Part-Time Audiophile

Announcements

July 22, 2017 in Announcements // Lyn Stanley’s MOONLIGHT SESSIONS: VOLUME TWO Release Date 8/15
July 21, 2017 in Announcements // AudioQuest shipping Beetle Optical DAC with Asynchronous USB/Bluetooth
July 19, 2017 in Announcements // Rega launches all-new Planar 6 with Neo PSU, Ania moving-coil cartridge
July 14, 2017 in Announcements // Roon releases MQA Detection update
July 13, 2017 in Announcements // Devialet Air and Roon turn the stream into reality
July 10, 2017 in Announcements // Rotel introduces new integrated amplifier, preamplifier and CD player
July 6, 2017 in Announcements // McIntosh Announces new MA9000 Integrated Amplifier
June 30, 2017 in Announcements // VPI Industries $900 USD Cliffwood turntable with Grado cartridge shipping this summer
June 29, 2017 in Announcements // Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs shipping turntables, cartridges, phono stages
June 27, 2017 in Announcements // Noble Audio Wizard Birthday Sale Hits Wednesday for 45 Hours Only
June 22, 2017 in Announcements // Black Sabbath announce The Ten Year War: Limited Edition Vinyl Box Set with MQA high-res
June 14, 2017 in Announcements // Audio Research Announces its First Ever Trade Up! Program
June 9, 2017 in Announcements // New PS Audio Huron upgrade for DirectStream and DirectStream Jr DACs; MQA and Tidal coming soon
June 8, 2017 in Announcements // Canada: A unique land of high fidelity
June 6, 2017 in Announcements // Element Acoustics to host Limited-Seating Accuphase Demo Event in Vancouver June 24th
June 6, 2017 in Announcements // Wilson Audio raises the bar with Alexia Series-2 loudspeaker
June 3, 2017 in Announcements // KEF Announces TIDAL Integration for KEF LS50W
May 26, 2017 in Announcements // HiFi Centre steps in to fill void as Vancouver Audio Show pulled from Chester Group website
May 23, 2017 in Announcements // Breaking News: Manchester Bombing
May 18, 2017 in Announcements // High End 2017: Pass Labs’ New XP-12 Preamp and XP-17 Phono Stage

The Newest Thing

LAAS 2017: Rethm, Audio Hungary, Aqua create pleasing sound at attractive price

by John Stancavage in LAAS 2017

Looking at price tags at audio shows quickly can start your head spinning. Yes, this hobby is called the high-end, but really? That’s why I always enjoy finding rooms where the rig sounds great, but might not require a second mortgage. One of those systems at the Los Angeles Audio Show was put together by Springfield, Virginia-based distributor Well Pleased Audio Vida. It indeed was pleasing to add up all the equipment and get a total of around $20,000 USD. Granted, that’s still a very [...]

2 Comments

DVL Audio Album of the Month for July – Toshiko Akiyoshi Trio

July 16, 2017 // 3 Comments

This is the first in a monthly series of album reviews I will be doing for DVL Audio here in Canada. I’ll be heading out to a local record store in Vancouver, digging through the bins, and coming up with an intriguing LP to discuss here on Part-Time Audiophile. I’ll never go out with something in mind beforehand, and there is no criteria for whether it’s a new album, an old album, an out-of-print LP, electronic, classical, jazz, punk – whatever – it just has to sound good [...]
Review: Fostex TE100 IEM headphones

1 Comment
Music Review: Sara Lov, Some Kind Of Champion

0 Comments
First Listen: Wilson Audio Alexia Series-2 takes my breath away

2 Comments
Dr’s Orders: Push it to the limit

1 Comment

LAAS 2017: Rethm, Audio Hungary, Aqua create pleasing sound at attractive price

July 24, 2017 // 2 Comments

Looking at price tags at audio shows quickly can start your head spinning. Yes, this hobby is called the high-end, but really? That’s why I always enjoy finding rooms where the rig sounds great, but might not require a second mortgage. One of those systems at the Los Angeles Audio Show was put together by Springfield, Virginia-based distributor Well Pleased Audio Vida. It indeed was pleasing to add up all the equipment and get a total of around $20,000 USD. Granted, that’s still a very [...]
LA Audio Show 2017: Nola Gold 2s play music like ringing a bell

