CNET author (and TONEAudio contributor) Steve Guttenberg is sponsoring a contest for undiscovered talent.
While you won’t win as much cool stuff as you might on American Idol, you will get a great pair of headphones
from Monster Cable and some net airplay. Who knows where that will lead? Best of all, it’s a contest based
on sound quality as well as content.
So, fire up ProTools and get to work!
Here’s the link:
It may sound like an exotic Italian snack treat, but it’s even better than that.
The Paganini is DCS’ latest four box digital player that consists of a CD/SACD transport, Master Clock, Upsampler and DAC. Yeah, it’s expensive, but it’s awesome. The good news is that you can build the system module by module, and if you are using computer based playback, you might not even want the transport.
But I’ll give you a hint, even with a tricked out dedicated computer for music, with all the latest greatest goodies, running Amarra, the spinning disc is still superior.
I’m off to the DCS factory on Monday to meet the brains behind the technology and it should be exciting.
That’s right folks, you keep asking us for more content and we deliver. Starting with the Feb. 10 issue of TONEAudio, #27, we will be going to a full 8 issue schedule, publishing every 6-7 weeks. We will also be changing our format from the square you’ve known for the last five years to a more standard, 8 1/2 x 11 inch vertical format.
Why you ask? With the proliferation of eBook readers, and most importantly, the Apple iPad, we’re formatting TONEAudio so that it’s an easier read for our mobile audience. Those of you reading TONEAudio on your laptop will now be able to have the issue fill the whole screen when you read it in two-page mode.
When the Issue #27 is released, it will be in our standard resolution and high resolution formats, with a third version in ePub format to follow shortly after. As soon as we can transfer them, we will also make our back issues available in ePub format, albeit still in their original square formats.
We hope you enjoy the new format and for those of you becoming early adopters of the iPad, will download it to your newest toy.
Spent most of the day in meetings finding new goodies for upcoming TONEAudio reviews, but the two most intriguing things I did see for the day were both small.
Naim announced their new UnitiQute (pronounced “Unity-Q”) in Vegas for the world to see and it is a brilliant product. Fashioned after the outstanding Uniti that won our product of the year award in 2009, it takes a slightly smaller power amplifier than the Uniti (30 wpc vs. 50) and eliminates the CD drive.
The remaining tiny box still provides a full function integrated amplifier, 24/96 DAC, FM tuner and internet radio access as well as being able to stream digital music from your Naim HDX or network server. All in a package about the size of a Nait 2.
And, the price is small too! $1,995 will put one of these little jewels in your living room or wherever you’d like to put it. I have no doubt that this will be one of the hottest selling products of 2010. Watch for a full review asap.
The other small but mighty surprise was in the Nagra room, where they were showing off their newest power amplifier with a pair of 300B output tubes, driving a pair of Verity Leonore speakers.
I saw these first being built on my trip to Nagra this summer and while according to US importer John Quick, they are still a year from production, if you are a fan of the 300B, this amplifier is worth the wait. Nagra has done a fantastic job here! Stay tuned….
Julian Lennon and James Scott Cook are releasing a four song EP on December 15 entitled Lucy to honor Cook’s grandmother, Lucy Cook who has lived with lupus for years and Lucy Vodden, a childhood friend of Julian Lennon’s. They will donate a percentage of the EP’s proceeds to the Lupus Foundation of America. The EP will be on sale at major retailers and the Apple iTunes store.
Vodden recently passed away at 46 after a lifelong battle with lupus and Beatle fans may remember her as the woman who was the subject of a drawing that inspired his father John Lennon to write “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.”
We’ll be chatting with Lennon on Thursday to get some more information and will have a review of the EP in the Dec 23 issue of TONEAudio in the music section.
I just got my hands on one of Vinnie Rossi’s new Black Lightning power supplies and it’s fantastic.
Based on the same SLA battery technology he uses in all of his other products, this is now available as an external power supply that can be used with just about anything that relies on an external, switching mode power supply. Wall warts are very dirty and give off a lot of RFI as well as dumping noise back into the power line for your gear to pick up and ultimately cloud the presentation of your system.
We’ve got a full review in the works, but the short version is buy one of these. I’m using the review sample with my Nagra VPS phono stage and the result is stunning. The RWA supply redefines “black backgrounds.”
I’ll keep you posted, but this one’s a winner.
If you love the sound of a great SET but want more than a few watts, so you can really rock, Win Analog is the place to get it.
I saw their new 833 based monoblocks at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest and almost didn’t go in the room fearing that they were $300 thousand a pair, like WAVAC.
The good news is that they are $75 thousand a pair, and while that’s not exactly grocery money, it puts these 130 watt per channel SET monoblocks in the reach of the most demanding listeners.
I’ve spent the day at Win Analog listening today, and came away highly impressed. These beautiful amplfiers deliver the goods!
For more information, go to their website:
Literally just off the FedEx truck about 15 minutes ago, Rega’s ISIS CD player has arrived. The retail price is $8,995 and this is a great deal for US customers as the player carries a 6,000 pound pricetag in Europe.
I had the opportunity to audition the ISIS when I visited Rega last summer and it was superb. Fans of Rega and their founder Roy Gandy know that they never jump into anything quickly and when they do, the results are always excellent.
The ISIS can also be used as a full function DAC, so this will add tremendously to its appeal. Stay tuned and we will keep you posted with more listening impressions.
There’s a new way to buy headphones, headphone amplifiers and associated components. The first of it’s type in the US if not the world, is right here in Portland, in the stylish Hawthorne District. ALO Audio owner Ken Ball has opened a super cool store with walls of iPods, full of music, where you can audition every major headphone there is, in both stock form and hot rodded models that have been refitted with his own cables. If you’ve followed our “Headphone Planet” column, you know we at TONEAudio are very fond of ALO’s creations.
We’ll have a full feature soon in our “Dealers that make a difference” column in a future issue of TONEAudio Magazine.
But for now, if you need anything headphone related, we highly recommend visiting 32 Ohm Audio.
I’ve been looking for one of these for years now!
The legendary Marantz 8B was one of the best sounding amplifiers of the 60’s and I
am anxious to start probing around to see what it can do. More copy to follow.
