MUSIC IS THE

JOHN PAUL JONES: What has he been mainly doing since Led Zeppelin’s breakup?

ROBERT F writes: After the untimely demise of drummer John Bonham in the fall of 1980, Led Zeppelin collectively decided that without their fallen comrade there would be no way to continue. Which meant, after 11 years of recording, relentless touring and being among the most heralded and famous people on earth, they were once […]

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READERS’ LETTERS: Why stereo can’t sound live

Debate: This is a great topic. Paul, could omni directional speakers compensate for expanding the sweet spot vs a conventional speaker? Not sure what the pros/cons are of these types of speakers. Paul replies … You might get a broader more diffuse sweet spot with omnis or the whole affair might become muddled. Hard to […]

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READERS’ LETTERS: Is DSD audible in audio transfers?

JOHN D writes … DSD (1 bit Pulse Density Modulation, Sigma/Delta Modulation is not digital. PCM is digital. ‘Direct Stream Digital’ is simply a marketing ‘logo’ created by Sony/Phillips. The problem is you cannot keep running off tape copies to vinyl – tape deteriorates every time you play it. With old tape you have to […]

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READERS’ LETTERS: Where tubes sound best

PAUL S writes: I have encountered the best sound quality ever from a tiny vacuum tube power amp (single ended triode) driving a single driver crossoverless wide-banner loudspeaker. The only limitation: no wall & floor shaking bass and limited overall SPLs – but perfect for near-field listening. JOE writes: in my opinion hybrids make no […]

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READERS’ LETTERS: What type of cable terminations are best?

Mr. R writes … Terminations are only required for bundling odd shaped, large or solid conductors, or pre terminated for people that have trouble terminating conductors them self. Use indeed spades, these allow much, much higher contact pressure than banana’s. But, any stranded conductor fitting straight into the terminal of the amplifier or speaker: go […]

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READERS LETTERS: Is digital pure?

PAUL writes: Reconstruction of a sine-wave based on only two sample-point is only possible because the “algorithm” was told to construct a sine-wave! Neither a square-wave, nor a saw-tooth wave etc! However music is characterized by more or less steep transients being only captured and reproduced when using DSD as you mentioned, Paul, for those […]

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READERS’ LETTERS: Reputable retailers

FP writes … The beauty of buying home-audio gear from reputable companies that allow their prospective customers to have a 30-to-45-day in-home audition is that the customer can’t really go backwards because they can do a direct comparison with their current piece of equipment…whatever that might be…& decide for themselves whether the new piece is […]

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MUSIC IS THE

FREDDIE MERCURY / MARY AUSTIN: Was she infected with HIV? Did he unknowingly infect her with the HIV virus?

JCK writes No. He once cut himself accidently and was bleeding and Barbara Valentin tried to help him and he screamed at her to get back because, once he suspected he had HIV, he didn’t want to infect her. Also, his dear friend Montserrat Caballé went to hug him but he stepped back to which […]

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READERS’ LETTERS: Sometimes, making (Hi-Fi) mistakes, can be the best teacher in the world.

Good morning to everyone in our grate big hifi family!Paul, I can remember 2 years ago, you told us all that, you came up with the power plant regenerator in 1990.For anyone on here that’s in to doing math, that was 32 years ago.But as for making mistakes, ya, I’ve made lots of them.But I […]

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NINA SIMONE: What Happened, Miss Simone? Episode #1 of 5

Inspired by the Oscar-nominated TV documentary, Alan Light’s biography draws on Nina Simone’s early diaries, rare interviews, childhood journals and input from her daughter Lisa Simone Kelly to paint a picture of the classically-trained pianist who became a soul legend, a leading civil rights activist and one of the most influential artists of our time. […]

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THREE DOG NIGHT: Whatever happened to this classic 60s and 70s rock group?

Bob Smith says … What a cool band name. Three Dog Night whose name hopefully needs no explanation to most of you, formed in 1967 with the primary lineup being Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. Jimmy Greenspoon, Joe Schermie, Michael Allsup and Floyd Sneed soon rounded out the group and they were set. […]

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BEAT REVIEWS MAGAZINE: What happened?

Gentlemen, I write from Singapore. We had a magazine called ‘Beat Reviews’. Can you tell me what happened to them please? Thank you. Roy Tan Hello Roy and thank you. This what we found via audiotools.com. “Monthly English language print magazine published in Singapore by local high end retailer/importer/distributor Secondbeat PTE. Ltd., started in 2001 […]

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