So, yeah… I buy a lot of music every year and little if any of it will ever be mistaken for that of the typical audiophile genres: jazz, female vocals, classical, or whatever. No, the music I buy tends to fall way outside what is heard at audio shows or seen in various audiophile magazines…... Read More »
Saariaho and Koh. Jennifer Koh, violin. Nicolas Hodges, piano. Hsin-Yun Huang, viola. Wilhelmena Smith, cello. Anssi Kaarttunen, cello, Curtis 20/21 Ensemble, Conner Gray Covington, conductor. Çedille CDR 90000183. There is some contemporary music we listen to because we just want to know what's going on. This is not the same as keeping up with fashion,... Read More »
The Beginner's Guide to Vinyl: How to Build, Maintain, and Experience a Music Collection in Analog, by Jenna Miles. ISBN-10: 1440598967. ISBN-13: 978-1440598968. Published by Adams Media (2017) Rating Global Appreciation: 8.5. Presentation: straightforward, non-deluxe. Category: music, vinyl record guide. Format: paperback book. 5.5 x 8.5 inches approx. 256 pages all B&W except for 8 semi-gloss colored pages located... Read More »
High-end headphones and Personal Fi. I've evaluated a goodly handful of 'phones and headphone amps over many years, with some excellent results. Some were large cost-no-object designs, built for home, listening room, or office use only; others were compact and portable, for the music lover on the go. (I do a fair amount of flying,... Read More »
ORGM-1030, LP $24, available at https://orgmusic.merchnow.com/products/v2/276626/softly-black-vinyl This one threw me for a loop, as my mom likes to say when she's thrown for a loop. I took one look at the cover and thought, "Oh, here's another wonderful ORG reissue from the Golden Age of Jazz." I know of Shirley Horn, but I'm not that... Read More »
Music Lovers will host two special listening events this weekend, November 30 and December 1, to celebrate the debut of Wilson Audio Specialties’ Sasha DAW loudspeaker. Featured guests will include Peter McGrath of Wilson Audio, Bob McConnell of Transparent Audio, and Jeff Sigmund of Luxman. Attendees will have two listening opportunities to choose from: one... Read More »
When Less Offers More In Issue 96 (this review has taken far too long, about which more in Part 2), I previewed several knockout products that had taken up temporary residence here at the Lounge (HERE). One of the new arrivals, Ron Sutherland's knockout 20/20 phono preamp, a unit that has been available to music... Read More »
The premise is simple enough: I key in on seven albums that are brand new to me. They could have been released at any point and time throughout history. Their format may be CD, Vinyl, Cassette Tape, or Streaming…who cares?! The albums may technically be singles or they may be EPs…again, who cares?! This is... Read More »
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Beginning at the end of 2003, PF established its first annual awards for fine audio. The Brutus Award was established for the best that David Robinson and Dave Clark (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 Gizmo... Read More »
Roger Skoff at the LAOC Audio Society Gala Banquet, 2018: a portrait by David W. Robinson In Part 1 of this two-part article, I pointed out that we audiophiles are the only fan group I know of who argue, not just about which stuff is better, but about whether, for some products, there's any difference... Read More »
At Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2018, I was asked to participate in a panel titled Why We Listen: Music Changes Lives. I didn't realize what they meant is that they wanted me to moderate the panel. To ease the stress of moderating my first audio show panel, I was given the opportunity to choose the... Read More »
It seems like such a long time ago since I last dropped in and shared my audio adventures with you guys. Well, I got a good one for ya in this episode of Wayne's World. I don't quite remember how it all got started, but more than likely I was bragging to David Robinson about... Read More »
The following video is from RMAF 2018 where we discussed ways to increase the diversity in the audiophile community. Not only shows, but consumers as well. A lot to digest, to distill, and to build upon. Look for an article summarizing what we discussed soon, but till then.... stop denigrating people (age, gender, etc.) for their... Read More »
With over 250 headphone models supported, Award-Winning True-Fi software is poised to be the ultimate gift for music lovers this holiday season Riga, Latvia — Innovative European audio software developer Sonarworks announced that it will offer a spectacular 40% Black Friday discount off of its groundbreaking True-Fi headphone calibration software. For four days only, between November 23 and November... Read More »
It is a great honor and pleasure for us to present our new Anniversary-Edition, the Phono Box ultra 500. The "500“ in the name as well as the general availability, worldwide limited to 500 pieces, celebrate the 500,000th Phono Box that Pro-Ject shipped in early 2018. We took this milestone as an occasion to create... Read More »
Roger Skoff writes about the ongoing war over cables and what really matters Roger Skoff at the LAOC Audio Society Gala Banquet, 2018: a portrait by David W. Robinson I've said it before, and you've seen it before: We audiophiles, unlike any other group of fans or hobbyists that I know of, are always at... Read More »
"Well, you can take a crosstown bus if it's cold or if it's raining, And the animals will love it if you do." - The Zoo, Simon and Garfunkel The Audio Engineering Society convention is a strange two-lobed thing with a scientific conference downstairs and a trade show upstairs. In the past few years they... Read More »
PS Audio improves industry-leading DAC, again - for free Boulder, CO: 11/12/2018 - PS Audio is proud to announce the availability of Snowmass, the sixth OS upgrade for our DirectStream DAC named after a Colorado Fourteener - the 53 peaks in the state that that rise above 14,000 feet in elevation. Snowmass Mountain is in the Elk Mountains, southwest of Aspen. Ted Smith,... Read More »
