Recent content by The Absolute Sound

<p>“Paul, you need a kick-ass speaker,” an audiophile friend of mine told me a while ago. This fellow isn’t a headbanger, rather a serious listener and a producer of many recordings of classical music distinguished for both their musical and sonic qualities. Nor was he talking about loudness, as...

<p>“Wow!” is about the most restrained response to hearing these six take off on nine stringed-instrument excursions into melody and improvisational dialoge across a broad musical spectrum of bluegrass, gypsy jazz, jump blues, swing, even south-of-the-border bossa nova. The performances were...

<p>Close readers of TAS—and what other kind are there?— may recall that I recently contributed a sidebar to editor Robert Harley’s comprehensive review of the new dCS Vivaldi CD/SACD playback system. In it, I compared and contrasted the performance of the dCS Scarlatti, the company’s longtime...

<p>For longtime Robert Wyatt fans, an album recorded with a string quartet (led by British violinist Ros Stephen), acoustic bass, and miscellaneous reeds (played by UK jazzer Gilad Atzmon) should come as no surprise. But those who haven’t kept up with the ethereal-voiced godfather of Canterbury...

<p>Gauder Akustik (formerly Isophon) is a German company that is relatively new to the U.S. high-end scene, but has been making a considerable sensation, including various glowing mentions in show reports. Gauder makes quite a few models ranging from the small Arcona 40 two-way to the large...

<p><em>The Absolute Sound</em> is excited to announce the <strong>official release party</strong> for the <em>Illustrated History of High-End Audio: Volume One: Loudspeakers</em>. The event will take place <strong>Tuesday, January 7, at 6:15 p.m.</strong> in the Red Rock Ballroom at the Flamingo...

<p>Little did we know, but starting in 1945—when he was at the height of his powers—Vladimir Horowitz engaged an engineer to record his Carnegie Hall recitals. These stunning private recordings, most on 12- and 16-inch lacquers, were among the 165 boxes of memorabilia the pianist entrusted to...

<p>My history with AC power-distribution and line-conditioning products is a fairly spotty one. Sonically, they give and they take away, and I generally put them aside after a few weeks. Nowadays I just grab a power cord and head for the nearest available outlet, avoiding power-surge-protection...

<p>It may seem odd to compare a sophisticated audio component to a Japanese toy, but Electrocompaniet’s ECI 6DS integrated amp is so versatile that I can’t help but think of those “transformer” toys that can be reconfigured into robots, monsters, animals, flying machines, action heroes, and...

<p><strong>LONDON – December 30, 2013 –</strong> Cambridge Audio, a world-class acoustic design team with decades of Hi-Fi audio innovations, has announced its new 2014 line-up of Hi-Fi Preamplifiers, Amplifiers, and Speakers to be on display at CES.</p> <p>Leading the charge is the flagship...

<p>Despite the 3,598,785 CD titles that have been unleashed into the world (according to Gracenote’s data), a good number of priceless recordings have never been released on CD. I can think of five great records in my LP collection that have never come out in digital form— Blue Velvet Band’s...

<p>Whether or not Norah Jones is a real jazz singer became the subject of debate after the vocalist debuted in 2002 on the Blue Note label with the multi-platinum-selling pop-jazz album <em>Come Away with Me</em>, which earned five Grammy Awards. Jones’ push to reinvent her sound following her...

<p><strong>Bowers & Wilkins</strong> <strong>P5</strong><br/><em>$299</em><br/>In the P5 we see a loudspeaker-maker showing up a bunch of headphone manufacturers who’ve been at it for decades. The P5’s bass/midrange/treble balance is attractive, especially if you value a clear midrange. The...

<p>In NAD lore, “3020” are hallowed numerals. The long-ago integrated amplifier that bore that designation might have been a barebones affair, but it marked a departure from the budget norm when it first debuted in 1980. Built solidly, without extraneous signal-robbing bells and whistles, the...

<p>Planar loudspeakers have always held a particular allure for me. They tend to be big and deliver an equivalent sound. But it’s also the case that they are speedy, low in coloration, and, not to put too fine a point it, enchanting. But the downsides are obvious enough, and have, in my view...