January - February 2018
Audio Discourse
Audio Ramblings - The Acoustic Research AR-H1 Headphones
One of the fun things to do at RMAF is to hit the headphone exhibits and see what is going on in terms of new phones, amps, and DACs. One of the booths...
Impressions: The Blues Masters at Acoustic Sounds, Salina, KS,...
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...
Impressions: The Blues Masters at Acoustic Sounds, Salina, KS,...
David W. Robinson, Icicle Creek, Leavenworth, WA, 2012 (photograph by Lila Ritsema) "Anything that excites me for any reason, I will photograph; not...
Impressions: The Blues Masters at Acoustic Sounds, Salina, KS,...
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...
Press Testing: Albert Grantowski on Sound, Audio, and Life
"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...
NAMM Show 2018 Part 1: What It Means, and Why Go?
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...
Pianist Hyperion Knight to Perform in Providence RI February 25,...
Audio by Jerry Bruck, Posthorn Recordings NYC; video and editing by John Marks John Marks will return to his former avocation of concert impressario,...
Impressions: van den Hul’s The Extender
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...
CES 2018 Show Report by Raoul Duke
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...
Winter Road Trip: Getting to Know Audionet's Max Monoblock Amps,...
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...
Journeys in Audio Subjectivism - Part Nine: Audible Illusions...
$42,790 worth of preamp sound for $4695? Part Un – Genesis: "Horn-type speakers almost ruined my hearing," said Audible Illusions' head honcho,...
The "Tunable" Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 Phonograph Cartridge
Audio MusiKraft was founded by Guy Pelletier in 2016 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada, and consists of "a small core of experienced...
The New Apartment Lounge: Falling in Love with Focal′s...
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...
High-End Audio at an Incredible Price: the ELAC Integrated...
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...
Impressions: Robinson's Brutus and Special Awards for 2017,...
Music/Labels, and Other Special Awards This year's list of Brutus Awards for labels/sites/enterprises is going to look a lot like past years. Why?...
Impressions: Robinson's Brutus Awards for 2017, Part the Second
Ye Olde Editor, contemplating life... Nagra HD DAC with MPS External Power Supply One of the legendary companies in fine audio is Nagra. As a lifelong...
Aurender A10 Network Music Server
"Hey, we have the Aurender A10 in; interested in writing a post script to my review?" spoke our fearless leader, Dave Clark. "Sure, why not", I simply...
YG Acoustics Launches the Sonja Series 2 Loudspeaker
Thursday morning, December 7th, I was treated to a private unveiling of the new YG Acoustics Sonja Series 2 loudspeaker. As a guest of Dick Diamond,...
Hardware Reviews
ESS 252 Dynamic Headphones and ESS 422H Heil AMT/Moving Coil...
Ever want to be the conductor of a world class symphony orchestra? Got a desire to enjoy a performance of a stellar big band and ease on to the Duke's...
Goodies from Gold Note - the Gold Note PH-10 Phono Stage
Gold Note of Italy are makers of bland black boxes for audio with a low functionality quotient. Not. I've had Gold Note's PH-10 phono stage in for...
1More Quad Driver In-Ear Headphones
The following review is from our guest contributor, Sarah Grant. Sarah is a dear friend, as well as a music, coffee, and beer lover. Plus she is cool....
Levi's Quickies - Townshend, EAT, and Stax
F1 Fractal™ Interconnect by Townshend Audio On the heels of the ridiculously superb (passive) Allegri+ preamplifier (HERE), with its secret...
Holt Hill Audio Cionnsaile Monitors
As the science of astronomy moves forward, many of the ideas about how the universe has formed continues to evolve. The accepted theory used to be that...
The Luminous Audio Technology Axiom II Passive Preamplifier,...
About five years ago, I'd just gotten an HRT Streamer HD DAC with balanced outputs, and had also just upgraded my system amps to a pair of Emotiva...
Unique Innovation Technology Perfect Music Purifier Speaker...
Under the leadership of the brilliant Mitch Ko, President and Chief Designer of UIT Products, comes the long awaited PMP Speaker Cables. In both...
SVS SB16-Ultra Subwoofer
You know the phrase "size matters", I'm sure you've heard it before. Does it matter with a speaker? If you're attempting to reproduce low frequencies,...
Mad Scientist Audio's Graphene Products
The wind is in from Africa and last night I couldn't sleep. I laid there instead contemplating the review of the Mad Scientist Audio Flexible Carbon...
Silverline Minuet Grand Loudspeakers
One of the better rooms I heard at the 2017 Los Angeles Audio Show featured the Silverline Audio Minuet Grand speakers. These relatively small, two-way...
EAT C Sharp Turntable Combination
This review started out an examination of the popular EAT C Sharp Turntable, but ended up a phono playback review. Only focusing on the turntable meant...
