High Definition Tape Transfers continues on its roll of great releases. Just recently I wrote about HDTT's superb reissue of Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section (HERE). Now we have the famous Fritz Reiner recording of Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, and The Weavers Reunion At Carnegie Hall, and Ella and Basie!, and much more. Bartók Concerto... Read More »
RCA RECORDS & LEGACY RECORDINGS TO RELEASE ‘MEMPHIS,’ THE FIRST FULLY COMPREHENSIVE COLLECTION OF ELVIS PRESLEY’S HOMETOWN RECORDINGS, ON 5 CD/2LP/DIGITAL AUGUST 9 COINCIDING WITH THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF PRESLEY’S FIRST SESSIONS, SET INCLUDES 111 CAREER-SPANNING TRACKS, FROM SUN STUDIOS TO THE JUNGLE ROOM AT GRACELAND 88 REMIXED TRACKS BY MATT ROSS-SPANG WITH OVERDUBS REMOVED; NEW... Read More »
It’s been an exciting month of new devices for us here at Roon! We’ve got a great collection of streaming DACs and preamps for you to explore and an exciting portable DAC to boot. Let’s dive into the new Roon Ready gear! Astell & Kern HB1 – Roon Tested In the ever-evolving landscape of high-fidelity... Read More »
The latest in The Art of Hi-Fi series captures the rich tonalities of woodwind instruments in high-resolution audio jazz, classical and pop selections – June 13, 2024 – Woodwinds are among the most beautiful and expressive musical instruments, and The Art of Hi-Fi Volume 05: Woodwinds from PS Audio’s Octave Records features a variety of woodwinds and musical styles, all recorded... Read More »
Rhino Entertainment has just released the latest four titles in their excellent Quadio Series, which features BluRay audio with a high resolution version each album's original quadraphonic mix, along with high resolution stereo tracks. The four albums chosen for this release include Donny Hathaway's Extension of a Man (1973, Atco Records), Hot Tuna's Burgers (1972,... Read More »
As one of the founding fathers of rock and roll, Chuck Berry (1926-2017) receives a ton of well-deserved respect as a musical innovator. Berry, along with Buddy Holly, was the first to define the image of the electric guitar-slinging rock star. However, despite his well-deserved status, the 1972 album, The London Chuck Berry Sessions (Chess... Read More »
This would be the first time I've seen Aperion Audio at a show, and they were first on my list to visit. I wanted to meet the Millennial team behind this fast-growing company that makes a high value range of stereo and home theater speakers and Class A/B amplifiers. Collin Lybarger, the general manager, was... Read More »
I found Mark Conti of MC Audiotech and Robert Sears of Shimmer Audiophile setting up their gear in a large conference room at T.H.E. Show on a Thursday night in preparation for a long weekend of demos. Though they were working the kinks out of the system, the sound was already gelling, and I... Read More »
1994 Alternative Rock Classic Remastered And Reissued With 15 Previously Unreleased Outtakes And Demos 3-LP Collection Available August 2 PRE-ORDER HERE Previously Unreleased Track “Junkie Boy” Available Today Digitally LISTEN HERE LOS ANGELES — Since its debut 30 years ago, Ween’s Chocolate and Cheese has become an alternative rock classic and a highwater mark for Gene... Read More »
Celebrates Purple 30th Anniversary Performing The Album In Full During Summer Tour, Starting August 16 LOS ANGELES – Today marks the 30th anniversary of Purple, Stone Temple Pilots’ chart-topping, multi-platinum second album. In honor of the milestone, the band will perform the entire album each night starting August 16 on their upcoming summer tour. Stone... Read More »
Anaheim, CA / May 27, 2024 The Audio Association is pleased to showcase two exclusive, state-of-the-art rooms at T.H.E. Show SoCal in Costa Mesa, CA from June 7ti9, 2024. Join us in Bristol 1 (far west wing of the lobby) and Room 269 for some great music. Bristol 1 Hear the world debut of Evolution... Read More »
Deluxe Edition Of Legendary Concert Film Soundtrack Returns On 2LP Black Vinyl, 2LP Crystal Clear Vinyl, and 2CD/Blu-ray. Available July 26 PRE-ORDER NOW LOS ANGELES—To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the celebrated Talking Heads and Jonathan Demme’s concert film Stop Making Sense, the set will be re-released as a 2LP and 2CD/Blu-ray set this summer. Released last... Read More »
