High-End Audio / Audiophile & Music Industry News

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12 / 04 / 23

Spotify Is Firing 17% Of Their Workforce
While we have musicians (rightly) unhappy about the very low compensation (if any!) when their music is streamed on Spotify, we have just learned that Spotify is letting go of 17% of their workforce. According to Spotify's CEO Daniel Ek, "Over the last two years, we've put significant emphasis on building Spotify into a truly great and sustainable business – one designed to achieve our goal of being the world's leading audio company and one that will consistently drive profitability and growth into the future. While we've made worthy strides, as I've shared many times, we still have work to do. Economic growth has slowed dramatically and capital has become more expensive. Spotify is not an exception to these realities."

"This brings me to a decision that will mean a significant step change for our company to align Spotify with our future goals and ensure we are right-sized for the challenges ahead," continues CEO Daniel Ek, "I have made the difficult decision to reduce our total headcount by approximately 17% across the company. I recognize this will impact a number of individuals who have made valuable contributions. To be blunt, many smart, talented and hard-working people will be departing us.... Today is a difficult but important day for the company. To be very clear, my commitment to our mission and belief in our ability to achieve it has never been stronger. I hope you will join me on Wednesday for Unplugged to discuss how we move forward together. A reduction of this size will make it necessary to change the way we work, and we will share much more about what this will mean in the days and weeks ahead. Just as 2023 marked a new chapter for us, so will 2024 as we build an even stronger Spotify." You can read the complete Spotify press release.

Capital Audiofest 2023 Show Report / Chronicles Part 4
The 7th Floor Part B
Show Report By Rick Becker
In their second room, Just Audio went further upstream with Spendor Classic 100 three-way stand-mount speakers ($14,800) speakers and an all-Cyrus Audio rig.
Seen here, paired up on standard-width shelves, was the current generation of Cyrus gear which I've found at other shows to be a noticeable improvement over the previous generation. Cyrus also has their own dedicated stand which stacks their components one above the other in a smaller footprint. I've also seen this gear parked side-by-side across a sofa table for a most elegant presentation. New, to me at least, was this TTP turntable with an integrated DC motor ($5800) with what looked like a Rega tonearm. I'd like to tell you how this rig sounded, but there was no music playing at the time and no host present.
---> Capital Audiofest Chronicles 2023 Part 4.

12 / 01 / 23

Enjoy the Music.com's December Premium Audio Review Magazine
Our very special December holiday issue includes World Premiere gear reviews, think pieces, plus our new eNewsletter design! While our extensive Capital Audiofest (CAF) 2023 show report is still being updated often, and our Great Audiophile Gift Guide 2023 is in full swing, new gear reviews within our December issue are sure to please every music lover within your family. Everyone at Enjoy the Music.com wishes you and yours a glorious holiday season. Be sure to join us for more fun and bonus content within our Facebook, Instagram, and X/Twitter social media pages. As always, in the end what really matters is that you... enjoy the music!

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!

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.

Enjoy the Music.com Exclusive!
Métronome Technologie Launches Their World-Class Kalista Mantax DAC
Musical revelations in Vienna!
Coverage By Greg Weaver
Thursday morning, November 16th (2023) found myself on an airplane bound for Vienna, Austria. I had been invited to the private launch event for the new flagship Kalista Mantax DAC, to be held at the Adagio Vienna City Hotel on Saturday, November 18th. The Adagio Vienna City sits just south of the Donaukanal, an arm of the nearby Danube River, and just immediately west of where the Wiental Kanal flows into it, bordering Vienna's city center. This places it just inside what is known as "The Ring," the popular name given to a series of wide tree-lined boulevards that encircle nearly the entire center of the city. "The Ring" is about six and a half kilometers long (~ four miles) and arguably offers more historical sights lining its edges than any other road in the world.
---> Métronome Technologie Launches Their World-Class Kalista Mantax DAC.

