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Impex Records continues to roll out the hits with another superb choice for their next deluxe 1STEP LP treatment, reaching again into the catalog of classic albums from jazz composer, pianist, and vocalist Patricia Barber. For this release, Impex has chosen Barber's fifth album, Companion (1999, Premonition Records), which was recorded live at Chicago's Green... 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 »

As widely noted, for the second year in a row in 2023, vinyl record sales topped compact disc sales in the U.S.—this time by a whopping $43 million, or about six million more than total CD sales last year (popsci.com). This point recently hit home personally when my wife, Belle, said that her hipster boss... Read More »

I think it's pretty safe to say that most record-collecting audiophiles know Dave Brubeck (1920-2012), and his album, Time Out (Columbia CS8192). After all, it's one of the most popular jazz LPs ever recorded. Time Out was released in 1959, and it introduced the world to Brubeck's use of unusual time signatures. It also introduced... Read More »

Rhino Entertainment has an impressive slate of limited-edition LPs available for the upcoming Saturday, April 20th celebration of Record Store Day 2024 (RSD). Rhino's extensive offering of rarities and specialty releases are only a few of the hundreds of exciting albums that will be available from both online sources and at independent record stores everywhere.... Read More »

I'm constantly on social media, quite often for audio-related purposes. And I'd seen teasers for months highlighting the ongoing development of Vera-Fi Audio's SnubWay Noise Defender, or more simply, SnubWay. The posts seemed to mostly focus on different variations of the case design, with only snippets of information regarding the actual function of SnubWay. With... Read More »

As many years as I have been in this hobby, within the last few I have become more and more intolerant of the exaggerated claims of expensive tweaks by some manufacturers. You can throw wire and cable into this debate, but that is a subject for another day. If one is trying to eke out... Read More »

Craft Recordings is offering another cool slate of limited-edition LPs for the upcoming Saturday, April 20th celebration of Record Store Day 2024 (RSD). Craft's selection of rarities and specialty releases are only a few of the literally hundreds of exciting records that will be available online and at independent record stores everywhere. For RSD April,... Read More »

Jazz Dispensary is a specialty imprint of Craft Recordings that's dedicated to mining the riches of parent company Concord Music's vast catalog of labels. The label employs what they call "sound sommeliers" to search the archives to find the finest original sources there for underappreciated masterpieces of funk, soul, jazz, and all the related genres... Read More »

Craft Recordings has announced the latest group of reissues from their Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series, which features twelve LP reissues along with high-resolution digital files that will be released periodically throughout 2024. The exciting roster of Contemporary Records artists chosen for the current installment of the series includes classic titles from Art Pepper, Shelly... Read More »

Dean Waters at Pacific Audio Fest 2023: a portrait (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) The Qln Signature Series, Fifth Generation, front view with magnetically attached grill cover For the last several weeks I've been gleefully enjoying listening to and marveling at the 5th generation Signature series speakers from Qln. These are 2-way... Read More »

The Cars, Candy-O. Rhino High Fidelity Series (33 RPM) The Cars first album entitled The Cars, was released in 1977 on the Reprise label and was a huge success, with a long list of hit singles and a tremendous amount of attention by the press. Their second album entitled Candy-O was released in 1978, also... Read More »

I have been waiting with great anticipation for the new IMPEX 1Step Getz/Gilberto reissue to arrive, but that was no problem. I have learned long ago that patience more than pays off when it comes to IMPEX Records. This label never fails to amaze and delight! The excitement began to build after I experienced the... Read More »

High Definition Tape Transfers has released/reissued many superb albums over the couple of months since I last posted an update, and I keep being reminded of earlier releases I've not shared with you. So, here are a dozen I highly recommend. Some may wonder why I continue a focus on HDTT for music. To those... Read More »

As David Robinson and I were discussing a couple of weeks ago, we truly are living in the golden age of recorded music and home audio—both in the equipment available to us and, most importantly, in the wealth of wonderful performing artists and recordings. You may note that many of the recordings I recommend are... Read More »

My original review of the Vanguard Caldera 10 subwoofer earlier this year was nothing short of an all out rave, and deservedly so! I know this is beginning to sound like the proverbial broken record, but how Vera-Fi Audio's Mark Schifter and his partner Viet Nguyen can design and manufacture a superb unit like this... Read More »

Utter transparency. Abundant detail. Extreme delicacy and nuance. A soundstage to die for. Unrestrained dynamics and immense power. This is a recording to cherish, a recording to celebrate. Homeland - Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor and De Falla's Noches en los Jardines de España (Nights in the Gardens of Spain), Judith Jáuregui (piano), Kaspar... Read More »

  In my recent review of the Puron AC Power Conditioners, I was struck by the abundance of amazing and relatively inexpensive enhancements available to substantially improve the performance of your audio and video systems. Those include devices and accessories of every make and manner that, based on their outward appearance, would seem incapable of... Read More »

Nobody talks about Vaughn Monroe (1911-1973) anymore. That's sad, because Monroe was a very good singer. It's pretty clear to me that it's his unusual voice that places him in obscurity. Nothing sounds like his baritone voice. By today's standards, and even by my own retro standards, he sounds a little usual. His voice is... Read More »