Year: 2018
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USB Audio Player PRO Adds MQA Support
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USB Audio Player Pro, the popular music playback app from eXtream software, now supports MQA decoding, but you will have to pay a little extra for the option. The upgrade comes in the form of an in-app purchase which costs $3.99. Once purchased, it unlocks the ability for UAPP to function as an MQA core…
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2018 Budget Hi-Fi Holiday Gift Guide
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Last-Minute Gifts for the Audiophile/Music Junkie in your life! Christmas is approaching fast, and if you are ordering online, then the time to order your gifts and have them delivered in time is approaching even faster! Here are some last minute gifts for the Audiophile in your life that won’t break the bank! 1MORE Triple…
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R.I.P. Nancy Wilson (1937-2018)
Nancy Wilson, one of my all-time favorite Jazz Vocalists, and probably the one who is responsible for my enduring love of Jazz Vocal music, passed away last night at the age of 85. She is responsible for some of the greatest Jazz Recordings of all time, but her album with another Jazz Great, Cannonball Adderley,…
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1MORE Releases New True Wireless, ANC Earphones
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I’m a big fan of 1MORE earphones and headphones, especially the Triple Driver Over Ear headphone, which I use with my LG V40 smartphone on a daily basis. So whenever they release a new product, I get very excited. In this case they have two new products, one being their first true wireless model, the…
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Review: Nano iDSD Black Label by iFi
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MQA and Native DSD playback set this mini powerhouse apart. Looking for a powerful, great sounding, DAC/headphone amp combo that handles MQA rendering and native DSD playback? Want it to be smaller than a pack of cigarettes? Want to pay less than $200? Then the Nano iDSD Black Label by iFi is not only the…
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Brainwavz Audio Alara Planar Magnetic Headphone Now Available For Pre-Order
Once a brand known for inexpensive, high-value IEMs like the Delta, Brainwavz Audio has beefed up their lineup over the last year or so, adding several premium products to their offerings, including several balanced armature IEMs and a new studio monitor headphone. In August, they announced their most ambitious and most expensive model to date,…
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2018 Black Friday & Cyber Monday Hi-Fi Audio Deals! (Check Back for Updates)
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Black Friday is almost upon us, and hi-fi audio brands like Fiio and Q Acoustics are looking to get in on the action. We have scoured the internet for these deals so you don’t have to! So be sure to check back here as we constantly update this page with new Black Friday and Cyber…
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Music You Need To Hear: Nas – “illmatic: Live From The Kennedy Center”
Man, when I first heard this crazy dude named Nasty Nas jump all over the track on Main Source’s “Live At The Barbeque”, I just knew this cat was something special. A few years later, when his debut album “illmatic” hit the streets, my notion was confirmed. The beats, the concepts, the storytelling, were something…
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Q Acoustics Improves a Winning Formula With New 3000i Series Speakers
When a product has already been called “The Best Bookshelf Speaker for Most Stereos” you would think not much improvement is needed. But in a competitive racket like budget loudspeaker design, resting on your laurels is not advised. This is most likely the reason for Q Acoustic’s release of the new 3000i series, with the…
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AXPONA 2018: Sunday At The Ear Gear Expo (HiFiMAN, Acoustic Research,Dekoni,Cleer,MEZE Audio,Campfire Audio, MYTEK)
With all the ground I had to cover at the show on Saturday, by Sunday morning my feet were absolutely killing me. But that didn’t stop me from checking out my favorite part of any audio show and that is the headphone demos. AXPONA calls it the Ear Gear Expo, and it shares the Expo…
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Pick Up These Critically Acclaimed Elac Debut B6 Speakers For Only $200! (That’s $80 Off)
Check out the deal on the new Elac Debut 2.0 B6.2!: https://amzn.to/2YymeN6 When the Elac Debut B6 speakers first hit the market at the unbelievable price of $279, this is what CNET had to say about them: “The ELAC Debut B6 bookshelf speakers offer stellar, best-in-class sound quality that no other speakers can match at this…
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AXPONA 2018: Some More Cool Stuff From The Show! (Cambridge Audio, Monitor Audio, Schiit, PS Audio)
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One of my missions during this year’s AXPONA was to finally get to hear Cambridge Audio’s new high-end Edge line, so it was the second room I hit once I got there. First was Andrew Jones’ Debut 2.0 demo room which I couldn’t resist since there was such a buzz around it. First thing I…
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AXPONA 2018: Checking Out The Big Show In Chicago (Elac, Hsu Research, Vanatoo)
The Audio Expo North America, better known as AXPONA, kicked off this past weekend in its new digs at the Renaissance Hotel & Convention Center in Schaumburg Illinois. The organizers moved it to a new location this year because it was getting kinda cramped over at the Westin in Rosemont, and the Renaissance with its many…
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Music You Need To Hear: Listen to Kamasi Washington’s “Fists Of Fury” and “The Space Travelers Lullaby”
Since he came on the scene a couple of years ago, Saxophonist Kamasi Washington has provided awe-inspiring soundscapes that simultaneously “do it for the culture”, and expose the listener to “high culture”. This continues with two more tour de force jazz compositions from his upcoming double album “Heaven and Earth” which is scheduled to come out June…
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Portable Hi-Res: MQA Streaming With Tidal Masters On the LG V30!
In January, I wrote a post called “LG V30: The Ultimate Hi-Fi Audiophile Review”, and in that post, I talked about MQA (Click here if you don’t know what it is), and how the V30 was the first smartphone to support that hi-res format. I fully understand that MQA, like hi-res music playback as a…
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Hi-Fi Deals: Kef Q100s Are Back Down To $250!
One of my all-time favorite Budget Bookshelf Speakers, the Kef Q100, is back down to its all-time low price of $250 on Amazon…During the holiday several sites were selling them for that price, but then they went up to $300 after the holidays were over. This speaker is a Budget Audiophile favorite for a reason,…
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Music You Need To Hear: Sons of Kemet-“Your Queen Is a Reptile”
Sorry guys, I missed Music Monday, but never fear I still have a great music recommendation for this week. This week’s album is from Sons of Kemet, a British jazz band I just discovered, led by saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings. As I said last week, (I think it was last week anyway) I am truly entranced by this…
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Cambridge Audio Celebrates 50 Years With “Cost No Object” Edge Series
A little over a month ago, at a Cambridge Audio demo in Chicago, I heard about their new “cost no object” 50th Anniversary line that would be on display at the AXPONA show in April. So when they started teasing it last week on the Cambridge Audio USA Twitter account, I knew what they were…
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Music Monday: Wynton Marsalis Septet-“United We Swing”
I’m really digging this all-star jazz and blues jam session featuring some of the most iconic voices to ever record music…we’re talking Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ray Charles, Audra McDonald and many more…all accompanied by a septet led by the one and only Wynton Marsalis. There’s some beautiful music here…Check it out! From wyntonmarsalis.org: Recorded…
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Hi-Fi Deals: Start Your Budget Audiophile System Off Right With This $350 Speaker Deal! (That’s $150 Off!)
Amazon is selling the ELAC Uni-fi UB5 Bookshelf Speaker (Black, Pair) for $350 which is $150 off the usual price of $500. The Uni-fi UB5 is the smallest three-way speaker on the market, due to its concentric driver array which features a 1-inch soft dome tweeter positioned in the center of a 4-inch aluminum mid-range driver.…