World Premiere Review!
LampizatOr Pacific 2 DAC Review
One of the best values for a high-performance DAC.
Review By Dr. Matthew Clott
When LampizatOr came out with their state-of-the-art $49,000 Horizon assault on DAC'dom, they had a larger plan in mind. The Horizon was the first in an entirely new redesign of LampizatOr's take on building a digital-to-analog converter. Everything learned from their first Big7 through the Golden Gate to the Pacific, was a foundation upon which the next generation of LampizatOr would be based. Somewhere during the past few years, it became apparent that they had taken their current designs and engineering schematics to the limits of what those circuits could yield. To progress and advance LampizatOr into the future, a completely new engine, circuits, power supplies, and enclosure would be needed; and the Horizon was born. Moving forward, all of their new products will benefit from design principles inherent in the Horizon.
---> LampizatOr Pacific 2 DAC Review.

Aric Audio Transcend Push Pull Amplifier Review
An enlightening listening experience!
Review By Bob Grossman
In today's machine-driven, highly commoditized world, the sheer number of hand-crafted artisanal products appears to be ultimately going the way of the dodo bird — heading toward extinction. Thankfully, the Aric Audio Transcend Push Pull amplifier from the genius of Aric Kimball is an exception to this rule. Another exception that comes to mind is Rolls-Royce. While it now exists under the corporate umbrella of parent company BMW, Rolls defiantly maintains a great level of independence, continuing to offer buyers an unusually wide array of customization options to satisfy each buyer's unique desires. And so it goes with Aric Audio. Based out of a small suburb in western Massachusetts, for more than 15 years Aric Kimball has specialized in custom, hand-built, superbly crafted audio gear. Fortunately, due partly to Aric's direct-to-consumer business model, one need not have a Rolls-Royce budget to afford the luxury of such exceptional quality audio components. This is a high-value proposition indeed.
---> Aric Audio Transcend Push Pull Amplifier Review.

World Premiere Review!
Finalé Audio F-6 Hommage EF86 Edition Vaccum Tube Integrated Amplifier Review
How low can you go?
Review By Paul Schumann
Sometime in the mid-1990s, I was in a music store and noticed an audio magazine on the rack I had never seen before. It was Issue 12 of Sound Practices. I flipped through it and was fascinated by its retro take on audio, so I made the purchase. I read every article, but Herb Reichert's Causal Reactions column struck me to the core. This was back during a time when Herb Reichert was an arts school teacher and his vacuum tube efforts were dedicated towards DIY. His basic argument was this: the best way to evaluate an audio system is how it allows you to feel the emotions in your music. All other criteria are secondary. I know I've reduced a beautifully written article into a simple statement. But this statement leads the reader to the next question: What kind of system allows you to do this?
---> Finalé Audio F-6 Hommage EF86 Edition Review.

World Premiere Review!
LCH Audio B1610 Subwoofers
Stack Audio Auvo Isolators
Synergistic Research Vibratron
An audiophile special ménage à trois.
Review By Rick Becker
Actually, neuroscience has come a long way since Schrodinger's day, and audiophiles might be able to offer some suggestions, too. Let me tell you about three innovative items that helped those old songs move me even further. In typical audiophile fashion, I'm always on the lookout to improve the sound quality of my system in search of more musical delight. A pattern that has emerged over the past two decades is that my speakers always seem to get better when I improve the components and add ancillary tweaks to the rig. Funny how that happens. Many people would sooner go out and buy a new speaker. But I've developed somewhat of a reputation for adding tweaks rather than spending huge sums on major components. The opportunity to explore Axpona earlier this year turned up two products in particular that I wanted to review and a third opportunity subsequently came my way from Great Britain.
---> LCH Audio B1610 Subwoofers, Stack Audio Auvo Isolators, And Synergistic Research Vibratron Review.

Many more reviews & articles are within our Review Magazine.

11 / 30 / 23

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.

