Synopsis for those who hate to read The Inakustik Reference LS 4004 Air, Reference Digital 2404 Air, and Reference High Speed USB are all not only among the best audiophile cables I’ve heard, they are also among the best values in high-end components that I’ve encountered in the last several years. I have no compunction […]

  And then there were … Liner Notes Christmas week leading into New Year is not the most fertile ground for new album releases and re-issues/re-masters for that matter. To put the latter into perspective, this week, that portion of NARP is comprised of albums by Bonnie Raitt, Dr. John, and Swans. Tell me now, […]

And then there were … Liner Notes This close to Christmas, there’s just no way I was not going to have a festive holiday album on the list. It was SLIM pickings this week, but Jamie Cullum’s The Pianoman at Christmas did manage to grab my attention. Jamie, far better known across the pond, has […]

For some time I have been wanting to take a look back at Sumiko as a topic in my series (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) on phono cartridges. I go way back with Sumiko, to 1976 and its early days with founder David Fletcher. I believe most of my readers are familiar with Sumiko […]

And then there were … Liner Notes Christian Löffler’s – Parallels – Shellac Reworks of Beethoven is the answer. The question: Where is the intersection of EDM and Classical Music? This past weekend Deutsche Grammophon presented Löffler’sParallels in its entirety as an EP. There will be a full-length album including tracks from other composers. I […]

And then there were … Liner Notes   From the start I knew this was going to be a banner week with releases from: Cats In Space’s Atlantis Girls In Airports’ Dive Mica Paris’s Gospel Silje Nergaard’s Hamar Railway Station Tenderlonious’ Ragas from Lahore – Improvisations with Jaubi VOS’ Charlatan   And then the unexpected: […]

Audiophiles maintain a not-so hushed reverence for recording engineers, producers, and independent record label owners. Deep down they harbor a desire to lay claim to being one, if not all, of the above. So, imagine my surprise when I learn that Cameron Jenkins, who is indeed all of the above as well as a classically […]

Introduction This review is unique in any number of ways. Normally, a reviewer contacts a manufacturer or distributor to request a review sample, which is then either returned to the manufacturer or purchased at the end of the review period. In most instances, it works well for all parties, except when the reviewer requests changes […]

And then there were … Liner Notes Short & Suite this week. Not seeing the need to wax on and …   New Releases Alexandra Conunova– Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni Australian Art Orchestra – Sometimes Home Can Grow Stranger Than Space Cecilia Bartoli – Queen of Baroque Daniel Barenboim, Kian Soltani & Michael Barenboim – […]

The product category of mini-monitors is arguably the most visible among all too many audiophiles, at times generating equal portions of excitement and disappointment. We can stack equipment to save space but we cannot hide big speakers, so bookshelf speakers are often the first if not the only choice for many readers. Dagogo readers have […]

And then there were … Liner Notes A slow week, picking up at the end, just.So I’m going to load up with bullet points, the ones that got me thinking and re-listening, particularly the ones in boldface. Cotatcha Orchestra – Bigbandová elektronika Jonas Kaufmann – It’s Christmas! Mari Kodama & Matt Haimovitz – Mon ami, […]

Every Day an Audio Show “Hey Richard, will you be attending the California Audio Show in California this summer?” “Sure. Are you going?” I reply. “Yes. I have saved up for the air and hotel and am excited to hear all those brands I read about in the press. The hotel is booked and the […]

  Occasionally I look on YouTube to see what Ken Block of Hoonigan fame is doing. I harbor a fantasy of driving such vehicles, without the degree of risk, of course! The latest video showed him piloting a “hooned” Ford Mustang Mach-E. It’s a ferocious version of the electric car of the same name. I […]

And then there were … Liner Notes This week so many BANGERS in both NARP sections, so do take notice and be prepared to take some excursions of both the heart and mind. To say that classical music as we know it in the 20th and 21st centuries couldn’t be the same without Nadia Boulanger […]

My esteemed colleague David Blumenstein at Dagogo found it interesting that I have been using my Acoustic Research “The AR turntable” combined with a Sumiko Premier MMT tonearm for longer than the 36 years I have been married. He asked me to write about my experience with this turntable. The turntable was purchased brand new […]

