Or, why recordings don't always sound the same. We listen to music in various conditions, sometimes loud, sometimes quietly. However, in order to hear what is really there, we have to take into account, how it was mixed and mastered. I don't know if you pay attention to the fact that a given album sounds... Read More »
TACET a musical term to indicate that an instrument or voice does not sound, also known as rest. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacet date of access: 25.10.2020 The name of the TACET Musikproduktion record label comes from the language of music and, in a broader perspective, from Latin, where the proverb "qui tacet, consentire videtur", i.e. "he who is... Read More »
Until there are some new shows to attend, we continue our look back at shows from years gone by. For many, many years, audio industry folks from around the globe descended in Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronic Show. Here's a look back at 2003. Dave Glackin and Carol Clark From Dave and Carol Clark:... Read More »
Is He Rip, a Penny, or Moby Dick? Like the proverbial "bad penny," I keep turning up. I think our PF world could suffer another grizzled audio old-timer, so I've decided to make an inauspicious return to the fold. My reasons are many—some high-minded and altruistic, some low-minded and selfish. You needn't know which... Read More »
Frank Sinatra, Sing and Dance with Frank Sinatra. Impex Records (33 RPM LP) You gotta love Frank Sinatra. We have been streaming Mad Men during the lock down. Taken from the late 1950s and into the 1970s, you can't help but envision Frank swaggering about during that timeframe and era in America. Think Manhattan, dirty... Read More »
Ye Olde Etc. enjoying the moment in the Pacific NW (portrait by John Robinson) Time for Part the Second of my Brutus Awards. iFi Audio Pro iDSD DAC/Headphone Amp/Streamer The iFi Audio Pro iDSD DAC/Headphone Amp/Preamp/Streamer (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) Earlier this year, iFi Audio sent along their new pro-grade many-in-one... Read More »
Yusuf/Cat Stevens, Tea For The Tillerman 2, Island Records (33 RPM LP) At 72 years old, Yusuf Islam continues to entertain and delight his fans. Born Steven Demetra Georgio in 1948 in London, England, he took the stage name of Cat Stevens in 1966 before turning to Islam in 1977 and assuming his current name. He... Read More »
Yes, I know. It's traditional to cite recordings used in an equipment review (and illustrate them with the cover art), but featuring even some of the music that used to evaluate four very different USB cables meant the review would run far too long. Ultimately, I had to cut all the window dressing. You can... Read More »
Hundreds of HD tracks set for release in mid-January 2021, including never-before-released tracks from Alex de Grassi, Fiona Joy Hawkins, Meghan Andrews and more December 17, 2020 Blue Coast Music has completed a new distribution deal with Entertainment One (eOne) and will launch 300 HD tracks to DSPs on January 15, 2021. The tracks include... Read More »
Clarus Announces the Sextet Power Conditioner December 10, 2020 — Clarus®, high-end audio cable brand and sister company to Tributaries A/V cables, introduces the Sextet, the third model in their power conditioner lineup. The Sextet offers the same functionality as the flagship Concerto with fewer outlets for a more affordable option. The Clarus power conditioning line brings an entirely... Read More »
ARLINGTON, TX - December 15th, 2020 — The Sound Organisation and The Sound Organisation Canada today announced they have been selected to be the new distributors for Spendor in the United States and Canada. Spendor is the most recent addition to the The Sound Organisation portfolio that includes Chord Electronics, The Chord Company, Fyne Audio,... Read More »
The Estonian based loudspeaker company, Estelon, has helped shape the past decade of top-tier loudspeakers. To celebrate their tenth anniversary, Estelon has made significant updates to six of their loudspeakers in the X and Y series, details HERE and have released ten, special edition pairs of their Forza loudspeaker HERE. These updates represent ten years... Read More »
