Producer's Choice, Vol. 2. Cobra Records 2025 (Pure DSD256-Direct Mixed, Stereo) Edit Master Sourced (To be released December 12 at NativeDSD) Cobra Records' 25th Anniversary celebration continues with the release of Producer's Choice, Volume 2. And it is phenomenal. Earlier this year, I wrote with enthusiasm about the release of Volume 1 which included selected... Read More »
Saturday, December 13th | 6:30–9:30 P.M. | Skokie, Illinois Musical Artisans is pleased to announce its annual Fall Event, taking place on Saturday, December 13th, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The evening will feature five significant product introductions and presentations from three distinguished guests: Robert Auer of Auer Acoustics, Timo Engström of Engström Audio, and... Read More »
A flagship-level USB DAC, A New IEM collaboration with VOLK Audio, and ACTIVO’s latest in-ear monitors highlight the year’s finale Astell&Kern, a global leader in high-resolution audio players and accessories, announces the debut of three new products created to elevate listening across every category: STELLA, a flagship in-ear monitor developed in collaboration with VOLK Audio... Read More »
Crafted in Denmark, Engineered for Musical Truth Aavik proudly introduces the new R-x88 phono stage series, a culmination of decades of engineering innovation and musical passion. Drawing inspiration from the acclaimed Aavik R-880 reference model, this series brings reference-level analog performance to a broader audience — designed for both Moving Coil (MC) and DS Audio... Read More »
Among Craft Recordings' late-season jazz releases are seven new titles in the Original Jazz Classic reboot series, along with an exceptional new Bill Evans Trio box set that highlights the complete studio recordings of his classic first trio. The OJCs feature three 1957 releases on the Savoy label, including reedman Yusef Lateef's Jazz Mood, saxophonist... Read More »
JPLAY, the premier software for audiophiles seeking ultimate sound quality, has released a new version of its music playback application, bringing one of the most requested features to users worldwide: full support for Apple CarPlay. This significant addition allows JPLAY users to enjoy a safer, more seamless, and more intuitive music experience directly from their car’s... Read More »
December 1, 2025 – Succasunna, New Jersey – Orchard Audio is proud to announce that the company’s PecanPi+ Streamer Premium now supports Qobuz Connect, bringing seamless high-resolution streaming through native Qobuz app control. With Qobuz Connect integration, users can now stream directly from the Qobuz app to the PecanPi+ Streamer Premium—no additional software or configuration... Read More »
The Genesis of a Group This one is brief and to the point. Fine audio at its best is a passion for fine recordings of music by great artists. If that's not true of your relationship to audio, then you'll have to examine yourself to see if your love is for gear first, with no particular... Read More »
My meanderings in music over the past few weeks have surfaced some nice releases at NativeDSD, with quite varied selections to share. We have three new Pure DSD releases from Hunnia Records, APSoon Records, and Octave Records (good to see them back in the Pure DSD game). And we have music ranging from the Suites... Read More »
For those readers new to this column, please read the introductory comments in Part 1 HERE. I thought this time I would explain a little about my record shopping habits and how my collection grew to what it is now. After collecting a hundred or so 45-singles as a kid in the 60s, I started... Read More »
The Capital Audiofest is an event more oriented around dealers than manufacturers. They take over a hotel in Rockville and set each of the hotel rooms up as listening rooms, and a person can wander from room to room listening to all of the different systems. Most of these systems are set up... Read More »
This is the second part of the history of digital recording techniques and records by Nippon Columbia, a pioneer in digital music recording. In this part, we will focus on the tape recorder that was the first product developed by Denon engineers, the DN-023R. Part 1 is HERE. Nippon Columbia, known outside Japan as Denon,... Read More »
Something, Steve Marcus + J. Inagaki & Soul Media Nippon Columbia NCB-7003, LP January 1971. The world's first album with digitally recorded signal www.denon.com MADE IN JAPAN 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)... Read More »
Beginning at the end of 2003, Positive Feedback 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... Read More »
I have long valued recordings that use a single stereo microphone (or microphones whose capsules have been closely spaced) because of their authenticity, immensely precise and stable imaging, and overall greater "true-to-life" representation of the musicians when performing within a natural acoustic environment. Getting it all right is not easy, it does not just happen... Read More »
Whenever I get to hear something that is so supremely good, and so delightfully performed, with such insight and richness, I feel it warrants a immediate sharing with you. This new Yarlung Records Pure DSD256 album, released today, is such a recording. Can you tell I'm excited about it? Yes, indeed! You need to hear... Read More »
When I first started going to the AES show, it no longer was run by the first generation of audio enthusiasts who had started the show. You could still see Paul Klipsch in the hotel lobby yelling about amplifier distortion, and Norm Pickering and Les Paul could be seen out on the show floor, but... Read More »
What a pleasure to hear of a new label with audiophile aesthetics emerging from the greater Los Angeles commercial music community! This was my immediate reaction when I first started talking by phone with Ryan Sillifant, producer, mastering engineer, and performing artist for a new label, BigRibbons, launched by Wes Dooley, founder of AEA Microphones... Read More »
Chet Baker, Swimming By Moonlight. Slow Down Sounds (33 RPM) My father was a big Chet Baker fan. I remember that he had several of the essentials including Chet, Chet Baker & Strings, Chet Baker & Art Pepper – Picture of Health, and Chet Baker Plays The Best of Lerner And Loewe. I also remember... Read More »
