[Publisher’s note: This article is presented by Dagogo Senior Reviewer David Blumenstein.] Always Learning Having been a self-taught mastering engineer for the last 22 years (among other things), I’ve had the chance to learn some simple things independently which are not necessarily the same as what you would receive with formal training. Much of this […]

For the past three years, my favorite phono cartridge has been the Hana EH, which I have listened to  almost every day for hours. The Hana is a high-output moving coil cartridge, so, unlike moving magnet cartridges, the stylus is not user replaceable after it wears out. Since I don’t have a high powered microscope […]

You’ve just bought a new sound system or maybe you’re just moving the one you have. You’ve brought it home and now you can’t wait to get it set up and ready to play. Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your stereo system. Where you put your components […]

NARP, the New Album Releases Project, got its start at NAR, New Album Releases, and back then – January 17,  2018, I had no idea that it would evolve into a project and be still going strong just about two years later. A proper backgrounder can be read here: https://www.dagogo.com/what-is-nar/ In light of NARP’s longevity […]

[Publisher’s note: This article is presented by Dagogo Senior Reviewer David Blumenstein.] Why do a lot of us audiophiles (and casual listener types) prefer the sound of records more than the same music released digitally? It’s something about the inferiority of digital right? Vinyl can be noisier, has side length limitations, inner groove distortion, but […]

There are several gushing reviews of the original Kinki Studio EX-M1, the precursor of the component on review. The EX-M1+ adds a few twists in terms of functionality, and that is what I will explore here. It can be dangerous to make a presumption in regards to a follow up product when the introductory model […]

NARP, the New Album Releases Project, got its start at NAR, New Album Releases, and back then – January 17, 2018, I had no idea that it would evolve into a project and be still going strong just about two years later. A proper backgrounder can be read here: https://www.dagogo.com/what-is-nar/ In light of NARP’s longevity […]

Advertisement NARP, the New Album Releases Project, got its start at NAR, New Album Releases, and back then – January 17,  2018, I had no idea that it would evolve into a project and be still going strong just about two years later. A proper backgrounder can be read here: https://www.dagogo.com/what-is-nar/ In light of NARP’s […]

[Publisher’s note: This article is presented by Dagogo Senior Reviewer David Blumenstein.]   Jerry Seinfeld, on his show, once said that “Florida was the place old people go to die”. While there are parts of Florida that have a big retirement population, lower Southwest Florida has a younger, more family-oriented demographic. I moved to the […]

This is an article I’ve been wanting to write for some time. I’ve spent the past 51 years working as an audio professional and have witnessed or been directly involved in a great deal of loudspeaker innovation and engineering during that time. I hope you will find this article instructional and entertaining. What is a […]

Advertisement   What kind of speaker will you choose if you could afford anything and you had a dedicated listening room with a twenty feet ceiling? What kind of music would you play in the system you choose and in such vast venue? Not many of us have the privilege of tackling such tacky issues, […]

Kenny Dorham, A Texan trumpeter born in 1924, was arguably one of the most underrated trumpet players of the bop Jazz era.  An amazing band leader and natural talent, he was also one of the busiest side men of his time.  He recorded with Monk, Rollins, Blakey, Hank Mobley, Oliver Nelson, Max Roach and host […]

Early Years and Becoming King of Swing Benny Goodman and his Orchestra were the most popular dance band of the Swing era.  His music became a definitive statement of American popular culture in the 20th Century.  This article and audio clips are based on the award-winning four-part Jazz Rhythm radio program, Benny Goodman’s Kingdom of […]

MartinLogan, founded by Gayle Martin Sanders and Ron Logan Sutherland in the 1980s, made its mark with electrostatic speakers. I remember listening to their Aerius speakers for the first time in 1992 and being very impressed. The Motion 60XTi floorstanding speaker, the subject of this review, is the flagship of the MartinLogan Motion series. The […]

List of Opamp articles by Doug Schroeder (reverse chronological): Eastern Electric MiniMax tube  DAC Supreme: Discrete opamps Survey (June, 2015) Audio Blast: Eastern Electric Minimax DAC Plus – discrete opamp rolling (April, 2012) Audio Blast: Eastern Electric Minimax DAC Opamp Rolling (March, 2011) Audio Blast: Eastern Electric Minimax DAC – Upgrading Op-Amps (January, 2011) It […]

