2nd Edition
Audioengine HD6 Premium Powered Speakers
If you look at the Audioengine website, you'll see something rarely seen; links to positive reviews of their products from non-audio press: PC Magazine, Macworld, Wired, PC World, and even Gizmodo, haters of all things with the word "Hi". Of course Audioengine also gets positive reviews from the audio press. How do they do it?
MA Recordings Downloads!
I'm a fan of MA Recordings' recordings as they combine a few of the things that I value and enjoy: a passion for discovery, a passion for music, and a passion for capturing those elements in a recording. Todd Garfinkle, MA's proprietor, travels the world in search of "provocatively creative musical statements", which he captures using two omni-directional microphones in acoustic settings.
Lovely Recordings: Hosted by Aaron Garrett
I’ve picked some records that are currently the loveliest for me. And I’ve kept it to five because once it hits six it goes to twenty and then up.
Antipodes DS Music Server
So says Antipodes (and many others including me). They go on, "A digital signal sent from a digital source to a DAC is an electrical or optical wave. The DAC's receiver reads the wave to identify the bits. When the wave has electronic noise interference and/or timing errors, the bits can still be read but the bits are not recognised with perfect timing and this results in poor sound regardless of the DAC used."
The (New) Hi-Res Buzz
You may be wondering about the recent spattering of articles on Hi-Res Audio. Heck, there's even an ad right here on AudioStream for our sister site Sound & Vision's Guide To Hi-Res Audio. The reason? Eyeballs. There's an(other) industry push going on to promote hi-res audio to the masses. Yes, another one.
Lovely Recordings: Hosted by John Hudson
Here goes: an eclectic mix of music to suit whatever mood I’m in. All of these albums are favorites that have been played to death and I still have yet to tire of them. Music is an important part of my life, always listening to something, whether it’s portable, in the car or the big rig in the dedicated listening room.
Melco N1A High Resolution Digital Music Library
Did you know that Buffalo Inc., makers of Wireless routers, Ethernet Data Switches and storage devices including NAS drives (and much more) began as a hi-fi company called Melco (Maki Engineering Laboratory COmpany)? Makoto Maki started up his company in Japan in 1975 "to design and manufacture the finest audio components of the time".
1st Edition
Pitchfork on Music Formats
Pitchfork's Joel Oliphint offers up a nice, if a bit too tidy, picture of music formats in 2015 and what they mean about, you. I enjoyed his piece and think you may too, which is not to say I agree with everything he wrote. It's healthy to be able to enjoy reading things we don't necessarily agree with (even this).
Is Qobuz Going Bust?
Talk about your good news, bad news kinda day: Thanks to reader Chris L. for pointing me to this story on the French tech site igeneration. The company was put in "redressement judiciaire" yesterday, basically receivership, and must find an investor by November 16, yea just days away, or they'll be forced to close down operations.
TIDAL HiFi: People Care About Quality
International Business Times reports Tidal HiFi, the company's CD-quality streaming service, is a hit. Nearly half of Tidal's new subscribers since their much maligned press event in March have opted for Tidal HiFi instead of the lower quality Premium 320kbps service. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay!!
New York Audio Show 2015 Coverage
This year's New York Audio Show, held at the Westchester Hilton in Rye Brook NY, was by most measures a small show. Twenty six rooms, reportedly (I didn't count), on two floors made for a fun, relaxing Friday.
Lovely Recordings: Hosted by Joe Whip
When I saw that AudioStream had introduced a new feature named Lovely Recordings, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to introduce some great sounding jazz to folks who may not be big jazz fans but who may enjoy rather mainstream jazz that is both beautifully played and sounds lovely.
Sunday Morning Finds
I cleaned out a long neglected drawer. I don't know why I kept just these, but they all contain lovely memories.
If Wishes Were Fishes...
We'd be swimming in reviews? I have it set in my mind that I will write one review each week, to be published on Thursday morning. When I don't do that, I feel, well, rotten (I would also like to have pizza each Friday and pasta every Sunday but that rarely happens).
Rega Research DAC-R
Back in the early '90s, I was on the hunt for a new CD player. I was intrigued by the Rega Planet for the same reason everyone else was; Rega built turntables and they waited years before entering the CD market with a player they felt sounded analog. Since CDs never really scratched my musical itch very well, this was music to my ears.
Life on Hi-Fi
"Beware of any dealer who tries to tell you what sounds best; you are the only judge of that and can best decide by making several trips to the store, listening carefully each time."
Lovely Recordings: A New AudioStream Column
Yes, I changed the name from "Classic Recordings" to "Lovely Recordings". 'Classic' implied Classical and that's not what Lovely Recordings is meant to be. What it is meant to be is simply recordings that offer a combination of exceptional music and exceptional sound quality. Great music, great sound. Great, no?
Source Audio Stream
