In Part One, I did everything within my limited technical ability to share how this interesting and different cartridge design works. Now, let’s talk about the only thing that actually matters: how my system sounded with the DS Audio DS-W1 optical phono cartridge responsible for getting the music out of those record grooves. I can […]

Let me mention two things before I get started with the review. While visiting with Garth Leerer of Musical Surroundings, I said, “I can tell you this after living for three years with the Soundsmith Stain-gauge and now with the DS, I find these two cartridge technologies to be real alternatives to traditional magnetic cartridge. […]

At some point during my freshman year in high school, I discovered music, originally show tunes and movie soundtracks, moving gradually into a wide range of classical music and jazz.  I had very limited funds, essentially only money that I had earned from a paper route.  This was well before the advent of compact discs […]

  At the California Audio Show last August, I got to see and hear the striking Serene Audio Talisman desktop speakers. A few years ago finding a pair of powered desktop speakers was next to impossible, yet now there are so many powered desktop speakers on the market that a manufacturer has to do something […]

Prospective In 2010, I purchased and then reviewed what I honestly thought would be the last turntable I would ever own, the Shindo 301 turntable, tonearm, and cartridge. Then, two years later I reviewed the AMG Viella V12 turntable and tonearm. The AMG Viella V12, when set on the HRS M3X-1921-AMG V12, gave me everything […]

Coming hot off the review of the reference level MIT Cables Oracle V1.3HR cable system, I really had to clear my head. By far the most expensive cable I have ever reviewed, its price and performance set my head spinning. But there was no time for head clearing. I had committed to writing a cable […]

  Tracks: 1. The Look Of Love (Hal David/Burt Bacharach) – Saskia Bruin 2. Vincent (Don McLean) – Sarah Morrau 3. Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper/Rob Hyman) – Jeni Fleming Acoustic Trio 4. Your Song (Elton John) – Emi Fujita 5. A Whiter Shade Of Pale (G. Brooker/K. Reid/M. Fisher) – Halie Loren feat. Matt […]

Audio is a hobby in which a world of companies come together to create elegant electronics and speakers for music listening at home. Engineers, financiers and businessmen look at our industry and introduce new, more progressive designs when they believe they can carve out a market share in this hotly competitive arena by introducing higher […]

  This has to be one of the most common questions and complaints in the high-end audio world. It also has to be one of the oddest things about the audio community. I’ve never heard anyone ask why do “supercars cost so much” or why do Swiss watches cost a fortune. Now, of course, lots […]

A goodly number of those hoity-toity, big gun amp makers have a serious problem, it’s class D, and its name is Red Dragon Audio, the maker of the S500 amp. No, the company’s products are not made in China, but rather in Utah. The S500 looks fairly nondescript, with a brushed, bright aluminum case and […]

Classic Linda Ronstadt – Just One Look LP 1 Side A: 1. Different Drum 2. Love Has No Pride 3. Desperado 4. Willing 5. I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love With You) Side B: 1. You’re No Good 2. Tracks of My Tears 3. Heat Wave 4. Someone To Lay Down Beside […]

There are certain things that are so easily explored by simple trial that I feel no pity for a person who dismisses them without so much as a finger being lifted or a dime being spent to investigate. Had I been such a person I would still be putting together mediocre audio systems, and would […]

I should start this review with an apology for taking so long to get the review turned in. I had planned to do it when I reviewed the Margules Audio U280-SC 25th Anniversary tube amp and SF220.15 20th Anniversary tube line stage, but somehow got distracted. When I did the article about my three big […]

It seems that nowadays every day is national something or some other special day. I wonder if I could use the word day more in one sentence! Anyway, I declared it Duke Ellington Night at my house the other night. I got out the three LPs seen in the picture and sat down to enjoy. […]

I have reviewed the Audio Reference Technology Super SE cable system and have always come away impressed by their performance, quality and appearance. The product reviewed in this article is no exception.   Power in My Main System When most people talk about “sources” in their audio system, they are referring to a turntable, reel-to-reel, […]

