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...
Are you on the Equipment Merry-Go-Round?
After speaking with so many audiophiles and music enthusiasts over the years, I am confident in saying that everyone just wants to achieve a great sound – to experience their music collection through a system that presents it in the most enjoyable way for them. However, I have noticed that...
Why bother with High-End Audio?
From time to time when I’m discussing music and audio with people, I hear a commonly used line that high-end audio equipment recreates the sound and dynamics of an original musical event in your home. I have come to believe that this is a complete misconception. Does a hi-fi...
Would you arrange your music autobiographically?
If you are a ‘serious music head’, you may be familiar with the movie ‘High Fidelity’. In the movie, Rob (John Cusack) is the owner of a failing record store in Chicago, where he sells music only on vinyl at a time when CD had taken over the world. Although...
Are you your playlist?
If you were asked to list your top 10 songs or pieces of music, how would you go about it? Could you even decide on a definitive list? I heard someone once say that a person’s essence can be boiled down to a playlist - that when it comes...
Our visit to Knox Audio
Is the 6th January too early to have a ‘highlight of the year’? Aren’t we supposed to be easing into the new year, still in denial about having already broken our new year resolutions, taking it easy? Not gallivanting around the country having audio ‘wow’ moments, right? Well I am...
What makes Cessaro horn speakers different to ALL other horn speakers?
I used to have a love/hate relationship with horn speakers. The usual descriptions people use to describe horns ...’speed, clarity, lack of distortion, dynamics...’ are pretty accurate but beyond the audiophile language, I feel there’s just something amazing about how a horn speaker charges the air in a room....
‘How’ do you listen to music?
Visiting a friend recently, I bought some records over and later in the evening, we sat down and spun some vinyl. I sunk back into the sofa and closed my eyes as the music started to wash over me, really enjoying the feeling of letting the music take me...
Help! I married an audiophile.
The definition of ‘phile’ according to google is ‘denoting a person or thing having a fondness for a specified thing’ You would have thought that maybe I would have known from the very first time I walked into his apartment and saw a full floor to ceiling wall of records neatly...
You want a Koetsu for what?
One of the great benefits of this hobby is that it introduces you to interesting people. Looking back at my life, I feel that I’ve met some of my closest friends through some sort of association based on our mutual love of music. I also cherish meeting every one...
My Alanis Morissette Moment
In October 2019 during a trip to the USA, I had the pleasure of visiting Brian Ackerman of Aaudio Imports in Denver. I had previously met Brian at the Munich High End show earlier in the year and we had enjoyed each other’s company so when he invited me...
When did you realise that you are ‘an audiophile’?
I really don’t like that word. It sounds like a condition, an abnormal affliction. What’s wrong with you? Oh I apologise… you see, I have audiophilia. I prefer to call myself a music lover but there have been moments in my life where the importance of the sound quality...