Newport Beach, CA – March 16, 2023 - A Focal Powered by Naim retail space opened in Newport Beach near South Coast Plaza, a luxury shopping mall. The shop-in-shop, dedicated to Focal and Naim’s audio brands, is located inside Brilliant AV, a leading retailer in audio/video, security and lighting. Focal Powered by Naim Newport Beach is... Read More »
High Definition Tape Transfers (HDTT) has released the great Erich Leinsdorf recording of Die Walküre—let there be celebrations in the streets! With the greatest cast ever assembled, and led by a great Wagner conductor, this recording should have been the start of a full Ring Cycle for RCA. Unfortunately, it was not. By the time... Read More »
Estelon is proud to present the new Extreme Mk II flagship loudspeaker. After updating the Estelon classics series to Mk II and launching a limited Anniversary Edition of the Forza model, Estelon now refines its most luxurious high-end loudspeaker having incorporated a significant number of advancements in the same iconic form factor. The Extreme Mk II includes... Read More »
MOON is delighted to announce a new version of its 250i integrated amplifier. It features an upgraded circuit design, a new shield for the power supply and, for the first time, an MM phono preamplifier. The 250i is an analog design classic that delivers the renowned MOON audio performance and represents outstanding value. The new... Read More »
This episode provides a potpourri of musical gems that I thought worth bringing to your attention. All are available from HDTT or NativeDSD or Octave Records in either DXD or DSD256. I apologize for the length of this article with well over 20 albums discussed, but publishing opportunities kept pushing this article further and further... Read More »
Headphone stuff comes up in my email feed all the time! Last week I received a notice from online bargain store Monoprice that an "audiophile" headphone amplifier, normally priced at $129.99, is on special for $67.99—the Monoprice Monolith Series Liquid Spark. Oh, come on! An "audiophile-quality" headphone amp at a bargain-basement price? This put me... Read More »
J.S. Bach, Partita No. 2 in D Minor, Petteri Iivonen Violin. Yarlung Records. 45 RPM LP. Executive Producer: Elliot Midwood Producer and Recording Engineer: Bob Attiyeh Mastering Engineers: Steve Hoffman, Arian Jansen & Bob Attiyeh Vinyl Mastering: Bernie Grundman Microphone Preamplification: Elliot Midwood AKG C24 microphone: Gearworks Pro Audio Graphic Layout: MikeDesign Violin: Ferdinandus Gagliano... Read More »
Or about computer sound recording systems It all started in January 1971 with the world's first LP with digitally recorded material. In a long chain of successive recorders—among DENON Digital, SOUNDSTREAM, 3M, ProDigi, DASH, ADAT, RADAR - DAW, or Digital Audio Workstation, is the latest development. And this is its story. DIGITAL SOUND RECORDING –... Read More »
Music manuscript, Northern Italy, circa A.D. 1350. (Courtesy of John Marks) "Best" and "Worst" are often creatures of Pure Subjectivity—especially when it comes to literature, art, and music. Golf and baseball, in contrast, have objective metrics. I know that I have a list of "The Songs I Love to Hate." After you read mine, please... Read More »
Qobuz Launches Qobuz Club: An Exclusive Community for Audiophiles and Music Lovers Qobuz, the music lovers’ high quality music streaming and download service, is launching a new community platform designed to connect audiophiles and music lovers around the world: Qobuz Club. The interactive forum will allow Qobuz users to convene with like-minded listeners on topics... Read More »
PROKOFIEV: Symphony No. 1 in D, Op. 25 ("Classical"). London Sympbhony Orchestra/Gianandrea Noseda. LSO Live LSO0363 (download only). TT: 14.01. Downloads: eclassical.com (FLAC 24-bit or 16-bit, mp3) lsolive.lso.co.uk (FLAC, mp3); prestomusic.com (mp3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC); qobuz.com (24-bit, 192.0 kHz) Prokofiev's first symphony is an affectionate homage to, or sendup of, the Classical style (whence the subtitle), and should... Read More »
GRAND RAPIDS, MI, March 7, 2023 - Vincent Audio, a designer and manufacturer of elegant high-fidelity stereo and multichannel components, announced today the availability of the SA-T7 MK tube preamplifier, an update of the highly popular SA-T7. The new SA-T7 MK features the same audiophile-grade circuitry and renowned sound quality as its predecessor, but with the added benefit... Read More »
