A new route to market for beleaguered and/or greedy audio makers? Part #1 of 3

Howard Popeck ….. I don’t claim to be a futurologist. However sometimes it’s possible to read some signs and occasionally form a view of which way the commercial wind is blowing. And I mean the way that wind is blowing, but not necessarily the speed and strength of that wind. My belief is that with […]

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CUSTOMERS: The customer as a dealer-groupie aka am I just one more on the list?

Normal, counter-intuitive – or what? If in the normal course of events you engage with sufficient people, then inevitably you’ll get to experience a wide cross-section of attitudes and behaviours. And so it is, in the audiophile world. And yes, I do from time to time encounter perverse (well, perverse as far as I’m concerned) […]

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EQUIPMENT ISOLATION SUPPORTS

Hello Howard, wanted to ask what your view of isolation supports etc is? Over many years I have had personal experience of isolations systems from everyone from Russ Andrews, Mana and latterly Townshend Audio. My conclusions are these: Anyone who claims that an isolation support, in your home, at your listening levels will automatically provide […]

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A new route to market for beleaguered and/or greedy audio makers? Part #3 of 3

So now you know my views. Are they interesting views? How do you feel about them? While you are pondering this, given that I’m far from infallible it’s worth considering that although I might be right I could also be wrong: The direct marketing strategy has already worked in the case of Eastern Electric in […]

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DYNAVECTOR: The P75, Dr. T, and the Electric Boogaloo

From the archives I’ve been running a XX-2 mk. 2 into the P75 (mk 1), (thanks Joe) and just ran it in the Current Amp, zero resistance mode. Problem is I have no idea how this actually works. While I am going to test this with my ears, and with full confidence, I’m curious to […]

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HP

PRINCIPAL DESIGN: PD150 speakers, Dr Penfold and possiblity of clones of Linn Sara speakers. Part #2 of 2

I have toyed with the idea of making a few sets and selling them. Any info would be appreciated As for building a few sets of your own, well great – if you want to expose yourself to heartache, deceit, moral corruption from some hi-fi mags, sniping from self-appointed know-it-all ‘experts’ on some forums, sub-contractors […]

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Class A amplification; are the perceived benefits merely an illusion? Howard Popeck expresses a view

A question for Mr. Popeck. Regarding Class A amplification, are the perceived benefits merely an illusion, or are they noticeable? That’s a very difficult question because it’s all dependent on how good the power supply is. A Class A power amplifier needs – basically – a huge power supply to operate properly. I’m not talking […]

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Howard Popeck muses on passion, the lack of status for decent hi-fi equipment and …. a Boss suit.

My pal Laurence owns a £78k Maserati car; magnificent enginering, superb performance and more. Next year the marque will probably announce ‘a huge breakthrough’; the 0-62 mph slashed by 0.3 seconds for another £6K. Laurence, working from home and sometimes preferring to visit his clients by train and/or air travels around 7,000 miles per year […]

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MUSIC IS THE

VINYL: If you know anyone that “seriously” collects records, they are probably exactly like this guy.

Sarah Barness (The Huffington Post): If you know anyone that “seriously” collects records, they are probably exactly like this guy. They organize their collection by sections for generic metal, stoner metal,death metal, punk, shoegazer, dream pop, jazz, ragtime, classical, rap, R&B etc. etc. etc. If the records aren’t organized by genre, they might just be […]

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Quill

The amplifier designer hall of fame / “They were the ones that saw the market niches …”

Editor McCauley in conversation with Howard Popeck: So there are more figureheads than gifted designers. Is that what you’re saying? Not quite like that. In my direct personal experience I’ve met more figureheads than gifted designers. But that’s not to say that my experiences are representative of the entire industry. One has to take into […]

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McINTOSH: Unique Alice Cooper McIntosh turntable donated to Cooper’s USA Rock & Roll auction!

They tell us ….. McIntosh Laboratory, the global leader in high-performance home entertainment systems for over 65 years, is proudly donating a one-off Alice Cooper MT5 turntable (usual price £7,495) to Cooper’s Solid Rock Rock & Roll Vampire Bash charity auction in Arizona, USA, this weekend. McIntosh Laboratory has created a unque Alice Cooper MT5 […]

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Quill

The amplifier designer hall of fame / Chris Bryant / Antony Michaelson (again) / Allen Boothroyd …

So no, we aren’t coming to the end. Not yet. (Long pause) Okay. I used to sell the Albarry monoblocs. Damn fine sound. Clever designer. Still sounds good today. Not a hero as such but worthy of an honourable mention. Then whoever designed the A&R A60. A truly great product. In its way a classic. […]

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TWEAKS: Differences, improvements and wishful (self-delusory?) thinking – by Howard Popeck

A frequent question I receive is “Will I hear the difference?” My answer is simple. “How should I know?“ A bit curt you might think. At face value, it is. But if you look beneath the superficiality, my answer is both objective and rational, to say nothing of truthful. This is because I am not […]

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