2nd Edition
A Word From Qobuz
French download site and lossless streaming service Qobuz recently published "A letter from the Qobuz team to its subscribers and users".
Is High Resolution Audio Elitist?
Reading some of the responses to Pono, and to Neil Young, you have to wonder if some of the stronger negative takes on what is a plea for better sound quality are rooted in an emotional response as opposed to a technical one.
The NY Post Pisses (and Misses) on Pono
Product engineers for the shaggy rock icon’s newly released Pono digital music player have privately admitted they aren’t convinced that the high-resolution audio files it plays have any significant technical advantage over CD-quality files, sources told The Post.
Pono Player
I bought a Pono Player directly from their Kickstarter campaign. I did so, in part, to support the project, in part because I'm a fan of Neil Young who is behind Pono, and finally because Ayre designed the digital and analog innards.
Download of the Week: Sleater-Kinney
They're back! The power trio in all their power and our glory. Corin Tucker (vocals and guitar), Carrie Brownstein (guitar and vocals), and Janet Weiss (drums) are Sleater-Kinney and No Cities To Love (Sub Pop Records) is their first album in 10 years.
Sony, Korg, and Others to Offer Live Streaming in DSD 5.6MHz
The concert dates are set, April 5th and 11th, but no word yet on how we'll access these live streams. I'll keep an eye and ear out for more information but DSD streaming? Yeowza! Sign me up!
Download of the Week: Frank Sinatra
I grew up listening to Frank Sinatra on all of my father's hi-fis as they changed throughout the years. My dad was a fan, he'd seen Sinatra live many times throughout their lives, and it always seemed to me that Sinatra meant more to my father than just a favorite singer.
CES 2015 The Wrap!
I've already tipped my hand with my room-to-room coverage as to my highlights of CES 2015. Certainly the Bacch 3D demo, Meridian's MQA, and the Devialet Phantom represent technological leaps that I believe we'll be hearing more about in the future.
1st Edition
CES 2015 Show Report!
Michael Lavorgna uncovers every digital streaming/networking/serving product at the show. And more!
AudioStream's Best of 2014
2014 has been a busy year. Steve Plaskin and I reviewed over 50 products, we continued our Q&A series with a number of interviews, provided show coverage, industry news, How To articles, our Download of the Week, and more.
Amarra sQ
Amarra sQ, a DSP (Digital Signal Processing) engine, is designed to work with streaming services while bypassing Apple's Core Audio. sQ is for Apple OSX only and it costs $29.99. What it delivers is the ability to customize your music's EQ, employ various dither settings, and generally I found that it makes streaming services sound better. What more can you ask for?
The Synergistic Research Atmosphere
The Synergistic Research Atmosphere is a room acoustic enhancement device that allows one to modify and improve the perceived soundstage as well as the quality of the sound from top to bottom of one’s system; all of this totally controlled by an iPad/iPhone app.
Download of the Week: Duke Ellington
Ho ho ho! What better way to celebrate the season than with a real chestnut. Ellington's Indigos is their "dance" album, according to the original liner notes by Irving Townsend (taken from the LP), and boy does it swing.
Primare NP30
What do we want from a network player? The ability to easily stream music from our network attached storage, from a USB drive, perhaps stream from Internet Radio and streaming services, a nice interface via an easy to use app, and of course good sound. Good looks don't hurt either and just add to the ownership experience.
Is Spotify Going Lossless?
In an interview with Billboard, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek talks about the possibility of adding a higher tiered lossless service to Spotify...
Devialet Phantom
I reviewed the Devialet 120 (see review) and was very impressed by, well, everything. The design, the sound, the functionality, all added up to an engrossing musical experience. Devialet has just introduced two new products, the Phantom and the Silver Phantom, which essentially package most of the technology from the 120--amps, streamer, Ethernet, WiFi, DSP, and DAC--and add speakers for a Devialet all-in-one system.
Source Audio Stream
