Audio Ideas Guide

NAD/PSB Image Series Home Theater System

"At the suggestion of Lenbrook Industries Consumer Product Marketing Manager, Denise Babin, I agreed to do a complete review of this one-company/two-brand home theatre system. Maybe I should have thought about it a little longer; it was a pretty big project, as it turned out: an upper echelon NAD Blu-ray player, a powerful and very versatile HT receiver, and 6 channels of PSB Image reproduction. I brooded about this while I spent the better part of a day or two unboxing and measuring all the speakers..."

Bain’s Blog, by John Edward Bain

"John Edward Bain is a photographer, music lover, and guitarist, and a frequent correspondent to yours truly about these matters and others of mutual interest. Our paths first crossed in Kingston Ontario as part of the folk scene there in the mid 60s. He plays, in his own words, "folk and blues: what John Fahey coined 'American primitive Guitar'". He now lives in Halifax with his wife Colette, "in quiet and somewhat reclusive retirement, surrounded by books, records, musical instruments, and cameras." This is his first blog for AIG, combining music and book reviews, insights into the lute, and interesting related links..."

OxBox, January 2010: Pro-Ject, Furutech, Ortofon and music by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and more

"In my original review of this turntable cartridge combination I said the results were pleasing but, but I thought that going for the more costly Ortofon Kontrapunkt B cartridge would offer better value for money. In the event, I was dead wrong. I tried to like the 2Xperience-Rondo Blue. It was so nice to spin some vinyl and hear some old favourites again. But, the longer I listened the closer I came to realizing that the sound just wasn't as good as it should be..."

Audio Ideas: AM On New Blu-ray Releases - Montreux To Monty From Eagle Rock

"What a feast for Python fans! Starting with a contextual look at the Python origins, and followed by interviews with members, this series is utterly riveting, even going right back to my undergraduate idols, The Goons, led by Peter Sellers. It was the wild and surreal radio antics of The Goon Show that inspired the first Pythons. They bridged the gap from the unseen and imagined to the visual craziness that amazed and entertained British viewers while mystifying and enraging BBC programming executives..."

JL Audio Fathom f113 Subwoofer - In The Welterweight Class!

"If you want a compact subwoofer, the Fathom f113 looks like a fine choice, if you've got a weightlifter friend: it weighs in at 115 pounds. If not self carrying (my limit is my Yamaha 9.9 outboard motor at 85 pounds), it is self calibrating, and comes with a microphone that you put at the listening position. We'll show before and after measurements for our room below. This process is called Automatic Room Optimization, or A.R.O. More on all this later. The f113 is roughly 16.5 inches high and wide, and 19.25 inches deep..."

The Audio Ideas HD Projector Project #4 - Anthem LTX 500 LCOS Projector

"Projectors have been coming down in price lately, and most of these are full HD 1080p. But there are differences among them in picture quality, even at this high resolution. Other factors come into play, including contrast ratio, grey-scale reproduction, colour accuracy, and geometric precision. There is also that almost indefinable quality, the natural and lifelike quality of the picture. Not many projectors, especially budget-priced ones, deliver this kind of performance right out of the box, and some can never attain it, even if they are 1080p capable..."

OxBox, October 2009 - Interconnects, Connectors & Music Reviews

A couple of experiments with interconnects has led me to a discovery. The connectors at either end of the IC have a "sound". I will explain but first, let us agree that interconnects have an effect on overall sound and that different ones can change the way a system sounds. Usually it is a slight change, but a change nonetheless. As obvious as this seems now, there was a time when I didn't believe such a thing was really important and that paying hundreds of dollars for a pair of interconnects was outrageous. I still think that the price asked for some interconnects is outrageous..."

Sony XDR-F1HD AM/FM/HD Radio Digital Tuner

Who could have imagined that the best new FM tuner (and possibly the best ever designed) would be priced at under $100, and be a miniature design, but with full remote control. It makes me wonder why I embarked on the Audio Ideas FM Tuner Project, when the ultimate conclusion is so small and affordable. I guess that's a good thing..."

Phiaton PS 300 NC Noise Canceling On-Ear Headphones

"Reminiscent of Koss in its glory days, this new company is attempting to inhabit the high end of the headphone market at a time when the former headphone maker has gone way downmarket. Phiaton has also applied some serious engineering effort to the noise canceling design process as well. The PS 300 NC is not just a headphone, but a package that comes with a pair of proprietary rechargeable batteries (18-hour life cycle), and a charger that can use either USB or AC power, and in the latter case provides attachable plugs for different national power systems..."

Tivoli Audio Networks Radio with FM - Internet Radio in Style & Stereo

"We've reviewed several Tivoli products in the past, and always been impressed at their style and substance in terms of performance. Well, there's no letdown here in this attractive, well engineered package. The Networks Radio is more than just that, a small audio system that offers a built-in Wi-Fi capability that allows you to tap into your computer's music and podcast files. It also has wired ethernet, USB computer access, and AUX analog audio inputs, plus another "Mix In" that allows combining your computer audio output with any other input..."