January - February 2025
Audio Discourse
Call It!
Roger Skoff writes about a game that could save a valuable part of our culture... As many of you probably know by now, I like and listen to just about...
Impressions: Final Postcard from Los Angeles & the LAOC...
Another year, another Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society Gala weekend. Early December once again. Been doing these for a long time, now...over...
Bah! Humbug!
Roger Skoff: a moment. Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society Gala. Buena Park, CA, 2024 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson)...
Hardware Reviews
Grado Labs Signature HP100 SE Headphones – a Brand New...
One hundred years ago Joseph Grado, founder of Grado Labs, was born. In 1953, he established the iconic Grado Labs producing extraordinary phono...
The iFi Neo iDSD 2 DAC/Amp: Yeah, Yeah, Little GTO!
The iFi Neo iDSD 2 occupies a most intriguing spot in the UK firm's extensive roster of DACs and DAC/Amps. At $899, it is the first step down from the...
New! HiFi-Tuning Diamond Fuses
Audiophiles spend thousands for a 39" (1 meter) power cord, only to follow it with an inch of conductor that costs around $3 at a local hardware store....
The S-DUO Pro Ultrasonic Stylus Cleaner + Gauge and I-Brush from...
I recently became aware of HumminGuru, a Hong Kong based company with a quite forward-looking perspective on the viability of vinyl. While reviewing...
The Goldring Ethos SE - a Ringer of an MC Phono Cartridge
The Goldring Ethos SE Moving Coil Cartridge sports a capital G on its body's front like the "S" on Superman's chest—or the G on the University of...
The Invisible DAC: My Listening Impressions of the dCS Varèse...
The dCS Varèse DAC For some time now, I have enjoyed visiting my friend Scott Carpenter who owns Evolution Hi-Fi in the Buckhead section of Atlanta,...
Acoustical Systems Archon Improved MC Cartridge
I love reviewing phono cartridges. In my incredibly neutral Helius Omega Tonearm, for example, they dramatically reveal either error or truth, thin or...
Origin Live Agile tonearm
In the beginning of 2024, an old acquaintance came to visit. While we have known each other for quite a while, I am afraid I only know him by his...
A Pippen of a Component - the Pass Labs X150.8 Stereo Amplifier
The Pass Labs X150.8 Stereo Amplifier, seen up front atop a 1/4" steel plate on A/V RoomService EVP Equipment Vibration Protectors. In the back to the...
Music Hall Stealth Turntable
I threw everything but the kitchen sink at this relatively affordable Darth Vader-looking contraption in terms of upgrades. Not because it's bad, but...
The Dan Clark Stealth Planar Headphones - A Sublime Upgrade to...
Good headphones immerse you in an aural cocoon, delivering remarkable soundscapes that allow you to escape the noise and stress of daily life. Whether...
MoFi Electronics MasterPhono Phonostage
Before we explore the exceptional performance and remarkable value that the moderately priced Mobile Fidelity MasterPhono Phonostage represents, the...
Imersiv D1 DAC (now in Beta) and Audeze CRBN2 Headphones
Bob Katz at work wearing the Audeze CRBN 2 Headphones, a portrait. (Photograph by Mary Kent.) Introduction Today I'm reviewing two remarkable products,...
Interviews
Jamie Howarth of Plangent Processes: Making Recordings Sound...
This is the latest installment of re-published articles from our good audiobud, Frank Doris, Editor of Copper magazine, the journal of Paul...
Jamie Howarth of Plangent Processes: Making Recordings Sound...
This is the latest installment of re-published articles from our good audiobud, Frank Doris, Editor of Copper magazine, the journal of Paul McGowan's...
Music - SuperSonic Recordings
Top 500 SuperSonic List - Part 42
This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations 246. ABC, "The Look of Love (USA remix-dub version)"/ "The Look of Love (part 3...
Music Reviews
Punk Rock at Its Finest - the Iconic Green Day Dookie Receives...
You have to applaud Grover Biery and his team at Because Sound Matters for giving us something different in the world of audiophile LP reissues. Grover...
