Qualcomm Technologies has just announced their Snapdragon Sound premium experience, as this technology seeks to bring together the very best audio, connectivity, and mobile innovations. This new efforts will deliver high-resolution music, crystal-clear voice calls, and lag-free gaming with superior connectivity and extended battery life. Their end-to-end audio system supports premium sound every step of the way, from the mobile device to the wireless earbuds and headphones. Snapdragon Sound is designed to deliver true lossless high-resolution studio master quality 24-bit/96kHz via Bluetooth music that streams straight from your phone. Their Aqstic technology means you can play your music "extra loud without damaging the speaker on your phone" says the company.

The Tidal streaming music platform that seemed to need extra uumph power to gain traction years ago has now been sold to Square, Inc. for only $297M. Years ago what appeared to be a struggling music streaming service decided to take a play right out of Jimmy Iovine's Beats $3.2 billion sale to Apple playbook and gave part ownership to artists including Alicia Keys, Arcade Fire's Win Butler / Regine Chassagne, Beyoncé, Calvin Harris, Coldplay's Chris Martin, both members of what was once Daft Punk, Damian Marley, deadmau5, Indochine, J. Cole, Jack White, Jason Aldean, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Madonna, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, T.I. and Usher. Of course Shawn 'JAY-Z' Carter was a major stakeholder in Tidal and will have a position on the board with Square, Inc.

The opportunity to review new models of familiar equipment is similar to catching up with an old friend. I have enjoyed, owned and respected Audience cables and conditioners since the original Adept Response was released and the "Original" powerChord first hit the proverbial scene. The Au24 power cables were the epitome of neutrality and their speaker wire and interconnects magically conveyed the full auditory picture in an inconceivably thin cable that defied logic and belied current trends of bigger must be better cable etiologies. Even then, the Adept Response conditioner was something special and established itself as a premier product with few equals. Over time, the "Original" powerChord grew into the Au24, which then matured into the Au24s, Au24se, Au24se-i and now the Au24sx series of power cables and audio cables; not to mention their new reference level frontRow series.

This just in from PAF's Lou Hinkley: Covid has obviously thrown more wrenches into the audio show schedule. Considering the constantly changing dates of some shows this year we want to assure everyone that if we cannot safely hold the Pacific Audio Fest on our scheduled dates (July 30 -- Aug. 1 2021) then we will simply refund all deposits and plan on similar dates for 2022. We will not change our dates in 2021 because doing so would intrude on the long established show dates of RMAF and Capitol Audio Fest, and our belief and policy is that we are all in this together

This just in from Liz Miller with AXPONA: We miss seeing you in person and are optimistic we can all gather again this year. Our team is closely monitoring the vaccine rollout, international travel rules, and state and local government regulations for holding indoor events in 2021. Based on this holistic perspective, and given that the summer months remain unpredictable, we have decided to take advantage of an opportunity to move AXPONA two months later from August 27 – 29 to October 29 – 31, 2021.

"The Gryphon Essence was able to project the band into my listening room as if I was hearing a sonic hologram of the proceedings. Elvin Jones' drum kit took up the space in my listening room from the floor to the ceiling. Not only was it taking up the area in and around the left speaker, but it was if I was hearing a true representation of the ambient space along with the drum set, too. It sure sounded as if the drums were being recorded in a room with a linoleum floor at Atlantic Studios on 57th Street in New York City at the time because I could hear the sound of the drums reflect off it."
-- Senior Editor Tom Lyle

Schiit's new Loki Mini+ ($149) is a expertly-designed four-band equalizer with super-quiet two-stage regulated power supply and high-quality inductors. With the Loki Mini+, Schiit boosted the performance boundaries of high-fidelity, low noise, single-discrete-gain-stage, LC-filtered, affordable equalizers. We all know not all recordings are made equal, so a high quality equalizer / tone control could bring them to high-end standards within your listening room. In addition, you can make your system sound the way you want it. Schiit asks the question, "Pounding bass? Sure. Crystalline highs? Absolutely." Loki Mini+ uses a single, discrete, current-feedback gain stage, coupled to passive LC filters for three bands, plus a gyrator for the bass.

While LP sales were up 29.2% in value during 2020, they have exceeded that of legacy compact disc (CD) sales, which were down 23.4%. There's no doubt streaming music is the big revenue generator for the music industry during 2020 ($10,074M).RIAA's USA recorded music revenues grew 9.2% in 2020 to $12.2 billion at estimated retail value. "This is the fifth consecutive year of growth for the industry, as paid subscription services continued to be the primary driver of revenue increases, and reached a record number of subscriptions", says RIAA's year end 2020 report. "Covid-19 affected the industry significantly through tour cancellations, retail store closures, and other disruptions. Revenues from recorded music measured at wholesale value grew 8.9% to $8.0 billion.

This month's EnjoyTheMusic.com Review Magazine features a variety of great gear reviews, thoughtful think pieces, and more! Audio Aesthetics has Jules Coleman Articulating the many aspects of beauty in hi-fi audio. Things That Audiophiles Do, But Shouldn't brings th expertise of Roger Skoff as he seeks to foil some 'philes' feckless foibles 'philes do, but shouldn't.

Gear reviews within this issue include the impressive Gryphon Audio Essence Preamplifier and Essence Amplifier that has Senior editor Tom Lyle blown away by an amazing musical performance! Our World Premiere Review of Aric Audio Unlimited II vacuum tube stereo preamplifier says Igor never sounded so good! We also have a North America Premiere review of Canor's AI 2.10 hybrid stereo integrated amplifier as Ron Nagle enjoys the smallest details, exactly like you would listen to a very fine performance. In addition, we also have a World Premiere Review of SOTA's wonderful new Nova VI vinyl LP turntable. The new Sota sound allows music to become tactile says Ron Nagle. We have more wonderful high-end audio equipment reviews, think pieces, etc within this month's EnjoyTheMusic.com Review Magazine.

SVS has launched their new 1000 Pro Series reference subwoofers with 12" high-excursion driver and 325 Watts RMS (820+ Watts peak power). SVS says their new 1000 Pro Series subwoofers are a "revolutionary upgrade over their predecessors with flagship features only available from SVS." The sealed cabinet SB-1000 Pro and ported cabinet PB-1000 Pro features an all-new 12" high-excursion drivers, Sledge STA-325D amplifier with fully discrete MOSFET output, 50 MHz Analog Devices DSP, reimagined cabinet designs, and the innovative SVS subwoofer control smartphone app for advanced tuning, control, and more. Also standard on both models is the SVS subwoofer control smartphone app, the modern and easiest way to control and tune a subwoofer from anywhere within the room.

I First met Doug Hurlburt, the man behind Dynamic Sounds Associates, some 20 years ago now; we were members of the same extended southern Maryland listening group. Doug has designed and built audio equipment for his own uses since his high school days. On my first visit to his home in (then) Potomac, MD, I was impressed by his clearly advanced comprehension of electronics and his passionate love of music. He had recently done an incredible mod, rebuilding his KEF CS5 loudspeakers, including totally redesigned crossover networks. This rebuild led to his rewriting Richard Small's theory of passive radiator loudspeakers, all published in the March 2000 issue of the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society. Further, and more to the point here, he had already built and installed his own end table sized amplifiers, that, to be blunt, sounded wonderful.

Innuos has announced the release of their new PhoenixNET 100Mbps audiophile-grade network switch ($3499), designed from the ground up for network audio. The PhoenixNET is the realization of Innuos' philosophy of simplicity and signal purity applied to the network switch. Having started with improvements to the Ethernet ports' clock on their flagship Statement, Innuos has now taken the concept to the next level with a completely new network switch design that focuses exclusively on audio use. The design is focused on usability and audiophile performance.

NAD Electronics announced the immediate availability of the latest module within their Modular Design Construction (MDC) portfolio, the MDC USB DSD ($499). The module adds USB 2 audio for PCM and DSD playback capability to six of the company's most popular stereo units (M33, M32, M12, C 388, C 368, and C 658). With NAD’s Modular Design Construction (MDC), adding the latest cutting-edge technology can be as simple as a software upgrade and adding a new hardware module into your stereo amplifier. The MDC USB DSD module allows users to experience the convenience of computer music playback and streaming, in high resolution up to 24-bit/192kHz PCM and DSD up to DSD256, combined with the music performance of their NAD hi-fi system.

"With Black Cat's Graceline L2 cable, when everything was dialed in it amazed me that I could play this classic example of 1970s prog-rock and hear sounds that previously went unnoticed. I don't mean afferent clichés such as reverb trails and the like, but more significant revelations, such as softly sung background vocals hidden behind a wall of instrumentation or being able to unwind the sound of groups of instruments playing the same melody within a pinpoint area of the soundstage, hidden behind louder sounds in the foreground." -- Senior Editor Tom Lyle

While not true lossless high-resolution like Qobuz, Amazon HD, 2L, etc, or licensed proprietary formats as another service streams, Spotify is going to bump from lossy MP3-like quality to to 1980's technology by streaming CD quality. According to Spotify, "Artists and fans have told us that sound quality is important to them. We agree, and that's why today at Stream On we announced Spotify HiFi. Beginning later this year, Premium subscribers in select markets will be able to upgrade their sound quality to Spotify HiFi and listen to their favorite songs.... High-quality music streaming is consistently one of the most requested new features by our users.

Exxelia has recently made available their new flat pack electrolytic capacitors, as the company says Cubisic SLP is a "new game changing" flat pack aluminum electrolytic capacitors. Providing twice as much capacitance as any other available flat packs on the market in the exact same volume, this new series also offers more than twice the lifetime. Engineers tackling complex designing requirements and looking for an easy to integrate product that will save space and gain reliability thanks to the use of improved materials.

Totaldac's d100 large floorstanding speakers (€13,900 a pair including VAT in Europe, €12,800 without VAT) have been designed to offer the most natural music reproduction while being compatible with your living room and without being too expensive. Their high sensitivity of 98dB/W/m allows them to produce a very controlled sound at all frequencies with realistic and rich bass. This makes them suitable for all types of music genres from classical music to electro and prog.

McIntosh is proud to introduce their MCD85 SACD/CD player ($4500). You can immerse yourself in your music as the MCD85's open chassis design is not only a serious piece of music hardware, but it shows that you are serious about your love of music says mcIntosh. They also say it's clear that many people want their home stereo system not to blend in, but instead to be distinctive looking. To be put on display. To be a conversation starter. To make the statement that "A Serious Music Lover Lives Here." The MCD85 does all that. And more.

Cards on the table. I've owned the YG Carmel and the YG Carmel 2, each of which I've reviewed in these pages in January 2012 and July 2015 respectively. You can read them here and weep. I'm addicted to the ultra-high resolution, low distortion, lightning reflexes, dynamic range and the holographic imaging of the Carmel speakers. They are not for everyone. Due to the particular way they are constructed from billets of aircraft grade aluminum, they cost a lot of money, and due to their relatively small size, they don't reach down all that deep. The sealed box design does provide a superbly fast accurate bass, but while the quality is high, the quantity is limited.

Metaxas & Sins have joined forces to release their new Papillon stereo reel-to-reel stereo tape recorder and playback machine. This is said to be the first 100% technologically new professional reel-to-reel tape recorder in a half century. Papillon, which means "Butterfly" in French, is at once a superb audio recording device as well as a masterful work of industrial design. Kostas Metaxas, the creator of the Papillon, has a long history of innovation and achievement as an artist, designer and audio engineer.

During December 2020, EnjoyTheMusic.com and Schiit joined forces to give away a Lyr 3 with Multibit DAC option valued at $699! Here are a few words from John Tampouratzis in Greece, who won this wonderful giveaway! I WON THE PRIZE!!! I'm feeling lucky!!! Since the advent of social media, the world has become smaller, and information, news, and knowledge more immediate. It was on the 4th of January when I received the email that I've won. I looked at the sender and the CC notification.... Don't miss reading his entire contest winner story, plus his review of how the Schiit Lyr 3 with Multibit DAC sounds!

Nordost's QKORE Wire is the final piece to the grounding puzzle when it comes to Nordost's comprehensive parallel grounding system, the QKORE. Originally introduced alongside the QKORE in 2017, the complementary QKORE Wire provides the path of least resistance to ground for the stray, high-frequency, low-voltage potentials that negatively impact the performance of your sound system. While one of the design directives of the QKORE Wire was to facilitate the transfer of extremely low voltages from electronics to the Ground Unit, another highly important (and an often overlooked) aspect that this component brings to the grounding system is mechanical benefits.

audioXpress' March 2021 issue features The Science and Physics of High-End Mic-Preamp Design (Part 2), Clever Engineering By Ethan Winer, X-Altra Moving Coil/Moving Magnet RIAA EQ Preamplifier (Part 2), Very Low Distortion Headphone Driver, Changing Processes for Remote Collaboration, A Real-World View of Test and Measurements, Virtins Multi Instrument Measurement Software, and more. Within his editorial, J. Martins says, "The last 12 months have been challenging but they also paved the way for positive changes. In just one year, communications, online commerce, and the digital economy in general, evolved at an accelerated pace. The global pandemic made clear that investments in digital needed to be a priority in many areas that were still lagging behind, as well as reinforcing the digital infrastructure that now supports the entire economy."

