Copper


How to Play In a Rock Band 2: Why Would You Wan...

Issue 209Frankly Speaking

In Part One (Issue 208), I noted the fact that I’ve had more than 50 years of playing in rock bands, and during that time I’ve seen people make every...

Singer/Songwriter JD Souther and the Return of ...

Issue 209Disciples of Sound

There were a lot of secret musical weapons in the 1970s to help make that Southern California sound so special. Some of these artists weren’t always the headliners, weren’t always...

Test Records and Demo Discs, Part Five

Issue 209Audio Anthropology

In the days before digital music, the primary medium for sound reproduction was vinyl records. Sure, there were some who preferred reel-to-reel tapes, but they were in the minority. The...

Two Mendelssohn Symphonies: the "Italian" and t...

Issue 209Featured

Copper has an exchange program with AAA (Analogue Audio Association) magazine of Switzerland (and other publications), where we share articles, including this one. The Swiss author Ernst Müller is a...

John Lennon’s Mind Games – The Ultimate Collection

Issue 209Disciples of Sound

It’s almost impossible to fathom that when John Lennon set out to make his fourth solo record in 1973 he was only 33 years old. When you consider how much...

The Vinyl Beat

Issue 209The Vinyl Beat

INXS: Kick Analogue Productions, Atlantic 75 series Hot off the Analogue Productions presses, the popular 1980s album Kick by INXS is one of the latest titles in the Atlantic 75...

The Many Faces of NAMM 2024, Part Two

Issue 209Show Report

At NAMM 2024, Harris Fogel took a lot of photos. Well, he is a photographer after all. Part One of this picture-packed photo essay ran in Issue 208. Here are...

Zach Bryan, Bars and Stars

Issue 209Wayne's Words

Even the armed forces news is amazed at the speed with which Navy veteran Zach Bryan became a music star. He was still on active duty in 2020 when he...

The Business of Why Vinyl Has Survived: Talking...

Issue 209The Copper Interview

Rene Wiedner is an organizational sociologist at Warwick Business School, which is part of Warwick University in Coventry, England. He studies change processes in organizations and industries and the relations...

PS Audio In the News

Issue 209PS Audio In the News

Tech publication Gear Patrol featured the aspen FR5 loudspeaker with the headline, “This Hi-Fi Speaker Offers $30,000 Specs for a Tenth of the Price.” The article noted, “The American hi-fi...

Attention Shoppers!

Issue 209Audio Anthropology

  Scene from a Japanese audio store in 2006. We wonder what those prices would be like today! Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Tomer Gabel.     Here's one of the many...

Application Error

Issue 209Copper Classics / The Run-Out Groove

 This cartoon originally appeared in Issue 157.

Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part Eight: More...

Issue 209Copper Classics / Natural Born Kessler

It goes without saying that tape deck maintenance – such as cleaning the heads and pinch rollers, periodic demagnetizing, etc. – are essential practices which (circa-2022) only come naturally to...

Architectural Textures

Issue 209Issue 209

Detail of a wall in Mission San Xavier del Bac near Tucson, Arizona, painted in the late 1700s. San Xavier Mission was founded in 1692. It's the oldest intact European...

The Evolution of the Loudspeaker: From Horns to...

Issue 208Paul's Placeweb-2517

Loudspeakers have come a long way since their inception. From the early days of horn speakers (and yes, there are still horn speakers in use today, but this is a...

T.H.E. Show 2024: 28 Years of High-End Audio…an...

Issue 208Show Report

When I first attended a T.H.E. Show in Las Vegas, it was the 5th anniversary of this event. Their June 2024 show in Costa Mesa was their 28th. Time flies....

Octave Records Releases The Art of Hi-Fi, Volum...

Issue 208Octave Pitch

Woodwinds are among the most beautiful and expressive musical instruments, and The Art of Hi-Fi Volume 05: Woodwinds from PS Audio’s Octave Records features a variety of woodwinds and musical...

How To Play in a Rock Band, Part One: Introduction

Issue 208Frankly Speaking

Along with being a writer, editor, and audio person, I’ve been a musician for 56 years. I’ve been playing in bands for almost all that time, beginning with a backyard...

Dare to be Different: The Story of WLIR-FM and ...

Issue 208Frankly Speaking

WLIR-FM (the LIR stands for Long Island Radio) made a revolutionary move when it switched from rock to a new wave format in 1982. By the late 1970s, radio rock...

Lou Reed, Covered and Recovered

Issue 208Wayne's Words

Keith, Mary Gauthier, Rosanne Cash, and Joan Jett Lead the Pack The Power of the Heart: A Tribute to Lou Reed, had me with its opening track: Keith Richards' version...

Copper’s Alón Sagee: In Memoriam

Issue 208Frankly Speaking

I was stunned to learn of the passing of Alón Sagee on June 9, 2024 after a long illness. Alón was a Copper contributor, president of the San Francisco Audiophile...

The Vinyl Beat

Issue 208The Vinyl Beat

The Vinyl Beat is a new column that will dig up notable vinyl nuggets, past and present. It will be mostly new arrivals that I buy throughout my travels –...

Table of Contents – Issue 208

Issue 208Opening Salvo

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Alón Sagee, Copper contributor and president of the San Francisco Audiophile Society. While I never had the opportunity to meet him...

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The Many Faces of NAMM 2024

Issue 208Show Report

The NAMM Show is one of those events that is so much fun, educational, hip, and cool, that it’s hard to argue that attending it is work. Back from COVID...

Sonus faber’s Omnia Wireless Speaker is More El...

Issue 208From The Listening Chair

There are quite a number of manufacturers that produce gorgeous speaker cabinets. That said, I personally believe that there are at least two manufacturers, France’s Triangle Hi-Fi and Italy’s Sonus...

