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November
2023
Enjoy the Music.com's
Great Audiophile Gift Guide 2023
We're here to help you discover great
gifts for your premium audio music lover.
Article By Enjoy the Music.com Staff
Welcome one and all to
Enjoy the Music.com's exceptional 18th annual Great Audiophile Gift recommendations! We all love gifts, yet
we also know that getting something special for your passionate music lover can be quite
a challenge! Our annual Great Audiophile Gift wish list brings you some truly spectacular ideas for music lovers. There are
many wonderful products we can recommend to our longstanding loyal readership,
and below you will see many excellent recommendations. We know this year has
been a challenge for many, and so all recommended gifts this year are reasonably priced to be kind to your wallet. We have gifts that will make your vinyl junkie smile, plus a few surprises along the
way! Everyone here at Enjoy the Music.com wishes you and yours a prosperous, joyous, and healthy holiday
season. And now, on with our Great Audiophile Gift 2023 suggestions we know you'll
love!
---> Enjoy the
Music.com's Great Audiophile Gift Guide 2023!
Hi-Fi And Music Industry News
Essential high-end audio news you need to know.
Enjoy the Music.com posts audiophile news virtually every day.
A Simple Guide To Balanced XLR
Versus Unbalanced RCA Audio Signal Flow
Let's finally
bring it all together in an understandable form.
Article
By Roger Skoff
Recent
conversations with audiophiles and music lovers have brought me to the
surprising realization that, although they may have excellent systems and even a
fair working knowledge of how to put them together, set them up, use them, and
keep them running, a good many audiophiles have little idea of how they work. It's sort of like driving a car: Any licensed driver can do it
– some even with great skill – but how many drivers know how an internal
combustion engine or automatic (let alone manual gearshift) transmission works?
--->
A Simple Guide To Balanced XLR Versus Unbalanced RCA Audio Signal Flow.
Audio DSP Intelligence
A transition to support AI that operate speakers, headphones, and hearables.
Editorial By J. Martins
For the past five years, the audio industry has witnessed a tectonic shift in the platforms for digital signal processing available to developers of audio products. Now, we are seeing another significant evolution as the industry migrates to extremely sophisticated use cases of edge AI and on-device resources. All the while,
users' expectations of audio features continue to increase. Voice recognition and voice engines were one of the biggest incentives for manufacturers to boost the processing power of built-in DSP and audio systems. Voice applications required embedded signal processing to ensure that voice signals that originated in even the most unpredictable conditions and captured by microphones could be clearly recognized.
---> Audio DSP Intelligence.
Let's Talk About The Right To Repair
Can we find a happy medium?
Editorial By Alan Sircom
The Right to Repair is something audio magazines rarely consider, but automatically factor into reviews. But, in recent years, it has become an increasingly important issue in the longevity of good
audio. Let's get the easy part out of the way first; the need to discuss a Right to Repair
doesn't apply when it comes to most turntables and loudspeakers. Products that are primarily exercises in engineering – as opposed to electronic engineering – have an ability to be repaired baked into their construction and design. Put simply, if you blow up a drive unit on a loudspeaker, you get a new drive
unit! The same doesn't hold true all the time with electronics today. Outside of audio, we moved from a
'repair' culture to a 'disposable' society. If you go through 'that drawer' of tech,
you'll likely find several phones in various state of function.
---> Let's Talk About The Right To Repair.
Capital Audiofest (CAF) 2023 Show Report
CAF 2023 premium luxury audio event coverage.
Capital Audiofest (CAF)
is the Northeast's favorite audio show! CAF started out in 2010 as a very casual show and has evolved into a well-organized and well-attended event that most everyone in the audio industry knows
about. CAF is recognized as a fun, friendly and family-oriented show, where you often see families strolling from room to room listening to music, auditioning gear and browsing the multiple bins of vinyl records, CDs and accessories in the Atrium Marketplace. In the evenings we have live music in the bar and special live performers in the Theater, and local distillers offering
tasting. During the
event will be wonderful live music plus Enjoy the Music.com in once
again sponsoring the
Thursday night vendor / press party with live music and free drinks!
