WOW AND FLUTTER

The terms wow and flutter will bring back memories of tape recorders to some, perhaps pictures of butterflies to others. Wow is a low-frequency fluctuation while flutter is a much faster version of the same thing. Steady state instruments like oboes and piano are particularly affected by these mechanical distortions prevalent in tape recorders and record players. I […]

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CLIMAX BLUES BABD; Live, Rare & Raw:1973-1979 (3CD)

A brand new compilation that charts the period when the Climax Blues band accelerated from club act to US Top 40 regularsand, finally, Top 3 hit makers with ‘Couldn’t Get it Right’.Accompanying frontman Colin Cooper (vocals, sax) and Pete Haycock (guitar, vocals), both now sadly deceased, were JohnCuffley (drums) and Derek Holt (bass, vocals). The […]

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IT MIGHT SEEM OBVIOUS:

In yesterday’s post on subwoofers, I cautioned about the use of series crossovers: one low pass filter in the receiver feeding another in the subwoofer. What I did not address is the age-old advice from speaker and receiver manufacturers to lessen the demands on the main speakers by means of adding a high pass filter—rolling off […]

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MERIDIAN: M1 Mk2 active loudspeakers

  I have a pair of Meridian M1 mk2, I am the original owner from new although I sold them at the time Bob Stuart messed things up with balanced cables and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday I’ve definitely got it right now modules for the 101. I bought them back a few of years ago but […]

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WAX CYLINDER RECORDINGS: Just how hard was recording on a wax cylinder?

Suzy Klein finds out – by making a record just as Elgar had done it I’ve loved exploring the last 100 years of music-making in Britain as we’ve recorded Our Classical Century. For this project we wanted to tell a story through our encounters with classical – both public and private – which brought into […]

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AUDIO INSIDER

LINEAR THINKING: It doesn’t look or feel that way.

We all have different ways of processing the information around us. Some of us must have the facts/evidence presented in what I would call a linear/serial stream: this fact followed by a related observation to equal a certain conclusion. Others are capable of more parallel logic: these observations coupled with these facts form this conclusion. […]

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AUDIO INSIDER

POLISHED OR LIVE: When we make a studio recording it’s understood it will be polished and perfect. The best we can do in a controlled environment.

When we record live our goal is quite different. Now, we want to capture perfectly the moment. Like the old Memorex ad, “Is it live or Memorex?” we hope our studio recordings have that live sound. They might get close but they aren’t complete. There’s no audience applause. There’s no clinking of glasses. And, there are mistakes. Polished or […]

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Quill

AUDIO ORIGAMI: PU7 Tonearm – test review

Roy Gregory writes: If Audio Origami ‘s nomenclature evokes a dull echo somewhere in the deep recesses of your memory banks, seeing it in the flesh might well seem like déjà vu. Back in the day, when real turntables came from Scotland and they all carried Ittoks, more enlightened audiophiles (or just those who saw […]

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TANNOY: Vintage ones; what’s all the fuss about?

I am getting fed up reading about vintage Tannoys, as a person who has never had the pleasure to hear a pair, can any AOSers please educate me as to why they seem to have such a cult following- and do l need to listen to a pair? http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?32756-What-is-so-special-about-vintage-Tannoys

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AUDIO INSIDER

WARNING: The last thing you want to do to a power amplifier is put something with impedance between it and the loudspeaker

Paul McGowan writes: The last thing you want to do to a power amplifier is put something with impedance between it and the loudspeaker.  It’s one of the reasons we spend so much time and money making sure the speaker cables we use are as thick as a horse leg, impede nothing and connect our […]

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Make It Your Sound Make It Your Scene – Vanguard Records And The 1960s Musical Revolution

4 CD box stuffed with blues, folk and songs that shaped an era… When New Yorkers Seymour and Maynard Solomon founded Vanguard Records in 1950 they surely didn’t suspect just how influential their creation would be in shaping the music and ideals of the post-war generation. The brothers were classical buffs focussed on the past […]

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STARK DIFFERENCES:

Since we are all on the same page when it comes to wanting the accurate and enjoyable reproduction of music in our homes, it’s always startling to me how different stereo systems can sound. Visiting different rooms at a HiFi show is demonstrative of what I am referring to. Most rooms sound good and, happily, […]

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