Alexia Series 2 Loudspeakers from Wilson Audio Specialties
"Whattya got in these things—gold bars?" chortled the mover; he and his partner grappling the last of the heavy crates around the turn in my...
PowerStar Horizon AC Distributor from HB Cable Design
If you ask five guys what's the best way to configure AC power for an audio system, you're likely to get five—or more—answers. Everything in audio...
A Trio of Fiio Goodies: The F9 Pro and FH1 Earphones, and the Q1...
The personal portable market is a really tough one, especially when you're attempting to market anything towards audiophiles. The biggest problem seems...
Townshend Audio Allegri+ Preamplifier: U.S.A. Premier Review
From the inventor of the world's first practical equipment and turntable isolation devices, the first practical and most utilized ribbon super tweeter,...
Larsen Model 6.2 Loudspeakers
I've been doing this for a long time, playing with audio gear since early 1970s. But it was heading to Rochester, NY for college in 1975 where I was...
Interviews
A Conversation with Sutherland Engineering, Inc.'s Ron
How did you come up with the name "KC VIBE"? To really know the authenticity and integrity of something, you must know its place of origin. We all know...
Music - SuperSonic Recordings
Top 500 SuperSonic List - Part 6
This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations. 51. MFSB, Love Is the Message. Philadelphia International Records – KZ 32707...
Music Reviews
Notes of an Amateur: Brooklyn Rider Play the String Quartets of...
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...
The Reel Deal: Setting The Standard! Prokofiev, Lt. Kije and...
Prokofiev: Lt. Kije (recorded in 1957); Stravinsky: Song of the Nightingale (recorded in 1956), Fritz Reiner (conductor), Chicago Symphony Orchestra....
Phillips on the Music: Zeitlin & Marsh's Expedition
Denny Zeitlin & George Marsh's Expedition. (Sunnyside Communication SSC1487. CD $12.98. http://sunnysidezone.com/album/expedition) The first time...
Impex Records Greensleeves LP from Three Blind Mice Records
Greensleeves TBM5011 Recorded 1978. Three Blind Mice Records Inc. a subsidiary of Sony Direct Japan Inc. Manufactured and distributed by Impex Records...
Antonio Meneses Cello Concertos
Antonio Meneses Cello Concertos. Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129; Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33; Tchaikovsky...
Dave Stryker's Strykin' Ahead
Dave Stryker's Strykin' Ahead on CD and LP. (Strikezone 8815, CD $15, LP $25 www.davestryker.com) The other night, while driving home one evening...
Lyn Stanley's The Moonlight Sessions, Vol. 2
Lyn Stanley's The Moonlight Sessions, Vol. 2 (A.T. Music LLC 3106, 2-LP set $125, CD/SACD $29.98, http://www.lynstanley.com) "Other than that, I think...
New Old Stock - Articles from Our Days in Print
California Audio Labs CL-15 CD Player
This article, as reviewed by Sherman Hong, Victor Chavira, Francisco Duran, and Larry Cox, originally ran when audioMusings was in print. Issue...
Our Friends at HIFI Statement
MUTEC REF 10
Rund um das Thema Clocks ist in letzter Zeit in diversen Internet-Foren ein richtiger Hype entstanden. Da kommt der brandneue audiophile.... . . Read More »
Our Friends at High Fidelity
Qualiton A50i Integrated Amplifier
I don't know if you've already read the Fonica i Thorens – historia pewnej współpracy (Polish) article by Mr Paweł Cendrowicz and Maciej...
Thöress Dual Function Preamplifier and the 845 Mono Amplifier
Thöress - A Tribute to Professional Equipment from the Golden Age of Electronic Tubes Among the audio equipment we awarded during Audio Show 2012...
Our Friends at Part-Time Audiophile
The Part-Time Audiophile Guide to the Best Hi-Fi Gear of 2017
Picking the best audio component of the year is kind of like pondering your ultimate list of girls to ask to the high school prom. There are many very.... . . Read More »
The List: Five of the Best Phono Cartridges in The World
Further to the outrage that my list of CD players caused, and building on the outright hatred that my list of turntables elicited from a number of.... . . Read More »
Part-Time Audiophile's Favorite Albums of 2017
You’ll note that we’re not calling this the Best Albums of 2017. There are plenty of those lists out there, and they are pretty much dominated by.... . . Read More »
Show Reports
Capitol Audiofest 2017
The Capitol Audiofest was bigger than ever this year and I had less time than ever to see it. For those who don't know about the Capitol Audiofest, its...
Audio Engineering Society 2017 Convention in New York
Intro The Audio Engineering Society convention is two different things happening at the same time. First of all there's a scientific conference...
