In part two, I cover the balance of my Audio Oasis! Awards for AXPONA 2016. As I said in part one, these notes are presented in no particular order, and so there is no greater or lesser in the sequence. Read on… ModWright/Ryan Loudspeakers/Aurender/PS Audio/Cardas/Shunyata/Massif Audio/GIK Acoustics/Audioquest room A portrait of Dan Wright of ModWright,... Read More »
Funjoe, the owner of CLONES audio, left his well paid job of a graphic designer to take on his life's true passion—audio. He is not the first as there were others before him like Silvio Pereira of Audiopax to name one, and he won't be the last, but surely he is among few who made such... Read More »
I'll elaborate on that later but let me start with information that products by Slovenian company Audio Alto are custom made—to be exact they are made to satisfy first of all needs and expectations of their designer, who says that "they reflect my [sound] philosophy". It's not only about perfect reproduction of the sound that preserves... Read More »
Merrill Audio Advanced Technology Labs, LLC announces the Gold series Christine Reference Preamplifier at $12,400. Presented at T.H.E. Show 2016, Newport, Room 1417. Merrill Audio Advanced Technology Labs, LLC is proud to announce the gold series Christine Reference Preamplifier Finally, experience the illusion of space with detail, midrange and a solid holographic image. Hear the... Read More »
Jenna Mammina and Alex de Grassi (Photo: David Pappas) On April 21st, a bit of music history was made as singer Jenna Mammina and guitarist Alex de Grassi performed an hour long concert that was broadcast live over the Internet in Direct Stream Digital (DSD) 5.6 MHz Stereo. The concert was the first of its... Read More »
Sony STR-DN1070 AV Receiver with 5.1 Multichannel DSD 5.6 MHz Playback Sony Electronics has expanded their DSD series of High Resolution Audio products with the release of the new STR-DN1070 Audio Visual receiver. Sony describes the STR-DN1070 as a 7.2 Channel Home Theater AV Receiver with High-Resolution Audio and Video plus Native Multichannel Native DSD... Read More »
In which our hero meditates… [Sketch by Robinson, c. 1989, during a particularly boring faculty meeting…] So…another audio show in the books, and it's time to share the highlights as I heard them. I would normally have had these out to you all a couple of weeks ago, but lost that time to a necessary... Read More »
So back on track here… got the Aurender review (a truly wonderful product—read that HERE) done and so on to another product that I loved so much, I ended up buying the review sample… the PS Audio BHK Signature 250 Stereo Power Amplifier. Bought it? What about the legendary Clayton M200 amplifiers? Are you selling... Read More »
Tape cassettes recorded directly from an analog master tape, the so-called "Master Compact Cassette". And the box! The Hemiola Records company specializes in reel analog tapes that are master tape copies. The Tone Tool turntable, Sprocket model. Prices starting from €108 900—without the arm, of course. The Swiss Goldmund is a synonym for high-end. The person... Read More »
The Italians from Pathos have a sense of style—in the photo there is the new INPOL Heritage integrated amplifier, which resembles the INPOL topology developed by the company. In the system there was also the Endorphine CD player and Frontiers speakers. The inexpensive TEAC TN-300 turntables in any color and with a USB output. Mark... Read More »
Hideaki Nishikawa-san, the TechDAS constructor, is signing a printout with the May High Fidelity cover. "Japanese style? – Sure, with pleasure…" Einstein has prepared a premiere – The Tonearm, presented on the Air Force III turntable. The German Trigon company does not often surprise us with new products, but now demonstrated a few novelties at... Read More »
The original plan was completely different: the Old Pinacotheca (German: Alte Pinakothek - collections of paintings from the 14th to the 18th century), the New Pinacotheca (German: Neue Pinakothek - a collection of European art from classicism to art nouveau), perhaps even the Deutsches Museum (Masterpieces of Science and Technology)—the largest museum of this type... Read More »
When listening to this album, I found it difficult to do so with a strict, examining state of mind. I wanted to capture all of the technicalities and mechanical bits within each song, so that I could later articulate what those ingredients did to either help or hurt the album. I wanted to listen to... Read More »
I have become quite lazy and it is all to blame on the technology that we use today to get our music out into the room. It all started with CDs allowing me to sit and listen to something like 60 mins of music while never stirring. Of course a lot of time I never... Read More »
This year’s High End sees MQA, the innovative music technology, reveal further business updates, including new content and hardware partnerships. MQA Music Partners High Res Audio, the renowned international high-resolution music download service, joins the list of MQA content providers, meaning music lovers visiting www.highresaudio.com can download high-quality releases from renowned labels including 2L, Acoustic... Read More »
One of the advantages of writing about LPs and turntables for the last 18 years is that sometimes records just show up in my mailbox without warning or reasonable explanation. I know nothing about Chicago's Milk Factory Productions, and even less about The 3.5.7 Ensemble, but my intuition tells me that the same intrepid individual... Read More »
Ever since the annual AXPONA/Chicago high-end show relocated in 2014 to the jazzy Westin O'Hare, located just down the street from the show's former home, the far more modest Doubletree Inn, I have approached this annual event with a combination of cautious optimism and mild trepidation. You see, whatever its shortcomings as a hotel (tired... Read More »
Plus a Few Album Recommendations Component Droughts, the Grumblings of Privileged Men, and Happy Endings For longer than I care to remember, I don't have any components to review, a situation I find both annoying and liberating. Liberating in the sense that I needed a respite - as well as the kind of perspective that... Read More »
Since we opened our doors March 31st, 2015, our goal has been to provide the best musical experience by offering the finest audio equipment available. We do this by working with truly special, innovative brands. Last year we held our first "Music Talks" event, where we invited some of the masters behind these brands, to... Read More »
