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I-O DATA was founded in 1976 in the Japanese city of Kanazawa. I-O Data is one of the largest manufacturers of computer peripherals in this country. In 2016, an offspring brand called  Fidata was founded within company, whose audio files transports / music servers are intended for the "premium consumer market." In 2019, they decided... 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 »

"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 »

"First Press" ("1st Press") is a term used to describe LP releases. It is used to describe the earliest editions of a given title. This is a difficult topic and collectors specializing in it are usually focused on some part of the publishing market. But it is very similar with Compact Discs—below we will discuss... Read More »

Nordost is a company that was set up in 1991 by Joe Reynolds. It specializes in manufacturing audio cables. Apart from cables, the company also offers products from the QRT series used to supply power to devices and eliminate RF, as well as electromagnetic interference. "A power supply seems to be one of the most... Read More »

Gryphon, that for some time now have been using name The Gryphon, is a Danish company, founded in 1986 by Flemming E. Rasmussen. Its products feature an extremely characteristic design and all belong to the high-end class. What draws attention is not only its fantastic construction, but also a beautiful logotype depicting a griffin—a mythical... Read More »

In April 1997, jazz magazines published numerous ads of the re-edition of Verve Records, bearing the common name "Verve Master Edition:" HIGHER STANDARD "Verve Master Editions" - the ultimate sound quality and releases for serious collectors. "Verve Master Editions" are new releases of the groundbreaking Verve discs from the 1950s and 1960s, using the best... Read More »

Hans Ole Vitus Nielsen with his latest SIA-030 amp, next to the High Fidelity reference system Hans Ole Vitus Nielsen, usually called Hans Ole, known for his surname—Vitus (it will become clear at the end of the interview), is the founder, owner and main engineer of the Vitus Audio company. It is one of the most... Read More »

PREMIERE The first amplifier from the Danish company Vitus Audio was presented in 2003. Earlier, however, for eight years, its project was improved and perfected. Hans Ole Vitus Nielsen is the founder and head of the company, as well as its chief designer. We are testing his latest product, the SIA-030 integrated amplifier, weighing 63... Read More »

Have you ever wondered which CDs to use when assessing your system? Or maybe you'd like to impress your friends? If so, this text is for you. It covers 10 best sounding COMPACT DISCS and some information about what to expect from them. It was a coincident—if there is such a thing - ask mathematicians... Read More »

The history of the Krakow Sonic Society meetings with various types of Compact Discs is quite long. Almost as long as the list of technical studies intended to improve the process of reading signal from these discs. Already in May 2009, as part of the 64th KSS, we discussed new (for us) patents of EMI... Read More »

THE EDITORS is a cycle of interviews with audio magazine editors from all over the world—both those in charge of printed publications, as well as online magazines and portals. It started on January 1st 2012 and 26 interviews have been published since then—the one below is No. 27. Our aim is to familiarize our readers... Read More »

CAMBRIDGE AUDIO is a British company specializing in audio and audio-video electronic components, whose distinctive feature is a particularly good value for money of their products. The Edge anniversary series launched a year ago seemed to change this approach. And yet... Cambridge Audio has just launched a new, cheapest AX series. Designed in the UK... Read More »

I am sometimes ashamed of how little we know about audio, how little we understand about it. We fly to the Moon, we are getting ready to fly to Mars, we have quite good knowledge of how the universe is changing and what its structure is, we have found thousands of planets that are similar... Read More »

Masayuki Takayanagi and Abe Kaoru, Kaitai Teki Kokan.  Premiere: 1970 | Sound Creators Inc. SCi - 10101. Reissue: 2018 | Craftman Records CMRS-0013. Format: UHQCD, mini-LP.  craftmanrecords.com As it seems, every music genre and each trend within it and, on the other hand, every national discography have their "rarities"—rare and special, often simply "cult" albums. "A cult....... Read More »

A tape, a test pressing, an LP "The most expensive music format (in the world)" as exemplified by records produced by the AC Records label. A lot has already been said about analog tapes—by us as well. However, it was the first time we had had the opportunity to compare an analogue "master" tape with... Read More »

I'm a music lover. I am an audiophile. I'm an electronics technician. I am an acoustician, a sound engineer. I am a philologist with a PhD. I am a reader. I am a journalist, a specialist journalist, let's add. I am each of them individually and all at the same time. Such thoughts come to... Read More »

Time for cables Cables are one of the elements that constitute an audio system. It is neither more, nor less important than the remaining ones, but it is still approached with suspicion and from a distance by many engineers and music lovers. However, those who have already gone through this stage—St. Thomas's stage—do not need... Read More »

LEBEN is a small, Japanese company that is treated with great attention in its country of origin. It owes this to its founder and chief designer, Mr. Taku Hyodo. It is mentioned by Japanese magazines among the most important designers of tube amplifiers in this country. The CS600 integrated amplifier was introduced to the market... Read More »