0 Comments
LA Audio Show 2017 Video: The High End Zone, Perfect8 Technologies, Ypsilon Electronics

0 Comments
LA Audio Show 2017: Nothing baffling about performance of Emerald Physics speakers

0 Comments
LA Audio Show 2017: Nordost’s new QKore devices help you stay grounded

0 Comments
LA Audio Show 2017: MoFi masters the art of audiophile pressings

0 Comments
LA Audio Show 2017: McIntosh in a World of its Own

0 Comments
LA Audio Show 2017: Gene Rubin, Harbeth 30.1 make music, magic

2 Comments
LA Audio Show 2017: German Physiks, Merrill, VPI create aural hologram

0 Comments

Turntable manufacturer sees sales surge 400% to keep up with vinyl numbers

March 31, 2017 // 6 Comments

If you’ve got a thing for vinyl, then you’ve got a thing for turntables too. Both are dependent upon the other, and as worldwide sales of LPs hit upwards of 3 million copies in 2016 according to several news outlets, turntable manufacturers saw demand for their products rise in kind. According to SEV Litovel – the manufacturer referred to as the largest producer of quality turntables in the world, and which provides Pro-Ject Audio with a number of models – the [...]
Review: Dynamic Sounds Associates Phono II

5 Comments
Five turntable mats: An audiophile shootout

23 Comments
Video: Mat Weisfeld of VPI launches new Prime turntable in walnut

6 Comments
Review: The Shibata Syndrome – Hana SL, a killer sub-$1,000 cartridge

5 Comments

High End 2017: MQA upgrade in under 5 minutes with the Audioquest Dragonfly

May 21, 2017 // 2 Comments

You can now upgrade your AudioQuest DragonFly Black and DragonFly Red to include support for MQA with a firmware update. We’ve upgraded a few of our Red Dragonfly’s over at Part-Time Audiophile today, and encourage you too as well. The process takes less then 5 minutes, and then you can enjoy a little MQA + Tidal Masters using the Tidal desktop application on your computer. Upgrade instructions: Install the AudioQuest Device Manager application. You can download it from here. It [...]
MQA update for AudioQuest Dragonfly Black and Red coming May 17 – new partnerships announced

3 Comments
Review: Clones Audio HOST Music Server

4 Comments
Review: BorderPatrol USB Digital to Analogue Converter (SE Version)

19 Comments
Review: Roon, Tidal and totaldac – Part Two – delving into Roon

0 Comments

First Listen: Wilson Audio Alexia Series-2 takes my breath away

July 2, 2017 // 2 Comments

David Wilson, founder of Wilson Audio and his son Daryl Wilson (current Wilson Audio CEO) have not stood still since that magic moment 5 years ago when the original Wilson Audio Alexia loudspeaker was born. Since the release of the original Alexia, Wilson has delivered the small but lethal Sabrina, the Yvette who pushed her sister Sophia out of bed, a big brother Alexx who can kick it like no other, and finally the breath-taking WAMM Master Chronosonic loudspeaker. For the past 5 years, I [...]
Review: Fritz Speakers Carrera 7 Be Loudspeakers

5 Comments
Review: Harbeth Super HL5 Plus loudspeaker

9 Comments
Review: ELAC Uni-Fi UF5 floor standing speakers

7 Comments
World of McIntosh: Listening to the Sonus Faber Serafino Tradition

2 Comments

Review: Fostex TE100 IEM headphones

July 15, 2017 // 1 Comment

IEMs? Where would we be without their high propensity for mobility and discreet listening sessions? It’s like a personal private eye, hired for some deep investigative work. In the case of the masses vs. Fostex TE100 ($1,200 USD) the undiscovered back story is a fairly rich one. Fostex is known for its OEM work as well as a myriad of partnerships over the years (you can check out some more of their history from our other review HERE), and one of the more recent meet ups came at a crossroads [...]
Review: Fostex TH-610, Massdrop TH-X00, and TH-X00 Ebony