YG Acoustics just announced their DualCoherent 2, which is a significant advance in one of their core and unique technologies. DualCoherent 2 builds on YG Acoustics' crossover technology to further optimize it through the powerful modeling capabilities of Cambridge Acoustic Sciences (CAS). Working together with CAS, the company measured the electronic and acoustic behavior of their proprietary drive units to an unprecedented accuracy. Leveraging the petaflop compute cluster at CAS, YG were able to build detailed models addressing the elaborate interplay of amplifier, crossover, drive units, cabinet, and listening room — all simulated playing high-resolution music.

"The CODA promoted the values that I've prioritized with the Coincident tube preamp driving the GaNFET Class D AGD power amps and the Synergistic Research power conditioner and full loom of Synergistic cables... High resolution, excellent transparency, tons of tonal color, panoramic soundscaping just short of pinpoint with plenty of depth, and an invitation to tap my toe with every song." -- Rick Becker

A/V RoomService's new Equipment Vibration Protectors (EVP) are the company's most effective, easiest, and least expensive means of controlling unwanted vibrations. EVP are lab-proven vibration isolation feet for high fidelity playback and recording equipment, as well as musical instruments including guitar, bass and keyboard cabinets, microphone stands, etc. EVPs are said to allow equipment to perform optimally, quiet the room, and prevent vibrations from being transmitted to adjoining spaces. Vibrations and resonances are no longer heard, leaving only the pure original loudspeaker signals.

EnjoyTheMusic.com presents to you our tour of the Quality Record Pressings (Acoustic Sounds) vinyl LP pressing plant. We join plant manager Gary and owner Chad Kassem as they take us on a step-by-step journey through how a vinyl LP record is produced. As always, in the end what really matters is that you... Enjoy the music!

According to Chick Corea's website, "It is with great sadness we announce that on February 9th, Chick Corea passed away at the age of 79, from a rare form of cancer which was only discovered very recently. Throughout his life and career, Chick relished in the freedom and the fun to be had in creating something new, and in playing the games that artists do. He was a beloved husband, father and grandfather, and a great mentor and friend to so many. Through his body of work and the decades he spent touring the world, he touched and inspired the lives of millions. Though he would be the first to say that his music said more than words ever could, he nevertheless had this message for all those he knew and loved, and for all those who loved him."

I've been stricken with something I like to call an "audiophile illusion of grandeur" for quite some time. It started long ago, when I first discovered that the AC power supplied to my stereo system was less than adequate. This wasn't too difficult to figure out, because in the daytime my system sounded lousy, at least compared to how it sounded at night. This continues to this day. This is because my home shares the power my electric company provides with many customers, including commercial establishments, homes, and more. As a result, the sound of my system suffers. At about 6:00 PM the system begins to sound better. After 9:00 PM my system sounds even better, and can transport me to sonic nirvana, as if I can aurally detect the source of the recording, as if I've traveled in some sort of sonic time machine.

Researches at MIT have successfully fabricated fully functional drones. Their CSAIL "LaserFactory" system automates the full process for making functional devices in one system. According to MIT, "While 3D printers have now made it possible to produce a range of objects that include product models, jewelry, and novelty toys, we still lack the ability to fabricate more complex devices that are essentially ready-to-go right out of the printer. A group from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) recently developed a new system to print functional, custom-made devices and robots, without human intervention.

In 2020 EnjoyTheMusic.com is celebrating our 25th Anniversary and wanted to do something extra special. During the Florida Audio Expo we worked closely with MAYORS Jewellers, the Southeast's leading multi-brand retailer of jewelry and luxury timepieces retailer, for an exciting evening devoted to mechanical timepieces. For those unfamiliar, MAYORS has 17 stores within Florida and Georgia and is owned by Watches Of Switzerland, a leading luxury timepiece and jewelry company for over 50 (!) years, and so it took a bit of doing to make this event happen.

The Børrresen Acoustics Z5 speakers (€40,000 per pair) are the top-of-the-line model of their Z-series. This huge 2.5-way floorstanding loudspeaker is equipped with a ribbon planar tweeter, plus two midrange / bass and four bass drivers. Technology behind the Z-series consists of electronic components that are either adopted from the highly-acclaimed and award-winning 0-series, which is completely redesigned or are innovative spin-offs resulting from the company's extensive audio research activities. The magnet system in the Z-series is a brand new construction from the invention of their patented iron-free driver system in the 0-series.

I knew Tim de Paravicini for over 40 years. My last contact was in late November 2019 when he wrote to me that he wasn't doing so well and just a couple of weeks later, he was gone. As has been mentioned by others Tim was a larger-than-life character. He did not suffer fools (or those he considered so) gladly. In his defense on most subjects, he would express strong opinions he was well informed. From our perspective this of course was especially in all things connected with audio. But television technology, cars, airplanes, and what seems to be a host of other things he did have in-depth knowledge. I don't intend to repeat his biography, which has been ably told elsewhere but just tell a bit about my own experience and friendship with Tim de Paravicini.

During this month's virtual meet-up, Mike Moffat of Schiit Audio wants to make this more than an AMA thing this time, so he's picked a few things he'd like to go in-depth on. This doesn't mean you can't ask questions, but better to keep them on-theme. Here's what he's talking about Multibit and Sol, what is multibit digital conversion in audio, plus how was it first developed and used and more!

Many music enthusiasts rely on audio reviews, not only for entertainment, but to assist in purchasing decisions. At their best, audio reviews can do even more: they can provoke us to examine our own personal audio experiences by comparing them to those of the reviewer's. Over time, reviewer-reader relationships can become quite intimate: morphing into powerful tools that assist us with refining our understanding while developing our own personal audio aesthetic. Fortunately, reviewers are all different.

Video: Greg Weaver Of The Audio Analyst
Intro And Loudspeaker Roundtable
The latest chapter of a lifelong journey.

"I've been playing with and selling audio gear since before my sixteenth birthday (1971), and I started reviewing and writing about the industry and my beloved audio gear at the age of thirty-two (1988) when I started my first print magazine, the audio analyst©. As you may imagine, my five decades of involvement in this industry, at all different levels, has been both diverse and remarkably encompassing."  --  Greg Weaver

Enjoy one of Greg's excellent videos, plus a bonus video of a loudspeaker designer panel that was held live and recorded for on-demand viewing. Moderated by renowned audiophile, reviewer, and journalist, EnjoyTheMusic.com's own Editor and Senior Reviewer, Greg Weaver, it features panelists Leif Swanson of Von Schweikert Audio, Andrew Jones of Elac USA, Gayle Sanders of Eikon Audio, and David MacPherson of Studio Electric.

Reference Recordings proudly presents Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in a new and definitive interpretation from Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. They are excited that this new release is part of the Orchestra's 125th Anniversary joy! Other Orchestra events will include a weekend musical celebration and the release of a digital program on February 27, the 125th anniversary date of their very first concert. Featuring Christina Landshamer (soprano), Jennifer Johnson Cano (mezzo-soprano), Werner Güra (tenor), Shenyang (bass-baritone), and the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, Reference Recordings' FR-741SACD release is a hybrid SACD containing 5.0 and Stereo SACD, plus legacy stereo CD with HDCD (downloads are stereo-only).

Hi-Fi+'s February 2021 issue features reviews of the Kudios Audio Titan 707 floorstanding loudspeaker, Moonriver Audio Model 404 integrated amplifier, Atma-Sphere M-60 MK 3.3 output transformerless power amps, Stack Audio Link II network bridge, Hegel Audio V10 phono stage, Sonus Faber Lumina III floorstanding loudspeaker, Ansuz Acoustics Powerswitch X audiophile network switch, Eearmen TR-Amp portable DAC / headphone amp, Kuzma Platis 54 / Damping Feet equipment support systems, Cardas Audio Clear HS USB cable, Black Rhodium Charleston DCT++ CS loudspeaker cable, EMT JSD Pure Black / STX-5 / 10 moving coil cartridge and step-up transformer, and more!

McIntosh is proud to introduce the MHA200 vacuum tube stereo headphone amplifier ($2500) designed for discerning headphone enthusiasts who demand the most from their headphones. Its versatile set of connectivity options, including XLR balanced inputs and outputs, allows for nearly all stereo headphone types to be connected to enjoy an extraordinary personal listening experience. A pair of 12AT7 and 12BH7A dual triode vacuum tubes power the compact MHA200. The 12AT7 vacuum tubes amplify the incoming low-level audio signal while the 12BH7A tubes provide the power to drive the output to the headphones with low distortion.

CH Precision was founded by Florian Cossy and Thierry Heeb, two alumni of the highly influential and innovative Swiss high-end audio firm Goldmund. Given the wide-reaching acclaim and the host of industry awards they have garnered since their founding, it is hard to believe this company is just rounding out its first decade! For reasons that will become clearer as you get further into this evaluation, I must preface this examination by noting that my experiences with their early offerings had left me somewhat wanting.

KEF is excited to introduce their Mu3 noise cancelling wireless earphones designed by visionary Ross Lovegrove. Engineered by KEF's UK acoustic team, the new Mu3 earphones are said to "deliver pristine, high-resolution sound on the move and provide music lovers the freedom to hear every note, every word, every detail whether on their commute, at the gym, or on the sofa" says the company. In 2021, KEF celebrates 60 years of an uncompromising commitment for world-leading audio technology.

According to NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants), a not-for-profit association that promotes the pleasures and benefits of making music and strengthens the $17 billion global music products industry, there were 93,226 industry leaders, buyers, sellers, music educators, artists, media and music makers from 187 countries and territories gathered this past week to take part in NAMM's Believe In Music week. Their online global gathering seeks to unify and support the people who bring music to the world. The event, which spanned Monday, January 18 through Friday, January 22, saw industry professionals virtually convene in 983 special sessions and events.

I got smoke in my eyes while listening to Hugh Masekela's "Coal Train" and that cowbell sounded about as real as I've ever heard it sound. The drum kit was wide, deep, realistically conveyed, and punched me in the gut. And that sexy saxophone floated in the air and had that resolving brassy bite that makes you think vinyl, not digital. Mussorgsky's "Dance Of The Persian Slaves" from Khovanshchina, Act IV [Pentatone, FLAC 96kHz/24-bit] is a reliable scaling tool and the B4B scaled like a rock climber rocketing up the side of an indoor climbing wall. It also painted a symphonic image with realistic width, depth, and height.

New from Pro-Ject includes their Phono Box RS2 ($1999) reference class phono preamplifier with unique impedance control, Phono Box S2 Ultra ($349) discreet phono preamplifier that integrates luxury with audiophilia and Sweep It S2 ($129) magnetically stabilized record broom that is constructed in collaboration with Klaus Mick and his patented technology. Also new are their Sweep It E ($99) easy and effective cleaning arm that allows you to enjoy listening to your records while they are being cleaned.

EnjoyTheMusic.com's February Review Magazine features a variety of gear reviews, think pieces, plus a special editorial showcasing hi-fi gear video influencers! Audio professional Peter Mapp gives us some insightful thoughts on the evolution of pro audio over the foreseeable future. World premiere reviews within this issue include the marvelous Mojo Mystique EVO B4B 21 DAC and the celebrated Clarus CODA USB DAC / HeadAmp. We're also keeping you connect with our assessment of Black Cat's glorious Graceline Level-2 interconnect & speaker cable. Don't miss out on seeing all this and more within this issue.

This just in from T.H.E. Show: It is with careful but great pleasure we are able to announce that T.H.E. Show 2021 is slated to take place June 11th through 13th at the Hilton in Long Beach, California! We realize that with the pandemic still ongoing and with so many variables changing on a daily basis (we do have contingency plans already in place), there will be some questions.

EnjoyTheMusic.com presents to you our tour of the Quality Record Pressings (Acoustic Sounds) vinyl LP pressing plant. We join plant manager Gary and owner Chad Kassem as they take us on a step-by-step journey through how a vinyl LP record is produced. Creative Director of Enjoy the Music.com Steven R. Rochlin guides you on his Quality Vinyl Pressings factory tour to learn how they produce a vinyl LP. As always, in the end what really matters is that you... Enjoy the music!

