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Schubert, Quartets 15, 8. Takács Quartet. Hyperion CDA 68423 (CD). TT: 77.48 Schubert's harmonic innovations are broadly recognized. But, as these quartets show, he had a keen rhythmic and structural imagination as well. The Fifteenth Quartet is large-framed, with a twenty-minute first movement; after an imposing "dotted" introduction, a syncopated motif enters, becoming a sort of quirky... Read More »

Deep Purple's Machine Head: Super Deluxe Edition (SDE) has just been remixed, remastered, and re-released in a gorgeous new multi-disc edition that includes media choices to accommodate listeners from all corners. It's also being billed as a 50th anniversary release, though technically it comes a couple of years late for that to be completely accurate—no... Read More »

This article by Roger S. Gordon originally ran in Issue 8, August/September 2003, 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. Random surfing on the Web can produce interesting results. It was... Read More »

Manley Labs has always kept its feet planted in two lands. Known for keeping the tube faith on the Pro side of audio—their mic preamps and processors are legendarily for their natural detail, color, and overall juiciness. They are used at many of the best studios and mastering houses. They also make some of the... Read More »

Turn up the volume and prepare for sumptuous sonics from one of the great performances in the catalog. This new transfer from High Definition Tape Transfers is terrific. It is now my personal standard for what this great RCA Living Stereo recording can sound like. Respighi Pines of Rome & Fountains of Rome, Fritz Reiner,... Read More »

Carbide Audio is based in the city of Llano located east of Austin, in the mountainous part of Texas. Founded in 2019 by Jeffrey Jenkins, this specialized audio company focuses on anti-vibration feet. It makes almost all the components for them in-house, using CNC machines, measurements and listening. We test its top-of-the-line Carbide Base Diamond... Read More »

Ye Olde Editor with cigar and match, 2021 (photograph and image processing by John Robinson) Here's the last set of my Audio Oasis! Awards from PAF 2023, together with the final set of photographs. Focal-Naim The Naim-Focal room I'll admit it:  I was very impressed by the Focal-Naim space. Departing from the usual emphasis on... Read More »

This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations 231. André Hodeir, American Jazzmen Play André Hodeir's Essais. Savoy Records – MG 12104 (mono 1957), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: cool jazz, third stream. French composer, arranger, violinist, and musicologist André Hodeir had two album releases signed under the Savoy label—this is the first, the other being... Read More »