Tag: hifi systems
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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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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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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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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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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.…
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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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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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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…