2nd Edition
Ayre's PCM to DSD Comparison
What the guys at Ayre have gone and done is ripped parts of three tracks to single-rate DSD and 24/192 using the QA-9 so we can compare DSD to PCM. But there's more...
Lumin Network Music Player
The Lumin Network Player is the first and currently the only product from Lumin which is a trademark of Pixel Magic Systems Ltd.
Download of the Week: The Knife
It's the time of year for lists and if I were to make one for music, The Knife's Shaking the Habitual released in April of this year on Rabid Records would be on it.
OUT Free Music Production (FMP) FLACs!
One of my rules of used record shopping goes like this--if I see a record from FMP and I can afford it, buy it. So I don't know how this post escaped me for so long.
AudioStream 2013 Holiday Gift Guide
'Tis the season. Here's AudioStream's 2013 Holiday Gift Guide and its chock full of fun music-loving toys. Happy Holidays!
JPS Labs Digital AC-X Cord
The Digital AC-X cord is JPS Labs’ specialized cable for digital components designed to provide a “smoother, more analog environment for audio and video” components. JPS Labs is a manufacturer of a complete line of AC cords, interconnects, speaker cables and digital audio cables.
Kind of Blue: DSD v PCM
The sure sign of an addict is the recursive "I'm never going to...again". I'm never going to buy another version of Kind of Blue but I did. The most interesting question here is exactly what are we addicted to? Is it the music? Or is it the sound?
Download of the Week: Tal National
Tal National hail from Niamey, Niger where they enjoy rock star status and their sound is infectious, joyous, incessant, transcendant, intense, and funkin' fun.
totaldac d1-server
The totaldac d1-server is based on an 800MHz ARM based Cubox minicomputer running RTLinux (Real-Time Linux) and the MPD music player daemon. There's an integrated "digital reclocker" which accounts for a large chunk of the d1-server's price.
1st Edition
Benchmark Media Systems DAC2 HGC
The Benchmark Media Systems DAC2 HGC represents Benchmark’s most advanced and feature laden DAC offering. Despite its diminutive size, the DAC2 HGC is a full featured DAC with an asynchronous USB input that supports PCM up to 24/192 and native DSD 64 using the DoP 1.1 format.
AlpineSoft's VinylStudio Does DSD
Thanks to Charles Hansen for the heads up on this news--AlpineSoft has added DoP (DSD over PCM) functionality to their VinylStudio vinyl ripping software (v8.6).
AudioQuest Dragonfly v1.2 USB Digital-Audio Converter
AudioQuest's original Dragonfly DAC (see review) seems to have inspired a number of similar products while igniting the whole 'micro-DAC' market. And for good reason. The original Dragonfly was small, portable, easy to use with hi-fi or headphones, and it sounded good.
Linn's 24-Bits of Christmas
'Tis the season. Linn will once again be giving away "...a different free Studio Master track every day in December until Christmas Day". Head on over to www.linn.co.uk/christmas to get yours.
Schiit Audio Loki DSD Dedicated DAC
The guys at Schiit seem to look at the world of audiophiles somewhat askance while selling stuff that audiophiles want. It's an interesting stance, askance, and they seem to take a similar view of DSD while offering the Loki, their latest assault on the "high" in High End and what it is is a dedicated DSD DAC.
There's no such thing as digital: A conversation with Charles Hansen, Gordon Rankin, and Steve Silberman. Part 2
uring our first conversation with AudioQuest's Steve Silberman, Charlie Hansen of Ayre Acoustics and Gordon Rankin of Wavelength Audio we talked about the notion that "There's no such thing as digital" (see Part 1). In Part 2 we move on to ask, what can be done to address the problems of high-speed analog signals in a modern audio system?
Download of the Week: Lydia Lunch
Queen of Siam is Lydia Lunch's solo debut album from 1980 originally released on ZE Records. If you don't know Lydia, oh Lydia, I'd suggest starting with her band Teenage Jesus and The Jerks or one of the NY No Wave compilations to get a full dose of the attitude that spawned the likes of Lydia. Oh Lydia, I dig her so and you can too.
Download of the Week: Olivier Messiaen
I'll go out on a limb and suggest that most any ornithologist is a sweetie. Throw in some St. Francis of Assisi, chromesthesia or sound-to-color synesthesia, church organist, birdsong, modes of limited transposition, and Japanese music and you've got an unbeatable recipe for loveliness.
Source Audio Stream
