Design Haruo Takeda is the creator of the Miyabi phonograph cartridges. Many of Takeda cartridges were sold under major audiophile brand names, such as Cello, Klipsch, Krell, and Mark Levinson. In the late seventies he began to design a cartridge he would eventually sell under his own brand name, Miyabi. While there may be no […]

I’ve been having fun listening to several really nice turntable mats and LP stabilizers. They range in price from $100 to $6,095, and I would have to say I was quite surprised by how much and how different they each affected the sound of my system. I shall start with the lowest-priced and build my […]

There was eye candy and great sound courtesy of Audio MIRЯOR (it took a while to figure out how to do Cyrillic characters). Bulgarian born Vladimir Bazelkov moved to the U.S. in 2000. He now lives in Houston. Hey Vladimir, move to Dallas! It’s not as hot, and we don’t have hurricanes. Besides, I’d love […]

John Busch is more the DIY hobbyist than the full time manufacturer. He drove from California to spread the gospel of the open baffle/dipole speaker. Last year I heard what John can do with careful crossover tweaking when I heard his Altec Duplex dipole arrangement sounded sweet, laid back and forgiving; it’s not at all […]

“I’ll tell you ’bout Texas Radio and the Big Beat, Soft drivin’, slow and mad, like some new language” † The most important audio shows aren’t the ones for industry insiders, distributors, dealers and reviewers. It’s the local shows, open to the most ignored people in high-end audio: the end users. CES (and the rest […]

The Beatnik’s Soundstage I still remember to this day the first time I heard an audio system that could produce a soundstage where instruments, and even singers, seemed to come from outside the area between the two speakers. It was somewhere around 1978, plus or minus a year, and high-end dealers were springing up everywhere […]

I don’t usually include much of the manufacturer’s product description, but I do not have the same technical understanding in the digital domain that I do with amps, preamps, turntables, and speakers. And what the heck, there has to be something beyond my understanding to explain why this ordinary, even plain looking one-box, two-channel, Red […]

Jonathan Scull I had the opportunity to hog tie the infamous J10 for a little question and answer session. Getting to know him is getting to love him. Turns out we have some of the same passions. Formula One racing is probably at the top, as well as a general love for fine automobiles. Jonathan […]

1. Intro Voice 0:09 2-1. What a Wonderful World 7:09 2-2. What a Wonderful World 3. Cheek to Cheek 4:32 4. Grand Canyon 8:07 5. My Foolish Heart 5:13 6. Senor Blues 8:39 7. I’ve Never Been in Love Before 4:43 8. Nardis 4:23 9. Mysterious 4:27 10. Good Morning Heartache 5:58 Total time: 53:20 […]

Clarity vs. Black Round One For all three of these comparisons I used my reference system consisting of a Clearaudio Anniversary AMG Wood CMB Turntable with two Clearaudio Satisfy tonearms, and an assortment of EMT (Jubilee Series JSD5, TMD 25N mono), Benz (Series 3, Ace L, Ebony TR S Class), and Miyabi cartridges. Amplification was […]

So far most people who have heard the new T series power conditioners from Audience have been mightily impressed. Harry Pearson mentions in his column for The Absolute Sound that upon inserting the new aR-12 T for the original aR12 that “the transformation of that system was transfixing. Maybe even “staggering” and “astonishing”, according to […]

I first met Robin Wyatt of Robyatt Audio at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. He had a really nice sounding room and I really enjoyed visiting with him. So, when Constantine called and asked if I would like to review the Tektron 211S amp that Robin was importing from Italy, I said most certainly. Robin […]

I would guess that all audiophiles have at one time struggled with ground loop problems, such as hum. I know I have. I have used cheaters, tested for minimum leakage voltage, and tried system star grounding ideas. In the main, I have been able to deal with hum and other noise associated with ground loops. […]

I have had the distinct pleasure of having the new top-of-the-line Pass Labs preamp to play with for the past few weeks: the XP-20. This was a particularly interesting review opportunity because I’ve previously reviewed both the Pass Labs X-600.5 monoblock amp and the XO.2 preamp, so I could make direct comparisons. You may want […]

