Loading...

Just when you would figure John Grado would take some time off with his vivacious wife and spend time at their pied-à-terre in Paris, (if they have one, they should go there!), Grado's new and improved creations keep rolling in. With the improvements wrought by balanced armatures to IEM's and a few other engineering tweaks, the improved... Read More »

Sometimes I have no idea how I find music. It's a weird combination of factors that go into the discovery of new music. Sometimes I just have to be in the right place at the right time, in the right mindset. 花冷え。(Hanabie) is no exception to this case. The way I discovered this band, which... Read More »

It Even Makes Julienne Fries It was a golden age for Television, or perhaps commercials in the 1960s. The Ronco Veg-O-Matic hit the market, promising  to ease the life homemakers everywhere. This food slicer did it all; its catch-phrase, "It slices! It dices! It even makes julienne fries!" became the go-to reference for multi-function devices... Read More »

The Kuzma 4Point tonearm continues receiving praise from audiophiles for its precision construction, ease of adjustment, and contributions to achieving quality sound from vinyl records. Largely unmodified since its introduction in 2008, Franc Kuzma recently upgraded the bearings in his 4Point arms to achieve an even higher level of performance. Now, all 11-inch and 14-inch... Read More »

The leitmotif of all turntables from the Slovenian company Kuzma is "less is better." Have a look at its iconic, "tubular" Stabi S turntable, to understand what it means—it's just two brass tubes with a platter and an outboard motor. Also tonearms designed by this brand, no less famous than turntables, look like a study... Read More »

Analog Record Collection, Universal Music LLC  Stereo Sound SSAR-028~029 There are some albums that for some reason stay in use in the industry "permanently." We can hear them at many shows, we find in our friends' collections—well, usually even we have at least one version of such titles on our shelf. They are almost always... Read More »

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UD1S 2-008, Motown B0026761-01, Limited Edition, SuperVinyl, Box Set (2019, Jan.), # 6140 of 7500 Originally released on Tamla – TS-310 (1971, May) Category: soul, jazz and spiritual undertones Format: Vinyl (2x180 gram LPs at 45 rpm) Rating Global Appreciation: 9.9 Music: A+ (10) Recording: 9.5 Remastering + Lacquer Cutting: 9.9... Read More »

Every day I play the ML1 is an adventure. It has its glitches, but is musical and quiet. At the price, it is miraculous indeed. (You can read Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE.) Currently, I use the latest version of this unique magnetically powered and suspended turntable: the ML1. This version, with tweaked firmware,... Read More »

Not long ago, I was chatting with George—not George Cardas, but with George Counnas, genius creator of Zesto Audio's celebrated electronics. I asked him if he had read my review of the Cardas Clear Beyond XL power cords. I predict a synergy between the two, like the BIA 120 and the XL and more. To my surprise,... Read More »

Tubes or Solid State? That question alone divides us audiophiles—at its most basic level it's telling a story about your preferences, as there is no doubt about the pros and cons of both technologies. I will say that solid state (Class D, especially) has come a long way, but there really is nothing more captivating... Read More »

"From my cold, dead hands!" - Charlton Heston, describing the only way anyone would be able  to take away his guns. I'll state right up front that after a month in my reference system that's exactly how I feel about the Zesto Andros Allasso step up transformer. In fact I was completely smitten with this little... Read More »

FAURÉ Orchestral works. Seattle Symphony/Ludovic Morlot. Seattle Symphony Media SSM1004.  TT: 70.29. Masques et bergamasques. Fantaisie for Flute (orch. Talmi; with Demarre McGill, flute). Pelléas et Mélisande: Suite. Berceuse for Violin and Orchestra (with Alexander Velinzon, violin). Élégie for Cello and Orchestra (with Efe Baltacigil, cello). Dolly (orch. Rabaud). Pavane (with Seattle Symphony Chorus). Full disclosure: I haven't... Read More »

I am staring out my window this afternoon, watching the snow fall and lay a blanket of shimmering white across my lawn, and touching every corner of our residential cul-de-sac. I sit here, marveling about how quiet my little corner of the city has become. You hear no cars, the neighbors are tucked in their... Read More »

As many of you know, Luxman has a long and proud tradition in the HiFi industry. Within that history, the HiFi press has bestowed accolades to many of their models over the years. Recently Victor Chavira and I at PF got a chance to review an integrated amplifier in their lineup, the LX-380 to be... Read More »

A power strip is simply a "splitter" of the power supply—it goes in with a single cable, and it goes out via several outputs/sockets. Acoustic Revive in Europe offers one model, featuring four sockets. We would like to present you the latest version called the Absolute. This is the first part of a two-part test.... Read More »

I came upon Paradox Pulse quite by accident while pursuing eBay looking at some used amplifiers. What first caught my attention, and the reason for my contacting them, was the rebodied and retipped Denon 103 R cartridges they were offering. Officially known as a the Paradox Pulse Guard3 R SMR. That will be the subject... Read More »

This is the second of the new Sumiko Oyster series of cartridges. A few months ago I reviewed the Moonstone, the unit directly up the line form the Olympia (HERE). I found the Moonstone to be an exceptional bargain at the $299 price point. My expectations of the Olympia were to follow suit. So what... Read More »

The musical form I had the most commercial success in (as a classical-music record producer and label owner), was the string quartet. Granted, my remarkably successful string-quartet recordings consisted of quartet arrangements of sacred and traditional Christmas music. But those recordings are a lot more "classical" in character than "crossover" in character. In other words,... Read More »

The Constellation Audio Inspiration 1.0 Linestage and pair of 1.0 Stereo amplifiers, driving the GamuT Flagship Zodiac Loudspeakers. From the Beginning For a company that just recently celebrated only its 8th birthday, Constellation Audio has proven itself virtually unparalleled in both accomplishment and acceptance. My first take was at their 2010 CES introduction, where I... Read More »