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The JBL Model 4367 Studio Monitor premiered in October 2015 at CEDIA, and soon after that was also presented during Audio Video Show 2015  in Warsaw. This review is one of the first, if not the first, review of this product in the world. The goal that was set when designing these speakers was simple:... Read More »

Over the past couple of decades, many of my audiophile friends have often questioned my preference for well designed, intelligently engineered 2-way speakers over their 3-way counterparts. This preference has been based not just on listening tests but also on the fact that 2-way speakers enjoy some significant advantages over all but the very best... Read More »

I've told this story before, so bear with me. I first met Janet Feder at the 2012 California Audio Show in San Francisco. That was the show that marked the US debut of the KEF LS50 loudspeaker—I know that because I supplied the Unison Research amplification that powered those amazing little Halloween-colored monitors. Janet walked... Read More »

"I know it's only rock 'n roll but I like it, like it, yes, I do" —The Rolling Stones Not that long ago, I was working under contract at a big software company in Silicon Valley. However, I had been having tremendous pain in my right knee, largely from a sports injury, and got the... Read More »

Schon mehrfach hat ifi-audio in den vergangenen Monaten mit bemerkenswerten kleinen und vor allem preislich attraktiven HiFi-Komponenten für Aufsehen gesorgt. Im analogen Metier konnte eine Phono-Vorstufe und im digitalen ein DSD-tauglicher DA-Wandler musikalisch mächtig Eindruck hinterlassen.

Als Jürgen Sachweh, der Chef des deutschen Vertriebs von PS Audio, uns vor einigen Wochen in der Redaktion besuchte, hatte er eines der ersten in Deutschland erhältlichen Exemplare der PerfectWave Network Bridge II im Gepäck.

Dass die Beschäftigung mit der Sarastro IIS eher Freude als harte Arbeit werden würden, hatte ich gehofft. Aber dass der edle Schallwandler mir auch noch neue Erfahrungen mit der Akustik meines Hörraums bescheren würde, hätte ich nicht zu träumen gewagt. Die Verity sorgt für Genuss und Erkenntnis.

Schon wieder der Osten. Aus Slowenien stammt der kleinste Plattenspieler von Pear Audio, der auf den Namen Robin Hood hört. Nicht nur dies, auch die Konstruktion kommt einem verdächtig britisch vor. Eine nähere Betrachtung

Das Wort Manufaktur ist bei HABST durchaus wörtlich zu nennen, denn alle Kabel der Berliner Firma werden in reiner Handarbeit hergestellt. Firmeninhaber Daniel Steinert fertigt diese seit dem Jahr 2010 und hat sich bislang vor allem als Studioausstatter für namhafte Masteringstudios einen Namen gemacht. Doch was für Profis gut genug ist, sollte auch im High End Bereich seinen Markt finden.

Ja, in puncto analog haben wir einen nicht geringen Nachholbedarf. Und deshalb folgt auf Wolfgang Kempers Plattenspieler-Test gleich ein weiterer.

Since converting my digital playback chain to a heavily modded Mac Mini/Mytek Stereo 192 source (read review HERE) I've been very happily listening to a variety of 16/44 and hi-res files. For once I couldn't think of any upgrades that I really needed. But when I read an ad for the Audioquest JitterBug, it resonated with... Read More »

Joan Tower. Violin Concerto. Stroke. Chamber Dance. Cho-Liang Lin, violin. Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor. Naxos 8.559775.   New Seasons. Gidon Kremer. Glass, Pärt, Kanchelli, Unabeyashi. Kremerata Baltica. Deutsche Gramophone. DG 4794817.   Rosary Sonatas. Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber. Rachel Podger, violin. David Miller, theorbo and arch lute; Marcin Swiatkiewicz, harpsichord, organ; Jonathan... Read More »

We are creatures of habit. For ten consecutive years Lynn and I have taken our summer vacation at the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival in Canada, which bills itself as the largest of its kind in the world. It is huge in terms of programming and number of days, if not in audience size. A... Read More »

Wilhelmina Smith, Cello. Britten, Schnittke, and Shostakovich. Thomas Sauer, piano. Arabesque 26801. I had known of Wilhelmina Smith since her career began in the 1990's, knew especially that she played on the wonderful Arabesque album of Copland's chamber music. But I did not know until recently that she had also made a recording as lead.... Read More »

Phonostages. Or phono preamplifers. Same things. You know, the box or input on your preamp or whatever that takes what is coming from your turntable and makes it into something you can actually appreciate—like music. Right, so let me elaborate… it amplifies the signal and applies the required RIAA curve necessary for proper vinyl playback. Sounds easy,... Read More »

Analog is the thing now. Well for many it has always been the thing, but for many others… it is the new thing. Nice. Great stuff on vinyl and for sure, if done right, it can be quite different than digital. I say different, as better, all depends on the mastering, pressing, quality, etc. I... Read More »

Miles has clocked plenty of game-time since Part I of our Bass for Miles column here at OccupyHifi. So I thought it was time to head over to Fort Miles (a.k.a Miles room at his mothers house, where his first-rate PC Gaming lair is located) and speak with Miles in his element. Admittedly, I had other motives: Like experiencing Star Wars Battlefront on Miles gaming system with my beloved Audeze LCD-X open-back planar headphones with the SubPac S2 radiating low-end through my bones as I waged war against the Dark Side.

I have come across many audiophiles who have truly splendid turntables, tone arms, and cartridges, of which cost them an arm and a leg. Nevertheless, they still may not enjoy the best that vinyl has to offer if the bottleneck in their audio arsenal is their phono preamplifier. There is no doubt that the phono... Read More »

This is Glyndebourne's first ever staging of an opera by Rameau. Though he was well known as an innovator/thinker in the music world, it was not until he was fifty years old before he composed this opera in 1773. It just might be his best opera. Based on a well-known story from long ago, there... Read More »