I just back from a quick (two day) trip to Chicago, courtesy of the good folks at Linn in Scotland. On Tuesday, September 18, a very limited number of audio press representatives received an important briefing about new developments at the company. In addition to myself, my longtime audiobud Greg Weaver of The Absolute Sound... Read More »
Music streaming pioneer, Linn, today announces the launch of Selekt DSM, an all-new Linn network music player that promises to bring the feeling back to digital audio. Delivering a tactile and beautiful musical experience, Selekt DSM will make any system sound better and help you fall in love with music all over again. Gilad Tiefenbrun,... Read More »
The Beat MagDrive™ Turntable with Schröder Linear-Tracking (LT) Tonearm Ye Olde Editor, in medias puffus (photograph by John Robinson) Me, I call it "Big Red." Here was a real mountaintop moment for me with turntables earlier this year. It came in two parts: First, getting to meet Steve Dobbins, the creative master turntable craftsman at... Read More »
Steve Dobbins of Xact Audio and Dr. David W. Robinson I asked Steve Dobbins to give the background story of the design of the remarkable Schröder LT tonearm for his The Beat reference turntable, which I have reviewed elsewhere in this issue. He sent along the following comments for your benefit. Dr. David W. Robinson, Ye... Read More »
Dr. David W. Robinson and Steve Dobbins This sidebar article is by Steve Dobbins of Xact Audio, the designer of The Beat turntable that I've reviewed else in this issue. I asked Steve to provide the tale of how he ended up doing what he does in the wild world of turntables. He has generously sent... Read More »
Pioneer, Creative, Razer and HyperX are among the latest headphone calibrations - at no additional charge to existing customers Riga, Latvia, September 18, 2018 – Sonarworks, the revolutionary audio calibration software company, announced that its consumer application True-Fi has achieved a significant milestone, and now supports 232 different headphone models ranging from common consumer models... Read More »
A letter to the audio industry; First, please know AXPONA will not be moving to the fall dates as stated last week but will remain in April for 2020 and beyond. As stated in our announcement last week, we have been encouraged by many exhibitors in recent years to move far away from Munich, to... Read More »
The Jo N05 moving coil cartridge, LPS dual linear power supply and Massive Weight are upgrade essentials for vinyl aficionados (Lake Grove, NY) September 17th, 2018 – VANA, Ltd. (www.vanaltd.com), the North American distributor for fine audio products has announced the arrival of the European Audio Team (E.A.T) Jo N05 moving coil cartridge, the LPS dual... Read More »
Presenting the new PH 9.0 Tube Phono Stage, with on-the-fly loading and gain adjustment. Following in the footsteps of the Reference PH 150, the PH 9.0 offers much of the same performance and flexibility of the PH 150 at a lower price and smaller form factor. September 18, 2018 – ModWright Instruments, Inc., manufacturer of... Read More »
Tampa, Florida—September 2018—The Florida Audio Expo is happening Friday–Sunday, February 8–10, 2019, at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore. This inaugural FAE offers exhibitors and attendees a fantastic venue with acoustically isolated rooms in which to experience the finest audio equipment in the world. Among the latest exhibitors to sign on include local... Read More »
Sarasota, FL -August 29, 2018 - VAC / Valve Amplification Company will introduce the latest member of its award-winning family of Statement audio components at the 2018 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver, CO, October 5-7. The new Statement 450i iQ Integrated Amplifier is an ultimate performance, cost-no-object instrument that establishes a new benchmark for... Read More »
One of the most important international competitions for young (ages 16 to 29) violinists takes place in the United States every four years. (The other top-tier classical-music competitions that include violinists, Moscow's International Tchaikovsky and Belgium's Queen Elizabeth, also run on four-year cycles.) While one might expect the US entry on that list to be... Read More »
