Part 5: The Last Piece of Pi – The Allo Boss I2S DAC
Raspberry Pi with Allo Boss I2S DAC v1.2 (The Last Piece of Pi, I promise) By Steve Graham In the previous Raspberry Pi installment Raspberry Pi Postscript: S/PDIF Vs. USB Sound Comparison, I pitted a...
View ArticleDALI, Tangent, And The Return Of The Mini System
From Denmark With Love – A Mini System for 2021 ‘In the House’ Review by David Neice List Prices (MSRP) Dali Spektor 1 speakers $399 CAD Tangent Ampster BT II $349 CAD Tangent CD II $349 CAD Tangent...
View ArticleRevisiting A Classic: The Spendor BC1 Loudspeakers
Audio History Refurbished & Revisited: The Spendor BC1 Loudspeakers ‘In the House’ by David Neice The Setting I bought a brand new pair of Spendor BC1s in and around 1975 – voila, the original...
View ArticleSoul To Keep You Alive
We are languishing, according to a popular NY Times article someone sent me recently. I can’t argue with that term. And there ain’t no more words need to be written about that....
View ArticleREVIEW: Six Acoustics ‘York’ Phono Preamp
Six Acoustics’ ‘York’ Phono Pre-amp – A Smooth Operator ‘In the House’ Review by David Neice MSRP: $499 (CAD) Verdict: A small Canadian audiophile company called ‘Six Acoustics’ offers a new and lovely...
View ArticleMad for NAD – A Look Back At The NAD 3020A Integrated Amp
A C.H.E. (Classic, Heritage, Exotic) look back at the NAD 3020A By Steve Graham History Well, right off it’s not exotic. Far from it, but that’s the point. The NAD 3020, introduced in the late...
View ArticleFirst Look (And Listen) – The New Bluesound NODE!
When summer finally comes around up here in the North, all thoughts turn to leisure, social events, and escaping the city by whatever means. It’s not the ideal time to launch a new audio product. But...
View ArticleReview: NAD C338 Hybrid Digital Integrated Amplifier
Mad for NAD (Part II) A Look Forward at the NAD C338 Hybrid Digital Integrated Amplifier MSRP: $899 (Canadian) ‘In the House’ review by David Neice Verdict So, the question is this: can you teach an...
View ArticleReview: Parasound ZPhono MM/MC Phono Preamp
Parasound’s Budget ZPhono MM/MC preamplifier – A Killer Piece of Vinyl Kit M.S.R.P. $325 (Canadian) In the House review by David Neice Verdict: While providing top value is how the company cut its...
View ArticleWhat Difference Does An Output Transformer Make?
Do Transformers Matter? Spoiler Alert, They Do. (to varying degrees) By Steve Graham Bored? Take an OK amp, buy two new transformers Yes, I was bored. Two years and counting of near-isolation in a...
View ArticleMQA – Other Perspectives On Streaming
Mini-opinion by Noam Bronstein I tried, I really tried to avoid a clickbait title. Just including those three letters “MQA” in a post title is going to attract some views, I know that. I can’t recall...
View ArticleReview: Fezz Audio Mira Ceti 300B Integrated Amplifier
Fezz Audio’s Mira Ceti Integrated Tube Amplifier – 300 B Single Ended Triode – Excellent! ‘In the House’ Review by David Neice MSRP: $4090 (Canadian) Verdict: You just have to love all of those seven...
View ArticleICYMI: ‘The Montreux Years’ Releases
(In Case You Missed It) As audiophiles we’re often bombarded with ‘new’ reissue series, like the terrific Music Matters and Tone Poet Blue Note releases. Less frequently, a trove of unreleased...
View ArticleAce and Steve’s Big Vintage Summer Adventure: And So It Begins
Steve’s Return to Rehab by Steve Graham (Tube Amp Rehab, That Is) I have agreed to help an audiophile in distress. A friend of a friend has amassed a large collection of audio gear, much of it...
View ArticleDALI Spektor 1 Vs DALI Menuet – A DALI Mini-Monitor Shootout
A Tale of Two DALIs – DALI Menuets versus Spektor 1s – A Mini-Monitor Shoot Out ‘In the House’ Review by David Neice DALI Menuet speaker pair – MSRP $2099 (Canadian) DALI Spektor 1 speaker pair – MSRP...
View ArticleAce And Steve: Reviving The Leak Stereo 20 (Part 1)
Ace and Steve’s Big Vintage Summer Adventure: Update No. 1 Leak Stereo 20 Progress, and I Share a Testing Tip by Steve Graham The Leak Stereo 20 is up and running. I installed the remaining caps...
View ArticleReview: The Finale Audio Prelude Hybrid Tube Preamplifier
From Solid State to a Flirtation with Tubes: Reviewing Finalé Audio’s Prelude Hybrid Tube Preamplifier, by Jamie Gillies For all of my audiophile life, I have been a solid state adherent, largely...
View ArticleHoly Or Hell: Ace & Steve Update 2 – The Heartbreak Of Vintage Gear
Ace and Steve’s Big Vintage Summer Adventure Update No. 2: The Heartbreak of Vintage Gear by Steve Graham This was originally going to be a much different progress report. I’ll get into that later,...
View ArticleFinale Audio’s Kensington Speakers – 100dB Of Pure Goodness
Finale’s ‘Kensington’ Speakers – Big Horns Excite Us! A Gold Star Winner ‘In the House’ Review by David Neice MSRP $12,999 (CAD) We get nationalistic about audio sometimes. It’s a Canadian...
View ArticleAce & Steve Update 3: The Long And Winding Road
Ace and Steve’s Big Vintage Summer Adventure: Update No. 3: The Long and Winding Road by Steve Graham Progress of a sort, on the Mactone front. Perfect and as new? Probably not. The conundrum...
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