While AXPONA represents the largest hi-fi show in the US, High End Munich, held each May at Munich's monstrous Order Center, is the largest, most well-attended audio show on planet Earth! With the first of my episodes from this year's event, episode 175, I've included a virtual walk from the stairway in front of the... Read More »
For Immediate Release HIFIMAN Electronics Introduces Mini Shangri-La: Third Model in the Esteemed Electrostatic Headphone/Amp Series Compact Solid State System Brings Shangri-La Performance to its Most Affordable Price Point Yet BELLMORE, NY, June 4, 2024 – HIFIMAN, the leader in high fidelity personal audio, will soon ship the third in its series of Shangri-La electrostatic headphone and... Read More »
New Reference Model Features Newly Developed Nanometer Thickness Diaphragm and “Magnetic Veils” Back Panel BELLMORE, NY, June 4, 2024 – HIFIMAN, the leader in high fidelity personal audio, will soon ship one of the most anticipated updates in the company’s history. Beginning later this month, HIFIMAN will offer SUSVARA UNVEILED (SRP: $8,000), an all-new version... Read More »
David W. Robinson and Greg Weaver: Audio buds from way-back! Long Valley, NJ, 2023. (photograph by Bill Parish) I make no excuses for being able to listen to my music daily on a synergistic two-channel audio system that I've assembled over the decades, one that costs more than three times what I paid for my... Read More »
New from the audio analyst© for re-publication in Positive Feedback – Virtual AXPONA 2024 If you've never been to an audio show, especially one as large and comprehensive as the foremost, most successful show in the continental US, AXPONA, which is an acronym made from Audio eXPO NOrth America, held annually at the Renaissance Schaumburg... Read More »
Craft Recordings' release schedule rolls along in the second group of reissue titles for 2024 in their Original Jazz Classics (OJC) franchise reboot, featuring their latest, 1963's Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane on Prestige Records' New Jazz imprint. Guitarist Kenny Burrell and saxophonist John Coltrane are co-leaders on the hard bop session, which showcases one... Read More »
June 04, 2024 - Succasunna, NJ. Orchard Audio – a boutique audio company offering a variety world-class DACs, streamers, and amplifiers – is releasing a new state-of-the-art, gallium nitride (GaN) 500W monoblock audio power amplifier. The Starkrimson Mono Ultra Premium represents the culmination of Orchard Audio's relentless pursuit of audio perfection. This meticulously crafted monoblock... Read More »
The Rhino High Fidelity Premium Vinyl Series continues with the release of two new titles for the current quarter. At the outset of the series, each quarterly release featured one rock title and one jazz title, but thankfully, they've recently altered their release pattern. The last two quarterly releases featured a pair of rock albums... Read More »
Master Crown is Siltech’s newest and highest performing series to date, encompassing more than 40 years of cable technology 31 May, 2024; Englewood, CO - Monarch Systems Ltd., a distributor of high-performance consumer audio products, is excited to announce the release and production of Siltech’s new Master Crown cable line. Master Crown is the culmination of... Read More »
Natural. Transparent. Holographic. Introducing Evolution Acoustics SYSTEM THREE Statement Speakers San Diego, CA / May 24, 2024 Evolution Acoustics is pleased to introduce SYSTEM THREE statement loudspeakers. This breakthrough model from Kevin Malmgren is designed to compete with any speaker at any price. Description SYSTEM THREE is a modular, concentric array comprised of a midrange/tweeter/midrange... Read More »
Natural. Transparent. Holographic. Introducing Evolution Acoustics MODEL ONE Reference Monitors San Diego, CA / May 24, 2024 Evolution Acoustics is pleased to introduce the MODEL ONE reference monitors, a cu<ng-edge small speaker created by Kevin Malmgren. Although diminutive in size, the MODEL ONE incorporates new technology developed for the recently released SYSTEM THREE statement speakers.... Read More »
I've been pondering how best to write up this article about my listening experiences with the Audio Note (UK) Tomei 211 single-ended-triode (SET) integrated amplifier, and M3 RIAA phono preamplifier, for a while now. I'll start by saying the Tomei 211 integrated amplifier (left) and M3 RIAA phono preamplifier (right) are easily the highest performing... Read More »