Test Records and Demo Discs, Part Four

Issue 208Audio Anthropology

In the days before digital music, the primary medium for sound reproduction was vinyl records. Sure, there were some who preferred reel-to-reel tapes, but they were in the minority. The...

Indie Power Pop Group the dB’s Return!

Issue 208Disciples of Sound

In the press run-up to the band’s induction into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in June 2024, R.E.M. made regular mention of the impact that the eclectic indie power pop...

Why Does Music Move Us?

Issue 208Featured

  Copper has an exchange program with FIDELITY magazine (and others), where we share articles, including this one, between publications.   Five Answers to an Eternal Question We’re all familiar with this: music...

PS Audio in the News

Issue 208PS Audio in the News

Audiophilia has a highly positive review of the AirLens streamer. In the review, Juan C. Ayllon notes, “As with every audio component I’ve received from PS Audio, the shipping, and...

70 Years of the Fender Stratocaster: A Guitar W...

Issue 208Featured

As conservative as Eric Clapton's playing might be for some, the electric guitar he preferred is timelessly versatile. That’s because the Fender Stratocaster was full of innovations when it was...

Tasty Tweak

Issue 208Audio Static

    This cartoon originally appeared in Issue 150.

Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part Seven: Tape...

Issue 208Copper Classics / Natural Born Kessler

If you’re a studio denizen or a seasoned open-reel tape user, please skip this interlude before I resume discussions about the current state of acquiring pre-recorded tapes. You will find...

Console Magic

Issue 208Audio Anthropology

  "Calling occupants of interplanetary craft!" Actually, we have no idea what these guys are doing, but it looks intense. From Audio Engineering, July 1950.      This is why...

I Was There

Issue 208Parting Shot

"I look into the pastI want to make it lastI was thereI was there" Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day rocking the CES 2024 Harman event, Las Vegas, Nevada, January...

Table of Contents – Issue 206

Issue 206Opening Salvo

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” – Albert Einstein In this issue: We have two AXPONA 2024 show reports, from Rudy Radelic and AXPONA coverage from myself, and...

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Chickens, Eggs, Sources, and Outputs

Issue 207Paul's Place

In our world of high-end audio, there's a perennial debate that rivals the age-old question of the chicken and the egg: what's more important, the source or the loudspeaker? This...

AXPONA 2024, Part Two: Audio in Abundance

Issue 207Show Report

As I noted in Part One of my show report (Issue 206), AXPONA 2024 has grown to be a comprehensive, well-attended, sprawling audio gear fest featuring a who’s who of...

One Bob Dylan Song: He's 83; Can You Choose Jus...

Issue 207Wayne's Words

It's Bob Dylan's 83rd birthday [as of May 24]. I'm sure someone on social media is posting 83 favorite Bob Dylan songs in honor of the occasion. It's not hard...

David Sanborn: Remembering a Unique Voice on th...

Issue 207Featured

There are a handful of musicians in the music industry you’d swear have played on everything. Saxophonist David Sanborn was one of those musicians. His distinctive tone and style on...

Octave Records Has Great Music and Sound Covere...

Issue 207Octave Pitch

Octave Records has released Audiophile Masters, Volume X, the latest in its series of reference-quality demonstration recordings. This time the collection features cover versions of songs written by John Lennon,...

Sviatoslav Richter: Legendary Classical Pianist

Issue 207Featured

Copper has an exchange program with AAA (Analogue Audio Association) magazine of Switzerland (and other publications), where we share articles, including this one. The Swiss author Ernst Müller is a...

The 2024 La Jolla Concours d’Elegance: A Stunni...

Issue 207Featured

It was a dark and stormy night, the kind of night that tests men’s souls, the mettle of their courage, and the strength of their convictions. Well, maybe that’s an...

Table of Contents – Issue 207

Issue 207Opening Salvoweb-2517

“A composer is a guy who goes around forcing his will on unsuspecting air molecules, often with the assistance of unsuspecting musicians.” – Frank Zappa In this issue: What if...

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Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part Six: Rock O...

Issue 207Copper Classics / Natural Born Kessler

The Beatles represent a key element of the rock-music-on-reel-to-reel saga, and not just because they’re the reason I’m now an open-reel fetishist. Bear with me. Repeatedly, I have noted and bemoaned...

Maybe the Last Copper CES 2024 Show Report?

Issue 207Show Report

So, you’re probably wondering, um, wasn’t CES back in January, and here it is five months later, so what’s with the delay with this article? It’s a reasonable question, but...

Audio Group Denmark Brings Some Lower-Priced Au...

Issue 207From The Listening Chair

It was 2020 when Audio Group Denmark hit the scene as the steward of three then-existing high-end brands. Børresen Acoustics featured speakers, Aavik Acoustics offered electronic components, and Ansuz Acoustics...

PS Audio in the News – Issue 207

Issue 207PS Audio in the Newsweb-2517

Positive Feedback published a highly positive, extensive, in-depth review of the Aspen FR10 loudspeaker, and interviewed designer Chris Brunhaver. Reviewer Juan C. Ayllon said: “Voices were rich and natural, acoustic...

Chris Berardo Lets it Rock With Wilder all the ...

Issue 207Disciples of Sound

Chances are that if you saw the Doobie Brothers, The Marshall Tucker Band, Dickey Betts & Great Southern, or America in the last 30 years, you saw Chris Berardo open...

Test Records and Demo Discs, Part Three

Issue 207Audio Anthropology

In the days before digital music, the primary medium for sound reproduction was vinyl records. Sure, there were some who preferred reel-to-reel tapes, but they were in the minority. The...