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Why Apple Acquiring Tidal Could Be Exactly What The World Needs

Jana Dagdagan Jul 02, 2016

Apple is reportedly in exploratory talks to acquire Tidal. Though it's possible that nothing could come of this, and much of the online chatter surrounding this news is processed, regurgitated press releaseI'd like to contribute to the speculation by sharing my thoughts: I think it's exactly what the world needs. It would be an intelligent move on Apple's part that would simultaneously benefit listeners, musiciansand of course, boost the high-end audio industry.

Headphone Reviews InnerFidelity

The E-Mu Walnut: A Creative Aurvana Live! Woodied-Up

Tyll Hertsens Jul 02, 2016

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Originating with the Foster OEM design (model 443741, page H-4 of this .pdf) and seeing the light of day first as the Denon AD-H1001, then the Creative Aurvana Live! (CAL!), this model has now been refreshed as the E-Mu Walnut. This is a lovely example of a companyin this case Creative Technologies in the form of its subsidiary company E-Mu Systemsrecognizing they have a solid-performer on their hands, and incrementally improving it. I wish I saw this more often.

News

Primephonic's Hi-Rez Classical Downloads

Jason Victor Serinus Jul 01, 2016

Primephonic, a Netherlands-based site that prides itself on its superior classical music metadata, has launched in the United States. Currently devoted to hi-rez classical downloads in WAV (stereo), FLAC (stereo/surround), and DSD (stereo/surround), Primephonic also intends to launch the beta version of its high-quality streaming service later this year.

Music in the Round

Music in the Round #79

Kalman Rubinson Jun 30, 2016

The SOtM sMS-1000SQ Windows Edition with AudiophileOptimizer and Roon: Not only does that very long name require finger-twisting shifts between upper and lower case, it really doesn't tell you what the sMS-1000SQ WE is.

Korean manufacturer SOtM, Inc. describes it on their website as a "music server based on Windows Server OS besides the original Linux [Vortexbox] OS based sMS-1000SQ." I'd describe it as a Windows-based PC that's designed and optimized to manage a database of music files and stream the music to local or networked DACs, and that supports multiple options for file management, playback, and target devices. (Hmmm: that's not much better, is it?)

Art Dudley Listening

Listening #163

Art Dudley Jun 30, 2016

One
Everything makes a difference. Everything. File that away.

Two
There are two kinds of good sound: good sound sound and good music sound. While I could describe the distinction in few words or many, it's easier to point to two recordings of Elgar's oratorio The Dream of Gerontius: by Sir Adrian Boult and the New Philharmonia Orchestra, with tenor Nicolai Gedda singing the title role (2 LPs, EMI SLS 987); and by Malcolm Sargent and the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, with Heddle Nash in the lead (2 LPs, EMI RLS 709).

Historical Reference

PDM, PWM, Delta-Sigma, 1-Bit DACs

Peter van Willenswaard, John Atkinson, Peter W. Mitchell Jun 28, 2016

Editor's Note: One-bit DAC chips in the 21st century, where the analog output signal is reconstructed from a very high-rate stream of pulses, are ubiquitous. But a quarter-century ago, those chips were only just beginning to stream from the chip foundries. In this feature, we aggregate Stereophile's 1989 coverage of the then-new technology, starting with Peter van Willenswaard on the basics.John Atkinson.

1989 may well become the year of the D/A converter (DAC). CD-player manufacturers have, almost without exception, launched research projects focusing on this problem area of digital audio; many of these projects are already a year old. This is, however, by no means the only imperfection keeping us away from the high-quality sound we have come to suspect is possible with digital audio media, and maybe not even the most important.

As We See It J. Gordon Holt

A Dolby In the House

J. Gordon Holt Jun 28, 2016

By the time you read this, in the fall of 1967, the "Dolby system" will probably be old hat to you. Every other audio publication has been describing it, discussing it, and hailing it as the greatest invention since sex.

We've seen that kind of press ballyhoo before, about such significant advances as the Edsel, the 16-rpm LP and the "thin-profile" loudspeaker, so our first inclination was to be a wee bit skeptical of the Dolby. It seemed too good to be true.

Interviews Jana Dagdagan

Do We Need A High-End Audio Industry Association?

Jana Dagdagan Jun 27, 2016

As I was scanning the comments under Jason Victor Serinus's insightful piece, "What If They Gave a CES and Nobody Came?", Bill Leebens's words caught my eye. Being the (relatively) new audiophile on the block with high hopes to entice the masses, the concept of forming a trade body to promote high-end audio was immediately appealing to me. Dying to know more, I decided to stalk Bill and get to the bottom of this.

Integrated Amp Reviews

Unison Research Unico Primo integrated amplifier

Ken Micallef Jun 23, 2016

In 1999, I visited a friend, professor of Italian history Bill Adams, at his castle lair in the mountain village of Panzano, in Chianti, Italy. The 10th-century Castello di Panzano towers over the lush Tuscan hills, offering stupendous views. Each morning we'd walk down the mountain to the town below, where squat old men drank espresso and watched soccer at the all-in-one café/general store/post office. We toured the Roman ruins at Volterra and San Gimignano, gorged ourselves on pasta, and admired the fashionable young women.

Audacious Audio Cable Reviews

Nordost Valhalla 2 Reference cables

Brian Damkroger Jun 23, 2016

It would be an understatement to say that in 2001, when Nordost introduced their original Valhalla cables, they were a revelation for me. Their focus and resolution of detail were like nothing I'd ever heard, and revealed in recorded performances a startling energy and realism. Throw in their seemingly absolute transparency, and similarly unique levels of spatial and temporal precision, and the Valhallas established a new standard of sound quality in audio cables. Although their tonal balance was cool, as I reported in my first review of them in the November 2001 issue, they were the only game in town in terms of reproducing the feel of a live performance. I immediately adopted them as a reference cable, and they remain a reference for me today.