High-End Audio Industry News

04 / 30 / 13

  Thiel Audio has announced their new CS1.7 ($3999 per pair) Coherent Source floorstanding loudspeaker. The CS1.7 employs Thiel's renowned phase and time coherent design using precision engineered first order acoustic crossover networks and the latest technology for the woofer and tweeter engineered by Thiel specifically for the CS1.7 project. Technology employed in the CS1.7 design is all new, leveraging much of the R&D from the flagship model CS3.7. The CS1.7 tweeter, based on the platform used in the enormously popular CS1.6 has been highly optimized for the CS1.7 featuring a new voice coil, new magnetic circuit and reworked aluminum diaphragm resulting in increased linearity and lower distortion. The aluminum woofer's "star" diaphragm was conceived using the latest laser measurement technology and also utilizes a new voice coil and magnetic structure that enables the driver to operate as a piston through a much greater range of frequencies. The crossover network is a classic Thiel first order acoustic design, maintaining the phase and time coherent nature of all Thiel loudspeakers. The cabinet is 1" thick and the massive baffle, with a low turbulence vertical port, is 2" thick. The CS1.7 comes equipped with leveling feet, however an optional brushed aluminum Outrigger base (pictured here) is available to improve the sonic performance of the speaker by maximizing stability on virtually any surface. Dimensions are 9.5" x 11.8" x 36.5" (WxDxH) and each unit weighs 54 lbs.

MusicMachine, a new limited edition product from MB&F, will produce just 66 pieces total of this special music 'box'. MusicMachine is a music box that looks and sounds out of this world yet contains all the traditional, time-honored elements of a superlative high-end music box. REUGE, the premier manufacturer of music boxes on the planet, with nearly 150 years of expertise and experience, is also part of this brave new project. With its dual propellers and twin silver cylinders mounted on sleek outrigger landing gear, MusicMachine looks like a spaceship hailing from a galaxy far, far away. Each of the cylinders on MusicMachine plays three tunes, all personally selected by MB&F founder and creative director, Maximilian Büsser. On the left, "may the Force be with you" with the Star Wars theme, "Imperial March" from The Empire Strikes Back, and the theme from Star Trek. Back on earth, the right cylinder plays Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall", Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" and John Lennon's "Imagine" – all tunes synonymous with MB&F's radical, nonconformist attitude.

Working out these two groups of three arrangements, each one limited to between 25 and 45 seconds, and the multitude of notes that these entail. The two vertical combs look like air vent grills on either side of the vessel's main body. Each comb contains the bespoke selection of 72 notes chosen by the Reuge musician in accordance with the three melodies that cylinder will play. Each comb forms a unique pair with its corresponding cylinder; neither can play properly without the other. The combs are hand-tuned from a unique steel alloy specifically selected for its acoustic impact. For bass notes, the weight of the tooth is extended at the back by the traditional method of adding lead. Main body is Walnut for the sound amplification chamber; white or black piano lacquered whilst the outriggers are bead-blasted and anodized aluminum; black matte-anodized for black version. MusicMachine is a limited edition of 66 pieces: 33 pieces in white and 33 pieces in black (the latter for those with a preference for 'the dark side'). Dimensions are 395mm x 475mm x 165mm (WxDxH), the unit weighs 2.97 kg and pricing is about 12,000 Swiss Francs.

04 / 29 / 13

  Schiit's new Bifrost Uber DAC/Analog upgrade card ($100) improves the sonic and measured performance of Bifrost, plus the company is offering a new USB card ($150). The upgraded uses a discrete, direct-coupled gain stage from the company's Gungnir. This discrete stage is more sophisticated than the base Bifrost, with a more complex topology, and DC servo to eliminate capacitors in the signal path and to improve on the performance of the AKM4399 D/A converter. The Bifrost Uber Analog card can be ordered with any new Bifrost, or can replace the existing DAC/Analog card in any Bifrost. Bifrost Ubers will ship with a specially serialized hologram label to distinguish them from standard Bifrosts. The new Bifrost/Gungnir Gen 2 USB input card now supports 24-bit/176.4kHz. It also improves USB performance across the board whilst featuring the C-Media CM6631A receiver and additional isolation and filtering.

Norma Audio Electronics, a high-end company based out of Italy, announces their new 2MHz IPA-140 ($11,000) dual-mono integrated with optional 32-bit USB internal DAC ($1000) based on Wolfson's highest level chip. Norma includes a CDR with custom drivers for Windows platforms – Apple based systems do not require. The company recommends the Audirvana+ player for Apple systems for sound quality that equals/exceeds cost-no-object disk-based system. Features of the IPA-140 include 2MHz bandwidth (-3dB), dual-mono design with separate signal and power supply PCBs for each channel, high current to drive difficult loads, high slew rate, and ultra-low noise for retrieval of low-level information. The company dares to boast Patek Philippe-like build quality, so get out your 10x loop and if you purchase one of these be sure to check every that solder joint is perfect and ever part, screw head, etc is immaculate before you accept delivery, as one does with a proper high-end Patek Philippe grand complication timepiece.