Award-winning, internationally acclaimed jazz vocalist Lyn Stanley follows her top-selling Moonlight Sessions albums with an ultimate tribute to Julie London, set for Valentine’s Day weekend release Lyn honors the Great American Songbook and reimagines 17 classic songs on her upcoming album, London Calling…A Toast To Julie London Sneak Peek: Special audiophile editions scheduled to drop... Read More »
Ye Olde Editor, late summer 2018: a portrait by John Robinson A late-year glance backwards. Memory, music, people, associations… "No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me. An exquisite pleasure had... Read More »
John Marks' latest recommendation from his The Tannhauser Gate blog site follows. As always, his recommendations are worth noting. David W. Robinson, Ye Olde Editor Friday, November 9 (2018), Deutsche Grammophon will release the CD Light Eternal—The Choral Music of Morten Lauridsen. Amazon's pre-order price for the CD is $12.59, which is a truly excellent price. But... Read More »
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA NOVEMBER 2, 2018 Cary Audio is excited to announce two new network audio players/streamers/DACs, the DMS-550 and DMS-600. As a direct replacement for our award-winning DMS-500, the new DMS-550 incorporates the newest AMK4493EQ DAC chips. The AK4493EQ adopts much of AKM’s VELVET SOUND architecture, achieving higher performance than the previous AK4490EQ. Through this new circuit architecture and design,... Read More »
Bring Focal’s high-fidelity sound to your backyard, terrace or garden St. Etienne, France. – November 6, 2018 – Focal, a recognized leader on the global stage for high fidelity products, is proud to complete its 100 Series Integration Collection with the addition of two beautifully crafted, water resistant loudspeakers offering sound reproduction of tremendous quality:... Read More »
Mytek, manufacturer of renowned Brooklyn and Manhattan DACs has just announced the new "Brooklyn Bridge" Streamer/DAC/Preamplifier, a versatile and easy to use solution for hi-res digital music streaming and playback. The $2995 "Brooklyn Bridge” combines the features, shape and sound quality of the Brooklyn DAC+ with a WiFi streamer. Users can just add a tablet (ipad... Read More »
ORG Music, ORGM 1040, LP $27.99, available everywhere For a guy who has owned umpteen copies of Time Out over the years, everything from an early pressing to one of those JVC Super Bit-Mapped CDs to the latest LP remastering from Analogue Productions, my record collection is suspiciously devoid of Dave Brubeck records. Other than... Read More »
ATLANTA, GA (1 November 2018) – Leading acoustic treatment manufacturer GIK Acoustics is launching a corner bass trap option as part of the popular Impression Series line of room treatments. The Impression Series turns a corner on low-frequency control. The NEW Impression Series Corner Bass Trap utilizes the size and shape of the Tri-Trap Corner... Read More »
BALLSTON SPA, New York – November 5, 2018 – Luxman, famous for their extensive range of top-rated audiophile components catering to discerning music lovers, is pleased to partner with Adirondack Audio& Video, upstate New York’s premiere A/V, custom integration and premium audiophile dealership to showcase a number of Luxman’s latest component audio products. In addition... Read More »
Ratings Global Appreciation: 9.5 - Music: A - Recording: 9.5 - Mastering: 9.5 - Lacquer Cutting: 9.5 - Pressing: 9.5 - Packaging: fairly good gatefold + poly-lined paper inner sleaves Category: Memphis soul, funk, protodisco, soul-jazz, Blaxploitation soundtrack style. Format: Vinyl (2x 130 to 150 gram approx. LPs at 33 1/3 rpm) Credits Composed and Produced by... Read More »
This article by Laura Lovell ran when Positive Feedback was in print. Volume 9, No. 1, Fall 2000 I WANT MY OWN DAMN LISTENING ROOM!!!! So screeches Inner Miss Selfishness. Actually, I didn't understand this need until quite recently, when my husband Ross informed me that I wanted one. He also told me that I am to Build A Kit,... Read More »
Okay so the article below is from way back in June 2002 when David Robinson and his wife Lila Ritsema, Carol Clark and I (Dave Clark) decided to merge our two print publications into one web publication, well for the first two years or so, so sorta two. This article ran not only in the last... Read More »
This article, as reviewed by Victor Chavira, Dave Clark, and Larry Cox, originally ran when audioMusings was in print. Issue 3. 1998 I always welcome the opportunity to listen to speakers other than my. own. Usually, the experience confirms my wisdom in choosing Magneplanars. No matter the strengths of a particular speaker, I always return gratefully to... Read More »
Basil Audio is pleased to announce its first annual “It’s About the Music” event, happening on Tuesday, November 6. The open house will begin at 10 a.m., with demonstrations available until 10 p.m. Manufacturer presentations will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Among the highlights will be the first North American demonstration of Melco’s... Read More »
The new Music Hall MMF 3.3 just been published for the first time ever at the Copenhagen High End Show 2018. The American brand Music Hall just released their brand new Music Hall MMF 3.3 which features music hall’s unique dual-plinth construction, which with it's distinctive design isolates the critical sound reproducing components; platter, main... Read More »
Bob James. If you had told me years ago that Bob James of 70s "light" jazz fame was still recording new music in 2018, I'd probably have nodded and said, sure, though I would have wagered that the music would likely be silly place holder stuff, pay the bills sort of at thing. Turns out... Read More »
NAGRA is a company-institution. Both figuratively and literally. As I shall try to show you, it's a unique example of combining the elements of professional and home audio as well as music. The fact that the company was founded by Stefan Kudelski, a man from Poland, only emphasizes its uniqueness in my eyes. Here's the... Read More »
Stefan Kudelski with Nagra III tape recorder A view from our hotel's window towards Geneva Lake. A view from our hotel's window towards Alps on the French side of the Geneva Lake. As you can see we were expected in Nagra. Nagra team plus truly yours: Matthieau Latour (Audio Division Director), Wojciech Pacuła (me), Pascal... Read More »
