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Welcome to my series Treasures from the Vinyl Vault. In it, I will feature select gems from my approximately 12,000 ever-growing vinyl collection, accumulated over a 45-year period and counting.
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Claude Lemaire’s sprawling DIY vinyl system may look eccentric, but its rich, soulful sound proves his unorthodox tweaks and vintage gear choices are far from frivolous.
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Reporting from High End Munich 2022, Gilles Laferrière reflects on dream systems, surprising entry-level performance, and passionate interviews—while urging exhibitors to ditch the arrogance and set up their rooms right.
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Rotel’s A12MKII integrated amp-DAC impresses with refined power, a premium DAC, and warm, balanced sound. While lacking AAC Bluetooth support, it shines with dynamic range, rich midrange, and build quality that outclasses rivals.
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Luthier Okkyum Kim and reviewer Robert Schryer audition Audio Element’s $10K Krypton system in Pasadena and are stunned by its deep, articulate bass and musical realism—qualities that rival systems many times its price.
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In Part 4 of this series, Gilles Laferrière defends high-end audio cabling against skeptics, citing top studios and engineers—like Bob Ludwig and Kevin Gray—who rely on premium cables to achieve superior sound quality.
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“No, I have the best system in the world!” #5: Crafting an Audiophile’s Dream in a Split-Level House
In his pursuit of audio nirvana, Serge transformed a living space into a showcase for his Focal Utopia Maestros and a $100K+ setup, crediting his system’s final leap in performance to DR Acoustics power products.
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Vincent Bélanger, a fourth-generation cellist and Audio Note UK ambassador, blends elite classical training with audiophile sensibilities, global collaborations, and a deep reverence for accessible, emotionally resonant performance.
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In this revealing article, Jonson Lee explores how volume controls—digital or analog—inevitably compromise sound quality, ultimately concluding that even the best among them can’t compete with the clarity of having none at all.
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The company’s first cartridge in 40 years BALLSTON SPA, New York, March 2022 – Not since the original LMC-1 of 1981 and 1982 follow-up model LMC-2 has Luxman offered a phono cartridge. That 40-year absence ends now with the introduction of the LMC-5 moving coil cartridge. “This new reference class MC cartridge is the result…
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In Part 3, Gilles challenges cable skeptics by arguing that blind tests favor short-term memory and ignore the nuanced, experience-driven perception stored in our long-term auditory memory—where true cable differences reveal themselves.
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Built around both vinyl and digital front-ends, this $50K two-in-one system marries Magnepan LRS panels with Zu Audio Omens—proving great sound isn’t about price tags, but system synergy, savvy tweaks, and soul.
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PMA’s Robert Schryer confesses to abandoning separates for the Grandinote Shinai integrated amp, declaring it the most human-sounding gear he’s owned—and the cornerstone of a system that finally silenced the upgrade itch.
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To showcase how today’s classical recordings can unlock a system’s full potential, Jonson Lee surveys the sonic evolution from flawed late analog to early digital’s brightness, arriving finally at today’s breathtaking 24-bit digital gems.
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After years of AB tests and blind comparisons, Jonson Lee finds that while 24-bit playback offers little audible advantage over 16-bit, high-res still matters—mainly due to improved recording techniques and mastering quality.