04 / 26 / 13

  HDtracks, the best site for the widest variety of high resolution digital music downloads, is offering three specials for you this weekend! You can receive 10% Off your entire order using code april10 and you can save 20% on Warner Music Group's Greatest Albums of All Time (both offers expire April 30th). Add to that, you can get 15% off jazz by using code 15jazz (also expires April 30th). HDtracks offers many high-resolution recordings compiled from an amazing collection of albums featuring the most popular artists and genres. Many albums represent the absolutely best available recordings anywhere for download in full master-quality from archival and preservation transfers re-mastered from the original recordings. Go hear for yourself how the artists, producers and engineers who created the music intended for it to be heard via free sample downloads. HDtracks includes album art, credits and liner notes not found in other download stores.

TGIFMUSIC
Here's a lil' Friday funkin' for your earhole... West coast Snoop 'n' Bootsy style for you crusin' convertible lovers out there :)

04 / 25 / 13

  Benchmark Media has expanded their product line to now include their DAC2 D ($1795) digital reference DAC without analog inputs. The DAC2 D is ideal for audio engineers or home enthusiasts who want to have the same top-of-the-line performance as the DAC2 HGC but don't need its analog inputs or the 12V trigger. Benchmark Media's DAC2 D shares many high-end features with the DAC2 HGC including the Sabre32 Reference eight-channel 32-bit audio D/A converter (ES9018). It handles 24-bit/192kHz PCM as well as native DSD conversion. Jitter reduction is enhanced as the DAC2 D has a low-jitter master clock which controls the transfer of audio data from the computer to the USB sub-system. The computer asynchronously transfers audio data to a buffer in the DAC2 D. The contents of the buffer are then asynchronously transferred to the D/A conversion sub-system. This second asynchronous transfer eliminates any traces of jitter that accumulate as the data is transferred between the USB and conversion subsystems. There is a front panel sample rate and word length display, UltraLock2 jitter attenuation and of course asynchronous USB 2.0. There is a polarity switch, home theater bypass, digital inputs, digital pass-through, and high-efficiency low-noise power supplies. The new Benchmark Media DAC2 D is available with both black and silver faceplates.

MUSIC
In honor of Ella Fitzgerald's 96th birthday (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996)... and dedicated to my wife Heather.

04 / 24 / 13

SneakPeek
We have posted not just one, not two, but three sneak peek World Premiere reviews from Enjoy the Music.com's May edition on Facebook! Right now you can enjoy links to our World Premiere of the VPI Scout 1.1 turntable and Napa Acoustic's NA 208 H headphone amplifier, with our Facebook FRIENDS getting an advanced look at our World Premiere of the Avantgarde Acoustic Fino speaker! In his review of the Avantgarde Acoustic Fino Wojtek Pacuła says "Suffice it to say one word: sensitivity. When it is 104dB/W/m, as boasted by the Uno Fino under review, every single flaw in the audio path, however small, is detected and immediately exposed". To see our three World Premiere reviews including the Avantgarde Acoustic Fino all you need to do is simply Friend us on Facebook, whilst Twitter users get to see the World Premiere of the VPI Scout 1.1 turntable and Napa Acoustic's NA 208 H headphone amplifier.

04 / 23 / 13

  Enjoy the Music.com has just posted number 7 issue 1 of HIFICRITIC magazine. This edition of HIFICRITIC includes reviews of the VSA Unifield-2 high class standmount from Von Schweikert, Neil Goodwin discusses his enthusiasm for some of the best post-war valve amps, and Naim's new NDS network-connected digital player/streamer/DAC and more. In his editorial, Paul Messenger says, "The last 30 years have seen all manner of changes, in both the music software itself and the means of delivering the music. In the UK at least, sales of downloaded digital music files via the internet (to computers, tablets and smartphones) actually overtook that of other means of music distribution during the first three months of 2012." You can see the complete table of contents and editorial of HIFICRITIC plus a headphone shootout review by clicking here.