Hi-Fi World's March 2021 issue features your chance to win a pair of Spendor Classic 4/5 loudspeakers worth £1600. Reviews within this issue include the B&W 603 S2 Anniversary loudspeakers, Triangle Borea BR08 loudspeakers, Earmen Eagle & Sparrow pocket DACs, NovaFidelity N25 network audio streamer, Creek Audio Voyage i20 integrated amplifier+DAC, Anthem STR Pre & Power amplifiers, Esprit Beta RCA interconnect cable, and Atlas Hyper Achromatic bi-wire loudspeaker cable. Olde Worlde assesses the Nakamichi 550 portable cassette deck, plus reviews of the Goldring Ethos MC cartridge, and Pro-Ject Phono Box RS2.

After more than 20 years of delivering daily content across a wide spectrum of consumer electronics categories, EnjoyTheMusic.com's partner magazine ecoustics is shifting gears and becoming more focused on the next generation of A/V enthusiasts. They are charging into 2021 with a renewed focus and greatly expanded social media presence to best meet the needs of a growing market segment focused on vinyl, used and vintage, and more affordable high-end audio systems. With more than 20 years of consumer A/V media experience, ecoustics are very excited to announce the transition of Senior Contributing Editor Ian White to the role of Editor in Chief.

Cables have it rough. Last in thought, least in budget, forever to be put to work quickly, and then quickly overshadowed by flashier audio gear. When gushing about an audio system, who starts with the cables? Nobody ever, that's who. Such neglect is a crying shame. Cables bear the precious audio signal like a yeoman's cart dispatched by his ladyship. They're the pack mules in the trip down the Grand Canyon; the Pontoon boat floating down the Mekon river. Without cables, your audio system deluxe is just odd-looking furniture. Cables deserve accolades, no matter how much contrary nonsense is spouted off by cynics. I deny the cable deniers!

B.audio's new B.dac EX digital-to-analog converter has modern streaming capability plus acoustic correction. This French manufacturer has brought new enhancements to their DACs, which benefit of a series of new features under the EX label. These include a network input giving access to streaming functionalities, as well as a USB slot for direct connection of storage media. Additionally, a DSP-based acoustic correction feature offers a wide range of possibilities for adjusting to the listening environment.

DS Audio's DS-E1 optical phono cartridge, at least to my ears, leaves nothing at the table sonically. This micro-dynamic expressiveness goes hand in hand with the cartridge's stunning retrieval of both coarse and low-level musical detail. It exposes bad recordings for what they are, but also tells us why we love great LPs." -- Maurice Jeffries

Vermeer Audio's team is proud to present its new Model Three D integrated stereo DAC (€12,990), which is based on the company's Model Two and the components that have made this uncompromising unit a success. The Model Three D is an integrated DAC / Network Player / Digital Preamplifier that can act as a direct source for any type of amplifier. LEEDH Processing provides outstanding innovative technology for digital volume control, where digital volume adjustment usually corresponds to a loss of sound information and is often perceived as a drop in hearing acuity.

Don't miss out on the many great pics and review posting alerts on EnjoyTheMusic.com's Instagram page. Virtually each day we're been posting special product photos that you may have never seen! Be sure to follow us on Instagram as new information and photos are posted often for your viewing pleasure. As always... in the end what really matters is that you... enjoy the music!

Audio MusiKraft's polished Lithium Nitro 2 cartridge with Ipe wood inserts is a dramatic enhancement of the classic Denon 103 that performs in a nuanced, balanced, lively, engaging, musically satisfying way with having a stunning bejeweled shell. While the cost is way beyond that of the basic 103 cartridge, so is the performance! The MusiKraft cartridge will be appealing to the most discerning and demanding audiophile and can be the ultimate tunable piece of equipment for bringing listening enjoyment. Deciding upon a cartridge can be a complex and difficult challenge for any audiophile. Cartridges are not usually an item that can be borrowed to easily install at home for a demo evaluation.

Audio Research now offers their Reference 80S stereo amplifier ($16,000) that produces 70 Watts per channel (33 watts in triode mode) and continues the company's latest design effort in creating a vacuum tube amplifier that not only 'redefines' ultimate music reproduction, but does it in an incredibly beautiful package. Their 80S continues the design ethos, including dual Ghost Meters that float in front of four KT150 output tubes. Extruded panels, a vital part of the all aluminum chassis, provide rigidity and beauty.

AGD Productions Gran Vivace monoblocks ($18,500 in standard finish, optional polished finishing is $19,995) is the company's new top-of-the-line reference monoblock amplifiers. It produces 350 Watts @ 4 Ohms and is based on the new GaNTube KT120. The AGD GaNTube technology is a unique proprietary Class D modular platform with 100% Gallium Nitride MOSFET based amplification circuitry. The AGD GaNTube KT120 is a large and powerful GaNTube that is pin-to-pin compatible with its lower power sibling GaNTube KT88 MkII, and utilizes a new state-of-the-art 600V rated GaN MOSFET devices.

D'Agostino, by virtue of him being the founder, CEO, and chief engineer at Krell which he founded in 1980. The products made by Krell, which included everything from power amplifiers to SACD players and speakers, were some of the best high-end components available. In 2009 he was ousted by investors that he himself invited into the company because they thought the company should change direction. Almost immediately after leaving Krell he formed Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems.... In late 1970s a local dealer lent me a Krell power amplifier. When I auditioned it in my humble system it was almost instantly apparent that no, all power amplifiers do not sound the same.

KEF has just launch their new KC62 Subwoofer ($1499.99) with three technologies in design and sound. Using KC62's force-canceling and Uni-Core technologies, KEF has brought innovation to a subwoofer. Measuring at 9.68" x 10.07" x 9.76" (WxHxD) and weighing 31 pounds, KEF's new KC62 active subwoofer powered by two 500 Watt Class D amplifier is said to "deliver unprecedented depth and breath-taking accuracy with its compact and sleek design" says the company. Uni-Core delivers excellent performance through the combination of a force cancellation configuration and a single motor system with concentrically arranged voice coils.

Erzetich's Medousa (€3500) balanced headphone amplifier is ideal for those that wish to refresh their music experience and enjoy richer, deeper, clearer audio. The amplifier boasts an elegant stainless steel chassis alongside artificially aged wooden sides. Medousa is said by the company to blend the advantages of 'tube' and 'balanced' amplifiers in a single dependable system. The unit features a gain stage with a high-quality Electro Harmonix 12AU7/ECC82 triode vacuum tubes (other NOS tubes are available at additional cost). The tubed gain stage is followed by a solid-state current buffer.

Tacet's new Dmitri Shostakovich, Symphony no. 9 op. 70, Symphony no. 5 op. 47 hybrid SACD features Concerto Budapest / András Keller. According to Tacet, "Pictures while listening to symphony no. 9: A joyful, almost boisterous opening movement. A dreamy, contemplative second followed by a sparkling presto. And then this short fourth movement, the helpless lament of a lonely bassoon, still showing signs of vitality against the stark, unbending, unison brass. A small, tormented individual under brutal state power. Nevertheless, still it laments.

Burmester is not the largest hi-fi company, both in terms of revenue and number of employees. The manufacturer also does not have the ambition to offer the most expensive products in the high-end market at any price – nevertheless, there are only a few other consumer electronics companies worldwide that evoke a similar desire and enjoy a reputation as good as this manufacturer does, founded by Dieter Burmester in 1978. However, the first step towards this was not made by loudspeakers, as Burmester only started producing these in 1994 with the model 949, but by the legendary preamplifier 777, introduced in the summer of 1977.

Piega just launched their new Ace series of loudspeakers, which consists of their Ace 50 floorstander, Ace 30 bookshelf, and Ace Center center-channel speaker. As a successor to their established TMicro loudspeakers, the new Ace series have been equipped with a number of state-of-the-art details. All models feature the AMT-1 Air Motion Transformer tweeter, with its extremely light 24mm x 36mm folded membrane and a powerful magnetic drive made of high-purity neodymium.

Don;t miss your opportunity to be social with EnjoyTheMusic.com on Facebook as we post site updates, fun photos, and much more! Join us and post your likes, plus let us know what you'd like to see within our site too. As always, in the end what really matters is that you... Enjoy the music!

Mytek Audio proudly introduces their new Liberty THX AAA HPA ($1495), an analog headphone amplifier featuring THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier technology. The patented THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier (THX AAA) is claimed By ytek to be the most linear amplifier technology available today. According to the company, their new headamp provides "astonishing musical accuracy, unprecedented dynamic range, as well as infinitesimally low levels of noise and distortion". Using THX's patented feed-forward error correction circuit topology allows the THX AAA-based amplifier to reach its maximum output power rating of 6 Watts while exponentially reducing noise and distortion levels.

EnjoyTheMusic.com invites you to read the many excellent articles and reviews by our partner publications. Stay safe, and remember that our love of music / hobby is one that can be enjoyed within the privacy, and security, of your home, within your car, and on-the-go. We'd like to take a moment to remind our readers that many of our print magazine partners offer online subscriptions. As always, in the end what really matters is that you... enjoy the music!

For virtually everyone on the planet, this past calendar year brought a range of challenges and sorrows; 10/10 would not recommend. Hooray for 2021, with its promise of health, actual instead of virtual hugs, and a return to normalcy. When looking back on our collective annus horribilis (Latin for dumpster fire), I consider the arrival of a pair of Tekton Moab speakers in my listening room a welcome ray of light. Like many audiophiles confined to home by the pandemic, I've found much meaning and comfort in music these past nine months. With my photography business on the skids, there was suddenly occasion to burrow into a couple of thousand standout tracks, old and new. I almost didn't miss the roughly two dozen concerts I would've attended in a normal year. I think that's in part because, well, if any stereo speakers I've ever heard sound just like live music, it's the Moabs.

Frankly, 20 years is a short period of time. Has it really been 20 years since EnjoyTheMusic.com was launched?? Would love to say it seems like only yesterday that Yours Truly was this wild four ear piercings, nose ring and dog collar wearing avant-garde young kid strolling the hallways at shows, yet when it comes to the modern Internet 20 days ago seems like forever. Knowing that simply offering basic advice and how-to articles, plus my senseless ramblings, were fun yet the site also needed to start reviewing gear. Longtime and highly respected reviewer Dick Olsher and others agreed to join EnjoyTheMusic.com back in those early days and we've continued to grow ever since.

KEF is releasing their new Uni-Core design, which delivers a completely new take on speaker and subwoofer design for the company. Uni-Core seeks to create a high-level of performance, while reducing the subwoofer or speaker cabinet volume significantly. Between desirable aesthetics and uncompromising performance, the first challenge was fitting two drivers into a compact cube enclosure. Uni-Core uses two dual force-cancelling drivers with concentrically arranged, overlapping voice coils, that are driven by a single motor to provide stunning bass performance from a small enclosure.

Jim Anderson's recordings have won a whopping 11 Grammy awards. His projects have been nominated for another 27, most recently for his role as the Surround Mix Engineer on Gisle Kverndokk: Symphonic Dances in 2020. Jim recently spoke with IAA about mixing this album, teaching at NYU, how he got into immersive music, and more. Added note by Enjoy the Music.com: Immersive audio is the three-dimensional approach to audio storytelling that is taking sound to new heights. While traditional "surround sound" exists in a horizontal plane around the listener, immersive sound refers to an expanded sonic field that quite literally immerses the listener in a multi-dimensional soundscape.

Perlisten Audio just announced two tower speakers, one center channel, and three subwoofers in the North American market. The reference S7t tower speaker ($7500 per pair on up depending upon choice of veneer) is their top efforts to speaker design. Their first THX Certified Dominus speaker, the four-way S7t, showcases all drivers designed by the company's USA-based engineering team and is said to work well with 6500 cubic feet of space and 20 feet of distance. The S7t achieves the goal of total harmonic distortion (THD) rated below 0.5% at 90dB listening levels. PerListen's patent-pending Directivity Pattern Control (DPC) waveguide is centered by three 28mm "beamforming" tweeters to accurately control vertical and horizontal dispersion.

audioXpress' February 2021 issue features Microphones Get Essential Status by J. Martins, Enabling Voice Capture and Developing for Voice Interfaces by J. Martins, Why Thousands of Virtual Microphones Matter by Erica Yorga (Nureva), Widex Moment mRIC RD Hearing Aid by Brent Butterworth, The Science and Physics of High-End Mic-Preamp Design (Part 1) by Mike Meechan, X-Altra Moving Coil/Moving Magnet RIAA EQ Preamplifier (Part 1) by Andrew C. Russell, and Design Considerations Imbedding a High-Output by Michael Steffes.

