Aaron Clinton

I remember, at High End Munich 2019, setting eyes on one of the most attractive loudspeakers I'd ever seen, in the color that, as I now know, Estelon calls Ocean Mystery. I remember it as a passive demo, no music playing, seen through glass; whether that memory is strictly accurate I don't know. Memories are funny things. Thu, 10/20/2022 View the full article

It’s not what Mark Zuckerberg promises. View the full article

For years, Audio Advice Live has been an annual event, drawing enthusiastic audiophiles to the dealership's showrooms on Raleigh's Glenwood Avenue, next to Virgin Cigars. This year, Audio Advice Live was different. It was a fully fledged audio show, held like most such events at a conference hotel: the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel in that North Carolina city, with rooms sponsored and presented by a wide range of hi-fi and home-theater manufacturers and distributors. Wed, 10/19/2022 View the full article

Víkingur Ólafsson: From Afar Víkingur Ólafsson, grand and upright pianos DG 4861681 (24/192 WAV, available on 2 CD, 2 LP). 2022. Christopher Tarnow, prod. & eng. Performance ***** Sonics **** From Afar seems on its face like a dream recording for audiophiles and music lovers. The 2-CD, 44-track project spotlights Víkingur Ólafsson, the sensitive, 38-year-old Icelandic pianist, performing a captivating program of short pieces twice on dissimilar pianos with very different sound: a concert grand and an upright. The very different performances are dictated by Ólafsson's response to these very different instruments. The contrasts are wondrous. Tue, 10/18/2022 View the full article

A smartphone that is made for longevity can be a real thing. Too bad that’s not how most of them are designed. View the full article

The Snell Type B is the culmination of three years' research and development effort by designer Kevin Voecks. Along the way, various iterations of the B have been shown at Consumer Electronics Shows. Like other Snell models, the facilities of Canada's National Research Council were used extensively during the B's development, both their anechoic chamber and their double-blind listening techniques. Sun, 12/01/1991 View the full article

"It's the difference between a stuffed dog and the real thing," said Gunter (George) Bischoff, of Melos Audio, on the difference between solid-state gear and tubes. "The real dog may piss on the rug, needs visits to the vet, gets fleas, has to be walked, but it's a living thing—a real dog. The stuffed dog requires no care, needs no maintenance, but has no life." Sun, 09/01/1991 View the full article

The airline reversed itself Wednesday, saying it had consulted with German aviation authorities, who agreed that Bluetooth trackers were safe for passengers to use. View the full article

Probably best-known in recent years for their best-selling "baby" speaker, the Diamond, Wharfedale is one of the UK's oldest manufacturers of loudspeakers. The company was the subject of a management buyout earlier this year, following a rather unsettled period when it changed hands several times. Now with American distribution as of 1989 by Vector Research (footnote 1), the brand is reinventing itself in the US with two new ranges of loudspeakers, the 507.2 being one of the "audiophile" models. Both drive-units are made in-house; the first generation of Wharfedale loudspeakers to feature this 19mm aluminum-dome tweeter—the 506, 508, and 708—appeared in early 1985. Sun, 01/01/1989 View the full article

Developed with Fitbit, Google’s first smart watch takes a page from Apple’s playbook by requiring loyalty to its brand. View the full article

Ortofon (footnote 1), which turns 100 in 2018, launched the original Windfeld cartridge nearly a decade ago. Named for cartridge designer Per Windfeld—who had just retired at age 75, after 30 years with the company—that top-of-the-line cartridge cost $3400 at the time of its introduction. Tue, 08/01/2017 View the full article

Aloys Schmitt: Piano Concertos 1–2; Rondeau brillant, India Gailey: to you through, Brahms: Symphonies 3, 4 and György Kurtág: Kafka-Fragmente. Fri, 10/07/2022 View the full article

Enrico Rava, Fred Hersch: The Song Is You, Reinier Baas/Jonas Burgwinkel/Kit Downes: Deadeye, Kirk Knuffke Trio: Gravity Without Airs and Anteloper: Pink Dolphins. Fri, 10/07/2022 View the full article

Angel Olsen: Big Time and Bananarama: Masquerade. Fri, 10/07/2022 View the full article

Partiful wants to be the go-to option for sending online invitations. Facebook events, we hardly knew ye. View the full article

The accessibility features Apple and Google include in their mobile software can help people of all abilities get more from their devices. View the full article

Apple and Google have added useful features to texting apps, yet the apps still lack a major component: an effective way to set limits. View the full article

Finally. View the full article

As Apple prepares to unveil new models next week, the smart watch has found an unexpected audience: children as young as 5. View the full article

La industria de los viajes se está recuperando de la pandemia, pero con complicaciones. Estas aplicaciones y consejos pueden ayudar a navegar con el mayor confort posible. View the full article

LIVE: Friday, May 21, 2021 - 12:00PM ET Join Bill Voss, Technics Business Development Manager in the US and Frank Balzuweit, Business Development Manager for Technics in Europe in celebration of Technics 55th anniversary introduction of the new Reference Class SU-R1000 Digital Integrated Amplifier as they present a live webinar discussion with demos of the key features and technology in this incredible new model. Fri, 05/14/2021 View the full article

The first image that pops into my mind when I think of Focal is of the iconic Grande Utopias and how at one Montreal audio show I couldn't believe that the gentlest, sweetest music I'd heard all day was coming out of those massive speakers. I saw it as a paradox of sorts. Founded in the City of Lights, Focal has been around since 1979, the year Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now received the Palme d'Or at Cannes and when the average annual income in America was $17,500. Focal started as a twinkle in the eye of engineer and technology journalist Jacques Mahul, who believed he'd built a speaker that would appeal to hi-fi enthusiasts: the DB13. Fast-forward half a century, and Focal, designated "entreprise du patrimoine vivant" (living heritage company) by the French government, employs some 230 people at its large, stylish, multilevel digs. Fri, 05/14/2021 View the full article

Jukeboxes were probably the first music servers to take a form we would recognize: a music-playing device that allows you to choose from several, or many, songs. The first commercial jukebox, Wikipedia says, was introduced in 1927 by the Automatic Musical Instrument Company, which came to be known as AMI. Thu, 05/13/2021 View the full article

Once upon a time, in the early days of class-D amplification, the very notion that the ELAC (ELectroACoustic) Alchemy DPA-2 Stereo/Mono Power Amplifier ($1495 each) uses a class-D output stage would cause some readers to turn the page (footnote 1). But as class-D amplifiers established their pedigree as bona fide hi-fi components, audiophiles have begun to embrace the notion of a lightweight, cool-running amplifier that will not dramatically increase the electric bill and that, when properly executed, can be quite musical. Wed, 05/12/2021 View the full article

Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble: NOW International Anthem Recording Company IARC0039 (LP, download). 2021. Damon Locks and Black Monument Ensemble, prods.; Alex Inglizian, eng. Performance ***** Sonics **** In its sixth year, International Anthem seriously stepped up production. 2020 saw the Chicago label releasing a fast succession of rewarding albums, including a standout disc by Tortoise guitarist Jeff Parker and adventurous jazz by Rob Mazurek and the collective Irreversible Entanglements. Tue, 05/11/2021 View the full article