By: Jack Kenny Jack Kenny is an audiophile as well as a recording engineer. He has done recordings primarily for archival purposes at venues as diverse as the SF Conservatory, Harmonia Mundi, MGM, etc. He even did some with Keith Johnson and Paul Stubblebine years ago. Because Jack started his own investment company he was […]

Sennheiser is one of the largest companies manufacturing headphone and microphone products in the world. Whenever Sennheiser releases a flagship product it is a big deal. When they decided to release an amplifier for the HD800 headphone it was a very big deal. While Sennheiser is known for manufacturing really good headphones, they are far […]

Publisher’s note:  Gregg August is jazz/classical bassist who also composes and arranges.  He has two critically acclaimed albums, one of which, One Peace (Iacuessa Records, 2007), was selected as a Top Ten recordings of 2007by Paul Blair of Hot House magazine.  August is a member of the JD Allen Trio and Assistant Principal bass with […]

For as long as there has been an audiophile press, critics have proclaimed the importance of the “live reference.” Their bottom line message has been, how can music lovers adequately evaluate the qualities of fine audio equipment if they cannot compare the sound it reproduces with that of music performed live? Of course, there is […]

Studio Recordings from Baden-Baden 1958-59 PERSONNEL:Oscar Pettiford—Bass and Cello Dusko Goykovich—Trumpet Lucky Thompson—Soprano Sax Hans Hammerschmid—Piano Hartwig Bartz —Drums Rolf Kühn—Clarinet Jimmy Pratt—Drums Hans Koller—Tenor Sax Attila Zoller—Guitar Kenny Clarke—Drums Helmut Brandt, Helmut Reinhardt, Johnny Feigl—Baritone Sax (three of them!) Rudi Flierl—Alto Sax Studio Recordings SWF Baden-Baden: tracks 1&2, July 15th 1959; tracks 3-7, June […]

By the time this review gets printed, the Zesto Audio Andros PS-1 Phono stage will have been widely publicized, and probably will have won multiple awards from different magazines from around the world. One might ask why would I want to write a review on product which does not need further endorsement, and especially when […]

What is it about single-ended amplification that causes such disagreement among audiophiles?  It’s even a bigger chasm than that separating those who like valve amps from those prefer sand amps. I know to some degree it has to do with the absolute disbelief by some that any speaker really needs only single digit power. Every […]

Publisher’s note: this review of the Audio Space Mini-2SE took place in Hong Kong; the integrated amplifier is not yet available in the North American market. To Seek Out New Tube Amplifiers Discovering new audio products is part of the fun of this hobby. Audio Space is one of a very large number of Chinese […]

Beyerdynamic has been producing world-class products since it started doing business in 1924.  When the company’s Pete Carini asked me to review the T90 headphones, I jumped at the opportunity.  The T90 was introduced last year with the Tesla technology used in the flagship T1 model.  The Tesla driver uses a neodymium ring magnet.  The […]

At this stage of my reviewing career, I should be a touch jaded and a bit blasé about reviewing another solid-state amplifier offering. After all, as a result of stone cold luck, my reviewing resume reads like a who’s who in audio design and engineering. Rowland, Vitus, Krell, and my current reference Behold, are some […]

Now in its third year, T.H.E. show at Newport Beach has grown faster than any other U.S. consumer audio show in the past decade that I can remember.  With all available rooms and exhibitor space fully booked in both the Hilton and the adjacent Atrium hotel, it would have been an impossible task for me […]

Heifetz Beethoven – Beethoven: Sonatas Nos. 8 (opus 30, number 3) and 10 (opus 96) Jascha Heifetz, Violin Emanuel Bay, Piano RCA LM-1914 Limited to 2,000 copies The choice to reissue a 54-year-old mono recording is brave and to be commended. What this record may lack in audiophile terms, it more than compensates for in […]

The Red Garland Quintet – All Mornin’ Long Analogue Productions (Prestige) 200 Gram Vinyl Mono Mastered by Kevin Gray Musicians: Red Garland, John Coltrane, Donald Byrd, George Joyner, and Arthur Taylor Tracks: 1. All Mornin” Long 2. They Can’t Take That Away From Me 3. Our Delight Like so many of these old Prestige jazz […]

