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 »
This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations "To B, or not to B-Note, that is the question" "It's Poetry In Motion" –Thomas Dolby 146. Wayne Shorter, Etcetera. Blue Note – LT-1056 (1980), Tone Poet Series – B0029357-01 (2019), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: jazz, post bop, modal, free jazz flirtings. One listen to ETC and... Read More »
Bricasti Design is still keeping their promise of offering future-ready solutions to their existing customers. From my experience, the investment in their award-winning M1 DAC has now paid for itself three times over, thanks to these updates, that are all offered for a reasonable price. The latest update is the most sonically significant in the... Read More »
Many a long year ago, there was (really; truly; I kid you not!) an audiophile product called EarWax™. Apparently following the same logic that came up with the idea for "board wax" (used on surfboards to make the board and its rider glide more smoothly across the waves), a dab of this stuff was to... Read More »
Thrax Audio is pleased to announce High End by Oz, based in Los Angeles, CA, as its official distributor for North America. High End By Oz LLC. is a hifi distribution and sales company covering North America with some of the finest hifi products from Europe. The addition of Thrax Audio to the portfolio further... Read More »
Is it possible to make an analogue headphone amp that delivers high-end performance with all manner of headphones and bring it to every music lover at £149? If anyone can, iFi CAN! Southport, England – In just a few short months, iFi’s first ZEN Series products – the ZEN Blue and ZEN DAC – have established... Read More »
At RMAF, evening cigars, Denver, CO, 2019 (photograph by Scott Hull; image processing by David W. Robinson) When you do a lot of audio reviewing and show-going over several decades, as I have, you get to see and hear a lot of gear and recordings. Some are good; some are bad; some are ugly. Like... Read More »
Focal is offering a $1,000 voucher towards the purchase of a Focal Arche Amplifier to anyone who owns a Focal Utopia, Stellia or Clear at any period of time before or during the promotion. The promotion is valid from July 24th to December 31st, 2020. The Focal Arche amplifier has a preset that optimizes the... Read More »
If you have the good fortune to have a smart TV connected to your stereo and are a fan of the genre, then I encourage you to participate in this Latin Jazz listening party. These are not cell phone audience recordings, but professional productions with good sound. Grab a favorite beverage, a dance partner hopefully,... Read More »
…all descriptions of music are quite worthless & rather unpleasant; they are apt to be hysterical & to say things the people will be ashamed of having said afterwards. V. Woolf, Diary. Vigilate. English Polyphony in Dangerous Times. Monterverdi Choir, John Elliot Gardiner. Soli Deo Gloria SDG 720. It isn't often we get to... Read More »
Qobuz is running a promotion now through August 15th, Summer Music Gifts, offering free downloads of several albums. Click HERE for more information.
Features world premiere of MUS-IC™ digital-to-analog converter, LxDTM-i disc transport and ODNF-u analog circuit BALLSTON SPA, New York, July 2020 – Befitting the company’s finest SACD/CD player, the Luxman D-10X is the world’s first home audio component with ROHM Semiconductor’s eagerly anticipated MUS-IC™ BD34301EKV digital-to-analog converter. The player also incorporates important new technologies in the... Read More »
MOON’s ever-expanding network of global distributors is back in full operation across the globe. To provide extra protection for both them and their customers, MOON has supplied special face masks. The unique MOON masks feature hand-stitched branding and are practical and comfortable to wear. For those customers that do not yet wish to visit hi-fi... Read More »
We are now four months into New York State's pandemic lock-down. The days pass, every one feels like a Saturday. There's nothing on my calendar except a couple of repeating Zoom sessions—all our entertainments have been zapped. (I know: if that's the worst of it, I shouldn't complain.) The free time hangs heavy; you adjust... Read More »
Bach vs Beck…is it all just Nature's Noise? I am listening to both Bach then Beck on Spotify and noticed they had a similar 5 million listening audience for the month. What else do these guys have in common? To start they both wrote music for infinite audiences. This is something Beck no doubt always... Read More »