I have three great products to bring to your attention at the end of 2020. Listen up! Amazing Vacuum Tube Alert: GE 6189 (12AU7) JAN NOS The military/industrial NOS GE 6189 tube is a premium quality 12AU7 tube with an added internal helical wire that strengthens the grid structure and dampens vibration and noise. This... Read More »
TIDAL Audio partners with BUGATTI Hürth, 15th of December 2020 TIDAL AUDIO ANNOUNCES EXCLUSIV PARTNERSHIP WITH BUGATTI FOR HIGH END HOME AUDIO. BUGATTI and TIDAL Audio are united in sharing the same philosophy: to strive for limitless perfection in order to deliver unmatched performance along with exceptional designs. The two companies have joint forces to... Read More »
Photograph by David W. Robinson, copyright © 2020, all rights reserved. Photograph may not be used or republished without the express written consent of the artist. It is with deep sorrow that I report that legendary audio designer Tim de Paravicini passed away on December 17 in Japan, at age 75. The cause of death... Read More »
Portable amplifier now supports a variety of headphones, offers freedom to audiophiles on the move Chicago, IL — December 15, 2020 — CEntrance has just announced the launch of the updated HiFi-M8™, a portable headphone amplifier and D/A converter for audio enthusiasts on the move. The new version of the acclaimed portable device adds Bluetooth support, four... Read More »
Vincent Audio Debuts SV-737 Hybrid Integrated Amplifier in U.S. Market Seamlessly Matched Tube and Solid State Sections Combine with Myriad Input Options for the Height in Performance and Flexibility GRAND RAPIDS, MI, December 15, 2020 – Vincent Audio, a designer and manufacturer of elegant audiophile-grade stereo and multichannel components, will soon introduce the acclaimed SV-737... Read More »
Goldmund showcased in Strive for Perfection: Celebrating 110 Years of the Spirit of Ecstasy – an official publication for the International Club for Rolls-Royce and Bentley Enthusiasts The new publication Strive for Perfection: Celebrating 110 Years of the Spirit of Ecstasy pays tribute to a landmark anniversary for Rolls-Royce’s famous hood ornament. This hardback, fully... Read More »
Registration is now open! Reserve your exhibit space at the Pacific Audio Fest! Contact us now to be ahead of the pack to reserve a great showroom at the premier Audio Event of the West Coast. Limited to 100 showrooms…always! Book your tickets and hotel rooms for July 2021. No, we are not just another... Read More »
Ye Olde Editor in days collegiate, presenting the goods. Corvallis, OR, 1972 (photograph by Dr. John Hull) Thoughts at this end of the first year of the pandemic… Once again, yes, once again it's time for my Brutus Awards. This time, the 2020 edition…a year that will live in infamy. Our first major pandemic in... Read More »
This curious tale of low-end wires in a very high-end system to be filed in the "Things I Can't Explain" folder, is directed at keen observers with highly resolving, neutral systems. Not everyone will relate. Back in 2011, when I had installed the YG Acoustics Anat Studio speakers, my dealer gave me a spiel about... Read More »
The Devialet D-Premier is sure to go down in audio history as a game changer. When it was introduced in 2010, little did we know that the D-Premier would alter the integrated amplifier landscape forever by redefining the concept of what an integrated amplifier is. Up to that point, an integrated amplifier had consisted of... Read More »
ALBUM PAYS HOMAGE TO BRAZILIAN COMPOSER London, Friday 4 December 2020 – Eudora Records is a prestigious independent classical label, established in Madrid by producer, recording engineer and musician Gonzalo Noqué in 2014. The label releases a select number of titles each year, and its stated aim is “to capture the finest music performances in... Read More »
MOON is delighted to announce that its performance audio streaming products* are even more connected as they now feature Apple AirPlay 2. The new integrated streaming module effortlessly allows Apple users to play music from any iOS device and to change music with Siri voice control. AirPlay 2 also adds multi-room playback to MOON’s premium... Read More »
