Loading...

Rhino Entertainment is releasing Black Sabbath Hand of Doom 1970 - 1978, which is an eight LP, picture disc boxed set that includes all eight Black Sabbath studio albums that feature the band's original and classic lineup. Black Sabbath's original incarnation included Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, Tony Iommi on guitars, Geezer Butler on bass, and... Read More »

This edition of Recent Finds will be a bit different because I'm including some 44.1 kHz reviewer sample files from Alpha Classics that I've been enjoying. I've been accused of listening only to DXD and DSD256, but I plead "Not true!" Or, at least not entirely true. Sometimes one just has to go where the... Read More »

Jazz Dispensary is Craft Recordings' specialty label that unearths rarities from the multitude of riches found in Concord Music's jazz, funk, soul, and fusion recordings from the Prestige, Fantasy, Contemporary, and Milestone imprints from their mid-60s through the mid-70s catalogs. While many of those releases arrive in the form of compilations of classic grooves from... Read More »

I can't believe it! They are finally here. From people that know me, you shouldn't be surprised that I have another ribbon speaker in my listening room. This has been a long journey, and started with Apogees back in the mid 2000s where I fell on the Apogee refurbishment journey. I had a few Divas,... Read More »

  Craft Recordings continues their exciting Original Jazz Classics reissue series with the next title in the second batch of releases, pianist Mal Waldron's 1957 sextet date, Mal/2. I have to admit that as jazzed (literally!) as I have been over the announced titles so far in the OJC reboot, I was somewhat surprised by... Read More »

Dean Waters on the hardware:  First contact with the KECES S300+ Stereo Amplifier I've been given the wonderful opportunity to listen to and evaluate the KECES S300+ dual-channel Class A / Class AB hybrid amplifier. What a marvelous experience! First time I've had goosebumps listening to recorded music since I can't remember how long. This... Read More »

I am grateful for the existence of bluegrass and for The Dillards, because they introduced me to the exciting world of bluegrass music. Let me state this right here: I love bluegrass music!. Some people lump bluegrass under the same umbrella as country music, but it actually belongs under its own umbrella. Bluegrass comes in... Read More »

I came of age in the mid-seventies, when owning a quadraphonic sound system was being marketed as the ne plus ultra of the HiFi audio experience. I'll never forget the first time I walked into a HiFi dealer who happened to have a quad system set up and running that actually worked; hearing the immersive... Read More »

High Definition Tape Transfers (HDTT) continues delivering reissues of iconic vintage albums in high resolution sonics that are simply "to die for"  in their wonderfulness. Each few weeks, I think "It can't get any better than this" and then it does! Bob Witrak continues to work through an incredibly deep resource of tapes and LPs... Read More »

When it comes to supporting their Steinway Artists (by which Steinway & Sons actually means pianists; when Steinway says "artists," they don't mean those guys and girls wearing smocks and berets who wield paint brushes while squeezing oil paint out of tubes), Steinway really puts its money where its Public Relations interests lie. Steinway is... Read More »

Power conditioning is one of those topics that is considered a little divisive within the audiophile community. There are some who say power conditioning is not needed, there are some that say it makes sense, but it ultimately provides little value, and then there are some who say that it is incredibly important. Where I... Read More »

Continuing the conversation about what I've found recently that you might also be interested in checking out. Starting off with two very excellent releases from Yarlung Records, both in Pure DSD256, and then moving to Karina Canellakis' excellent new Bartok Concerto for Orchestra in her premier recording release as a conductor, the marvelous 2014 release... Read More »

I grew up about thirty minutes outside of Athens, Georgia, where I was a college student in the late 70s. And was very much in touch with Athens' burgeoning music scene, which included bands like the B-52's, Pylon, and Love Tractor. At the time of R.E.M.'s appearance on the scene, when "Radio Free Europe" was... Read More »

I am amazed how my role as an audiophile and audio reviewer informs my volunteer work running the Behringer X32 mixing console at church—and vice versa. Although one focuses on live performances in a much larger and livelier space than my more acoustically intimate home Audio/Visual room, in both cases, I listen closely for issues... Read More »

Craft Recordings is continuing their much anticipated Original Jazz Classics imprint reboot with the second batch of releases in the series, starting with the Bill Evans Trio's classic Waltz For Debby. This album unfortunately closed the books on Evans' first great trio; the legendary Village Vanguard live sessions that took place on June 25, 1961... Read More »

My original review for Barbra Streisand Live at the Bon Soir chronicled Impex Records' excellent SACD release and can be read HERE. As extraordinarily good as the SACD was (and is!), the long-awaited 2-LP, HQ-180 set has finally arrived, and it's definitely been worth the wait. The LP release was delayed by a meticulous approval... Read More »

Like many of you I have thoroughly immersed myself into the world of audio, and this passion has been with me since I was a young man. I remember my first humble audio system that was paid for by countless hours mowing lawns and working other various odd jobs in the neighborhood. Looking back at... Read More »

We had a pair of Row K center tickets for the Dover String Quartet at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center. Everyone knows that's the eleventh row, but we found ourselves settling in four rows from the stage. What happened? An usher informed us management had enlarged the stage for this event by removing a... Read More »

Audio-Technica's least expensive moving magnet cartridge, the AT-VM95C, is a thoroughly entertaining product. While far from the last word in anything, it's a cartridge I've enjoyed on turntable and tonearm combos costing more than 100 times its price. For just $39, it tracks well and resolves in big, bold strokes that makes it just as... Read More »