Welcome to Audiophilia. We publish honest and accurate reviews of high end audio equipment and music.
I usually bump into Mojo Audio’s Ben Zwickel at the industry party the night before the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver. It’s becoming a tradition. Zwickel gets us as many drink tickets as allowed then the rest of the evening is wine, more wine, dinner, and then even more wine, interspersed with stories of the year’s audio adventures. Let’s just say he’s ‘energized’.
After completing my recent review of the VPI Industries Scout Jr. Turntable, I was impressed to move forward with some of its convenient upgrades to bring it more up to par with my reference system. I briefly report here what I did and the benefits thereof with some food for thought thrown in for good measure.
The following list, in no particular order, makes a good starting point for the audiophile new vinyl wanting to build a great sounding LP collection. Not only do the LPs on this list have the very best in audiophile quality sound, but they are legendary performances, too. Please add yours in the Comments Section. Thanks.
While completing my review of the Sprout integrated amp by PS Audio in February 2015, I had a friendly chat with Mat Weisfeld, President of VPI, who mentioned that VPI Industries uses the Sprout to test their ‘Budget Reference’ but high-end entry-evel turntable, the Scout Jr.
When I first acquired an audio cabinet for my system, I had no idea of the evolution my system would go through over the next two years. I chose a wooden cabinet that looked nice in our living room and seemed large enough for the task. Soon after, I realized the hard way that I had not thought this out well. The first challenge was how to fit the cables in through the back of the cabinet.
So, how does one approach conducting and recording the greatest symphony of the 20th Century? A strong and varied attack, I think. Attack may be too strong a word for a musical task, but faced with the daunting prospects of ‘competing’ with the Mravinskys and Karajans of this world, attack may not be strong enough. Karajan thought so much of Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony he recorded it twice, analogue and digital.
Two major artists create Beethoven magic, here. Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires has long been a star on the international circuit beloved by music lovers and pianophiles who like their artists to walk softly but carry a big stick. No star aura, just deep musicianship.
A few things have revolutionized the music business in the past decade — Apple's iTunes, mobile audio on smart phones with the headphone boom, followed this year by streaming audio. What was missing in the lifestyle mix was a quality delivery system for the home. One that worked easily, sounded great and was reasonably priced. Sure, Bose had a big lead. ‘Good’ sound for the masses but at a high price. The high price paid for the marketing, which was quite effective.
Last week we published the classical version of this Audiophilia Top Ten. Like classical and popular reissue LPs, the list could (and should) be hundreds in number. A little fun with a Top Ten but a serious list, nonetheless. And each LP will bring unalloyed audiophile pleasure for their recordings and performances. Repertoire? Well, that’s up to you.
Over the last year and a half, I have been paying careful attention to stereo headphones. Before then, I had a kind of ‘who cares’ attitude towards them. I ruled that a fine stereo system at home with excellent speakers and such was all one needs—using headphones was audio blasphemy. But the recent surge in high-quality headphones together with specialized amps for accommodating them wowed me in sound quality, turned me around and caused me to reevaluate my stand.
Bel Canto, Minnesota’s manufacturer of quality hifi equipment has kicked its already wonderful digital line up a notch with ‘Black’. Black is a deceptively simple digital/amplification solution for your high end needs — described by Bel Canto as: ‘elegant simplicity. Three boxes. Two connections. One coveted musical result.’
Recently, while reviewing the Sprout by PS Audio, I borrowed a pair of Alta Audio’s new small Solo speakers to match with it, and discovered that they were a remarkable fit. Since then, I continued to be very impressed with the Solos as entry-level but audiophile quality speakers. I thought a review was in order.
I felt compelled to write a brief addition to this mini review that we posted in 2013. My 23 year old nephew has been bitten hard by the audiophile bug. His budget was set and Christmas money was saved, and he asked for a suggestion to jump into the high end. He loves vinyl. It was an easy choice. With his budget, the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Turntable immediately came to mind.
There was a time that I could not get enough of monitor speakers. I lived with ProAc’s very best for a few years, the Response One SC and the Tablette Signature. I truly loved both speakers and had a flirtation with Canada’s very good answer to them, the Totem Model 1s. About 15 years ago, as Audiophilia morphed into something new on the new internet, I had to make a 180 degree shift and, at the time, was none too happy about it.
There are several reasons why I got involved in reviewing these headphones. First, I gifted my trusty Grado 125 headphones to the son of my colleague Karl Sigman. Karl and his son Jason came over for a visit and Jason let it be known that he wanted to get Beats headphones for a birthday present, because ‘they are cool’. Peer pressure was a powerful motivator for the soon to be 12 year old.
Creating a one off, great speaker is difficult. Creating a range, a family of great speakers is harder still. The basics of fine speaker design has to be there, of course, but an eye and especially an ear to tune a ‘house’ sound within boxes various takes great skill.
In the world of audio, there are many types of audiophiles who hold widely varying opinions as to which format will provide the best sound. Tubes, transistors, digital or analogue are but a few areas of debate. I do not intend to take up any of those controversies here. For my purposes, there are basically two types of audiophiles, those who are fortunate enough to have dedicated sound rooms and, those who do not.
I first discovered the Bergmann Audio turntables during an event at a local dealer. Before I heard a note, I fell in love with the look of these Danish Bauhaus beauties. All straight lines, simple design and an air bearing, tangential tracking arm that looked as elegant as the turntable to which it was attached. Since many air bearing arms and tangential trackers have been a nuisance to setup and maintain, having two difficult technologies in one arm and looking awfully easy to use, I was doubly intrigued.
PS Audio recently released (March 2014) a new DAC to replace their already top-notch, high-end PerfectWave DAC (PWD), which I reviewed about a year ago, with a follow up review using it with the PerfectWave Bridge which enables using an ethernet cable to stream the digital files from computer to DAC instead of USB. The PWD, using ethernet, has become my reference DAC ever since. So, when I heard about this new one, I licked my chops at a chance to try it out on my system and review it.
Good things are supposed to come in threes, but sometimes, one or two of the three decide not to play nicely. This is especially true with unruly members of a ‘family’ of loudspeakers. Most speaker manufacturers, if well funded and have a good designer, will attempt to produce a line or family of speakers. The most vested among them will produce several families, at various price points. This makes good financial sense but is far more difficult than you would imagine, especially the ‘baby step’ from monitor to floor stander.