11 / 29 / 23

Harman Acquires Popular Roon Music Streaming Software
As many music lovers know, Roon is an audiophile-grade music aggregation, connectivity and streaming technology company. Harman, owned by Samsung Electronics, is now free to leverage the popular and flexible Roon service to their automotive, consumer electronics, and vast enterprise markets. According to the press release, "Roon is a music player platform for music enthusiasts, which features a rich interface for browsing and discovering music, compatibility with almost any audio device, and a playback engine designed to deliver the best possible sound. Roon is available for all popular operating systems and manufactures a line of hardware server appliances called Nucleus."

"Roon will operate as a standalone Harman business with its existing team," says Harmon, "All Roon operations will stay in place and continue to be dedicated to serving and growing Roon's community of device partners and customers, under a joint mission to deliver engaging and personalized audio experiences across a universe of products and platforms. Aligned with its ‘work with all' strategy, Harman is committed to growing Roon's open device ecosystem which includes collaborating with more than 160 other audio brands, delivering audio to more than 1000 high-performance devices. Roon's dedication to its loyal community and its exceptional UI/UX design expertise will continue to expand and flourish with the acquisition."

Cruisin' 'Round The Capital Audiofest 2023 Show Report
CAF 2023 was an amazing event!
CAF 2023 Show Report By Bob Grossman
The show circuit is expanding and growing in a big-time way with new and larger events occurring around various regions within the USA. The Capital Audio Fest (CAF) has expanded by 30% with well over 100 vendors in converted hotel rooms spread over four floors along with nearly 40 vendor booths crowded around the huge, large open floor of the Atrium. This weekend-long event also included many presentations and discussions from industry representatives covering topics about equipment designs, audio company developments, record production, and turntable setups. The range of products and displays ran the full gamut from beginner entry and budget types of affordable systems to extreme state-of-the-art presentations with massive sizes of speakers and myriad racks of dazzling equipment.
---> Cruisin' 'Round The Capital Audiofest 2023 Show Report.

11 / 28 / 23

Capital Audiofest 2023 Show Report / Chronicles Part 3
The 7th Floor Part A
Show Report By Rick Becker
Percy Chase — remember that name — drifted into Capital Audiofest just like "A Sheep Out On The Foam" with a couple of prototype speakers that defy his background. I probably saw him in the room, but never suspected he was the Ultra-DIY person behind these two speakers that looked ready for Prime Time. I'm not sure I even heard them play. I have no video notes and no spec sheet for the room. I snapped a couple of shots and picked up a slick brochure, pressing on without even looking at it. As I read it over in my office I'm thinking "Good grief! Who is this company?" There is no website, address, or phone number. But these were not speakers built out of the back of a van. Each is a two-way design, though all the drivers are different. One has a soft dome tweeter, the other an "accordion-type" diaphragm driver.
---> Capital Audiofest 2023 Show Report / Chronicles Part 3.

11 / 27 / 23

Visual Capitalist's 50 Years Of Music Industry Revenues
Visual Capitalist, a company focused on topics including markets, technology, energy, and the global economy, has posted their 50 Years of Music Industry Revenues, by Format. According the them, "For the seventh year in a row, recorded music revenues in the United States rose, hitting a record high of $15.9 billion. The graphic above uses data from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to chart the music industry's evolution over the last 50 years." Everything from the vinyl LP to Vinyl to Cassettes to the latest in digital music streaming is accounted for.

"Because of the significant jump in capacity and audio quality compared to cassettes," according to Visual Capitalist, "the compact disc (CD) quickly became the leader in sales, peaking in 2000 with global sales estimated at around 2.5 billion. CDs would stick around well into the 2000s. But by this time, the first MP3 players were already making their mark, making the idea of strolling around with a disc containing just 10 or 12 tracks feel outdated. Amid the growth of digital music, ringtone and ringback revenues also reached an impressive $1.1 billion in 2007, constituting 10% of the music industry's earnings for that year. At the same time, digital music allowed consumers to purchase cheaper individual songs instead of full albums, and made piracy easier and more widespread, cutting into sales." Learn more at their website.