There has been no shortage of positive news coming from Burmester recently.  In addition to the partnership that Burmester already has with Porsche and Bugatti, they have just announced a partnership with Mercedes Benz in which all 2014 S Class vehicles will have a Burmester Reference sound system available as an added option.  The Burmester […]

The buzz on Headfi.org regarding the Mad Dog headphones by MrSpeakers prompted me to contact Dan Clark, the company’s CEO, to request a review sample. The first time I listened to the Mad Dogs was at the New York audio show in April. After hearing them and having a discussion with Dan, and being so […]

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  Publisher’s note: I received this article from Phillip approximately 18 hours ago, with a request to publish as soon as possible, as the LP is “almost out of print.”  Readers, take note. The Concept  “Confound it, that’s the most unheard of thing I ever heard of!” –King Leonardo Certainly some of you have heard […]

I was first introduced to the offerings of Merrill Audio by Laurence Borden, our Executive Editor. He learned of the Veritas amplifiers at an audiophile gathering in his neck of the woods somewhere in New Jersey, and then had a chance to hear them in his own system.  Apparently, the amplifiers made enough of an […]

For the last eight months I have listened to my system transform before my ears, as I have used progressively higher levels of High Fidelity Cables as Rick Schultz, proprietor, made them available to me. (CT-1 interconnects, October 2012; CT-1E phono and interconnects, February, 2013; CT-1 and CT-1E speaker cables, May, 2013.)  During this time […]

When I first became interested in higher-end audio I read magazine reviews.  Being in Canada one of the more readily attainable magazines was UHF Magazine based in Quebec, which is still going strong.  Their advice column always stressed the importance of source first.  No matter how good the amplifier or speakers they can’t fix problems […]

Woo Audio has a reputation of producing very high quality tube amplifiers built in the United States. The company is located in New York and it is a family-run business. The chief engineer, Wei Wu has been designing tube amplifiers for over forty years. Wei’s sons, Zhivong Wu and Jack Wu also help design and […]

My wife Becky is a huge college women’s basketball fan. So, she wanted to go to New Orleans this year for the “Women’s Final Four.” We hadn’t been back there since we moved from the Southeast to the San Francisco Bay Area 13 years ago, so I jumped at the chance to go. If you […]

The Dave Brubeck Quartet at Carnegie Hall Speakers Corner 180g LP , 2LPs, Pure Analogue Mastering Musicians: Dave Brubeck, piano, Paul Desmond, alto saxophone, Eugene Wright, bass, Joe Morello, drums Tracks: LP1 – Side 1: 1. St. Louis Blues 2. Bossa Nova U.S.A. 3. For All We Know LP1 – Side 2: 1. Pennies From […]

Until this reissue by Jazz Haus, the only thing I knew about Jutta Hipp was that her early 10” LP from Blue Note, Jutta Hipp Quintet (New Faces-New Sounds From Germany), BLP5056. It was difficult to find and very expensive if in Mint condition. It’s also a good example of a fake DSM cover (David […]

For some time now I have been privileged to have my entire system hooked up with the wonderful cables from High Fidelity Cables.  I have already written about the CT-1 and CT-1E interconnects.  Rick Schultz, owner of HFC, was a little slower getting the speaker cables out.  This review is of the CT-1 and CT-1E […]

[H]ow do you describe something that isn’t there? How to you qualify and quantify an absence? With a subjective audio review, lacking a scientific test procedure, describing my impressions will only offer limited benefit to the prospective buyer. In the case of isolation devices, the more energy that is pumped into the system, the greater […]

The Grado wood bodies [I]’m coming back to the wooden body Grados, the Reference Platinum 1 in this case, after a 20-something-year hiatus.  Disregarding the possibility of improvements in manufacturing and materials, would the cartridge sound the same to me?  Would it have the same strengths and weaknesses?  My original Grado Platinum was the first […]

[I]n an ideal world an audio amplifier would not impart any sonic traits upon the audio signal it is amplifying. It should just amplify that signal. But as we know this is not an ideal world. And every amplifier has a ‘sound.’ Thus, this review of the Seymour AV Ice Block 5001 mono-block amplifiers will […]