"If you don't know the answer before you start to measure, how do you know you are getting a good measurement?" – Ivan Beaver, chief engineer, Danley Sound Labs

If I were to ask you to measure the voltage coming out of the electrical outlet closest to you using a multimeter or VOM (volt-ohm-millimeter), you would have expectations. However, should the multimeter's display, for whatever reason, not show the expected voltage for your specific region, there's a valid reason to start investigating. Maybe the meter's batteries are dead or maybe a circuit breaker tripped. Regardless, you were right to question the outcome because it didn't meet expectations.

EnjoyTheMusic.com and ecoustics are thrilled to announce our new content sharing partnership, expanding the reach of both online publications to a wider range of readers, listeners, and viewers across the globe. With a combined 46 years of online publishing history between the two magazines, both are cornerstones of the consumer home entertainment media online world and charging into 2021 with a renewed sense of purpose and direction.

ecoustics.com was founded by Brian Mitchell in 1998 and remains independently owned and operated. First launched in 1999 as one of the first consumer electronics portals, the company is dedicated to providing an easy-to-use, unbiased one-stop resource for anyone shopping, researching, or learning about technology. The website originally aggregated hi-fi, audiophile, and home theater reviews. Since then, they have expanded to cover many consumer electronics categories, which now include a wide variety of consumer electronics including car audio, portable electronics, computers, gadgets, and emerging technologies.

With rock masterpieces, like the cut "Hotel California," from the Eagles remarkable 1994 reunion tour, Hell Freezes Over [Geffen GEFD-24725], while the kick drum is located solidly deep into the stage and left of center, is created with enough impact to move your pant leg cuffs. Queuing up choice cuts like "Under the Boardwalk," from Ricki Lee Jones' 1983 Girl At Her Volcano 10-inch EP [Warner 1-23805], or with the Poco Adagio from the sublimely powerful Symphony No. 3 by Camille Saint-Saëns [RCA LSC-2341], the bass produce from Dynamic Sounds Associates' Amp I amplifier is not only deeply yet accurately extended, with no bloat or overhang, it is presented with a palpable sense of weight and pressure that is uncannily like that experienced live.

NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants, is a not-for-profit association that promotes the pleasures and benefits of making music and strengthens the $17 billion global music products industry. Their digital experience will take place during The NAMM Show dates, starting on Monday, January 18, 2021 and showcasing content through Friday, January 22. Believe in Music Week is the global gathering to unify and support the people who bring music to the world. The online celebration will feature a mix of comprehensive programming and professional education.

Turntables have always been one of my favorite sources for my playback system. They are highly customizable, straightforward to use. They tend to offer a great bang for the buck, especially on the entry-level ones. In fact, you can purchase a more expensive turntable, start with a reasonably inexpensive cartridge that sounds great and move into higher performance ones over time, if you wish. Of course, there is a downside. They do require a bit more care and feeding than their digital brethren.

The two main types of cartridges on the market are moving magnet (MM) and moving coil (MC). They both have their advantages and disadvantages. However, as a rule, moving magnet cartridges tend to be less expensive to date. Their performance is not as high as their counterparts. The good news is you will find that most of the phono stages that are built into components will work with these without any additional equipment. The bad news, there are very few high-end phono stages available, or at least this reviewer hasn't seen any.

KJF Audio has announced their SA-01 solid-state stereo amplifier ($647 to $884 depending on options) that is based around the Ncore MA-01 amplifiers. With the SA-01, the company has allowed themselves freedom in the design of the case work to bring you something great to look. A high quality sealed switch allows you to choose your preferred connection type of analog unbalanced RCA or balanced XLR. As they would we would prefer no switch within the signal path, KJF have used the best switch they could find for this purpose.

During EnjoyTheMusic.com's very special 25th Anniversary we're asking various high-end audio manufacturers to answer the same ten questions. Their answers may surprise you! This month we're featuring David Chesky of Chesky Records and HDtracks. At Chesky Records, their philosophy is simple: to create the illusion of live musicians in a real three-dimensional space. Chesky Records tries to achieve the impression of reality with the most advanced technology available, careful microphone placement, and, most of all, a recording team that pays attention to every minute detail-making your listening experience tangible, pleasurable, exciting, and realistic.

Hegel Music System is proud to announce the launch of the company's first phono stage, the V10 ($1500). The V10 seeks to achieve the design and sound performance of more expensive unit, yet at far lower costs. Hegel's V10 works with both moving-magnet (MM) and moving-coil (MC) phono cartridges, plus there's a Subsonic Filter to remove undesirable ultra-low frequencies and rumble. Eliminating external noise is especially important when using sensitive low output MC cartridges. That is why Hegel Music Systems fitted the MC input with four transistors connected in parallel in hopes of making the input completely silent and stopping any bias current feedback to the cartridge coil.

The new 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee will debut with the auto industry's only sound system made by McIntosh Laboratory. Available first in the Jeep Grand Cherokee L, the MX950 McIntosh Entertainment System is available in Overland and Summit models and comes standard when equipped with the Summit Reserve Package. Customers will soon be able to experience what it is like having a McIntosh Entertainment System with them on-the-go. To ensure McIntosh luxury home audio experience was replicated in the vehicle, engineers from both companies worked hand-in-hand to fuse form and function into the system architecture.

For as long as I can remember, I've been interested in audio and particularly the qualities associated with really good Stereophonic music reproduction. And I've often noted how there are such a myriad of different ways to design a pair of speakers and still get a high quality sonic illusion that easily communicates qualities like believable imaging, spatiality, height, dynamics, frequency extension, sense of immersion, and toe tapping musicality; should they be found in the recordings listened to in the first place. Apparently, speakers can come in all shapes and sizes, be constructed of wood, metal, glass, carbon-fiber, concrete, and even plastic. And they have been in use in telecommunications and related industries for almost a hundred and fifty years....

Mark your calendar for January 13th at 7pm EST and get ready to gather round your screens to join AXPONA on Zoom for an engrossing and lively panel discussion by some of the most iconic and gifted loudspeaker designers in the industry today! Hosted by industry veteran reviewer Greg Weaver, who writes for Positive Feedback and EnjoyTheMusic.com plus has an excellent YouTube video channel called The Audio Analyst, webinar panel members include Gayle Sanders of Eikon Audio, Andrew Jones of ELAC USA, Leif Swanson of Von Schweikert Audio, and David MacPherson of Studio Electric.

Hi-Fi+'s January 2021 issue features reviews of the Audiovector R6 Arreté floorstanding loudspeaker, Magnepan LRS floorstanding panel loudspeaker, ELAC Vela FS 408 floorstanding loudspeaker, Gryphon Audio Designs Ethos CD player, Purelow LO passive subwoofer, Bowers & Wilkins 702 Signature floorstanding loudspeaker, PrimaLuna Evo 100 DAC, AURALiC Vega G2.1 streaming DAC / preamplifier, Karan Acoustics Master Collection LineB preamplifier, Primare I35 Prisma integrated amplifier, Acoustic Solid Wood MPX turntable, Vertere Acoustics Redline cable system, High Fidelity Cables Orchestral Helix system, Gutwire Consumate interconnect cables, 1More Dual Driver ANC wireless neckband in-ear monitors, and Westone ES80 custom-fit in-ear monitors.

Hi-Fi World's February 2021 issue features your chance to win a pair of Wharfedale Evo 4.3 loudspeakers worth £999. Reviews within this isue include the KEF LS50 Meta loudspeakers, Fyne Audio Fi-5 loudspeakers, Astell&Kern Kann Alpha player, Rotel A11 Tribute amplifier & CD11 Tribute CD player, Longdog Audio Ida P6100m monoblock amplifiers, Atlas Ailsa RCA cables, and Esprit Beta loudspeaker cables. Olde Worlde takes a look at Videologic's DRX-601e DAB tuner. Within their vinyl / analog section, Hi-Fi World takes a close look and listen to the Yamaha GT-5000 turntable and Keith Monks Prodigy RCM bamboo record cleaning machine, while Classic Cuts assess Summerteeth, an 1999 album from Wilco.

"Many have not met Tim de Paravicini or seen him 'in action', and watching a 1hr 45min video from 2006 you get a much better sense of the man in his prime. His way of speaking, and his body language and so on. Lots of little stories ahead, especially about his time in Japan and how that is a different kind of world to ours and some unusual business practices. But all told in a way that is his story and his insight. Sit back for the duration of the video and enjoy, even if you don't get the finer points of the discussion, because some of it is very technical and aimed at geeks like us."
-- Joe Rasmussen

This just in from the Chester Group Exhibitions, "The uncertainties surrounding this years show have continued due to COVID-19, and we could see no point in setting firm new dates for 2021 due to those uncertainties, until now! Dates have now been set which hopefully will provide a realistic chance for the show to take place in 2021. We had already announced our move to the De Vere Staverton Estate which has provided us with considerably more scope and variety of exhibition suites, and that has not changed."

We're entering 2021 with more new content and promotion initiatives. EnjoyTheMusic.com is planning to have the highest qty of information and promotion for everyone within this industry as possible on many fronts. We'll be publishing more gear reviews, more educational articles by leading experts within their field, as many show reports as possible, plus expand on our Facebook / Instagram social media pages too! 

NOTE: If you're a manufacturer, distributor and / or representative, please join our eNewsletter list at www.eepurl.com/S3xtn.

NOTE II: If you're one of EnjoyTheMusic.com's longtime loyal readers, then join our e-Newsletter to receive e-mail once every two weeks or so, plus you'll be entered into our contests too! www.eepurl.com/sXrNr.

As always, in the end what really matters is that you...

      Enjoy the Music,

      Steven R. Rochlin
      Creative Director

www.HighEndAudio.com      www.EnjoyTheMusic.com
Review Magazine, audioXpress, Australian Hi-Fi,
Headphone.Guru, Hi-Fi+, HIFICRITIC, Hi-Fi World, HiFi Media,
NOVO High-End, STEREO Magazine, Positive Feedback,
Sound Practices, VALVE... and much more! 

"I should blame the designers and engineers at Nagra for making such a fine piece of equipment, because it acts as a siren, tempting me to listen to one more song, one more album, one more artist, one more recording. Don't say I didn't warn you. The Nagra Tube DAC with its Classic PSU power supply will make the sound of your digital files connected to its USB port, or discs player connected to its coax input sound better than you've ever heard them before."
-- Tom Lyle, Senior Editor

Blue Coast Music has completed a new distribution deal with Entertainment One (eOne) and will launch 300 HD tracks to DSPs on January 15, 2021. The tracks include never-before-released performances by Alex de Grassi, Fiona Joy Hawkins, Meghan Andrews, Jenna Mammina, Tony Furtado, Garett Brennan, Art Lande, Jenner Fox, and many more, which will be available for the first time through Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Tidal and other digital music streaming services. Blue Coast Music is known for being the first online digital music store to deliver Direct Stream Digital (DSD) downloads to the consumer.

EnjoyTheMusic.com's January Review Magazine features a variety of gear reviews, think pieces, plus a special editorial with a newly uploaded video featuring Tim de Paravicini. This month we have a World Premiere review of the impressive Dynamic Sounds Associates Amp I, plus we review the Nagra Tube DAC & Classic PSU, LampizatOr MM2 MM phono stage, Tekton Moab floorstanding speakers, Audio MusiKraft Polished Lithium Nitro 2 phono cartridge, and the DS Audio DS-E1 Optical phono cartridge / phono energizer & DS Audio ION 001 vinyl ionizer.

Industry veteran Roger Skoff's editorial 'And The Music Goes Round And Round' he writes about changing ideas of perfection. We also have audio professional Merlijn van Veen's 'The Right Call: How To Avoid Poor Equalization Choices' that explores the matter that how an analyzer is set up can greatly affect the appearance of the results. We're incredibly honored to publish EnjoyTheMusic.com's 10 Questions to David Solomon of Qobuz. As a Chief Evangelist for streaming music service Qobuz, and drummer, his answers are a must-read!

As always, in the end what really matters is that you...

Enjoy the Music. See our January Review Magazine at this link.

Those of you who have read some of my previous reviews know that I am in some ways a throwback, sticking with my compact discs while some audiophiles have moved to uncompressed digital files and others have embraced the vinyl side. I have a lot of CDs, and by God, I'm going to still listen to them.... Sometimes you start to wonder, are those fancy high-end DACs really that much better? A few months ago, I noticed an announcement for a new DAC by a company called Metronome. Appropriately it is called Le Dac. The announcement said that the Le Dac is the new low-cost entry into the Metronome line.

According to Nielsen Music / MRC Data, sales of vinyl LPs within independent record stores reached an all-time high during a single-week in December 2020. Nielsen Music/MRC Data record. Their records show that 1.842 million LPs were sold during the week that ended December 24th (2020). For those curious, the previous sales record was 1.445 million in December 2017. Naturally LP sales are higher than legacy digital Compact Discs (CD, 1.671 million in sales) as streaming true lossless music online offers far higher resolution than the four-decade old digital CD format.

