Copper


Engaging and Enthralling Music for All: Talking...

Issue 189Featured

Dr. Sean Olive is a Senior Fellow, Acoustic Research, at Harman International. He has extensive expertise related to perception and measurement of sound quality, and oversees Harman’s corporate R&D acoustics...

David Heatley: What If… an Album Really Grabs You?

Issue 189Idle Chatter

I listen to a lot of music, both new and old. I listen in the car. I listen at home. I listen on vinyl, CD, cassette and digital files. So,...

The Kinks Begin a Retrospective Journey

Issue 189Frankly Speaking

I’m going to say this right up front: I consider the Kinks’ Ray Davies to be the greatest pop/rock songwriter of all time. Yep, I know I’m putting him at...

A Road Rally for Lemons: the 2023 Rocky Mountai...

Issue 189Featured

“Don’t die.” “Lemons Rally is not a race!” “Obey all traffic laws.” The rules of a Lemons Rally, a spinoff of the 24 Hours of Lemons racing series, are fairly...

Singer/Songwriter Parker Millsap Explores the W...

Issue 189Disciples of Sound

With all the attention given to the legacy of Elvis Presley over the last few years, it’s no surprise that some of that has spilled over to artists who in...

From SACD Bust to Native DSD Boom With the Topp...

Issue 189To Be Determined

In Issue 186, I told you about a device I’d gotten that was reported to allow an SACD player’s HDMI output to send a native DSD signal to your DAC....

Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 30

Issue 189Natural Born Kessler

The Cassette is Back! Or is It? – An Investigation, Part One As is the wont of half-informed mainstream newspaper and lifestyle journalists – primarily when dealing with specialist subjects...

Modifying a Presto 1-D Cutter Head for Better P...

Issue 189Revolutions Per Minute

Presto 1-D and 1-C cutter heads are frequently encountered on our lab bench for repair and restoration. Some are just regular repairs to bring them back to original spec, others...

Linn Makes Majik

Issue 189From The Listening Chair

It’s never easy to photograph something that’s black and shiny. Linn’s Majik DSM streaming integrated amplifier with built-in digital-to-analog converter (from $4,185) is no exception to that rule. It’s a...

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

Issue 189Featured

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...

Give Me That Old Time(r) Rock and Roll

Issue 189Parting Shot

There was a significant amount of drug use in the hotel room that three members of the band Grand Folk Railroad shared at the 2023 Montauk Music Festival.

Alan Jackson: Keeping It Country

Issue 189Issue 189

Everything changes. But that doesn’t mean you can’t fight the tide. That’s what Alan Jackson has done since the 1990s, finding massive success as a songwriter who refuses to let...

A Most Interesting Man

Issue 188Music'al Notes

“My name is Father Michael Cooper; may I speak to Roy Hall?” “Speaking,” I replied. He went on to tell me that he was an Orthodox monk who was opening...

Tito Puente: El Rey de la Percusión Latina

Issue 188Trading Eights

When Tito Puente (1923 – 2000) was a kid, he won a “Play Like Gene Krupa” contest. He always considered drums and the big band sound to be the basis...

Medieval Vocal Polyphony: Modern Recordings of ...

Issue 188Something Old / Something New

In the 1990s, the height of the early-music CD boom, every week seemed to see the release of a disc of arcane repertoire from the 10th through the 14th centuries....

An Amp for the Eons: Tsakiridis Devices’ Aeolos...

Issue 188From The Listening Chair

I make frequent trips to the retailer HiFi Loft, located in Manhattan’s Times Square. While I was on the way out of that establishment during a visit last year, I...

A Dream Goes On Forever

Issue 188Audio Anthropology

Nearfield Acoustics offered a number of PipeDreams loudspeaker models from around the year 2000 until...? Not much information is available online. They came in a number of configurations, often comprising...

Singer/Songwriter Dan Montgomery Returns to His...

Issue 188Idle Chatter

A seasoned songwriter, skilled multi-instrumentalist, and capable studio engineer, Dan Montgomery's impact on music run far deeper than the average fan might know. While some may recognize Dan Montgomery as...

A Copper Audio Experience

Issue 188Parting Shot

Copper-veneered speakers from Copper reader Mike Van Hoe…it’s a natural combination! These are made using CommonSense Audio Monitor MK II enclosures, with Classic 8+ Series alnico-magnet drivers. CommonSense Audio offers...

CanJam New York 2023: Getting Enthusiastic Abou...