---> Capital Audiofest (CAF) 2023 Show Report.
Toronto Audiofest 2023 Show Report
The Toronto Audiofest 2023 show, held from October 20th through 22nd, features one of Canada's best luxurious premium high-technology home audio and video showcase. The Toronto Audiofest is an acclaimed consumer electronics (CE) exhibition. It brings together hundreds of audio brands featuring top-rated audio and video equipment from around the globe. Attendees may hear, touch, and compare various sound systems within many floors of demo rooms. It is the perfect place to experience the ultimate in sound quality. If you are considering acquiring a complete sound system or only a new piece of equipment, the Toronto Audiofest 2023 is the place for
you! Virtually all visitors share one thing in common, they have a deep passion for music! While some are longstanding audiophiles, many others are music lovers and/or just curious to discover the benefits of better sound quality.
---> Toronto Audiofest 2023
Show Report.
UK Audio Show 2023 Report
This year's very special UK Audio Show once again took place at the Staverton Park Hotel on October 7th and 8th, 2023. With four established events, plus a new one, and the return of an old
favorite, let's raise a glass to the Chester Group and the enterprising UK industry. Manufacturers and distributors can now cover the whole of the UK, and local dealerships benefit from local promotion and
sales. "I enjoyed the UK Audio Show 2023 immensely," said Enjoy the
Music.com reporter Clive Meakins. "Thank you to Chester Group for once again putting together another great show and thanks to all the exhibitors for being so very helpful."
---> The UK Audio Show 2023 Report.
World Premiere Review!
Bella Sound Hanalei Monoblock Amplifier Review
Captivated by the music, and more than impressed by the sound quality.
Review By Tom Lyle
Bella Sound's offices and factory
are in Northern California, about 25 miles south of San Francisco. They design
and manufacture amplifiers, power conditioners, and AC power cables. The subject
of this review is their Hanalei monoblocks, which have an output rating of a
substantial 700 Watts into 4 Ohms. Bella Sound offers one other amplifier, their
Kahili stereo amplifier, rated at 400 Wpc, not as powerful as the Hanalei
monoblocks, but still a considerable amount of power. Both amplifiers that Bella Sound manufactures have enough
solid-state power that one might not be faulted for assuming that both their
amplifiers, especially the subject of this review, are made with a Class D
circuit.
--->
Bella Sound Hanalei Monoblock Amplifier Review.
AGD Audion Mk III Monoblock Amplifier Review
Art deco style with an emotionally engaging, tonally rich, and high-resolution sound.
Review By Rick Becker
It
was love at first sight when I discovered the new AGD Audio at Rocky Mountain
Audiofest back in 2019. My review came out in the February 2020 issue and it was
awarded a Best of 2020 Blue Note Award. Now, four years later, it still puts a
smile on my face when I turn it on. It's priced at $7850
per pair in a satin finish and $8600 in full polish, a modest price increase
from the $6800 in satin and $7500 in polished when first introduced. Given how
quantitative easing to deal with COVID-19, along with supply chain disruptions
and opportunistic suppliers has led to inflation, this is sadly understandable.
Factoring in the increase in sound quality brought first by the Mk II, and now
the Mk III, well, that's what this review is all about.
--->AGD Audion Mk III Monoblock Amplifier Review.
Rethm Saadhana Loudspeaker Review
Intrigued with aural cues, subtle nuances, tonal colors, and depth of sound.
Review By Bob Grossman
The
Rethm Saadhana floorstanding loudspeakers are big, bold, and bodacious-looking
speakers, and the task of unpacking their heavily padded boxes required the need
for two helpers to set them up. From day one, they assumed a commanding presence
in my listening environment, while delivering special performances in my home
during the review period. Their striking and unique appearance has a dramatic
contemporary look and flair based upon architectural ideas from the vision of
their designer, Jacob George. Except for the wide band driver, the appearance
of this fifth iteration (V5) appears to share little in common with its earlier
predecessor, reflecting a complete rethinking of the speaker system from
top-to-bottom.
---> Rethm Saadhana Loudspeaker Review.
