Copper


Boulder Amplifiers

Issue 17MY TURN

Somewhere back in the last century, from around 1976 to 1983, a California company called Pacific Recorders & Engineering (PR&E) designed and built tape cartridge machines for radio stations. One...

Simple Subwoofer Setup

Issue 17BACK TO BASICS

Very few loudspeakers are full range. Yes, nearly all extend higher than we humans can hear, but rarely as low. Audio setup guru Jim Smith, in his continuing series on Subwoofery, is covering a lot...

Issue 17

Issue 17Opening Salvo

As we approach the annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, our home-town show (sorta), we have a lot yet to accomplish. In this issue I take a not-so-cynical look at the show...

Read more

VPI: 38 Years and Counting

Issue 17VINTAGE WHINE

Harry Pearson, founder of The Absolute Sound, contributed to the success of a number of high-end audio manufacturers, and probably to the demise of a few, as well. But the only...

RMAF Past, RMAF Present, RMAF Yet to Come

Issue 17THE AUDIO CYNIC

In years past I looked forward to RMAF as an opportunity to escape the perpetual swampy humidity of Florida, enjoy some actual crisp weather, and see leaves changing color. It...

Sigma–Delta Modulators – Part III

Issue 17QUIBBLES AND BITS

At this point I promised to conclude my mini-series on SDMs by touching on some of the differences between DSD and PCM formats.  Much has been written about this, and...

More Flutes

Issue 17TOO MUCH TCHAIKOVSKY

A few weeks ago we stuck one toe in the deep waters of music for transverse flute, an instrument played by lots of Western musicians. The website flutemonkey.com lists 50 great...

Wait A Minute!

Issue 16FEATURED

We interrupt our regularly scheduled Subwoofery series for a Special Announcement! In the past couple of weeks, as I voiced several systems around the country and conducted set-up classes at my RoomPlay...

Amplified & Equalized

Issue 16FEATURED

Having generated a few milli- or micro-volts by our humble little cartridge, we now have to equalize by applying the inverse of the RIAA curve that was applied when the...

Felix Pappalardi, Nantucket Sleigh Ride

Issue 16MUSIC TO MY EARS

A band named Mountain, that in its most potent form lasted from 1970-1972, was the absolute and undeniable Father of Heavy Metal. I usually leave some room for argument, I like to...

Vinyl, baby!

Issue 16IN MY ROOM

Being a vinyl type of guy, with CDs to fill in the gaps, I have assembled a system that I think pays tribute to that unique vinyl sound. I play...

Versa Dynamics

Issue 16VINTAGE WHINE

Every now and then a new company appears in the audio world, seemingly out of nowhere, with high aspirations and novel technology. Versa Dynamics was one such company, appearing in...

How to Make a Vintage Component Sing Again

Issue 16MAKE IT YOURSELF

Part 1: The power supply capacitors It’s not a secret that one of the more economical ways of building a HiFi system is to purchase used or vintage gear. There’s...

How Much Power Do I need?

Issue 16BACK TO BASICS

Power amplifiers, whether standalone or built into a receiver, integrated, or even our mobile phones, drive our speakers and headphones so we hear sound. Amplifiers produce Watts and, if you’ve ever...

Twist And Shout

Issue 16MY TURN

The rebirth of interest in LPs—vinyl records— has brought many newbies to the field, often with a rather iffy survival rate. Paul Epstein and wife Jill are no latecomers, having...

Sigma Delta Modulators Part II

Issue 16QUIBBLES AND BITS

In my last column, I wrote about how a SDM might be used to faithfully reconstruct an incoming signal, even if its output is constrained to an apparently hopelessly reduced...

Fall Leaf

Issue 18PARTING SHOT

Tromping through the Rockies with a view camera strapped to my back, I spent many a lovely afternoon in search of fall colors. I had stumbled upon this dilapidated barn...

That’s Show Biz!

Issue 16THE AUDIO CYNIC

In Copper #7, I wrote about the passing of Richard Beers, the promoter of THE Show-Newport. In #8, I asked, “how many shows are too many?” Consider this column the...

Two Kinds Of Hits

Issue 16MUSIC AUDIO AND OTHER ILLNESSES

We have a hit. We’ve been hit. Both are true. Everybody wants a hit record; everybody. It’s money, it’s acknowledgment, and it means more work, all those things. The  Tuesday...

Organizers and Decorators

Issue 16TOO MUCH TCHAIKOVSKY

Isaiah Berlin gave us foxes and hedgehogs. Classical Greece offered Apollo and Dionysius. Not to be outdone, Ned Rorem came up with his own slam-dunk binary oppositions, French/German. (Example: cats are...

Seljalandsfoss Iceland

Issue 17PARTING SHOT

Seljalandsfoss is one of the many natural wonders in Iceland. Located in the country's southern section, the waterfall drops 60 meters and is fed from a volcanic glacier. This photo...

End Of Summer Storm

Issue 16PARTING SHOT

Life on the Eastern Plains outside of Boulder can often be as dramatic as thunderstorms that look like alien spaceships descending from the heavens. Close encounters?

Issue 16

Issue 16Opening Salvo

Welcome to Copper #16! We’re excited by our recent additions. Many of you read Darren Myers’ first installment of Make It Yourself, on building an interconnect. Darren’s back with the first steps in reviving vintage components....