March 08, 2023 – Succasunna, New Jersey. Orchard Audio introduces the PecanPi+ DAC and PecanPi+ Streamer, further expanding the highly reviewed line of PecanPi® products. The PecanPi+ DAC leverages Asahi Kasei Microdevices’ (AKM) latest flagship AK4499EXEQ digital-to-analog converter (DAC), and AK9141EQ ΔΣ modulator chips. The 4499 utilizes the latest multi-bit switched resistor DAC method, employing... Read More »
Over the past 40 years, Jonathan Horwich has been making very high resolution reel-to-reel tape recordings of live jazz concerts. He works out of the Chicago area, but travels quite broadly to capture these performances. Wherever he can get permission to set up his microphones and reel-to-reel tape deck (15 or 30ips, 2-track), he's likely... Read More »
NEW Server Delvers State-of-the-Art Features and Performance Woodcliff Lake, NJ, February 28, 2023: In 2019, Silent Angel, designer of High End digital components, introduced the Rhein Z1, which was immediately hailed as a new standard in high value servers. Now, Silent Angel proudly debuts Rhein Z1 Plus: an all-new design whose features and performance advance... Read More »
MOON has commissioned a pair of custom painted Voice 22 loudspeakers to be auctioned in aid of Oxfam Canada. The award-winning speakers feature a unique hand-painted design applied by Montreal artist LeBicar and use premium audio technology to deliver an unforgettable listening experience. Oxfam Canada’s mission is to build lasting solutions to poverty and injustice,... Read More »
Available in Black or Silver, the new K-05XD will begin shipping in Late April or early May in the USA. Pre-order now to reserve one of the first units to arrive in the USA! The core model of ESOTERIC Super Audio CD players, the K-05, is finally available in an XD edition. The design platform is completely revamped... Read More »
If you know the name Lyle Ritz (1930 - 2017) at all, it's because you saw him credited as the bass player on a pop or rock album. Ritz was a prominent bass player in Los Angeles during the 60s, and he was part of the studio musicians collectively known as the Wrecking Crew. His... Read More »
BMG & THE MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES THE NEXT RELEASE IN THE MONTREUX YEARS SERIES A COLLECTION OF MICHEL PETRUCCIANI’S FINEST PERFORMANCES AT THE MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL FROM 1990 - 1998 LONDON WEDNESDAY 01 MARCH 2023 - BMG and The Montreux Jazz Festival have today announced the release of “Michel Petrucciani: The Montreux Years” -... Read More »
Decades in the making, Melco’s all-new N1-S38 offers the Japanese music specialist’s best performance to date Tokyo, Japan, 1 March 2023: Melco Audio, the Japanese digital music expert, has launched the N1-S38, an all-new flagship SSD-based digital music library offering the best sonic performance in the company’s history. ($11,995) The new ground-up design is based... Read More »
Roger Skoff's new article is, hopefully, less ambiguous than its title. In a recent comment on one of my articles for this publication, a reader named Michael wrote in to say that he was clearly able to hear differences between some kinds of cables (specifically AC power cords and speaker cables ) but not between... Read More »
Women and War and Peace. Yarlung Records; Katelyn Bouska, Piano; YAR54460: Gold Substrate CD pressed in Germany. Executive Producers: Evan Flaschen and Patrick Trostle. Recording Engineers: Bob Attiyeh and Arian Jansen. Mastering Engineers: Steve Hoffman, Arian Jansen and Bob Attiyeh. Microphone Preamplification: Elliot Midwood. AKG C24 microphone: Ancona Audio. Steinway Technician: Kathy Smith Cooper Bates. Photography Graphic Layout: MikeDesign "Kate flew to Southern... Read More »
Trumpet virtuoso Mervine and his quartet offer a varied set of Brazilian- and European-influenced jazz, in pure DSD 256 high-resolution audio – Boulder, Colorado, March 2, 2023 – Octave Records is thrilled to release its first live album, jazz trumpeter Gabriel Mervine’s Live at Nocturne. Recorded in pure DSD 256 high-resolution audio, Live at Nocturne captures the you-are-there excitement, spontaneity and interplay... Read More »
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. (March 1, 2023) — Klipsch®, a tech-driven premium global audio company, is pleased to announce for the first time ever four new subwoofers designed to match the power and performance of its top-selling Reference Premiere speakers. The high-performance Klipsch Reference Premiere series subwoofers are hyper-efficient with the optimal balance between amplifier power, driver capability and... Read More »
