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I like the idea of resonators as a prescription: Take one a day to keep the shakes away. Ha! Not quite, just me being silly. Seriously though, they are a sonic purgative. The actual prescription is to put them at strategic points on your components to prevent vibrations or mechanical energy from doing mischief. As... Read More »

Grieg. Peer Gynt Suites. Six Orchestral Songs. Orchestra: Malmo Symphony. Conductor: Bjarte Engeset. Recording: Naxos CD8-570236 These Peer Gynt suites are the heart and soul of Grieg's incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play of the same name. This beautiful and very impressively melodic music is one of my personal favorites of all time. The immense... Read More »

I may have said this before, but I'll say it again… all of these amazing cables you have in your system (as beautifully constructed as they are) will not amount to much if you have garbage power coming into your room. This probably goes for 99% of you reading this where you don't have the... Read More »

If there is one credo that Alex Sventitsky the founder of WyWires Technology goes by, it is that the accurate reproduction of music is a very complex process and so "One size does not fit all!" This dogged determination in pursuing this dogma has helped WyWires differentiate itself from most of the competition and has... Read More »

The $1495 Charisma Audio MC-2 moving coil cartridge sounds far better than it has any right to! In fact, this recently introduced cartridge–and cartridge line—is undoubtedly one of today's best bangs for the buck in the once again growing world of high-end audio cartridges. It goes without saying that nothing but nothing prepared me for the... Read More »

If you love DSD downloads as much as I do, but haven't yet heard of High Definition Tape Transfers, then brother, let me do you a big favor. Some of the best DSD downloads now available in classical music and jazz are coming from Bob Witrak and his operation over at HDTT. Possessed of a... Read More »

Tipping the register at $1095 and $1195, respectively, the Music Hall MMF-5.1SE and recently introduced Ikura turntables share certain design and implementation features in their equally attractive frames. Both share a dual-plinth design, the same Pro-Ject 9 tonearm, same motor, a "precision stainless steel main bearing sheathed in Teflon for noise-free operation (quoting the Music... Read More »

The old proverb is false. You can teach an old dog new tricks! After 55 years as an audiophile, I finally have inner ear monitors (IEMs) that are not hearing aids! They are Ultimate Ears Reference Pro Monitors developed for studio recording and mastering use. They fit snugly in the ear just like a baby's... Read More »

At a Chicago Symphony Orchestra performance in Carnegie Hall one night I struck up a casual chat with the greybeard seated next to me. I learned he was a retired professional violinist and now, beyond being an enthusiast, he had a severe addiction. Classical music was his consuming passion. For each instrument we cared to... Read More »

Singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett cites a poster hanging in her Grandmother's bathroom when she was a child as inspiration for the title of her first full-length album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit (Mom+Pop Records MP221-2). Distilling the mundane into lyrical profundity extends beyond just the titular for Barnett, whose songs on... Read More »

  If you have followed the trending audiophile markets for headphone amps and DACs, you've probably stumbled across the iFi line of shiny, pocket-sized electronics much as I did. iFi is the budget brainstorm of UK high-end audio firm Abbingdon Music Research, gear designed in the UK, manufactured in China. The various products share extruded... Read More »

Although a stalwart in many the audiophile setup, you can really see the resurgence of analog playback in mainstream society. Even chain stores are now trying to tap into the market where it once was deemed prehistoric, record players and software are now for sale. The rediscovery of analog has brought about a reintroduction into... Read More »

Nathan Funk resides in Canada. Nathan lives for music. He is handy with shop tools and would love to build you a pair of speakers. That is exactly what Nathan and his team has been doing at their shop in Halfmoon Bay British Colombia for the past fifteen years. Over that time word of mouth... Read More »

Sagebrush Rebellion Papillon Recordings  BluePort Jazz, BPJ-024 Producer: Dmitri Matheny Recording Engineer: Jim Merod Mastered by: Jim Merod and Steve McCormack Recorded Live at Dizzy's in San Diego, CA, 11/29/13  [Image courtesy of Dmitri Matheny and BluPort Jazz] Dedicated to the artistry of Art Farmer, four stellar jazz musicians (Dmitri Matheny on flugelhorn, Nick Manson playing piano,... Read More »

Bartok. Sonatas for Violin Nos. 1 and 2; Sonata for Solo Violin. Barnabás Kelemen, violin; Zoltán Kocsis, piano. Hungaroton HSACD 32515. SACD. How do you like your Bartok? Do you like Bartok? It took me several years to persuade a good fellow graduate student (who knew a lot about music) to believe me when I... Read More »

Synergistic Research continues to be one of the driving forces in the high end audiophile community. Teaming up with several industry leaders at the various audio shows throughout 2015, their showrooms have been receiving admirable praise and feedback—and deservedly so. No longer just a cable manufacturer, their continued growth has been impressive while making a... Read More »

Dan Schmalle, Paul Stubblebine and Mike Romanowski, aka The Tape Project's tres amigos, are more than anyone else responsible for putting the reels back in motion. When my first Tape Project piece appeared in the virtual pages of PF some six years ago now (Issue 46), these folks were the only game in town; today... Read More »

Over the past ten years, I have reviewed a half dozen or more products from Pass Labs. I ended up purchasing many of those components. It seems like every time I roll the dice and drift away in another direction, I come running back with my hair on fire and apologizing to the audio gods.... Read More »

Audio-Technica was founded in 1962 by Hideo Matsushita; the company's first offerings were the AT-1 and AT-3 phono cartridges. Over the years the company has branched into numerous facets of music reproduction, with products in both the home and commercial environment. For decades, Audio-Technica microphones have been chosen for their overall quality and performance, as... Read More »