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I've been following Bert van der Wolf-Oude Avenhuis' hints about seeking a new dedicated recording space for well over a year. And now it is coming into focus with a lovely old church building he and his wife have purchased. Soon High Street Studio in Heerewaarden, Holland, will be a reality and music will start... Read More »

The audiophile digital music software scene has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past decade. Streaming services have increased their dominance and almost every audiophile I know, has transferred most of their CDs into digital files and stored them in multi-terabyte hard drives, especially since the price of very high-capacity hard drives, even SSD versions,... Read More »

Bob Witrak continues to mine pure gold from the vast past catalogs of great music, great performances, and outstanding recordings. In this edition of Recent Finds, I want to share six new releases I've been very pleased to see: three classical and three jazz, all in outstanding sound quality.  Opera Ballets, Ferenc Fricsay, Berlin Radio... Read More »

AXPONA, aka Audio Expo North America, was the vision of Steve Davis (his then store HiFi Farm was one of the first advertisers in my fledgling, late ‘nineties audio magazine Ultimate Audio magazine) and the late Andrew Spaulding, his close friend and audiobuddy. Steve speaks of his audiobuddy in very fond terms recalling Andrew as,... Read More »

John Marks is a multidisciplinary generalist and a lifelong audio hobbyist. He was educated at Brown University and at Vanderbilt Law School. He has worked as a trial and appeals lawyer; as a music educator, recording engineer, classical-music record producer and label executive; and as a music and audio-equipment journalist. He was a columnist for... Read More »

As you know by now, I enjoy the recordings produced by Bert van der Wolf-Oude Avenhuis. So, when I saw that he'd released a series of live performance recordings with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and conductor Andris Poga, I just had to get them all for a listen. These live recordings are part of a... Read More »

Ortofon's been in the audio business for 107 years now, and they have been producing the ever-popular SPU product line of moving-coil phonograph cartridges since 1959.  Ever since the Ortofon SPU product line of phonograph cartridges made its debut, music and audio enthusiasts have been enamored with their big, bold, exciting, liquid, naturally warm, and... Read More »

Today I want to relate the exceptional experiences I’ve enjoyed with the Dejitter It Systems Switch X and WiFi X, an advanced set of Networking devices that have reset my expectations and understanding of the effects such products may contribute to the sound quality of digital music playback. And with just a bit of a... Read More »

When Mark Schifter hooked me up with the first two devices from Vera-Fi Audio's new trio of power conditioning equipment, I simply wasn't prepared for the dramatic differences they made to my all-analog system. That system uses single-ended RCA connections throughout, and it had a couple of problem noise areas I couldn't seem to eliminate,... Read More »

Today we have a wonderful organ recording from Base2 Music, one that was included in my earlier article, Outstanding Organ Recordings in DSD256 and DXD (HERE), but am only now getting to writing a review. Also included is a remastering of one of my favorite Ben Webster albums, Gentle Ben, from 2xHD. From the new... Read More »

Roger Skoff at the 2024 LAOC Gala (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) For this month's column, Roger has departed from his usual essay format. Instead, he is sharing a YouTube video in which Norman Varney of AV Room Service interviews him about audio cables. You'll find the interview at:  Mic Check Ep:... Read More »

This is a republication of our good friend Frank Doris's article in Copper magazine, Issue 218, back in May of this year. Frank's writing is first-rate, as are his sensibilities...I love this man's stuff!...republishing his work with the blessing and permission of Paul McGowan of PS Audio. Dr. David The Hill Plasmatronics speakers in Brian... Read More »

Craft Recordings has just reissued Sixties psychedelic icon Norman Greenbaum's 1969 debut album, Spirit in the Sky. While its eponymous title track quickly became the anthem of a generation, other than an extremely limited release on Record Store Day in 2014, the LP has been out of print for fifty-five years. An entertainingly diverse album,... Read More »

Dean Waters:  a portrait at home  (Photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) Not long ago, I penned an article reviewing the Dejitter It Switch X product (HERE) and how it can substantially enhance the audio experience when using networking for streaming as well as command and control functions. Now we'll spend a few... Read More »

Craft Recordings' mid-year selection of releases in the Original Jazz Classics (OJC) reboot series features six new titles, including a pair on the Vee Jay Records label that have never appeared as OJC's prior to now. Those include two albums from pianist Bill Evans, both coming from 1962, including the trio setting Moon Beams and... Read More »

Today I share my look at the remarkable $6,320 a pair Atma-Sphere Class D monoblock amplifiers. Measuring a diminutive eleven inches wide, thirteen inches deep, standing just three inches tall, at an unimposing fourteen pounds, you may not be prepared for the surprising level of performance you are about to experience. The use of GaNFET... Read More »

This article of Recent Finds contains a truly disparate array of albums, but all of which I've enjoyed immensely. They are all beautifully recorded, supremely well performed, with interesting music that should be heard. I hope you will find something here that tickles your fancy. Mine has been tickled nearly to death listening to these.... Read More »

In an earlier article, I posted my list of Pure DSD256: My Top of the Pile albums for sound quality. In this article, I'd like to expand on this and share some Pure DSD256* albums transferred from analog tape that I consider my top of the pile for sound quality in this category. I decided... Read More »

Schumann, Symphonies 1-4. "Giuseppe Verdi" Theatre Orchestra, Trieste/Julian Kovatchev. Erresse RS 6367-72/73 (2 CDs). Timings: 75.54, 69.45 Dvorak, Symphonies 4-6. "Giuseppe Verdi" Theatre Orchestra, Trieste/Julian Kovatchev. RS 053-0134 (3 CDs). Timings: 40.59. 38.17, 46.33 The success of Naxos, circa 1990, showed that there was a market for newly recorded low-priced classical CDs. The result, as CD manufacturing ramped up... Read More »