Jon Iverson

Graham Nash's First Stop: Philip O'Hanlon's On a Higher Note Suite at the Mirage
CES 2016Graham Nash CES 2016
Jon Iverson  |  Jan 11, 2016  |  10 comments
After a quick mid-morning breakfast with Graham Nash that included AudioStream.com's Michael Lavorgna, we headed up to the top floor of the Mirage hotel to start our day at Philip O'Hanlon's On a Higher Note suite.

Before we walked into the room, Nash gave me a serious look and explained "What I'm looking for is that the intent of my message, the impact of the song, is communicated intact. This is the first time I've heard these songs outside of the studio, so this should be very interesting. I'm looking forward to this."

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How We Listened to Graham Nash's This Path Tonight At CES 2016
CES 2016Graham Nash CES 2016
Jon Iverson  |  Jan 11, 2016  |  4 comments
Before starting in on the room reports, here is a little background on how we set things up.

We wanted the best possible sound, so I asked the record label, Blue Castle (formed by Graham Nash and David Crosby), if I could have an HD copy of Nash's new album This Path Tonight straight from the mastering studio. The album was mastered in 24/96 PCM by Bob Ludwig, and the label agreed to supply the first digital copy to be played in the wild on the condition that it never leave Graham's laptop where they would place it themselves. I agreed.

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Merging Technologies NADAC (Network Attached DAC)
CES 2016
Jon Iverson  |  Jan 11, 2016  |  1 comments
Merging has been long respected in the pro recording industry with mastering engineers such as Bruce Brown using the company's Horus network audio converters in his studio. They have also been instrumental with DSD recording technology, so not surprising when I saw the new NADAC in Philip O'Hanlon's On a Higher Note suite at the very top of the Mirage hotel, Philip being a big DSD proponent himself.
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Cary Audio AiOS Network Player/Streamer/DAC/Pre/Integrated
CES 2016
Jon Iverson  |  Jan 11, 2016  |  0 comments
You have to wonder what gets into some of these otherwise normal audio companies like Cary. Did they just hire a twenty-something in the design department? Did the VP have an acid trip one weekend?
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Graham Nash Tries Out The Audeze EL-8 Headphones and Chord Mojo
CES 2016Graham Nash CES 2016
Jon Iverson  |  Jan 09, 2016  |  5 comments
We'll be detailing all of the rooms that Graham Nash visited at CES in the next week, but before we get started, here's a small detour that took place about halfway through the day.
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T+A Updates DAC 8 With DSD and More
CES 2016
Jon Iverson  |  Jan 08, 2016  |  0 comments
Germany's T+A introduced the DAC 8 analog to digital converter and preamp a couple years back as a compact and sportier version of its pricier siblings. New this year is the addition of a dedicated DSD processing section, new upgraded volume control and headphone amplifier.
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AudioQuest Bugs Out With New Dragonfly Black, Dragonfly Red, and Beetle DACs
CES 2016
Jon Iverson  |  Jan 07, 2016  |  4 comments
Kicking off CES early, AudioQuest held a press conference Wednesday morning to present their three new portable DAC/Headphone amps to the public for the first time. Designer Gordon Rankin and AudioQuest's Steve Silberman were on hand to explain the new products and run a brief demo.
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Stereophile and Graham Nash at CES 2016
CES 2016Graham Nash CES 2016
Jon Iverson  |  Jan 04, 2016  |  16 comments
The premise is simple: how would a seasoned musician react to the sound of their new album on a variety of audiophile systems at CES?

I tossed the idea to Graham Nash, and he agreed to participate in the experiment, more than a little curious about this thing called high-end audio. Graham is always full of energy and very articulate, so should provide some very interesting perspective for Stereophile readers.

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Apogee Electronics Groove D/A headphone amplifier
Budget Component ReviewsDigital Processor ReviewsHeadphone Reviews
Jon Iverson  |  Dec 22, 2015  |  0 comments
Apogee Electronics Corp. has been in business for 30 years, and I've always thought of them as one of the pro-audio companies responsible for moving digital in the right direction. They've made their mark in recording studios around the planet with digital-audio interfaces and master clocks that have long been considered some of the most technically and sonically advanced, and that were probably used in a high percentage of the recordings in your collection. So when I saw Apogee pop up at the consumer end of the market with a technically unique product, budget-priced at $295, it got my attention.
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Chord Electronics Hugo TT D/A headphone amplifier
Digital Processor Reviews
Jon Iverson  |  Oct 21, 2015  |  4 comments
The British company Chord Electronics has always seemed to me to be audio's crazy uncle: Crazy like a fox, maybe, but definitely marching to their own tune. Their casework design often borders on the gratuitously provocative, challenging audiophiles' ideas about good taste. Yet many of my audio pals swear by the sound of Chord components, and I've heard them shine in many respectable showrooms.
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