11 / 24 / 23

The Complete Guide to High-End Audio Sixth Edition
Price: $39 (and worth EVERY penny!!!)
In this newly updated version of Robert Harley's epic The Complete Guide to High-End Audio, it now features the latest in cutting-edge audio equipment including how to choose the best audio equipment on a budget, how to get the best sound for the money, and how to set up a system for maximum performance. Revised and expanded to include all the latest audio technologies, this book is packed with expert advice how to make speakers sound up to 50 percent better at no cost, avoid the most common system set-up mistakes, and how to choose the one speaker in 50 worth owning. Among the new topics covered are streaming audio, computer-based music servers, music-management apps, wireless streaming, high-resolution digital audio. A short course on listening-room acoustics is presented and additional information on audio for home theater, multichannel audio, system set-up secrets, and what each component's specifications and measurements mean is also provided.
Available from Amazon, and yes we make a teeny tiny bit of commission on this must-have reference book.

11 / 22 / 23

Capital Audiofest 2023 Show Report / Chronicles Part 2
The 8th Floor Part B
Show Report By Rick Becker
Rounding 2nd Base was Room 833 which was the second AV Luxury Group room at the show. Bayz is based in Hungary, but manufacturing is done in Denmark. I've raved about the design before and mentioned that only the solid granite base of their speakers is the heavy part. It is not as difficult to install as it may seem. This is maybe the fourth show where I've seen it and I've grown accustomed to its unique presence. It is as much a piece of sculpture as it is a loudspeaker once you've become accustomed to it. As an omni-directional speaker (the sound radiates from the ultralight tubular tweeter that connects the ends of the large tube, right where the two woofers are mounted. So basically, this is just a two-way design with a very high-tech tweeter and exceptionally fast woofers. As you would expect from an omni design, the listening is good throughout the room. And the room need not be humongous as was proven here.
---> Capital Audiofest 2023 Show Report / Chronicles Part 2.

11 / 21 / 23

IAA's 2024 Listener's Choice Awards
The nominees are in for the fourth edition of Immersive Audio Album's annual Listeners' Choice Awards. Thanks to recording studio quality lossless hi-resolution technical innovations, modern immersive audio is a three-dimensional approach musical artists can now employ to create an enveloping sonic landscape of their choosing. While most audiophiles are locked into their stereo system, and thus only get hints of immersion if they sit within a single central location, there are benefits in using more than two loudspeakers. By having four, seven, or more loudspeakers can create a virtually seamless soundscape for all listeners within a room. As we know, for years these modern music enthusiasts are called Immersivephiles^TM, though stereo will of course continue it's now nearly 100 year old journey. According to Immersive Audio Album, "As the end of 2023 approaches, it's time to look back on fan-favorite releases from last year in surround sound and immersive audio. The Grammy Award for Best Immersive Audio Album, formerly Best Surround Sound Album, was first awarded in 2005. Since then, the Recording Academy has always annually recognized the best of the best in surround sound and immersive audio experiences. As music formats have evolved and expanded over the years, so have the audiophile fans - so much so that IAA wants to make sure your voices are heard."

"To acknowledge the difference and impact of different formats in which artists now release their music," continues the IAA, "we are hosting two distinct categories: one for the best immersive audio album you streamed in 2023, and one for the best immersive audio album you downloaded or purchased on physical disc." Discover the nominees for the 2024 Immersive Audio Album Listener's Choice Awards at this link.

11 / 20 / 23

Florida International Audio Expo 2024 Show In February
The funtastic Florida International Audio Expo 2024 is set to take place from February 16th through 18th at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore hotel. Attendees will enjoyed their experience in 12 floors' filled with great luxury sound gear produced by the world's leading premium audio / hi-fi / stereo consumer electronics brands. As their exciting fifth annual Florida International Audio Expo, this is the opportunity for audio and music aficionados to discover this sensational showcase of products that includes home and desktop stereo systems, record players / turntables, headphones, loudspeakers, digital audio music streamers, Hi-Res Audio DACs, cables, amplifiers and more!

