Gray import repairs

I have come across a number of, what i would term grey import pre amps , apart from the lack of any warranty which applies to any, or should i say most used kit. How difficult is it to get kit repaired without going through the importer and paying the premium for owning gray import […]

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Monitoring – room for Improvement

  The basic principles of control room design -By Dave Moulton Most of the articles we read on acoustic design of control rooms and studios seem to center around materials we might use to treat wall surfaces, including some tips about using those materials for fun and profit. In this article, I’d like to take […]

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182 responses to the question: Have you ever deceived your wife-audio purchase?

The thread starts as follows: This could lead to a hysterical thread. How many audiophiles have come home with an expensive amp/preamp/and told their wife they bought it for practically nothing? Only to have paid 3-4K they had in their private stash? How many audiophiles have secretly installed a new “toy” in their audio system […]

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Art Dudley on blind ‘tests’

About time. An intelligent, passionate, all-out attack on the whole ‘blind test’ ideology. Contained in Dudley’s column in the ‘Stereophile.’ (Nov 2014).  Lot’s of real examples of the ‘results’ such tests achieve (including the infamous Pepsi ” Blind taste” test.) A flavour of Dudley’s broadside can be gathered from the following: ”time and time again, […]

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Do hifi systems have souls?

Paul McGowan writes: I’ve heard it said more than once. “Vinyl has soul. Digital does not.” I can relate to what’s being expressed in that statement and I don’t disagree. If we think of soul not as an immortal entity but rather as the essence or embodiment of a certain quality—as in the soul of […]

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A graphene microphone and loudspeaker that operate at up to 500 kilohertz

University of California, Berkeley, physicists have used graphene to build lightweight ultrasonic loudspeakers and microphones, enabling people to mimic bats or dolphins’ ability to use sound to communicate and gauge the distance and speed of objects around them. More practically, the wireless ultrasound devices complement standard radio transmission using electromagnetic waves in areas where radio […]

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The retailer perspective: Achieving that illusory center image

A high-end retailer writes: Hello again. Part of my work involves home setup. Consequently I pass on hard-won setup tips. I’m going to pass on my experiences re the illusory center image. What’s the objective? Well … for proper stereo imaging the loudspeakers should ‘disappear’ and the illusory stage is always behind the loudspeakers. I […]

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Relieving the pressure

Paul McGowan ……….. Having a big system like we do in Music Room One sometimes is a lot of responsibility and pressure to both maintain it and worry about how it is sounding. As a reference system, it really needs to be constantly kept up and over time I hear more and more of its […]

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PS AUDIO: The two mysteries I am plagued with at the moment are upper energy loss and polarity

Paul McGowan writes: There are many great mysteries in the world: how the pyramids were built, the Easter Island Moai, why whatever hair I lose on my head seems to pop up somewhere else, and I am sure there are plenty more.  There are two great mysteries in audio that are currently bugging me and, […]

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Quill

ALAN PARSONS: Regarding ….. audiophiles

In an interesting interview at CEPro, Alan Parsons, the man who engineered Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and yes, had his own Project, says that room acoustics are far more important than audiophile gear. In fact, the interview led one Slashdot commenter to post this fine quip: “Audiophiles don’t use their equipment to […]

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They are both total fallacies

Reader Mark Laufer sent me an interesting letter that I want to share with you.  He brings up some excellent points: ones we will be exploring in future posts. “I always am amazed when reviewers talk about two things:  one is “true to the recording” and the other is “true to the live performance.”  They […]

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