Octave’s reference-quality sonic excellence is now available on two new LPs Boulder, Colorado, May 17, 2022 – PS Audio’s Octave Records announces the availability of two of its titles on vinyl LPs: The Audiophile Reference Disc, created to help listeners get the best out of their stereo systems by providing reference-quality music and test tracks,... Read More »
Greetings friends, I hope life is treating you well in 2022. Today I have an impressive Red Book CD player to tell you about, the Audio Note (UK) CD 4.1x Red Book CD player (MSRP $14,331 USD). The Audio Note (UK) CD 4.1x CD player is an expensive high-fidelity Red Book CD player with a... Read More »
Astell&Kern, a global leader in high-resolution audio players and accessories, launches three new products at HIGH END Munich 2022. All three products, along with Astell&Kern current line of portable digital audio players and accessories will be on display at their HIGH END booth – HALL 1, D02/E03a from May 19 – 22, 2022. All three products will... Read More »
With flexible Earhook design and Cleer+ App Control for Personalized Listening San Diego, Calif. (May 16, 2022) – Cleer Audio, an industry-leading headphone and smart speaker manufacturer, is pleased to announce its new ARC - Open Ear True Wireless Earbuds, an open ear design with a flexible fit. ARC features an earhook flexible hinge design for a comfortable... Read More »
Munich, Germany 2022: Nordost is excited to be back at the High End show in Munich, May 19-22, after three long years. Attendees will be the first to see, and hear, several products which have been released since our last Munich showing, in 2019, but have yet to be introduced on a public, international platform.... Read More »
Great Neck, NY, May 12, 2022---- Music Hall, manufacturer and distributor of fine audio components since 1985, is pleased to introduce the Analogue A3, a strikingly attractive high-quality vacuum tube phono amplifier. In the Music Hall tradition, the A3 is versatile, sounds amazing, and will provide many years of trouble-free listening enjoyment. Analogue A3 features: ultra... Read More »
To the audio reviewer community, Vladimir Lamm’s recent passing has brought deep sorrow to the members of his family and to all those who knew him and of him; who experienced the unforgettable feeling of elevation and involvement while listening to music through LAMM equipment; to countless number of people whose lives he touched through... Read More »
Classical ensemble Calefax Reed Quintet yields once again to the temptation for extemporaneous performance in this collaboration with improvising trumpeter and composer Eric Vloeimans—to extraordinarily satisfying results. On The Spot, Eric Vloeimans, Calefax Reed Quintet. Buzz | Northstar Recording 2014 (DXD) HERE I'm not sure what I expected when I started playing this album, but... Read More »
Grimm Audio introduces a new variant of the LS1 loudspeaker system: Nano Legs. With Nano Legs an LS1 can be placed on top of a side table or dresser. This is an advantage in for instance small rooms where every square meter counts - the acoustic properties of the LS1 make it function great in... Read More »
(BINGHAMTON, NY) MAY 11, 2022 – McIntosh is thrilled to introduce the MCD12000 SACD/CD Player. While classified as a CD player, the MCD12000 serves as a reference level digital-to-analog convertor (DAC) that includes reference level SACD/CD playback capabilities. Music played through MCD12000's digital inputs or compact discs is processed by professional grade 8-channel DACs, designed... Read More »
Chamber songs and duets. Corina Feldkamp, soprano; Anna Tonna, mezzo-soprano; Isabel Dobarro, pianist. Cezanne CZ 090. TT: 52.21 Caña española. El corazón triste. Canción española. Seguidillas de los oficialitos. Fandango. Mi numen parlero. Mazourka de Blagoïska. Stanzas for music. Amor con sue promesse. Occhi miei. Come fan' le ragazze. Saluto. Dimmelo caro ben. Le moissonneur. Scène de... Read More »
The US singer presents her latest album at the audio fair A special highlight of the HIGH END 2022 will be the performance of American musician Lori Lieberman on May 21, 2022. Accompanied by the Christian Schumacher Quartet from Munich, the renowned singer-songwriter will debut her latest album "Truly" during a performance at the MOC.... Read More »
