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When I first found out last fall that I was getting the new Beatles Mono LP box for review, I contemplated going full-on mono to bring as much authenticity as possible to the process. That would require some serious shuffling of my current system to enable mono listening and a number of equipment acquisitions to... Read More »

Dean Martin, Dream with Dean: The Intimate Dean Martin Analogue Productions, QRP 200 gram LP, stereo, 45 RPM (2 LP set), USD $50 You know, it really isn't fair. There I was. Just getting over my blood-pressure-wrecking pleasure over the brilliant Analogue Productions release of Duke Ellington's Masterpieces by Ellington (as reviewed HERE). Just getting... Read More »

When talking about the controversial topic of audio cables, there are three specific areas that keep getting discussed: Do cables actually sound different? If they do sound different, are any actually better, or are they just different? Is whatever difference they may or may not create worth the price? My answer to Point 1 was... Read More »

The principals behind JCAT, Marcin Ostapowicz and Josef Piri are perhaps better known as the creative minds behind JPLAY, a Windows based music playback software program that I heartily recommend. JCAT is the hardware side of their venture which also includes some rather nifty computer audio components. Last year I reviewed JCAT's USB and LAN... Read More »

How many rabbits can a magician pull out of the same hat? In the case of Bobby Palkovich, the wizard of Hemlock, it does seem like there is no limit. Just like Merlin, the wizard of old, who was said to have powerful magic, and for whom this speaker company is named. Bobby continues to... Read More »

Classical music subscriptions gobble up the lion’s share of our entertainment dollars. On average, we attend one or two concerts a week at Carnegie Hall (both Stern Auditorium and the smaller venue, Zankel), Alice Tully at Lincoln Center, or Town Hall. Every hall sounds different—all of those mentioned above have one thing in common: they’ve... Read More »

Based in France, Audiomat was started in 1986 by brothers Denis and Norbert Clarisse. Denis designs the equipment and Norbert manages the company. Their first product was a 50kg 20 watt OTL amp with 16 6AS7 triodes, two stages, no feedback, and run in pure class A. Several integrated amps and DACs followed which received... Read More »

Alexander Ekman's A Swan Lake. Composer: Mikael Karlsson. Conductor: Per Kristian Skalstad. Performers: Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. Art House Musik Blu-ray Disc 108 116 A Swan Lake by Alexander Ekman ('A' ballet) To classical music lovers and to ballet lovers, the addition of the letter, 'A' translates easily as this production and performances, like... Read More »

  Aftermarket power cables are a variety of audio product that generally raises the eyebrows of many a hobbyist. I can't offer any technical proof of how a power cable could have any effect on music (although I could list several reasons why they possibly can't) but in my experience, they can and do have... Read More »

As I was contemplating where to start this review of the Raven Audio Shadow Reference Stereo amp, the words 'natural ease' popped into my head. Why? Because there is a natural ease about this amplifier that is simply captivating. I want to frame this review by outlining my reference system that I dropped the Shadow... Read More »

Music servers… audio streaming. Every club needs the next New Thing to survive and grow. At this juncture in the second decade of the new millennium High End audio has already got theirs. But it sure feels like we've been here before. This is déjà vu; I'm seeing 1983, when SONY's “perfect sound forever” ad... Read More »

In some ways, Mark Pearson and I are birds of a feather. Among other things, we're both extremely picky and demanding about the performance of audio equipment. Not every component is the best thing since sliced bread nor is the last component the best component we've heard (or like HP always did—and few caught on—leave... Read More »

The era of photonic interconnect cables has arrived and we should all be singing praises! What do I mean? I've written before about the photonic cables from Harmonic Technology/INEX Innovation that use photons instead of electrons to carry audio signals. This technology, fiber optics, has revolutionized the telephone, cable TV and telecommunications industries including the... Read More »

My listening room is in my basement, and although you can easily open the door to the downstairs and hear the music from the big system in all its glory, sometimes it would be really nice to have a secondary system elsewhere in the house. And preferably one that would allow reasonably easy access to... Read More »

I was shocked, yes shocked to see albums, yes genuine vinyl, being sold at Fry's Electronics, Urban Outfitters and shock of all shocks, Barnes & Noble on a recent shopping excursion. In fact what initially pulled me into Urban Outfitters was that from the street, I saw albums and cheap record players prominently displayed in... Read More »

(Including an interview with Thomas Gessler, CEO of Audionet) What's that? Things formerly unheard are stirring down below... Some time ago I purchased the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 2 (Channel Classics CCS SA 25308, SACD). Less well-known, the second concerto is not programmed or recorded as often as his first, perhaps because the opening Largo contains long sections of... Read More »

Zesto Audio is a nearly-new company based and built in Los Angeles, and run by George Counnas, a talented and seasoned designer and electrical engineer who is seriously challenging the established competition. Every Zesto model produced has been gorgeous, and an under-priced over-achiever. What is our audio world coming to when great value invades our... Read More »

The Hagerman Audio Labs Trumpet Reference phono stage sits at the top of the mountain of the phono stages offered by Hagerman Audio Labs. I first laid eyes on the Trumpet Reference phono stage at RMAF 2014 where Jim Hagerman was displaying it in the same room where all of the LPs were being sold.... Read More »

In the realm of human perception colors are strictly a visual phenomenon. While the cones and rods in our eyes are responsible for the hues and shades of color we see, there is also emotional component to this scattered reflection of light we experience. Bright primary colors such as red, blue, and yellow are often... Read More »