2nd Edition
When Caruso Was King
One of the benefits of belonging to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a subscription to their monthly magazine, IEEE Spectrum. Superbly written and edited, this journal keeps me up to date on emerging technology, and entertains me with things like reprints, on the final page, of vintage advertisements.
Recordings of March 2016: The Beach Boys Today! & Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
It's a classic case of addition by subtraction. On December 23, 1964, on a flight from Houston to Los Angeles, Brian Wilson had a panic attack--or, perhaps, a full-fledged nervous breakdown. Two more such episodes followed in quick succession, and Brian realized that he could no longer tour with the Beach Boys.
2016 Records To Die For
What's your favorite record? It's a simple enough question, but one that dedicated music consumers never tire of asking each other. And so, every year, we ask the distinguished writing staff of this magazine to choose a pair of favorites and tell us a little of what seems so compelling about them.
Sanctifyin'
Tom Waits singing the blues classic, "John The Revelator?" Call that a perfect match of material and menacing growl. While Son House, among many others, was able to raise a storm of emotion and record a powerful version of that classic blues number, Waits' version on a new tribute to its composer Blind Willie Johnson is right up there with the best.
From the J. Gordon Holt Archives: The Weakest Link
When the Record Industry Association of America adopted its standard disc playback equalization curve in 1954, hi-fi enthusiasts heaved a sigh of relief and bade fond farewell to years of confusion, doubt and virtual pandemonium.
From the Archives: JVC XL-Z1050TN CD player
The $800 JVC XL-Z1050TN 1050 is the Bitstream successor to JVC's popular 18-bit XL-Z1010, which got an enthusiastic thumbs-up from Robert Harley in April 1990 (Vol.13 No.4). Its styling is, in my opinion, much improved over the older player's, with the distinctive brushed-bronze finish of the rest of JVC's XL-Z line.
A Classical Bonanza at the 2016 Grammys
The musical and technical excellence of the 2016 Grammy Award winners makes this a great year for audiophiles. Not only are 28 of the albums / compositions that won awards in multiple categories available for download from HDTracks, virtually all in hi-rez (from 44.1/24 to 192/24), but just as many if not more are available for streaming and download in hi-rez and/or full CD quality from both ClassicsOnlineHD and Tidal.
Listening #158
In my sophomore year of high school, one of the greatest challenges my friends and I faced was the search for the perfect after-school hangout, perfect being defined as "having the least amount of adult supervision."
Gramophone Dreams #8
Everyone in the room can hear the difference when I swap one phono cartridge for another. Same thing happens with loudspeakers. This is because both of these magnet-based transducer technologies are electromechanical devices, traditionally made of paper, wood, iron, and copper.
1st Edition
Robert Deutsch Upgrades His Record Player
For some time now, I've been thinking that my record player was due for an upgrade. My Linn LP12 turntable and Ittok LVII tonearm are about 25 years old, and my AudioQuest AQ7000nsx cartridge is going on 15.
AudioQuest Niagara 7000 Low-Z Power Noise-Dissipation System
Are you old enough to remember when the wires connecting speakers to even the most expensive and sophisticated electronics were 16-gauge, multistrand lamp cord, and the terminals on speakers and amplifiers were just little screws?
Man of the World
Time, the internet, the explosion of so-called "world" music after the release of Paul Simon's Graceland and the subsequent appearance of endless cross-cultural projects has drained the venom out of the old "rock musicians who are culture vultures" argument.
Morel Octave 6 Limited Edition Bookshelf loudspeaker
My first girlfriend was a hopeless kleptomaniac. Once, just before sunrise, as I helped her bury a few hot items in the woods, she asked from which direction the sun would rise. Always the smart-aleck, I told her: "It rarely fails to rise in the east."
Read More >>
PS Audio BHK Signature 300 monoblock power amplifier
Was it more surprising that, in 2015, PS Audio would produce a monoblock class-AB power amplifier containing vacuum tubes, or that PS Audio would release a monoblock power amplifier at all? I'm not sure.
Tannoy TS2.12 powered subwoofer
Ten years ago, our family was joined by my son-in-law, who was raised in Dublin, and spent his university years in London. I was editing this review during a recent visit with our daughter and grandchildren, and Justin became interested in the fact that I was reviewing a subwoofer made by Tannoy.
Shane Buettner, Intervention Records
"With all due respect, what the hell is the matter with you?" Over the years, I've felt obligated to ask this question of several friends who somehow concluded that their life's work involved founding a record label.
An Open Letter from Bill Low of AudioQuest
An open letter from myself and AudioQuest to the community--to everyone who cherishes the truth, regardless of their opinions about audio and digital cables, regardless of their opinions about AudioQuest.
Source Stereophile