Nativ Sound, an audio start-up based in Hong Kong working on a family of elegant touchscreen music components, has announced that they have passed their $100,000 fund raising goal on Indegogo in one week. This exceeds the company's original goal of reaching that milestone in 2 months. Nativ's family of music system components includes Nativ... Read More »
"Shine on you crazy diamond" - by Pink Floyd First of all, I should say that I like the Simaudio MOON Neo 280D ($2200) very much and that, with the optional MiND module, it provides for a one-box media server solution, WiFi support, DSD256-capable DAC, and all. Having said that, I did run into a... Read More »
Prokofiev, Scythian Suite & Symphony No. 3. Orchestra: Sao Paulo Symphony. Conductor: Marin Alsop. Recording: Naxos NBD0047 There certainly are significant differences in the music composed by Prokofiev compared to those famous Russian composers that preceded him. It is our good fortune to have his compositions available now. Yes, he turned out those compositions needed by performers in the... Read More »
Hark, now hear the sailors cry Smell the sea and feel the sky Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic And when that foghorn blows I will be coming home And when the foghorn blows I want to hear it I don't have to fear it and I want to rock your gypsy... Read More »
Mozart, Sonatas for Violin and Piano, Alina Ibragimova, violin. Cédric Tiberghien, piano. 2 CD's. Hyperion CDA 68091. Most of us know when we're hearing the real Mozart and not a near miss, we know in our heads and elsewhere what is required of a genuine Mozart performance. Today we have the composer's Sonatas for Keyboard... Read More »
The Digital Source So Good, Only An Analog Leader Could Have Built It! Thirty years after the introduction of their first Digital-to-Analog Converter, Brinkmann Audio is proud to introduce “Nyquist,” the world’s most advanced DAC, at the 2016 Munich HiFi Show. Authored by the newly expanded Brinkmann design team, Nyquist sets new standards in adaptability,... Read More »
Things can pile up. From time to time, especially when I get too busy, miscellaneous projects and notes accumulate. They don't warrant a major article, but they are items that I should mention to you. And this is a brief and very different sort of flash for you. Ergo 21 As a writer and editor,... Read More »
The 2120 Stereo Amplifier is a reference-‐level digital music source in the 2000 level products from Boulder. With the completion of the HDMI input module, Boulder Amplifiers is pleased to announce the full release and shipment of the 2120 D/A Converter. The original 2000 Series was in continuous and... Read More »
Daedalus Audio will be in the Marketplace with a full head-fi setup to audition the new DiD (Daedalus isolation Devices. We will show the DiD with the new Tryst tube headphone amp from Modwright and the ModWright Elyse DAC, as well as all WyWires cables, including both Blue and Platinum series headphone cables. The DiD... Read More »
A Personal Audio Odyssey Dan Wrights ModWright Tryst headphone amp was stunningly musical & engaging. CanJam SoCal 2016 was a very special time for me, and it was a raging success for Head-Fi.org and the personal audio community. A good friend recently said on the phone, "Sounds like it couldn't have gone any better," he... Read More »
Lublin is a city in the south-east part of Poland and the capital of Lublin Voivodeship (province). The name Lublin, exactly the same as today which is quite rare, first appeared in chronicles in 1228. Just like Kraków comes from the name of Krak, a legendary ruler residing on Wawel Hill, also Lublin comes from... Read More »
The winner of the 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition The 17th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition which took place between the 1st and 23rd October 2015 in Warsaw was a tremendous artistic and, in a way, commercial success. It was not a coincidence—the National Fryderyk Chopin Institute responsible for organizing the competition, in cooperation... Read More »
Schnittke, Penitential Psalms; Three Sacred Hymns. RIAS Kammerch0r, Hans Christian Rademann, conductor. Harmonia Mundi 902225. Russian Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998), as I've written many times before here, is one of those second generation modernists who makes you go to him and who generally makes you glad you did. His Penitential Psalms confront us with sternness until... Read More »
Anne Bisson: Blue Mind, Co-sponsored by Wuti Larnroongroj, Brilliance Music and Studios and Gary Koh, Genesis Advanced Technologies. 15-ips, 2-track, reel-to-reel tape. Originally produced and recorded by: Guy St. Orge. Recorded July 21-22, 2008, Reference Studio, St-Calixte, Quebec. Remastered by Bernie Grundman. http://www.annebisson.com/en/. Price: $600. It's rare that performers get to revisit and remaster their... Read More »
So in my last Audio Ramblings, I wrote… "Not sure how this came about, but man do I have a lot of stuff here to review… the PS Audio BHK250 amplifier and their AC12 and AC5 power cables, the Aurender N100H streamer, the Entreq Poseidon Grounding box and cables, several items from Synergistic Research (Black... Read More »
MIT Cables Launches First Non-Cable Audio Product on Indiegogo Manufacturer puts its patented Multipole™ Technology in an active circuit for the first time = March 25, 2016-Rocklin, CA – MIT Cables has done something they never said they would do, which is put their patented Multipole™ Technology inside an active circuit, making their brand new product, the Vero HCA 29 High... Read More »
Kinsky, Copula Mundi. SPV Poland/Requiem Records 104 | 2015. Premiere: 1993. Re-edition: 2015. Medium: Compact Disc The Kinsky band, which was created in 1992, existed only for six years and recorded only one album, but, perhaps thanks to this, it has become the legend of underground rock music in Poland. Its music is most frequently described as a combination of... Read More »
Considering the present times and other Pylon Audio products, 23 loudspeakers from the Sapphire series have untypical proportions. If they had been produced a few years ago, that would not have been strange. At that time, almost all loudspeakers offered by Pylon Audio, Monitor Audio and other manufacturers representing the base and medium price ranges... Read More »