MDS Audio ES-001 Vinyl LP Eccentricity Detection
Stabilizer Review
How it is built, what it addresses, and why it works.
Video By Greg Weaver (a.k.a. The Audio Analyst)
Last spring, I finally got a chance to hear what a difference the remarkable DS Audio ES-001 Eccentricity Detection Stabilizer could impart to LP playback, and I was completely
shocked. The first thing most people say when I mention its name is,
"What is eccentricity?" Well, if there is any deviation from or LP having a perfectly circular rotational path around the turntable spindle, any deviance or aberrations from the perfect revolution around the spindle contribute to, and are measured as,
eccentricity. In this episode, I take a dive into how it is built, what it addresses, and why it works.
--->
MDS Audio ES-001 Vinyl LP Eccentricity Detection Stabilizer.
The Nagra SN Reel-To-Reel Tape Recorder
A video about the incredibly small Nagra SN that pretty much covers everything.
Video By Lucas Dul Of In Mechanica Antiqua
I have always been a fan of beautiful engineering. That is one of the primary things that drives me to do the things I do, from writing and typewriter repair to photography. I have dived deeply into those last two things in this blog, primarily my work with typewriter
repair. For as long as I can remember, there has always been this undying curiosity to see how things work. To get an inside look, to examine all these carefully created parts and understand their purpose, and to appreciate the mind that conceived
them. A rather long video about the Nagra SNN, one of the smallest reel to reel tape recorders ever made, and of the highest quality.
---> The Nagra SN Reel-To-Reel Tape Recorder.
Record Safari: Digging In The
Crates Of America
A record collecting documentary featuring Alex Rodriguez.
Video By Life Is My Movie Entertainment
We put this out for free to share the beauty of vinyl & record collecting with the world. If you would like to help support the filmmakers you can purchase the DVD or digital download on Vimeo. The DVD has bonus features not available on digital! Thank you so much for watching and happy
collecting! Since its invention over 100 years ago, the vinyl record has revolutionized the way people hear and feel recorded music. In the 1980s, video killed the radio star and CDs killed the record industry.
Now — with CD and digital sales on the decline — vinyl records is in the midst of an epic
comeback. A collector of records since childhood, Alex Rodriguez has turned his addiction into a career. Follow Alex across America as he discovers and curates records for Coachella Music
Festival's on-site record store.
--->
Record Safari: Digging In The Crates Of America.
StereoNET's Mark Gusew Interviews Laurie Nicholson
Magazine reviewer interviews Melbourne Audio Club's President.
Video By StereoNET
Within the below video, we're grateful to have
StereoNET reviewer Mark Gusew discussing the Melbourne Audio Club with their President Laurie Nicholson. This interview took place during the incredible and well-attended 2023 StereoNET Melbourne Hi-Fi & AV
Show. The below video is an amazing chance to learn
about the longstanding Melbourne Audio Club, and about StereoNET too. As
always... enjoy the music!
--->
StereoNET's Mark Gusew Interviews Laurie Nicholson.
The Intro: The Passionate
Music Lover
Editorial By Art Dudley
Passions run high among music lovers. We vilify
"bad" musicians
(the ones we dislike), and we elevate marginally functional savants with a couple of 2-minute singles and some album
filler under their belts. When it comes to more unique and productive figures like Phil
Spector, Jimi Hendrix, Wilhelm Furtwängler, John Cage, or [insert your own heroes and
villains here], music fans either revere them as gods or dismiss them as meaningless.
Sometimes there are shades in between, but perspective is at a premium. This tendency to paint things black or white spills over to the equipment we use
to play back our favorite recordings. I've seen the cognoscenti dismiss people on the
basis of no more information than their choice of power amp, though I suspect few
of us are quite so one-dimensional in truth. Anyone with an internet connection can
publish broadsides proclaiming their love for equipment and music and aim verbal
barrages at their musical "enemies."
---> The Intro: The Passionate Music Lover.
Voices From The Fringe?
