AUDIO INSIDER

UPDATE CHANGES

We are truly creatures of habit. We get into a comfortable routine and we don’t want to leave. Change comes along to yank us out of our reverie and we can take one of three paths: object, ignore, adapt. We just launched new Bridge firmware—the very essence of change. Most people will install the new […]

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AUDIO INSIDER

WHICH TO ENJOY?

There are people who use their stereo to enjoy their music. And there are people who use their music to enjoy their stereo. I do not begrudge those in the second group their fun, but I strive always to be in the first group. It’s an easy line to lose track of, but music just […]

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AUDIO INSIDER

THE TWO-LEGGED STOOL

PS Audio engineer Darren Meyers asked me an interesting question yesterday. One I have been pondering for the last twelve hours. Why are speaker measurements made with only one speaker? This was an intriguing thought. We listen to two speakers yet concern ourselves only with the frequency, amplitude, and phase response of one. Why should […]

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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 […]

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CAMBRIDGE AUDIO EVO: Report by E. F Shook

One of the first things that upended my expectations was how sexy the affordable EVO S bookshelf speakers are. At first I thought, those look like Magico, especially from how the surfaces mimic that bolted-slab-of-aluminum look. And how they stand proud of the surface they are on by way of an integrated stand-off base. I […]

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PROKOFIEV; STRAVINSKY Violin Concertos

  In the last movement of Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto, Patricia Kopatchinskaja takes the composer’s ben marcato seriously, using heavy accentuation to produce the effect of a pungent danse macabre. Even the contrasting legato melody is presented with a sinister, flautando sound. Janine Jansen’s performance (also with Jurowski and the LPO) is less extreme, with […]

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MUSIC FOR THE MIND: The Psychology Of Music

According to British psychologist Glenn Wilson, music plays a very central role in the lives of people and is ranked highly among pleasures including sex, food and drink. Aside from the enjoyment of listening to tunes or composing symphonies, studies show that music of all genres can have a great impact on both the physical […]

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LENNON / RUNDGREN: Why did they have a feud?

Joseph Charles, Musician It wasn’t what I’d call a feud; they each took swipes at each other in 1974, and that was it. Rundgren criticized Lennon rather harshly in an interview with Melody Maker magazine. A few choice quotes: “John Lennon ain’t no revolutionary. He’s a fucking idiot, man. Shouting about revolution and acting like […]

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HARRY CHAPIN. Live New York 1978 (2CD)

Disc 1 .Shooting Star 2.If You Want To Feel 3.Wold 4.Poor Damned Fool 5.I Wanna Learn A Love Song 6.Flowers Are Red 7.Bummer 8.Cat’s In The Cradle 9.Love Is Not In Season 10.Tangled Up Puppet 11.Why Do Little Girls 12.Mr Tanner 13.They Call Her Easy Disc 2 1.Halfway To Heaven 2.Caroline 3.My Old Lady 4.A […]

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AUDIOLAB: News

Audiolab has unveiled the first two products in its new flagship 9000 Series – a truly high-end duo that comprises the 9000A integrated amplifier and 9000CDT CD transport. The Cambridge-based firm reckons the 9000A integrated amplifier is ‘the best it has ever built’. It carries a moving magnet phono stage, doubles up as a pure preamp or pure […]

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POWER LINE NOISE?

Colin – can we get meaningful measurements of power line noise? Is the noise too low-level to measure without exorbitantly expensive equipment? What equipment is required? Outside of laboratories, who has it? We buy all sorts of devices to clean up power. So why can’t we measure the noise that’s there and target it? Wayne […]

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