 – Value Personified! appeared first on HeadPhone.guru.... - Jason Miles-Kind of New European Tour 2018 Part 212 June 2018, 5:00 am
The post Jason Miles-Kind of New European Tour 2018 Part 2 appeared first on HeadPhone.guru.... - Schiit Lyr 3 Hybrid Modular Tube Headphone Amplifier & Schiit Multibit DAC Module – A Leap Ahead11 June 2018, 5:00 am
The post Schiit Lyr 3 Hybrid Modular Tube Headphone Amplifier & Schiit Multibit DAC Module – A Leap Ahead appeared first on HeadPhone.guru.... - Enjoy the Music.com Partners With Headphone.Guru For Reviews & Articles6 June 2018, 7:46 pm
The post Enjoy the Music.com Partners With Headphone.Guru For Reviews & Articles appeared first on HeadPhone.guru....
- EXOGAL Abandons MQA Development22 June 2018, 9:30 pm
EXOGAL Audio announced today that they are ceasing development of MQA for inclusion in EXOGAL products. Said Jeff Haagenstad, CEO of EXOGAL: “We have been evaluating MQA technology and watching the wider MQA ecosystem since early 2016. After much research on the fundamental technology and more importantly on the market demand for MQA, we have... Read More The post EXOGAL Abandons MQA Development appeared first on Audio Bacon.... - Synergistic Research – HFTs, Black Box, and Atmosphere XL421 June 2018, 6:48 am
This is a continuum of our Synergistic Research – Full Loom Edition series. This article will be focusing on their room acoustic products. Jim Smith’s Get Better Sound was one of my first reads when I decided to really start building my system. If you haven’t had a chance to read it, I highly recommend... Read More The post Synergistic Research – HFTs, Black Box, and Atmosphere XL4 appeared first on Audio Bacon.... - Chord TToby Stereo Power Amplifier – Compact Without Compromise19 June 2018, 8:46 pm
In order to review more bookshelf speakers for near-field listening, I’ve spent the past few monthsref auditioning amplifiers. For some time now, I’ve been driving my high-sensitivity Omega Compact Alnicos Monitors directly with the full-bandwidth signal of the Chord DAVE. It takes transparency to unimaginable levels but understandably doesn’t always have the dynamic drive and body... Read More The post Chord TToby Stereo Power Amplifier – Compact Without Compromise... - What a God Tier Fingerstyle Guitarist Looks Like – Alexandr Misko19 June 2018, 1:39 am
I was chilling to Alexandr Misko’s latest album, Beyond the Box, this past weekend. At first blush, you would think it’s a band of guys just jamming it out. Turns out – it’s just one dude. One very talented dude. Solo performance without compromise. Vocals, bass line, rifts, and every dam nuance – on a... Read More The post What a God Tier Fingerstyle Guitarist Looks Like – Alexandr Misko appeared first on Audio Bacon.... - Aurum Cantus Leisure 2 SV MKⅡ Loudspeaker Review12 June 2018, 9:06 pm
I’ve always been impressed with the sound of Aurum Cantus at the shows. Fantastic sound and craftsmanship – without the sticker shock. My conversations with Roger DuNaier of Audiophile Direct are always filled with a delightful jest and laughter. If you ever get a chance to meet him at a show, you’ll know what I mean. At AXPONA... Read More The post Aurum Cantus Leisure 2 SV MKⅡ Loudspeaker Review appeared first on Audio Bacon....