Online high resolution music retailer HDtracks has two new James Bond albums to bring some action up your listening room! Both Goldfinger and Live And Let Die are now available in audiophile quality 192kHz/24-bit. Goldfinger is the undeniable classic featuring music composed, arranged and conducted by John Barry. The title song is sung by Shirley Bassey, whose dramatic style became a trademark for the series. The album became the first James Bond soundtrack to reach #1 on the Billboard 200 and spent seventy weeks on the charts. This action-packed score features the thrilling cuts "Bond Back In Action Again," "Dawn Raid On Fort Knox" and the title-track. James Bond really got some action in Live And Let Die, which reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the song "Live And Let Die" won a Grammy for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s). Live And Let Die is the exhilarating soundtrack scored by George Martin and marks the first one not composed by John Barry. The album features arguably the biggest single from the series, "Live And Let Die" written by Paul and Linda McCartney. The track was performed by Paul McCartney and Wings. Get these and many other high resolution music titles available now at HDtracks.

04 / 22 / 13

  Enjoy the Music.com has just posted Hi-Fi World's June 2013 edition including the complete editorial and table of contents. This issue includes reviews of the Wharfedale Airedale Classic speaker, Yamaha BD-A1020 Blu-ray player, the Linn Kiko system, Ariand Pro845se amplifier, Just Audio Aha-120 and Aha-120 mobile headphone amplifiers and more! The editorial by Noel Keywood says, "In this issue we dare mention the unmentionable: networking! As in computers. As in headache. But network engineer and hi-fi enthusiast Jim Roberts has kept much of his look at wired and wireless networks remarkably simple, without losing useful detail. We don't get into IP addresses, router client lists and such like and perhaps we need to, but I feel Jim's unravelling of basic functionalities, identifying the role of a Router, Switch and Access point for example, is illuminating in a subject that is heavy going wherever you read about it." See the complete June table of contents and editorial of Hi-Fi World by clicking here.

Music Industry News 10 Years Ago
Old School meets New Wave as the Panasonic's B-flat CQ-TX5500D (approximately $800) double DIN in dash automobile CD player is the world's first to employ a vacuum tube, yet also play MP3 CD-Rom discs. Employing a tube in the pre-amplification stage, the B-flat produces 16 watts (nominal) into 4 channels (45 watts per channel peak). An auxiliary input allows for flexibility of additional source components such as a portable cassette player or MiniDisc. Overall dimensions are 178mm x 100mm x 160mm while the unit weighs in at 2.3Kg. The CQ-TX5500 includes and AM/FM radio, allows for choosing folders on an MP3 CD-Rom, track selection on audio CD discs, and provides for single button random playback and repeat. A wireless remote control is also available. Visual features include the ability to view the tube while "old school" backlit analog UV meters show power output. Playback abilities include MPEG-1 Layer 3 (32kbs-256kbs), MPEG-2 Layer 3LSF (16kbs-160kbs). CD playback frequency response is from 5Hz to 20kHz. No date set for availability within the USA.

04 / 19 / 13

  Album cover artist Storm Thorgerson, who created the legendary cover for Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon, has passed away. He was a close friend of the band sice the member's childhood. He eventually designed many of their band's legendary show masterpieces. Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd said Strom was "an inseparable part of our work. We first met in our early teens. We would gather at Sheep's Green, a spot by the river in Cambridge and Storm would always be there holding forth, making the most noise, bursting with ideas and enthusiasm. Nothing has ever really changed. He has been a constant force in my life, both at work and in private, a shoulder to cry on and a great friend. I will miss him." To quote Acoustic Sounds, "Storm Thorgerson was the man behind Pink Floyd's iconic art. The 69-year-old died peacefully Thursday, with family and friends at his side. At Acoustic Sounds we knew Storm for his work on our Hybrid SACD of Wish You Were Here, as well as many other timeless pieces. Thorgerson originally designed the album packaging, and he returned to the photographs from his then 37-year-old artwork to create a new Hybrid SACD package. He had a great eye for design and created inseparable imagery that became part of the Pink Floyd mystique." Strom has also worked with Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel and Muse and is survived by his mother Vanji, his son Bill, his wife Barbie Antonis and her two children Adam and Georgia. You can share your feeling about the man, the music and more on today's Enjoy the Music.com Facebook page.

Record Store Day, conceived in 2007 at a gathering of independent record store owners and employees, is a way to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding over 700 independently owned record stores worldwide. This is the one day of the year that all independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music. Over the years there have been special vinyl releases and various promotional products made exclusively for Record Store Day. Around the globe hundreds of artists also may make special appearances and performances to celebrate this day. Not just any record store qualifies it seems as a Record Store Day participating business is defined as a stand alone brick and mortar retailer whose main primary business focuses on a physical store location. Their product line consists of at least 50% music retail, whose company is not publicly traded and whose ownership is at least 70% located in the state of operation. In other words, you're dealing with real, live, physical, indie record stores; not online retailers or corporate behemoths.

