Jan Willem de Vriend and the Residentie Orkest The Hague give us a symphony cycle to savor, the symphonies of Franz Schubert in glorious high resolution audio. This is a great cycle of the complete symphonies, with one more volume to come. Highly recommended. Schubert, The Complete Symphonies, Volumes 1-3, Jan Willem de Vriend, Residentie... Read More »
The New RS150 and RS250 Systems Feature Streaming for Modern Listening Binghamton, NY – December 10, 2021 – McIntosh is proud to introduce its iconic sonic quality in the new RS150 and RS250 wireless loudspeakers. The RS150 Wireless Loudspeaker is a compact, user-friendly speaker delivering a larger-than-life home audio sound performance. The RS250 Wireless Loudspeaker... Read More »
Beginning at the end of 2003, PF established its first annual awards for fine audio. The Brutus Award was established for the best that David Robinson and Dave and Carol Clark had heard in their own listening rooms during that year. You can think of it as our equivalent of an "Editors' Choice" award. The Gizmo Award,... Read More »
Boulder, Colorado, December 8, 2021 – Marking a major milestone for the company, PS Audio today announced the introduction of its aspen FR30 loudspeaker, an elegantly slim 3-way floorstanding tower that incorporates planar-magnetic and dynamic drivers and a host of innovative technologies to deliver extraordinary musical realism. The new FR30 features all-new push-pull planar magnetic midrange and high-frequency transducers,... Read More »
Buffalo, NY, December 8, 2021 --- Bluebird Music, distributor of fine audio products since 2000, is pleased to announce the availability of the AVM CS 2.3, an extraordinary all-in-one audio solution from Germany’s AVM (Audio Video Manufaktur). One elegant unit contains everything needed as a source for a high-quality music system---except a turntable. And AVM... Read More »
The Sound of Jazz - Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Jimmie Guiffre, Red Allen, Jo Jones, Mal Waldron (from the rehearsal for the Live from CBS Studio 58, NYC, broadcast December 8, 1957 (DXD, HDTT Redux) HERE The Sound of Jazz was a one-hour program that aired on CBS Sunday, December 8, 1957 at 5 p.m.... Read More »
Occasionally there are evenings where simply wallowing in aural excess is permitted. Tonight was one of those evenings as I pulled out this HDDT PureDSD transfer of two glorious performances from Charles Munch and his Bostonians, one of the greatest orchestras in the United States. It is from this Munch era in Boston that we... Read More »
Andy Duncanson and the High Cross Sound - International Phonograph, Inc., High Definition Tape Transfers, 2021. (from analog tape to DSD256, a PureDSD transfer) HERE This is Chicago Blues recorded on 26 May 2021 at High Cross Sound. Guitarist/vocalist Andy Duncanson is a regular live performer from the Champaign/Urbana area south of Chicago. He travels... Read More »
With compelling musicianship, the Ragazze Quartet deliver a superb cycle of Bartók's String Quartets. The Ragazze capture the full range of emotional content in these six quartets with vibrant, intelligent performances that rise to the top ranks of the great performances we've known over the decades. And the sound quality from Channel Classics is superb.... Read More »
Atmosphere SX replaces Atmosphere X, the longest-running and most successful cable loom in our 30-year history, with an uninterrupted four years in production. So needless to say, these new cables have some big shoes to fill. And how did we do this? Ultimately you’ll need to be the judge, but Atmosphere SX takes this loom... Read More »
2nd December, 2021, Tokyo, Japan: Leading digital music library specialist Melco Audio has released a new over-the-air firmware update (4.30), which brings a host of updates for the company’s N100, N10 and N1EX (EX Series) of digital libraries The new update, which has already been automatically sent to owners of Melco’s current EX Series or EX-updated digital music libraries,... Read More »
TRPTK delivers to us another amazing recording with Maya Fridman, a cellist whose musical sensibilities and skill never cease to enthrall me, performing two outstanding works for cello and orchestra by Jan-Peter De Graaff. The works are challenging and the performances by Maya Fridman are compelling. If you are at all sympathetic to contemporary music,... Read More »