Read more

Where Are They Now?

Issue 15VINTAGE WHINE

For anyone who has been around audio for any length of time, the parallels to spectator sports are obvious. As with sports, conversations about the biz often revolve around the...

Swing, Swing, Swing

Issue 15MUSIC TO MY EARS

I was about 15 and home sick for the day. Today that kid could convince his mom he’s sick and she’ll go off to work after checking his pulse. But...

The Tuesday Night Music Club

AND OTHER ILLNESSESAUDIObill botrellIssue 15MUSIC

Sometime during the summer of 1992 I got a call from Bill Bottrell. It had been a few months since we had talked, during which time he’d been working on...

Subwoofery: Trick or Treat?

Issue 14FEATURED

Part 2 – “Fast” bass? Really??? … … Just when I think some errant audiophile terminology is finally extinct, it rears its ugly head again.  I am still amazed when...

What's New?

Issue 15INCOMING LETTERS

In Copper #`13 we announced a contest, offering a PS Audio LANRover for the best answer to the question, “What is there in audio that’s really new?” Several technologies mentioned in responses  may have...

Wes Phillips: RIP

Issue 15THE AUDIO CYNIC

This has been a terrible year for musicians— we all know that. We’ve lost Bowie, Kantner, Martin, Prince, and I don’t know how many more. Is there something about an...

Sigma–Delta Modulators - Part I

Issue 15QUIBBLES AND BITS

I have mentioned Sigma–Delta Modulators (SDMs) in this column before.  These are, in effect, complex filter structures and they are used to produce DSD and other bitstreams.  I know I...

Who Are The Modern Audiophiles?

5.1 surroundIssue 15FEATURED

I recently read this piece on industry website Dealerscope Magazine, and felt that Gary Yacoubian very clearly stated  the rite of passage that appears to be taking place. I’ve struggled in...

A tall screen, and a wireless keyboard

ayreIssue 15IN MY ROOM

Some history. Actually a lot of history. I came late to paying attention to audio reproduction. I always loved and collected the music, especially from the era in which I...

The Fine Print

Issue 15TOO MUCH TCHAIKOVSKY

They used to be called liner notes. Nowadays, since there’s not always a “liner,” we call them CD booklets, or text inserts, or . . . liner notes. Downloads offer them...

Ireland

Issue 15PARTING SHOT

Along the Irish coast. Canon 5D

How to Make a $50 High-End XLR Interconnect

Issue 15MAKE IT YOURSELF

From enthusiasts who deny their contribution to those who spend thousands on them, cables are one of the more highly debated topics in audio. While building a system, this widespread...

What is a CD player?

Issue 15BACK TO BASICS

We all understand what a CD player is; a box we insert CDs and play them. But, not so fast. What’s going on inside? What are the basic elements of...

Issue 15

Issue 15Opening Salvo

Welcome to Copper # 15! Our contest in issue #13 produced dozens of interesting submissions in response to the question, “What’s really new in audio?” Those entries are featured in Incoming Letters, along...

Read more

What’s New?

Issue 14INCOMING LETTERS

Our correspondence this issue was dominated by the contest from the Audio Cynic. The question was, “What is there in audio that’s truly new?” Snippets from the answers are shown below; our...

Swang!

benny goodmanIssue 14MUSIC TO MY EARS

“The Texas Playboys are on the air!” With two quick pizza-ricotta fiddle strokes to set the time the boys were off and running with The Playboy Theme. “Now listen everybody from near and...

Are We Keeping Up? (With Inflation)

Issue 14InfinityVINTAGE WHINE

This issue we’re going to take a slight detour from our usual bios and company histories. Don’t worry: the Wayback Machine will still get a workout. Along with being a...

Why separates?

b and w mm1Issue 14BACK TO BASICS

I often wonder if more people aren’t willing to get involved with great sounding audio systems because they are intimidated by all the stuff. One look at the back of even...

On the way to Mills Lake

Issue 14PARTING SHOT

Midmorning, summer, Rocky Mountain National Park iPhone 6

It’s the (Crappy) Music, Stupid

Issue 14THE AUDIO CYNIC

As may be obvious after 13 of these columns, I like to ask questions. Part of the reason is that I am honestly curious to understand how other folks think;...

The Pepsi Challenge

Issue 14QUIBBLES AND BITS

With the rise of computer-based high-end audio playback, a very interesting question is whether it is best to perform volume control in the digital or analog domain.  I thought I...

Thoughts On Triage

AND OTHER ILLNESSESAUDIOIssue 14MUSIC

(As mentioned in the last issue, David Baerwald’s Triage was a remarkable work, alternately rageful and lyrical in its view of the America of 1992. Baerwald’s sardonic view of LA had first been heard...

Vine and Window

Issue 13PARTING SHOT

Terri and I were vacationing in France a few years ago and had stopped at a roadside vineyard for lunch. I spied this great art of old vines creeping up...

Welcome to the lucky thirteenth edition of Copper!

Issue 13Opening Salvo

As is probably clear by now, we’ve decided to shake things up a bit. Our new format is designed to be more readable and more manageable. It will also allow...

Read more