[Publisher’s note: Dagogo is excited to present Dave McNair’s following new article to its readership. Thank you, Dave! This article is presented by Dagogo Senior Reviewer David Blumenstein.] About the author: Dave has been a professional recording engineer, mixer, producer, audiophile and for the last 20 years, a mastering engineer. Since his earliest days, music […]

[Publisher’s note: Dagogo is excited to present Steve Turnidge’s following new article to its readership. Thank you, Steve! This article is presented by Dagogo Senior Reviewer David Blumenstein.] About the author: Steve Turnidge is a noted mastering engineer at UltraViolet Studios with hundreds of albums and thousands of music tracks to his credit. With over […]

[This article is co-authored by David Blumenstein] Bit-Perfect Playback…and why you should care David Snyder: By the time you read this, the new Amazon Music HD streaming service, promising “High Definition” audio to the masses, will have been available in the US and several other markets for a month or two. The initial subscription offering […]

The Musings of one David Michael Blumenstein, audiophile, bon-vivant, world-traveler Some of my perspectives on the industry, any one or all of which I can expound upon in person: December 7th, 1941, a day that shall live in infamy, but not the only day that the Japanese hit our shores. July 1st, 1979, Sony introduced […]

When I worked as a Certified Public Accountant, I would return to my office tired and stressed after a long day spent at a client’s office. The best way for me to relax was to listen to my office stereo playing music. I installed a stereo system featuring a pair of Magnepan MMG (Mini Magnepans) […]

Introduction – Audio Note U.K. re-thinks the venerable Western Electric 300B Many of you will be familiar with Audio Note (U.K.) and their plethora of tubed products. While these products, at least for me, represent the pinnacle of what can be achieved through thoughtful design and scrupulous choice of parts for their sonics when cost […]

My first encounter with Paradigm was in 1992, about ten years after the company made its start just outside of Toronto, Canada. I wanted an inexpensive but decent sounding pair of bookshelf speakers for a second system that would go in a bonus room office above the garage. So I did what audiophiles usually did […]

Publisher’s note: The Reviewer used all listed equipment and is not affiliated with the manufacturing or retail segments of the industry.  

The opportunity to review Roger Sanders’ products practically came overnight when a local audiophile called and said his demo period was over and Roger had agreed the Magtech Mono Amplifiers could be hauled to my place. An extended listening proved them worthy of public comment. This is a somewhat abbreviated article in which I forego […]

I will start this review with a big dose of reality. The Audio Note AN-E/SPx AlNiCo speakers are clearly not for most readers reading this review. This is a two-way loudspeaker with an 1-inch silk dome tweeter and an 8-inch woofer. It isn’t ten feet tall, doesn’t have beryllium or diamond or electrostatic tweeters, nor […]

“It was a tight little band, just a family of bad little boys, with Bunny the worst of all . . . Oh it was a mad ball.”   — Trombonist Ray Conniff recalling the Berigan Orchestra Bunny Berigan (1908-1942) was best known for his hit recording of “I Can’t Get Started” on which he sang and […]

I have always enjoyed attending the California Audio Show and feel it is worth the drive to Northern California to attend as much as I can. This year I had the opportunity to listen to a number of products that are not sold by my local retailers or are available only direct from the manufacturer. […]

A Tasty Alternative The Orchard Audio PecanPi DAC/Streamer is, as one would surmise from the name, built and designed upon the Raspberry Pi architecture: A Raspberry Pi 3B and a Raspberry Pi DAC all in a neat and attractive chassis. Numerous readers and followers online have been asking me to explore such designs as this, […]

Also read 2019 CAS Report by Richard Austen, Part 1   Part 2 of my show report consists of normal sized hotel rooms.  I will not be mentioning the prices of the associated components or every piece of gear in the room.  For more details follow this link to each room with their price list  […]

Rewind a bit…if your reaction to the title of this article was, “English, please,” then I should take some time to explain. The rest of you can head on down to the section, “This thing is hot!” If you’re still with me, I’ll discuss the title from right to left, starting with “Transport.” For many […]