Delivering A Glorious Musical Experience
A love of music and commitment drives everything we do at Impex.
Article By Abey Fonn, Founder Of Impex Records
In the
200 plus titles that Cisco Music and Impex Records released in the last
twenty-five years, I can confidently say all but a dozen-plus were cut using
original analog master tapes. Sometimes the recordings are not in great
condition, where baking the tapes plus lots of TLC cannot make it usable for
mastering. Some reels were not returned to the owner after a re-issue
production. Many more were lost to high-profile warehouse fires (a tragedy). The
scarcity of original sources is becoming more common in the audiophile industry.
---> Learn more about
Abey Fonn / Impex
Records.
Binaural Beats
What are they, and how can they help you to feel
good?
Article By Becky Pell
We
humans have a range of different brain wave states and speeds, each relating to
a different state of consciousness, be it waking, sleeping, or somewhere in
between. Binaural beats are a phenomenon whereby we can voluntarily create
different brain waves using external sound sources, thereby inducing the
associated mental state. First, let's take a look at the different states of
consciousness which we most commonly experience.
---> Read Becky Pell's Binaural Beats article.
Hi-Fi+ March 2021 High-End
Audio Magazine
Hi-Fi+'s March
2021 issue has a special competition where you win Kuzma's Damping Feet worth £600.
Meet your maker introduces you to Mads Kilfoth of Audiovector and meet your dealer
features Greg Chapman of VAL Hi-Fi. Reviews within this issue include the AURALiC Aries G2.1
network streamer, VPI Avenger turntable, Audio Analogue AAdrive / AAdac CD transport / DAC, Acoustic Energy AE520 floorstanding loudspeaker, RCM Audio theRIAA MKII phono stage, Neat Acoustics Orkestra floorstanding loudspeaker, Novafidelity N25 network streamer, Gryphon Audio Designs Standart equipment support system, T+A Solitaire P-SE open-back headphones, Degritter Ultrasonic record cleaning machine, Gutwire
Chime3 Absolute Edition loudspeaker cable, Atlas Element Achromatic interconnect cable, and Tellurium Q Silver / Silver Diamond power
cords.
---> See what's within Hi-Fi+'s
March 2021 issue.
Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound Premium
Experience / Aqstic Technology
Qualcomm Technologies has just announced their Snapdragon Sound premium experience, as this
technology seeks to bring together the very best audio, connectivity, and mobile innovations. This new efforts will deliver high-resolution music, crystal-clear voice calls, and lag-free gaming with superior connectivity and extended battery life. Their end-to-end audio system supports premium sound every step of the way, from the mobile device to the wireless earbuds and headphones. Snapdragon Sound is designed to deliver true lossless high-resolution studio master quality 24-bit/96kHz via Bluetooth music that streams straight from your phone. Their Aqstic technology means you can play your music "extra loud without damaging the speaker on your phone" says the
company.
---> Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound Premium Experience / Aqstic
technology.
Square, Inc. Buys Majority Of Tidal For
Only $297M
The Tidal streaming music platform that seemed to need extra
oomph power to gain traction years ago has sold a majority stake to Square, Inc. for only $297M. Years ago what appeared to be a struggling music streaming service decided to take a play right out of Jimmy Iovine's Beats $3.2 billion sale to Apple
playbook by giving part ownership to artists. For Tidal, they gave a stake to Alicia Keys, Arcade Fire's Win Butler / Regine Chassagne, Beyoncé, Calvin Harris, Coldplay's Chris Martin, Daft Punk, Damian Marley, deadmau5, Indochine, J. Cole, Jack White, Jason Aldean, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Madonna, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna,
T.I., and Usher. Of course Shawn 'Jay-Z' Carter was a major stakeholder in Tidal
before this sale and he will have a position on the board with Square, Inc.
---> Square, Inc. buys majority of Tidal for only $297M.
Schiit Loki Mini+ Four Band Tone
Control / Equalizer
Schiit's new Loki Mini+ ($149) is a expertly-designed four-band equalizer with super-quiet two-stage regulated power supply and high-quality inductors. With the Loki Mini+, Schiit boosted the performance boundaries of high-fidelity, low noise, single-discrete-gain-stage, LC-filtered, affordable equalizers. We all know not all recordings are made equal, so a high quality equalizer / tone control could bring them to high-end standards within your listening room. In addition, you can make your system sound the way you want it. Schiit asks the question, "Pounding bass? Sure. Crystalline highs?
Absolutely." Loki Mini+ uses a single, discrete, current-feedback gain stage, coupled to passive LC filters for three bands, plus a gyrator for the
bass.
---> Schiit Loki Mini+ four band equalizer / tone
control.
Music Streaming Leads In RIAA's 2020 Report
While LP sales were up 29.2% in value during 2020, they have exceeded that of legacy compact disc (CD) sales, which were down 23.4%. There's no doubt streaming music is the big revenue generator for the music industry during 2020 ($10,074M).RIAA's USA recorded music revenues grew 9.2% in 2020 to $12.2 billion at estimated retail value. "This is the fifth consecutive year of growth for the industry, as paid subscription services continued to be the primary driver of revenue increases, and reached a record number of subscriptions", says RIAA's year end 2020 report. "Covid-19 affected the industry significantly through tour cancellations, retail store closures, and other disruptions. Revenues from recorded music measured at wholesale value grew 8.9% to $8.0 billion.
---> Music streaming leads in RIAA's 2020 report.
Music Has A Lot To Say...
If you're willing to listen.
Review By Mike Perez
What kind of headspace are you in when you are listening to music? Are you working out?
