Orchestra


  • Amplified Confusion: Why the FTCโ€™s New Rule Falls Flat

    The FTCโ€™s 2024 Amplifier Rule aims for transparency but sparks backlash for outdated testing, unrealistic standards, and a loophole echoing pre-1974 marketing chaos.

    Read More


  • Playing in a Rock Band, 5: What Kind of Music Do You Want to Play?

    Frank Doris continues to mine his experience accrued over 50 years of playing in bands, offering insight into brand identity, having a set list, and playing music you don’t like for the sake of entertaining the crowd!

    Read More


  • How Disneyโ€™s Fantasound Brought Surround Sound to Hollywood in 1940

    In the late 1930s, when Hollywood was still refining synchronized sound, Walt Disney had an audacious idea. He wanted to create an animated film that not only brought classical music to the masses but did so in a way that allowed audiences to feel like they were immersed in the music itself. Enter Fantasiaโ€”a revolutionary…

    Read More


  • The Legacy of Fantasia: How Disneyโ€™s 1940 Classic Revolutionized Music in Film

    Eighty-four years ago, Disney released Fantasia, and the world would never look at animated filmsโ€”or hear classical musicโ€”the same way again. November 13, 1940, marked the debut of a cinematic experiment so ambitious it mightโ€™ve seemed crazy at the time. A cartoon? Sure. But a cartoon with no dialogue, featuring Bach, Beethoven, and Stravinsky? This…

    Read More


  • And Just Like Thatโ€”A Complete Reset to My Digital Streaming System!

    Tom Gibbs reveals how Euphonyโ€™s new software and a top-notch DAC took his music system to stunning new heights, with sound so real it feels like a live concert.

    Read More


  • Deciphering a Stereoโ€™s Acoustical Measurements and Taking Corrective Actions

    In my previous article, entitled โ€œAnalyzing a Stereoโ€™s Frequency Response and Decay Timesโ€, I suggested measurement tips and the use of important variables to do with frequency response and decay times.ย This article begins with a measurement baseline of a 2-channel stereo with two subwoofers within a typical domestic living room (25โ€™ x 11.25โ€™ x 8โ€™)…

    Read More


  • Observations At T.H.E. Show 2024

    “What Iโ€™m going to say now with 100% certainty is that I had never heard these two recordings sound better than they did in that room.”

    Read More


  • How a $1ย Millionย System Changed Me

    Iโ€™ve listened to many audio setups over the years but I only recently heard a โ€œcost-no-objectโ€ system. It happened in the Focal-Naim showroom at Montreal Audiofest 2024. Its cost? Close to $1 million dollars if you include cables and acoustic treatment. My verdict? Mind-blowingly good, and Iโ€™m not someone who would naturally equate higher price…

    Read More


  • The Bicentennial Anniversary of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9

    As we mark the bicentennial anniversary of Ludwig van Beethovenโ€™s Symphony No. 9, imagine the scene: a packed theater in Vienna, the audience on edge, and Beethoven himself, nearly deaf, standing tall on stage. This wasnโ€™t just another symphonic debut; it was the musical equivalent of a revolution. Premiering on May 7, 1824, the Ninth…

    Read More


  • The Vinyl Frontier: A Spin Through Record Store Day

    Click here to jump to the highlights and special releases of the 2024 edition. On April 20th, vinyl enthusiasts and music aficionados around the globe unite for a celebration that spins beyond just a routine shopping spreeโ€”itโ€™s Record Store Day, the annual event thatโ€™s been putting the needle back on the beloved grooves of vinyl…

    Read More


  • Reviewedโ€”Audiophile Analog Collection Vol.2

    “Not only is this double-LP compilation outstanding in sound, it is also excellent musically and performance-wiseโ€”surprisingly so, perhaps, given the poor history of audiophile-oriented releases.”

    Read More


  • The Four Seasons: Vivaldi & Piazzolla Is My Favorite LP I’ve Ever Owned

    Seldom does an LPโ€™s visual presentation rival the artistry of its music. Having seen the orchestra this past weekend at the Maison Symphonique in Montrรฉal, where the album was recorded, I can attest that the quality of the recording matches the live presentation. In fact, the only thing thatโ€™s missing from the album is the…

    Read More


  • MAF 2024: Audio Note UK

    Prices listed in CA$. I heard a classical orchestral piece in the Audio Note UK room (I will tell you what it was later) and noticed three things: 1. Timpani sounded like an explosion instead of a real timpani2. Decays sounded like an applied reverb instead of natural hall ambience3. The instruments sounded all over…

    Read More


  • Brico’s Baton: A Woman’s Whisper in the Roar of Men

    Early Crescendos: The Formative Years of Antonia Brico In the rich tapestry of classical music history, Antonia Louisa Bricoโ€™s narrative is a compelling saga of tenacity, pioneering spirit, and sublime artistry. Born under the shadow of societal constraints in Rotterdam on June 26, 1902, to an unmarried Dutch Catholic mother, Bricoโ€™s journey from an obscure…

    Read More


  • From Opening Night to Global Limelight: The Vienna Philharmonic’s Timeless Tale

    On the eve of March 28, 1842, Viennaโ€”a city already buzzing with the whispers of musical innovation and cultural renaissanceโ€”was about to witness an event that would carve a new cornerstone into its artistic edifice. The Imperial Opera Theater, a beacon of operatic and symphonic excellence, set the stage for a concert that would mark…

    Read More