Geoffrey ….. When it comes to listening to what you’ve designed, do you worry that you can find yourself liking something which is actually wrong? How do you keep yourself on track? In the context of tonearms it’s difficult to imagine what I could do to make it sound ‘wrong’. This part of the system […]
Howard Popeck
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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, […]
ROB BUCKLAND is internationally acclaimed as one of the most distinctive and versatile Saxophonists of his generation. Appearing as concerto and recital soloist, with his Equivox Trio (with pianist Peter Lawson and percussionist Simone Rebello), and with the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, Rob performs throughout the UK, Europe and Japan. Recent highlights include the British Premiere […]
I’ve eaten at many restaurants and for this post I’ll focus in Indian ones because I know these best. In some I’m confronted by what seems to be hundreds of options and in others somewhat fewer. I’m working on impressions here; I have no inclination to count the options! In my experience the more choices […]
Howard Popeck: I read this, cover to cover in just one day. A warts ‘n all story of this legendary band. Ultimately a bit sad – but a fine read. Not sycophantic in the least. Makes a change!
Mr Popeck – what criteria is a potential importer judged on before given sole (or any) import rights? Is reputation not factored in at all? Is it worth doing? Can I make reasonable money? Will the mags support me or hinder me? Thanks. Note – the original text published in 2009 was revised May 2017 […]
Howard Popeck writes: For those interested in the trivial minutia of audiophile politics, the ‘turntable wars’ and so on it’s no secret that Mr. T and I have rarely seen eye to eye. Nevertheless from time to time I am reminded of the fact that behind the joy and wonder of music – which on […]
Being an inquisitive chap even way back in 1976 when I entered this industry I kept a log of conversions from ‘prospect’ (that’s the term we use for potential buyers) into clients. The initial results were inconclusive. There were just to many variables. However as the years moved on, I learned more and understood more. […]
No, I’m not going to! I’m not going to be discussing Hifi as a male ego trip here. Thus there will be no snide comments about my woofer being bigger than yours, or I’ve got more thousands of watts to play with than you – nor all the other irrelevant nonsense which makes some audiophiles […]
Hi Howard. Is it possible at any price to reproduce the sound of a piano in the home? Not exactly, no. The closest I heard until very recently was the Bosendorfer demonstration in Munich 2005 where in one room a live piano recital on a Bosendorfer grand piano was recorded on to DAT and then […]
Are you unfamiliar with the term Dynamic Range? Okay; dynamic range, explained simply is the distance between the loudest and the softest parts of a piece of music. I don’t find that description entirely satisfactory and so before reading more of this post you might want to glance at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_range Whatever the description though, the […]
Howard Popeck writes …. Hello Linda and Mo and thank you both for agreeing to this interview. I’m going to dive right in here re your approach to recording technology, formats, domestic music reproduction and more. Our jazz columnist Tony Andrews in part #2 will be focusing more on the music, your influences and more. […]
Introduction This series, written by features editor Howard Popeck is designed to, in jargon-free terms, explain, introduce, educate and otherwise assist anyone who is interested in learning more about how music in the home is produced. Thank you. Neil McCauley / editor in chief Preliminary note: I didn’t try any of this on cherished CDs. […]
Howard Popeck writes: Greetings from the UK. There is in my view a major disconnect between the audiophile magazines and their readers. It’s an understandable one but in my view an important one – and that the focus of this thread-starter.Although I’m a UK-based high-end retailer I am, curiously despite 34 years on and off […]
In conversation earlier this year with a sales manager of one of my suppliers of an audio supply company, as always with this gentleman I’m pleased and delighted to know that his primary driver is not selling product to me, although he does take this seriously, but the sheer love of music. In that curious […]
From long ago …. So anyway, I woke up this morning and decided in one nano-second or less that it was no longer fun running simply-STAX and Listen Carefully. So I have decided to close both of them down with immediate effect. Impulse? Well – probably. But then again, it might have been bubbling away […]
The Who performance on the final night of the Finsbury Park Rainbow, November 1971. This was a classic gig in every sense of the word, and at the conclusion of Tommy as some of you may recall, they sing the coda ‘See me, feel me, hear me’. They, ever in control of the audience cause […]
Originally published in 2004 Occasionally, the music really really grabs me. More than grabs me, it draws me into its soul, its character, its intensity. And quite wonderful it is too. It’s a sort of ecstatic experience and all the better for not requiring chemical process to kick-start it or maintain it. A musical high […]
I hear this mantra / protestation rather a lot. Yes, I’m sure it’s true for some of us; but me – surely I know better, right? Over the years though I’ve concluded that most of us like the gear, the kit, just as much as we like the music. I’m no exception; I’ve bought vintage […]
Well hello again. This is the June 06 newsletter. You didn’t miss the May 06 issue – because there wasn’t one. Okay – to set the scene, when I started this one, England were on the box playing Sweden in Germany. Not my kind of thing. I’m writing this while listening to The Jayhawks “Hollywood […]
Originally published June 2006 Just like you I understand that our connection to music comes from multiple angles: emotional, analytical, as a student, as a teacher, as a critic or just casually. Moreover irrespective of how we are connecting we can easily tell when we like something or we don’t Neither you nor I need […]
On the only forum I subscribe to, I was asked a question about my dream system. Here’s my reply. You’ll notice that some of the items are many years old. The plain fact is that in some instances, nothing, literally nothing made today can achieve the spectacularly wonderful sound from this bygone era. That type […]
Hi Howard. I know your opinion that when it comes to forums your advice and personal practice is to ‘look and never, ever touch’. I understand where you are coming from. Your comments re the obvious and less obvious ‘bigging up’ of chosen brands by the genuine and those in the ‘pay’ of those makers […]
Why do some home demos fail? I can of course only legitimately explain the reasons from the perspective based on my direct personal experiences rather than supposition. The reasons for a sale not occurring at the conclusion of a home demo usually fall into the following relatively broad categories: My intervention has been successful in […]