Editorial By Joe Roberts
From Sound Practices
Issue 1, Summer 1992
Audio today consists of a much wider range of practice than
you'll find reported in the glossy mags. Some of the most interesting activity in the
hobby takes place outside the borders that commercial producers of contemporary equipment accept as their playing field. There are vintage
gear enthusiasts, modifiers of old and new gear, and people who build things that the manufacturers are wise to avoid - products with limited popular
appeal or which are not economically viable to manufacture. Except for Audio Amateur/Glass
Audio, there's no dedicated forum for do-it-yourself audio, one of the most rewarding facets of our hobby. Only a
few decades ago DIY was an important part of the hobby for people as committed to it as we are. What
happened?
---> Voices From The
Fringe?
Editor's Thing
Article By Dan 'Doc B." Schmalle
From VALVE Volume 2 Number 8
Siting here writing this in a heat wave. Somehow those pretty fire bottles that keep the basement shop warm in the winter seem like a real liability this 90 degree day.
But if this isn't blues weather, I don't know what is. So I pull out Elmore, B. B. and Blind Lemon, and pretend I'm the third Blues
brother. Man, after listening to stuff like Living Stereos and Telarcs, this stuff is funky. Makes your system sound like one of those
Rockola's (you know, that was really the guy's name) with the tail fins. I love it. This is listening that has nothing to do with the word 'audiophile'. Yes, the Muddy Waters redo has fabulous so
nice (by the way, I found the CD and the vinyl very close in quality) but a reissued 1951 Elmore James has the same stuff a 20 year old Bordeaux has, that real warm, soft velvety kind of presentation, that gives you the intensified essence of the thing rather than the clarity of the original offering.
---> Editor's Thing.
Enjoy the Music.com Sponsors Capital Audiofest
2023
Enjoy the Music.com,
premium audio's celebrated online site since 1995 and a leader in providing over
24 years of industry news, thousands of gear reviews, and more than 280 show reports, is pleased to announce that
for the second year in a row, we're sponsoring the Capital
Audiofest's Thursday night 'Happy Hour' before the event opens to the public. Scheduled to take place from November 10th through 12th
at the Twinbrook Hilton in Rockville (Maryland), vendors and members of the press may join us for complimentary pizza and craft beer on Thursday night.
Enjoy the Music.com loves luxurious premium high-end audio, and so we're inviting both exhibitors and members of the press to join us from
6 PM through 8 PM at the Rockville Pike – Craft Beer and Fine Wine, which is located next door to the Hilton Hotel. We look forward to seeing you
there!
--->
Enjoy the Music.com Sponsors Capital Audiofest 2023.
Kronos Discovery
Vinyl LP Turntable Review
Drive-by reviewing at Long Valley.
Rick Becker
Investigates A Treasured Turntable.
It
was supposed to be a nearly five-hour trip but my wife missed a turn on the
shortcut and took the Shooting Brake through an all-terrain parking lot to buy
lunch at Subway. Then there were accidents on I-80 to slow us down.
Nevertheless, Bill Parish was all smiles, as usual, when we pulled into GTT
Audio to get a listen to Louis Desjardins' latest masterpiece, the Kronos
Discovery turntable. Bill had sent me his GTT video newsletter
with a pow-wow after David W. Robinson, Editor in Chief and Senior Writer
Maurice Jeffries of Positive Feedback had spent an afternoon listening to the
new turntable. Emails flew and Louis sent me a copy of Alan Sircom's review in HiFi+
magazine. I emailed Louis and told him I thought it was a very good
review. He replied that he thought it was an Excellent!
--->
Kronos Discovery Vinyl LP Turntable Review.
Audeze LCD-5 Flagship Headphones Review
As good as it gets!
Review By
Peter Pialis
I have been a big fan of
Audeze's headphones throughout the years. Since their initial release of the venerable LCD-2 over a decade ago, Audeze has become a world leader in planar magnetic technology and has produced some of the very best headphones on the planet. Well, never to let the grass grow under their feet, the engineers at Audeze have certainly been quite busy this past year with three significant new releases: LCD-R (ribbon-based headphones, and CRBN Electrostatic (their first foray into electro-static headphones), the
LCD-5's round out this amazing trifecta of great new products. The original LCD-2's wowed the world of personal audio with truly some of the best performing headphones ever released a decade ago. Their relaxed and natural tone was a stark contrast to the many brighter sounding headphones previously released like the AKG K701,
Beyerdynamic T1 and Sennheiser HD800.
