Life

Life


  • Klipsch Launches Music City series of Portable Bluetooth Speakers

    Inspired by the iconic music cities of Detroit, Austin, and Nashville.

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  • Miles Davis: Eight Great Tracks

    From a teen filling in for Art Blakey to shaping jazz history across decades, Miles Davisโ€™ eight standout tracksโ€”from โ€œBluingโ€ to 2019โ€™s โ€œThis Is Itโ€โ€”trace a career of bold reinvention and enduring influence.

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  • Jazz Icon to TV Host: Nat King Coleโ€™s Color-Breaking Journey

    In a turbulent era where the winds of change blew against the rigid walls of racial prejudice, a virtuoso arose, commandeering the airwaves with a voice so smooth it could soothe even the tempests of societal unrest. Nat King Cole, the masterful pianist and velvety-voiced crooner, boldly carved a path through the tumultuous landscapes of…

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  • Sister Rosetta Tharpe: Rock’s Overlooked Matriarch

    From cotton fields in Arkansas to New Yorkโ€™s electrifying jazz clubs, Sister Rosetta Tharpe defied genres and gender roles, blending gospel with rock โ€™nโ€™ roll and pioneering a soundโ€”and a legacyโ€”that would change music forever.

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  • TAF2023: J.Sikora, Nagra, Gryphon, Audio Nec, Nordost, Modulum Audio

    Prices listed in CA$. Another room that served up incredible sound was that of retailer Bliss Acoustics, whose demo included a J.Sikora Reference turntable ($64,500) fitted with a KV Max 9โ€ณ tonearm ($16,450) and Nagra Reference cartridge ($24,500), a Nagra Classic preamplifer ($24,000), a Nagra Classic phono stage ($26,000), a Gryphon Essence stereo amplifier ($32,480),…

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  • Klipsch, Klipsch, Boom! The Explosive Brilliance of Paul W. Klipsch

    From crafting radios at 15 to redefining high-fidelity audio with the Klipschorn, Paul W. Klipschโ€™s century-spanning legacy fused military precision, engineering genius, and musical passion into a revolution that still echoes in modern hi-fi.

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  • TAF2023: Clarisys Audio, CH Precision, Linn, Audioquest

    Prices listed in US$ except where otherwise noted. I heard more fantastic sound in the Audio by Mark Jones room, which displayed a pair of Apogee speaker-inspired planar-type Clarisys Audio Studio Plus speakers ($66,000/pair) allied to a stack of twin-chassis products that included a CH Precision 300Wpc M10 stereo power amplifier ($104,000), an L10 preamplifier…

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  • TAF2023: Bergmann Audio, Grado, Graham Audio, MoonRiver, Cardas Audio, Artesania Audio

    Prices listed in US$. Iโ€™m going to get this out of the way: Every time I visit a On a Higher Note exhibit room, I turn into a sap. I get wishy-washy. I canโ€™t help it. Thereโ€™s something about the systems that proprietor Philip Oโ€™Hanlon is able to put together that allows those systems to…

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  • Bob Dylan’s Prophetic Strains: Crafting ‘The Times They Are A-Changin”

    In the musical crucible of New York City, on a day woven into the fabric of rock folklore, Bob Dylan, a lyrical architect of the times, entered Studio A of Columbia Recording Studios with a message reverberating with the echoes of change. October 24, 1963, marked the day โ€” a day where the crisp autumn…

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  • TAF2023: Atoll Electronique, Final Audio, Atohm

    Prices listed in CA$. Many exhibitors at this yearโ€™s Toronto Audiofest were showcasing panel-style loudspeakers, including electronics manufacturer Atoll Electronique, who was presenting the North American launch of the companyโ€™s SDA300 Signature Streaming, DAC Amplifier ($6,999, and hence the SDA in the model name), paired with a pair of Final Audio Model 7 Hybrid electrostatic…

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  • Black Magic: Cambridge Audio reveals MXN10 & DacMagic 200M Black Edition

    The MXN10 provides the technical prowess of Cambridgeโ€™s StreamMagic streaming platform, while the DacMagic 200M adds powerful headphone amplification and an exceptional digital-to-analogue converter.

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  • An Interview with Andrรฉ Perry, legendary record producer and founder of the fabled Le Studio, Part 1

    In this wide-ranging interview, Le Studio founder Andrรฉ Perry reflects on his journey from teenage drummer to recording legend, recounting sessions with icons like Rush and Bowie, the rise of his trailblazing woodland studio, and his enduring passion for sonic excellence.

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  • The Paul McCartney Death Rumor: Dissecting the 1969 Beatles Conspiracy

    In the transformative year of 1969, amidst the backdrop of Woodstock and intense Vietnam War protests, the Paul McCartney death rumor seeped into pop culture, becoming one of rockโ€™s most tenacious legends. This Beatles conspiracy theory contended that the beloved bassist, Paul McCartney, had met a tragic end in a 1966 car accident. Instead of…

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  • Pro-Ject VC-S MK II Record Cleaner Review and Comparison

    With subtle design upgrades and the same powerful performance, Pro-Jectโ€™s VC-S MK II builds on its predecessor to remain the best-value wet record cleaner on the marketโ€”quieter, sleeker, and just as ruthlessly effective.

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  • Michael & Paul’s Dishwashing Jam

    Amidst the kaleidoscope of the 1980s, with its intoxicating beats and larger-than-life music videos, a single photograph emerged that, in its simplicity, said more about a partnership than a thousand words could. It wasnโ€™t set against the backdrop of an opulent stage or amidst the frenzy of adoring fans. Instead, it captured two of musicโ€™s…

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