Initial suspicions One afternoon I find myself sitting in my listening chair, listening to music playing from my main audio setup. The only new things are two 10-lb 111/130/192 (H/W/D) mm boxes sitting on the floor next to my Vivid Audio Giya G1. Nonetheless, I’m thinking to myself “What the heck just happened?!” The two […]

I recently reviewed the Music Hall mmf-1.3 turntable, and as good as the turntable was, I did feel the included $30 Audio Technica AT-3600L phono cartridge prevented the turntable from performing as well as it could. After discussing about using a better phono cartridge with both Roy Hall of Music Hall and the folks at […]

The Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices at the Colburn School 1. Concerto for Piano and Small Orchestra, Op. 43 (21:05) Molto sostenuto Sostenuto Allegro alla jazz Dominic Cheli, piano RVC Ensemble James Conlon, conductor Five Pieces for String Quartet (15:29) 2. Alla valse Viennese (2:03) 3. Alla serenata (3;39) 4. Alla czeca (1:45) 5. Alla […]

I had two turntable goals at the beginning of this year. The first was to find a reasonably priced turntable to review. The second was to be able to play the 78 rpm records that I inherited a number of years ago. I have not played any 78s since I was a very young child. […]

Lorenzo speakers with Goldmund sounded quite nice – Big but cohesive. Gobel and Riviera – Another one of the better sounding rooms at the show. I always seem to enjoy Tannoy speakers. And the big Westminster’s didn’t disappoint. They brought their apartment sized models as well. Audio Physic and Gold Note sources and Analog Domain […]

The best sound of the show for me came not from stereo systems but from Steinway & Sons Pianos and their SPIRIO/r set-up.  The player Piano has now become “elite”. The version I heard was the 38th model of Lang Lang’s 88 models of Steinway & Sons (8 is a lucky number in Asia and […]

One of the more relaxing sounding rooms was from Western Electric with speakers older than me, the 753C speakers.  Western Electric had their new SET amplifier on display.  The sound was smooth and one of my favorites.  I would be interested to hear the speakers on stands or tilted up to perhaps improve the image […]

This is a story about evolution: How I became a better listener, how the product I’ve been listening to improved, and how my experience improved as I got to know the product. The product central to this story is the Audience ClairAudient 1+1, an eight-inch tall, eight-pound dual full-range driver monitors from a southern California […]

                    Coming soon: AV Show HK 2022, Part 4 Also see AV Show HK 2022, Part 1, Part 2.

                        NEXT: AV Show HK 2022, Part 3 – Brinkmann, Zesto, Arcam, Acoustic Solid, Bryston, Burmester, Lumin, Avantgarde Hong Kong, Transrotor, Gold Note. Also see AV Show HK 2022, Part 1, Part 2.

I would like to star off by saying that I find very large shows like this one tend to be more about seeing the equipment in person than evaluating sound.  Unlike other shows where I try to comment on sound quality I won’t be doing that here too much.  I will chime in on some […]

1/18/23 – UPDATE: First Proposed Settlement in the Music Direct/MoFi Predicament A proposed settlement has come to light in the first class-action suit regarding Music Direct/MoFi. Court summon case number: No. 22–cv–01081–JLR. United States District Court Western District of Washington: https://www.wawd.uscourts.gov/attorneys/pacer STEPHEN J. TUTTLE, et al, Plaintiffs, v. AUDIOPHILE MUSIC DIRECT INC. d/b/a MUSIC DIRECT […]

I am always looking for topics to write about and this one recently just fell into my lap. I have not seen a lot on turntable mats; when I brought it up at a recent meeting of the Sacramento Audio Group, the members thought it would be a great and fun exercise for a club […]

The following is an interview of Perlisten CEO and Co-founder Dan Roemer. I see on the website the brief bios for Dan and Lars. Are there others deserving particular mention in association with the success of Perlisten? Erik Wiederholtz, Stephen Mascenik and Peter Yang also are partners of Perlisten The company timeline mentions a “high […]

From the author: In a bid to lessen the inordinate amount of time spent on development of reviews, I have determined to alter their format. For the past 14 years I have typically conducted technically inclined interviews and woven into the articles the information gleaned. Now, in order to save keystrokes and allow you to […]