Krakow Sonic Society is an informal group of music lovers, audiophiles, friends, meeting to learn something new about audio products, recordings, music, etc. The idea for KTS was born in 2005 and this is now its 132 meeting. Many steps led to the 132 meeting of the Krakow Sonic Society—bigger and smaller, but necessary ones.... Read More »
For anyone who values the early Decca sound, High Definition Tape Transfers is a treasure trove of music to explore. Here I'd like to share with you some of the outstanding recordings made by Decca's recording engineer Roy Wallace between 1956 and 1961. My hope is to give you a start to your own explorations... Read More »
30 November 2021 Arvada, CO, U.S.A. For immediate release YG Acoustics announces a truly game-changing new product… Vantage Live Vantage Live is a unique product, a complete system delivering stunning audio quality combined with exceptional convenience and installation flexibility. It is the culmination of many years of research and development by a team spanning three... Read More »
On Saturday December 11th from 12-6 PM,, Ideon Audio will host a dealer event with their dealer, Lucky Dog HiFi in Santa Fe. Ideon Audio’s owner George Ligerakis and Ideon Audio’s North American distributor, Michael Vamos , owner of Audio Skies, will be on hand to demonstrate Ideon’s complete range of products from their entry... Read More »
I wasn't intending on going to the Capitol Audiofest this year at all, what with so many things still being shut down due to the virus and all. I was enroute from Philadelphia where I was doing some work, down to my home in Tidewater Virginia and decided to stop off briefly and see what... Read More »
This Brahms Third recording takes pride of place above all others in my collection. Here is a superb interpretation, excellent performance, and outstanding sound quality all in a single package from Iván Fischer, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, and Channel Classics. Brahms Symphony No. 3 and Serenade No. 2, Iván Fischer, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Channel Classics... Read More »
Romanel, Switzerland – Wednesday 24th November 2021. The Swiss company announces it is celebrating its 70th anniversary in style with a limited edition turntable. The Reference Anniversary turntable is the product of a years long, major research and development project that has been kept under wraps until this past summer. In 1951, our founder Stefan... Read More »
THE DEFINITIVE SOLUTION TO COMPUTER-BASED HI-FI SYSTEMS’ MOST NOTABLE WEAKNESS? The computer-focused audiophile market lacked audiophile-grade PSUs for computer-based transports. Optimo S ATX promises a small revolution by introducing the first-ever audiophile power source unit dedicated strictly to extreme quality audio playback from PC-based transports. The market lacked a genuine audiophile-grade power supply capable of driving... Read More »
Part 1: TECHNOLOGY Or why a recording is not a document and what does it mean DIGITAL SOUND RECORDING – method of preserving sound in which audio signals are transformed into a series of pulses that correspond to patterns of binary digits (i.e., 0's and 1's) and are recorded as such on the surface of... Read More »
Pure Joy! Three world premier recordings from a contemporary composer with much to say, performed by a string quartet in their own recording debut whose style shows they will be going places, and stellar audio engineering once again by Tom Peeters on Cobra Records. Enthusiastically recommended all around. Introspect: String Quartets No. 1 & 2... Read More »
A ray of Sunshine! This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations 181. Jimmy "Bo" Horne, "Get Happy"/"It's Your Sweet Love". T.K. Disco – 33 (1977), 12", 45 rpm. Genre: funky disco, Sunshine Sound. Jimmie Horace Horne, Jr.—better known as Jimmy "Bo" Horne—honed his singing style and success to Steve Alaimo and Henry Stone's Alston... Read More »
Buffalo, NY, November 26, 2021---- Bluebird Music, distributor of high-performance audio products since 2000, is pleased to announce the availability of the Questyle CMA Fifteen, the latest evolution in Questyle’s ultra-high performance compact headphone amp/DACs. In addition to Questyle’s well-known proprietary technologies, the CMA Fifteen includes analog inputs, allowing it to serve as the preamp/DAC hub for... Read More »
