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 disease...
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 to...
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 past...
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 play...
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 African...
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 asked...
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 Hall. Segerstrom...
“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 and...
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... in...
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 based...
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 filled...
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 there...
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 he...
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 down...
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 happy...
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 away...
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 of...
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 to...
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 took...
