Conrad-Johnson PV-1 Preamplifier
The audio world is sometimes wacky indeed. In the first issue of TONE-Audio, this column featured my first real high-end preamplifier, the Hafler DH-101. Always the packrat, I recently found a box with a bunch of old receipts, for you guessed it, hi-fi gear.
Hello Kitty Fruit Roll-Ups
When you’re in the middle of a painstaking turntable setup session and you need the ultimate sugar rush, try some Hello Kitty Fruit Roll-Ups. These babies are loaded with sugar.
Ortofon DS-1 Digital Scale
While gadgets aren’t always fashionable, a properly set up turntable is always in style. And what better way to adjust tracking force than with a digital scale? We’ve tried some of the cheapie, Chinese-made digital scales in the $40–$60 range, but they have all had relatively short lifespans.
RecordWall-it
For those of you who like to display your albums on the wall, or keep better track of what’s currently spinning on your turntable, the RecordWall-it is an elegant solution that doesn’t require you to take the frame apart when you want to change the album art, and if you’re good at keeping things level, you can use two side by side for double albums.
Grateful Dead – American Beauty
Because the Grateful Dead was always a band that paid close attention to the sound quality of its live performances and recordings, even a random copy of any Dead album usually sounds pretty good—provided it hasn’t been played to extinction.
ROON is here! World’s first in depth review…
I’ve Seen the Future of Music, Again!
Forget everything you know about serving digital music files. No matter what you are using, it’s irrelevant.
A bold claim indeed, but spend a few minutes with Roon and you’ll find yourself getting up from the listening chair hours later.
Issue 71
Features
Old School:
Sansui AU-717
By Jeff Dorgay
Personal Fidelity:
Astell&Kern – AK240
By Bailey S. Barnard
Master & Dynamic – MH40 Headphones
By Jeff Dorgay
995: Sounds That Won’t Break The Bank
AudioQuest JitterBug
By Jeff Dorgay
TONE Style
Beer Snob:
VooDoo and a Drama Princess
By Bob Gendron
Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat
Madison Fielding Flagstone Planter Speakers
Henge Dock
Blue and White KEF LS-50s
Muku Shutter Release
Choosing Your Apple Watch
Rock Star Soap
WAX RAX RC-2 Record Cart
Music
Spin the Black Circle: Reviews of New Pop/Rock and Country Albums
By Bob Gendron, Todd Martens, Chrissie Dickinson, Andrea Domanick and Aaron Cohen
Jazz & Blues: Chris Lightcap, Joe Lovano & Dave Douglas, Charles Lloyd, Milford Graves & Bill Laswell, and the Word
By Aaron Cohen and Jim Macnie
Audiophile Pressings: Mastadon’s Blood Mountain
By Bob Gendron
Gear Previews
Boulder 2160 Stereo Power Amplifier
OPPO HA-2 Portable Headphone Amplifier
Aurender W20 Server
ARC GSPRE Preamplifier and GS150 Power Amplifier
Cardas Clear Reflection Cable
Reviews
Decware Zen Mystery Amp
By Jeff Dorgay
Balanced Audio Technology VK-655SE
By Jeff Dorgay
iFi Retro 50
By Jeff Dorgay
PASS XA160.
Quirky’s Power Curl
Tired of always finding your MacBook charger in a giant ball? Quirky’s Power Curl comes in different sizes, depending on your model, and they come in some fun, or should we say, quirky colors.
Aurender Flow Headphone Amplifier and DAC
Aurender first teased their portable DAC / headphone amplifier at the 2014 Munich High End Show. Back then it was called the “V1000” – not exactly catchy.
Simaudio MOON Nēo 260D CD Transport/DAC Simply Stellar Sound
With more and more audiophiles getting into digital music these days, it is no wonder that many manufacturers are releasing CD players that are also high-quality DACs.
Mastodon – Blood Mountain
Released nearly a decade ago, Mastodon’s landmark concept album about scaling a bewildering peak—and encountering bloodthirsty wolves, unified tree-people colonies, and ice gods—has been recently reissued and remastered on colored vinyl befitting the record’s chromatic characteristics.
Arcam irDAC
There’s something about visual and operational simplicity that resonates with me, which is why I’m drawn to Arcam’s irDAC ($700), an understated unit about the size of a John Grisham paperback novel.
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