Relaxing in your favorite chair sipping a cocktail? Driving down a lonely road deep in thought? Or getting ready to dance the night away at your favorite club or hangout? Wherever you are, music always has some type of roll to play. As I write this, I have one of my go-to playlists working in the background because the ambient sound always helps me to get words on the page. The reasoning behind this article is that I was stricken with curiosity. I want to know what some of my friends, colleagues, and HiFi Industry Professionals are listening to at the
moment.
---> Music Has A Lot To
Say...
Gryphon Audio Essence Preamplifier
And Essence Stereo Power Amplifier Review
Blown away by an amazing musical performance!
Review By Tom Lyle
The
Gryphon Essence preamplifier and Gryphon Stereo power amplifier are gorgeous
looking and beautiful sounding Danish high-end audio components. Those who can
afford either or both of these components will not only enjoy stellar sound
quality but most likely will also be able to enjoy the fact that they are the
epitome of audio equipment that has a look and "feel" of luxury goods. Gryphon
founder Flemming E. Rasmussen was responsible for the stunningly beautiful
exterior of the rather large (and heavy!) Gryphon Essence preamplifier and
Stereo Essence power amplifier. Good looks and operational refinement are
especially true of the Gryphon Essence preamplifier. Its weighty
infrared metal remote was only one indication of this Danish audio manufacturer's
recognition of many audiophile's appreciation of the intangibles that are
available on many preamps.
--->
Gryphon Audio Essence preamplifier & Essence amplifier review.
World
Premiere Review!
SOTA Nova VI Vinyl LP Turntable Review
The new Sota sound allows music to become tactile.
Review By Ron Nagle
There was a
time when my school shoes wore out; my mom would take them to the shoe
repairman. He would fix them like new with Cats-paw rubber heels. At about that
same time I remember when our Zenith console television died. My father
would go down to the local hardware store to use their tube tester. For three or
four dollars he would buy a new vacuum tube. Very soon we would be back to our
black and white TV bliss. I guess since then a few things have changed. But let
us now carry that forward to the present. Understand that for 20 years I spun
vinyl disks on my reliable reference, a Sota Sapphire 2, but alas time takes a
toll. So what can you do if you have something you can't part with?
---> SOTA Nova VI
vinyl LP turntable review.
Fear and Loathing in America:
How
The iBasso DC03 DAC / Headphone Amplifier
Helped Me Process The Capitol Assault
A portable USB DAC that plugs into your smartphone to improve the sound quality of headphone listening on-the-go.
Review By
Ian White
Anyone who thought 2021 was going to be so much better than 2020 was not in Washington D.C. on January
6th (2021). Having travelled from New Jersey the day before to spend time with the folks at Linear Tube Audio (you can check out our coverage on Instagram) in Takoma Park, I decided to also pay a visit to my best friend from college who resides in the
city. I lived in Washington D.C. for almost 10 years and commuted through Union Station for work for almost two years. For those who
don't know the city well – it sits less than two blocks from the U.S. Capitol.
--->
iBasso DC03 DAC / headphone amplifier review.
IsoAcoustics GAIA I Speaker Isolators Review
Superb Performance and big time
value.
Review By Robert S. Youman
I have a great deal of respect
for isolation devices, though certain caveats should always be considered. I
have reviewed and/or owned some of the most simple to the most sophisticated.
This includes designs from Butcher Block Acoustics, Solidsteel, Adona, Sound
Anchors, Silent Running Audio, Harmonic Resolution Systems, Rix Rax, Critical
Mass, and Grand Prix. You have heard it before, but virtually all will certainly
make a difference — some for the good and some for the not so good. And like
all things audio, compatibility can be critical. With this in mind, the IsoAcoustics GAIA I speaker isolators
are something very special. There is real science and logic behind the design.
The results were immediate and quite easy to identify.
--->
IsoAcoustics GAIA I Speaker Isolators review.
Noble Falcon Pro True Wireless
IEM Review
One of the best IEMs I have heard under $400.
Review By Gary Alan Barker
In
the short four years that I have been writing for Headphone.Guru, I have had
opportunity to listen to a host of Bluetooth IEMs, several of which I use on a
daily basis for telephone communication, but none that I would deign to use for
regular music listening despite the significant improvements that have been made
to Bluetooth over the last few years, preferring a wired option generally opting
for my Noble Katanas or Zephyrs. This all changed when Jim Moulton offered to
send me a pair of the new Noble Falcon Pro True Wireless IEMs, flagship model of
the FALCON series, utilizing a hybrid driver configuration featuring a 6mm
titanium coated driver for impactful sub-bass and bass, and two Knowles BA
drivers for mid and high frequencies.
--->
Noble Falcon Pro True Wireless IEM review.
Grand Illusion
Article By Joe Roberts
From Sound Practices
Issue 9, Fall 1995
Way out on the paranoid
fringes of contemporary American thought, miles beyond even the craziest audiophiles, there are some scared technology worshippers who believe
that an international elite bad guy network of power-hungry conspirators has been conducting massively funded, wildly successful experiments with holographic
imaging technology. The claim is that gizmos exist for creating 100% real-looking motion
pictures in 3-D space, 4-D if you count time as a D. These infernal devices can materialize illusions that can pass through our senses as reality itself!
Yikes! The above-mentioned whistle blowers are trying to warn us that fancy hologram projectors
will play a central role in the ultimate power grab in all of human history, planned to go down at the turn of the millennium. Over the generations, many predictions
were made about the year 2001...
---> Grand Illusion
editorial by Joe Roberts.
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