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T.H.E. Show coverage continues... with a second page. From Part One...  Second year at the same location, the Hotel Irvine, room 441, and with us arriving late Wednesday afternoon after a full day of teaching. Tired, exhausted... and bittersweet as this was the next to last week before we retired as educators. Daunting task. Set up a... Read More »

Second year at the same location, the Hotel Irvine, room 441, and with us arriving late Wednesday afternoon after a full day of teaching. Tired, exhausted... and bittersweet as this was the next to last week before we retired as educators. Daunting task. Set up a room—a hospitality room with an audio system hitting well over a... Read More »

So back on track here… got the Aurender review (a truly wonderful product—read that HERE) done and so on to another product that I loved so much, I ended up buying the review sample… the PS Audio BHK Signature 250 Stereo Power Amplifier. Bought it? What about the legendary Clayton M200 amplifiers? Are you selling... Read More »

I have become quite lazy and it is all to blame on the technology that we use today to get our music out into the room. It all started with CDs allowing me to sit and listen to something like 60 mins of music while never stirring. Of course a lot of time I never... Read More »

Gee, what happened to the time? Yeah, that construct or concept that continually moves forward. Not only forward in the sense of progress (for some for sure, and for others… uh, 2016 people) but also in the sense of "where did it go?" I received the Mytek Manhattan ($4995) something like… last summer, and after... Read More »

So in my last Audio Ramblings, I wrote… "Not sure how this came about, but man do I have a lot of stuff here to review… the PS Audio BHK250 amplifier and their AC12 and AC5 power cables, the Aurender N100H streamer, the Entreq Poseidon Grounding box and cables, several items from Synergistic Research (Black... Read More »

Not sure how this came about, but man do I have a lot of stuff here to review… the PS Audio BHK250 amplifier and their AC12 and AC5 power cables, the Aurender N100H streamer, the Entreq Poseidon Grounding box and cables, several items from Synergistic Research (Black Box, Atmosphere, MiG, and HFT), iFi Audio's new... Read More »

So there is this controversy of sorts… well not really for many of us, but certainly for some of us. See, the argument is that USB cables cannot and will not change the sound since it is just passing along 1's and 0's from point A to point B. It is all digital and so there... Read More »

Phonostages. Or phono preamplifers. Same things. You know, the box or input on your preamp or whatever that takes what is coming from your turntable and makes it into something you can actually appreciate—like music. Right, so let me elaborate… it amplifies the signal and applies the required RIAA curve necessary for proper vinyl playback. Sounds easy,... Read More »

Analog is the thing now. Well for many it has always been the thing, but for many others… it is the new thing. Nice. Great stuff on vinyl and for sure, if done right, it can be quite different than digital. I say different, as better, all depends on the mastering, pressing, quality, etc. I... Read More »

So yeah… been a crazy year. Not as much reviewed as we had hoped for, but yes… a few items did pass through our doorway and into our system getting us all warm and fuzzy. For Carol and I, well, we like things we review to be not too pricey… more about reasonable and not... Read More »

The saga, or journey, continues with my Auralic Aries adventures. In my last Ramblings (HERE) I shared my experiences with upping the Aires' performance quite a bit via the Certon C4 Integrita NAS, the HDPLEX linear power supply for the Neatgear switch and WiFi units, various tweeks and gadgets (for example the RLI-1 LAN Isolator... Read More »

So there is a lot to see and hear at RMAF. So much, that just getting to the majority of rooms, saying hello, taking a few shots, and giving a quick listen becomes not only mind boggling, but physically boggling. So here is Part 2. Will have a lot more to say in the conclusion.... Read More »

Always a great time, but man are we getting old. Hard to do the shows like we used to in the past... just not able to make all the rooms nor sit and spend any amount of time. When we did, we found ourselves too beat to get up and continue. Even so, we did hear... Read More »

In past reviews of loudspeakers I presented the notion that products, for me at least, tend to sound like the personality of the designer. How so…? Well… From Issue 64…"So how do they fit into the idea of being cut from the same (or similar cloth) as the designer? That is… do they present the... Read More »

Okay so in my last two Ramblings I shared my experiences, and expectations, of music servers or streamers; specifically the Antipodes DX and the Aries from Auralic. Both stunningly good, and yet both at rather opposite ends of the "what does it cost to get the best," and how they are packaged to the end... Read More »

This is going to be a sort of two-part review… first about the Auralic Aries and then about what I did to take my current file-based audio system to a completely different and yet, stunningly musical level... along with the Aries. Okay so to piggy back on the Antipodes review… yeah, I want it easier... Read More »

After 32 years of operating high-end shops in the North Bay Area in N.Cal., and a professional music career that has seen Craig Allison share bills with John Lee Hooker and Ray Charles among others, Craig has a message for our audio specialty industry and the public at large. Our passion/activity, which saw a mainstream... Read More »

As we move along the time continuum, expectations are that activities or whatever will become easier and easier. That is, what was time consuming and laborious, is now, and should become, faster and less difficult. These are the goals of a modern society. Which does not mean to make tasks or activities less fun or... Read More »