BUYING VINYL: Last Shop Standing – the rise, fall and rebirth of the independent record shop: an interview with Graham Jones

It’s fantastic. Get a copy. It made me wonder whether the recent revival of independent record shops have a few things to teach us more generally about vibrant local economies? As a vinyl junkie and as someone who grew up in independent record shops, I wanted to explore some of the issues in the film […]

Read More

KINGSOUND: “Astonishing headphones with clarity like you’ve never heard before”

FIRST PUBLISHED 2014 Steve Guttenberg writes … I’m a lucky guy; I regularly get to check out the world’s best-sounding headphones, but I was truly shaken and stirred by the KingSound KS-H3 electrostatic headphones. If you get to hear these headphones, start with well-recorded acoustic music and you’ll feel like you’ve been teleported back through […]

Read More

MAGNEPLANAR: Jim Winey, Maggies Man interviewed

David Lander (Stereophile) writes: The Pennsylvania Gazette documented an early connection between music and an American named Winey when, in 1759, it listed for sale as part of an estate “a middle sized organ, having eight stops.” Interested parties were directed to one Jacob Winey, a Philadelphia merchant. It’s not known whether there’s a familial […]

Read More
AUDIO INSIDER

USERS VS. LISTENERS

Interacting with a front panel has always been important, but rarely how we judge a piece of equipment. Even the klunkiest front panel layouts were tolerated if the unit’s sound quality was up to snuff. The user interface took a distant second to performance. As we rush headlong into the age of the user interface […]

Read More
AUDIO INSIDER

FINDING JUST THE RIGHT SPOT: Most preamplifiers have a zone on their level controls where they sound best; typically higher on their dials.

Finding that perfect spot on the dial isn’t too hard, but getting there can be because much depends on the loudness levels of the source and the sensitivity of the speakers. Most sources don’t have level trim controls to help match their gains to the rest of the system. If you have a DAC, like […]

Read More

BINARY? I am often asked whether high-end audio is an art or a science. Of course, the convenient answer is …..

Maybe a better question would be the degree to which the two are divided. At PS Audio, the balance between art and science varies depending on the project’s phase. When we first dream of a new product it’s almost purely art: dream about what we would like to have in our own systems without any […]

Read More
Quill

IMPULSE: Fine-tuning an already competent system using their H2 speakers

A member asks … I am a long standing regular reader and would very much appreciate some help in fine tuning my system. I am not sure whether this level of system detail is a help or a hindrance for you, but here goes. My front ends are: Vinyl – Acoustic Signature Challenger, OL Silver […]

Read More

JOHNNY WINTER: Muddy Waters & James Cotton – WBCN-FM Boston Music Hall 26-02-77 (2CD)

Raw Performance at The Boston Music Hall, 26th February 1977 on WBCN-FM Includes the entire broadcast Digitally remastered for greatly enhanced sound quality Background liners At a point in time when Johnny Winter had only recently recovered from past addictions and blues giant Muddy Waters had faced a decline in his career with illness and […]

Read More

TAYLOR SWIFT: News

She has 11 Grammys, nine major-label albums, university courses studying her work and an unstoppable fandom… so how did Taylor Swift conquer the music industry? Ahead of her 10th record, ‘Midnights’, Zoya Raza-Sheikh explores how Swift’s songwriting is the secret to her success. “Haters gonna hate…” but Taylor Swift’s influence over pop is undeniable. From […]

Read More

CUBAN JAZZ: Fans may think first of pianist, composer and producer Chucho Valdés, who presides over the Havana Jazz Festival and the steady flow of North American jazz artists to the island

Those who’ve traveled to woodshed, network and sometimes record in Cuba include Jane Bunnett, George Benson, Terence Blanchard, Steve Coleman, Roy Hargrove, Antonio Hart, David Murray, Nicholas Payton and Wynton Marsalis, among others. A positive legacy of the Soviet era is the integrated national system of music, dance and arts conservatories to which the 1959 […]

Read More