Arcam is one of those well established mid/high-end companies from the UK that offer more than just a taste of the high-end at very attractive prices. For some reason, they never seem to get much further than whispers of recognition in the US, but perhaps this is about to change. Over the years I have […]

This is my short list of sweet components, and trust me, I’ll keep it short. I write plenty in my reviews, and you can find most of my thoughts regarding these products in my reviews. Without further ado, here is the list for 2015! Sweetest Budgetary move: I spent two years seeing how far I […]

Pure and simple, that is the goal at PureAudioProject, the makers of a speaker that is part DIY and part manufactured. It’s flashy, yet practical. In some respects it’s pure lunacy, and in others it’s pure genius. It goes by the name the PureAudioProject TRIO 15TB Speaker, or the TREO 15 BEYMA 150H, or the […]

Pet Peeve #4:        “You Have To Decide With Your Own Ears!” Some form of that statement has to be the most common sentiment on internet forums. I have to plead guilty to having said it many times myself. Why is it so often stated? Most likely, because it seems so obvious. Surely you can’t trust […]

Lyn Stanley – Interludes Numbered Limited Edition 180g 45rpm 2LP Mastered by Bernie Grundman and Pressed at Quality Record Pressings LP1 Side A: How Long Has This Been Going On? Just One Of Those Things Whole Lotta Love Side B: More Than You Know Boulevard of Broken Dreams Nice ‘n Easy Black Velvet LP 2 […]

In 2007, Kazuo Kiuchi, the Director of Combak Corporation, co-founded the new audiophile music label Master Music with Yoshihiko Kannari. Bringing to this record project was Kiuchi’s expertise in equipment and room tuning via his Harmonix line of products, plus the experience of Yoshihiko Kannari from his days of making recordings under the TBM audiophile […]

An engaging journey of the mind and heart In high-end audio, less is more when there is less electronic transition and digital processing of a performance during recording and mixing. In the case of this Opus 3 SACD, How Deep Is The Ocean by female jazz vocalist, Yamina, we’re told the original DSD128 file had […]

I own an Oppo BDP-105D. The D stands for Darbee which takes a standard hi-def picture and adds contrast where needed to give the picture a very “alive, you are there” look. The picture is very real and three dimensional-looking with no artifacts or problems. I have yet to find a DVD player at any […]

The WyWires Exogal Umbilical is a $199 upgrade I strongly suggest any owner of the Exogal Comet DAC pursue. The upgraded power supply of the Exogal Comet is outboard necessitating an umbilical to supply power to the DAC. Improvement in the quality of power cable is instrumental in the elevation of performance of the Comet. […]

Today marks the halfway point for the show. I headed back to the Venetian Hotel. My first stop was Rogue Audio. Rogue is a US based tube electronics company that has always built great sounding gear at super competitive prices. But best of all very reliable. They were showing their new RP-1 preamp ($1695) that […]

Most equipment supports, whether cones, small squares of wood, or pucks of visco-elastic material, are referred to as isolation devices; however, this represents a misunderstanding of the problem. While some mechanical energy may originate in the environment, the most harmful energy does not enter from the outside but is instead generated internally by the audio […]

Morning was cool and clear and I was fully rested and looking forward to what the day would bring at the High End exhibits. I have to admit I really haven’t spent any time looking into Emotiva, probably because they have been a factory direct product line, so my visit with them was rather eye […]

If you have been to any audio shows in the last few years or if you read show reports then you have seen the room with all the bling in it. Even after so many shows when I walk in the TriangleART room I am always overwhelmed by all the chrome; the other thing that […]

Before I get on with the show, I would like to acknowledge Pete Schumacher, who is, along with Ryan Scott, a principal of Vapor Audio. I will not be discussing Pete much in this article, as it is largely a recounting of my experience in the build out and purchase of the Joule White 3 […]

When I first saw the Thales TTT-Slim Turntable and Easy Tonearm, my first thought was, “my word, a new version of the Garrard Zero 100.” The truth is only the tonearm reminds me of the Zero 100. If you’re not familiar with the Zero 100, it was built in the early 70s. It was advertised […]