Copper


Critical Listening at Home: Audiophile High-Fid...

Issue 195Revolutions Per Minute

Meet George Vardis, a retired biologist with a master's degree in food technology, residing in Athens, Greece. George is a sophisticated man with many interests, including sailing, photography, motorbikes, and...

Simple Acoustics, Complicated Spouses

Issue 195Featured

When I was a teenager, I told my girlfriend that I loved her so much that I would die for her. She replied that if I died, her life would...

Violin Plus Orchestra, Part One

Issue 195Too Much Tchaikovsky

Our story begins with Beethoven. (What else is new?) His Violin Concerto (1806) especially, because it’s the poster child for Modern Concertos in so many ways. First, he wrote it...

Lute Music of the 16th and 17th Century

Issue 195Something Old / Something New

One of the defining factors of High Baroque music is the explosion in the number of instrumental pieces being composed. It’s easy to think of the 17th century and earlier as...

Camera Ready

Issue 195Parting Shot

Portrait of Copper's photographer extraordinaire James Schrimpf, made by Alex Lim, Architectural Conservator at Tumacacori National Historic Park. Alex did a series of portraits of Southern Arizona artists for a...

A Sound Pension Plan

Issue 195The Run-Out Groove

This cartoon was first published in Issue 104.

Third Time's the Charm

Audio Static

This cartoon was first published in Issue 130.

Alice Phoebe Lou

Issue 195And Indie for All

At the ripe old age of 17, Alice Phoebe Lou decided she’d had enough of life in her native South Africa. She slung her guitar across her back and headed...

Vassar Clements: Not Just Bluegrass Fiddle

Issue 194Trading Eights

Musicians in one genre are often compared to those in another. But for a fiddler like Vassar Clements, who was equally gifted in bluegrass, jazz, rock, and country, the comparisons...

The Cable Doctor Makes More House Calls

Issue 194True-Life Rock Tales

James Lipton, the host of the TV series Inside the Actors Studio was one of the clients I had the longest, from the nineties up until his passing in 2020. Just like...

Table of Contents – Issue 194

Issue 194Opening Salvo

Beginning next issue, your editor is going to take a little bit of a break. We’ll still be publishing every two weeks, but through the rest of the summer and...

Read more

A Modern Engineering Marvel

Issue 194Audio Anthropology

Beyond cool: a circa 1940s or 1950s EMI Dicta recording – yes, recording – system that used 12-inch floppy magnetic discs. They worked like magnetic tape does, except in disc form. Spotted...

The Musical Instrument Museum: A World of Music...

Issue 194Featured

The Musical Instrument Museum (MIM), located in Phoenix, Arizona, possesses 14,000 instruments and other artifacts that are housed in a state-of-the-art 200,000 square foot structure containing 350 exhibits. It is...

Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO: Illuminating the Mu...

Issue 194Disciples of Sound

Five years ago, singer/songwriter Juliana Hatfield embarked on a project that she had thought would be a one-off. She did a tribute record, covering the music of Olivia Newton-John. After...

Bert Lahr in Carbonite?

Issue 194Parting Shot

He's ready for travel through interstellar space. Taken in Trafalgar Square, London.

Dreamin’ Wild: The Movie and the Music

Issue 194Featured

Actress Lana Turner was discovered while drinking a milkshake at Schwab’s pharmacy. Pam Anderson was at a football game when her picture suddenly flashed across the Jumbotron. Justin Bieber’s journey...

Munich HIGH END 2023, Part Three: Loudspeakers

Issue 194Show Report

Copper has an exchange program with FIDELITY magazine (and others), where we share articles, including this one, between publications.   Alles so schön bunt hier “Alles so schön bunt hier” (It’s all so...

Taylor Swift and the Eras Tour, and I Was There

Issue 194Show Report

Taylor Swift is one of those artists who truly needs no introduction. OK, briefly: she began writing songs at age 14 and really started to hit it big in 2008...

Bassist Mandy Clarke of Bombskare: Playing With...

Issue 194Idle Chatter

Scottish-born bassist Mandy Clarke packs a serious punch. As a member of underground ska legends Bombskare, Clarke brings the heat via the classic sounds of a Fender bass, plugged into...

Who Would Believe That I Now Like My Parents’ M...

Issue 194Featured

A recent TV commercial plugging some insurance company’s homeowner's policies suggested that it’s really hard not to become your parents. Lately, my music tastes sometimes reflect theirs, something I could...

A Look Back at CES 2023

Issue 194Show Report

Editor’s Note: You might have noticed that some of our show reports happen quite some time after the shows occur. This is because of a variety of factors. It takes...

Benjamin Britten: Channeling England’s Musical ...

Issue 194Something Old / Something New

Some composers are particularly tuned in to the eras that led up to their own. Among the best examples is Benjamin Britten (1913 – 1976), who often seemed to channel...

Table of Contents – Issue 193

Issue 193Opening Salvo

R.I.P. Tony Bennett, one of the most legendary figures in popular music. Bennett had such an iconic presence that t's impossible to sum up his 96-year life in a couple...

Read more

Pushing the Limits, Part Two

Issue 193Revolutions Per Minute

In Issue 192, J.I. Agnew began his series on the topic of signal levels, and the technical considerations in getting them recorded onto disk. The series continues here with a...

