Perfection is only a point of view. Moreover it’s only valid at the instant it happens and only if we accept the challenges of being ‘right there’ in the moment. By this I mean the listener being intimately (inextricably?) involved in that perfection. In other words, a perfect musical performance doesn’t mean the performer made […]
Howard Popeck
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Do you like the music of Elvis Costello? Hmm. Visualise me stroking my chin please. Okay – got that? Good. I’ll begin. But I haven’t met him! I’ve been thinking long and hard about the question you posed, do I like Elvis Costello? Try as I may, no simple answer emerges and I can only […]
“Blown away” for a 3.27% investment: A cursory look at some audio forums will show that a great number of contributors don’t buy the idea that power cables make a difference in a high end audio system. Some of them claim to be engineers and a proportion of them might be. Some write with what […]
In your experience, do mains leads really make a difference, and are the expensive ones really capable of offering value? Mains cables do change the sound of audio equipment. Unfortunately there’s a lot claims made about mains cables that are exaggerated. I suggest that the effect of a mains cable is not as important as […]
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My opinion is consistent and contrary to the prevailing view. These days I use long speakers cables and short interconnects. This is because as far as I can tell, based on my own experiences and the writings of others with genuine expertise most modern power amps have a better ability to drive a complex load […]
Howard Popeck: Certainly. Now forgive me for saying this, but it is possible to over-analyse the wonder of music, the magic and the emotion. It’s a danger, but somehow I sense you aren’t going to fall into the trap. The most wonderful book on the sheer unadulterated joy of classical music without the usual patronising […]
Editor McCauley in conversation with Howard Popeck in 2008 Can we return to the mercurial Mr. Michaelson at some point today? Possibly. Possibly ….. not. Depends on what your questions are. Some matters are strictly off limits. He is though a bit of a hero for me frankly. (HP makes direct eye contact as if […]
I recently received a private email asking me “what exactly is a good recording?” Great question and here’s what’s interesting: we all know a great or poor recording the moment we hear one. At one of my recent demonstrations I was demonstrating a decent transport and DAC through the customer’s much loved and really rather […]
INTRO: The catalyst for this discussion is both the on-air and off-air discussions between the Lost Immortals team on our FM (streaming too) Sunday show @ 17:00 GMT. Our radio station control room is very far from hi-fi; more like no-fi. Cheap as chips speakers, bygone era headphones and so on. And yet, and yet […]
Out of my thousands of vinyl pressings the thought struck me that it might be interest, for me and perhaps for some of you to try and list my favourite 100. A big task, but not an unpleasant one. But for sanity’s sake I have to set a few limits. First, an era restriction. So, […]
From our 2005 archives ….. Without doubt, one of my 3 most played CDs last year is the debut album from Rachel Fuller – ‘Cigarettes and Housework’. It’s my personal choice for 2004. Her music is hard to categorize. I hate putting music in pigeon holes, but occasionally an indication of genre helps. It […]
Terrific. And not least because it was yet another eBay Bargain. The review published HERE is I feel a little under-enthusiastic. Or perhaps I’m overly receptive? In any event this one has survived many repeated plays here in the office system. I wouldn’t be without it. HP
Out of my thousands of vinyl pressings the thought struck me that it might be interest, for me and perhaps for some of you to try and list my favourite 100. A big task, but not an unpleasant one. But for sanity’s sake I have to set a few limits. First, an era restriction. So, […]
Note: This is an extract from the original text of the review of an entire system by me that was published in Hi-Fi News a couple of years back. I’ve looked at it again – and I wouldn’t change a thing! Introduction I’m in favour of system reviews rather than A/B testing. I’m not […]
Occasionally I get a call or email from a potential customer with a problem and he’s “100% sure” it cannot be this or it cannot be that causing it. This causes a smile here; but not an attitude of condescension. Why? Because I used to be like that and as you’ll see below still am […]
Let me set the scene. One of the reasons I gave up representing STAX equipment, at the time I was the global #1 for the brand was not, as is sometimes reported, the unreliability of the Omega-2 earspeakers and certain batches of the 717, but that on a number of occasions, the defective items had […]
First published here in 2011 I received this question. My answer follows. I retrospect, I might have been a bit harsh. But then again ……..? Hi. A well known valve supplier and I have discussed putting (a new valve amplifier line) into production. Given your experiences with valve amplification would you be interested in selling […]
Out of my thousands of vinyl pressings the thought struck me that it might be interest, for me and perhaps for some of you to try and list my favourite 100. A big task, but not an unpleasant one. But for sanity’s sake I have to set a few limits. First, an era restriction. So, […]
Mr. H says: LOATH that song and to such an extent that I cannot offer an objective answer. But some others can, and so: Rocci Disopa, former Recording Engineer answered May 16Because the old Airplane were seminal figures in the ‘hippy’ counter culture movement of the Sixties. They were considered radicals, purveyors of a […]
Howard Popeck: I exist partly because of Tchaikovsky’s 4th, 5th and 6th Symphonies (Vladimir Ashkenazy), and The Who playing 5.15 (from Quadrophenia) and Christine Collister sing ‘Two Time Tango’ of the Live 94 CD, and, and…… The point being for me at least that while listening to music is NOT a validation of civilised behaviour […]
Another morning feeling slightly odd – in that frustratingly difficult to describe way that sometimes happens. Piles of work (most of which is enjoyable), one business meeting with a dear friend and dinner tonight with another dear friend. Still feel something’s not quite right though. And so, I’m now listening once again to one of […]
Out of my thousands of vinyl pressings the thought struck me that it might be interest, for me and perhaps for some of you to try and list my favourite 100. A big task, but not an unpleasant one. But for sanity’s sake I have to set a few limits. First, an era restriction. So, […]
Out of my thousands of vinyl pressings the thought struck me that it might be interest, for me and perhaps for some of you to try and list my favourite 100. A big task, but not an unpleasant one. But for sanity’s sake I have to set a few limits. First, an era restriction. So, […]