Tracks: Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 Pastoral I. Awakening of cheerful feelings on arriving in the country: Allegro ma non troppo (11:01) II. Scene by the brook: Andante molto mosso (11:49) III. Merry assembly of country folk: Allegro (4:57) IV. Thunderstorm: Allegro (3:28) V. Shepherd’s Song – Benevolent feelings of thanksgiving to the deity […]

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to chat with Peter Connell, the director of the world famous Disneyland Band. Peter leads a group of the most entertaining musicians around. Anyone who has spent time on Disneyland’s Main Street at the Anaheim, California park gets to be entertained listening to live unamplified music by this […]

Also read Audio Note UK M1 Phono preamp & Empress Silver parallel single-ended triode monoblocks Review   The Audio Note Empress Silver Monoblock amplifiers are parallel single-ended amplifiers using two 2a3 power tubes per channel and generating 7-8 watts per channel. Audio Note describes the Empress as follows: Pure Class A operation Zero Negative Feedback […]

I really enjoyed my time with the Parasound NewClassic 200 Pre preamplifier in my last review. I find Parasound products to sound great, are a tremendous value, and are built to last based on my own almost 30 years of personal experience with the brand. The Parasound NewClassic 275 v.2 power amplifier is one of […]

The tagline for Glanz is “A legendary brand is reborn” and it is not an exaggeration. The Glanz name was first used in 1972 by the Mitachi Onkyo corporation when a twenty-three-year-old Masataka Hamada joined and developed the company’s first moving magnet cartridges. He went independent in 1980 while continuing development of audio technologies for […]

Introduction I became friends with Jim some years ago, as we were both pursuing an interest in the Audio Note UK top DA converter at the showroom of Colorado dealership Audio Federation. Jim’s determination to build a system that could reproduce as well as possible the sound of live music, particularly the symphonies and piano […]

I have been successfully using Parasound components for almost 30 years. I purchased the Parasound HCA-1200 power amplifier brand new back in 1993, which then had a list of $845.00. I have used the amp all this time, initially driving Acarian Systems Alon 1 speakers and currently Magnepan MMG speakers. The reliability of this Parasound […]

In a world where a power cord can sell for more than the price of an automobile, is it possible to find a power cord that will significantly improve the performance of your equipment, yet can be had at a reasonable price (say significantly less than $1,000)? This review attempts to answer that question. In […]

The hopeless truth (or fascinating reality) They say wisdom is recognizing how little you know, that the more you learn, the more you realize how little you know. With each high-end audio system I assembled, and there have been hundreds, the feeling grows in me that I know less and less of the absolute extent […]

One of my first reviews for Dagogo was back in 2008 when I covered the Audio Note OTO Phono SE single-ended pentode integrated amplifier. I had purchased the amplifier in 2003 and I still own it to this day. What makes the Audio Note OTO, along with their SORO and Meishu integrated amplifiers, different than […]

How do you want your music? Some classical fans may want less micro detail in favor of a more laid back, macro perspective to take in the entire orchestra, perhaps yielding a more judicious treatment of delicate woodwinds amidst the panoramic strings and brasses. To some lieder fans, tonal magnetism and fluidity of the human […]

Late 2020 and all of 2021 did a number on me and not for the reason you might think, although that might have played a part. During this time, I moved house three times, having to pack up all of my belongings, including all of my stereo systems and requisite gear, as many times. That […]

The Cambridge Audio EVO 150 at first glance is a network streamer and integrated amplifier and, while that would not be factually incorrect, it is that much and more. Its industrial design, highlighted by the borderless display screen (picture a resort hotel’s rooftop infinite pool viewed from above), serves not only its effusive functionality and […]

Nagaoka phono cartridges have received some rave reviews on the internet. In one video, the Nagaoka MP-150 ($350) was favored over the Hana EL and Ortofon Quintet Blue low output moving coils. To check out the brand, I decided to try the entry-level Nagaoka MP-110 ($169.95), which is in the value sweet spot for cartridges […]

While there is any number of superb digital units in today’s market, I continue to use an EMM Labs TX2 transport in conjunction with the companion DA2 D/A converter, with which I have been extremely happy.  Other units may, in certain areas, have small advantages, but none when taken as a whole is better or […]