Crunch Time

Issue 193Audio Anthropology

This might be the most gorgeous preamp and amp set we've ever seen: a Radford DSM Stereo Control Unit and matching 12-watt-per-channel amplifier. Courtesy of Ken Kessler, taken at Tonbridge...

Talking With Victor Janacua About the Birth of ...

Issue 193The Copper Interview

When Greg Curtis founded The Bridge Recording in Glendale, California, he knew from the get-go that he wanted a facility designed specifically as a large soundstage for recording and mixing...

Munich HIGH END 2023, Part Two: Electronics

Issue 193Show Report

Copper has an exchange program with FIDELITY magazine (and others), where we share articles, including this one, between publications.  A Renaissance for the Integrated Amplifier It was needed. For many, it...

The Cable Doctor’s House Calls

Issue 193True-Life Rock Tales

Richard Gere’s New York office hired me to set up a universal remote control for his VCR. His apartment was on University Place near Tenth Street. This was in the early...

Pianist Erik Deutsch Takes a Journey Through Ja...

Issue 193Octave Pitch

Jazz aficionados and music lovers will be sure to appreciate Octave Records’ latest release, Decades by pianist Erik Deutsch. Decades takes listeners on a journey through jazz history, though somewhat...

USound and MEMS: Making High-Quality Micro-Spea...

Issue 193Frankly Speaking

At Copper we’re always interested in new audio technologies. The growing presence of ultra-small MEMS speakers (MEMS stands for micro-electromechanical systems) is bringing new design and performance possibilities to devices...

Monster Mike Welch: Playing the Blues With Noth...

Issue 193Disciples of Sound

If at the age of 13, you are so good at guitar that actor/”Blues Brother” Dan Aykroyd gives you the nickname “Monster Mike,” it must mean that musical fame is...

Desert Island Discs? Pfft! Here’s a Real Challe...

Issue 193Featured

I have to think that most our readers are familiar with the concept of “Desert Island Discs.” The premise is to make a list of albums (usually 10) that one...

Michael Astley-Brown of Maebe: Rebirth. Relive....

Issue 193Idle Chatter

Looking back on it, Maebe's self-titled debut still hits hard. In fact, it's so fresh and deeply invigorating with each listen that it's hard to believe that it's been three...

The Kinks' Ray Davies vs. the Machine

Issue 193Wayne's Words

A 1986 interview for the Kinks' overlooked Think Visual   I was delighted to find the printed Q&A from an interview I did with forever-Kinks leader Ray Davies in 1986....

Which Audio System is Best?

Issue 193Featured

As I mentioned in my review of T.H.E. Show SoCal 2023 in Orange County, California (Issue 191), after every show I cover, some of my fellow San Diego Music and...

The Beach Boys’ Sunflower Revisited

Issue 193Twisted Systems

1966: It was the best of times; it was the worst of times…for Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys.  In May 1966 the Beach Boys released Pet Sounds, which is...

Another Copper Audio Experience: Loudspeakers W...

Issue 193Parting Shot

Copper-veneered speakers from Copper reader Mike Van Hoe…it’s a natural combination! In Issue 188 we featured Mike’s copper-clad, custom-built loudspeakers. Well, he didn’t stop with one pair. Here’s the second set of...

Restoring a Thorens TD160 and the Quest for Acc...

Issue 194Revolutions Per Minute

For some reason, the people involved with the manufacturing of vinyl records are rather stoic types. The rare occasion when they are in a talkative mood, they mostly talk about...

Raphael Saadiq: “It’s Just Soul”

Issue 193Off the Charts

When it comes to the past 35 years of soul music, much of the sound and style has been shaped by producer and musician Raphael Saadiq. While his influence in...

Table of Contents – Issue 192

Issue 192Opening Salvo

This just in: Stop Making Sense, the iconic Talking Heads live concert film, will be re-released on August 18 in a restored 4K version courtesy of A24, in tandem with...

Read more

Dreaming With a Stealth Audio Cables Power Cord

Issue 192The Listening Chair

Anyone who is not willing to spend more than say $15 on an audiophile component’s power cord should stop reading this right about now. You see, when Serguei Timachev of...

Gideon King & City Blog’s Splinters Defies Pop ...

Issue 192

In a world where more and more people find themselves unable to consume more than a few minutes – or seconds – of media at a time, Gideon King is...

Seal of Approval

Issue 192Audio Anthropology

Here's an old-school Signet TK6020 cartridge analyzer. I used to use one of these when I was Harry Pearson's setup person at The Absolute Sound. You'd use the TK6020 in conjunction...

Still More from AXPONA 2023

Issue 192Show Report

Part One of Don’s show report ran in Issue 190. Editor’s Note: You might have noticed that some of our show reports happen sometime after the shows occur. This is...

Octave Records Expands The Art of Hi-Fi Series ...

Issue 192Octave Pitch

Octave Records has released The Art of Hi-Fi Volume 02: Soundstage, the second in its series of reference-quality recordings that showcase a different aspect of high-fidelity audio reproduction. The Art of Hi-Fi Volume 02:...

Pushing the Limits, Part One

Issue 192Revolutions Per Minute

Back in Issue 122 and Issue 123, I had gone into the concept of loudness in the articles “How Loud Is a Record” and “Eight Decades of Wrong Assumptions: the...