Enjoy the Music.com's lucky thirteenth year covering Germany's Munich High End Show by the High End Society is only weeks away! The High End Show is the international key exhibition in Europe for the high-quality consumer electronics industry. The High End will take place for the 32nd time in succession; and for the 10th time at the MOC Munich. This makes the High End the oldest specialist exhibition in its field in Europe, now seen throughout the world as the central and most established hub of the industry. Manufacturers, importers, distributors, suppliers and retailers from all over the world meet in Munich every year. This year, more than 350 exhibitors with about 900 brands from all over the world will presented their products and services. A wide variety of lectures will be held to educate and answer attendee's questions. This event will be held at Munich's M.O.C. and will be open from May 9th through 12th, 2013. Enjoy the Music.com's daily live coverage will begin the first day of this event.

The Home Entertainment Show Newport Beach (T.H.E Show) 2013 marks their third year of this southern California event. Taking place from May 31st through June 2nd at the Hilton Hotel and Atrium Hotel Orange County Airport on MacArthur Blvd., T.H.E. Show Newport Beach 2013 show coverage by Enjoy the Music.com will begin the first day of the event! This high-end audio event will feature hundreds of manufacturers from around the world. T.H.E. Show Newport Beach showcases ultra-rare tube amplifiers, large floorstanding speakers, pure digital high-end, small wireless speakers, headphones, CDs vinyl records and so much more! The Home Entertainment Show in Newport Beach will have nonstop entertainment for all! Concerts included with the entry fee will be held Friday & Saturday starting at 6:30 p.m. Mike Garson, jazz legend and pianist for David Bowie, among many others, will perform joined by Tierney Sutton (Friday) and six-time Grammy nominee, Nnenna Freelon (Saturday). The Atrium Hotel courtyard will offer continuous live entertainment during the day — poolside will be the place to be. In the evening there will be DJ entertainment at the Poolside Bar. Show attendees benefited from a variety of educational seminars on timely audio/video topics moderated by manufacturers and editors. Additional attractions included wine tasting, a cigar bar, gourmet food trucks plus a high-end car show. Enjoy the Music.com's daily live coverage will begin the first day of this event.

TGIFMUSIC
In honor of the recent passing of Storm Thorgerson...

04 / 17 / 13

  Legacy Audio introduces Goliath XD ($9950), the company's deepest performing subwoofer to date. The Goliath features two 15" Silver/Graphite/Rohacell composite diaphragm drivers with vented motor structure plus two 15" passive radiators. There are two 500 Watt ICEpower modules so each driver is handles separately for high-end performance. Legacy Audio's Goliath XD employs the XP-4080 digital processor. This 4 input x 8 output, 32-bit DSP allows for low pass crossover settings with slopes ranging from 6 to 48 dB/octave. A pair of Goliath XD's can be used with one processor alongside the company's Aeris or Whisper XD. The provided algorithm precisely mates the response of the long excursion 15" drivers to the enclosure tuning frequency set by twin weighted 15" passive radiators. Eight parametric filters can be readily adapted to assure accurate room power response. The DSP adds a synchronization feature to align up to four subwoofers in time. Frequency response is from 12 Hz to 150 Hz, dimensions are 40.125" x 18.125" x 19.125" (HxWxD) and the unit is available in a variety of finishes to match many decors.

04 / 16 / 13

  IMPEX Records new 180 gram 33.3 rpm vinyl LP release will be The Jazz Messengers Hard Bop ($32.98). Some of the greatest jazz musicians of all time have passed through Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers including Horace Silver, Hank Mobley, Kenny Dorham, Wayne Shorter and Donald Byrd. True to its title, this LP is said to "bops hard, with a ferocious swing and telepathic communication between players". IMPEX Records has cut this gorgeous, limited edition LP from the original analog mono master tapes! Hurry and get your copy fast as there will only be 2500 pressing produced! Track listing is:

1 Cranky Spanky
2 Stella by Starlight 
3 Little Melonae
4 Stanley's Stiff Chicken
5 Moanin'
6 Justice
7 Are You Real
8 I Remember Clifford
9 Just By Myself

Music Industry News 10 Years Ago
Copy protected CDs may receive zero radio airplay as broadcast stations have trouble with these discs. The consequences of employing protected music technologies could equate to new artists receiving no on-air promotion. This radio station, which recently received its regular bag of freebies from EMI, find that it is unable to play any of the CDs it received as many stations do not use standalone CD players. Instead, they use sophisticated desktop PCs to preprogram the music in advance of airplay.

