Schumann, Symphonies 1-4. "Giuseppe Verdi" Theatre Orchestra, Trieste/Julian Kovatchev. Erresse RS 6367-72/73 (2 CDs). Timings: 75.54, 69.45 Dvorak, Symphonies 4-6. "Giuseppe Verdi" Theatre Orchestra, Trieste/Julian Kovatchev. RS 053-0134 (3 CDs). Timings: 40.59. 38.17, 46.33 The success of Naxos, circa 1990, showed that there was a market for newly recorded low-priced classical CDs. The result, as CD manufacturing ramped up... Read More »
And now, a few portraits that I made while at AXPONA 2025. It's the people that are most important things in all of life...including high-end audio. A shared passion for music, the audio arts, and the close friends that we make ought to be the highest pleasure in our world. Welcome to the gallery; let... Read More »
In 2021, the Canadian company Reliable Corporation presented the Uberlight Flex lamp for audiophiles who use turntables. It had the shape of an elongated tube with LEDs attached to a flexible "neck." The company drew on its many years of experience in the production of lamps used to illuminate sewing machine workstations. On February 18th, the... Read More »
FiiO is proud to announce the launch of the K15 Desktop DAC and Headphone Amplifier. Merging breathtaking power, innovative engineering and sleek aesthetic sensibility, the K15 is a full-system desktop DAC/amp built for audiophiles and the ideal partner for the FiiO FT7 headphones. Or any active speakers such as the FiiO SP3. Featuring the features... Read More »
Today's Recent Finds include several "not so recent" but long cherished releases from HDTT that I'd just not yet included in an article. Why, I don't know. It's a function of the astonishing wealth of excellent recordings available in the HDTT catalog. But they are popping up now as I work on a list I... Read More »
The other day, I posted a list of Pure DSD256 albums that I consider my "top of the pile" for sound quality. HERE This article will be a further discussion of Pure DSD* recordings and why they are such an important development. So, tune out now if this is not your thing. Otherwise, join me... Read More »
The 150th meeting of the Krakow Sonic Society could not be the same as usual. That is why the topic was the product of one of the most famous Polish audio companies in the world. We also drank champagne, tasted wines from a new, small Polish winery located just outside Krakow, and proudly wore medals... Read More »
This article by Marshall Nack originally ran in 2006, 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. A Quiet Company While everybody's heard of Air Tight and their products are well respected,... Read More »
Bill Dull and Randy Eller at the 2025 NAMM show. Triad Magnetics is one of the world's foremost manufacturers of transformers for audio, musical instrument, and industrial applications. Founded in 1943, Triad is based in Perris, California and offers thousands of off-the-shelf transformers, as well as the ability to create custom designs. Guitar amplifier buffs know... Read More »
I listen to a lot of high resolution DXD and DSD256 file downloads. And, as you can imagine, I have my favorites—my "top of the pile" recordings for sound quality (to borrow a description from my vinyl years). I thought I'd assemble some of these personal favorites into a list for anyone interested. To keep... Read More »
DOLBY ATMOS MIXES OF THE BAND’S FIRST FOUR ALBUMS OUT TODAY IN LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY COLLECTION AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM RHINO ORDER NOW (June 27, 2025 - Los Angeles, CA) Rhino presents the first four Ramones albums in Dolby ATMOS on Blu-ray for the first time today with a new boxed set, 1!2!3!4! The Ramones Atmos... Read More »
Peter Bjørnild and Frans de Rond at Sound Liaison have just released a stunning new Pure DSD256 album. This is their first album in Pure DSD256 and the results are simply incredible, with all the transparency, timbral accuracy, and resolution for which we love Pure DSD256. Frans says of DSD, "Its incredible clarity and precision... Read More »
Every so often, a music release occurs that is of such historical and musical significance that time must be made to mark its arrival. So it is with this amazing restoration of the BBC's 2-microphone live recording of Jascha Horenstein's Mahler Symphony No. 8 "Symphony of a Thousand," recorded live in 1959 in Royal Albert... Read More »
