November - December 2019
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Audio Discourse
Focal Powered by Naim North American Grand Opening
On October 30th, Focal Naim America, manufacturer of Focal speakers and Naim electronics opened its first branded store inside of Scottsdale, AZ dealer...
Magnepan Focus Group Event - 30.7 for Condos
Magnepan is on a roll these last several years. First the updated former flagship two panel MG 20.7 ($14,450), then the newly christened flagship four...
Impressions: Highlights, and My Portraits from the 2019 LAOC...
David W. Robinson, Leavenworth, WA, 2012 (photograph by Lila Ritsema) Preamble Last weekend I attended the Los Angeles/Orange County (LAOC) Audio...
"The Song of Names" (film)
Herein, the latest from the Master of The Tannhauser Gate, John Marks, with a musical movie recommendation to make to us.... Dr. David W. Robinson, Ye...
Tenebrae Choir: "Miserere mei, Deus" (Allegri)
In which John Marks shares his latest musical reflections from his very fine blog site, The Tannhauser Gate. As usual, his comments are edifying and...
Dave and Carol Clark's Brutus Awards for 2019
Here we are with our Brutus Awards for 2019, but before we go into who and what, let me digress a bit. This past year has been rather interestingly...
Hardware Reviews
RSX Beyond Phono Cable: World Premiere
Chip Moore (left) with Roger Skoff at the LAOC Audio Society Gala Banquet, 2019 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) Everyone knows...
Aidas Mammoth Gold Phono Cartridge
In November, the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society had its monthly dealer event at Weinhart Design in Bel Air. We enjoyed the debut of...
The New Apartment Lounge: Minimalism Redux - The "Not So Little"...
I first raved about the stunning Kronos Sparta 0.5 turntable back in the fall in a teasing preview report (HERE). In my opening salvo, I described the...
STEALTH Ethernet and USB Cables
A Google search found the pugilists in their corners sparring over USB and Ethernet cables, just as they do over interconnects and speaker wires. Being...
Sonus faber Olympica Nova 1
Sonus faber is not a stranger to most people in the high end audio world. They are well known for creating some of the most visually striking and best...
PBN Olympia EB-SA3 Amplifiers and Lxi Preamplifier
Big Amps, Big Power Done Right. PBN is pretty well known for Peters Noerbek's wide range of speakers, a pair of M2!5s which I recently reviewed (HERE)...
Interviews
Sounds and Songs: An Interview with Mattias Olsson
Mattias Olsson - Photo by Vincent Carild - Used with permission Mattias Olsson is perhaps best known as the drummer for the Swedish progressive rock...
Jacob Holm-Lupo: Norway's Telepath
Jacob Holm-Lupo, Photo by Teresa K. Aslanian. Used with permission. Jacob Holm-Lupo is best known as the creative force behind the Norwegian...
Music - SuperSonic Recordings
Top 500 SuperSonic List - Part 17 (Boogie on Down!)
This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations 121. Various, Thank God It's Friday - Collectors Gift Series. Chocolate City –...
Top 500 SuperSonic List - Part 16 (Made in the U.K.)
This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations 116. The Cure, Three Imaginary Boys. Fiction Records – FIX 1 (UK) (1979), 33 1/3...
Music Reviews
Blue Note Tone Poet Series and 80 Series
Blue Note Tone Poet Series Donald Byrd, Chant. Blue Note Stereo LT-991 Stanley Turrentine With Shirley Scott, Hustlin'. Blue Note Stereo 84162 Blue...
10 for 10 - The Best Sounding Compact Discs
Have you ever wondered which CDs to use when assessing your system? Or maybe you'd like to impress your friends? If so, this text is for you. It covers...
GONG - Love From The Planet Gong
GONG, Love From The Planet Gong. 12 CD 1 DVD Audio box set. The Virgin Years 1973-75. UNIVERSAL MUSIC 675 890-1. At last, after years of waiting for...
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – Hymn of the Cherubim (from the...
Herein the latest from dear audio friend and brother John Marks, he who writes and edits The Tannhauser Gate blogging site. Sacred choral music from...
Our Friends at High Fidelity
Krakow Sonic Society Meeting 121 - Ultimate HQCD Discs
The history of the Krakow Sonic Society meetings with various types of Compact Discs is quite long. Almost as long as the list of technical studies...
Show Reports
The Calgary Audio Show
Playing catch up as we enter into the holiday season, I wanted to highlight something that I have had the pleasure of attending for the past couple of...
Capitol Audiofest 2019 Photo-Essay
I only got to spend a short time this year at the Capitol Audiofest but I sure got an eyeful and an earful of some of the newest and most interesting...
AES NY 2019
The thing about the AES show is that it's traditionally been two shows: a trade show run by marketing people upstairs, selling off all the latest new...
Toronto Audiofest 2019
After the very successful Toronto Audiofest (TAF) last year, Sarah Tremblay and Michel Plante followed it up with an even more successful Show this...