- Cambridge Audio CXN v2 – almost perfect streamer21 June 2018, 3:00 am
REVIEW: Loads of streaming and networking fun to be had from this cheerful little box of tricks from Cambridge Audio - the CXN, now in its second iteration.... - Prisma connects more Primare products17 June 2018, 2:50 am
NEWS: Scandinavia's Primare delves deeper into the networking/streaming game with two new products, a powerful integrated amplifier and a flagship CD player.... - Cary Audio’s new SLI-100 steps out12 June 2018, 3:19 am
NEWS: A legendary tube amplifier moves into its next iteration, offering more power and updated circuitry... say hello to the Cary Audio SLI-100.... - Bryston BP-2 phono preamp – sweet sound of silence8 June 2018, 7:14 am
REVIEW: Our hardened vinyl enthusiast is moved to tears of joy and woe by this Bryston offering...... - High-end Crosszone CZ-1 cans launched in Malaysia3 June 2018, 7:50 am
NEWS: A relatively new player in the headfi market promises to get the sound out of your head and into bigger and wider spaces......
- Technics SL-L20 Linear Tracking Turntable Service10 May 2018, 11:02 am
I’ve yet to come across a Technics that didn’t at least sound good, and I had great fun spinning 7” singles on the L20 before returning it to its rightful owner ready to deliver another few decades of faithful service. The post Technics SL-L20 Linear Tracking Turntable Service appeared first on Audio Appraisal.... - Edifier S880DB High-Res Certified Speakers Review8 May 2018, 10:16 am
Truly excellent both physically and sonically and packing quality components into a pair of compact enclosures, the S880s represent real value for money. Highly recommended. The post Edifier S880DB High-Res Certified Speakers Review appeared first on Audio Appraisal.... - Meze Audio 99 Classic Headphones Review11 April 2018, 3:58 pm
These are some of the best headphones I’ve heard regardless of price or brand status. They simply must be heard because until you wear a pair on your own head you don’t know what you’re missing. The post Meze Audio 99 Classic Headphones Review appeared first on Audio Appraisal.... - Cheap Turntable Isolation Platform with Corian and Sorbothane18 March 2018, 1:36 pm
I was surprised by the performance improvement. A highly recommended and worthwhile DIY upgrade that must be heard to be believed. The post Cheap Turntable Isolation Platform with Corian and Sorbothane appeared first on Audio Appraisal.... - Edifier H850 Closed-Back Headphones Review6 March 2018, 2:05 pm
They are a steal at their current price and earn a thoroughly deserved recommendation. The post Edifier H850 Closed-Back Headphones Review appeared first on Audio Appraisal....
- Home Recording Studio Review!PreSonus Studio 192 Command Center24-Bit Audio Recording Interface17 May 2018, 5:16 pm
... - Digital Converter Review!Benchmark DAC3-DX Dual-Buss Output DAC:More Output Options,Incredible S/N Performance!23 January 2018, 6:54 pm
... - EAN Bench Test!Doing The Numbers OnThe Benchmark DAC3-DX DAC18 January 2018, 12:42 am
... - Audiophile Speaker Review!MartinLogan ESL-11A ImpressionElectrostatic Loudspeaker/Subwoofer:“My High-End Speaker Of The Year”19 December 2017, 10:15 pm
... - Audiophile Review!Pass Labs INT-60Stereo Integrated Amplifier“A Top-Notch Combo AmpNets Blend of Sound, Features”21 November 2017, 9:22 pm
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- REVIEW: CARY AUDIO SLP-05 PREAMPLIFIER & CAD-120S MKII POWER AMPLIFIER16 June 2018, 1:56 am
Taken separately or as a combination, the sheer musicality and vibrancy of these Cary components signals that they’re serious, high-end models.... - REVIEW: KRIX HOME CINEMA LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEM28 May 2018, 10:59 am
One of Australia’s oldest and arguably the most successful local loudspeaker manufacturers, Krix has an unrivalled pedigree when it comes to delivering movie sound, in both cinemas and the home. We take a look at one of Krix's home cinema speaker packs.... - REVIEW: MARANTZ SR8012 11.2 CHANNEL AV AMPLIFIER28 May 2018, 2:40 am
One year after Sound United's ownership of Denon and Marantz, good things are emerging. The latest product from the Marantz stable is the flagship SR8012 11.2 channel AV amplifier. We take a closer look.... - REVIEW: AUDIO-TECHNICA ATH-ANC700BT WIRELESS NOISE CANCELLING HEADPHONES27 May 2018, 10:46 pm
Audio-Technica's ATH-ANC700BT sells in Australia for just shy of $350. This over-ear release is locking horns with the likes of the Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC, Sony's WH-H900N and the Bose QC25. How does it stack up?... - REVIEW: SONY VPL-VW760ES 4K HDR LASER PROJECTOR24 May 2018, 4:07 am
As an ISF certified calibrator, I’ve worked with some impressive looking projectors and TV’s, but there’s always the standouts. Will Sony's VPL-VW760ES 4K HDR Laser Projector join this growing list? Read on....