04 / 12   to   04 / 14

  Enjoy the Music.com's daily live coverage of the Chester Group's New York Audio Show 2013 will begin April 12th and run through the 14th. Held at The New York Palace hotel, this open to the public event is organized by The Chester Group, an organizations known for producing successful high-end audio events worldwide. The New York Audio Show 2013 will feature more than 100 brands and 70 exhibitors, plus live musical performances and lively educational seminars with editors and publishers from several popular consumer electronics publications, along with industry luminaries. Classic Album Sundays will be hosting a room at this year's New York Audio Show plus respected recording engineers Darcy Proper and Jim Anderson will be in attendance. Enjoy the Music.com is official media partners with the Chester Group and our daily live coverage of Chester Group's New York Audio Show 2013 will begin the first day of this event!

04 / 10 / 13

  IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), an organizations that represents the recording industry worldwide with some 1400 members in 66 countries, just released their Recording Industry in Numbers 2013. In it is says, "The rise of music subscription services and the promising growth of emerging markets are among key highlights of IFPI's Recording Industry in Numbers 2013, the essential statistical analysis of the recorded music market worldwide." Among the finalized industry data published in this year's edition:

• Overall global recorded music trade revenues increased by 0.2% in 2012, the first year of growth since 1999. All the revenue streams IFPI tracks (physical, digital, performance rights and synchronization revenues), with the exception of physical sales, increased in 2012. A total of 21 countries saw market growth in 2012, including nine of the top 20 markets. 

• The world's top 20 markets table shows that the US remains the world's largest music market; digital sales success in Sweden has made that country the world's 12th largest music market (up two places on 2011); India has also moved up the rankings. 

• Digital channels now account for 35% of overall industry trade revenues, while physical sales now represent 57% of record companies' income. Downloads remain the biggest source of digital revenues, with combined unit sales of track and album downloads up by 11% in 2012.

• Vinyl records reached a total of $177 million in 2012, this is the highest level in sales since 1997.

• Music subscription services are seeing rapid growth. Music subscription and ad-supported streaming services now account for 20% of digital revenues globally, up from 14% in 2011. Subscription and ad-supported revenues combined now account for almost one third (31%) of all digital music revenues in Europe.

• Emerging markets are helping fuel the industry's recovery. Brazil, India and Mexico have seen market growth respectively of 24%, 42% and 17% since 2008. In 2012 revenues in India reached an all-time high while Latin America was the fastest growing region of the year.

• Albums continue to hold their appeal, accounting for 56% of recorded music sales value. Digital album downloads grew faster than singles and vinyl sales hit their highest point since 1997. Consumer usage on streaming services shows that the album format remains very relevant. Many of the year's best-selling albums generated a large streaming volume across all tracks included on the album.

• Sources of music licensing income are also on the rise. Performance rights revenues (from broadcasts and public performance) were the fastest growing sector in the recording industry in 2012, accounting for 6 per cent of recorded music revenues. Revenues grew by 9.4% globally, to US$943 million. Income from synchronization deals -- music used in TV adverts, films and brand partnerships - were also up. These grew by 2.1% to US$337 million in 2012.

04 / 09 / 13

  Abyss Headphones model AB-1266 ($5495), as first seen in prototype form within Enjoy the Music.com's RMAF 2012 report, are now in full production. These headphones came about from the need for a superior way to listen to music according to the company owner. They worked for nearly five years on the first model of headphone, with much time spent experimenting with existing diaphragm and magnet materials to ultimately decided to make their own. Abyss has developed an in-house method of manufacturing an extremely low mass diaphragm with a conductive trace optimized as a unique planar magnetic transducer. The goal was to reproduce music as well as the finest two channel systems available, and the company believes they have achieved that goal, and then some. In their opinion, these are the finest sounding headphones available, limited only by the quality of electronics and source. Editor of Enjoy the Music.com, Steven R. Rochlin, gave them an extensive listen at the RMAF 20-12 event and came away very, very impressed. The headphones come nicely packaged and include a high quality carrying case.

Positive Feedback Online now offers their new audio buy/sell/trade/discussion system, the Positive Feedback Exchange. Positive Feedback Exchange (PFE) is a site that offers its users the ability to buy, sell, trade, and discuss audio gear. Believing that a lower-cost alternative to current used audio sales sites would be a benefit to audiophiles everywhere, the team at Positive Feedback Online decided to assemble a project group to produce PFE. Coded from the ground up with a fresh approach to an online audio buy/sell/trade/discuss system, PFE represents our creative take on what's possible in this sector. There is no charge for having an account at PFE. During the beta session, slated to last until May 15, all sale listings will be free. After completion of the beta period, user accounts will continue to be free at PFE. Listings of items for sale will cost a flat fee of $4 per item per 30 days, with no additional percentages charged for items sold. "We believe that this will encourage audio lovers who are selling, as well as those who are browsing for sale items, to find one another and arrange their transactions via PFE. They will find the cost structure extremely reasonable."

