The majority of the rooms I visited were playing vinyl or tape per my assignment. That little fact may have added to my belief that RMAF 2013 had the best overall sound I’ve experienced at ...

Most readers of show reports tend to point out the rooms or equipment that a reviewer missed during the show, as if he should have covered them all. However, any seasoned audiophile/music lover who has ...

Since its founding as the Electrical Phono Film Company in 1918, Ortofon (whose name is derived from the Greek words for “correct sound”) has gained a reputation for its innovations, product development prowess, and precision ...

The wonderful New Yorker cartoonist Michael Maslin frequently draws amusing tableaux picturing human evolution from fish to man. One favorite ends with a strutting Groucho Marx brandishing a large cigar. Another shows a startled restaurant ...

I’ve never forgotten the sonic appeal of the Clearaudio Maestro Wood cartridge, which I reviewed back in 2008 (Issue 185). It appeared at a moment when I was still mourning the collapse of my final ...

Shure M97xE$89shure.com An entry-ticket to the world of analog sound, Shure’s M97xE moving-magnet cartridge offers generally neutral tonal balance with slight hints of roll-off at the frequency extremes, unflappable tracking, and an overall presentation that ...

In audio the word “neutral” can cover a multitude of virtues—or a multitude of sins. It all depends on who’s doing the talking—and the listening. Take the innovative, somewhat controversial, now- discontinued, $4500 Ortofon MC ...

When I played him Rapsodie espagnole from a test pressing of Chad Kassem’s soon-to-be-released (October 8), 200-gram Analogue Productions’ reissue of RCA LSC-2183 The Reiner Sound, my buddy and TAS Music Editor Mark Lehman, whose ...

Several decades ago before the high end acquired both its name and its status, moving-magnet pickups reigned supreme among audiophiles. They were relatively easy to build, neutral in tonal balance, flat in frequency response, low ...

New York, NY, March 20, 2013 – A dozen renowned experts will share their high performance audio expertise in clinics, seminars and panel discussions at the New York Audio Show, April 12 – 14, 2013 ...

For a vendor, an audio show is an expensive thing. There’s several thousand dollars they put out for the demo space, there’s the shipping and handling, the room and board, and the opportunity costs associated ...

I read too much, I think that’s fairly clear. Which might explain why, when a fire alarm goes off in a crowded hotel anywhere near Chicago, my first thought isn’t “grease fire over at Gibsons”. ...

Not since 1994, when the Summer CES stopped camping out yearly along Michigan Avenue and Lake Shore Drive, has the Windy City played annual host to a large high-end audio show. That situation will certainly ...

Like almost everybody else who grew up in the sixties, I can honestly say that rock ’n’ roll changed my life. In particular, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band changed my life. That girl doll ...

Last year’s CES brought us a slew of new turntables, many of them priced below $3000. Although there were some moderately priced turntables and cartridges introduced at this year’s show, CES 2013 was notable for ...