Known Best for his Lyrical Work (beginning in 1968) with Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson and the Beach Boys, Kalinich’s Songs Have Been Performed by Paul McCartney, Steve Cropper, PF Sloan, Diana Ross and Others LOS ANGELES, CA. (TUESDAY JUNE 24, 2025) - You’ve heard his lyrics on classic albums like Dennis Wilson Pacific Ocean Blue... Read More »
PRE-ORDER NOW 2LP, 2CD AND DIGITAL VERSIONS AVAILABLE SAME DAY PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED LIVE VERSION OF “THE SEVENTH SEAL” AVAILABLE TODAY DIGITALLY LISTEN NOW (June 25, 2025 - Los Angeles, CA) Van Halen’s Balance turns 30 this year, and Rhino is celebrating with an expanded edition of the band’s multi-platinum tenth studio album. It follows last... Read More »
Impex Records, in a joint effort with Iconic Artist Group and Epic Records has just released Souvenirs, 50th Anniversary Edition, a limited LP reissue of Dan Fogelberg's classic second studio album. Fogelberg's debut album failed to chart, and in the aftermath his manager, Irving Azoff, suggested a change of scenery might be in order. He'd... Read More »
Chrysalis Records continues their celebration of the legacy of legendary guitarist Robin Trower with the latest installment in the series, For Earth Below, 50th Anniversary Edition. Originally released in 1975, For Earth Below was his third studio album, and followed on the heels of his commercial and critical breakthrough Bridge of Sighs by only ten... Read More »
A new album from Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque, recorded by Jared Sacks, is always reason to celebrate! Add to that some delightful discoveries from Alpha Classics, Yarlung Records (in Pure DSD256), two albums from IBS, and an intriguing peak at what may come from the "new" Channel Classics under Outhere Music's direction, and we... Read More »
Ye Olde Editor: a Fantasy. (Photograph by John Robinson; image processing by yours truly.) AXPONA time again... Another year, another AXPONA. The biggest high-end audio show in the USA had its latest iteration on April 11-13 at the Renaissance Schamburg Hotel in Schamburg, IL. According to the AXPONA management team, "10,000+ attendees and 700+ brands... Read More »
You will likely have noticed a large number of recordings in my articles from Hunnia Records. The owner of the label, Robert Zoltán Hunka, loves all kinds of music and is fanatically committed to making recordings with the highest sound quality he is able to achieve. Their albums keep showing up for three good reasons:... Read More »
John Marks of The Tannhauser Gate (thetannhausergate.com) and Positive Feedback This is a continuation of a very long essay. But I think the subject matter deserves thorough coverage. In Part 1 (HERE), I examined the hard-wired neurological, and the (apparently, universal) cultural reasons why everyone responds strongly to women's singing voices (and responds equally strongly to toddler... Read More »
T.H.E. Lone Star Audiofest 2025 ran the first weekend of May in Round Rock just outside Austin Texas. This eighteenth Lone Star Audiofest marked an important transition for the long running show changing from a volunteer run event to professional management. After the 2024 LSAF talks between LSAF founder Wayne Parham, T.H.E. Enterprises' Emiko E.... Read More »
HDTT has been on a tear generating great reissues this past year, and that tear continues unabated. Here are several releases that have gotten my attention over recent weeks largely because of their historical significance. The belong in any well stocked music library. Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 1, Byron Janis, Kiril Kondrashin, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra.... Read More »
Designed for critical listening and editing, the open-back DT 990 PRO X brings new flexibility, comfort, and clarity to one of the most iconic headphones in professional audio. HEILBRONN, GERMANY – JUNE 5, 2025 – beyerdynamic, the preferred audio brand for musicians and studio professionals worldwide, today introduces the DT 990 PRO X: the next... Read More »