Anna Fedorova is, to me, one of the most exquisite pianists performing today. Her interpretative skills are subtle, inventive, and completely engaging. And her technical skills are simply amazing. When she performs, I just slide into a very happy place listening to her. Her most recent release is delightful. Liberté, Anna Fedorova, Orquesta Sinfónica de... Read More »
Chrysalis Records is honoring inimitable New Zealand band Split Enz with a lavish new compendium of their earliest recordings, Enzyclopedia Volumes One & Two. Which highlights their long out-of-print debut album, 1975's Mental Notes, their sophomore effort from the following year, Second Thoughts, as well as 1979's The Beginning of the Enz, which collects non-album... Read More »
The Ohio audio brand invites attendees to experience convincing two-channel music, head-turning Dolby Atmos, and heart-pounding subwoofer bass demos featuring SVS Ultra Evolution Speakers, 5000 R|Evolution subwoofers, and amplification from Orchard Audio and Hegel. Capital Audiofest 2025 – Rockville, MD – Hilton Rockville – Rooms 626 & 628 – SVS, a leading manufacturer of high-performance home... Read More »
Come visit us in room 841 at the Capital Audio Fest for the debut of the new QLN Prestige Three Gen 2 Loudspeaker! The Prestige Three was first introduced in 2018 as the first floorstanding model designed by QLN since the early 90s deriving its heritage from the QLN Signature dating back to 1989. The... Read More »
Last year I reviewed my favorite album by The Box Tops album, their second, Cry Like A Baby HERE, and this time I'm reviewing my second favorite, their fourth and final title, Dimensions (Bell 6032/Sundazed SC 6161). I've never seen a clean copy of the LP, so I'm reviewing the Sundazed CD. Before I get... Read More »
Once again we have a full measure of excellent recordings released in recent weeks. If I didn't like them, I would not write about them. And I do like these very much. They start off with an outstanding new recording of trumpet concertos from the inestimable Tine Thing Helseth and Lawo Classics, then some very... Read More »
--Fifth-Generation Antileon Power Amplifier Debuts at CAF -- Rockville, MD—November 14, 2025: Gryphon Audio Designs, designer and manufacturer of The World’s Finest Audio Systems, returns to the Democracy Room at 2025 Capitol Audiofest. This year Gryphon, courtesy of legendary dealer Command Performance, Falls Church, VA, will host the North American Show Premiere of The Gryphon... Read More »
Two-Disc, Forty-One Song Various Artist Compilation Culled from the IPR Vaults and Forthcoming Albums Includes Rare and Never Before Released Tracks from A Produce, Camper Van Beethoven, David J, Lanterna, Middle Class, Scenic, Shiva Burlesque, and More A New, Previously Unreleased Track from Post-Punk-Meets-Folk Band Shiva Burlesque (Led by Jeffrey Clark and Grant-Lee Phillips) Out Today FOR... Read More »
SAINT-ÉTIENNE, France, Nov. 6, 2025 — Focal is redefining home cinema with Mu-so Hekla, an elegant all-in-one system that fuses exceptional performance with effortless ease-of-use. Designed to transform everyday moments into deeply immersive, emotion-filled experiences, Mu-so Hekla is the perfect balance of power, beauty, and versatility for modern living, integrating seamlessly into your everyday routine.... Read More »
Precision engineering for uncompromised musical performance Audio Group Denmark and Axxess proudly introduce the Axxess Switch, a high-performance network switch designed to elevate digital streaming systems with unprecedented clarity, stability, and musical authenticity. The Axxess Switch is the result of meticulous Danish engineering and design by Michael Børresen and Flemming Erik Rasmussen, combining technical excellence with... Read More »
Four new release and reissue LPs have just been made available from Craft Recordings, including a pair of titles on their ultra hip Jazz Dispensary imprint. As well as the latest reissue on Craft Latino from legendary Corrido singer Chalino Sanchez. And Craft has just made an extensive group of repackaged colored vinyl variants of... Read More »
As Yarlung Records celebrates its 20th Anniversary, founder Bob Attiyeh is reissuing in Pure DSD256 some of the 15ips 2-track tape recordings made in earlier years. We've previously seen released David Fung's Evening Conversations (HERE) and coming before long will be Ciaramella's Music in the Court of Burgundy. But now we have this very excellent... Read More »
Roger Skoff says yes, but not as much as you think... Back in the old days of HiFi, if you were to ask audiophiles to name the single greatest requirement for perfect sound reproduction, my guess is that at least 9 out of 10 would have said "flat frequency response." That was in the mid-1950s,... Read More »
Bob Witrak continues to find really nice recordings to release over at HDTT. This time around we have a Basie/Ellington Redux reissue, a Coleman Hawkins album transferred from the original Crown Records 15ips master tape, an excellent Fritz Reiner Living Stereo reissue, plus three albums that I've had in my Pure DSD256 From Analog Tape:... Read More »
Scarlatti Sonatas. Tamara Stefanovich, piano. Pentatone Music PTC5187401 (WAV download, EP). TT: 23.11 87 in B minor. K. 158 in C minor. K. 8 in G minor. K. 13 in G. Angela Hewitt's recent performance of the Goldberg Variations reminded me of how well Bach can work on the modern grand piano, given the right application of... Read More »
The Editors is a series of interviews with editors of audio magazines from all over the world—both printed ones, as well as online magazines and internet portals. It started on January 1st, 2012, and 36 interview records have been published so far—the one below is No. 37. Our aim is to make our readers more... Read More »
Analog Tone Factory is a label new to me but it has been releasing some very nice all analog albums on high quality vinyl and transfer to analog tape for the past few years. Their LPs have already received very high recommendations in the audiophile press, but since I've been away from vinyl for half... Read More »
Friday, October 17 Oct - Sunday, October 19, 2025 For the 2025 Toronto Audio Fest, (herein referred to as TAF 2025), I'm going to provide two – count 'em…two – show reports. There were a lot of exhibitors at TAF 2025. So much so, that it will be easier to bring greater clarity and insight... Read More »
