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The 2015 RMAF: Postscript

After I thought I had finished posting our coverage of the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, I realized I still had a number of photos taken by Herb Reichert for which we had no accompanying text. So here are some brief notes from Herb to accompany those pictures.—John Atkinson

There was a strong buzz in the Marriott halls about the sound of Ryan's four-way (made in California) Tempus III loudspeakers ($15,995/pair, above). They played Sara Bareilles singing "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" while I scribbled "grainless, super-microdynamics, high detail, and piano sound A+++++."

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Burning Amp Rekindles Next Saturday

Burning Amp is back. Perhaps the world's largest DIY festival—only the European Triode Festival begins to rival it in size—the mostly annual festival returns to the San Francisco Bay Area on Saturday, October 17, after a year's break to regroup and scout out a new venue. Now ensconced in a far more comfy 16+ room office venue in the South Bay—Interana Headquarters at 305 Walnut Street in Redwood City—Burning Amp promises at least 15 DIY systems plus an exciting group of presentations.

"One of the most important parts of the show is that you can talk audio with old friends and finally meet…

Mytek to Support MQA

Exciting news greeted the posse of press who headed to the Marriott Denver Tech Center's Atrium Saturday October 3 for a press conference entitled "MQA and Mytek Present: From Studio to Home." Both Bob Stuart of MQA, Ltd. (above right) and Michal Jurewicz of Mytek Digital (above center) were present, as well as Pål Bråtelund, Strategic Partnership Manager for Tidal (above left), and, for MQA partner AudioQuest, AQ VP Steve Silberman.

Thanks to a lovely-sounding assemblage of components—Vandersteen's Model Seven loudspeakers, Boulder 1060 stereo amplifier, and AudioQuest cabling—we were…

Perfection: Here at Last?

Long-time Stereophile readers May be dismayed by what appears to be our unfettered satisfaction with some of the recent crop of new components. Aren't we, after all, dedicated to the pursuit of perfection? Do we really feel that some products are all that close to it? The answer to both questions is "Yes."

Certain components we have tested recently—the Sony PCM-1, the Berning TF-10 preamplifier, the Infinity HCA amplifier, the Shure V15-IV phono cartridge and its companion SME 3009 Series III tonearm—are good enough that further performance improvement to them can result only in sonic…

Special Event in Maryland, Saturday

Maryland retailer JS Audio (4919 St. Elmo Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20814) is having an open house this coming Saturday (October 17, 2–9pm). Special guests will be John Quick, Director of Sales North America for dCS, who will be introducing the new Rossini DAC and disc player; Dave Gordon, National Sales Manager for Audio Research; Michael Taylor, VP Sales North America for Nordost; and Michael Latvis, Chief Engineer for Harmonic Resolution Systems.

Space is limited, so if you wish to attend this in-store event, please RSVP by calling (301) 656-7020 or by emailing jsaudio@jsaudio.com…

Dave Douglas, <I>Brazen Heart</I>

Trumpeter-composer Dave Douglas seems to release an album every few months (it helps that he has his own label, Greenleaf Music), and his latest, Brazen Heart, ranks among his best in several years.

The album is dedicated to his older brother, Damon, who recently died of cancer; and among its 11 tracks are two of the most beautiful hymns in the book, "Deep River" and "A Balm in Gilead," both played with passion, grace, and horn harmonies reminiscent of "Abide with Me" on Monk's Music. (When Douglas' mother died a few years ago, he recorded an entire album of hymns, Be Still, including…

Gary Clark Jr.: Up From The Blues

Playing the blues gets old fast. Since this most fundamental American popular music, stopped being the African-American party music of choice, and became a traditional music, celebrated as the precursor of rock'n'roll, blues players face a stark choice: change, or be content with playing small clubs and bars.

Perhaps the best example is Robert Cray, whose moment in the sun was in 1986, when his album Strong Persuader was released, and who, ever since, has been stymied in his search for new momentum in a new direction. A more recent example, from Austin, TX, is Black Joe Lewis. Once…

The Fifth Element #93

A mastering engineer's job is both to act as the final quality control before a recording goes out for manufacturing and, just as important, to apply to that recording the requisite technical finishing touches. Over the course of his career to date, mastering engineer Robert C. Ludwig has racked up more than 7500 album credits.

Bob Ludwig's recent projects have won eight Grammys in the last three years: in 2013, Album of the Year, for Mumford & Sons' Babel; in 2014, Album of the Year and Best-Engineered Album–Non-Classical, for Daft Punk's Random Access Memories; also in 2014, Record…

Gramophone Dreams #6

I used to get invited to these highly secret audio soirées, held in a basement workshop at the end of a dark, garbage-filled alley in Manhattan's Chinatown. There was no street address—only a wire-glass window in a metal door—and if you didn't know the password (ie, if you weren't carrying some type of audio amplification), you weren't allowed to enter. That said, sometimes nonmembers were allowed to attend, but only when a member needed help carrying monoblocks: There was no parking nearby.

Inside, the air was white with cigarette smoke. Green tea and sake were served in clear plastic…

Gramophone Dreams #6 Page 2

Compared to the Schiit Mani's yin, the Blue Horizon Profono's sound was conspicuously yang: bright, practical, masculine. Switching from the Schiit to the Blue Horizon was like traveling from 17th-century Baroque Holland to 18th-century Enlightenment England: In contrast to the Mani's romantic leanings, the Profono presented music with neoclassical precision. There were no shadows at the edges of the soundstage, and images within the soundstage were drawn with a sharp-nibbed pen. Unfortunately, the Profono made the Denon DL-103 and Jasmine Turtle MCs sound a bit more "moving-coil" than I…