Another strong outing by the Rembrandt Trio brings us once again into the fascinating cross-cultural musical explorations for which I so much value in their recordings. While grounded in their European musical tradition this group explores the world with open eyes and curiosity to learn from non-western musical traditions, thereby expanding their horizons. A Wind... Read More »
When Just Listen Records releases an album, I sit up and pay attention. I'm always so glad to see a new release because I know it will be something special. And Same Silence, Same Self is again something very very special. Same Silence, Same Self, Hossein Alizadeh, Rembrandt Trio, Just Listen Records (2017 (24bit-44.1kHz, CD)... Read More »
PRESS RELEASE: 23rd November 2021 The new MOON Studio has been designed to allow the MOON team to deliver industry-leading communications to its customers and partners across the globe. Equipped with the very latest premium pro recording equipment, the facility will allow people and products to be seen and heard in brilliant audio-visual detail. As... Read More »
Romanel, Switzerland – Wednesday 24th November 2021. The Swiss company announces it is celebrating its 70th anniversary in style with a limited edition turntable. The Reference Anniversary turntable is the product of a years long, major research and development project that has been kept under wraps until this past summer. In 1951, our founder Stefan... Read More »
Few things in this life are better than spending some quality time with The Hague String Trio as they continue the storytelling that informs their artistic collaboration. Celebrating Women! is a celebration of the discovery of previously unrecorded string trios by women whose music needs to be heard. Kudos! Celebrating Women!, The Hague String Trio,... Read More »
HD Audio streaming playlists of songs mixed on Focal speakers show off what the music was meant to sound like when listening on Focal speakers Montreal, Canada - November 22, 2021 - Today Focal Naim America, a leading North American importer, and distributor of premium consumer and professional electronics brands, has announced "Mixed on Focal" a new program... Read More »
From November 25 through December 25, 2021, Danacable will hold a Giving2021 sale on standard headphone products across all Lazuli product lines. You get 10% off the product’s price by entering the coupon code Giving2021 at checkout. At the end of the Giving2021 sale period, Danacable will tally up the discounts given and match the total... Read More »
Musical Artisans is hosting their annual Winter Open House event on Saturday December 4th from 6:00-9:00pm featuring the full line of Stenheim ALUMINE speakers. Address: 8335 N. Keeler Ave Skokie, IL 60076 The ALUMINE TWO, ALUMINE THREE, and ALUMINE FIVE SE will be demonstrated in three systems featuring CH Precision, Nagra, and Engstrom electronics, De Baer and... Read More »
Aggghhh... Christmas music in the stores. Here's an antidote to the mind numbing drivel we're all going to be exposed to endlessly over the next several weeks. Unlike the yearly onslaught of "stuff to avoid," here is one album to balance out your musical sanity. Imagine Christmas, Various Artists from Sono Luminus (2017 (DXD) HERE... Read More »
Elbow, Flying Dream 1 Consistency and critical acclaim are the banes of an artist's existence. Countless bands have made this unfortunate discovery throughout millennia. Release a hit single your first time out, or, God forbid, an entire album that's embraced by the critics and the record-buying masses, and it feels almost impossible to meet expectations... Read More »
Commencing with the scintillating opening to Ernst von Dohnányi's Sonata for cello and piano, op. 8, and finishing with the abrupt falling phrase that concludes Shostakovich's Sonata for cello and piano, op. 40, Fernando Arias, cello, and Noelia Rodiles, piano, take us for a joyous ride through some superb music. Over the past several days... Read More »
Nathaniel Rosen is one of those rare artists whose playing captivates me for hours on end. There is a remarkable depth, intelligence and empathy to his playing. He is a simply immersive cellist whose performances are full of nuance, color, and imaginative flair. Listening today to his Schumann Complete Works for Cello and Piano, with... Read More »
Drawing by Dan Zimmerman Very sad news today. I received a phone call from Mike Spurlock, of the olden days of the Oregon Triode Society, notifying me that our dear friend and colleague, John Pearsall, has passed away, aged somewhere in the 80s. He didn't have many details, but said that he had been told... Read More »