For me, a Pure DSD256 recording done well is the height of audio reproduction excellence. Yes, 15ips and 30ips analog tape sound marvelous, but so does Pure DSD256. Play either in its pure state, as in direct from the tape or direct from an excellent D/A converter, without intervening mucking about, and you can hear... Read More »
It is celebration time, folks. Jared Sacks has launched a new label, Pelle D'oca ("Goosebumps" in Italian), with a stunning new recording of Beethoven's Violin Concerto. And the cherry on the top is that this release is in PURE DSD256! Recorded and mixed entirely in the DSD* domain, with no PCM, with no trip out... Read More »
In which Roger Skoff tells why he didn't buy a Ferrari… In 1969, when a brand-new Ferrari sports car cost, depending on which model it was and how it was equipped, less than US$20,000, I almost bought a used one. It was an absolutely gorgeous 1967 bright yellow, aluminum bodied 275 GTB/4, offered by Otto... Read More »
What has intrigued me about this record for decades is its cover photo. I can't remember when I first saw it, but it was long ago. I think I saw it on an inner sleeve, or maybe it was in one of those colorful catalogs that record companies used to stuff inside of their LPs.... Read More »
Your hearing works in the dark. It even works when you are asleep! Humans were designed (or evolved) so that certain hard-wired aspects of our ear-brain systems serve as important defense and survival mechanisms. When an Ice-Age Cave Mommy heard a twig snap in the forest, she did not consciously have to focus on, think... Read More »
NATURAL. TRANSPARENT. HOLOGRAPHIC. San Diego, CA / May 30, 2025 The Evolution Acoustics SYSTEM THREE statement loudspeaker and MODEL ONE reference monitor continue to make waves in the high-end audio industry, providing extreme performance with unparalleled value. These breakthrough products from Kevin Malmgren are designed to compete with any statement or bookshelf speaker at any... Read More »
(May 30, 2025 – Los Angeles, CA) Rhino High Fidelity (Rhino Hi-Fi) continues its acclaimed series of limited-edition, high-end vinyl reissues with the solo debut from Stevie Nicks and the first album from Wilco. Stevie Nicks’ Bella Donna (1981) and Wilco’s A.M. (1995) are available now exclusively at Rhino.com and internationally at select WMG stores.... Read More »
Wow! It's been more than 15 years since I've been attending the Munich High-End Show and this year will be the last year it is to be held in Munich. But for now, that time of the year again! The 2025 Munich High-End Show has finally arrived. Farewell with a record turn-out of visitors from... Read More »
Okay, I admit it. I love a good organ recording. In my vinyl days, I had shelves upon shelves of excellent organ recordings on LP. Today, my digital library is somewhat bereft. There are lots of organ albums on CD, but piffle. I want full resolution. If I can't have vinyl, then I want high... Read More »
Harbeth Audio Ltd. is a British company founded in 1977 by former BBC research chief Dudley Harwood. Its name is derived from 'HARwood' and his wife's first name 'elizaBETH'. In the early 1970s, when Dudley was employed by the BBC, he designed a near-field monitor that could be used in mobile broadcast studios. In 1986,... Read More »
Thursday 15th May 2025. Introducing the Warwick Acoustics APERIO – GoldenSound Signature Edition Warwickshire, UK: Warwick Acoustics, developer of revolutionary Electrostatic Audio Systems for the High-End consumer and automotive markets announces the official launch of the Warwick Acoustics APERIO GoldenSound Signature Edition (GSE) headphone system at High End Munich, 2025. Warwick Acoustics has been working... Read More »
Early on, Scottish folk singer Donovan Leitch was often considered at best to be little more than a Bob Dylan imitator. But when their paths crossed during Dylan's 1965 tour of England, the meeting was famously captured by filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker in his documentary Don't Look Back. A much-discussed scene occurs where Dylan and Donovan... Read More »
With its largest exhibit space ever and dedicated cabins for 2-channel and home theater demonstrations showcasing flagship products, SVS is asserting itself as a global force at the world’s largest consumer audio show. HIGH END Munch 2025 – Munich, Germany – MOC, Hall 3, Booth P02/R01 - SVS, leading manufacturer of high-performance speakers, subwoofers, and... Read More »
