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The Nippon Precision Jewel Industry CO LTD is typically referred to as JICO, a company many analog hobbyists are familiar with. JICO has a long and distinguished pedigree in the field of manufacturing, as it began producing steel sewing needles for the kimono industry 140 years ago, and diamond tipped phono cartridge styli in 1964.... Read More »

Disruptor! The MAG-LEV Audio ML1 Levitating turntable is a disruptor! Are you surprised? I own one of six Paravicini magnetic drive turntables in America. It does not levitate, but it is quiet and astonishingly open and life-like. ML1 as delivered: Signal to noise ratio -73dB! Way better than your turntable? Why? It has no motor!... Read More »

Continuing on with our coverage... In this report, all photos by Dave Clark, words by Carol Clark, except those in parentheses, which are by Dave Clark who will do his best to be nice. Wavelength Audio, Vaughn Loudspeakers. Vaughn, plasma tweeter loudspeakers. Also in the Wavelength Audio and Vaughn room. On Saturday, Dave moderated a... Read More »

Introduction to the AVM I love audio components that offer a lot for the money. The Evolution A5.2 Integrated Amplifier is just such piece of audio gear. Built by German audio manufacturer, AVM, the A5.2 is a part of AVM's extensive Evolution line of high fidelity components. AVM has been building HiFi gear since 1986,... Read More »

Continuing on with our coverage... In this report, all photos by Dave Clark, words by Carol Clark, except those in parentheses, which are by Dave Clark who will do his best to be nice. Auralic with YG Acoustic loudspeakers. (Loved the sound here.) Auralic Leo GX. Auralic Aries G2. Ryan Speakers with Cardas Audio and... Read More »

Continuing on with our coverage... In this report, all photos by Dave Clark, words by Carol Clark, except those in parentheses, which are by Dave Clark who will do his best to be nice. Nordost, CH Precision, YG Acoustics, VPI Industries, and dCS. Philip O'Hanlon with On a Higher Note once again had a fabulous sounding... Read More »

The Rocky Mountain Audio Fest celebrated its fifteenth year this October in Denver! At the press and exhibitor mixer on Thursday night, Marjorie Baumert announced that next year the show is moving. The new location, The Gaylord Rockies, is closer to the airport and features 1500 rooms, eight restaurants, and many other amenities. For 2019,... Read More »

I remember my first high-end digital player, a California Audio Labs DX-1. Looking forward to perfect sound forever, I tried to sell myself on the virtues of that CD player. Listening through my (then) Martin Logan Aerius speakers and Classe amp, I could never shake the feeling that the DX-1's sonic signature was contributing to... Read More »

Arvo Pärt. Mullova - Järvi. Onyx 4201. Darf ich..., Fratres, Passacaglia, Tabula rosa, I Ludus, II Silentium, Spiegel im Speigel] I have never been drawn to the extremely popular and to be fair much admired Estonian contemporary composer, Arvo Pärt. I have found his music an example of the dictum that less may be less. It... Read More »

Let's keep it simple and direct. The new Synergistic Research Galileo SX cables are the finest cables that I have used in my system. Over the last two years, I have reviewed or personally auditioned flagship cables from many of the elite well established major brands and also from several new innovative upstarts. Not everything... Read More »

Ye Olde Editor with pipe weed. Portrait by John Robinson. This seems to be a season for culminating projects. Given that autumn is upon us now, I reckon that the time matches the season, and the mood matches the moment. Having finished my summing up of the Audionet STERN and HEISENBERG reference products, it is... Read More »

George Klissarov and David W. Robinson George Klissarov, AXPONA 2017 exaSound's new flagship device, the PlayPoint DM Dual-Mono D/A Converter and Network Audio Server, is the high point of my life-long obsession with audio and eight years of research, design, and the making of DACs and streamers. We entered the audiophile market with the introduction... Read More »

Indra Redux Back in the Precambrian Era of audio (circa 2003), STEALTH Audio introduced an interconnect that disrupted the cable industry. The Indra had many ground-breaking features, not least its MSRP of $5750/meter, a startling number at the time. (Little did we know what was to come on that front.) But one element in particular... Read More »

Ye Olde Editor:  a portrait by John Robinson Audionet's STERN and HEISENBERG:  Back to the mountaintop again! Fair warning:  This is yet another one of my evaluations that is not going to be a typical "review." No, not with these designs. This is going to be more of a culminating mediation on my experiences with... Read More »

Nelson Pass:  a portrait. Sea Ranch, CA, 2018. Photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson. Introduction – Why do we care about 2nd harmonic? Historically, audio amplification has been about the elimination of all forms of distortion. Early on, the premise has been that low distortion is one of the keys to audio quality... Read More »

Sarah Reich, New Change. Tap Music Productions B07FTXR22W, CD $9.49 from Amazon.com "I want to be the first tap dancer to win a Grammy Award!" Okay yeah, it's nice to have dreams, kid—wait a minute, did you say tap dancing? A Grammy Award? When you think of tap dancing as an art form, do you think about... Read More »

A couple of weeks back, I arose on an otherwise unremarkable Sunday morning, had my coffee and checked my losing lottery numbers. I then proceeded downstairs to remove and replace the Hana EL cartridge that's been the recent mainstay of my analog playback system. The Hana SL (with its Shibata stylus) had recently arrived from... Read More »

In a discussion with Managing Editor Dave Clark in regards to what may be slated for review, it was noted that my loudspeakers may prove difficult for the readership to connect with since I design, build, test, and measure my own. Crossover design is a particular fascination of mine. Dave then challenged me to write... Read More »

I just back from a quick (two day) trip to Chicago, courtesy of the good folks at Linn in Scotland. On Tuesday, September 18, a very limited number of audio press representatives received an important briefing about new developments at the company. In addition to myself, my longtime audiobud Greg Weaver of The Absolute Sound... Read More »