Part-Time Audiophile

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Revisited: PS Audio DirectStream DAC and Memory Player

by Part-Time Audiophile in Digital

by John Richardson OK folks, this one is an ongoing saga here in the world of Part-Time Audiophile. Like a boomerang (or certain Millennial offspring) the subject of this review just keeps coming back again and again. Why? Well that’s an easy one: it’s different each time! What would you say about a DAC that’s essentially future-proof? One that’s forever upgradeable in order to take advantage of future firmware developments in the digital realm? You’d like that, huh? Of course, it’s [...]

2 Comments

Revisited: PS Audio DirectStream DAC and Memory Player

August 20, 2017 // 2 Comments

by John Richardson OK folks, this one is an ongoing saga here in the world of Part-Time Audiophile. Like a boomerang (or certain Millennial offspring) the subject of this review just keeps coming back again and again. Why? Well that’s an easy one: it’s different each time! What would you say about a DAC that’s essentially future-proof? One that’s forever upgradeable in order to take advantage of future firmware developments in the digital realm? You’d like that, huh? Of course, it’s [...]
Review: DeVore Fidelity Gibbon X

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

5 Comments
Review: Fostex TE100 IEM headphones

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

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LA Audio Show 2017: Rafe’s wrap up on California

August 4, 2017 // 1 Comment

While this may have been the inaugural Los Angeles Audio Show, it had an air of familiarity about it that made for an easygoing experience. Everything seemed to run like a well-oiled machine, and the venue – the Sheraton Gateway Hotel – had plenty of space, and it’s forked-path hallway set-up (lamented by many, but not me) made it easy to take in a large number of rooms per floor without feeling like you were being squeezed out a tube of toothpaste like some long-hallway shows can. [...]
LA Audio Show 2017: Wrap-Up and John Stancavage’s Best of Show

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LA Audio Show 2017: Ryan, Auralic create vivid soundscapes

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LA Audio Show 2017: The Voice That Is launches a Tidal wave

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LA Audio Show 2017: Wyred 4 Sound, KEF offer attainable sonic bliss

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LA Audio Show 2017: Raidho D1.1 speakers create big sound from small box

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LA Audio Show 2017: ATC brings pro sound into your home

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

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LA Audio Show 2017: Nola Gold 2s play music like ringing a bell

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Review: McIntosh MP1100 Phono Preamplifier, digging into your vinyl grooves

July 30, 2017 // 11 Comments

When the McIntosh MP1100 phono preamplifier arrived at my doorstep, I was as excited as when I saw the first McIntosh product at 12 years old. I admit, I am a McIntosh fan boy, perhaps not blindly starry -eyed enough to buy the $1,800 USD McIntosh wall clock, but I have a long enough family history with McIntosh to prove my street cred. It all began with my grandfather who purchased a pair of MC-60s from a movie theatre and became one of the earliest McIntosh owners in Hong Kong. The post [...]
Turntable manufacturer sees sales surge 400% to keep up with vinyl numbers

6 Comments
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

Revisited: PS Audio DirectStream DAC and Memory Player

August 20, 2017 // 2 Comments

by John Richardson OK folks, this one is an ongoing saga here in the world of Part-Time Audiophile. Like a boomerang (or certain Millennial offspring) the subject of this review just keeps coming back again and again. Why? Well that’s an easy one: it’s different each time! What would you say about a DAC that’s essentially future-proof? One that’s forever upgradeable in order to take advantage of future firmware developments in the digital realm? You’d like that, huh? Of course, it’s [...]
High End 2017: MQA upgrade in under 5 minutes with the Audioquest Dragonfly

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MQA update for AudioQuest Dragonfly Black and Red coming May 17 – new partnerships announced

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Review: Clones Audio HOST Music Server

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

19 Comments

Review: DeVore Fidelity Gibbon X

August 19, 2017 // 16 Comments

The following is a transcript after a late night session down in the listening room, recently. Me. “That’s not quite right, is it?” Him. “No, it’s off. Listen – hear that? Sounds a bit thicker. The shimmer is missing.” Me. “Nah, it’s not missing. It’s just subdued. The decay disappears too soon.” Him. “Yeah, all right. I’ll buy that. Just like it wanders off for a bit, like it has somewhere else it needs to be.” [...]
Mini-Review: Zu Audio Dirty Weekend Omen Version II

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

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Review: Fritz Speakers Carrera 7 Be Loudspeakers

5 Comments
Review: Harbeth Super HL5 Plus loudspeaker

9 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

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Review: SPL Phonitor X headphone amplifier

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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

Review: Audio Research Reference Phono 3

August 6, 2017 // 4 Comments

By Richard Mak Closer to the master tape In the world of high end audio two of the most revered names in the industry are McIntosh and Audio Research. McIntosh, founded in 1949 by Frank McIntosh and Audio Research in 1970 by William (Bill) Johnson, represents two of the oldest U.S manufacturers still in operation. Their coveted and fiercely loyal customer base can only be matched by the loyalty of their employees, many of whom have been with the company for over 30 years Together, McIntosh and [...]
Pass Labs launch new XA Series Class-A power amplifier

4 Comments
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

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

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AudioQuest and the holistic cabling approach to reference reviews

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

9 Comments
The Missing Link: the Stereolab Digit 75 SPDIF

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DVL Audio Album of the Month for August – Julius Lester

August 13, 2017 // 0 Comments

This is the second 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 to me. [...]
DVL Audio Album of the Month for July – Toshiko Akiyoshi Trio

5 Comments
Music Review: Sara Lov, Some Kind Of Champion

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

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Lyn Stanley Wants You to Get Closer — To Her Music

1 Comment

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

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

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

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The Smoking Jacket: The Ballad of El Gordo

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