David W. Robinson, Happy Valley, OR, 2015 (photograph by John Robinson) "For photography is a way to capture the moment – not just any moment, but the important one, this one moment out of all time when your subject is revealed to the fullest – that moment of perfection which comes once and is not... Read More »
Merrill-Williams Audio LLC of Memphis, Tennessee is proud to announce the latest version of its celebrated R.E.A.L. turntable, the model 101.3. The R.E.A.L. 101.3 retains the essential elements of the 101 and 101.2 models while adding fundamental improvements. The most essential element retained in the 101.3 is a thoroughgoing approach to energy management design. The... Read More »
David W. Robinson, Icicle Creek, Leavenworth, WA, 2012 (photograph by Lila Ritsema) "Anything that excites me for any reason, I will photograph; not searching for unusual subject matter, but making the commonplace unusual." Edward Weston To say again: As I mentioned back in November in Issue 94 when I published the front-end about my trip... Read More »
Nordost is proud to introduce the new Frey 2 USB Cable and Frey 2 USB C Adapter. The Frey 2 USB Cable is the first of Nordost’s USB offerings to provide both USB C and 3.0 compatibility. The Frey 2 USB C Adapter pairs with cables using Standard-A USB connectors (both 2.0 and 3.0 compatible),... Read More »
David W. Robinson, RMAF 2015 (photograph by Jeff Day) As I mentioned back in November in Issue 94 when I published the front-end about my trip to visit Chad Kassem's Blues Masters concert in Salina, KS, my attention would not be concentrating on yet another dull event report. The world doesn't need any more of... Read More »
IRVINE, CA, February 13, 2018 - The LA Audio Show 2018 has partnered with the famed audio manufacturer, McIntosh, to bring the company's industry-leading technical training to consumers. The certificated consumer version of "The McMasters Class" is adapted from the two-day course given to McIntosh dealers. This is a first-time opportunity for McIntosh owners, future McIntosh owners and those... Read More »
I don't know if you've already read the Fonica i Thorens – historia pewnej współpracy (Polish) article by Mr Paweł Cendrowicz and Maciej Tułodziecki that was published in September's issue of the High Fidelity (No. 161)—if you haven't let me encourage you to do so. It shows the mechanism of contacts between Polish audio companies looking... Read More »
Takaaki, New Kid in Town. Albany Records B076F3X5GJ, CD $16.99 amazon.com If you're an audiophile, you're probably already familiar with the 70s jazz recordings from Japan's Three Blind Mice label. I'm lucky enough to own several of these titles on LP—everything from Tsuyoshi Yamamoto's legendary Midnight Sugar and Misty to Isao Suzuki's Blue City to Hideto Kanai's Q... Read More »
"Om, Om, Om..." Dr. Johnson's chanting workshop at the Chicago ZenSonic Center was nearly over. I opened my eyes and noticed the guy next to me was standing several inches off the floor. Eager to learn how he had developed his practice, I waited by the exit to introduce myself. I was gobsmacked to discover... Read More »
Brooklyn, NY, February 6, 2018 — Mytek is now shipping the new Liberty DAC, a PCM/MQA/DSD USB2 Digital-to-Analog converter, designed for high quality music playback and monitoring of all high resolution formats. Designed as a little brother of the original Brooklyn DAC, the new Liberty DAC provides robust performance in a small package at one-half the price. This... Read More »
What the NAMM show means to high-end audio and why go? Starting out 2018 at the CES [Cookie Marenco is President of Blue Coast Records and Downloads NOW!] Cookie Marenco of Blue Coast Records For an audio engineer or someone in the music industry, January was and is a month filled with conventions you don't... Read More »
2018 sees the launch of two new important built-in speaker ranges from Focal, with the introduction of the all new entry-level 100 Series and additional products added to the mid-priced 300 Series. With both series offering a wide array of in-wall/in-ceiling models, stereo, AV and ambient music applications are catered for, with each model conforming... Read More »
This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations. 51. MFSB, Love Is the Message. Philadelphia International Records – KZ 32707 (1973), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: Philly soul, disco, smooth jazz After nearly 45 years—wherein the world holds its breath under the genuine threat of eroding freedoms, and escalating nuclear war—MFSB's message still rings true and maybe... Read More »