AXPONA MAKES THE RENAISSANCE SCHAUMBURG HOTEL & CONVENTION CENTER ITS PERMANENT HOME AND MOVES TO FALL FOR 2020 AND BEYOND INDUSTRY AND PRESS INVITED TO THE INAUGURAL TRADE & PRESS DAY AT AXPONA 2020 SCHAUMBURG, IL (September 10, 2018) - - AXPONA (Audio Expo North America) is pleased to announce its permanent home at the first-class Renaissance Schaumburg venue... Read More »
This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations 73. The Stooges, The Stooges. Elektra – EKS-74051 (1969), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: garage rock, psychedelic-tinged hard rock, proto-punk, avant-rock Clearly there must be something lurking in those waters but thankfully this has nothing to do with the tragedy that hit Flint in 2014. Michigan's music scene... Read More »
Kanta N°1, Kanta N°3 and Kanta Center are on display for the first time at CEDIA Expo in San Diego, September 4-8; booth #4036 San Diego, Calif. – September 6, 2018 - Focal is delighted to today unveil the expansion of the Kanta range of high-fidelity loudspeakers. After launching the award-winning Kanta N°2 in October... Read More »
Open Goldberg Variations, Werner Schweer, editor. Listening to "happy" music can make one feel happier. However, instead of always making people feel worse, listening to sad music often brings on a state of "paradoxical pleasure." I am not saying that listening to sad music in and of itself makes people happier, what I am saying is that... Read More »
Lone Star Audio Fest the high-end audio show held annually for 14 years the first weekend of May in Dallas, Texas was a grand success this year. The ever-present enthusiasm of exhibitors and attendees was enhanced by the upturn in the economy. Veteran exhibitors further dialed in their demo systems and were joined by a... Read More »
In Positive Feedback Issue 31 (May/June 2007) I reviewed three CDs from Silva Film Music (HERE). Silva Film licenses the rights to film scores and re-records the music using the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. In my review of 2007 I was impressed by the quality of the performances, the excellent recording and mastering that results in... Read More »
The late George Walker was old school, a kindly gentleman with Southern-style manners and an immense musical talent that took many forms, most notably as composer and pianist. I was once honored to hear him perform a Beethoven sonata movement in his home on his own concert grand. It was grand! How I came to know Mr.... Read More »
The lute is an ancient instrument with its forebearers having been traced back to 3100 BCE in Mesopotamia. Though a popular instrument during the Middle Ages, the lute reached its zenith during the Renaissance. While gradually falling out of favor after the Renaissance, the lute was still being widely used during the Baroque period. By... Read More »
Paavo Järvi conducts Bruckner's Ninth. BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 9 in D minor. Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra/Paavo Järvi. RCA Red Seal 88697542572. TT: 65.39 The notion of Bruckner's music as thick and heavy persists in some circles, but the earliest recorded evidence from the composer's prominent exponents—think Furtwängler, Klemperer, Horenstein —belies the stereotype. Those conductors projected the music in... Read More »
What is the difference between a collector and someone who just gathers some items? Mieczysław Stoch, the hero of the interview you can also read in this issue of High Fidelity says that collecting is gathering with sense and purpose (HF | No. 171). And what is listening to music from files and how does... Read More »
Friday Night In San Francisco - John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, and Paco De Lucia Back Story Impex Records has now reissued Friday Night In San Francisco on 180 Gram Numbered Limited Edition vinyl. Only 3000 copies will be made available for sale. Remastered by Bernie Grundman and Bob Donnelly from the original master tapes,... Read More »
Burning Amp Festival 2018, DIY Audio’s Premiere International Festival, Set For September 30th in San Francisco San Francisco, CA September 30, 2018 — Burning Amp Festival 2018 is coming to the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco on Sunday, September 30th from 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 PM. New BAF’s hours have been extended due to the increased interest and... Read More »
