The Frugal Audiophile

Who's Right? Accuracy or Musicality? I found Who's Right? Accuracy or Musicality accidentally by the late J. Gordon Holt . He makes some interesting points but the question is in the definition of both. He wrote: Stereophile for example feels that, at a time in audio history when superb bass and treble and excellent detail are obtainable from many loudspeakers, the most important remaining consideration is freedom from coloration through the middle range (where, after all, the vast majority of musical activity takes place). We have continued to use and to recommend Fulton Musical Industries J speakers because, despite frequent modifications and manifest weaknesses (ie, low-end and and midrange detail easily bettered by some other systems), they offered what we feel to he the best set of performance compromises of any available speaker system. The FMI Js, in other words, while not quite the equal of some others in some respects, are so markedly superior in their re

Just the other day, I saw the above video on YouTube: Introducing Dolby Atmos Music From the description: Start your mixing in Dolby Atmos today with a free trial of Dolby Atmos Production Suite.  Available now at  https://dolbylabs.co/tryDolbyAtmos  Dolby Atmos Music expands the creative palette for artists and creators. Isolate and articulate instruments and vocals with incredible clarity and make listeners feel like they are inside the music. I wonder what creators of equipment, from Emotiva to PS Audio (I sent them an email and will follow-up if I hear back) think of this statement made in the video? "What happens today when you are in stereo you have all these instruments fighting to be heard. But with Dolby Atmos, each instrument has its own space to breathe, so that all that articulation, detail and clarity can be maintained." I can't evaluate how accurate the Atmos guy is, but I suspect the Audiophile or "High End" i

One of the reasons I truly love and admire PS Audio is that they are so customer driven. No, I've never purchased their renowned BK Amplifiers but as per my earlier post, truly admire the brilliance in conceiving the Sprout, which is revolutionary in PS Audio's commitment to bring "Audiophile" or High Fidelity or HD Sound--whatever you prefer--within reach of a person who isn't in the 1% or 0.5% economic profile. And so they don't discriminate among customers and treat all of us like family, even the poorer relations, which is remarkable in this day and age; amazingly, Scott and Chris took the time to write to me after I saw this video ( this is the link to the site post ), which discusses and shows the Sprout loudspeaker prototype. Chris is designing the drivers; I don't know much about him but he'll be doing videos on his work that will post very shortly. First, Paul McGowan himself emailed me: Chris is starting his own series on YouTube t

The CD was mastered in PCM, Gigli in Concert, available from both Amazon and The Bel Canto Society is a wonderful performance with great audio quality of one of the truly great tenors of the twentieth century. From the review by Stefan Zucker and if your only exposure to great tenors is Luciano Pavarotti you're in for a treat (Gigli was Pavarotti's father's favorite tenor): Other tenors have had longer breath spans or greater extensions on top or bottom. But as this concert reveals, no tenor on records had as many colors on his palette as Gigli. His interpretations were more imaginative than any other Italian tenor’s, maybe with the exception of Fernando De Lucia’s. Other tenors do what they can with their voices. Gigli more or less did what he wanted. In the 1920s and early 30s Gigli always was in voice. In the 1950s he was erratic vocally, possibly because of many health problems. As in all his late performances, during this concert you hear him clear his throat

Not only do I have fond memories of my Dynaco A25, which my later father bought for me over forty years ago, but I still use them. For their time, they were revolutionary in bringing high quality sound to a wide audience and this model sold around one million units. I found out about the Dynaco A25 in a Consumer Reports issue that reviewed speakers (and actually had a negative review of the Bose 901 that led to a Supreme Court case ) that was in my high school library. While not top rated, they were check rated and a best buy. I actually was looking at other speakers when they were demonstrated for me against a brighter sounding ADC (known for its phono cartridges) at a now defunct Lafayette Electronics store. The salesman said they were excellent on voice and I thought they were the best sounding speakers there; this was in the early 1970s. J. Gordon Holt of Stereophile wrote a balanced and fair review here , I'll quote an excerpt. Before subwoofers, the A25s provided decent o

As someone who appreciates quality and brilliant design at an affordable price, I really appreciate PS Audio's Sprout100, which features Complete HiFi DAC Amp, High Resolution High Fidelity Audio for Digital, Analog, Vinyl, and Bluetooth (Real Walnut). You can purchase it through PS Audio's website , an authorized PS Audio dealer, and even through Amazon.com ! PS Audio is known for its quality products but for Frugal Audiophiles (the median income in the U.S. is around $30,000.00) much of what it sells is beyond reach for those on a budget. All you need to do is have sources, including LPs and a turntable, and voila! You'll enjoy amazing sound at a more than reasonable price in 2020 dollars. I wish when I started out with my first stereo, having purchased a Sony integrated amplifier with far less power and quality, that the Sprout existed at that time. I think that many electronics, even affordable ones, are far superior now than anything available last--dare I say it?--c