Month: September 2019

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Emily Jupp writes ….. People with synaesthesia have an extra layer of sensory perception – and some are pop superstars. When Lowell, a Canadian electro-pop musician, listens to “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers, she sees a wave of blue water crashing over her. When she hears the experimental group Animal Collective, the layered synths, […]

Derek Brooks writes: Scientists at NASA and National Nanofab Center in South Korea are working to miniaturize a vacuum tube so small it would fit on an integrated circuit. Although applications might one day filter down into the audio marketplace, the current motivation is to make use of the device for faster processing as electrons travel […]

they tell us….. And now ladies and gentlemen for your sheer delight after a seven year hiatus we have for you at last a new album from the celebrated, original, irreverent, naughty boys who allegedly out naughtied the Rolling Stones (a while ago) yes you will put your hands together for The Pretty Things in […]

This is what they say: It’s up to your turntable to unlock vinyl’s potential, and not all turntables are built equal. The Orbit has been designed to deliver sound that does justice to your records. To make this possible at an attainable price, we re-engineered essential audiophile components, simplified wherever possible, and used only high-quality […]

This former enfant terrible of Dutch music has spent his career attempting to make the classical political MORE

The lower trace shows classic crossover distortion, where one transistor imperfectly hands over to the other in a push-pull pair. Crossover in large-ish quantities (above 0.3%) is audible, roughening the sound. What it tells us A distortion of a sound is, in the broadest sense, any change that affects the original. Distortion that can be heard as a nasty ripping […]

James Randi used to be a stage magician, who at some point in his life evolved to becoming a scientific skeptic‪ best known for his challenges to paranormal claims and pseudoscience. For those who do not know him, he truly is a force of nature with sharp wit and a strong desire to make the […]

Roger Skoff writes ….. In the last installment (Part 3) of this continuing series on audio reviews and reviewers I named three requirements for good reviewing ― the ability to judge products’ performance; the ability to apply some (consistent) standard for rating them; and the ability to communicate one’s judgments and ratings to other people […]

John Allison writes as follows: Seventy years after his death, Sergei Rachmaninov’s star burns as brightly as ever. Few composers are better loved by a broad public, and listeners never seem to tire of his narrow range of musical moods. It hardly seems to matter that many of Rachmaninov’s themes are almost incestuous: as the […]

Though it ultimately must be considered an interim vehicle for singer/songwriter/keyboardist/guitarist Steve Winwood, Traffic was a successful group that followed its own individual course through the rock music scene of the late ’60s and early ’70s. Beginning in the psychedelic year of 1967 and influenced by the Beatles, the band turned out eclectic pop singles […]

Nothing new HERE for NY fanatics like me but for the NY neophyte, plenty of good commentary.

Sean O’Hagan: From Johnny Cash “flipping the bird” at Jim Marshall’s camera during a soundcheck in San Quentin prison to Robert Mapplethorpe’s portrait of an androgynous Patti Smith in white shirt and braces on the cover of Horses, and the late Amy Winehouse posing provocatively in bed on her wedding day, photography has often spoken […]

“Why you should ditch your Bluetooth speaker for the smooth, sweet and surprisingly affordable sound of a vacuum-tube amplifier” Continues HERE

Martin Chilton ….. Guy Clark, one of the great old masters of country music story-telling lyrics, has done live albums before but there is a charm and assured feel to his new release, Songs And Stories, that makes it a treat for country fans. MORE

The makers say: Roksan’s K3 Integrated Amplifier is a beautiful thing to behold. With its elegant new design, phenomenal sound characteristics and aptX® Bluetooth streaming capability, this new amplifier is truly orientated toward today’s discerning audiophile.

They say … Toronto ON — exaSound Audio Design, manufacturer of innovative, exceptional fidelity audio products, announced today the second generation of their model e22 and e28 digital–to–analog converters (DACs). The e22 and e28 Mark II include both firmware and hardware improvements. Based on ESS Technology’s original premium ES9018S SABRE32 Reference integrated circuit, the e20 […]

They tell us ….. Designed by Allen Sides, the GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer, producer and mixer who founded Ocean Way Recording, the HR-3 monitor system is the culmination of almost 40 years of his experience designing high resolution studio speaker systems for his many studios and a wide variety of commercial installations, including George Lucas’ Skywalker […]

Michael Fremmer: The label is called “Analogy Records” but for now it doesn’t sell records. It only sells “master tapes”. How can it do that? It records its artists to multitrack digital at 192/32 bit and then if you order a copy, it mixes down from the multitrack recording to produce an analog master tape […]

Decoded magazine write:  Take a peek at this record player. It’s the kind that plays vinyl records, the 12″ kind, and it does it well with only the bare minimum. Fantastical! It’s called “Turnstyle” and it’s made up of the motor, the needle, the speakers, and the controls. What more do you need? It’s a […]

Decoded magazine writes: You like your vinyl records but don’t like the fact that you’re killing them? The new EIP Laser Turntable plays records without touching them… The catch: a $15,000 price tag. Please click HERE to continue

We’ve heard it said that HFA is now the most widely read online audio magazine on the planet. We don’t know for sure but it seems to be up there, somewhere. Please click HERE for the highlights