Record Store Day—or RSD as it's commonly known among aficionados—typically takes place twice a year, generally around April and October. RSD piques the interest of every vinyl hound in the US—and worldwide, for that matter—and generally brings a slate of releases that are widely varied in approach from record label to record label. Some labels... Read More »
We are proud to announce that dune and warp are the first of the product line by borg.audio to be available on pre-order. Furthermore, with every pre-order of dune or warp we will include a complimentary 1 year Roon subscription and 1 year subscription to either Qobuz (Studio Premier) or Tidal (HiFi) (limited time offer,... Read More »
The first Peanuts comic strips from cartoonist Charles Schulz appeared in newspapers in October, 1950, and Craft Recordings is celebrating 70 years of Peanuts and Charlie Brown this year with a limited edition series of LP releases. Next up: the original soundtrack from 1965's A Charlie Brown Christmas television special; the soundtrack album has sold... Read More »
December 2, 2020. Cary Audio is please to introduce the new DMS-700 Network Audio Player. When we set out to design the DMS-600, our goal was simple. To make the absolutely best sounding network audio streamer on the planet, far exceeding its price point and beyond, period. As evident by the following the DMS-600 garnered, it’s clear we... Read More »
Roger Skoff writes about audiophiles and double-blind testing. Yup, I was on Facebook, browsing one of the audiophile groups (you'll probably know which one from what I'm about to tell you) when I came across a slugfest between a long-time reviewer friend of mine and several "rationalist" "audiophiles" (Yeah, both of those terms are in... Read More »
Do you recall certain artists whose new releases you eagerly awaited? Anna Fedorova is that artist for us these days. We only recently discovered two of her solo albums on Channel Classics, Storyteller and Four Fantasies. I wrote about these thoroughly engaging releases in a recent article. Now we've found her duo album, Silhouettes, with... Read More »
exaSound Unveils New Streaming DAC Toronto ON - exaSound Audio Design, manufacturer of innovative, exceptional fidelity audio products, announces the new flagship s88 Eight-Channel Streaming DAC. exaSound s88 Streaming DAC, Native DSD512 PCM384 kHz/32bit Featuring a reference-grade 32-bit digital-to-analog converter, Roon-Ready streamer and headphone amplifier in stylish full-size mono-block enclosure, the s88 excels with its... Read More »
Rachel Podger is a joyful music maker, regardless of her choice of composers. And she is one of the best artists performing today on baroque violin and within the world of period instrument performance generally with her Brecon Baroque ensemble. I wrote enthusiastically about Podger and Brecon Baroque in my article about Channel Classics and the... Read More »
...with comments on the Synergistic Research MiG SX Isolation Feet. This is a story long in the coming. Long, long, long. Ye Olde Editor in contemplative mode, Happy Valley, OR, 2017… (Photograph by John Robinson; image processing by David W. Robinson) By way of backstory… You see, I've been following Warwick Acoustics and its predecessor... Read More »
It is the story of birth of digital audio, as well as a journey through the 1970s and 1980s, the best period in the history of digital recorders, and finally the story of their unique representatives; reel-to-tape recorders from Mitsubishi. (Part 1 can be found HERE) DIGITAL SOUND RECORDING method of preserving sound in which... Read More »
This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations 156. Jackie McLean, It's Time!. Blue Note – BST 84179 (1965), Tone Poet Series – B0031655-01 (2020), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: jazz, hard bop, post bop, free jazz leanings. Previously I had suggested that Tone Poet's remastering of Wayne Shorter's excellent Etcetera (Blue Note LT-1056, B0029357-01) pretty much... Read More »
9 November, 2020; Englewood, CO – Monarch Systems Distribution is happy to announce the immediate release and availability of the new Power Two stereo amplifier from Alluxity. The Power Two has a US MSRP of $7,800. The third solid-state power amplifier from Alluxity, the Power Two produces 200W into 8 ohms and 400W into 4... Read More »
