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Jonson Lee visits three music-listening spaces in Korea where silence is enforced, and the sound system—not the customer—rules. These venues offer a rare escape from choice overload, immersing visitors in pure, communal music appreciation.
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Frank Doris offers a soundcheck pro tip and talks about playing on a bigger stage, with the vagaries that come with it.
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Simon Wilce takes McIntosh’s new McIntosh C2800 Preamplifier for a spin, and shares his impressions.
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South Korea’s Mon Acoustic ditches hype for honesty, crafting AMT-equipped speakers in aluminum shells to deliver pure, uncolored sound now making waves in North America.
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Would you drive a Formula 1 racing car on a gravel road? Not if you could help it, right? Because on a gravel road, you know that an F1 car can’t reveal its potential. Yet, this is exactly what many audiophiles do when they play their high-end audio system in an untreated room.
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Happy New Year everyone! On deck are some recent releases, peppered with a couple of disappointments. After all, not all of our music purchases (vinyl or otherwise) are perfect!
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Captivated by Liu Fang’s mastery of the pipa, composer Christian Thomas created Dragon, Concerto for Pipa—a sweeping East-meets-West musical odyssey.
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Paul Whitehead, the artist behind Genesis’ album covers, reflects on his iconic work and creative journey. Alter egos, the Borg Symphony, live concert paintings, and his ever-evolving artistry continue to define his innovative spirit.
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In the spring of 1973, the surreal collided head-on with the theatrical when Salvador Dalí and Alice Cooper met at the St. Regis Hotel in New York City. It was the kind of encounter that seems almost too absurd to be true, but somehow, when you put Dalí and Cooper in the same room, it…
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Paris’ jazz kissa-inspired bars like Listener and Bambino blend high-fidelity sound, vinyl culture, and refined design, redefining nightlife for audiophiles.
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Claude Lemaire thinks Led Zeppelin is so seminal to hard rock, he chooses them twice for Episode 3. King Crimson also makes the cut.
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The Shanling CR60 is one of those rare devices that feels like it was designed for a very specific type of person—the kind who doesn’t just listen to music but lives with it, surrounds themselves with it, collects it. If you’ve ever stared at your wall of CDs, debating whether to keep them or finally…
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From apologizing to loved ones neglected during DAC testing to listening to Dark Side of the Moon on a $20 speaker, this clever guide skewers obsessive habits with wit, reminding readers that “it’s the ear, not the gear.”
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David Chesky, audiophile pioneer and Grammy nominee, shares insights in an exclusive interview ahead of his trio’s live performance of The Great European Songbook at Montreal’s Bourgie Hall on January 23. Tickets are available now, for $19 – $38.
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Improving sound quality requires prioritizing fixes based on their impact—what Kevin Fielding dubs “sonic triage.” Speaker placement, time alignment, and managing reflections top the “emergency” list, while bass management and fine-tuning DSP take precedence later. Read on for the full breakdown.
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This striking image from David Bowie’s 1979 Lodger photoshoot is more than a visual oddity—it’s a portal into a restless, brilliant period in Bowie’s life. Captured by Brian Duffy, the man responsible for some of Bowie’s most iconic imagery (think the lightning bolt on Aladdin Sane), this photograph encapsulates the strange tension between control and…
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DR Acoustics’s Daniel Robidoux doesn’t just rehash old cable and AC conditioner designs. A university-educated expert in signal processing and a pioneer in modem technology, Daniel’s products are groundbreaking.
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Signal loss impacts imaging, clarity, and bass—but it’s fixable. Discover 10 years’ worth of tips for unlocking your system’s potential.
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More tips, stories, and wisdom from veteran musician Frank Doris based on his decades playing in bands. This time, it’s all about what to do if you’re stuck on a small stage.
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HF&MS’s “Best Products of 2024” continues with the best in cabling, amplifiers, and more, including Outstanding Product of the Year!