JA uses a different mic, set at a much closer proximity to the drive-unit, to capture the side-firing woofer’s nearfield response. For a larger view, visit our Gallery.
Clearly, more and more peopleyoung and old, male and femaleare choosing to enjoy their favorite music on vinyl, a decidedly old-fashioned format. Every time I walk into a record store, I see more vinyl. And more people. The new record bins are growing, the used record bins are growing, LPs are taking up space previously occupied by CDs, and people are shopping enthusiastically, getting in between me and all that precious vinyl. But why?
For many, the current hot topic in the world of high-end audio is Direct-Stream Digital (DSD), a method, developed by Sony and Philips, of digitally encoding an analog signal. The irony is that DSD is nothing new. The basis of the technology dates to 1946. Stereophile described it in “Industry Update,” as early as Vol.19 Nos.1 and 5, and again in Vol.20 No.9. And, almost exactly 14 years ago, in November 1999, John Atkinson went into greater detail, contrasting DSD with the more common Pulse-Code-Modulated (PCM) encoding used on CD:
It's not all-audio all-the-time in the Stereophile forums. Every once in awhile, a fellow likes to turn down the stereo and reach for The Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones, The Economist, Sports Illustrated, King, whatever.
I don’t really know what to say about this, so I’ll just quote the press release:
The role of an High End amplifier is to reproduce the music, all the music.
Amateur of beautiful often unique parts, GoldAmp is the Only One. An exceptional musical know-how. Celebrate interpreter who knows how to be forgot. A magnificent story which can be told by moments of complicity in the emotion. Reunion with classicals works henceforth dear to our hearts.
As CES approaches, the e-mails and phone calls pour in. Though the temperature here in New York City remains in the mid-fifties, we're snowed under by invites to dinners, demos, and other assorted press events. We mark our calendars, make reservations, create itineraries. As it continues, I wish that all the talk and preparation would come to a sudden end. I wish we were there already, in Vegas, listening to music.
The subject of the e-mail was “boobsheadphones.” Inside, a simple question (“Can you tell me if these are real?”) was followed by a link to an interesting YouTube video.
A couple of nights ago, I got this big idea that I'd go shopping for some picture disc vinyl to go along with the component we'll be featuring on our July cover. (Hint: It's not a speaker.) You know, I was thinking it'd be no problem to find Jimi Hendrix all lit up in a purple haze or, better yet, some new indie band dressed in skinny jeans and moccasins being chased by a puma, or something. But I discovered that new picture disc vinyl isn't all that easy to come by. Surprisingly, I found that today's picture discs come from three main sources: