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KRAKOW SONIC SOCIETY is an informal group of audiophiles and friends who meet every now and then to learn something new about audio products, music releases, music itself, and so on. The idea for KSS was born in 2005. It has already been the 128th. KSS meeting.  THE ENTERTEINMENT INDUSTRY IN THE TIME OF PANDEMIC... Read More »

Or, why recordings don't always sound the same. We listen to music in various conditions, sometimes loud, sometimes quietly. However, in order to hear what is really there, we have to take into account, how it was mixed and mastered. I don't know if you pay attention to the fact that a given album sounds... Read More »

It is the story of birth of digital audio, as well as a journey through the 1970s and 1980s, the best period in the history of digital recorders, and finally the story of their unique representatives; reel-to-tape recorders from Mitsubishi. (Part 1 can be found HERE) DIGITAL SOUND RECORDING method of preserving sound in which... Read More »

Positive Feedback is an American audio magazine. From 1990 to 2002 it had been printed, but then it started to be published online only; it is one of the oldest and largest online audio magazines in the world. We are talking to one of its founders, Dave Clark. Dave and Carol Clark in their listening... Read More »

It is the story of birth of digital audio, as well as a journey through the 1970s and 1980s, the best period in the history of digital recorders, and finally the story of their unique representatives—reel-to-tape recorders from MITSUBISHI Mitsubishi. (Part 2 can be found HERE) DIGITAL SOUND RECORDING – method of preserving sound in... Read More »

SPEC Corporation is a Japanese company founded by Mr. Shirokazu Yazaka, a former chief engineer at TEAC and Pioneer, to achieve one goal: to deliver tube sound using semiconductor technology. The RSA-V10 is its latest integrated amplifier in class D. This is its world premiere. It seems that Class D amplifiers are no longer a... Read More »

"The SPARS code is a three-position alphabetic classification system developed in the early 1980s by the Society of Professional Audio Recording Services (SPARS) for commercial compact disc releases to denote aspects of the sound recording and reproduction process, distinguishing between the use of analog equipment and digital equipment." Wikipedia, USA Richard James Burgess, the Marketing, Sales and Licensing Director at Smithsonian Folkways Recording, i.e. the non-profit... Read More »

"First Press" ("1st Press") is a term used to describe LP releases. It is used to describe the earliest editions of a given title. This is a difficult topic and collectors specializing in it are usually focused on some part of the publishing market. But it is very similar with Compact Discs—below we will discuss... Read More »

Gryphon, that for some time now have been using name The Gryphon, is a Danish company, founded in 1986 by Flemming E. Rasmussen. Its products feature an extremely characteristic design and all belong to the high-end class. What draws attention is not only its fantastic construction, but also a beautiful logotype depicting a griffin—a mythical... Read More »

In April 1997, jazz magazines published numerous ads of the re-edition of Verve Records, bearing the common name "Verve Master Edition:" HIGHER STANDARD "Verve Master Editions" - the ultimate sound quality and releases for serious collectors. "Verve Master Editions" are new releases of the groundbreaking Verve discs from the 1950s and 1960s, using the best... Read More »

PREMIERE The first amplifier from the Danish company Vitus Audio was presented in 2003. Earlier, however, for eight years, its project was improved and perfected. Hans Ole Vitus Nielsen is the founder and head of the company, as well as its chief designer. We are testing his latest product, the SIA-030 integrated amplifier, weighing 63... Read More »

The history of the Krakow Sonic Society meetings with various types of Compact Discs is quite long. Almost as long as the list of technical studies intended to improve the process of reading signal from these discs. Already in May 2009, as part of the 64th KSS, we discussed new (for us) patents of EMI... Read More »

CAMBRIDGE AUDIO is a British company specializing in audio and audio-video electronic components, whose distinctive feature is a particularly good value for money of their products. The Edge anniversary series launched a year ago seemed to change this approach. And yet... Cambridge Audio has just launched a new, cheapest AX series. Designed in the UK... Read More »

A tape, a test pressing, an LP "The most expensive music format (in the world)" as exemplified by records produced by the AC Records label. A lot has already been said about analog tapes—by us as well. However, it was the first time we had had the opportunity to compare an analogue "master" tape with... Read More »

I'm a music lover. I am an audiophile. I'm an electronics technician. I am an acoustician, a sound engineer. I am a philologist with a PhD. I am a reader. I am a journalist, a specialist journalist, let's add. I am each of them individually and all at the same time. Such thoughts come to... Read More »

LEBEN is a small, Japanese company that is treated with great attention in its country of origin. It owes this to its founder and chief designer, Mr. Taku Hyodo. It is mentioned by Japanese magazines among the most important designers of tube amplifiers in this country. The CS600 integrated amplifier was introduced to the market... Read More »

It 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... Read More »

"It's style over substance," I thought, seeing the Tentogra Oscar turntable for the first time. It was during the Audio Video Show 2017. "It's probably style over substance," I said to a friend when I saw the same turntable a year later at the Audio Video Show 2018. The change was subtle, because "probably" does... Read More »

SPEC Corporation is a Japanese company founded by Mr. Shirokazu Yazaki, former chief engineer of TEAC and Pioneer, in order to achieve one goal: to provide a tube sound with solid-state amplifiers. The RPA-MG1000 amplifier is its latest and the most expensive product. And it's a Class D one. If we were to adopt an... Read More »