Which audio format would you most like to see making a comeback, enjoying success again? This was the question Hi-Fi Choice magazine recently put to its readers, and the results are…. R2R comes out on top! 38% of Hi-Fi Choice readers picked R2R as their preferred format for a comeback. Gotta be happy with that! … More R2R is ‘most wanted’ format for a comeback: Hi-Fi Choice
The audiophile recording label Yarlung Records is all about helping young musicians. Once such musician – Yuko Mabuchi – has just released another album for jazz aficionados; this time, as a homage to Miles Davis. Yarlung offer their recordings in a variety of formats, including superb quality copy-master tapes. The album ‘Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles … More Neville Roberts reviews ‘Yuko Mabuchi plays Miles Davis’ from Yarlung Records
In part 1 of Discovering the amazing Alena Baeva you found me tugging at UltraAnalogue Recordings’ Ed Pong’s coat tails like an over-excited kid, dying to get my hands on five tapes of virtuoso violinist Alena Baeva performing in Toronto. Having seen her perform live in the UK twice, and having had the immense pleasure of meeting … More Discovering Alena Baeva with UltraAnalogue Recordings: part 2 – Beethoven & Mozart
Laszlo Gaal of Tone-Pearls Records in France dropped us a line to share news of a new recording on master tape. Tone-Pearls Records is a really interesting sounding venture. It’s a non-profit collective of music researchers and music lovers devoted to recreating the original experience of live concerts. They produce ‘true analogue recordings’ on master tape, … More New recording on master tape from Tone Pearls
I’m casting my mind back to August 2018. I’ve been exchanging emails with Ed Pong about his Toronto-based label UltraAnalogue Recordings, which specialises in making superb recordings of chamber music in natural settings, on analogue tape. One day Ed asks me if I’m based anywhere near London. Turns out he’s going to be visiting with … More Discovering the amazing Alena Baeva with UltraAnalogue Recordings: part 1
It seems quite the norm these days for audiophile recording labels to offer a sampler or demo tape that contains extracts from their tape library, and the UK’s Chasing The Dragon is no exception. Run by the husband and wife team of Mike and Françoise Valentine, Chasing The Dragon offers a wide range of classical … More Neville Roberts reviews Chasing The Dragon’s new Sampler Tape
Back in May I wrote a post about room acoustics. Long story short, the folks at GIK Acoustics had (some months prior) very kindly loaned me a bunch of acoustic panels to use in my Reel-to-Reel Rambler demo room at Hi-Fi Show Live. I was so impressed by them that, before returning them, I took … More In pursuit of sonic nirvana: the GIK Acoustics experiment continues – with much juggling of bass traps
There are moments in a music lover’s life when you know you’re in the presence of something very, very special. It may be at a live gig when the band is on fire and the crowd moves and sings together as one. It may be a chance discovery in a secondhand record store where you … More Bringing Pavarotti back to life: a very special collection from the maestro’s personal archive, from Hemiolia Records
Tape lovers, grab your copy of the September issue of Hi-Fi News magazine. In it, self-confessed tape junkie and hi-fi journalist extraordinaire, Ken Kessler, shares his hard-won wisdom on how to get your hands on some seriously good sounds. “For any format, whether new or revived, it is the availability of pre-recorded music that determines … More The reel deals: Hi-Fi News features Ken Kessler’s definitive guide to buying tapes, new and secondhand
Let’s face it, the past six months have been…. well, is there even a word for it? Several come to mind but few of them are printable! What can one say about the massive impact of a global pandemic on every single area of our lives? The virus itself, the effect of months of lockdown, … More STS Analog’s ‘Come Fly With Me’ – in which The Amsterdam Jazz Trio proves to be the perfect cure for lockdown-quarantine-pandemic fever
Dave Denyer: The Reel-to-Reel Rambler 