--->
Audeze LCD-5 Flagship Headphones Review.
Hear It Again, Sam
Roger Skoff writes about joys perhaps forgotten.
Article
By Roger Skoff
When
my daughter was growing up, we used to play a game called "Call it". The rules
were simple: When a piece of classical music was on the radio or being played on
the system, I would say "Call it", and she would try to tell me as much as she
could about what she was hearing. That could be just about anything, but the
closer she got to completely identifying the music, the more "points" she got. For example, she could get points for as little as just
knowing that what was playing was a concerto – simple enough, if there's
a soloist playing with an orchestra that's either continuously in the background
or ready to come in after a cadenza. Or she could get them for knowing
that a small group of instruments playing together was chamber music. The most points of all, of course, came when she successfully
identified a particular performance of a particular piece of music by a
particular player or conductor with a particular orchestra....
---> Hear It Again, Sam.
Audience Hidden Treasure In-Wall AC PowerCable
And High Definition Wall Receptacle Review
Like a buried treasure that pays huge dividends in musical enjoyment!
Review By Rick Becker
If you're
reading this review, you're either considering the installation of a dedicated
line in what is likely your dedicated listening room or perhaps your home
theater... or maybe the video rig in your family room if you're seriously into
watching TV. Or possibly, you've already installed a line and are wondering if
this new Audience cable might be a worthwhile upgrade. In any case, I suspect
you're already convinced that "everything matters" in high-end audio, especially
cables. Keep reading. Audience is one of the most respected cable manufacturers and
my ears perked up when I saw the ad for their new In-Wall AC cable. It's been 20
years since I reviewed Joe Skubinski's JPS Labs Power AC In-Wall cable.
He's sold miles of it and "Big Red" has remained my reference dedicated line
ever since. What's taken so long for the competition to arise?
--->
Audience Hidden Treasure In-Wall AC PowerCable And High Definition Wall Receptacle Review.
FiiO BTR7 Portable Bluetooth
Headphone Amplifier
Review
The shape of things to come.
Review By Paul Schumann
When
arriving at the University of Texas at Austin as a freshman, I didn't have a lot
of stuff on hand. That's because I flew down from New York and could only listen
to music with the Pioneer tape deck I recently purchased and a pair of
headphones. While I did have some tapes that were recorded back home, if I
wanted to listen to any new music, I would have to buy them as pre-recorded
cassette tapes. While enjoying those tapes and their limited sound quality at
the time, after a few years they had disintegrated to the point of no return. I
never got around to replacing them with vinyl later on, so the albums purchased
during that time are closely associated with my freshman year of college. I
think what intensified that association was listening to them using headphones,
which is a more intimate experience for me. After receiving the FiiO BTR7 Bluetooth Amplifier I was
reminded of those times.
--->
FiiO BTR7 Portable Bluetooth Headphone Amplifier Review.
Premium Luxury Audio Fall Foliage Tweakfest 2022
Featuring the Bybee Clarifiers and Massif Record Weight / Cable Risers, plus
Synergistic Purple Duplex Outlet, MiG 3.0 Footers, and Carbon Tuning Discs.
Review By Rick Becker
Well, audio tweaks are not exactly history-altering inventions
like the printing press.... Thus, my annual Tweakfest of small, but significant products,
has drifted into fall, just in time for the November issue and foreshadowing the
Holiday Gift Guide. The cognoscenti of audio forums have probably christened
me a fanboy of Synergistic Research, but I've been continually impressed with
the creations from the mind of Ted Denney. His major products are cables and
power conditioners, but once he makes a discovery it is frequently spread
throughout a multitude of smaller products and occasionally gives birth to a new
tweak. I'll cover three such items, plus a few more, in this Fall Foliage
Tweakfest.
--->
Premium Luxury Audio Fall Foliage Tweakfest 2022.
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