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Over the nearly 4 decades that I have been an audiophile, I have met many young fellow audiophiles who, due to dearth of funds, started their journey in this lovely hobby not with the traditional audio set-up, but rather, with a pair of quality headphones and a good source component to feed it with their... Read More »

Most audiophiles I know try different cables on a regular basis. Components are, however, an entirely different matter. Once a serious audiophile has bought an end-game piece of gear that s(he) treasures, it will likely stay in his or her 2-channel stereo system for years. More than any other component, audio-nutters tend to hold onto... Read More »

Chrysalis Records continues their superb series of catalog reissues from legendary guitarist Robin Trower, with an expanded edition of his 1976 live album, Robin Trower Live! The new release has arrived as Robin Trower Live! 50th Anniversary Edition, and it documents a spectacular 1975 concert from Stockholm, Sweden, for the first time in its entirety.... Read More »

Today brings reviews of some HDTT releases I've been enjoying: three outstanding RCA Living Stereo and Mercury Living Presence albums; one of the great early Decca recordings; and two jazz releases in Pure DSD256 that have been on my Top of the Pile list since last year but just now reviewed.  Richard Strauss, Elektra, Karl... Read More »

Greetings friends, I hope you are well. I've always been impressed with Mr. Ken Ishiguro's approach to audio. Ken-san builds insightful audio products with innovative applications of technology that always make a positive contribution to the sound quality and musicality of my audio systems. I've been writing about Ken-san's audio creations for almost twenty years... Read More »

Over the past few weeks, my listening has been filled with enjoyable discoveries: four Pure DSD256 releases from Hunnia and Eudora (four!); another excellent LSO Live release with Gianandrea Noseda; a superb performance of Handel's Theodora; a fine new recording from Barry Diament on his Soundkeeper label—who has something to teach popular and folk music... Read More »

The Doobie Brothers' self‑titled 1971 debut barely made a ripple in the record industry. Internally, the band and producer Ted Templeman knew they needed to level- up the songwriting, arrangements, and production to become big artists. Toulouse Street became their turning point. It's the album that effectively "invented" the Doobie Brothers' signature sound.   1972's... Read More »

Do you own a vintage turntable with a drive motor on the decline? Or do you have a contemporary turntable that could use a performance upgrade without breaking the bank? As the owner of a vintage Micro Seiki BL-91 turntable, I decided to find out what the impact of enlisting a cutting edge external motor... Read More »

Many of us know Robin Trower from his years with Procol Harum, but most became aware of the guitarist after he went solo and helped us fill the Hendrix void with his 1974 album Bridge of Sighs. Trower (born March 9, 1945, Catford, London) is one of the most identifiable British guitar stylists to emerge... Read More »

HDTT recently released three historically significant recordings: Maazel's 1964 recording of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2 'Little Russian'; the Van Cliburn-Fritz Reiner 1961 Brahms Concerto No. 2; and Harry Belafonte's The Midnight Special. I've also taken this opportunity to finally write up reviews of three Pure DSD256 albums that I included in last year's Pure DSD256... Read More »

A number of the LPs and CDs I own are by singers and instrumentalists whom I would call fifteen-minute artists. As you would expect, a fifteen-minute artist is a musician, a singer, or a band who I enjoy, but not for much longer than fifteen minutes. Some of them used to be thirty-minute artists, but... Read More »

As I described in the introduction to this column in Part 1 (HERE) I started this project of listening to all my records at least one more time and cataloging them, I realized that this was the second time I have actually done this. The first time in the late 1970s, I only had a... Read More »

Yarlung Records continues to celebrate its Twentieth Anniversary with another superb release from its analog master tape archives. In April 2025, we received the marvelous recording by David Fung, Evening Conversations, about which I wrote HERE.  Now we have another release from Yarlung's archives that has only seen light of day as a CD: Ciaramella's... Read More »

A trove of truly wonderful recordings has appeared in the NativeDSD catalog over recent weeks. Here are eight that caught my immediate attention, with multiple turns in my listening queue. Each is a worthy addition to your music library and will reward over multiple listening sessions. Telemann Ino Cantata and Double Concertos, Ashley Solomon, Rachel... Read More »

This is the second installment of what was to be my three-part review of the upgrades I made last year to my system. There is no denying that the Carnegie by Odeon is a world-class speaker, and it sure better be for the price. No denying the exceptional build quality, including fit and finish of... Read More »

When we think of what the Greeks have given to the world, what comes to mind? Socrates? Hipparchus? Aerodynamics? Algebra? The Equinox and Solstice? Thales' theorem? The list goes on and on. But how about high-end audio equipment? Well, yes! In this case I'm referring to the TSI-300 Integrated Amplifier from TLA ("True Life Audio") from... Read More »

Ever the creative genius and music lover, award winning Holger Stein continues to develop new effective ways to improve listening in the home. SteinMusic has released four new devices of which I have received and evaluated three. They lower the noise floor and enhance the music overall. They are as follows: The Ground Cube Signature... Read More »

Historians refer to Jimmy Wakely (1914-1982) as one of the last of the singing cowboys. Although he wasn't the very last, he was the last to sign with a major record label and produce a steady stream of records. He was, along with Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, one of Hollywood's greatest singing cowboys. His... Read More »

Back in 2023 I reviewed (HERE) the innovative Gravity One record weight from turntable/tonearm manufacturer Origin Live (along with their "Upgrade" platter mat and Cartridge Enabler head-shell isolator). All available to any vinyl fiend for use with any brand turntable, arm, or cartridge. Sure, they were prototyped and developed on Origin Live's own gear, but... Read More »