WORLD PREMIERE The Italian company Grandinote was established in 2005. Its founder and chief designer is Massimiliano "MAX" Magri. Their first product was the A Solo amplifier, and the most important technology they use is called Magnetosolid. We are premiere testing their largest integrated amplifier, Supremo. If you look at the Grandinote's lineup, you will... Read More »
With delicate precision, Susana Gómez Vázquez illuminates these piano pieces with a scintillating beauty, each carefully shaped and presented like jewels on velvet cushions. Both the performances and the recorded sound quality, in Pure DSD256, are a treasure. Ad Illam - Music of Chopin, Piazzolla, Ginastera for Piano, Susana Gómez Vázquez. Eudora Records 2021 (Pure... Read More »
May 10, 2022 - The leading French brand in the audio sector unveils the 300 ICA6 angled in-ceiling loudspeaker at the ISE (Integrated System Europe) exhibition in Barcelona (10th-13th May). Discrete and easy to install, this versatile loudspeaker joins Focal’s current 300 Series line. By supplementing its range with a product for hi-fi or Home... Read More »
Andover Audio is pleased to announce a new vinyl accessory: the TrueGrain cork record mat. A perfect companion to Andover’s SpinDeck and SpinDeck Max turntables, the TrueGrain mat is precision-cut and finished to achieve a smooth, leather-like surface, adding an extra layer of protection for records while damping vibration, reducing noise, and diminishing static buildup.... Read More »
Following the introduction of the D1.5 CD/SACD player/transport, CH Precision is proud to announce the release of the partnering DAC, the new C1.2. As impressive as the D1.5 has already proved, the C1.2 represents an even bigger advance in musical performance. Four-fold increase in processing power. Revised and refined proprietary PEtER algorithm also introduces fixed-point... Read More »
SCHAUMBURG, IL - Wildly popular among high fidelity audio enthusiasts, due to COVID related cancellations, the annual three day Audio Expo North America—or AXPONA—last showed here in 2019. And now on Day One, it's Friday noon and people have come out in droves. Frankly, I cannot find a parking space at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel... Read More »
Simaudio is well-known for its audio components, but the Moon Voice 22 is its first entry into the loudspeaker category. Find out what it offers. The Voice 22 Bookshelf LoudspeakerThe enclosure employs a unique patent-pending technology called CGD (Curved Groove Damping) to control the panel resonances of the loudspeaker. This allows the Voice 22 to deliver precise... Read More »
Montreal, Canada — May 5, 2022 — Today Focal Naim America, a leading North American importer, and distributor of premium consumer and professional electronics brands, has announced the third playlist for “Mixed on Focal” a new program to highlight the true sound of music as the artist, mix engineer, producer, and record label meant the songs to be heard. All three... Read More »
Qobuz, the French high quality music platform, is now live in Latin America and Portugal. New York, NY, May 4th, 2022. Qobuz, the high-quality music platform, continues its global expansion with the opening of its service in six new countries: five in Latin America and one in Europe, doubling the number of markets covered in two... Read More »
Sumiko Introduces the E1 Series from Pro-Ject Audio Systems Starting at $349 USD MISTELBACH, AUSTRIA (May 3, 2022) - Sumiko and Pro-Ject USA are proud to announce the new E1 line of turntables, designed and produced in Europe. The new collection aims to introduce a new audience of music lovers to the world of vinyl... Read More »
How does the analog become digital? In 2019, Roland Dietl reported about the current version of the Audiophile Optimizer and shortly after about the combination of the new optimizer with Windows Server. The playback of audio files benefited greatly from this operating system variant. Does the operating system also influence the sound of the files... Read More »
Here is an excursion through the Spanish inflected music of southern Europe with a few side ventures to Brazil. It’s a feast for the ears and the heart, with music of Isaac Albéniz, Manuel de Falla, Paule Maurice, Jean Françaix, Heitor Villa‑Lobos, Maurice Ravel, Darius Milhaud, and Kurt Weill. All musicians influenced by the rhythms... Read More »
