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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
