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 »
Fred Hersch's hands frozen in transmission What are the Options? On a late summer day in August, I reflect on how little has changed since last I wrote. Cultural institutions remain shuttered as mandated, while trying to stay relevant by improvising online teasers. They initially responded to the Covid-19 lockdown with live streams via the... Read More »
NAD Combines Best-In-Class Sound Quality with Their Simple is Better Design Philosophy Pickering, Ontario, Canada August 12, 2020 – NAD Electronics, a leading manufacturer of premium home audio and video products, announced the launch of the T 758 V3i, a performance update to the award-winning T 758 A/V Surround Sound Receiver. The affordable surround sound... Read More »
SnapAV pros now have access to Parasound's high-fidelity amplifiers, 2-channel systems, and multiroom audio solutions. CHARLOTTE, NC, August 20, 2020 SnapAV, the industry-leading source of A/V, surveillance, control, networking, and remote management products for pros, today announced a strategic distribution partnership with audio component manufacturer Parasound to make 41 Parasound products immediately available to SnapAV customers. "We're thrilled... Read More »
Furutech Co. Ltd. • Tokyo, Japan, manufacturer of ultra-refined analog, digital, video cable and accessories, announces a new addition to the expanding line of effective NCF products – NCF Clear Line – is an audio grade AC optimizer, small enough to hold in your hand, that instantly enhances the quality of your power supply. NCF: Nano Crystal²... Read More »
Comparing Native DSD64 and DSD256 Releases by Tom Jung of DMP I was graciously asked by Brian Moura at NativeDSD.com to listen to and critique some of their newest Native DSD releases which come from Tom Jung at DMP. The releases were provided as both DSD64 and DSD256 masters for download and comparison. I listened to the... Read More »
WIN 5 PAIRS OF GRADO HEADPHONES + A YEAR OF FREE QOBUZ FAMILY HI-RES STREAMING Click HERE to enter. PRIZE DETAILS: 1 pair of The Hemp Headphone: A brilliant, warm, and precise sound rolled into a Limited Edition Grado. Highly compressed hemp creates a damping effect between fibers, producing a fuller sound. 1 pair of SR325e Prestige Series: The... Read More »
Hi-Res Streaming and Download Service Qobuz Starts Livestream Series for the Music Lover, "Hi-Fi Curious,” and Audiophile alike. The place to be on Thursday afternoons if you’re interested in better sounding music, gear, or both. Qobuz, the world’s first Hi-Res streaming and download service, announced today the launch of their new livestream series, Qobuz Live, to give audiophiles and... Read More »
Introducing the QLN Prestige Five - an unprecedented 2.5-way, floor standing loudspeaker that further advances the highly acclaimed Prestige series. The Prestige 5 exemplifies a timeless combination of form, function and performance which is the by-product of over four decades of research and development in high performance loudspeaker design. The slanted front baffle provides perfect... Read More »
August 8, 2020 Walter Liederman announces a new program delivering a spectacular Budget Reference in headphone design – The HP-3 NOVA made possible in collaboration with our friends at Kennerton Audio Equipment. The HP-3 is a thoroughly advanced design featuring a hybrid 50mm membrane made of Mylar that is powder coated with Graphene using a... Read More »
Steven Hill, president of Straight Wire, Inc. (photo courtesy of Spencer Burke) "Many of our customers are engineers," says Steven Hill, 63, owner of Straight Wire, Inc., a straight-shooting, cigar-chomping graduate of University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School, former CPA, and 37-year veteran in the audio industry. Mr. Hill has no time for nonsense or... Read More »
6th AUGUST 2020 LONDON, ENGLAND: Renowned music and arts organisation JAZZ RE:FRESHED will bring its annual festival JAZZ RE:FEST online this year, as part of a digital strategy to keep UK jazz thriving while venues are closed, and continuing to support musicians whose performance opportunities have dwindled as a result of the global pandemic. Brought to you in association with MQA and Bluesound,... Read More »
2020 marks the 20th anniversary of progressive / hardcore / metalcore / technical deathcore band Between the Buried and Me, and Craft Recordings follows up on the excellent reissue of the band's first album with a remixed / remastered LP reissue of their sophomore effort, 2003's The Silent Circus. The myriad changes to the band's... Read More »
Alright, so the JCAT Signature USB cable is one of the better USB cables I have heard, and fits right into my group of favorites in terms of being across the board excellent. And while I have a lot of cables here, I have not heard all that is out there—nor do I have any... Read More »
Tampa, Florida—August 2020—Given the extraordinary times and continued uncertainty, the founders of the Florida Audio Expo, Bart Andeer, Michael Bovaird, John Chait, and Ammar “AJ” Jadusingh, have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 show. “We sincerely appreciate the exhibitors, consumers, and media that support us,” says Bart Andeer, co-founder and operations manager of... Read More »