For a change, Roger Skoff wants to ask your opinion instead of just telling you his… I'm old, and quite possibly out of it, so what I see going on in our hobby may very well be completely wrong. I hope it is. I became a HiFi Crazy (as we kids used to call ourselves),... Read More »
Mogwai, Young Team (Remastered) We knew we were in for something shiny and new back in 1997 when Mogwai dropped Young Team. It wasn't because their sound was entirely new. Sonic Youth, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Yo La Tengo dropped their noise rock years before Team, but it wasn't until Mogwai hit the scene... Read More »
Throughout my teenage and adult years in the Chicago area, I had the great fortune to experience some of the biggest and brightest of all the rock, blues and jazz superstars as they passed through The Windy City. The venues included some amazing large settings like Soldier Field, The International Amphitheatre, The United Center, The... Read More »
Rhino Entertainment is celebrating the 50th anniversary of David Bowie's classic album Diamond Dogs with a pair of limited edition LP reissues. Which is being offered with choices of a 180 gram black vinyl LP or an exceptionally cool picture disc version that also includes a fold-out poster. My review copy of Diamond Dogs 50th... Read More »
For most audiophiles the word "calypso" conjures up one musical artist, and that person is Harry Belafonte. Belafonte was a 50's era phenomenon whose popularity bled into the 60s. His brand of beefed-up and polished calypso was essentially the closest thing to rock and roll for people who couldn’t embrace something as "dangerous" as Elvis... Read More »
The world is full of false information. At the same time, we are frequently to be blamed for not doing our due diligence to verify information. As audiophiles, we are in constant pursuit of improving the performance, and therefore the enjoyment of our playback systems. It seems however, that many audiophiles pursue this goal while... Read More »
TEAC Corporation (TOKYO: 6803) is proud to announce the release of the model UD-507, a completely redesigned 500 Series DAC/Preamp/Headphone Amplifier with high-end 700 Series design concept in a compact A4 size package. Products will be available for shipment in late June. KEY FEATURES Highly Musical Discrete DAC Designed and Developed In-House The UD-507 is... Read More »
Kenneth James Gibson & Paul Carman, Murals for Immersion I'm not convinced that any words of mine could so aptly describe this record as its title manages to do: Murals for Immersion. And because of this, I feel morally obliged to perhaps break the online literary book of laws, and also begin this music review... Read More »
Justin Weber of ampsandsound takes a break. 300B amps aren't known for their ability to party hard. More often than not you hear about their sweetness, lucidity, and warm conveyance of Big Tone. But the ampandsound kit, powered by their flagship 300B amp, the Black Pearl, had hip bones fully engaged. The Yellowstone preamp is... Read More »
The newly launched Ultra Evolution Series ascends as the new flagship series representing the culmination of advancements in SVS audio design to achieve performance that transcends class. HIGH END Munch 2024 – Munich, Germany – MOC, Hall 3, Booth N02/P03 - SVS, leading manufacturer of high-performance speakers, HIGH END Munich 2024, the largest audio show in... Read More »
Demonstration-quality sound meets cover versions of songs by John Lennon, Bob Dylan, John Prine, Paul Simon and others, performed by some of Octave Records’ favorite artists May 15, 2024 – Octave Records has released Audiophile Masters, Volume X, the latest in its series of reference-quality demonstration recordings. This time the collection features cover versions of songs written by John... Read More »
SCHAUMBURG, IL—Twenty-six years ago, aspiring studio tech and entrepreneur, David Malekpour, launched his Pro Audio Design, Inc. (initially under the banner, Anything Audio, he re-named it in 1993), with Augspurger Monitors that employed Technical Audio Devices (TAD) drivers and components simply because "they were the best." TAD have been tops for years, he says, and... Read More »
Rhino Entertainment has just released the Quadio/Blu-ray box set for Joni Mitchell's The Asylum Albums (1972-1975) Quadio, which covers her first four catalog albums for David Geffen's then fledgling label, Asylum Records. This next installment of her Joni Mitchell Archives series includes the albums For the Roses (1972), Court and Spark (1974), the live album... Read More »