Cool New Limited Edition, 180 Gram, Clear Vinyl One Step Jazz...
AC Records is the brainchild of jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and producer Adam Czerwiński. He's been performing in the jazz world as a leader and...
Craft Recordings' OJC Reboot Continues with Thelonious Monk's...
Craft Recordings continues their reboot of the Original Jazz Classics (OJC) series with another heavy-hitting 180 gram LP reissue, Thelonious Monk's...
Bill Evans Trio's Classic 1961 Album Explorations, now on Craft...
Craft Recordings has just released the latest installment in their premium Small Batch audiophile LP series with a reissue of the Bill Evans Trio's...
Sound Liaison's Remastering of Thousand Shades of Blue - Free...
I was fascinated recently by Sound Liaison's 2024 remastering of their excellent 2012 album Thousand Shades of Blue by Carmen Gomes Inc. In this new...
Floyd Cramer's Only The Big Ones
Floyd Cramer (1933-1997) was one of the most prolific studio musicians who ever sat on a piano bench. During the early 60s he was a key member of...
Recent Finds No. 28 Pure DSD256 from Eudora, Hunnia, Yarlung,...
I'm catching up... honestly I am. There are many wonderful albums to talk about, more than I can cover in one article. But, I'll make a start and then...
Mogwai, The Bad Fire
Mogwai, The Bad Fire Mogwai is a cosmic band. With the fires finally subsiding in Los Angeles County; The Bad Fire is aptly, and unfortunately titled....
Bruno Walter's Classic Mahler Ninth Symphony in Stunning Sound...
Mahler Symphony No. 9 in D major, Bruno Walter, Columbia Symphony Orchestra. HDTT 1961 2024 (DSD256, DXD) HERE Some performances are so culturally...
Recent Finds No. 27 HDTT Recent Releases
I've been on a bit of an audio hiatus these past few months, but that hasn't meant I wasn't paying attention to the many excellent albums Bob Witrak...
Passos Brasileiros, Toomai String Quintet
Passos Brasileiros, Toomai String Quintet, with assisting artists. Tocanta Media (CD). 53 minutes. Pascoal: Garrote. Villa-Lobos: Saudades das Selvas...
One Hit Favorites
We've all bought albums for the hit song that we heard on the radio, or for that one incredible sounding demo cut we heard at an audio show. Because of...
Recent Finds No. 26 Bert van der Wolf Recordings
Recording engineer Bert van der Wolf's releases are eagerly awaited in our household. The reason is a combination of three factors: (1) the audio...
Al Di Meola's Jazz Fusion Classic Elegant Gypsy, now reissued on...
Impex Records continues to honor the legacy of celebrated guitarist Al Di Meola with a new 180 gram LP reissue of his 1977 jazz fusion classic, Elegant...
New Release and Reissue LPs from Barenaked Ladies, OPA, Bush,...
Craft Recordings continues to drop great late-year releases, and I have four more here you'll definitely want to check out! These albums criss-cross...
New Old Stock - Articles from Our Days in Print
The Aging Audiophile
This article by Dr. Sardonicus originally ran in Issue 77, 2015, so while we call this section "New Old Stock - Articles from Our Days in Print" you...
Our Friends at HIFI Statement
Ansuz PowerSwitch and Digitalz D-TC Gold Signature
More than three years ago, I introduced you to the Ansuz PowerSwitch D-TC Supreme and the matching Digitalz Ethernet cables on this site. This combo.... . . Read More »
Our Friends at High Fidelity
SPEC RSA-EX1000 Integrated Amplifier
SPEC Corporation is a Japanese company founded in 2010 by Mr. Shirokazu Yazaki, former chief engineer of TEAC and Pioneer, to realize one goal: to...
J.Sikora Standard Max Supreme 15th Anniversary Turntable
The J.Sikora company was established in 2007 in Lublin. Its first turntable offered the same year was called Standard. It took as many as seven years...
Show Reports
AES 2024 Show Report
The Audio Engineering Society show has been going on for many, many years, and for a long time was the only audio engineering show in the world....
