RMAF 2018
RMAF 2018 Music I Enjoyed: Guitar Mood
Various Guitar Mood, Not On Label in the Tone Imports / Pitch Perfect Audio / Riviera Labs room.
Portraits in HiFi
Portraits in HiFi: Jonathan Halpern
Jonathan Halpern of Tone Imports.
RMAF 2018
RMAF 2018: Tone Imports / Pitch Perfect Audio / Riviera Labs
We can count on Jonathan Halpern of Tone Imports to import gear that excels at reproducing music’s tone. It’s beating, bleeding heart, if you prefer. We’re looking at the tippy top of the new Meyer Tonapparate Yonna speakers ($14,500/pair), a symphony in wood and sound.
Portraits in HiFi
Portraits In HiFi: John DeVore
John DeVore, DeVore Fidelity
RMAF 2018
RMAF 2018 Music I Enjoyed: Eric Burdon and War
Eric Burdon and War Black Man’s Burdon in the DeVore Fidelity room.
RMAF 2018
RMAF 2018: DeVore Fidelity
RMAF 2018 saw the debut of the DeVore Fidelity Orangutan Reference speakers. I’ve had the good fortune of hearing prototype versions of these speakers in-Barn and in John DeVore’s listening room in the Brooklyn Navy Yard prior to RMAF. Here, in the Barn, they transformed […]
RMAF 2018
RMAF 2018 Music I Enjoyed: Krystian Zimerman’s Schubert
Krystian Zimerman Franz Schubert, Piano Sonatas Nos. 20 & 21 in the Audio Alternative room.
Portraits in HiFi
Portraits In HiFi: Bea Lam and Luke Manley
Bea Lam and Luke Manley of VTL.
RMAF 2018
RMAF 2018: Audio Alternative: VTL & Vandersteen
There are some things you can count on at hifi shows. Good sound, not-so-good sound, and performances. While the first two are self-explanatory, the last one may need some explaining. Some systems manage to cut through the sound barrier, even in a crowded room at […]
Portraits in HiFi
Portraits In HiFi: Sue Toscano
Sue Toscano, Toscano Communications.
RMAF 2018
RMAF 2018: Chris Connaker of Computer Audiophile Looks for MQA Middle Ground (Video)
As Chris Connaker of Computer Audiophile states in the intro to his RMAF seminar “MQA: The Truth Lies Somewhere In The Middle”, MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) can be a contentious subject. Since that can be said for just about everything, middle ground is a fine […]
Portraits in HiFi
Portraits in HiFi: Andrew Jones
Andrew Jones, ELAC.
RMAF 2018
RMAF 2018: The ELAC System
If you read my system review of the PS Audio Sprout100 + ELAC Debut 2.0, you know at least 2 things—I like system reviews and I like the ELAC speakers. A lot. What you may not know is I also like Andrew Jones, the man […]
RMAF 2018
RMAF 2018 Music I Enjoyed: Gillian Welch
Gillian Welch The Harrow & The Harvest heard in the High Water Sound room.
RMAF 2018
DeVore Fidelity Orangutan Reference Speakers and EARSPACE: You Are There
You are looking at one half of the new DeVore Fidelity Orangutan Reference speakers making their debut at RMAF 2018. I’m going to tell you all about the system and the sound in room 6024 in another post because I want to help you get […]
Album of the Week
Album of the Week: Cat Power
Chan Marshall is back after a 6-year hiatus with her new album Wanderer. If you’re Cat Power fan, I am, you’ll want to wander along with Wanderer‘s slow unadorned beauty. If you’re not a Cat Power fan, you may to re-think that position.
RMAF 2018
The RMAF 2018 Playlist
My favorite pre-show prep is picking a bunch of music to stick on a USB stick with the hopes of hearing some, or all, of it at RMAF. The songs I pick are not “test tracks” in the audiophile sense, i.e. tracks used to test […]
Album of the Week
Album of the Week: Melting Hand
“Dust” is the opening track on Melting Hand’s new album Faces Of Earth and it lead me to hit the pre-order button on Bandcamp faster than you can say Can. A seven minute plus psych drone funk feakout, “Dust” is the perfect way to start […]
HiFi Reviews
System Review: PS Audio Sprout100 + ELAC Debut 2.0
It’s no exaggeration to say that I’ve been thinking about writing a system review for years. It’s also the case that I’ve wanted to review this particular system for years as well. On one hand, every component review is a system review, on the other […]
HiFi
In Brooklyn: totaldac d1-direct DAC
[Editor’s Note: “In Brooklyn” is just like “In Barn”, a post featuring gear that’s in for review with pricing, features, and specs, when available, only the person doing the reviewing in Brooklyn is Alex Halberstadt] The totaldac d1-direct DAC (17,450euros excl VAT out of Europe).
HiFi
Question: What music fills you with Joy?
I often think about two of music’s categories—beautiful and joyous. When people ask, typically at hifi shows, what kind of music do you want to hear, they’re looking for answers like “Classical” or “Female Vocal” or “Jazz” or “Large-Scale Classical”. My brain does not have […]
Art&Culture
Books and Company
The Isaac Mendoza Book Company, situated at 15 Ann Street in NY, NY, first opened its doors in 1894 making it the oldest bookstore in the city before it closed its doors for good on February 28, 1990. I worked downtown from 1986 to 1994, […]
Music
MusicAnswers Celebrates Improvements to the MMA
The News: the Music Modernization Act (“MMA”) has passed the Senate and looks like it’s a green light for approval. You can read all about MMA but in brief, the Bill creates a new entity, the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC), which will be responsible for […]
HiFi News
RMAF 2018: “Colorado Here I Come…”
“…right back where I started from!” It was a cool crisp 2011 fall day when I headed to the airport to attend the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest as Editor of AudioStream for the first time. Next Thursday, on what looks to be a cool crisp […]
Album of the Week
Album of the Week: Bitter Funeral Beer Band with Don Cherry
Don’t tell anyone, but I follow Don Cherry wherever he goes. I’m like the paparazzi of his records and there are so many great records bearing his name as leader and side man. Just take a look! Some of my favorites, beyond the obvious, are […]
HiFi
Question: Why Aren’t There More Negative Reviews?
This question necessarily assumes there are bad products that do not get reviewed. I’m going to have to answer a question with a question—who, in their right mind, would design, manufacture, and sell bad hifi? Of course this happens all the time in the pharma, […]
HiFi News
AURALiC Goes Hybrid
In an effort to provide more efficient support for their network-based products, AURALiC has decided to move to a hybrid sales model, combining direct and dealer-based distribution.
HiFi
Question: Are Streaming Services Good or Bad?
My friend (and one of my favorite writers on all things hifi) Art Dudley voices his views on streaming in this month’s Stereophile. I quote, “Then again, maybe it’s time to heave ourselves up out of our Lay-Z-Boys, find the switch that controls the sodastream […]
Music
SiriusXM vs. Everyone
We know that technological progress can outpace the law. The music industry is one such poster child where existing copyright law is as old as the hills, with some legislation dating back to 1909. The last major re-visit occurred in 1998, which is still B.S. […]
Music
Marc Ribot and Tom Waits Team Up Against Fascism
Tom Waits has been quiet these past few years. Thanks to Marc Ribot, Waits has broken his 2-year song silence by appearing on Songs of Resistance 1948 – 2018, Ribot’s new album of protest songs. “Bella Ciao” is as Italian anti-Fascist folk ballad and Waits […]