Join our eNewsletter to receive high-end audio updates twice a month to your inbox, plus you'll be entered into our contests too! Everyone at EnjoyTheMusic.com wishes you and yours a festive holiday season. We want to share in the many joys of music to you and yours, which in turn brings the happiness of music into your home. As always, in the end what really matters is that you... Enjoy the Music!

During EnjoyTheMusic.com's very special 25th Anniversary we're asking various high-end audio manufacturers to answer the same ten questions. Their answers may surprise you! This month we're featuring Daren Orth, Rotel's Chief Technology Officer. Since 1961, Rotel audio products are known worldwide for their quality, reliability, value, and, above all, exceptional sound reproduction. There is no substitute for experience.

During EnjoyTheMusic.com's very special 25th Anniversary we're asking various high-end audio manufacturers to answer the same ten questions. Their answers may surprise you! This month we're featuring Eli Gershman founder, Chief Designer And Co-Owner Of Gershman Acoustics. Gershman Acoustics is a designer and manufacturer of high-end audio loudspeakers since 1993. The combination of the world best technology and art for the discriminating audiophiles and music lovers!

With hopes of bringing great-sounding music (and humor) to cap off 2020, Enjoy the Music.com's Schitt(y) Holiday Giveaway offers one winner a Schiit Lyr 3 with Multibit DAC option ($699). To improve on the company's Lyr 2, they had to completely reinvent the unit with two key new technologies while also making it a modular design. The Schiit Lyr 3 can be configured with a DAC as within this contest, or a MM phono preamplifier just like their Jotunheim. Within this contest, we're including Schiit's Multibit DAC (a $200 upgrade!).

During EnjoyTheMusic.com's very special 25th Anniversary we're asking various high-end audio manufacturers to answer the same ten questions. Their answers may surprise you! This month we're featuring Dan Clark, Founder and CEO of Dan Clark Audio, Inc (previously known as MrSpeakers). Dan Clark Audio (DC Audio) is proud to produce some of the best sounding, most comfortable headphones in the market today. Their headphones are all hand-crafted within the company's San Diego factory. Over the past eight years DC Audio has been in business, they've been thrilled by the support from our community of enthusiasts.

The new Chord Company Bridge (£500) is a high-quality British designed and engineered shorting plug, created to reduce high-frequency noise interference in high-performance hi-fi equipment. Offering protection from noise for devices with unused power supply upgrade ports, such as Naim Audio's NDX and NDX 2 audiophile network music players, the Chord Company Bridge shorting plug works by reducing HF noise on the critical signal ground.

During EnjoyTheMusic.com's very special 25th Anniversary we're asking various high-end audio manufacturers to answer the same ten questions. Their answers may surprise you! This month we're featuring Andy Kerr, Director of Product Marketing & Communications at Bowers & Wilkins. The story of Bowers & Wilkins starts with one man: John Bowers. Even some 30 years after his death, his passion and drive still pulse through the lifeblood of the company he founded. Bowers' dream of producing the perfect loudspeaker has driven the company from its humble beginnings behind an electronics shop in Worthing to becoming a global leader in audio.

During EnjoyTheMusic.com's very special 25th Anniversary we're asking various high-end audio manufacturers to answer the same ten questions. Their answers may surprise you! This month we're featuring Frank Malitz, Former CEO And Co-Founder Of Bob Carver Company. Robert W. (Bob) Carver is an American designer of audio equipment based in the Pacific Northwest. Educated as a physicist and engineer, Bob found an interest in audio equipment at a young age. He applied his talent to produce numerous innovative high fidelity designs since the 1970s.

When Jim Moulton contacts me and asks me to personally review a Noble IEM I know I am in for an exciting adventure into John Moulton's newest creation. The nickname Wizard, as John is known as, is well and truly justified, so when the good doctor works on a creation it is almost guaranteed to be groundbreaking in design and sound spectacular.... The new Sultan with its lustrous coverings is a beautiful treasured piece of art designed in the typical Noble handmade fashion created one at a time for the most discrete and select listener.

Good Morning Music Lovers,

  Everyone at EnjoyTheMusic.com wishes you and yours a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous 2021. As always, in the end what really matters is that you...

Enjoy the Music,

Steven R. Rochlin
Creative Director
www.HighEndAudio.com
www.EnjoyTheMusic.com

Review Magazine, audioXpress, Australian Hi-Fi, Headphone.Guru, Hi-Fi+, HIFICRITIC, Hi-Fi World, HiFi Media, NOVO High-End, STEREO Magazine, Positive Feedback, Sound Practices, VALVE... and much more!

EnjoyTheMusic.com's Legendary Performance Awards 2020 celebrates the incredible achievements by high-end audio manufacturers since we've been reviewing gear for over the past two decades. Unlike our annual Blue Note Awards, Enjoy the Music.com's Legendary Performance Awards is a once every 25-year event, so you know it is something very special indeed! We tasked our extensive staff in choosing products they felt earned an extra-special mention, which in turn shows the greatness of these legendary pieces of high-end audio equipment.

What's new in audio? Not much in the past 40 years or so. When was the last technological shake-up in audio? Compact Disc, maybe? From there, digital technology has spawned endless formats of claimed resolving power that is rarely capitalized on. What I have had a hankering for is not another format war, rather, HARD technology. Like the birth of the solid-state transistor that knocked vacuum tube amplifiers on their heels. To my surprise, such a technology flashed into existence a couple of years ago, that is truly revolutionary, and I have been oblivious of its existence until now.

With the 2020 election behind us, we still face the battle of Covid-19. From what I hear from manufacturers, many audiophiles have turned to music to fill their isolation and the audio industry had not evaporated. In fact, many high-end companies are doing quite well. Those individuals who have maintained their professional careers in one form or another have continued to upgrade their equipment, even in the absence of new product introductions at shows that never materialized in 2020. Those working from home and minimizing social interactions and errands have likely saved thousands of dollars in travel expenses. In my case, we've downsized from two cars to one with little inconvenience.

This video shows you how to handle SVS' Prime Wireless SoundBase installation, configuration, and DTS Play-Fi app install instructions. Home Theater Fanatics is a retailer based out of Colorado and offers wide variety of videos featuring products they sell. SVS' Prime Wireless SoundBase brings high-resolution wireless audio streaming, advanced connectivity and smart control to conventional speakers. Using its line level output is also available. This enables you to create a smart wireless music zone with your AV receiver or two-channel stereo system.

John DeVore, Founder of DeVore Fidelity, has a wonderful two-video series about mindfulness in music. DeVore Fidelity is based in Brooklyn New York where for twenty years they've been designing and building beautiful speakers capable of communicating the power and scope as well as the intimate nuance of music in order to bring you closer to your music than ever before. Within John's two video series, he talks about mindfulness in this crazy world.

Nordost, out of Holliston, MA, not Norway, is one of the premier cable manufacturers in the world. They often run comparative demonstrations of their products at audio shows that I've found instructive on several occasions. It was there that I first encountered their Qv2 AC Line Harmonizer. I listened intently with the Qv2 both in and out of the AC power strip, but I could hear little difference. Sometimes it takes a while to pick up on minor differences when you don't know exactly what it is you should or should not be hearing. In my case, it would be years before a friend brought one over for me to try in my system. In the familiar surroundings of my own listening room it was easy to hear the difference it makes. Nordost's Qv2 AC Line Harmonizer is not a power line conditioner. Rather, it is an AC Line Harmonizer that creates a series of pulsed frequencies based on the 50 or 60Hz waveform of your electrical line. It effectively lowers the noise floor, bringing about a greater sense of the soundscape and allows the music to have more presence in the room.

Kimber's very high quality B-Bus USB cable ($50 for 0.5 meter length) is without a doubt much higher quality than the throw-away cables that come standard with most electronics equipment. Our very own Dick Olsher has made very positive comments about the difference in the sound quality of one's digital system when using this cable. Kimber has earned a great reputation for making excellent cable and this is one example of many I could recommend. "Metallurgy, geometry, dielectric & termination methods can vary greatly in USB cables," says Kimber Kable. "Our copper based solutions deliver sonically superior results over “in the box” cables. The difference is clearly audible and closer to Kimber Kable's definition of musical."

With hopes of bringing great-sounding music (and humor) to cap off 2020, EnjoyTheMusic.com's Schitt(y) Holiday Giveaway offers one winner a Schiit Lyr 3 with Multibit DAC option ($699). To improve on the company's Lyr 2, they had to completely reinvent the unit with two key new technologies while also making it a modular design. The Schiit Lyr 3 can be configured with a DAC as within this contest, or a MM phono preamplifier just like their Jotunheim. Within this contest, we're including Schiit's Multibit DAC (a $200 upgrade!).

"The Pass Labs INT-25 was able to separate the instruments on this sometimes crowded, direct to a two-track recording, not only by isolating each instrument and voice within a huge soundstage, but separating each instrument and voice with dynamic distance, that is, unaffectedly separating them from each other, despite their appearance in the same area of the soundstage, and at the same time emphasizing very slight differences in their apparent volumes. The INT-25's level of dynamic distance is a type of trait that I normally hear with the best amplifiers and equipment powered by vacuum tubes." -- Tom Lyle, Senior Editor

Enjoy two days of authentic Blues music recorded in high-resolution during Blues Masters at the Crossroads concert. This preeminent authentic blues concert, thanks to Chad Kassem of Acoustic Sounds, features performances by Rip Lee Pryor, Moreland & Arbuckle, Marquise Knox, Big George Brock, Joe Beard, Lazy Lester, Mighty Sam McClain, Sonny Green, and Bernard Allison. As always, in the end what really matters is that you... Enjoy the Music.

The KEF Q150 Bookshelf Speaker helps round out the company's award-winning Q Series. KEF's Q150 features a solid cabinet, sleek black finish, and a modern 5.25" Uni-Q driver array. The Q150 contains an enhanced Uni-Q Driver Array designed to smooth out treble frequencies, and reimagined crossovers to provide cleaner and more accurate bass. The front port has been moved to the back of the Q150 and internal architecture has been redesigned to reduce internal resonances to improve audio clarity. KEF Q150 Uni-Q Bookshelf / Desktop Speakers With over 55 years of experience and countless groundbreaking inventions under its belt, KEF's eighth iteration of its Q Series speaker line boasts an enhanced Uni-Q Driver Array for unparalleled depth and clarity.

Hosa's Caig DeoxIT Gold ($19, formerly ProGold) is a unique conditioning solution designed for use in critical applications where only slight cleaning action is necessary. It is intended for use on new and recently cleaned surfaces. You can enhance, protect, lubricate, and maintain optimum signal quality be ensuing all your contacts and clean. Hosa G5S-6 Caig DeoxIT Gold Contact Cleaner / Enhancer Hosa's G5S-6 Caig DeoxIT can reduce intermittent connections, unwanted arcing, and reduce RFI as well as reduce wear and abrasion. It provides a long-lasting protection from oxidation on plated surfaces that can degrade the sound quality of your home audio / video system.

HIFICRITIC's latest issue features Peter Qvortrup of Audio Note UK celebrates his 70th birthday and more than 40 years in the hi-fi industry, Stan's taking a break from the minutiae of hi-fi design – he's been working on electronic systems, CH Precision P1, L1, X1, and A1.5 plus an interview with Florian Cossy. Howard On Feedback educates you about the magic bullet of amplifier design / feedback, Metamaterial Absorption Technology brings you information about KEF's new secret ingredient, and Brothers In Arms discusses the latest high-end offerings from stable mates Denon and Marantz... and much more! 

I've been lucky enough to be able to review a variety of excellent preamplifiers during the last few years, from the more affordable to the quite extravagant. As with the Allnic H-7000 vacuum tube phono preamplifier, as reviewed here, I'm hoping that these different types of phono preamplifiers that I've reviewed might help some audiophiles make a decision as to which phono preamp might be best for their system's analog set-up. Since not everyone is looking to purchase a new phono preamp, I also hope that audiophiles and maybe even a few non-audiophiles (or soon to be audiophiles), have found that these reviews fun to read!

audioXpress' January 2021 issue features their celebrating a double anniversary. This issue marks 20 years since audioXpress was launched, and 50 since Ed Dell began his journey. Other articles and reviews within this issue include Drivers, Speakers, And Transducers Optimization Of The Species, Electrostatic Pure Silicon Microspeakers For Wireless Earbuds, plus Bass Shakers and Tactile Sound. Other great articles are Four Digital Stylus Force Gauges, The Live-Edge Dipoles, Getting Started With Automotive Audio Bus (Part 4), plus a focus on Cone Loudspeaker Radiation and Directionality, and Simple Improvements To A Recent Audio MFB Filter To Lower Harmonic Distortion.

