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Then the Who arrived! This incredible band, the Who, and also the Small Faces. The neat thing was that the first tour Yes ever did, at the end of 1968, was with the Who, Rod Stewart and the Small Faces, Joe Cocker and the Grease Band, and the Crazy World of Arthur Brown. The music was pouring out every which way, and the best thing about that tour was Pete Townshend actually speaking to me. Pete Townshend! He said "I really like your band. I'm working on a new idea for an album about a deaf dumb and blind kid." And all I'm thinking is, Pete Townshend is talking to me! And of course, Tommy…
All that spurred us on to produce Fragile, 'cause we were listening to all this music. We decided we needed help on the keyboards, because Tony Kaye was great at rock and roll, blues, and R&B, but we wanted a broader influence. And so we got Rick Wakeman with his classical background, and the chords became more open—we had never even tried these chords before! Rick and Steve Howe could now open it all up, and the album was big in America, with "Roundabout."
Strangest thing happened—we were on a tour of America with Fragile, and we were doing a lot of universities, and they…
A DAC/preamp/headphone amp from Class A of Stereophile's list of Recommended Components, updated with streaming and network-server capabilities—and it still sells for less than $3000? If you believe that, I have a bridge I'd like to sell you. (Har, har!)
Most Americans have heard that line before, but many may not know the story behind it—I didn't. George C. Parker, a real American person born in 1860, is famous for perpetrating audacious frauds, specifically sales of property he did not own and could not possibly have owned. He is reported to have sold the Statue of Liberty, Grant's…
ConversDigital utilizes a set of networking protocols called UPnP, or Universal Plug and Play, and publishes a family of UPnP apps for iPhone and Android—the mConnect apps mentioned above. The apps interact with the hardware to let you stream Tidal, Qobuz, and other services direct from the Internet.
I pulled out my iPad, opened the App Store, searched on mConnect, and got several relevant results. I downloaded a free app, mConnect Control. There are also several versions of mConnect Player: a free, "Lite" version; a portrait-format version intended for iPhones; and a landscape-format "…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Streaming digital-to-analog converter with network-server capabilities, with analog preamplifier, headphone amplifier, and MM/MC phono stage. Digital inputs: Wireless, Ethernet, 2 S/PDIF (RCA), S/PDIF (TosLink), S/PDIF- DSD (2-channel pair), USB2 Type B (high-resolution audio), USB-A (for attaching storage). Analog/phono inputs: 1 pair single-ended (RCA). Analog outputs: 1 pair balanced (XLR), 1 pair single-ended (RCA). Headphone outputs: 1 ¼" stereo (2), 6W, convertible to 1 pair balanced. Formats/ sample rates supported: PCM to 32-bit/44.1, 48, 88…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Analog sources: Thorens TD 124 turntable (reconditioned by Schopper AG), Thomas Schick 12" tonearm; Ortofon Xpression cartridge.
Digital sources: Intel NUC computer with SSD drive running Roon Optimized Core Kit; Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T CD Transport; PS Audio DirectStream DAC.
Preamplification: Auditorium 23 Standard step-up transformer, EAR 834P phono stage, Pass Labs XP-22 preamplifier.
Power amplifiers: Pass Labs XA60.8, PS Audio BHK Signature 300 (all monoblocks).
Loudspeakers: Revel Ultima2 Salon2.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Carbon…
Saturday September 14th from 6 pm–10 pm, Excel Audio in Newport Beach, California, will be hosting its second annual Customer Appreciation night. In attendance will be representatives from Wilson Audio, D’Agostino, Luxman, Clearaudio, and Impex Records. The featured system will be the Wilson Audio Alexxes with Master Subsonic Subs driven by D’Agostino electronics with vinyl played on a Clearaudio Master innovation turntable. Food, Raffle, Vinyl specials. All are welcome. For info, contact Mike Rose (949)933–1599, mrose@excelaudio.us.
On Thursday, August 29 from 6pm to 9pm, Joseph Cali will celebrate the opening of his dedicated Gryphon Audio Designs showroom located within Audio Video Interiors M66 at 8687 Melrose Avenue, Studio 66, West Hollywood, CA 90069. The showroom offers active displays of an end-to-end Gryphon system, alongside a contemporary screening room, a Delta Lighting showroom, an art gallery, and other attractions. Appointments can be made by email (jcali@jcsdinc.com) or by calling Joseph Cali at (310)597-0142.
There is necessity as well as comfort in having a long-term reference recordings and, system. The necessity derives from the familiarity with the reference that allows for comparisons and contrasts with the equipment being tested. The comfort that comes from the familiarity lets me relax and enjoy recreational music, relieved from the need to focus my attention intently on the sound. I do relish getting my hands on lots of interesting audio equipment and getting to play it in my own home, but it's like a two-month one-night stand: The new stuff usually goes back even if I am impressed. I don…
Unpacking and setting up the Studios was a repetition of my experience from a decade ago; the F206s were easier because of their smaller size and weight. The Studio2s sit with their front panel 4' from the front wall of my room, the left- and right-channel speakers about 2.5' from their respective sidewalls. They are about 12' from my seat. The two F206s are each about 7' from my ears. I do almost all my listening from file playback using JRiver Media Center, an Audio Research MP1 preamp, and an exaSound e38 D/A processor, and I can set both level and timing compensation in JRMC. So far, I…