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  • I am not an audiophile

    I am not an audiophile, or an expert on music. I donโ€™t like being labelled. But I do love most musical genres. I fell in love with music when I was nine. โ€œThatโ€™s a young age to fall in love for the first time!โ€ I hear some of you saying. It is. But by nine…

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  • Understanding Audio, Episode โ€œWatts that you said?โ€

    Imagine youโ€™re driving down the highway at 110 km/h, when you suddenly find yourself at the wrong end of a radar gun and soon being pursued by a police car signaling you to pull over. The chesty policeman standing by your rolled-down window offers you the typical icebreaker in this sort of situation: โ€œDo you…

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  • Listen now: hereโ€™s how to set up your speakers

    Gerard Rejskind argues nothing impacts your systemโ€™s sound more than speaker placement, offering unconventional tipsโ€”from asymmetry to nearfield setupsโ€”to overcome room flaws and coax the best performance from your gear.

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  • Can music actually save a life?

    We all know about musicโ€™s power to change a life, but can it literally save one, to make the difference between life and death? According to a Nashville FOX 17 report, thatโ€™s exactly what Johnny Cashโ€™s grandson, Thomas Gabriel, says music was for him โ€” a determining factor in keeping him alive. After spending eight…

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  • Stop, Hey, Whatโ€™s That Sound? Part 1

    Just as listening to bad music is no fun, itโ€™s no fun listening to bad audio, so knowing what to listen for when auditioning a component is important. โ€œStop, Hey, Whatโ€™s That Sound?โ€ is a series dedicated to recognizing aspects of good and bad sound reproduction. Once youโ€™ve settled on what features you want your…

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  • A Word with Twisted Sisterโ€™s Fearless Jay Jay French

    Jay Jay French recalls funding his first hi-fi with pot money, trashes a Dylan concert, and champions budget gear that “sniffs cocaine like itโ€™s Jaws”โ€”all while slowly, skeptically courting jazz.

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  • My Audio Revelation

    Iโ€™ve always loved listening to music on a sound system, even going as far back as when all I had access to was my parentsโ€™ outdated, low-fi stereo system. It was in my collegeโ€™s music library, where I worked, that I was introduced to quality sound, although at the time I had no idea what…

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  • Music Unites Us

    Of course, music isnโ€™t the kind of language weโ€™ll use, say, to order food at the drive-thru or book a car appointment at the garage (even for a car tune up, hehe). Music transcends words. It operates on an emotional frequency to make us feel. Even in songs with lyrics, itโ€™s the songโ€™s harmonic and…

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  • Music is in my Guts

    Iโ€™ve heard the comments from audio enthusiasts trying to put a positive spin on being Corona-confined: โ€œStuck inside? Hey, itโ€™s like Iโ€™ve been preparing for this all along!โ€ I know about musicโ€™s health benefits. Iโ€™ve read those credibly-sourced studies that prove how listening to music can help reduce depression, anxiety, physical pain, and enhance Alzheimer-,…

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  • Sound Reflections: CD sounds better than you may think. Hereโ€™s why.

    When the CD came out, many vinyl record enthusiasts decried the format. โ€œIt sounds mechanical!โ€ Theyโ€™d protest. โ€œIt sounds cold!โ€ Digital sucks became their mantra. A format war ensued. And while most of them today will concede that CD playback sounds leagues better than it used to, many still canโ€™t fully warm up to it.…

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  • Audio is Getting Better. Hereโ€™s why.

    After decades of lo-fi compromises, improved gear and high-res streaming from Tidal to Qobuz signal a turning pointโ€”finally letting listeners hear the full artistry behind recordings, not just a compressed shadow of it.

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  • Do Terminators Dream of Mechanical-Sounding Audio?

    A T-800 might settle for bad sound, but as this witty essay makes clear, music is meant to stir human emotionโ€”not metallic circuits. Good audio connects us; bad audio shuts us down.

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  • 5 Classical Recordings That Will Blow Your Mind!

    From du Prรฉโ€™s iconic Elgar to Stravinskyโ€™s riotous Rite of Spring, this list highlights five stunning classical recordingsโ€”each a sonic and emotional powerhouse, perfectly suited for seasoned collectors or curious newcomers alike.

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