Audio by Jerry Bruck, Posthorn Recordings NYC; video and editing by John Marks John Marks will return to his former avocation of concert impressario, and present audiophile-fave-rave pianist Hyperion Knight in a program of Bach, Beethoven, and Gershwin at the First Baptist Church in America, in Providence (RI) on Sunday, February 25, at 2:00 PM. The recital will be open... Read More »
ORLANDO, FL, February 1, 2018 — Clarus, the High-End audio cable brand that is a "sister" company to Tributaries A/V cables, has announced the appointment of J. B. Stanton Communications as its Brand-Building, Marketing and Public Relations agency for their line of Interconnects, USB, Speaker and Power cables. Joe Perfito, president of both cable brands... Read More »
The van den Hul Extender in place on top of the Evolution Acoustics MM2 Loudspeaker From time to time I've roiled the tempestuous waters of high-end audio…rough enough already, without additional help from me…with favorable observations about my experiences with various system-enhancing components. Lord knows, I've patiently endured the shouting so-called "objectivists," who assert that... Read More »
Combining the DSP-enabled BAX-1 active crossover with any of three loudspeaker choices and legendary Cubed-Series amplifier technology creates an ultimate performance audiophile package Peterborough, Ontario January 16th, 2018 – Bryston has announced the introduction of their Active Loudspeaker lineup, featuring three speaker models of different sizes (Model T Active, Middle T Active and Mini T Active)... Read More »
High-End Luxury Audio Manufacturers Join Forces for the Ultimate in Sound Marietta, Ga. (January 26) The Audio Company presents our award-winning reference system for your consideration at this year’s AXPONA in Schaumberg, Ill. April 13–15. Located in the Euphoria ballroom of the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel, The Audio Company will audition for attendees our world-class system... Read More »
The equipment that comprised the Adams Room system at this past November’s Capital Audiofest, will be going on a Southeastern United States tour during the month of February. Doug Hurlburt and David Sckolnik of Naples-based Dynamic Sounds Associates (DSA) and David MacPherson from Studio Electric will join the tour in Sun City Center, FL (between... Read More »
Herein, good friend John Marks takes us into the heavenly realm of Western Christian chant, our faithful guide to a recent release by Morten Lindberg and the gifted production team at 2L in Norway. As always, 2L produces a recording with masses of detail, atmospheric presence, and haunting musicality; as always, John touches upon the... Read More »
Brooklyn Rider plays Philip Glass; String Quartets Nos. 1-5. 2 CDs. Orange Mountain 0074. I didn't get the string quartets of Philip Glass at all until I began to hear them as informed by dance—all kinds of dance. The opening work on the album, Suite from Bent (1997), adapted for string quartet by the Brooklyn... Read More »
Prokofiev: Lt. Kije (recorded in 1957); Stravinsky: Song of the Nightingale (recorded in 1956), Fritz Reiner (conductor), Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Producer: Richard Mohr; Engineer: Lewis Layton. Acoustic Sounds/RCA Living Stereo Ultra Tape, 15-ips, 2-track, reel-to-reel tape, LSC 2150. Price: $450. Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's performance of Prokofiev's Lt. Kije paired with Stravinsky's The Song... Read More »
We were on our way to Las Vegas, to the CES show. The desert night was chilly and the road was dark with no movement outside except the occasional fencepost whipping by. My attorney held up a huge orange pill. "You should try this," he said, "It's the same pill that killed Elvis." It must... Read More »
Denny Zeitlin & George Marsh's Expedition. (Sunnyside Communication SSC1487. CD $12.98. http://sunnysidezone.com/album/expedition) The first time I listened to Expedition from pianist Denny Zeitlin and percussionist George Marsh, I didn't think of it as a collection of improvisations between two longtime collaborators. I imagined a more traditional jazz ensemble, one with a traditional rhythm section, even though their... Read More »
Fountain Valley, CA and Las Vegas, NV (CES) – January 8, 2017 – RIVA Audio, the lifestyle brand of Audio Design Experts, Inc (ADX™), announced today the release of RIVA CENTRAL, a wireless amplifier system that gives users the ability to connect their existing audio devices into RIVA WAND's Multi-Room "+" ecosystem. With more inputs than comparable... Read More »
