Audiophiles Gather at AXPONA in Chicago

AXPONA (Audio Expo North America), the high-end consumer audio show held last weekend at the Westin O’Hare in Rosemont, Il, is one of the best events of the year for audiophiles. While this is only one of about a dozen national high end audio shows, it is one of the more popular shows for audiophile […]

Ethernet EMI Filter for Better Digital Audio

DJM electronics has made the first Ethernet noise filter that might be helpful for an audio signal.  It is called the GigaFOILv3 Ethernet Filter and it is currently priced at $1,000.   It is commonly accepted that EMI causes Noise in power cables.  When that power is used for audio, noise adversely affects the quality […]

Apple Alternatives for a High Resolution Audio Portable Player

While an Apple product still does not exist, there are many excellent portable digital music players like the old Apple i-Pod that can deliver high resolution audio sound.  So, yes, the digital music library of 24 bit music that you downloaded from HD Tracks and other web stores is portable. Apple devices still cannot support […]

Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker II Steps Up

Bose is one of the best in the business when it comes to speakers, so it’s hard to ignore the hype surrounding its SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker II. After taking a listen, the praise is well deserved. The SoundLink Mini Bluetooth Speaker II connects wirelessly to any Bluetooth enabled device, including phones, laptops, and tablets. […]

The Atmosphere, the HFT-2, and Room Acoustics for Audio

It is difficult to believe that ten metal cylinders half the size of a fingernail tacked to the walls of a large listening space could have any effect on the acoustics. Synergistic Research calls them HFT-2—and they work. So it wasn’t much of a stretch to try the new Atmosphere, a black tower the size […]

Recording Academy Establishes Hi-Res Audio Guidelines

The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing recently announced the creation of a series of Hi-Res Audio Production Guidelines. The new guidelines are a key step to ensuring that real high-resolution music is produced and sold to the public. While the Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing is most well known for producing The Grammys, […]

What Audio Cables Should I Upgrade?

There are almost as many choices for connecting cables and power cables as there are for components and speakers. Here are some thoughts about picking the right ones for your system. Let’s assume that you are currently using the stock cables that came with your components and you want to upgrade them gradually. The first […]

How To Pick A Power Cable For Your Audio System

In order to make a noticeable improvement in sound quality with a power cord you should expect to pay not less than $500 for a 1 meter cord. Cords to consider at this price point are the Audioquest NRG 10, Audience PowerCord SE or a PS Audio AC-10. These are all good power cords that […]

Apple Toward High Definition Audio Playback

Recent rumors about the new Apple operating system appear to be true. Apple’s iOS 8 will allow for high definition audio playback (HRA). This certainly explains why Apple has acquired Beats Electronics to upgrade their in-ear earphones. Apple has announced that they will offer high-fidelity iTunes music downloads which enable the high-quality 24-bit audio files […]

psb Speakers Enter Headphone Market On Top

I realized in the taxi to JFK en route to a 7 AM flight to Chicago to attend the AXPONA audio show that I had left my Bose QC3 noise cancelling headphones at home.  After only one cup of coffee I had to endure the airport noise with my $15 spare workout ear buds attached […]