The unique shape of the patented ARCH Acoustic Resonance Clarifier ($169 to $499) and its material construction make it an effective vibration control base for speakers and heavy audio components. Ginko Audio's ARCH is constructed from a lossy material that dissipates vibration across the audio frequency spectrum. Its design is a curved shape with two ends that rest on the floor at an angle, thus minimizing transferred energy from the cabinet to the ground. In addition, the ARCH flexes under the weight of the speaker as the latter vibrates, further reducing the transferred energy. Read about the ARCH Technology and how it works. For a more detailed explanation of why it performs better than conventional speaker spikes, read this White Paper.

Furutech's NCF Booster ($350 each, with additional extension shafts in 10pcs sets for $33) employs specially developed sound enhancing material for superior connector and cable damping. According to Furutech, "Not only does the Furutech NCF Booster Connector and Cable Holder lift audio cables off the floor minimizing their points of contact, it also reduces electromagnetic interference and excels at providing NCF damping support for connectors and cables at points of connection. The NCF Booster Connector and Cable Holder allows for the optimum alignment between connectors and sockets and eliminates static – boosting performance by allowing a more pure and clear signal.

As the first in a family of flagship products that complements their established 1 Series units, CH Precision has once again announced their L10 dual mono linstage / preamplifier, and M10 stereo / monoblock amplifier. Twin-chassis L10 line-preamplifier ensures extremely low noise, while the twin-chassis M10 is user configurable for mono or stereo and produces 300 Watts RMS into 8 Ohms stereo, and over 1kWatt RMS into 8 Ohms in bridged mono mode. There's a bi-amped and high-current mono configurations as well.

Mindfulness is an incredibly liberating practice; one that has exploded as a recent phenomenon in the western world. Interestingly, us moderns are the last people on the planet to uncover the wealth of treasures it has to offer. Music and mindfulness are indeed complementary practices. Music and sounds make a wonderful object of focus for the mind, with mindful listening proven to boost our overall well-being and reduce stress significantly.

Being an old timer in battery powered portable audio, including everything from a brand new 1970 Panasonic transistor radio to the world's first portable CD player (Sony D5 in 1985) and toyed with Diamond Rio mp3 player (1999), I am truly impressed at these two under $100 offerings. While there's bragging rights with the latest and greatest (and overly heavy imho) 'reference devices' that are big, overly bulky, and frankly hard to justify at lofty $3000(!) pricing for some, FiiO's M3K portable Hi-Res Audio music player and BTR3K Bluetooth amplifier at $69.99 each give you two ways to enhance your enjoyment of music at very reasonable pricing. The M3K is a stand-alone music player with color screen and touchpad while the BTR3 is a wireless Bluetooth amplifier. Both units take advantage of the same Hi-Res Audio / H-Res Music capable modern DAC and amplification circuit, which FiiO chose after many hours of careful listening.

ELAC's original Debut B6 bookshelf speakers were a huge hit and here we're recommending the latest generation of this design. ELAC's Debut 2.0 B6.2 bookshelf speakers ($299 per pair) are designed and hand-tuned by none other than longtime designer Andrew Jones and they sound simply spectacular! This two-way bass reflex design produces sound better than some far larger speakers. With a frequency response from 44 Hz to 20kHz and a nominal impedance of 6 Ohms, they have been the talk of the town during recent audiophile shows. In fact they've already earned awards!

Vincent Audio has introduced their SV-737 hybrid integrated amplifier ($3500) to the USA market. Combining the benefits of both tube and solid-state designs with powerful output, there are numerous analog and digital inputs, wireless connectivity, and overall flexibility. Two amplifier sections – pre-amplifier and power amplifier – are perfectly matched for maximum transparency. However, the listener can bypass the pre-amp/amp connection by removing external jumpers, allowing for an external Digital Signal Processor (DSP) for room correction.

M2Tech is proud to introduce the Young MkIV DAC/preamplifier. The new Young MkIV improves the sonic qualities of the previous models while adding useful features that allow users to more fully enjoy their favorite music. The Young MkIV encompasses a wealth of changes and improvement over the MkIII design, most notably the adoption of the Asahi-Kasei AK4497 conversion IC which allows for handling 768kHz PCM and 512x DSD. An I2S input is now available to interface with streamers and other digital source provided with I2S output. The input set includes a Bluetooth receiver with aptX and an unbalanced RCA analog input.

There's not much technologically to say about the Drhob Vinyl Record cup / drinks coasters for under $10... except they are an incredible gift for your music lover! Made from ABS plastic, they measure approximately 4.15" round and look great within your listening room / home theater. Decorate your table or desk with these creative vinyl record coasters, which come in a cool retro presentation box too! Drhob Vinyl Record Cup / Drink Coasters Drhob Vinyl Record Cup / Drink Coasters Without a doubt these are a great gift for music fans. Each set includes six vinyl record coasters.

Cherry USB to S/PDIF Converter by the Digital Amplifier Company ($390) is a premium unit that is plug-and-play easy to use. You can easily connect a USB device (driver installation not necessary) for modern Windows and Mac PCs. Power is also provided through USB, so there's no need for an external power adapter. It supports sample rates up to 384kHz at upwards of 32 bit data rate. You can use this unit to drive any DAC with a coax S/PDIF input, including the Cherry DAC.

Now is the time to reserve your exhibit space at the Pacific Audio Fest! This show is by, and for, the high-end audio industry as operated by Lou Hinkley of Daedalus Audio and Gary Gill, who has successfully brought the Capital Audiofest (CAF) to the forefront. CAF is the East Coast's largest and longest running consumer high-end audio show. The Pacific Audio Fest 2021 is limited to 100 showroom, so you need to act fast to reserve your space!

EnjoyTheMusic.com's Best Of 2020 Blue Note Awards celebrates the many great achievements by audiophile manufacturers within the high-end audio and Hi-Res Audio industry. Our 2020 Blue Note Awards is a culmination of 20 years of reviewing and carefully choosing what products have earned special recognition for our annual awards. Our Best Of 2020 Blue Note Award celebrates the finest products we have reviewed during the previous 12 months.

While 2020 placed challenges for high-end audio events, StereoNET's Melbourne The Home Entertainment Expo 2021 is set for November 19th through 21st. StereoNET's Melbourne show is the country's leading exhibition of hi-fi, home cinema, and headphones in Australia. Shows and expos of this nature require a significant commitment and support by its exhibitors, along with substantial logistics and international guests and visitors.

EnjoyTheMusic.com's Schitt(y) Holiday Giveaway!
Say farewell to 2020 and win a Schiit Lyr 3 with Multibit DAC option valued at $699!

With hopes of bringing great-sounding music (and humor) to cap off 2020, EnjoyTheMusic.com's Schitt(y) holiday giveaway offers one winner a Schiit Lyr 3 with Multibit DAC option ($699). To improve on the company's Lyr 2, they had to completely reinvent the unit with two key new technologies while also making it a modular design. The Schiit Lyr 3 can be configured with a DAC as within this contest, or a MM phono preamplifier just like their Jotunheim. Within this contest, we're including Schiit's Multibit DAC (a $200 upgrade!).

Every audiophile and recording studio engineer knows that your room's corners can add problems to lower frequency sound production. Dekiru's Acoustic Bass Traps ($26 for 8) are thick, 12" X 7" X 7" noise dampeners ideal for studio or home audio / theater sound treatment. Eco-friendly and fire-retardant, these sound panels can be installed by anyone! Simply attach using spray adhesive, 3M Command Velcro, nails or other attachment devices to the back of each panel.

CRC QD contact cleaner is a unique blend of petroleum-distillates and alcohol which provides a suitable precision cleaner for sensitive electronics. It is a cost effective alternative to all contact cleaners. It Evaporates quickly and leaves no residue and is safe to use on all plastics. Recommended for the cleaning of connectors, tape heads, buss bars and circuits. Effectively removes dirt, dust, light oils and fingerprints from contacts, printed circuit boards, switches and breakers. Plastic safe - allows one product to be used in all applications without risk of costly damage to sensitive modern plastics. Leaves no residue - prevents harmful build-up on equipment and eliminates wiping and rinsing. Fast evaporation and minimizes downtime too.

During EnjoyTheMusic.com's very special 25th Anniversary we're asking various high-end audio manufacturers to answer the same ten questions. Their answers may surprise you! This month we're featuring Zoltán Bay CEO and designer for BAYZ Audio. The founder, Zoltán Bay has been obsessed with audio equipment and devices that offer high-end sound quality for more than 30 years. Zoltán is an engineer who strives for perfection, a technical creator who, as a music lover, also plays the piano. During his career, he has developed numerous technical innovations and special technical solutions, several of which have been patented.

During EnjoyTheMusic.com's very special 25th Anniversary we're asking various high-end audio manufacturers to answer the same ten questions. Their answers may surprise you! This month we're featuring Francis Chaillet, AudioNec's Fonder and CEO. At AudioNec, they developed new technologies for their speakers in order for them to accurately reproduce the concert experience. Their commitment is to provide products that can transport you through time and space and create that magical moment.

Auris' new HA-2SF balanced stereo headphone amplifier uses retro vacuum tube technology to deliver top-quality sound for personal audio (headphone) lovers. A ECC82 is joined by four ECC 99 tubes to produce two Watts of output. The Auris HA-2SF handles headphones and in-ear monitors from 32 to 600 Ohms. Analog inputs include three unbalanced RCA and one balanced XLR, with analog outputs being balanced XLR /and 1/4" stereo headphone jack. For those who desire adding an external amplifier, there is RCA preamplifier outputs as well.

There's so much to love about CHISTO cleaners, and they have a great product for every format to bring more joy of music, plus a gear cleaner too! Their Easy Groove Concentrate (€49.90) concentrate makes a liter of effective vinyl records cleaning solution. It cleans all types of vinyl records from LPs to ancient, but lovely 78rpm shellacs. It's a quick and convenient way to keep your records at its best and prolong the lifespan of your cartridge too! Their Enzyme (€59.90) record cleaning concentrate is a pre-wash concentrate that makes a liter of solution. Extra dirty records, or records stored in dusty places for decades, can benefit as they need a special treatment as a pre-wash before your average cleaning procedure. Enzymes come to help!

Bottlehead's affectionately-named S.E.X. 3.0 Kit ($539 on up) is extremely easy to build and will run any dynamic headphones – even AKG K1000s and Audeze LCD-2s – to great effect. Power output is a generous two watts per channel, so it could also drive highly efficient loudspeakers too! The big update for Version 3.0 is that Bottlehead has changed the tubes used from the now difficult to find 6DN7 to the 6FJ7. The 6FJ7 is the same tube in a different glass envelope designed to fit in a Compactron socket. Same great sound as the 6FJ7, but in a tube that isn't being gobbled up by our competitors who have (finally) caught on to the great sound of the 6DN7.

I absolutely loved the iSine20 when I reviewed them a few years ago. I found them to really shake things up in the portable market space with their full-sized headphone sound and transparency. Well, never to rest on their laurels, Audeze has just released their follow up; the LCDi3. This new product is a big step up from their iSine20 predecessors with the same magnesium housing and grill from their flagship in-ear headphones; the LCDi4. As well, you now get a plethora of options to use these in-ear headphones. Everything from a Bluetooth option to a Lightning Cipher Cable to a standard 3.5mm TRS stereo cable is included with them and as a result, you should have all of your portable audio bases covered.

Moonriver Audio has announced their new 404 Reference integrated amplifier ($4995), which is the improved version of the company's Standard stereo model. The form, controls, ergonomics, and design are similar, but the major difference is found at the heart of the amplifier: the power supplies. Moonriver Audio's 404 power supplies for both preamplifier and power amplifier have double the capacitance, which gives a big advantage in how the Reference handles the incoming signal. According to the company, "The dynamic character of the amplifier digs out more detail, and low level information; the sound stage is much deeper and articulate too."

Estelon is excited to present their Forza Anniversary Edition, which was inspired by the company's 10th successful year, with only 10 pairs being made available. The Estelon Forza is said to personify technologies trickled-down from the company's Extreme flagship model that was introduced in 2019. Estelon's special Anniversary Edition features a combination of Black Pearl Gloss and Gold accents highlighting its elegant curves, with the loudspeaker wire connector panel featuring designer Alfred Vassilkov's signature.

The Bosch Blaze One GLM165 10 165 ft. Laser Measure is recommended by Enjoy the Music.com's Senior Editor Greg Weaver. This unit features auto square, which automatically calculates the square footage totals with a push of a button. The easy to read backlit color display delivers outstanding visibility and usability. This laser distance measurer includes default real time measuring, adjusting as you move closer to or further from the target, just like a tape measure.