Vivaldi, Sonatas for Cello and Basso Continuo, Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello. Harmonia Mundi. It has been quite a while since we've had recordings of this seldom heard, truly engaging music. Christophe Coin did it well in 1989 for L'oiseau Lyre, Susan Sheppard did it fine that same year with L'école d'Orphee for CRD; and then there... Read More »
All right, so I am a digital file playback guy and I admit it. My confession. I apologize and please forgive me for my regressions in audio… digital as opposed to analog. Oh screw that... digital is right fine, just different. For sure we buy as many LPs as we can, but truth is we... Read More »
Top-of-the-Line 9.1.6 Fully-Featured AV Processor Features 4K UHD Video Management and Easy Expansion to 24 Channels of Object-Oriented Surround Sound SAN DIEGO, CA, August 22, 2018—Emotiva Audio Corporation, the company that continually proves high-end audio doesn’t have be high-priced, today announced that its new flagship AV processor, RMC-1 (SRP: $4,999), will ship to dealers and... Read More »
"Laid Back is a masterpiece! Gregg's greatest solo album and I'd be shocked by anyone disagreeing with that!" - Alan Paul, author of One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band. "Laid Back is probably the finest record Capricorn released in the post-Duane Allman era." - Scott Freeman, author of Midnight Rider:... Read More »
The California Audio Show 2018. This year was the eighth annual installment of this show. Dave and I attended the first two, 2010 in Emeryville, and 2011 in Burlingame. The venue this year was the Oakland Airport Hilton. Sponsored by Constantine Soo of Dagogo, this show was small and easy to navigate. There are fairly... Read More »
Alright, so as part of our trip up to the California Audio Show (see Malachi's and Kirsten's show reports HERE and HERE) Carol and I decided to add in a visit to Sonoma wine country as well as a visit to Mono Lake way over on the 395. As part of the trip up to... Read More »
Carrie Ellyn Fisher, January 19, 1959 - August 4, 2018. Carrie Ellyn Skokut Fisher of Reston, VA, born on January 19, 1959 in Garfield Heights, Ohio, to the late Margaret Skokut and the late Miller Skokut, passed away at age 59 on August 4, 2018 in Reston, Virginia. Carrie graduated from Independence High School in... Read More »
Radio Free Chip The French have a phrase for it. The bastards have a phrase for everything and they are always right. To say goodbye is to die a little. Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye It’s always too damn soon to say goodbye. I have always believed...well, postulated in any event, the notion that when... Read More »
Light in the Attic Records LITA169, colored LP $22, LP $20, CD $12, available at lightintheattic.net "Lee Hazlewood wasn't a cowboy, but he sure played the part. He never took LSD but made some far-out, psychedelic records, and he sure as shit didn't surf…but he had a brief yet prolific output of surf music. The... Read More »
Ye Olde Editor, Happy Valley, Oregon, 2018. Portrait by John Robinson. Playback Designs has returned again…with a vengeance! Their Dream Series of digital audio designs debut here at PF River City with their MPS-8. Part one of my impressions is here…read on for my take on what Andreas Koch and company have achieved. The powerful... Read More »
Ah, Montreal We finally made it! An excursion to Kronos Audio in Montreal had been planned last year, but, due to one thing or another, it never happened. Lynn and I were again vacationing nearby, attending the Ottawa Chamberfest (13 years and counting!). One full day is always given to "New Music Now" programming. This... Read More »
Daria Deborah Winters Who: WOMEN IN JAZZ - DEBORAH WINTERS AND DARIA A benefit concert for Marin Cultural Association When: Sat. August 25th Time: 8pm -10pm Where: Marin Center Showcase Theater 10 Avenue of the Flags, San Rafael, CA Tix/info: https://tickets.marincenter.org/eventperformances.asp?evt=259 Phone: 415-473-6800 $35 advance / $40 door
Come a little closer. I want to tell you a secret. Are you ready? I don't go to stereo shows to listen to stereos. It's true! Maybe once, in the dim mists of my retreating youth, I went to these things hoping to listen to stereos. Now, though? I don't want to listen to stereos.... Read More »
