Copper

Choosing New Speakers: Sensitivity and Room Size

In a previous article (Issue 147) we considered the reality that, although there is an abundance of information describing the technical specifications of loudspeakers, not all of it is particularly helpful in...

Stream of Consciousness: Better Sound From My C...

In Part One (Issue 147) and Part Two (Issue 148), Russ looked at routing the audio from a computer through an external DAC for better sound, and using a third-party music management...

Phil Keaggy: A Lifetime of Joyful Noises, Part ...

In Part One (Issue 145), we looked at Phil Keaggy’s musical beginnings with power trio Glass Harp, and his early solo recordings, which showed his skills expanding beyond hard rock music to...

Octave Records Debuts Audiophile Masters, Volum...

PS Audio’s Octave Records has two new releases: Audiophile Masters, Volume II, the follow-up disc to the label’s Audiophile Masters, Volume I, and a limited-edition vinyl LP release of Temporary Circumstances by pop-rock band Clandestine Amigo. Both releases...

The Hippies and the Freep, Part One

The Los Angeles Free Press, AKA “The Freep,” was started by Art Kunkin, a former organizer of the Socialist Workers Party. The first issue was published in May 1964, and that...

Pilgrimage to Sturgis, Part Seven

[The first installments of this series appeared in Issues 143, 144, 145, 146, 147 and 148 – Ed.] The next morning, I awoke to the sounds of clattering tent poles. Unzipping my tent door, I was surprised to find...

Building My First System

In the 1950s, TV sets had lousy pictures – but some of them had rather good sound. Our 16-inch RCA TV (“that big screen in a 12 x 12-foot room?”...

The DMM Dubplate, Vol. 1 and the Art of Pushing...

Part One and Part Two of this series were published in Issue 147 and Issue 148. Was DMM (direct metal mastering) ever intended to offer a sonic improvement, compared to “prior art”? When...

They Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To…(Part One)

I like physical media. There’s something about having the information and artwork that comes with LPs and CDs that seems essential to me. I like to be able to refer...

Stage Door Tommy

It’s never too early for a young boy to start appreciating the music of Marvin Hamlisch. I was nine years old when my mother took me to see A Chorus Line on...

Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part Three

Just so there are no misunderstandings, I have to explain to you how focused is my interest in reel-to-reel tape. I absolutely don’t want to be challenged or trolled by...

Richrath Project 3:13: Bringing Back REO Speedw...

For some time now I’ve felt that Gary Richrath has been largely overlooked by the rock guitar universe for the contributions he made to modern music. As a founding member...

Portable Audio, 1960s-Style

A classic AR-XA turntable, circa 1960s. As Ivan Berger noted in his article in Issue 105, hundreds of thousands were sold. Photo by Howard Kneller, from The Audio Classics Collection....

The Heart of the Matter

Joe Williams: I Just Want to Sing

With a deep, earnest voice that was as sincere as it was expressive, Joe Williams moved jazz singing in a new direction. Although he was born in Georgia, Williams grew...

Burt Bacharach, Part Four: Make Way for More Di...

I previously covered a list of some of Dionne Warwick’s biggest hits through the 1960s. This second part of my Warwick survey includes some noteworthy hidden gems in her catalog....

Well-Oiled Rig

A Meditation on Ditching My Large Audio Setup w...

AudioEngine makes some darn fine powered loudspeakers. Brady Bargenquast, AudioEngine’s director and chief of marketing, is a heck of a nice guy, and has always been very accommodating in terms...

Bonnie Raitt: Someone to Talk About

For two decades, Bonnie Raitt was no big star but just a talented, hard-working singer and guitarist, making solo albums in a mix of blues, country, folk, and rock and...

Music In Hyperspace

Beck in concert at the Brooklyn Bowl, Las Vegas, during the CNET CES 2016 party.