The Blaze One takes instant and reliable measurements up to 165 ft., to size up the job in seconds, with an accuracy up to +/- 1/16 inch, thanks to its laser precision technology. It fits in any pocket for easy access. This jobsite tough tool is IP54 rated and is built to withstand rainy or dusty conditions

Back by popular demand is something we've recommended before. The KZ-ATE are the best inexpensive in-ear monitor (IEM) I've ever heard, at a ridiculously low price my review of these inexpensive IEMs is here). There has been some headphone "experts" that have written that spending a little bit more will reward the listener with better sound. I'm either not hearing what they hear, or perhaps their source isn't as good as mine. As audiophiles we're very aware of the adage "garbage in, garbage out", and so it goes without saying (even though I'm saying it) that the better your mobile device, the better the IEMs will sound.

I have 14 different recorded performances of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, 23 of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, 11 of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 15, and at least 8 of his Waltz No. 2. I also have multiple live and studio performances of all kinds of rock and pop music, either performed by the same artists at different venues and times or with the same principal performer(s) and different support personnel — ranging all the way from just different backup players or singers to a full symphony orchestra (Deep Purple "In Concert with The London Symphony Orchestra" 1999, for example).

Heavenly Soundworks is a new premium loudspeaker manufacturer started by the father and son team of Kevin and Jonathan Couch. Their FIVE17 active loudspeaker with DSP ($10,000, with matching stands adding $1000). With integrated amplification and powerful DSP, the system is said to achieve perfect alignment of time, phase, and crossovers of drivers while also perfectly addressing driver power and sensitivity requirements.

KEF recently teamed up with lossless high-resolution music streaming provide Qobuz to provide a free 90-day trial. This allows KEF's LS50 Wireless II users to enjoy lossless music. In addition, Johan Coorg and Ben Hagens from KEF will join Qobuz Live's David Solomon via Facebook on Thursday, December 10th at 4pm EST to talk through the partnership and product.

Ok, we've all done it. We've swum in the water in our birthday suits. It may have been in a swimming pool, maybe in a lake or stream, maybe even in the ocean. I don't want to know your details, and I'm sure you don't want to know mine. But one way or another, we got naked outside and took the plunge. And no matter the outcome, it was a memorable experience. Such as with the Kimber Kable Naked Interconnects. My familiarity with Kimber Kable goes back further than I like to admit. Back then I was still a novice to the world of high-end interconnects. It was 1997 and I just upgraded my CD player.

Hi-Fi World's January 2021 issue features their Annual Awards as they pick out the products of 2020 that impressed their reviewers during the past year. This issue also gives you a chance to win a Cambridge Audio CXA61 worth £750. Gear reviews include Quadral Sedan 9 loudspeakers, Mission LX-2 MK2 loudspeakers, Audiolab 6000a Play amplifier with DTS Play-Fi, Copland CSA100 amplifier, QED XT5 Power Cable, Hana Umami Red phono cartridge, and Astell & Kern T9ie IEMs. This issue also has a special Christmas quiz and crossover puzzle too.

Replace your performance-robbing stock power cord today with Audience's Forte F3 audiophile power cord ($199 for 5.75-foot length). The forte f3 powerChord contain massive 10 AWG conductors, made from 99.9999% pure OFC stranded copper in XLPE (cross linked polyethylene dielectric) with PVC jacket. It's "Cryogenically Treatment" process takes a full three days. This cable is shielded with drain to ground to eliminate stray RF and EMI. Audience Forte F3 Audiophile Power Cord Audience's Forte F3 sports C688 Olin Brass contacts too. The forte f3 powerChord is a product in keeping with the long standing reputation of Audience of California for making highest quality power cords for high end audio.

They say the third time's the charm, and with the new Apple AirPod Pro Bluetooth IEMs (in-ear monitors, $200 at Amazon) you can enjoy many musical pleasures with your Apple iPhone. Windows 3.0, Goldfinger, Godfather III (not!). Well on its third iteration of the Airpod, Apple has finally nailed it!

• Poor sound quality – now much improved
• They fall out – now we have silicon tips
• One size fits all – no way – now we have 3 options
• You have to crank up the volume to overcome external noise – now we have noise cancelling
• They look weird – now they are shorter and fatter – looking a little less weird
• They were not sweat resistant – now they are...

Here at EnjoyTheMusic.com's Great Audiophile Gift 2020 is a special 50-pack of 1" acoustic foam panels for less than $50. Everyone knows that your hi-fi system will sound best when your room's acoustics are optimized. This is especially true for the first reflection points. These soundproof studio foam squares for walls and ceilings measure 1" X 12" X 12" each and you get 50 of them to play around with. Acoustic Foam Panels For A Better Sounding Room Eco-friendly and safe, they are made of high quality environmentally polyurethane foam. These studio foam squares are durable and effective, plus they dampen and diffuse sound waves inside of your listening room.

There's no place like home here at EjoyTheMusic.com. Home is where our turntable is and everyone should have a two point protractor and speed strobe discs. For the cartridge alignment tool, the trick is to have the cartridge mounted so that the needle aligns perfectly on BOTH dots without moving the protractor. What you may need to do is mount the cartridge a bit loose and slightly move it forward or back and see how it aligns on both points. You know you have it perfect when both points are perfect without moving the protractor. It takes time and patience to get it just right, but the results are worth it! As an added bonus for you, Enjoy the Music.com also offers a free Excel file two page spreadsheet with one page for Löfgren "A" alignment and one page for Löfgren "B" alignment, plus you can calculate your own custom alignment points too!

I've spoken to many manufacturers and distributors during 2020, and without a doubt the saying "May you live in interesting times" holds true. While that saying is an English expression that is claimed to be a translation of a traditional Chinese curse, the point is very valid for 2020. On one hand, both high-end audio and the music industry experienced impressive growth. On the other hand, we also missed seeing one another during shows. More hi-fi blogs and YouTube videos have been produced during 2020 than perhaps any other time.

The roots of Gryphon Audio Designs' Antileon amplifier go back to the very beginnings of the company... and even beyond! Extreme, no-compromise dual mono construction, ultra-wide bandwidth, zero negative feedback, true Class A operation, huge power supplies and all-discrete components were all essential ingredients in the recipe. In celebration of the Antileon's 25th anniversary, Gryphon offers a special numbered series consisting of 25 stereo versions and 25 monoblock pairs.

Pro-Ject's new Phono Box RS2 (€1499) is a fully balanced moving magnet (MM) and moving coil (MC) stereo preamplifier. The unit is fully balanced from the input to the output. Internal electronics are fully discrete, as there are no op-amps in use, plus the Pro-Ject Phono Box RS2 uses split passive RIAA and DECCA equalization. The Phono Box RS2 employs a true fully balanced design principle. The positive (+) and negative (–) sections of both the left and right channel are treated individually, which doubles the amplifier sections by two as a result.

It's many years since I've owned a standalone DAC. When your CD Player is from EMM Labs it not only contains a world class DAC, but that DAC keeps improving sonically with regular free firmware updates. On top of that, EMM Labs has updated the XDS1 CD Player to V2 and now V3 with new physical components for a reasonable update charge. Without doubt today's XDS1 V3 shows remarkable improvements over the initial model I first reviewed in 2010. But this new DV2 DAC ($30,000) costs more than a new XDS1 ($25,000) even without a transport section. It is the finest DAC EMM Labs has ever made, adding a variable output, MQA support and other refinements to the otherwise similar DA2 ($25,000).

Schiit has introduced their Modi 3+, a three-input DAC with Unison USB and Schiit's highest-performing Modi ever. Modi 3+ adds Schiit's exclusive Unison USB USB input and enhances Modi's already high performance, while remaining at $99. Schiit's Unison USB is a unique UAC2 interface, developed over two person-years to deliver the highest-performance digital interface for PCM audio. Plug Modi 3+ into any virtually any computer or streamer and you're ready to go, complete with the best USB interface available: Schiit's own Unison USB. Or, choose and optical or coaxial digital source with the included wall power supply.

Sonus faber is proud to announce the Maxima Amator ($15,000), a two-way design speaker that the company feels successfully merges two drivers to achieve a unique emotion with the maximum representation of natural sound. As the latest addition to the Heritage collection, the Maxima Amator is made in Italy with a solid walnut wood cabinet, which has been designed thanks to modern wood working methods that allowed Sonus faber the ability to develop a reliable floor- stander cabinet and overcome the structural limits of the solid wood.

Hi-Fi+ magazine's December 2020 issue features their excellent annual awards! Within this issue, Hi-Fi+ honors the finest products within home and personal audio. New gear reviews include the Linn Products Majik DSM integrated streaming amplifier, iFi Audio Zen Blue / Zen DAC Bluetooth DAC / DAC and headphone amplifier, Rockna Wavelength DAC / preamplifier, and Hana Umami Red moving coil (MC) phono cartridge. Founding member of Noah and the Whale on Little Mammoths discusses their a solo career and the impact of 2020!

EnjoyTheMusic.com wants you to say farewell to 2020 and win a Schiit Lyr 3 with Multibit DAC option valued at $699! With hopes of bringing great-sounding music (and humor) to cap off 2020, our December 2020 Schitt(y) Holiday Giveaway offers one winner a Schiit Lyr 3 with Multibit DAC option. To improve on the company's Lyr 2, they had to completely reinvent the unit with two key new technologies while also making it a modular design. The Schiit Lyr 3 can be configured with a DAC as within this contest, or a MM phono preamplifier just like their Jotunheim. Within this contest, we're including Schiit's Multibit DAC (a $200 upgrade!).

EnjoyTheMusic.com's December Review Magazine features a variety of gear reviews, think pieces, videos... and more 10 Questions answered by high-end audio manufacturers. We know 2020 has been challenging, so hurry and enter our Schiit(y) Holiday Contest where you could win the Schitt Lyr 3 with Multibit DAC option valued at $699! Reviews this month features Kimber Kable's impressive Naked Interconnects, the fantastic Pass Laboratories INT-25 stereo integrated amplifier, and a world premiere review compilation with many great audio tweaks!

At this point, I've got my Linn sounding like a $10,000 Plus turntable with a big emphasis on the Plus. The Mober motor has virtually eliminated the hum and brought the platter up to exact speed. The resolution, soundstage, and air, particularly in the treble have never been better!

I have been a tube guy all my life since I bought and built a Dynaco SCA-35 with money from my paper route at age 14. That said, I've owned some fine solid-state amps and preamps over the years – a Phase Linear 700, the Quatre DG-250 (mine didn't blow up on me, but did when my brother-in-law took it to college), an Aragon 4004, and several lesser lights. But normally, my system has been tube-based; conrad-johnson preamplification and Music Reference amplification for most of the last two decades. I've reviewed and/or had in the home for extended periods some very fine non-tube amps, too, from Linn, Mark Levinson, conrad-johnson, and more.unds like music.

I first heard speakers from Sonus faber's Olympica Nova series during my second visit to the World Of McIntosh Townhouse, located in the Soho neighborhood of downtown New York City. Before I left this wonderful audiophile playhouse, I couldn't resist requesting a review pair of their top model in the Olympica line, the Nova V. As part of their brief explanation of what I was hearing that day, I was told that this 37-year-old Italian speaker manufacturer upgraded this speaker line with new crossovers and drivers, new cabinet structures, internal volume tuning, and many other updates. Of course, the speakers' cosmetics were also refined by Sonus faber's team of designers, giving them a new more refined appearance.

"As this decade (2011-2020) winds to a close, this new Silversmith Audio Fidelium loudspeaker cable at $1195 for an 8' pair will receive my "Product of the Decade" award. What it accomplishes, regardless of price, is a staggering step forward in musical authenticity, allowing your aural illusion engine to transport you that much closer to the original performance. "
-- Greg Weaver, EnjoyTheMusic.com

Celebrate Black Friday sales with EnjoyTheMusic.com's 15th annual Great Audiophile Gift recommendations! Our annual Great Audiophile Gift wish list brings you some truly spectacular ideas for music lovers. All recommended gifts this year are very reasonably priced too! Everyone here at EnjoyTheMusic.com wishes your a yours a prosperous, joyous and healthy holiday season.

For many years, imaging and soundscaping have been my primary criteria for judging the sound of recordings and the equipment we play them on. I can remember being thrilled and truly excited about the (Avalon) speakers I was listening to and about the room that I was listening in when I first heard the original cast recording of 42nd Street [RCA CD RCD1-3891]. I was sure, sitting there, that I could not only hear and physically "place" the sound of each tap of the heels and toes of a whole chorus line of dancers.

We humans have a range of different brain wave states and speeds, each relating to a different state of consciousness, be it waking, sleeping, or somewhere in between. Binaural beats are a phenomenon whereby we can voluntarily create different brain waves using external sound sources, thereby inducing the associated mental state. First, let's take a look at the different states of consciousness which we most commonly experience.

