Battle of the Big Bands! This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations The late-1930s to mid-1940s—it was the height of the big band era, as well as the second world war. Call me foolishly nostalgic perhaps but at least during that arduous period, we could lovingly hug and comfort each other, as opposed to... Read More »
Qobuz, the world's 1st Hi-Res music service, raises 10 million euros to consolidate its future developments. Paris, September 21, 2020 - Qobuz, the world’s 1st Hi-Res music streaming and download service, announced that it has raised 10 million euros in new capital to drive its momentum and consolidate its future developments. To support its international... Read More »
To my ears, the Dutch label Just Listen Records is today capturing much of what is best about live, or nearly live, recordings in their direct-to-DSD256 productions. And occasionally live-to-DXD if needed by the recording and venue. In my days collecting vinyl, I always enjoyed direct-to-disc recordings...when they were well done. And not all were.... Read More »
I think it's fairly well-known in the high-end community that people tend to like what they like, and they tend to like different sounding systems. Many people like severely colored systems, but they like their kind of severely colored system and they don't like the kind of system their friend likes. Horn speaker people like... Read More »
London,UK-1September 2020 The Funk Firm has released a new dynamically stable Cartridge DeCoupler. Named Houdini, Funk claims that much as a tuning fork couples its vibration when placed onto a guitar box, the very act of firmly bolting the cartridge to the arm similarly couples and superimposes its resonances directly onto the cartridge. Funk claims... Read More »
Thousand Oaks, CA, September 16, 2020 - Zesto Audio is pleased to announce their new product upgrade, the Energy Source Power Supply, named the ESP Supply available on three of their preamplifiers, the Andros II Phonostage, the Andros Deluxe II Phonostage and the Leto Ultra II Preamplifier. George Counnas, President and design engineer of Zesto Audio says, “I named it the ESP... Read More »
Qobuz Live & Rhino Present: ‘John Coltrane - Giant Steps 60’: An All-Star Livestream Discussion with Archie Shepp, Shabaka Hutchings, Lakecia Benjamin, and Melissa Aldana Moderated by Ashley Kahn and Greg Tate on September 23 The Event marks THREE occasions: Coltrane’s 94th Birthday, Giant Steps’s 60th Anniversary, And the release of Giant Steps: 60th Anniversary... Read More »
PRESS RELEASE:17th SEPTEMBER 2020 MOON has created an iconic audio system to celebrate its 40th anniversary. The stunning MOON Anniversary Edition features the highly acclaimed 680D streaming DAC and the elegantly powerful 600i v2 integrated amplifier. Each model is finished in a beautiful Millesime Red colourway designed to give a contemporary look plus a discreet... Read More »
Roon Ready status instantly upgrades Leema’s handmade-in-Wales streaming-capable range A key software upgrade adds Roon and enables the best-performing Leema Acoustics streamers to date 15th September 2020, Wales, UK: Leema Acoustics has upgraded its streaming-capable products to include Roon playback. Several products are primed to benefit from the upgrade including the company’s recently launched Stream... Read More »
Experience Exceptional Music Everywhere with the Naim Mu-so for Bentley Special Edition and Focal for Bentley Radiance Crewe/Salisbury/St Etienne – Monday, September 14, 2020 Music lovers can now enjoy exceptional sound and styling whether listening at home, on the move, or in any Bentley car, thanks to an extended collaboration between the iconic British marque,... Read More »
When Dr. David, Ye Olde Editor at PF, invited me to write some music reviews with a principal focus on DXD and DSD256, I don't think he expected I might start with these particular albums from High Definition Tape Transfers. But, honestly, I just have to start with these wonderful recordings from the earliest days... Read More »
Mytek Audio introduces the Empire DAC/Streamer/Preamplifier; The flagship of the new “Empire” Series FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: New York, NY, September 14, 2020 Mytek Audio proudly introduces the EMPIRE DAC/Streamer/Preamplifier; An “all out” assault on the state-of-the-art, the EMPIRE establishes Mytek as a top echelon player in the high-performance audio arena. The Streamer is “Powered by... Read More »
Prestigious award presented to Founder of MQA for Career of Innovations London, 14 September 2020 – Bob Stuart, creator of MQA and co-founder of Meridian Audio, is awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering Prince Philip Medal for ‘his exceptional contribution to audio engineering which has changed the way we listen to music and experience films’.... Read More »
The world’s most advanced digital music libraries are set to add Roon Ready convenience to complement Melco’s no-compromise Intelligent Music Library (MIML) software suite Ballston Spa, New York, September 2020—Melco’s new EX Series of digital music libraries will soon benefit from Roon compatibility. The Japanese specialist’s five-strong EX Series product line up, which saw the... Read More »
Large Exhibitor Rooms, Close to Airport & Downtown Seattle 100% Refund If Postponed Because of COVID-19 Seattle, WA: Today, Pacific Audio Fest, the audio show by exhibitors and music lovers for exhibitors and music lovers, announced that the Doubletree by Hilton - Seattle Airport will be the venue for the event, to be held July... Read More »
Part 4 – So what does the new system sound like and what are we listening to? Fair warning: my focus is on classical music with a smattering of jazz and acoustic. So, my comments about sources and music and what we're excited about will lean heavily in this direction. In earlier parts of this... Read More »
Back in the early nineties, I worked at my day job with a guy, Tim, who was following his dream, trying to make it as a guitarist moonlighting in a local Atlanta rock band. He was a wickedly gifted guitar player, and his band had often gone head to head against another local band, Mr.... Read More »
Powerful Two-Channel Model Establishes New Standard For High Performance Audio Pickering, Ontario, Canada September 9, 2020 – NAD Electronics, a leading manufacturer of premium home audio and video products, announced another high- performance amplifier that uses Purifi EigentaktÔ amplification technology. The C 298 is a two-channel powerhouse that is a perfect partner to high quality... Read More »