The HANA-Umami Blue high-end moving coil cartridge from Excel Sound’s Master cartridge designer Maseo Okada-san uses special materials, classic Japanese techniques, and modern audio engineering. The HANA-Umami Blue cartridge follows in the Hana “Brilliant and Gorgeous” tradition of providing the listener with sublime enjoyment. Embodying the true sense of synergy, the HANA-Umami Blue combines the... Read More »
Over the course of my lifetime, I have grown to really love jazz. I distinctly remember the first time I heard a jazz trio playing at a party in my mid-twenties, and it affected me in a way no other exposure to music ever had. The delicately textured pluck or slap of the acoustic bass,... Read More »
Base2 Music, located in West Sussex, UK, is a fairly new label, founded in 2017 by owner, producer and recording engineer, Jake Purches. Jake captured my attention because he's been focusing on a love of mine: well recorded organ music on some of the great organs around the world with internationally respected musicians. A fellow... Read More »
Or about computer sound recording systems It all started in January 1971 with the world's first LP with digitally recorded material. In a long chain of successive recorders—among Denon Digital, Soundstream, 3M, ProDigi, DASH, ADAT, RADAR - DAW, or Digital Audio Workstation, is the latest development. And this is its story. DIGITAL SOUND RECORDING –... Read More »
This article by Ed Morawski originally ran in Issue 6, April/May 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. E.A.R. 864 Although I was very pleased with my Plinius CD-LAD preamp,... Read More »
We are pleased to announce the CORINA™ Reference Electrostatic Headphone! Incorporating numerous acoustic and comfort enhancements, CORINA is our bold new flagship electrostatic headphone. Key features include: Acoustic Metamaterial Tuning System (AMTS) for an unrivaled smooth midrange and treble experience Our acclaimed self-adjusting head-strap for hassle-free comfort A new gray color scheme with stunning metalwork... Read More »
SAN FRANCISCO (February 28, 2023) – Early in his tenure as Parasound's new owner, David Sheriff made a commitment to the company's legendary designer, John Curl, to bring more of his new ideas to the fore. To accelerate this process, Sheriff has hired Darren Myers as Vice President of Research and Development. Myers was most... Read More »
A loudspeaker with all characteristic Børresen features and a revolution in quality, performance and price. This new Børresen X3 loudspeaker marks the creation of a completely new entry level into the Børresen loudspeaker universe. Børresen Acoustics' philosophy is to bring music closer to people by creating access to great, authentic and emotional music experiences. Børresen... Read More »
During my show experience at FLAX, I basically live-posted capsules on Facebook from notable rooms I visited each day, saving my full coverage for after the weekend was over. Little did I know when I posted from the Focal Naim America room that I was opening a tempest in a teapot! At the point I... Read More »
Kirsten Edkins, Shapes & Sounds, Cohearent Records (33 RPM LP) There are many talented people involved with this project, but let's start with Kevin Gray. As many might know, Kevin is universally renowned and respected for his skills as a Mastering Engineer. This includes reissues and new releases on virtually every label and every analog... Read More »
Mobile Fidelity featuring Andrew Jones A couple of weeks prior to FLAX, I got an email press release from Mobile Fidelity alerting me that speaker designer extraordinaire Andrew Jones would be present in Tampa, giving talks about his new MoFi SourcePoint 10 loudspeaker. "Great!" I thought, "I'll definitely need to check that out!" Yeah, me... Read More »
DeJitter it AppleTV X goes big Feb 23 2023 DeJitter it LLC, manufacturer of the Apple TV X, has relocated to a new production facility quadrupling production capacity to meet growing demand and is shipping from stock through its distribution partner. The new facility doubles lab space and is furthering research into new products. Apple... Read More »
From its Advanced Technology to an Industrial Design that Serves as a Headphone Stand, the EF600 Sets a New Standard in Desktop Audio Performance BELLMORE, NY, February 22, 2023 – HIFIMAN, the leader in high fidelity personal audio, today introduced the EF600 balanced desktop DAC/amplifier, designed for audiophile-grade desktop performance. Designed for use as a... Read More »