Once again here at Enjoy the Music.com we have updated editor Steven R. Rochlin's April editorial 'Doin' The Show Shuffle'. Our previous update included comments from Roy Bird who is the Honorary Chairman of The Chester Group (NY City Show), and another from Steve Davis who is owner of AXPONA. Now we have added the Montreal event promoter as it is also around the same time as the other shows. Sarah Tremblay, Chairwoman of Montreal HiFi Show, comments about our industry events and how recent decisions affect future shows at this link.

04 / 08 / 13

  Enjoy the Music.com just posted the April edition of Hi-Fi+ (Issue 98)! This issue includes equipment reviews of the Lindermann 800 system CD player, amp, speakers and cables, Zanden model 1300 value multi-EQ phonostage, Hegel H300 integrated amplifier with built-in DAC, MartinLogan Motion 15 loudspeakers, Cyrus Audio Stream X2 network audio streamer, Logitech/Ultimate Ears UE 900 in-ear monitors and much more! Within Alan Sircom's editorial he says, "It's something we rarely write about, but the importance of taking a musical break from time to time is a vital part of being a music lover, especially a music lover who's also fond of tinkering with bits of audio equipment. Spend too many hours listening to the same few test tracks over and over again can wipe out the enjoyment that is the reason why we all started buying bits of audio equipment." You can see the complete table of contents and editorial of Hi-Fi+ by clicking here.

04 / 05 / 13

  The magic of high performance audio takes center stage at the New York Audio Show, April 12th through 14th, 2013, at the New York Palace Hotel. The show will feature demonstrations from more than 80 companies and compelling special events.

LIVE PERFORMANCE – SATURDAY, APRIL 13 – 6:30 P.M.
Recording artist Lori Lieberman will perform music from her new CD Bricks Against The Glass which debuts this month. With more than thirty years as a recording artist, Lieberman is best known for the hit song, "Killing Me Softly." She has recorded over 15 albums and has toured worldwide with renowned musicians including Leonard Cohen, Randy Newman and Billy Joel.

CLASSIC ALBUM SUNDAYS LISTENING SESSIONS
Classic Album Sundays is the world's most popular record club. In the CAS room at The New York Audio Show, founder Colleen "Cosmo" Murphy will host listening sessions featuring some of the coolest classic albums including Talking Heads' Remain in Light, Kraftwerk's Autobahn, Love's Forever Changes and more.

Special press sessions will take place on Friday: 
10:30 - 11:45 Media Briefing followed by David Bowie Hunky Dory Album Listening Session
12:15 - 1:30 Media Briefing followed by Talking Heads Remain in Light Album Listening Session

LAST SHOP STANDING SCREENINGS
Exclusive sneak previews of the official 2013 Record Store Day film, the Last Shop Standing, will be shown on Friday and Saturday. The film tells the story of the rapid rise of independent music stores in the 60's, 70's and 80's and the impact and influence that the best sellers chart, the demise of vinyl and the introduction the CD and other new technologies had on music stores. For schedule details visit this link.

The Home Entertainment Show 2013 in Newport Beach will have nonstop entertainment for all! The Home Entertainment Show Newport Beach (T.H.E Show) 2013 marks their third year of this southern California event. Taking place from May 31st through June 2nd at the Hilton Hotel and Atrium Hotel Orange County Airport on MacArthur Blvd., T.H.E. Show Newport Beach 2013 high-end audio event will feature hundreds of manufacturers from around the world. T.H.E. Show Newport Beach showcases ultra-rare tube amplifiers, large floorstanding speakers, pure digital high-end, small wireless speakers, headphones, CDs vinyl records and so much more! The Home Entertainment Show in Newport Beach will have nonstop entertainment for all! Concerts included with the entry fee will be held Friday & Saturday starting at 6:30 p.m. Mike Garson, jazz legend and pianist for David Bowie, among many others, will perform joined by Tierney Sutton (Friday) and six-time Grammy nominee, Nnenna Freelon (Saturday). The Atrium Hotel courtyard will offer continuous live entertainment during the day — poolside will be the place to be. In the evening there will be DJ entertainment at the Poolside Bar. Show attendees benefited from a variety of educational seminars on timely audio/video topics moderated by manufacturers and editors. Additional attractions included wine tasting, a cigar bar, gourmet food trucks plus a high-end car show.

TGIFMUSIC
Here is an acoustic classic from Neil Young! It keeps me searching for...