Part 3 - In which we get down in the weeds: the files, the library and how this all gets lashed together… "Nobody knows everything, nobody has everything [i.e., tools, equipment], but if you're lucky enough to add friendship to your life, you have so many more opportunities for joy and accomplishment and satisfaction." Scott... Read More »
Getting Foobar2000 to output audio to the ASIO driver... To hear music through your DAC using Windows an ASIO driver is highly recommended, possibly required. The appropriate ASIO driver is typically provided by the manufacturer of your DAC. Check the user manual on this. Foobar is a long standing music software tool for Windows users.... Read More »
Handel: Organ Transcriptions (arr. J. Walsh and J. Hook). Simone Vebber, organ (Serassi organ, Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Milan, 1835-7). Discantica 314. TT: 54.04 Saul: How excellent Thy name, O Lord; Preserve Him for the glory of Thy Name. Organ Concerti: Op. 4, No. 4; HWV 295 ("The Cuckoo and the Nightingale"). Coronation Anthem, HWV... Read More »
Ye Olde Editor with an exceptional La Flor Dominicana Andalusian Bull (portrait by John Robinson) Oregon and trees…they go together. The forests of the Pacific Northwest are a joy to the soul and a medicine for melancholy, and are not to be misused or simply "consumed" to make "wood products." The back of my hand... Read More »
The First-ever Reference Class SU-R1000 Integrated Amplifier Developed to Further Expand Technics' Sound Experience Introduction 1 September, 2020 – Technics unveiled its first Reference Class integrated amplifier, SU-R1000. The Reference Class products are developed in pursue of Technics’ insatiable desire to deliver ultimate sound quality to customers, and they offer premium musical experience the Technics... Read More »
Sound, Design and Function – New Evolving All-in-One Music System OTTAVA™ f SC-C70MK2 1 September, 2020 – Technics today unveiled its new Premium Class OTTAVA™ f SC-C70MK2. Technics created this model by further refining the sound quality, function and design of the preceding SC-C70 model, a compact all-in-one system highly acclaimed in the market for... Read More »
09/02/2020 Orchard Audio is proud to announce that the PecanPi® DAC has received Roon Tested certification from Roon Labs. The PecanPi® DAC is an ultra-high performance DAC and headphone amplifier that works with the RaspbeeryPi to create a networked music player. The DAC can be found in the PecanPi® Streamer which is available as a... Read More »
Adjustable gain? Tick. Subsonic filter? Tick. Class-leading, ultra-low-noise performance? Tick. The iFi ZEN Phono is an entry-level phono stage to surpass all others Southport, England – iFi continues to expand its multi-ward-winning ZEN Series of affordable, desktop-sized audio devices with the ZEN Phono – a phono stage (or phono preamplifier, if you prefer) with a peerless... Read More »
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Maya Angelou "…how you made them feel." What's true of human relationships is, in its own strange way, also true of certain audiophile designs and our connections to them. There... Read More »
Cypress, CA September 1st, 2020 – ELAC, a leading global provider of high-performance speakers and electronics, today announced the Uni-Fi 2.0 line of home speakers. This new line builds upon the success of the first-generation Uni-Fi Family and incorporates a variety of new features and technologies. “Based on feedback from dealers and end-users, along with... Read More »
This article, as reviewed by Larry Cox, Dave Clark, and Victor Chavira originally ran in Issue 2, August/September 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. Pristine is a name implying... Read More »
Fewer transistors = Simpler circuit, simpler/smoother transfer characteristic and a little better performance by measurement. Something else is missing as well: No degenerating resistors on the output power Jfet. Auburn, CA August 10, 2020 — The new First Watt F8 power amplifier has been created as an updated version of the earlier J2 amplifier, introduced in 2009.... 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 Mitsubishi. (Part 2 can be found HERE) DIGITAL SOUND RECORDING – method of preserving sound in... Read More »
Part 2 – In which this (now former) vinylholic seeks his solution for moving to an all-digital world, with headphones… [Please understand that this is simply the story of a personal journey. It is shared in hopes that it may help others faced with a similar transition in their listening environments. This is not intended... Read More »
Rushton Paul Well now! I'm pleased to say that we've gotten my friend Rush Paul back for another article here at PF. Longer-term readers may remember his article in PF Issue 88, September/October 0f 2016, "My DIY Approach to the Ultrasonic Cleaning of LPs" and his decades-long love for vinyl. But as you will hear... Read More »
Our good friend and fellow scrivener John Marks, he of The Tannhäuser Gate, has shared with us another of his musical reflections from that estimable blog site. Once again, he stirs the mind by telling us about music that we likely do not know...much to our benefit! I always learn when I read one John's... Read More »
Sadly, the 16th annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, which was set for October in Denver, has been cancelled due to the Covid 19 pandemic. RMAF 2021 is scheduled for October 8 - 10, and you can read more about that here. We thought it would be fun to go back and look at the first... Read More »
Andover, MA—August 2020—Andover is pleased to announce the latest addition to its Spin Collection of products and accessories for vinyl fans. SpinStand ($169) provides a lightweight yet robust storage solution for audio components and up to 150 vinyl records. SpinStand is compatible with all common turntable models, but it’s particularly well-suited to Andover’s own SpinDeck turntable, SpinBase... Read More »
PF Central…River City and up the Hill…has finally made the investment and switchover to solar power. (Photograph and image processing by Ye Olde Editor) High-end audio does draw electricity. In some cases (e.g., Pure Class A electronics in particular), a lot of power. Summertime listening also puts a load on air conditioning, while leaving key... Read More »
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