LATEST ADDITIONS

News
AXPONA: Moving On from Here
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 11, 2020  |  6 comments
On May 5, Joel Davis, founder and CEO of JD Events (JDE), the company that mounts the annual AXPONA—Audio Expo North America—proposed a “rollover plan” settlement for companies that had committed funds to the canceled 2020 show, which had been scheduled for April, postponed until August, and then, finally, canceled. The plan attempts to “right the ship in the midst of this pandemic storm” and to demonstrate the company's “long-term commitment” to continuing to serve the audio industry. Many exhibitors were unhappy that, in canceling the show, did not offer refunds of funds already committed to the show by exhibitors and sponsors.
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Music and Recording Features
Jim Campilongo: Telecaster Master & Audio Enthusiast
Ken Micallef  |  May 08, 2020  |  10 comments
In a 2014 profile in the New Yorker, Paul Elie, author of the book Reinventing Bach, wrote, "There it was again: the stinging treble, the spooky overtones, the strings snapping and booming under his hands—the sound of a Tele being played as skillfully and exuberantly as it can be played."

The musician in question was Jim Campilongo . . .

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Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Vortex Screen loudspeaker
Robert Harley  |  May 07, 2020  |  First Published: Jul 01, 1989  |  5 comments
One of the joys of reviewing audio reproduction equipment is discovering a little-known product that provides an extraordinary level of performance and musical satisfaction at an affordable price. These components, sometimes made in a garage, reflect the designer's single-minded zeal for musical accuracy, not the sometime corporate mentality of meeting a price point or catering to the latest fad.
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Solid State Power Amp Reviews
Classé Audio DR-3 power amplifier
Larry Greenhill  |  May 06, 2020  |  First Published: Dec 01, 1985  |  13 comments
Classé Audio's DR-3 once again brings to the fore the issues of class-A vs class-AB, weighty vs small and efficient, and brute-force expensive vs clever and inexpensive.

A well-worn, if unproven, audiophile rule of thumb says that a small, quick amplifier will sound better than a very powerful one. Among low-powered amps, those that operate in "pure" class-A are thought to be sonically superior. Pure class-A means the amplifier must run a constant high bias (more than one ampere), so the output devices never turn off.

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News
Streaming Salvation for the Sequestered--UPDATED 5/5!
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 05, 2020  |  First Published: Mar 25, 2020  |  58 comments
Specific Live Streams (Scroll down for ongoing series):

  • Thursday, May 7 10pm EDT: The Noe Music Listening Club features composer Jake Heggie discussing and performing his music and that of his music heroes. Sign up here.

  • The Metropolitan Opera streams live performances for 25 hours. This week’s schedule is:

    May 6 Saariaho’s L’Amour de Loin
    May 7 Strauss’s Capriccio
    May 8 Puccini’s La Bohème
    May 9 The Opera House
    May 10 Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana / Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci.

    • More...

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News
AXPONA Canceled; No Refunds for Exhibitors - UPDATED
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 05, 2020  |  First Published: Apr 30, 2020  |  60 comments
Editor's note: On May 5 around 2:40pm, JD Events sent a letter to 2020 AXPONA exhibitors and sponsors outlining a plan to apply 100% of 2020 exhibitor payments to future shows, with 50% credited to the 2021 show and 25% to each of the two subsequent shows.

See below for the original story published 30 April.

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Phono Cartridge Reviews
Shure V15 V-MR phono cartridge
Sam Tellig, Anthony H. Cordesman, Michael Fremer  |  May 05, 2020  |  First Published: Sep 01, 1984  |  14 comments
I was all set to give up on moving magnets until the new Shure VI5-VMR (MR stands for Micro-Ridge stylus) arrived. In a word, it's terrific. I was slightly disappointed with the original V15-V: I just didn't think it was a significant improvement over the Type IV. What I missed was fine detail—especially in the high frequencies and during heavily modulated passages. The original V was not quite up to the sound of certain moving coils. Which is not to say the original V was a bad buy: moving coils cost twice the price and you need a stepup. I could recommend the original V without hesitation.
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Media Server Reviews
Wolf Audio Systems Alpha 3 SX music server
Jason Victor Serinus  |  May 01, 2020  |  93 comments
I am a Sharpener. I can acknowledge being a Sharpener—someone who, as explained by Stereophile reviewer/psychology professor Robert Deutsch in our March 2009 issue, tends to look for and exaggerate differences—without feeling a need to enter a 12-step program or confess to a crime. That's because there's nothing wrong with being a Sharpener.
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Revinylization
Revinylization #5: Craft Recordings & Charlie Parker's Savoy LPs
Art Dudley  |  Apr 30, 2020  |  18 comments
I was well over 50 when I first heard an original copy of Charlie Parker's "Ko-Ko." It was a happy accident. I received a call from the family of a well-to-do neighbor who had recently passed away, asking if I'd be interested in having his record collection. Three minutes later, I was parked near the servants' entrance of their centuries-old brick mansion—how quickly we forget our proletariat resentment when there's vinyl to be had—loading a few cartons of LPs and 78s into my car.
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Gramophone DreamsIntegrated Amp Reviews
Gramophone Dreams #36: Linear Tube Audio Z10e integrated amplifier
Herb Reichert  |  Apr 29, 2020  |  7 comments
I hope you can tell how grateful I am to be writing a column every month. A column makes me feel like a reporter or raconteur, both of which I aspire to become. In a column, I can be more me. I can evolve, think out loud, and speculate, right in front of you. I can pass on crazy stories from a lifetime of audio. When I write about products in a Dream, I try not to form it as a review, per se, but rather as an informal chronicle of discovery.
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