To celebrate their incredible 70th anniversary, Nagra Audio are launching a very ambitious analog playback project. The new Nagra HD Turntable is designed and precision-built in Switzerland with no compromises. According to Nagra Audio, "Packed with innovation for smoother movement and isolation that puts you right in the studio with the musicians in a way never experienced before, it is built like a Swiss watch to the most exacting standards. Not only pleasing to the ears, it is also a beautiful object and a testimony to Nagra's mechanical expertise and dedication to pure sound.

Each year we celebrate Audiophile Day, a day for many music enthusiasts to celebrate the very best in sound quality and musical pleasures. This year marks the sixth annual celebration of Audiophile Day on October 2. "Once again, the ways in which people might celebrate this year are likely to be different than in the past, and we continue to encourage keeping the health and safety of yourself and others a priority" says their press release. "A simple moment of appreciation in our lives can be significant, whether we're extending the appreciation or receiving it. Even through global challenges, audiophiles continue to make an impact in our world in many wonderful ways and are of great value."

Ultimately, your choice of cables is critical to the final sound of your system and should be chosen with care and due diligence. It is a delicate balance, that can delight or dismay the listener. Some audiophiles spend their entire lives (and life savings), chasing perfection. Some people will use the cables that came in the component box. To each their own. My ears can hear some differences between cables, and I am willing to pay for the cables that sound better. I also like to show off my system, so I would prefer my cables to look nice as well. You do you."
-- Dwayne Carter, EnjoyTheMusic.com

During the Munich HIGH END Show Kostas Metaxas, an award winning artist-designer as well as an electrical and recording engineer, was asked to lecture on purist analog tape recording techniques. We have the video for you to enjoy!

Anniversaries are an important thing. Ask the person who forgot their own wedding anniversary. Chances are that they didn't forget it again the following year. Congratulations to EnjoyTheMusic.com for 25 years of audio enthusiasm! My anniversary at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab will be this August. I started 35 years ago.

"You want to work for a record company?" These two scruffy-looking cats eyed me earnestly. "We need some production guys to make cassettes for us".

I played it cool. "Depends on the pay, I guess". "I mean, I have a day gig at the moment". I was a total record nerd, always cleaning my new LP's and playing them once through to reduce pops and ticks, then transferring them to cassette tape, never to be handled again. I slavishly emulated the logos of my favorite bands and record labels for the J-card insert of the tape box. I made mixtapes for friends that were circulated around our little county. I always got a secret thrill out of hearing one of my tapes played at somebody else's party....

This just in from FLAX: Tampa’s finest audio extravaganza is back for 2022! The third annual Florida Audio Expo (FLAX) is happening February 18th through 20th, 2022 (Friday to Sunday), at the newly refurbished Embassy Suites by Hilton Tampa Airport Westshore hotel. The show will host the industry’s finest brands in more than 70 exhibit rooms, as well as in a new Marketplace area. Qobuz will return as the official streaming service. Also new for 2022, the Florida Audio Expo will charge admission: $15 for Friday only, or $30 for all three days; students and spouses will be admitted free of charge, while first responders and military personnel will receive 50% off the ticket price. Consumers can buy tickets directly from the Expo’s website beginning September 18, 2021.

Thank you for the opportunity to write about our label for Enjoy the Music.com. First, hearty congratulations on your 25th anniversary, a real milestone! For so many years, EnjoyTheMusic.com has presented well-written, impartial information and reviews which are so valuable to the audiophile and music community. Thank you!

Reference Recordings: Since 1976, The Best Seat In The House Reference Recordings was founded in 1976. Producer John Tamblyn ("Tam") Henderson combined his love and knowledge of music with his quest for "the sound of real musicians making music in real space," molding Reference Recordings into one of the most innovative and respected independent labels in the music business. His productions for RR are widely praised for their dedication to high quality sound in the service of great music. In 1978, Tam Henderson began working with engineer Keith O. Johnson, who was already an audio legend in the recording industry. The 100-plus recordings made by their team are considered by many to be the finest-sounding classical and jazz discs ever made.

In addition, during these years Mr. Johnson designed and patented many innovative products in the professional and consumer audio fields. The original "RR Sound" comes from his singular methods and equipment, almost all hand-built or extensively modified by him. Microphone techniques range from purist to complex, depending on the musical forces and the performing space involved. Johnson's investigation of electronic behavior and acoustic perception led to his development (with digital engineer Michael Pflaumer) of the revolutionary High Definition Compatible Digital encoding process, originally produced and marketed by Pacific Microsonics and later acquired by Microsoft....

Da-Hong Seetoo began playing the violin at age two and a half. Seetoo's mother was a pianist and his father was a violinist who taught at the Shanghai Conservatory. He grew up during China's Cultural Revolution (1966 through 1976) and had to practice with the windows closed because Western music was forbidden. His father was able to purchase — at great expense — a Telefunken reel-to-reel hybrid (tube and transistor) tape deck so he could copy any of the recordings that were circulated underground.

CanJam SoCal 2021 will once again make its home at the beautiful Irvine Marriott in the heart of Orange County. CanJam is the world's premier headphone audio show with annual events in New York City, Singapore, Los Angeles, London, and Shanghai and is produced by Head-Fi.org, the world's largest online audio community. During September 25th and 26th and featuring over 100 leading brands in over 25,000 sq ft. of exhibition space, CanJam SoCal 2020 will showcase the latest products and innovations in headphones and personal audio electronics in all price ranges – from $50 earbuds to the world's finest headphone audio systems at $50,000.

The following is the first of a series of think pieces on audio reproduction. This one focuses on the relationship between the language we employ in discussing and evaluating paintings and how certain terms that are important in the lexicon of the visual arts like 'tonal pallet,' 'resolution' and 'reproduction' can help us better understand what we should seek in a first rate audio playback system.

All the pieces are speculative in nature and are intended to stimulate discussion and not to be the final word on the subject. They are the result of years of experience and reflection, but are likely fundamentally flawed; and even where they are not flawed, the claims made are often quite controversial. I am not running away from their controversial nature.