- You don’t need 100 watts per channel22 June 2018, 9:43 am
... - Wow, I fell in love with these $200/pair powered speakers21 June 2018, 8:44 am
... - Daddy, daddy, when did you became an audiophile?20 June 2018, 9:32 am
... - Poll: Do you buy audio in person or online?19 June 2018, 9:23 am
... - The problem with measurement oriented reviews is...18 June 2018, 9:10 am
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- Vinyl Review: John Coltrane – Coltrane’s Sound (ORG Music, 180g, 45RPM)11 June 2018, 1:25 am
Sound: 7.2 Pressing/packaging: 9.2 Value: 8.4 ORG Music reissue released in 2014. 180g vinyl, 45RPM, 2LP, limited edition, numbered. Catalog Number: ORGM-1091. Mastered by Bernie Grundman. Pressed by Pallas in Germany. UPC: 711574708413. MSRP: $49. Buy on Amazon.com Introduction This LP was originally released by Atlantic Records in 1964. It consists of tracks recorded in […]... - Vinyl Review: Chopin – Polonaises Nos. 1-7, Maurizio Pollini (Deutsche Grammophon 180g)3 June 2018, 7:08 pm
Sound: 7.6 Pressing: 7.4 Value: 5.0 Deutsche Grammophon reissue released in 2016. 180g vinyl. Catalog Number: 479 6653. UPC: 028947966531. MSRP: $23. Buy on Amazon.com Introduction I’ve been on a Chopin rampage lately (if such a thing could ever exist). As far as solo piano works go, I spin Chopin more than any other composer. […]... - Vinyl Review: Sibelius – Violin Concerto, Oistrakh, Ormandy, Philadelphia Orch (Speakers Corner 180g)2 April 2018, 2:35 am
Sound: 8.8 Pressing: 8.4 Value: 9.0 Speakers Corner reissue released in 2017. 180g vinyl. Catalog Number: Columbia MS 6157. UPC: 4260019715333. MSRP: $35. Buy on Amazon.com Introduction Speakers Corner is mining the Columbia vaults for early stereo gems, of which this title is one. There are some legendary titles and performances from that era, but […]... - Vinyl Review: Ornette Coleman – The Shape of Jazz to Come (ORG Music, 180g, 45RPM)15 March 2018, 2:45 am
Sound: 9.8 Pressing: 3.5 Value: 8.5 ORG Music reissue released in 2013. 180g vinyl, 45RPM, 2LP. Catalog Number: ORGM-1081. Mastered by Bernie Grundman. Pressed by Pallas in Germany. UPC: 711574707218. MSRP: $49. Buy on Amazon.com Introduction Much has been said about this, Ornette Coleman’s shot across the bow of jazz as it was known in […]... - Vinyl Review: Stravinsky – The Firebird, Dorati, LSO (Speakers Corner 180g)4 March 2018, 3:15 am
Sound: 9.2 Pressing/Packaging: 9.4 Value: 9.7 Speakers Corner reissue released in 2008. 180g vinyl. Catalog Number: Mercury SR90226. UPC: 4260019714978. MSRP: $35. Buy on Amazon.com Igor Stravinsky: The Firebird (Complete). London Symphony Orchestra. Antal Dorati, conductor. Introduction As per our review philosophy, we focus reviews here exclusively on sound quality. Lots of analysis out there […]...