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 »
PRESS RELEASE The multi-award-winning Clearway speaker cable is now even better, thanks to XLPE upgrade 14th July 2020, Wiltshire, England: One of Chord Company’s most decorated speaker cables, Clearway, (What Hi-Fi? Best Speaker cable 2015, 2016 and 2017), has been made even better, thanks to an upgrade to the A/V cable specialist’s recently launched XLPE... Read More »
San Marcos, CA, July 13, 2020 – Audience today announced the introduction of its Hidden Treasure Cat7 Ethernet Cable, designed to deliver the ultimate in sound quality and performance in streaming, networked and professional audio applications. The new Hidden Treasure Cat7 cable is engineered and built to the highest standards and is ideal for the... Read More »
It has been quite some time since my last article for Positive Feedback about the Sophia Electric vacuum tubes developed and offered by Sue and Richard in McLean, Virginia. It was all the way back in August of 2017 that I wrote about the Sophia Electric EL34-ST (photo below) and Aqua 274B vacuum tubes (HERE),... Read More »
SPEC Corporation is a Japanese company founded by Mr. Shirokazu Yazaka, a former chief engineer at TEAC and Pioneer, to achieve one goal: to deliver tube sound using semiconductor technology. The RSA-V10 is its latest integrated amplifier in class D. This is its world premiere. It seems that Class D amplifiers are no longer a... Read More »
Do well by your audio system while doing good: Donate to one of the listed charities, which are helping in the fight against COVID-10, and get Gingko Audio’s award-winning, patented ARCH products for free. Write to us at [email protected] to find out which of these ARCH models works for your application and how much to... Read More »
PSU-10 EVO, the external power supply dedicated to the DS-10 and DS-10 PLUS. Firenze, Italy, July 2, 2020 – Gold Note is pleased to announce the launch of the PSU-10 EVO, the new external power supply designed for the DS-10 and DS-10 PLUS streaming DACs, available worldwide at authorised Gold Note dealers at a suggested... 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. Bach Cello Suites, Alisa Weilerstein, Pentatone PTC 5186 751. I am a big first impression guy. I never leave it at that,... Read More »
July 5, 2020, Rockville MD To all friends of The Capital Audiofest: We apologize for our silence but are happy to announce that the Capital Audiofest (CAF) has finalized an agreement with the Hilton Hotel that allows us to move the show from 2020 to 2021 without any issues. We feel it is better to... Read More »
Do You Believe In Ghosts? A boy hears a sound. He hears sound before he has a name. He hears gurgling, pounding underwater. He hears an ocean of blood swimming around him. Through his veins. Through his mother. He breaks into the light of day. He's shocked that he has a voice. He finds his... Read More »
Amour Éternel, Ekaterina Siurina, soprano; Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra/ Constantine Orbelian. Delos DE 3583. TT: 76.11 CARPENTIER: Louise: Depuis le jour. GOUNOD: Roméo et Juliette: Je veux vivre; Va! Je t'ai pardonné...Roméo! Qu'as-tu donc? (with Charles Castronovo, tenor); Faust: O Dieu! que de bijoux...Ah! je ris (Jewel Song). BIZET: Les pêcheurs de perles: Me voilà seule... Read More »
Alyssa’s Detail and Bass Response Rival the Most Respected Floor-Standing Models Huntington, NY, June 30, 2020 – Alta Audio, the company that combines advanced technology and exquisite aesthetics to create industry-leading home audio loudspeakers, will soon deliver Alyssa, a new loudspeaker that combines compact dimensions with intimate detail and deep, natural bass response, for sonic output that is... Read More »
ATLANTA, GA (June 30, 2020) – Leading acoustic treatment manufacturer GIK Acoustics has teamed up with Tape Op Magazine to release six (6) of their popular covers as exclusive 242Acoustic Art Panels for the US market. This new addition is a fun collaboration between GIK Acoustics and Tape Op Magazine, pairing high-quality acoustic art treatments with striking,... Read More »
This article, as reviewed by Francisco Duran, Victor Chavira, Carol Clark, and Dave Clark 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. Back in Issue... Read More »
"The SPARS code is a three-position alphabetic classification system developed in the early 1980s by the Society of Professional Audio Recording Services (SPARS) for commercial compact disc releases to denote aspects of the sound recording and reproduction process, distinguishing between the use of analog equipment and digital equipment." Wikipedia, USA Richard James Burgess, the Marketing, Sales and Licensing Director at Smithsonian Folkways Recording, i.e. the non-profit... Read More »
One of the few benefits of quarantine has been an abundance of time for listening to music. As resident Latin music specialist, I offer the following recommendations for your enjoyment. Buenos Hermanos was Ibrahim Ferrer's 2003 follow up to Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer released in 1999. Both recordings are from World Circuit.... Read More »
Because the Coronavirus has halted audio shows for the foreseeable future, we thought it might be fun to go back and revisit some shows from days gone by. I believe this is the last CES that Dave and I attended. Carol and Mark O'Brien of Rogue Audio. We can all agree that 2009 was a... Read More »
As a Roon end-point, the 866 Integrated truly becomes the centerpiece of a streaming music system at the highest level of performance and value. The Roon interface provides the user with a very intuitive access to streaming services and/or music stored on a Roon core (Mac or Windows PC or a dedicated server. Roon truly... Read More »
Reading, MA - June 24, 2020: Signature product launches are rare and special events in Bowers & Wilkins’ 54-year history, but when the world-leading specialist audio brand attaches the name Signature to its loudspeakers, you can be sure the results are very special. This month sees the introduction of two new Signature versions of premium... Read More »
Qobuz, the world’s first Hi-Res streaming and download service, is launching its family plan today. The release of this much-anticipated feature comes following the recent news of the financial and industrial partnership with Québecor, the Canadian telecom giant, allowing Qobuz to strengthen its position as an international player in the music industry. Allowing up to six members per... Read More »
THE ANSWER to USB Signal Transmission Walter Liederman, owner of Underwood Hifi and Core Power Tech A/V had these comments when asked about the USBe Perfect - The USBe Perfect is designed to yield the best results when using USB (Type 2 or Type 3) in your audio system. Now that USB has become the... Read More »
Free update enables native high-resolution music streaming, wirelessly... New York, NY – June 15, 2020 – Naim Audio, the British hi-fi specialist with 47 years of audio expertise, is delighted to announce native Qobuz support for its Mu-so 2nd Generation family of award-winning wireless speakers. Enabled via a free over-the-air firmware upgrade, the integration will enable seamless... Read More »
15th June 2020, Tunbridge Wells, UK: Britain's hi-fi stores are opening their doors once again this week, following an extended lockdown period. Like other shops and public-facing retailers, hi-fi stores are closely following government safety guidelines to ensure the wellbeing of their customers. Digital and analogue audio expert Chord Electronics' extensive UK dealer network is... Read More »
This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations "I can't breathe" Eric Garner, George Floyd "We can't breathe" People all over the World "What's Going On" Marvin Gaye "Why Can't We Live Together" Timmy Thomas "Love Is the Message" MFSB (Gamble & Huff) "RESPECT" Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin "Get up, stand up, stand up for... Read More »