State Of Format Evolution The Sony SACD was the most viable audiophile format to have come along, and among a sleuth of well-conceived characteristics that defined its prominence, such as a backward compatible layer, progressively affordable new disc players, and even active support of labels worldwide in the following years, it was the advent of […]

I’ve mentioned some LPs in both my reviews and my Beatnik Column, but not on a regular basis. I’m not just an audio equipment reviewer; I was a music lover as well as an audiophile for 35 years before I wrote my first review. I hear live music weekly, sometimes it’s jazz, sometimes it’s classical, […]

Albert von Schweikert must have one of the longest and longstanding learning curves since his days at Caltech decades ago. I am suspecting this not because I have been his classmates at Caltech, or the fact that he has produced many avant-garde, highly regarded loudspeaker designs since the 80s under the company of his namesake […]

By: Albert Von Schweikert, Chief Design Engineer, VSA Corp. Editor’s Note: Dagogo is honored to be chosen as the platform for the first publishing of a new Whitepaper by Albert Von Schweikert. Lately, several high profile speaker companies have launched advertising campaigns using their cabinet construction methods as the topic of discussion. One manufacturer claims […]

Just like all human endeavors, the audio hobby is a mental state and a psychological affair. I have always wondered if I would be a happier person were I to have remained single with a bare living room but a killer sound system and all the time in the world to listen to music through […]

Bowers & Wilkins, the British speaker company who audiophiles know as B&W, has been making speaker systems with unique, modern looking designs with prices ranging from the hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars since the 60s. That means that most iPod owners are not as old as B&W. So when I was setting up […]

Introduction Continuing in the series of articles pertaining to the “Super-review” system I established in the second half of 2008, this month the suite of Wireworld Silver Eclipse and Silver Electra cabling is examined. I consider the suite of cables utilized in any rig to be a component; hence, as integral to the success of […]

Are you a newbie to vinyl looking for expert advice in how to set up a turntable, clean and handle vinyl treasures, learn more about the art of collecting? Maybe, like me, you are a long time vinyl advocate ready to make a more serious investment in collectible grade LPs and want to know the […]

Do you want a hot, top loading, single chassis disc player which will give you close to the ultimate in digital performance, but you don’t want to spend $20,000? Then ogle the Ayon CD-2! I’ve been living with the CD-2 for about three months now, and it’s a Super Spinner. It does not do SACD, […]

The Classic Records’ latest re-release of three 1960 Everest recording are marvels to behold. The Everest label was founded in 1958 by missile electronics engineer Harry Belock (1908 – 1999), with the infamous ambition to surpass both the sound quality and scope of repertoire of the classical label of the day – Capitol. To accomplish […]

▼Esoteric Mozart Piano Concerto hybrid SACD Press Release (click images for full view) When Esoteric Company first released a re-mastered edition of the late Günther Wand’s RCA Beethoven Symphonies complete cycle in the 1st quarter of 2007, it was an unprecedented move by a high-end audio equipment manufacturer. In retrospect, what better marketing move for […]

I recently had the opportunity to attend a private show in Colorado Springs, Colorado put on by Audio Limits and distributor Koetsu USA. Audio Limits is a high end dealer run by the father and son team of Darrin and Gene O’Neil. Koetsu USA is run by Hiram Toro. Audio Limits uses a model that […]

Editor’s Note: In the mid-section of this Review, Fred devised a most analytical narrative in comparisons of several makes of power cables. While the information contained can be a little dry in readability, it is nevertheless an excellent resource to return to repeatedly later on. The last section titled, “Long Term Listening Impressions”, however, is […]

Because of scarcity of resources and prejudices in differences, the world we are living in is not a peaceful one. The modern day economic engine harbors the hopes of many for a more peaceful and tolerant global village, one that is blessed by equality in not only social and economic statuses, but also one that […]

Foreword The Grandezza tonearm’s packaging tells you right off that someone really cared about this tonearm. It comes in a big beautiful wooden box. The inside has dense foam with precisely fitting cutouts for every part and tool. This kind of attention to detail in the packaging should be expected at this price point, but […]

A Lucky Guy I must have been a good boy last year, because the audio Santa Claus has been very good to me, or could that be Constantine Soo, our editor, with that bag of goodies; either way I’ve been a lucky guy this winter. The good thing about my good luck is that you […]