Tag: hifi audio
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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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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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M&O Electronics BERYLLIUM ACOUSTIC Bluetooth Headphones Review
If you say you have never heard of M&O Electronics before, I would surely understand, because I am just making their acquaintance myself. I first heard about the MOOH-BE00BT Beryllium Acoustic Bluetooth Headphone in the Head-Fi forums, and they sounded interesting, so I requested a pair to review. M&O graciously offered to send me a…
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Music Monday: Jose James-“The Dreamer-10th Anniversary Edition”
I feel like Vocal Jazz is in a new Golden Age, where artists have escaped the monotony of imitation and forged new paths for an old art form. Jose James’ “The Dreamer” released in 2007, was at the leading edge of the Vocal Jazz resurgence, and it is just as fresh today as it was back…
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Hi-Fi Deals: Get This Highly Recommended Digital Audio Player/DAC for $148! (That’s over $40 off)
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This week Fry’s Electronics is offering the FiiO X3 Mark III Portable High-Resolution Lossless Music Player – Black for only $148 this week with a Fry’s Promocode. That’s over $40 off the lowest price we could find for a new unit, which is $189 at Amazon. The well-reviewed X3 Mark III is a budget DAP full of…
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Music Monday: Snowpoet -“Thought You Knew”
Sorry so late, but it’s still Monday here in the U.S. so I have to sneak in my music recommendation for the week…This Week it’s from a group called Snowpoet, a band from the UK which blends Jazz Vocal, Poetry, Folk and a few other genres to great effect. This is their second album, but…
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KZ ZST & ZSR IEMS…Real Good Sound, Real Cheap!
Update: The ZST and ZSR are still great earphones for the money, but the new ZSN is even better…better tonal balance, and more refined sound…check out my comments on my other post, Best Affordable/Budget Audiophile Headphones (2019)! As an unabashed audio junkie, I’m always in online audiophile groups chatting about the next big audio thing. As…
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Get These World Class Five-Star Audiophile Headphones for $699! (That’s $300 off!)
BuyDig.com is offering the BeyerDynamic T1 Second Generation Stereo Headphone (Special Edition Black) for a pre-order price of $699 after applying a coupon on the product page. That’s $300 less than the lowest price found anywhere! This special black edition of BeyerDynamic’s five-star rated flagship headphone is known as one of the best headphones at any…
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Music Monday: Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette-“After The Fall”
I’m a huge fan of classic trio recordings and this one features a trio of masters performing a live improvisational tour-de-force. One of the best of the year so far…and the first track “The Masquerade Is Over”, is a must listen…the interplay between Keith on the piano and Jack on the drums is killer! From ECM Records: The…
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iFi Nano iDSD Black Label In The House!
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This headphone amp/USB DAC has all the technology, but how does it sound? Review coming soon! P. CashI’m an audio writer who started as a young audio salesman/consumer electronics professional back in the late 90s. That’s where I discovered the magic of 2-Channel sound. My thirst for great sound has led me on a delightful…
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Zorloo ZuperDAC-S Review
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The ZuperDAC-S, currently available for pre-order on the Zorloo website for $69, is a follow-up to Zorloo’s original ZuperDAC, which was a portable DAC/AMP with a USB Stick form factor similar to AudioQuest’s Dragonfly Black. The follow-up ZuperDAC-S instead has a female micro-USB port on one end, so you can plug in different USB cables…
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Get This Feature-Packed Hi-Res Digital Audio Player For Only $99.99!
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For a limited time Hidizs via Amazon is selling its feature-laden AP60 II Music Player for $129 with a $30 coupon bringing the price down to $99.99! This is $20 off the lowest price found elsewhere! The AP60II is the new, upgraded version of Hidizs’ compact, feature-packed AP60 Hi-Res digital audio player, which received many…
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Music Monday: Walter Smith III – “TWIO”
It was the retro album cover that first drew me to this release by Saxophonist Walter Smith III, because there’s such a romanticism to the stylings of covers from Jazz’s heyday in the 50s and 60s. Those old covers were so cool, mirroring the cool swinging bands of the time, which produced music as sophisticated…
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Updated: Elac Announces Sequel to Popular Speaker Line, Debut 2.0
Today Elac announced via their social media accounts a sequel to their popular Debut speaker line, the Debut 2.0. The original Debut line, designed by acclaimed speaker architect Andrew Jones, was his first project for Elac, and it garnered almost universal praise regarding the sound quality they achieved for a very low cost. The Debut…
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Cambridge Audio @ Saturday Audio Exchange in Chicago
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in Budget, DACs, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, Music, News, Power Amps, Speakers, Streaming, WirelessFor some reason I have a strange affinity for Cambridge Audio products. Due to their limited distribution in the U.S., I haven’t heard a whole lot of their newer stuff, save a short audition at last year’s AXPONA, and for those who have been to an audio show, you know the hectic atmosphere often limits…
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Monitor Audio Announces New “Studio” Bookshelf Speaker
Britain’s Monitor Audio has been releasing products this year at a fast and furious pace, and the flurry of new speakers continues with their announcement of a new Bookshelf, simply called “Studio”. The speakers seems to follow a similar design DNA to the Silver series, and that is a good thing, because this new speaker…