EnjoyTheMusic.com proudly presents our 15th annual Great Audiophile Gift recommendations! We all love gifts, yet getting that something special for an audiophile can be quite a challenge. Enjoy the Music.com's annual Great Audiophile Gift wish list brings you some truly spectacular ideas for music lovers. There are so many wonderful products we recommend! All recommended gifts this year are very reasonably priced too! We have gifts that will make your vinyl junkie smile, plus a few surprised along the way!

Everyone here at EnjoyTheMusic.com wishes your a yours a prosperous, joyous, and healthy holiday season!

My power conditioner is an EQUI=CORE 300 by Core Power Technologies. Some time ago, the company's assets were acquired and renamed Core Power Technologies A/V by web-based audio retailer Underwood HiFi of Hawaii. Underwood HiFi also designs and performs upgrades to components. The device under evaluation is a USB jitter reducer / power conditioner called the USBe Perfect. That USB is a less than desirable method for the transfer of music files is no longer up for discussion. Nevertheless, my preference for USB is largely that of convenience and habit.

EnjoyTheMusic.com's audiophile industry and music news page is on vacation until December 1 as we prepare for the holiday season. Our daily social media updates feature great gear and reviews, so be sure to join our Facebook and Instagram pages.

For the past 25 years EnjoyTheMusic.com has gladly provided hundreds of audiophile show reports, thousands of gear reviews, plus daily industry and music news. Please help support EnjoyTheMusic.com via our affiliate account at Amazon. Remember to bookmark this link and use every time you shop on Amazon. Many thanks, we truly appreciate it.

As always, in the end what really matters is that you...

Enjoy the Music!

This month we're featuring Chris Sommovigo, Designer And Engineer At Stereolab. In 1992 Chris Sommovigo introduced to the world the first truly precision-made 75 Ohm digital coaxial cable under the brand name ILLUMINATI, and has since designed more than a dozen other digital cables for the market – either for the Illuminati brand, for Stereovox, or for other brands (such as Kimber Kable and i2Digital). His digital cable designs remain among the most sought after and popular designs in the world.

This month we're featuring Matthieu Latour, Audio Division Director Of Nagra Audio. In 1951, Stefan Kudelski, a gifted 22-year-old engineer, developed an extremely high quality, miniature, self-contained audio recorder which he named simply the "Nagra I". Nagra is a Polish word meaning "will record". The interest in his invention was immediate. The Nagra II and III followed in the mid to late 1950s revolutionizing the world of radio broadcasting, cinema and music.

Ferrum's first product addressing problems which are usually introduced at the very beginning of any hi-fi system, the power supply. Their Hypsos Hybrid Power Supply ($995) is said to improve a music reproduction system by ensuring clean power. Combining decades of experience in designing and manufacturing audio electronics for various well-known audio brands, paired with many listening sessions. Hypsos impresses with its unique hybrid design, combining the best features of both linear and switching power supplies.

This month we're featuring Merrill Wettasinghe, Chief Music Officer of Merrill Audio. Based in New Jersey, Merrill Audio offers high-end audio amplification that meets, and perhaps exceeds, the expectations of audiophiles worldwide. Merrill Audio has earned many awards over the years for their mono and stereo solid-state products.

This month we're featuring Bill Hutchins, Founder And Chief Designer For LKV Research. Devising amplification circuits and finding solutions to design problems, in the service of great-sounding music, is his passion. But he often wind up doing a bit of everything else, except accounting. Bill provides support to our customers, stuff boards, order parts, calculate shipping costs, measure and match JFETs, design ads, write copy for our website and blog, and on and on.

I had the pleasure of meeting Manley Labs VP of Engineering and Design, Zia Faruqi, in the CanJam exhibit at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2018. While I was more than familiar with the Manley name, this was the first time I had seen them in the personal audio section of the show, so naturally I was quite curious about their debuting flagship headphone amplifier, the Manley Labs Absolute Headphone Amplifier ($4500). Zia was very generous with his time, and walked me through the devastating and inspiring story behind the amplifier's creation.

RHA has just introduced their TrueControl ANC ($239.96) wireless earbuds featuring the Qualcomm AptX sound signature with advanced active – and adjustable – noise cancellation. They have a 20-hour battery life plus listeners can use the new RHA Connect App to customize their listening experience. RHA's TrueControl uses a passive noise cancelling design and ANC technology to eliminate outside noise. External microphones record the world around you, then target these noises with anti-sound.

During EnjoyTheMusic.com's very special 25th Anniversary we're asking various high-end audio manufacturers to answer the same ten questions. Their answers may surprise you! This month we're featuring Furutech as they answer a few of our 10 questions. Furutech, founded in 1988, designs and manufactures an extraordinary range of A/V cables made with extremely high purity OCC single-crystal oxygen-free copper. We have several complete lines of analog and digital, power and coaxial cables available in terminated and bulk quantities. They make a wide range of highest quality OEM A/V connectors and other signal transfer parts including power, speaker, IEC and specialized Hyper Audio Quality outlet receptacles.

During EnjoyTheMusic.com's very special 25th Anniversary we're asking various high-end audio manufacturers to answer the same ten questions. Their answers may surprise you! This month we're featuring John DeVore, Founder And Top Banana At DeVore Fidelity. Their goal at DeVore Fidelity is to create products that communicate the life-breath of music. They believe that the best means to this end combines the art of aesthetics with the science of physics in such a way that each complements the other, and together yield a product far greater than the sum of its parts.

The HIGH END, the internationally renowned audio exhibition, is the undisputed leader when it comes to impressively setting the tone for top-class music reproduction. When combined with the launch of HIGH END's International Parts + Supply show (IPS), it brings together gear manufacturers and parts producers and distributors all in one location. HIGH END in Munich has been providing ideas and impetus for producers, sellers, and consumers of high-quality consumer electronics for four decades.

As I write this the TR-1 is selling with an introductory price of $649 that represents a $100 savings over the normal price of $749. Along with that, there is an optional dust cover temporarily priced at $100. I would strongly advise getting that dust cover, it will make your TR-1 table cat-proof. The Fallbrook people tell us the turntable is, "proudly hand-assembled with many locally sourced parts." Now I'm not certain what that involves. Let us step back a bit and take a broad look at the vinyl player market. There are some affordable turntables in the market place. To introduce a new and affordable turntable at this point is most certainly a venture that represents a bold move.

Tacet's new recording The Koroliov Series Vol. XXIII features the music of Johann Sebastian Bach with Partitas Part 1 BWV 825, 826, 830. Evgeni Koroliov performs on the piano for this two CD set [0265-0, with barcode 40 09850 026501]. There's one cycle of Johann Sebastian Bach's keyboard works that Evgeni Koroliov has not yet recorded and that's the Partitas. Part 1 is out now with BWV 825, 826 und 830. Because Koroliov takes his time, they don't fit onto one CD, but that's no real loss for the listener. As is often the case with TACET, you pay for one CD but get two.

EnjoyTheMusic.com proudly presents our 15th annual Great Audiophile Gift recommendations! We all love gifts, yet getting that something special for an audiophile can be quite a challenge. Enjoy the Music.com's annual Great Audiophile Gift wish list brings you some truly spectacular ideas for music lovers. There are so many wonderful products we recommend! All recommended gifts this year are very reasonably priced too! We have gifts that will make your vinyl junkie smile, plus a few surprised along the way!

As the first within a series of new budget-class products, Underwood HiFi and LSA Discovery DPH-1 DAC, preamplifier, and headamp ($799) brings great versatility at an attractive price. A full-featured Hi-Res Audio DAC is mated with a remote controlled preamplifier and low-noise headphone amplifier. An XMOS asynchronous USB input is part of four digital inputs using the AKM AK4118 digital input receiver and AK 4495 DAC.

audioXpress' December 2020 issue features Remembering Jeff Bagby, QuantAsylum QA401 / QA451, Mastering Wireless Multi-Tone Testing, The Puffin Phono DSP By Parks Audio, Build A Passive Moving-Coil Step-Up Device, Getting Started With Automotive Audio Bus (Part 3), Acoustical Design Of A Multi-Purpose Room, Simple Improvements To Legacy Differential, Circuit Designs For A Hollow-State Mixer, and Comparing IMD (and THD) Measurements.

The FiiO brand is really synonymous with high bang-for-buck value in the personal audio world. For many people, FiiO is a launching pad – the first "audiophile" amp or DAC they ever own. For me personally, it was the FiiO E6 – just a tiny little pocket amp that was supposed be an improvement relative to my phone's headphone jack. Viola, my first dedicated headphone amp! I would later pick up the E17 amp/DAC, the E09K amplifier, X3 II DAP and finally X5 III DAP. For the most part all of these products shined at their price point.

Monarch Systems Distribution's new Power Two from Alluxity ($7800) marks the third solid-state amplifier from the company. The Power Two produces 200 Watts into 8 Ohms and 400 Watts into 4 Ohms per channel stereo. The monolithic machined chassis is small and compact, with a Scandinavian minimalist design ethos. All input and amplification circuitry is linear, however, and no switching or Class-D circuitry is used within the audio path.

Schiit Audio just announced their Vali 2+ hybrid vacuum tube headphone amplifier and preamplifier ($149). They are seeking to push the price / performance ratio for affordable tube amplifiers to a new height. Offering higher power and lower noise than its predecessor, Vali 2+ is said to provide a great way for music lovers to experience true vacuum tube performance. The higher power and lower noise floor mean Vali 2+ is better-suited for a wide range of headphones, including hard-to-drive planar magnetic designs and sensitive in-earn monitors (IEMs).

ESS Technology announced their new series of SABRE PRO and SABRE ADCs with an ultra-low noise floor bandwidth of 200kHz. This is up to 10 times wider than the competition according to ESS Technology, which in turn enables higher resolution at higher sample rates. The ES9842 PRO provides four channels of ADC with a DNR of 122dB and 116dB of THD+N, whereas their ES9822 PRO is a two channel ADC with a DNR of 125dB and 117dB of THD+N.

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to review several different speakers and speaker systems. Each one has the character that sets it apart from the next. So, when you can audition speakers and have the designer help set them up and explain them to you, it aids in giving a full review. Therefore, when the opportunity presented itself late last year, I jumped at the chance. Usually, the first contact is a brief discussion on the product and a time to work out logistics. However, Vinh Vu from Gingko Audio, and I spoke more about the Sextet system's potential.

Hi-Fi+ magazine's November 2020 issue features reviews of the Naim ND 555 and PS 555 DR Power Supply, DartZell CTH 8550 Mk 2 integrated amplifier, Simaudio Moon 860A V2 amplifier, Burmester B38 floorstanding loudspeaker, Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby Grand Reference floorstanding loudspeakers, Primare R35 Solid-state MM/MC phono stage, Chord Electronics ULTIMA 5 stereo amplifier, Finite Elemente CarboFibre Isolation Base, Funk Firm Houdini Decoupler, Silversmith Audio Fidelium loudspeaker cables, REL Carbon Special Subwoofer, IsoTek EVO3 Super Nova Mains Conditioner, and LA Sound "Corium" interconnect and loudspeaker cables.

"I was amazed at the Sonus faber Olympica Nova V's ability to highlight not only the music's ability to engross me but to "understand" these works as never before. Not only were the compositions engrossing, but the spaces between the notes were also highlighted. This might seem like an obtuse description of the sound of these speakers, but it was the ambiance in the space in which the quartet was performing that seemed as realistic as the instruments that played the music, making these spaces almost a part of the score." --- Tom Lyle, Senior Editor @ EnjoyTheMusic.com

I've often said that the best way to test audio cable is to rewire one's entire system with that brand or model. This way one will be able to hear the difference in sound quality with any influence from other types of cable, and truly hear its affects. Kimber Kable (not a typo, Kimber likes to replace the "C" in cable with a "K") is one of the only brands of cable that I have found where I could replace once interconnect in my system, and hear a very distinct improvement of the sound of my system due to this one cable change.

EnjoyTheMusic.com is expanding our daily posts on Facebook! We look forward to your comments about our critical reviews, special features, and superb hi-fi systems. As an added bonus, you can send us a photo of your hi-fi setup and we may feature it within a future Facebook post We look forward to seeing you on EnjoyTheMusic.com's Facebook page.

"Listening started with some fine analog material to get to the heart of what the MEGAs might sound like. First up was In the Wee Small Hours from Frank Sinatra and Nelson Riddle, [MFSL Capitol W581 LP]. From the beginning, it surprised with composure and delicacy, "neither tube nor solid-state" per my notes. The lack of excess chestiness in Sinatra's voice was singular in my experience. Indeed, I found overall a dead silent background and a complete lack of extra resonance, which led me to wonder if something was missing... or if the extra resonance I did not hear always resulted from distortion."
--- Rick Jensen of EnjoyTheMusic.com