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Eno & Hyde have never missed as far as I'm concerned. That's a true rarity. Actually, I can't think of any other cooperative artists projects that have been consistent in holding my attention on every record like these gents have. Every studio album of theirs I've discovered, even a few live bits are all something... Read More »

Blu-ray recordings may be video, audio or most commonly video plus audio. If the video is a distraction turn it off though I would suggest watching the video at least once; at times it can be interesting or entertaining. Naxos is again following up with more high definition (Blu-ray) audio only releases. For many listeners... Read More »

Dana Zemetsov, Enigma. Works of Solo Viola. [Kreisler, Stravinsky, Hindemith, Kugel, Penderecki, JS Bach] Channel Classics CCSSA 35714.  We come to recital CD's for the musician or for music we are unlikely to hear anywhere else. In this case, there is also the instrument—a viola, a peculiar instrument when on its own rather than as... Read More »

The importance of resonance and vibration control in allowing a high end audio system to perform at its very best is beyond debate. There may some holdouts in the audiophile community, but there are more than a few credible studies on the effects of resonance on electronic equipment in critical applications. The aerospace, military, and... Read More »

This is a ground breaking review in more ways than one. To start with, this is the first Magico S5 speaker review using only analog recorded material. More to the point, it's my first review using the extraordinary VPI Classic Direct turntable and 12-inch 3D printed arm (geez reviewing might have been so much easier... Read More »

Thanks to the terrific exhibit called Headphonium at T.H.E. SHOW NEWPORT, I heard a remarkable pair of headphones that sounded and performed in all ways expensive and open-back, but was neither! I generally ignore cans priced at $599, but holy moly, these Alpha Dogs are impossible to ignore. One listen and you are done for.... Read More »

Prokofiev, Violin Sonatas. Five Melodies. Alina Ibragimova, violin; Steven Osborne, piano. Hyperion CDA 67514. I am reported in an ad on the Hyperion website for a new Ibragimova recording as saying that "when you're listening to Ibragimova, she is the only possible way to go." Is this true of her new Prokofiev CD? My favorite... Read More »

There are few genres more polarizing than minimal electronic music. This is totally subjective; but I believe you have to experience this music in a live setting in order to fully appreciate it outside the club: with perhaps a little chemical booster on-board in order to enhance the senses (or maybe not—Dr. David Robinson and... Read More »

Plowing Back To Go Forward Long ago I spent considerable time with the Audience design team listening, on multiple occasions; to the development of a multi-driver speaker creation intended to take-no-prisoners and drops a proverbial wake-up bomb on the audiophile world. Those were whopping good sessions of superior fellow-feeling that allowed several chaps with disparate... Read More »

Wow! I've been swimming in the new HDTT transfer to Double DSD of Duke Ellington's superb recording, Duke Ellington Indigos. The Duke has a special place in my jazzic heart, and has for a long time now. In fact, one of the early SACDs that I glommed onto was the "old" Mobile Fidelity's Blues in Orbit, now... Read More »

LampizatOr audio products are handmade in Poland and are the brain child of Lukasz Fikus. The LampizatOr website is interesting to say the least and it gives you an insight into the mind, philosophy, and sense of humor of Lukasz Fikus. I highly recommend cruising over to the LampizatOr website and reading up on Lukasz's philosophy of... Read More »

Here We Go Again Over many years I've endured hope and disappointment in the service of auditioning and evaluating loud speakers of virtually every sort. At a certain point one becomes braced for the worst or, at least, for the next version of "no cigar" in the process of countervailing but ongoing optimism once again. ... Read More »

"What's this?" I expected a power distributor, but this shipping box is large and heavy enough to mandate a luggage cart for haulage. Then I recalled Brian Ackerman, the importer of HB PowerSlave products, telling me that first look would be a shocker.  The HB PowerSlave Acrylic is one of those massively over-built products that... Read More »

Over the past 30 years, I have learned to tread carefully when exploring the world of tweaks. Experience has taught me that, with thorough due diligence, you can find tweaks that offer a significant degree of improvement in the sound quality of your audio system and in many cases they are keenly priced and offer... Read More »