Ypsilon, Nirvana and The Greek Audiophiles
By Thanos Argyropoulos One of the things I love about audio, is that it gives you the opportunity to connect with other audiophiles around the world. This year I was lucky enough to be invited by Nirvana Sound’s founder George Moraitis to visit the Ypsilon factory in Greece. It was an...
A journey into the divine muse
John Mellencamp was once being interviewed by an enthusiastic young music journalist about his famous hit song ‘Jack and Diane’. At one point she asked him “John, did you intend to symbolise the experiences of typical teenagers growing up in the American conservative heartland, dealing with psychological emerging identity angst,...
My Favourite Porcupine Tree Play List
How lucky am I? I have taken an opportunity to escape the cold & wet grip of Melbourne’s winter and take a break in Europe with my family. Like many families, this is the first opportunity we’ve had to travel after the global pandemic lockdowns ended so we have been...
I’m sorry, you can’t measure emotion in music
I believe that music can be TRANSCENDENT. As with many artforms, if you are sensitive to it, if you are receptive enough, music can affect you on many levels. To someone like me, defining music as pure entertainment is a gross understatement and misunderstanding of its nature. The greatest music &...
Music in Different Languages
Have you ever considered both the freedom and the limitations our language imposes on us and how some languages are better than others for certain purposes? The German language for example, is great at describing scientific objects & phenomena. The way you can add parts of words to create a...
Moments of Beauty
One of the defining characteristics of our time is the incredible busyness of our lives. We have established a culture that admires people who can plan, set goals, ‘achieve a lot in a day’, multi-task, meet deadlines and generally get a lot done. As a result, we lead busy...
Simon’s Temple of Music
One of my fondest memories of being a teenager was my Saturday morning routine. Wake up, burn some toast, grab my coolest jacket (in case I bumped into some young ladies) and meet my partner in crime Paul at the local train station at 9am sharp. We would then...
Conversations with François
Earlier this year at the Munich High End Show, I had the pleasure of spending some time with my friend François Saint-Gérand. François owns and operates ANA Mighty Sound in Paris, a store which is rapidly becoming a ‘must-visit’ experience for many audiophiles and lovers of analog music replay. Part...
Nirvana Sound at the StereoNet Show 2022
It was our pleasure to present at the recent StereoNet Hi-Fi Show at the Pullman Hotel, Albert Park in Melbourne. This was the first show after long delay due to the global pandemic and there was a warm, celebratory vibe as people returned in great numbers to experience the...
Harry’s Jazz Selections for the StereoNet Show
At the recent StereoNet Hi-Fi Show in Melbourne, we had the pleasure of inviting our good friend Harry Kay to pop in and play a selection of wonderful jazz music. Harry hosts the program ‘All That Jazz’ on Melbourne’s 3MBS FM station every Saturday night at 10pm and is...
Music is a wonderful thing
A few weeks ago, I sat down one night after a long day, turned on the TV and became captivated by a documentary that was exploring the role of music in the treatment of people with various medical conditions. In one scene, a lady who suffered from advanced Alzheimer's...
Are you a Measure-o-phile?
Can you predict how a car will feel to drive from its spec sheet or brochure? Can you tell if you will enjoy someone’s company by reading their personality profile, or how a meal will taste from looking at the recipe? You can get a rough idea of what...
The SSUCHY Project, Bio Carbon and Sound Quality
What’s the SSUCHY Project? For those who are interested in cutting edge materials development, you may be interested to know that after 4½ years, the SSUCHY Project has just closed. This was a €7.4m, pan-European R&D project with the mission to create next generation, sustainable and renewable biocomposites under the...
Listening vs hearing
Have you ever been accused by someone of having ‘selective hearing’? “You only hear what you want to hear!” My wife constantly complains that I never listen to her… or something like that… Recently I spent some time with a dear family friend. Theo is 84 years old and in days gone...
Are You “Vinyl” by Nature?
I was sitting around on a Saturday morning playing records with my son who had got some new fresh copies in during the week and the phone rang. Geoff Haynes says “hey I just got a boxed set of Rolling Stones, just arrived from Greville Street Records, can’t wait to...
A Proper DAC Shoot Out!