A very brief note, just before departing on a two-week photographic/church trip to Israel and Jordan: Every now and then I encounter a high-end company that really impresses me with the quality of its work. I could make a pretty long list of such enterprises, but it would go fading off into the sunset, music intermingling... Read More »
Roger Skoff writes about how illusions can sometimes be illusory If I were ever asked what one thing about High-End audio was my greatest turn-on, my answer would have to be "imaging": the ability of a great system playing a great recording in a great room to make you feel as if you could actually... Read More »
This article by Bob Neill originally ran in Issue 3, October/November 2002, so while we call this section "New Old Stock - Articles from Our Days in Print" you are also going to see some articles from our early days of going online. How George Cardas's Neutral Reference speaker cable strikes you and whether or... Read More »
Boyd Meets Girl is comprised of Australian classical guitarist Rupert Boyd and American cellist Laura Metcalf, a couple living in Brooklyn, NYC. This album comes out of the period of Covid-19 pandemic lockdown; and this is where being a married couple pays huge dividends for us as listeners. Able to play together every day, Boyd... Read More »
The Editors is a series of interviews with audio magazine editors from all over the world—both printed and online magazines, and portals. It started on January 1st, 2012, and 33 interviews have been published so far—the one below is No. 34. Our aim is to make our readers more familiar with the people who usually... Read More »
Octave Audio is a German company founded in 1968 by Karl Heinz Hofmann; initially it produced transformers. In 2000, his son, Andreas Hofmann took over the business, and from then on it has been called Octave Audio. We are testing the top Jubilee system. Although the first Octave amplifiers were made in 1975, and since... Read More »
The state-of-the-art Børresen Acoustics 05 speakers and their cables have become perfectly acclimatized in my listening room since my review of their initial installation. (HERE). The system plays even more beguilingly than when I wrote the review. But more interesting than any kind of effusiveness may be the reasons for so much euphony, and Michael... Read More »
Hürth, Germany, April 2022 – Effective Immediately, TIDAL-Audio GmbH is proud to announce the TIDAL Arkas music streamer. The TIDAL Arkas is designed to be the perfect digital music content controller for TIDAL high-end systems. The approach of the Arkas was simple: build the perfect musical data file transport with TIDAL performance and reliability. In... Read More »
Violinist Tosca Opdam is joined by pianist Alexander Ullman to create some delightful chamber music in their new album, Soundscapes, all beautifully and sensitively performed. Included is the world premier recording of a work dedicated to Ms. Opdam by Dutch composer Robin de Raaff. The album is an engaging program of a bit of the... Read More »
AXPONA 2022 was a welcoming next step as we move forward as a high end audio community. Attendance was good, and it will only get better as things settle down and we all get more comfortable. It was wonderful to see old friends and to establish new friendships. After all, this isn't just about evaluating... Read More »
I've written before about legendary Decca recording engineer Kenneth Wilkinson and the extensive collection of his recordings available from High Definition Tape Transfers. Since my original introductory article (HERE), HDTT has released more Wilkinson engineered recordings that are very much worthy of comment. And, I've found a few in the catalog that I'd missed before.... Read More »
Rembrandt Frerichs is a remarkably eclectic and innovative jazz and world musician, synthesizing rhythms and sounds from many cultures. In this thoroughly engaging premier recording of his piano concertos, he collaborates with five string players from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and his long-time partner in The Rembrandt Trio, percussionist Vinsent Planjer. The result is a... Read More »
MISTELBACH, AUSTRIA (April 19, 2022) - Sumiko and Pro-Ject USA are proud to announce the new Phono Box DS3B, Phono Box S3B and X8 Turntable from Pro-Ject Audio Systems. The new products aim to offer listeners a truly balanced experience, resulting in dynamic sound, less noise and improved signal to noise ratios. The Phono Box... Read More »