January 8, 2018 - Innovative European audio software developer Sonarworks announces its new True-Fi technology that removes unwanted sound coloration from headphones so consumers can experience the artists' true intention—on a sonically balanced listening canvas it enables 'studio sound' performance. True-Fi’s software platform, which supports over 100 of popular headphone models, takes just seconds to configure and employs... Read More »
January 9, 2018 - Nordost is proud to announce the introduction of the new, Red Dawn USB Cable. The Red Dawn USB Cable is the first of Nordost's USB options to offer USB C plug compatibility, which is quickly becoming an industry standard due to its adoption by Apple in its newest line of laptops.... Read More »
Goin' Back to Indiana A few weeks ago, I boarded from Orlando a packed United Airlines flight bound for Chicago's O'Hare Airport, the first leg in a trip that would take me to Goshen, Indiana, the home of my good friend Greg Weaver. Many of you will know Greg through his work here at PF,... Read More »
Michael Fremer (Michael Fremer, World Renowned Fine Audio Reviewer, Global Analog/LP Expert, Music Reviewer, Editor, Radio/Television Producer, Audio Spokesperson, Music Producer, and Performer.) is the winner of the 2018 Society Silver Anniversary Founders Award from the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society, it was announced today by the Society and Bob Levi, President and... Read More »
$42,790 worth of preamp sound for $4695? Part Un – Genesis: "Horn-type speakers almost ruined my hearing," said Audible Illusions' head honcho, Arthur Ferris, of his bygone love affair with JBLs and Altecs. "One night I was playing a record of Frederick Fennell's Band Marches," said Ferris. "On one of the cuts there was a... Read More »
Greensleeves TBM5011 Recorded 1978. Three Blind Mice Records Inc. a subsidiary of Sony Direct Japan Inc. Manufactured and distributed by Impex Records Inc. Featuring Shoji Yokouchi Trio plus Yuri Tashiro on Hammond B3 Organ. 3000 numbered copies produced worldwide. Reissue is 180 Gram LP pressed at RTI, in California. Impex cutting engineer: Chris Bellman, Bernie... Read More »
Audio MusiKraft was founded by Guy Pelletier in 2016 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada, and consists of "a small core of experienced craftsmen and devoted music lovers" whose mission is to help their customers get the maximum musical satisfaction from their vinyl collections. Audio MusiKraft's first product—the subject of this review—is the "tunable" Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103... Read More »
Antonio Meneses Cello Concertos. Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129; Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33; Tchaikovsky variations on a Rococo Theme, Op. 33. Antonio Meneses, cello; Royal Northern Sinfonia/Claudio Cruz. AVIE AV 2373. TT: 60.29 Downloads: Amazon.com (mp3); hdtracks.com (AIFF, ALAC, FLAC, WAV); prestoclassical.co.uk (FLAC, HD FLAC, 320 Kbps mp3)'... Read More »
Thöress - A Tribute to Professional Equipment from the Golden Age of Electronic Tubes Among the audio equipment we awarded during Audio Show 2012 with the Best Sound there was a small, unusually looking phonostage from the German company Thöress. I met its owner, Mr. Reinhard Thöress, in May of the same year at the High... Read More »
Wooing the Parents with the Focal Sopra No. 1 Loudspeakers I encountered Focal's exceedingly fine Focal Sopra No. 1 compact loudspeakers for the first time at the 2017 AXPONA audio show in the Audio Plus Services suite. Their beautiful sound and stunning good looks literally took my breath away. Paired with affordable Naim electronics (if memory... Read More »
This article, as reviewed by Sherman Hong, Victor Chavira, Francisco Duran, and Larry Cox, originally ran when audioMusings was in print. Issue 2, 1998 I awaited the California Audio Labs CL-15 player-processor with great anticipation. Eons ago, I was so enthralled with the CAL Genesis CD player that I almost bought it, but my lust was more powerful... Read More »
For the music lover who never really graduated from just plugging in whatever crap he could get his hands on so he could rock out... a guest article by Lance Morris of Lance Morris Walks Let me preface this review by saying that, where high-end audio is concerned, I am a novice. That's not to say... Read More »