This adventure started with simple intentions… Let’s listen to all of the DACs that we have in stock and compare how they sound. Part of our motivation was to have the EMM Labs vs Ypsilon experience, both being among the very best cost-no-object options available to audiophiles. The other...
Speaker Technology has come a VERY long way
If we carefully considered the goal of turning an electrical signal into sound waves that energise a room and create an illusion of a real, cohesive, dynamic, live musical performance… I think we would develop a healthy admiration for loudspeaker designers. Yikes, they have a tough job! There are countless...
Tube Rolling With Friends
Have you ever gone tube rolling? Sounds a bit naughty, but it’s actually a lot of fun! Recently we took delivery of a great sounding integrated amplifier from California, an Aesthetix Mimas. After running it in, we enjoyed playing it with various combinations of sources & speakers, gaining a greater appreciation...
X-Ray Audio & Bone Music
This is a true story of how music has an incredible ability to transcend borders and cultures. What lengths will music lovers go to get their ‘fix’? Have you got any “bootlegs” in your music collection? Have friends ever commented “how can you listen to that bootleg? It’s terrible quality audio!” Listening to...
How do you evaluate sound quality?
What is great sound quality to you? Is it defined by a set of measurements or by how it makes you feel? Or both? When you sit in front of a hi-fi system to listen to music, at some point you decide if the sound appeals to you and...
What is Imaging and Soundstage?
If you have an interest in achieving an enjoyable sound in your listening space, then you’ve probably heard of the terms ‘imaging’ and ‘soundstage’ a lot. But what do these terms actually mean and why is there so much conversation around them? Imaging and soundstage are generally used to define...
Cable Controversy – Part 1
I am shocked that there are audiophiles out there who still claim that cables do not make a difference to the sound. Such profanity! Blasphemy! Sacrilege! As I relaxed on my psychologist’s couch, she looked up at me over the top of the frames of her glasses with a concerned expression and...
Yuko Mabuchi Trio and Branford Marsalis Quartet great jazz ushered in the New Year in Orange County.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa produces one of the most important jazz series in the country. I drove up from my home near San Diego to attend the Yuko Mabuchi Trio/Branford Marsalis Quartet performances on January 25th in the 1800 seat Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert...
Time Travel with Miles Davis
“I don't always listen to the Cult, but when I do, SO DO THE NEIGHBOURS....” Some music is meant to be played loud. Ear splitting bone crunching loud. So you feel it in your chest. A friend asked me recently which concert in my entire life stopped me in my tracks...
Why you should consider buying non-mainstream brands
One day in Europe back in the early 80’s, a speaker designer started making some speakers that were immediately applauded for their sonic ability. Possessing a rare ability to voice a speaker and extraordinary craftmanship skills, his speakers were captivating to listen to and distinctively designed. I remember seeing...
Emotional connection is important to me
Have you got someone in your life, whom you know that when they recommend a movie to watch, you make sure that you NEVER see that movie? I do. Actually, I have few of those people in my life, but I won’t mention any of them here. Forget ignorance......
Does more expensive mean better sound?
This old chestnut comes up in conversations among audiophiles from time to time. We’ve all heard the expression “you get what you pay for”, but does it apply to audio? It’s such a subjective hobby that there is no absolute truth and everyone has their own opinion which is...
What’s your audiophile tribe?
There is no ‘absolute truth’ in audio, just perspective. The appreciation of sound quality is a purely subjective experience, meaning it is based on personal beliefs, tastes and opinions that are open to personal interpretation, not facts. This is one of the things I love about audio. It’s a pursuit...
Is your amplifier getting along with your speakers?
I was having breakfast with Rumen Artarski from Thrax Audio at a Munich show some time ago and I asked him the tongue-in-cheek question about what defines a perfect amplifier. He mentioned that the challenge for an amplifier designer was NOT to make the ‘perfect’ amplifier. Many designers are...
System Synergy and ‘The Holy Trinity’
If you want to set up your audio system for optimum sound, there’s one aspect that I believe is absolutely critical: System synergy. I think it’s fair to say that generally speaking, every piece of audio equipment tends to have its own sound. Across the spectrum of what’s available in the...