The Florida International Audio Expo, with many floors filled with exhibit spaces, will deliver plenty of great sound, plus various exhibit room will feature never before seen new products! Show attendees are the world's first to experience many of the best new high-performance audio products. With an outstanding 12 floors of demonstrations to explore, attendees can experience luxurious premium audio electronics, loudspeakers, turntables, and high-end audio headphones produced by manufacturers from all over the world.
---> Learn More About The Florida International Audio Expo 2024 Show.

11 / 18 / 23

Capital Audiofest 2023 Show Report / Chronicles Part 1
The 8th Floor Part A
Show Report By Rick Becker
Wednesday night before the show I finished my nominations of Best Rooms at the Toronto Audiofest that had taken place just three weekends earlier. Thursday morning I loaded my CD player and an old Counterpoint amp into the Shooting Brake and headed south for Rockville at noon. By 6 p.m. I was in heavy traffic driving into Frederick, MD, and by 7 p.m. I was at the Hilton looking for the open bar sponsored by Enjoy the Music.com. Well, the bar at the Hilton was obviously too sedate for anything sponsored by Enjoy the Music.com. I asked around and learned the party was at a local bar about 100 yards to the east of the Hilton in a little strip mall. I walked over....
---> Capital Audiofest 2023 Show Report / Chronicles Part 1.

11 / 17 / 23

audioXpress' December 2023 Issue
Editorial: Ten Years More Of Everything
Improving GaN With Digital Control
New Ways To Measure Noise Cancelling... In Headphones And Earphones
Optimizing Variable-Frequency Tone Controls
JFETs In The Variable-Resistance Mode And Their Applications
eDD — A Direct-Drive Amplifier For Electrostatic Speakers
Multiroom Audio: From Wired To Wireless
Conference Room Acoustics
Tubes, BJTs, JFETs, MOSFETs, Or ICs?
And Much More!

Within his editorial, J. Martins says "Even though my involvement with this publication started earlier, it was in November 2013 that audioXpress received a facelift, signaling a new life for this publication. We expanded the content and increased our focus on audio research and development (R&D), product design, and acoustic science while maintaining our roots in DIY audio and audio electronics. Over the years I have constantly re-examined those directions and more importantly worked tirelessly to expand our authors' network in line with the technology evolution and constantly evolving audio industry trends. As is always recommended on editorial projects, every year we have re-examined our mission and what was achieved, reflecting both our audience's interests and readership expansion across product and market segments."
---> audioXpress' December 2023 Issue.

11 / 16 / 23

SouthWest Audio Fest Launches In March 2024
The SouthWest Audio Fest arises from the partnership of Gary Gill (Capital Audiofest) and Lou Hinkley (Pacific AudioFest / Daedalus Audio) and their success with the Pacific Audio Fest event, which is destined to be an annual event for high-end audio in the Pacific Northwest serving the entire Pacific region. We are pleased to announce a new industry-operated show for another underserved part of the country... the SouthWest Audio Fest in Dallas in Texas. They worked for over two years to secure a contract with an amazing event hotel, which is very safe, family friendly, and great weather in March too! The Hilton / Anatole in Dallas will host the inaugural show that is slated for March 15th through 17th, 2024, and initially we are focusing on a small but solid regional show. Both Gary Gill and Lou Hinkley are confident that this show will grow and the Anatole has all the room a premium audio event needs.

With over 17 million people and exceptional wealth in this corner of Texas, the local demographics could not be better for high end audio. The location is also very safe and an easy ride from the airport. Couple that with two major hub airports and the ability to get a non-stop flight to Dallas from almost anywhere in this country and beyond, they have reserved an ideal location for a major high-end luxury audio show. Spring in Dallas is beautiful, the music and clubs amazing and the show venue, pure luxury. You can learn more at the SouthWest Audio Fest website.

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.

11 / 15 / 23

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!