04 / 04 / 13

  Here at Enjoy the Music.com there are times our articles are akin to a living, breathing entity. Prolific editor Steven R. Rochlin's April editorial 'In This Issue... Doin' The Show Shuffle" proves this point. Enjoy the Music.com has updated this article with two new correspondences, one from Roy Bird who is the Honorary Chairman of The Chester Group (NY City Show), and another from Steve Davis who is owner of AXPONA. See the updated and very interesting happenings within our industry concerning future shows at this link.

04 / 03 / 13

  Respected recording engineers Darcy Proper and Jim Anderson, who earned a 2013 Grammy awards for their work on Patricia Barber's album Modern Cool, will share their expertise about the record mastering process during the New York Audio Show. The series of From Studio to You sessions are being presented at the New York Audio Show, which takes place April 12th through 14th at the New York Palace Hotel and is produced by the Chester Group. Darcy Proper will discuss how the mastering process builds a bridge between professional audio and high end audio. She will explain the similarities and differences between these two disciplines and how the mastering process works while exploring the human approach behind the gear. She will use a variety of music to illustrate her presentations. Proper is a four-time Grammy award winner and has received seven additional nominations. Currently with Wisseloord Studio in Belgium, she has worked on a wide range of music including mastering historical reissue albums for Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Johnny Cash and Andre Hazes. Other projects include stereo and 5.1 front-line releases for Steely Dan, The Eagles, R.E.M, Donald Fagen, Porcupine Tree, Peter Maffay, Toots Thielmans and Sohne Mannheims. Jim Anderson is an internationally recognized recording engineer and producer of acoustic music in the recording, radio, television and film industries. During his presentations at the New York Audio Show he will play examples from the 5.1 surround Modern Cool re-release and Barber's latest album Smash to illustrate how the albums were mastered. Enjoy the Music.com will be reporting live each day from the Chester Group's New York Audio Show 2013.

04 / 02 / 13

  Part 2 of Enjoy the Music.com's 15th annual Salon Son & Image 2013 show report is now online! Rick Becker chimes in with many more photos and great coverage from this major Montréal event. Salon Son & Image 2013 was held at the Montreal Hilton Bonaventure in the heart of downtown Montreal from March 22nd through the 24th See part 2 of Rick Becker's Salon Son & Image 2013 report at this link.

Audience's ClairAudient The ONE single-driver loudspeaker is said to be ideal for desktop music listening, compact high-end stereo systems and surround sound home theater ($995 per pair in black and blue finishes; white and red finishes will be available soon). As the smallest model in Audience's ClairAudient speaker lineup, this speaker measures a mere 7" high by 5.5" wide by 7" deep. The ONE incorporates the same exclusive A3-S full-range crossover-less driver as every Audience ClairAudient loudspeaker, along with a purpose-designed passive radiator. The A3-S is a full-range high power, 12mm excursion, ultra-low distortion transducer. Because it has no crossover, The ONE is direct-coupled to the amplifier it's connected to, enabling the full damping factor of the amplifier to be directly applied to the A3-S driver's voice coil. Audience's ClairAudient The ONE employs high quality parts throughout including low-mass binding posts and Audience Ohno (monocrystal) Auric internal wiring. Frequency response is flat from 50 Hz to 20 kHz in-room response when placed on a desk or near a wall; a subwoofer is required for full-frequency response when The ONE is situated away from a wall. The grilles are magnetically attached to the speaker for ease of use.

Music Industry News 10 Years Ago
Sonic Studio is now offering DSD mastering and SACD authoring hardware and software for computers. The three new products consist of their DSD.1 (pictured here) and DSD.X hardware plus their SACD.1 software. The DSD.1 is an eight-channel processor computer card featuring eight channels of playback with crossfades or sixteen without. Sonic Studio's DSD.X computer board is an optional add-on processor that supports the DSD.1. The DSD.X includes four Sony Oxford D-MAP DSD processing and mixing modules and the Sony Oxford SuperMAC 24 channel DSD interface. This, in turn, adds another eight channels along with multi-channel DSD-native EQ and dynamics processing. Lastly, SACD.1 is Sonic Studio's Scarlet Book layer authoring software for Sony's proprietary SACD. Made only for the Macintosh, it provides the ability to separate mastering and authoring functions. Sonic Studio claims the release date of their DSD.1 and SACD.1 will be during the second quarter of 2003 with the release of their DSD.X shortly thereafter. No prices have been set at this time.

04 / 01 / 13

Enjoy the Music.com's April high-end audio Review Magazine is now online! We have three new high-end audio show reports, equipment reviews plus think pieces and of course music reviews Go see our April Review Magazine right now by clicking here.

                                
Regular Reading
Daily News: Audiophile news updated each weekday!