And then there were … Liner Notes *And this week was indeed something: Daniel Barenboim’s latest complete recording of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas & Diabelli Variations is a tour-de-force. As soon as I got my grubby paws on this collection, I had to listen all the way through from absolute start to finish. Elvis Costello’s Hey […]

A few months before the July 2019 California Audio Show, an attendee submitted a question in response to my rallying cry for questions to be directed to Dr. Roger West of Sound Lab at his anticipated seminar. The question was whether Sound Lab panels can be used in small rooms. During the well-attended Sound Lab […]

And then there were … Liner Notes: Keith Jarrett’s Budapest Concert is ever so poignant given the latest news regarding his health, strokes, and his present/future as a performer. This concert album is from performances in 2018. Jhene Aiko’s Chilombo has me pleading guilty. This recent Deluxe expanded edition of her 3rd studio album did […]

My publisher, Constantine Soo, suggested I improve on my NAD PP-1 phono stage with a more updated unit. I have resisted the urge to make changes because, after years of experimenting with different components, I finally have my stereo system sounding the way I want. It is very natural and pleasing to me and this […]

And then there were … Liner Notes: Found me and/or the industry hitting a wall this past week. Can’t put my finger on it, but not just the quantity, but the quality wasn’t there in abundance. No matter though, as there were indeed some nuggets. Melody Gardot’s Sunset in The Blue, her 5th album, and […]

The setting This is my first review in quite a while. I took an extended break these last two years while orchestrating my transition out of the business I built over the last thirty years, but I never stopped checking out new components. I actually have extensive notes on over a dozen audio products. Unfortunately, […]

Author’s note: What follows is a series of interviews with the coordinators and industry participants who collaborated to make the event possible. Others, inside and outside of the industry, should take in the content, using the knowledge gained to consider running micro-shows of their own across the country and around the world.   The Now […]

And then there were … Liner Notes: Artemis’ eponymous ARTEMIS is the power debut album from some extraordinary women, whose individual respective musicality boggles the mind and taken as an ensemble, be prepared to have that mind of yours blown. Who comprises Artemis? We’re talking about a jazz supergroup featuring pianist and musical director Renee Rosnes, […]

Note: Two years ago, my fellow Dagogo staff member, Doug Schroeder, reviewed an earlier model of the BorderPatrol DAC, the SE, which, unlike the SE-i, did not make use of Jupiter Beeswax film and foil output capacitors. Doug did manage to ask Gary Dews of BorderPatrol several questions relating to the philosophy and design of […]

And then there were … Liner Notes: Penguin Café’s Handuls of Night (Explored). Simon Jeffe’s Penguin Café Orchestra’s albums changed my world. And now his son, Arthur, is not only playing his dad’s music as Penguin Café but also new compositions on this album commissioned by Greenpeace to herald the life and times of various […]

The Southern California city of Dana Point is a sleepy beach front community of villas, mansions and a beautiful harbor of luxury boats, sixty-four miles south of Los Angeles, right off I-5. Aaudio Imports, the venerable importer of Wilson Benesch speakers from the UK and Ypsilon electronics from Greece, among other notable brands, has moved […]

Wild and Woolly are the words to come to mind as I pen these liner notes: How can I say NO to the SHATNER? This album of his entitled The Blues will become a classic. If for nothing else, in 20 years, his version of Sunshine for Your Love will be covered by The Family […]

It was/is my intention with NARP to not only shine a light on new music, release and re-issues/re-masters (R, R & M), but to introduce a rather eclectic mix of music to members of the New Album Releases Project (NARP). Members have asked why I focus so much on re-issues/re-masters, and I’ve had to explain […]

“Vinyl is making a comeback.” I hear or read this statement all the time. When anyone says this to me, I always reply, “To me it never left.” I must have missed something because I have been playing records continuously since I was a teenager, especially for the past 20 years. I have been using […]

Refreshing to see so much new music out there. There was a lull over the summer but not now. I’m going to bullet point the MUST-LISTEN recordings of the New Releases: Matt Berry: Phantom Birds Mary Hopkin: Another Road Nick Mason’s Saucerful of Secrets: Live At The Roundhouse The Dream Syndicate: The Universe Inside Diego […]