11 / 14 / 23

Universal Music Group Q3 2023 Financial Results
Universal Music Group (UMG) third quarter and nine months (through September 2023) shows that revenue total €2.752 billion, an increased of 3.3% year-over-year, or 9.9% in constant currency. The growth is said to be driven by healthy constant currency growth in all segments. Revenue grew 4.1% year-over-year, or 10.6% in constant currency as we do need to account for the difference in currency values shifting lower over time. While recorded music subscription revenues grew 6.7% year-over-year (13% in constant currency), streaming revenue shows a decline of 1.4% year-over-year (increased 5% in constant currency). As you can see, a global currency's perceived value over time play a major role in profit / losses in large global companies.

Top sellers generating large profits are no surprise and includes Taylor Swift, Seventeen, Morgan Wallen, Olivia Rodrigo, and King & Prince. "Our performance this quarter was marked not only by continued growth across our businesses but also by strong progress on our long-term strategy," said UMG's Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge. "We remain laser-focused on driving sustainable value creation for the company and its stakeholders: identifying and capitalizing on new revenue streams for UMG and our artists, responsibly advancing new technology, and expanding our global footprint."

11 / 13 / 23

Australian Hi-Fi November / December 2023
Editorial: A Cautionary Tale About Perceived Value
PMC Prodigy 1 Bookshelf Speakers
Airpulse A200 Active Monitor Speakers
OAD UP1 Phono Stage
Hi-Fi Primer: Dolby Atmos Music
History Of Portable Audio: Part 2
Best-Produced Record Albums
Top Picks For Music
Sound Travels
And Much More!

Within her editorial, Becky Roberts says "There's no two ways about it; perceived value counts for a lot. No matter how well something performs, there's every chance it'll be disregarded by some in favour of something that looks better. The PMC Prodigy 1 loudspeakers I recently tested with some colleagues (review on page 14) could well fall victim to such misfortune, but for the sake of PMC's efforts and anyone in the market for ~$2,000 standmounters, I really hope it doesn't. When comparing their build to KEF's class-leading LS50 Meta, I politely used the Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy metaphor for their differences in stature (the PMCs tall and slim, the KEFs shorter and stockier), though I could've also made a Beauty and the Beast one (the PMCs being the 'Beast') to communicate the gulf between their aesthetic attraction."
---> Australian Hi-Fi November / December 2023 Issue.

11 / 10 / 23

Best Of Toronto Audiofest 2023 Awards Show Report
Best Rooms At The Toronto Audiofest 2023
Show Report By Rick Becker
In my usual manner, I nominate a variable number of Best Rooms rather than select a First, Second, or Third place. This levels the playing field for sponsors of all rooms, large and small. Gives the guys with smaller, more economical rooms a shot at recognition. Big, expensive rooms don't impress me as much as rooms where the music moves me emotionally, though often there is a strong correlation. I made three cuts from the 49 rooms at the show, though there were more systems than that since several rooms had more than one presentation. And in some cases, speakers and amplification were swapped which would have given a few more unique presentations.
---> Best Of Toronto Audiofest 2023 Awards Show Report.

11 / 09 / 23

Toronto Audiofest 2023 Show Report
Part 5... Lobby Level And Lower Level
Show Report By Rick Becker
With Capital Audiofest coming up later this week, I am going to have to speed through this final part. Put on your speed reading glasses as there was a lot of good gear in these two levels. As you enter the lobby at the front entrance the registration desk is just up ahead on the left. Signage made it more obvious this year that there were rooms straight ahead up a small flight of stairs. I completely missed those rooms last year as it looked more like a restaurant up there than an audio show. It was a welcome change. However, most people approached the hotel from the parking lots behind the building. Signage encouraged them to circle the building to the right and enter from the front door, but savvy veterans entered directly from the door at the back of the building. From this direction, the Atmosphere North room was easily visible and marked with more signage. So let's dive in!
---> Toronto Audiofest 2023 Show Report Part 5.

Previous High-End Audio News
For previous high-end audio and music industry news click here.