Enjoy the Music.com
The Absolute Sound

 

The Absolute Sound Issue 241 March 2014   Welcome to The Abso!ute Sound online! We explore music and the reproduction of music in the home. We believe that the sound of music, unamplified, occurring in a real space is a philosophic absolute against which we may judge the performance of devices designed to reproduce music. Our goal is to provide the resources consumers need to judge how a component's sound either honors or departs from the music's truth, and to make sound purchasing decisions that maximize their experience of reproduced sound. Below is our Issue 241, March 2014 table of contents and editorial.

 

Articles & Reviews In This Issue
4 From The Editor: Another Side of The Coin
Editorial By Robert Harley

6 Letters

10 From the Editor

14 Future TAS

25 The 2014 Editors’ Choice Awards
We pick the best products in every category and at every price.

 

Start Me Up
16 Audioengine A2+ Desktop Loudspeaker and D3 DAC
Our new Editorial Assistant, Spencer Holbert, makes his TAS debut with a review of this overachieving desktop speaker and miniature USB DAC.

20 AudioQuest DragonFly 1.2 DAC
AudioQuest has improved its massively popular DragonFly — and reduced the price by forty percent. Spencer Holbert reports.

 

Equipment Reports
144 PS Audio NuWave Phono Converter
PS Audio’s NuWave combines a traditional phonostage with an analog-to-digital converter, making it the ideal device for ripping LPs. Anthony H. Cordesman brings you the details on this new breed of product.

152 Scoop! Sony’s Game-Changing HAP-Z1ES High-Res Music Player
Enjoying high-resolution digital has never been easier — or more affordable. Steven Stone reports on Sony’s groundbreaking music player.

162 Aragon 8008 Power Amplifier
A venerable 1980s amplifier has been resurrected — and improved, says Neil Gader.

168 Rockport Technologies Atria Loudspeaker
Rockport brings its innovative technologies and artisanal build-quality to the new Atria. Alan Taffel auditions Rockport’s most affordable loudspeaker.

 

Music
180 A Personal Discographic Companion to Inside Llewyn Davis
In response to the recent Coen Brothers’ film, Mark Lehman selects some of the best early-60s folk music recordings.

192 Rock
New releases from Arborea, Neil Young, Jason Isbell, North Mississippi Allstars, Patty Griffin, Tony Joe White, and Claire Lynch, along with reissues of Big Star and Nina Simone.

196 Classical
Recitals from violinists Jennifer Koh and Hilary Hahn, a banjo concerto (!) from Bela Fleck, and the letters of Leonard Bernstein.

198 Jazz
The latest from Jane Ira Bloom, the Joachim Kühn Trio, Randy Weston and Billy Harper, and Chris Biesterfeldt; fine reissues of the Jazz Messengers and John Coltrane.

 

200 Back Page
Larry Gullman of MSB Technology.

 

Subscribe!
Click here
to subscribe to The Abso!ute Sound.

Previous Issues
2014
January   February   March

2013
January   February   March   April   May/June   July/August   September   October   November   December

2012
January   February   March   April   May/June   July/August   September   October   November   December

2011
January   February   March   April   May/June   July/August  September   October   November   December

2010
January   February   March   April/May   June/July   August   September   October   November/December

2009
January   February   March   April/May   June/July   August   September   October   November   December

2008
January   February   March   April/May   June/July   August   September   October   November    Buyer's Guide   December

2007
January   February   March   April/May   June/July   August   September   October   November   December

2006
January   February   March   April/May   June/July   August   September   October   November   December

2005
January   February/March  April/May   June/July   August/September  October/November   December

2004
January   February/March   April/May   June/July   August/September  October/November   December

2003
December/January   February/March   April/May
   June/July   August/September   October/November   December

2002
June/July   August/September   October/November

 

     
 

Quick Links


Premium Audio Review Magazine
High-End Audiophile Equipment Reviews

 

Equipment Review Archives
Turntables, Cartridges, Etc
Digital Source
Do It Yourself (DIY)
Preamplifiers
Amplifiers
Cables, Wires, Etc
Loudspeakers/ Monitors
Headphones, IEMs, Tweaks, Etc
Superior Audio Gear Reviews

 

 


Show Reports
HIGH END Munich 2024
AXPONA 2024 Show Report
Montreal Audiofest 2024 Report

Southwest Audio Fest 2024
Florida Intl. Audio Expo 2024
Capital Audiofest 2023 Report
Toronto Audiofest 2023 Report
UK Audio Show 2023 Report
Pacific Audio Fest 2023 Report
T.H.E. Show 2023 Report
Australian Hi-Fi Show 2023 Report
...More Show Reports

 

Videos
Our Featured Videos

 


Industry & Music News

High-Performance Audio & Music News

 

Partner Print Magazines
audioXpress
Australian Hi-Fi Magazine
hi-fi+ Magazine
Sound Practices
VALVE Magazine

 

For The Press & Industry
About Us
Press Releases
Official Site Graphics

 

 

 

     

Home   |   Hi-Fi Audio Reviews   |   News   |   Press Releases   |   About Us   |   Contact Us

 

All contents copyright©  1995 - 2024  Enjoy the Music.com®
May not be copied or reproduced without permission.  All rights reserved.