3 Comments
Review: SPL Phonitor X headphone amplifier

7 Comments
Dr’s Orders: Study anatomy (hands on with the Metaxas Marquis Memento Mori headphone amp)

5 Comments
Review: Pass Labs HPA-1 headphone amplifier

3 Comments

Pass Labs launch new XA Series Class-A power amplifier

April 17, 2017 // 4 Comments

Pass Labs will be showing off their brand-new XA25 Power Amplifier at AXPONA this week, and announced today that the company has started shipping the Class-A amps which have an MSRP of $4,900 USD ($6,500 CAN). According to Nelson Pass, the brand new design embodies everything that traditional, and current designs feature, but with lower-power requirements, a more simple single-ended circuit with fewer parts, and gain stages in the signal path. This translates into lower voltages allowing for [...]
Hanging Out Down at the Pass: Pass Labs INT-60 Integrated Amplifier review

4 Comments
Review: Linear Tube Audio MicroZOTL2.0

7 Comments
Vinnie Rossi interview: The man behind LIO, PURE-DC-4EVR, and the iMod

4 Comments
Review: Audio Note Meishu Silver Signature integrated amplifier

12 Comments

PS Audio P10 Power Plant Regenerator: An impressive start

June 23, 2017 // 1 Comment

PS Audio very kindly provided me a P10 Power Plant Regenerator for review back in March, and after having the unit in my reference system for last few months, I have to say that I’m deeply impressed with it’s capabilities. I had been skeptical for some time back in my early audiophile-teen days about the difference cables, sockets, or AC-treatment could ultimately offer when it came to audible sonic benefits, but as the old saying goes: The proof is in the pudding. The more I [...]
Review: Triode Wire Labs is All American

3 Comments
AudioQuest and the holistic cabling approach to reference reviews

0 Comments
Review: Audioquest Niagara 7000, Elevating the Art of AC Power Conditioning

9 Comments
The Missing Link: the Stereolab Digit 75 SPDIF

8 Comments

DVL Audio Album of the Month for July – Toshiko Akiyoshi Trio

July 16, 2017 // 3 Comments

This is the first in a monthly series of album reviews I will be doing for DVL Audio here in Canada. I’ll be heading out to a local record store in Vancouver, digging through the bins, and coming up with an intriguing LP to discuss here on Part-Time Audiophile. I’ll never go out with something in mind beforehand, and there is no criteria for whether it’s a new album, an old album, an out-of-print LP, electronic, classical, jazz, punk – whatever – it just has to sound good [...]
Music Review: Sara Lov, Some Kind Of Champion

0 Comments
Review: Lyn Stanley’s Potions and Interludes on Analog Tape

0 Comments
Lyn Stanley Wants You to Get Closer — To Her Music

1 Comment
Lyn Stanley: The Audiophile’s Sultry Songbird

3 Comments

The Smoking Jacket: Pablo’s Boutique

July 23, 2017 // 0 Comments

By Marc Phillips As an agnostic progressive, I’ve learned to keep my own counsel when herfing with strangers or casual acquaintances. I don’t want to perpetuate any stereotypes about knuckle-dragging cigar smokers, but I also don’t want to get my butt kicked in the back alley of a cigar lounge for suggesting that La La Land and Moonlight are far superior to the latest Jack Reacher film. With my regular herfing buddies at Tismart Cigar Shop in Brewerton, New York, everyone knows where I [...]
Spirited Away: Basil Hayden’s, Four Roses Single Barrel, Michter’s US*1 Unblended American Whiskey

3 Comments
“Affordable high-end” — is that like “jumbo shrimp”?

11 Comments
Six books on record stores, collecting, and vinyl obsessions

4 Comments
The Smoking Jacket: The Ballad of El Gordo

0 Comments

Gold Note P-1000: Total control over your music

Gold Note P-1000: Total control over your music

Gold Note—the Italian High-End manufacturer based in Firenze—is introducing P-1000, the first line preamplifier they have ever made, available from September at a MSRP price of 5.850,00€/USD $6.520,00 (6.500,00€/USD $7,250.00 for the P-1000 with digital input and DAC available on demand). P-1000 is an innovative ultra-balanced Class-A preamplifier powered by a new proprietary Six Gain... Read More »

