Digital
End Of Line
Well, folks, the decision is made. I’m heading out on Monday to get a new MacBook Pro to use as a dedicated music server. It’ll be a 13″ model, which should get me all the […]
Month: November 2010
Components
Joule-Electra VZN-100 MkIII Marquis OTL Monoblock Amplifiers
Be Afraid I am afraid of my amplifiers. I got the Marquis amps last month as part of my bulk shipment from Joule-Electra. In a fit of annoyance at the whole “system synergy thing”, I […]
Digital
M2Tech EVO: It’s Alive!
Ok, so maybe I’m just brain damaged (more probably, I’m just a masochist), but I seem to have figured out my system incompatibility (crossing my fingers here): Dr Bott. I have an external, high-powered, USB […]
Digital
M2Tech Woes
Perhaps it was too good to be true. Perhaps it was never meant to be. Perhaps [insert tired cliche here]. What we know at this point: The EVO has hit some turbulence. I was doing […]
Publishers Desk
Did Apple Kill The Hi-Fi?
Saw this article today: The Atlantic, “Old School Hi-Fi in Search of the New New Thing.” The author, Hal Espen, apparently went to the RMAF show this year and got an earful from the seminars […]
Digital
M2Tech EVO Preliminary
Got my EVO over the weekend and promptly put my foot through the ceiling. No, the two events weren’t related, well, not exactly. I started my day out with some honey-do’s. Crept into the crawlspace […]
Analog
Dr. Feickert Blackbird Turntable
Project Blackbird I should mention somewhere here that the Dr Feickert Blackbird I’m about to drool on is part of “my” Reference Rig, generously hosted at Command Performance A/V in Falls Church, VA. Jeff Fox, […]
Digital
The EVO has landed
Showed up this weekend, but due to circumstance which completely got away from my control, I haven’t been able to do much with it. Got it wired in, using the wall-wart power supply, a loaner […]
Analog
Turntable 101
There are a lot of industry folks current wringing hands and gnashing teeth over the state of the audio marketplace. The only new customers are old. Apple’s iPod & iTunes are killing the hifi. Kids […]
Loudspeakers
Joseph Audio Pulsar Loudspeakers [updated]
Mini-Pearl! I just spent yet another day with Joseph Audio’s “Mini-Pearl” (thank you, Steven Stone), the Pulsar. Another very satisfying day. If you haven’t seen Stone’s review of the Pulsar, I recommend it. Being a […]
Analog
A new cartridge on the horizon
If I were Croesus, I would certainly still have problems. But one of the problems I wouldn’t have is prioritizing upgrades. This annoying/handy little exercise has led me to believe that the first analog upgrade […]
Digital
A Digital Savior?
As I might have mentioned, I have a not-quite decrepit 2003 Apple Power Mac G5. It’s a big, aluminum beast. I’ve got the OS running off a small 30GB SSD drive and everything of interest […]
Publishers Desk
Analog
Going vinyl
When I was a kid, my big brother used to sell me his LPs. Not so much that I could have them and keep them — he’d do that, of course, as he had the […]
Digital
USB to S/PDIF: Trouble in Paradise
My reference DAC is an Alpha from Berkeley Audio Designs. This is a great DAC, but I have a problem: my “transport” is a computer, not a CD player. So, I need some way to […]
Cables & Power
Thoughts about The Cable Hypothesis
I’ve been using a full Blue Jeans Cable “loom” now for the last seven months. During that time, I have not once wanted for a “better cable” — in fact, I went and bought more […]
Loudspeakers
Joseph Audio Pearl 2 Loudspeakers
My New Reference Let me apologize in advance. This review is unapologetically enthusiastic and may be laced with an absurd amount of superlatives. I tried to tone it down, but I can’t really seem to […]