BAS Speaker
Clarity Versus Fidelity
Article By Dan Shanefield

Sound Practices
The Feral Eye
Article By Herb Reichert With Schematic By N.Y. Triode Mafia

VALVE Magazine
Altec Alternatives
Article By Dan Schmalle

Contest! Win Free Stuff!
Enjoy the Music.com & Spin-Clean Giving Away Record Washers

Show Reports
Salon Son & Image 2013 Montreal High-End Audio Show Report

ALMA Winter Symposium 2013 Report

AXPONA 2013 Chicago High-End Audio Show Report

Video Celebration
Dave Grohl South By Southwest (SXSW) 2013 Keynote Speech
Nirvana drummer gives an excellent keynote address.

Viewpoint
In This Issue... Doin' The Show Shuffle
Show are great for attendees, yet how many can the industry support?
Article By Steven R. Rochlin

Audiolics Anonymous Chapter 163: Dirac Live Room Correction Suite
The closest I've ever been to being in a concert hall.
Article By Dr. Bill Gaw

Superior Audio
Clearaudio daVinci V2 MC Phono Cartridge
Rock solid, transparent, and capable of creating a fully layered depth perspective.
Review By Dick Olsher 

Flashback Review!
Lamm Industries Model L2 Reference Line-Level Preamplifier
Taking the proverbial Road less traveled.
Review By Dick Olsher 

Flashback Review
WAVAC MD-805m Monoblock Amplifiers
A crystal palace for your music.
Review By Wayne Donnelly

Audiophile Equipment Reviews
Audio Art Statement I Power Cable
New cable provides blacker background and subtly increased dynamic range.
Review By Tom Lyle 

Subatomic String Tuning Device -- The Ultimate In Resonance Tuning!
Review By Steven R. Rochlin 

Audiophile Sound Solution -- Home Overall Liquid Energizer
Review By Steven R. Rochlin

From Our First Years
Moth Audio si2A3
Like a moth to a flame...
Review By Steven R. Rochlin

From Our First Years 
Hammer Dynamics Super 12 Loudspeaker Kit
Review By Dick Olshery

Partner Magazine Reviews
The Absolute Sound
Lamm ML2.2 Single-Ended Triode Amplifier
Can an 18W amplifier at 3% distortion be world class?
Review By Robert Harley

Esoteric D-07X Digital-to-Analog Converter
Something Special!
Review By Alan Taffel

Hi-Fi+
Just Audio MHA-120Ds
New portable Headphone Amp/DAC.
Review By Alan Sircom

VPI Classic 4 Turntable/Tonearm
The cherry on the icing on the cake.
Review By Roy Gregory

Hi-Fi World
Astell&Kern AK100 Portable Music Player
Able to play top rate digital files.
Review By Noel Keywood

Timestep T-01MC Moving Coil Phonostage
Tony Bolton tries out a new phono stage for Moving Coil cartridges.
Review By Tony Boltono

HIFICRITIC
Stan Looks At....
The problems faced by anybody thinking of starting a hi-fi company from scratch.
Article By Stan Curtis

Get Your FREE Vintage Issue Of HIFICRITIC Now!
Volume 2 number 6 of HIFICRITIC available for free!

See the April Review Magazine by clicking here.

CONTEST
Enjoy the Music.com, in concert with Spin Clean, is giving away not one but two of their Spin-Clean Record Washer MKII Package - Limited Edition Clear Units! This limited-production Spin-Clean unit provides an innovative see-through basin, only available as part of the Spin-Clean MKII Package! This allows you to witness the process of your Spin-Clean Record Washer removing the dirt and dust from your vinyl records! As with any Spin-Clean MKII Package, contests winner will receive an extra pair of brushes, triple the amount of drying cloths, and eight times more cleaning fluid. The package includes:

• Translucent Washer Basin and Lid 
• Washer Fluid 4 oz. 
• Washer Fluid 32 oz.
• Two Pair Brushes MKII 
• One Pair Rollers MKII 
• Seven Washable Drying Cloths

MSRP: $174.99
Package Price: $149.99

Two winners will each receive one Spin-Clean Record Washer MKII Package - Limited Edition Clear Unit valued at $149.99. This contest has a total value of $299.98.

We encourage you to share your joy of tunes by visiting Enjoy the Music.com's Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages to let friends know about your love of music! You can enter the contest by clicking here. If you are currently a member of our mailing list, you are already entered to win. One entry per person please. Contest entry time ends on April 30, 2013.

Remember to come visit Enjoy the Music.com at    

TGIFMUSIC
Since spring is here, at least on the calendar, soon it will be top-down cruising music! I got me a car, it's as big as a whale and we're headin' on down to the Love Shack. I got me a B, it seats about 20 so come on and bring your jukebox money!