Unique Innovation Technology Perfect Music Purifier (PMP) Interconnect Series, World Premiere Review

Unique Innovation Technology Perfect Music Purifier (PMP) Interconnect Series, World Premiere Review

At the recent LA Audio Show packed with manufacturers—many known to me, but also many surprises—I noticed a table loaded with sharp-looking cables and manned by a gentleman I knew: Mitch Ko. His previous company, INEX, built the most fascinating and unusual cables on the planet: they were made of fiber optic cable and battery powered.... Read More »

Stein Music Power System, World Premier Review: Powerbar 10 Signature, Highline Power Powercord, Super Naturals Gold Feet

Stein Music Power System, World Premier Review: Powerbar 10 Signature, Highline Power Powercord, Super Naturals Gold Feet

The Stein Music Powerbar 10 Signature (US version) With a track record of doing the amazing and, occasionally, the impossible, Stein Music of Germany introduces a power distribution system that works effectively and elegantly in the most sophisticated systems. Holger Stein, Chief Engineer and CEO, is both an electrical engineer and physicist and has... Read More »

Playback Designs Integrated Single Chassis Sonic Masterpiece: The IPS-3

Playback Designs Integrated Single Chassis Sonic Masterpiece: The IPS-3

What? My first "hi fi" stereo box, in 1957, was an elegantly constructed Magnavox LP changer with a built-in amp-preamp feeding two inch mono speakers. All of this consumed a minimal internal and external footprint. The device sat on splayed legs to raise it to easy access. It made sound of some discernible sort resembling... Read More »

AES 2017 Berlin

AES 2017 Berlin

The Audio Engineering Shows in Europe are much smaller and more oriented toward papers than the trade show, which makes them a good opportunity to sit and talk with people actually doing real audio research. This year AES 2017 Berlin was no exception. The conference was held in a hotel on the former East German... Read More »

Audio-Technica Announces the ATH-DSR9BT Bluetooth Pure Digital Drive Headphones

Audio-Technica Announces the ATH-DSR9BT Bluetooth Pure Digital Drive Headphones

Audio-Technica Is Now Shipping Its Award Winning ATH-DSR9BT Pure Digital Drive Headphones with Bluetooth Wireless Technology Audio-Technica is now shipping its ATH-DSR9BT Wireless Headphones with Pure Digital Drive technology. Winner of a CES 2017 Innovation award, the ATH-DSR9BT is one of the first headphones with Bluetooth wireless technology to employ Audio-Technica's new Pure Digital Drive system, which keeps... Read More »

Simaudio Announces the MOON 600i V2 Integrated Amplifier

Simaudio Announces the MOON 600i V2 Integrated Amplifier

Now in version 2 guise, the new MOON 600i V2 Integrated Amplifier elevates the performance standard to an even higher level than its predecessor. Based on the 600i's award-winning reputation, the v2 pushes the envelope with an even more natural and musical sound that will challenge far more expensive products. Increased resolution allows you to hear... Read More »

The Far Corners: The 2017 Gibraltar Audio Show Report

April 1, 2017 // 4 Comments

By Modest I. Predlozheniye One of my favorite places to visit in all the world is Gibraltar since it is the intersection of so many different cultures. Where else can you [...]
The Far Corners: Getting Deep into the Groove with the Spoltaire Phono Cartridge

February 1, 2017 // 1 Comment

By Modest I. Predlozheniye “If you knew you could play your favorite album or the most valuable record in your collection and have it sound more beautiful than you have [...]
The Far Corners: The Skin Effect and Albania’s Organike Cables

September 20, 2016 // 2 Comments

By Modest I. Predlozheniye I love visiting the Albanian coast in early summer. From the alluring scent of tangerines and olive oil that permeates the islands of Ksamil to the [...]
Far Corners finds Hot Treasures: Svecheniye 12AX7 Vacuum Tubes

August 21, 2016 // 1 Comment

By Modest I. Predlozheniye It is easy to get caught up in the latest trends in audio, especially when you travel the world as I do. I see a lot of new technology applied to [...]

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