Issue 188Show Report

I’m not sure about you, but my first notion of headphones or earphones came from my grandfather, Milton, who had one of those little mono earphones plugged into his little...

Does Surround Sound Have a Future In Jazz?

Issue 188Sitting In

Surround sound and immersive audio are increasingly common in pop music. Do these technologies make sense for jazz recordings?   Since the late 1950s, stereo sound has served jazz well;...

The Brooklyn-Canton Roots-Rock Digital Highway ...

Issue 188The Copper Interview

Much press is given to ever-younger indie artists creating music thanks to digital recording software, samples, loops and computers. However, there are also countless veteran indie artists who are still...

Contemporary Classical Music from Octave Record...

Issue 188Octave Pitch

Octave Records is proud to announce the release of Conversations by composer, pianist and conductor Gustav Hoyer, an album of new works that combine classical music inspirations with contemporary influences....

The 2023 La Jolla Concours: A Bucket List Event

Issue 188New Vistas

The La Jolla Concours d’Elegance celebrated its 17th year on April 23rd, 2023. This event is located on the coast in La Jolla, California just north of San Diego. The show featured more...

The Return of Tower Records: Welcome Back, You’...

Issue 188Featured

At a time when institutions and entities we cherish might disappear, the rebirth of the Tower Records brand is especially welcome. Since the company’s Chapter 7 liquidation in 2006, I...

Table of Contents – Issue 188

Issue 188Opening Salvo

I’m delighted to say that the ability to add comments to articles is back. Readers really missed this, as did I. However, since Copper is using a new platform, Disqus,...

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Tales of Power in the Dark Ages

Issue 188Revolutions Per Minute

Back in the 1930s, the transition from purely acoustic sound recording to electrical recording and reproduction brought with it a dependency on a source of power. The electricity grid back...

Impex Records Invites Me to Patricia Barber’s N...

Issue 188Frankly Speaking

I’ll admit, I was late to get hip to Patricia Barber. Sure, I was aware of her, as her 2021 album Clique! has become a deserved audiophile favorite for its...

A Visit to Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems

Issue 188Deep Dive

Copper has an exchange program with FIDELITY magazine (and others), where we share articles between publications. Here we are honored to present an article from FIDELITY about a tour of Dan D'Agostino Master Audio...

Table of Contents – Issue 187

Issue 187Opening Salvo

Audio Expo North America, better known as AXPONA 2023 was a roaring success. The mood was upbeat, the exhibitors (including PS Audio) were plentiful, and from the looks of it,...

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Restoring and Repairing A Rek-O-Kut Model V Rec...

Issue 187Revolutions Per Minute

As with the vast majority of disk recording lathes of US manufacture, the 1956 Rek-O-Kut Model V I took upon the task of restoring was configured to spin at the...

A View From the Sky

Issue 187Parting Shot

It was a beautiful 2022 fall day in New York, the kind that makes you feel you are in the center of the world, especially near the new buildings towering...

AXPONA 2023: Accessories Make the (Audio) Outfit

Issue 187Show Report

It’s been one of those years. Too many things going on, several distractions at home, travel schedules, inflation, and my constant state of mental disarray lately all meant that AXPONA...

Off the Meter

Issue 187Audio Anthropology

  These interestingly odd speakers came from a Panasonic all-in-one system, possibly from the 1970s. We suppose they looked cutting edge back in the day!   This classic logo was...

Impressions of AXPONA 2023

Issue 187Frankly Speaking

I’m calling this “Impressions of AXPONA 2023” rather than “AXPONA 2023 Show Report” because this time out, I didn’t get to walk the show floor much. I was based in...

Some Thoughts On AXPONA 2023

Issue 187Twisted Systems

Above: The PS Audio crew and friends (from front left around the table): Mike Bechtel, Cindi Bechtel, Jay Jay French, Chris Brunhaver, Aaron Marrs, James Herod, Jim Laib (doing his...

Ivan Neville: Carrying on the Family Musical Torch

Issue 187Disciples of Sound

It’s safe to say that the Nevilles are probably New Orleans’ first family of music. Art “Poppa Funk” Neville was vocalist and keyboardist with the Meters, the seminal New Orleans...

Waversa Systems’ WBridge Standard: A Different ...

Issue 187From the LIstening Chair

The WBridge Standard ($6,600) from South Korea's Waversa Systems is an interesting digital hub and signal converter that offers a choice of seven types of inputs and outputs including Ethernet, coaxial,...

You Don’t Know What You’ve Got ’Till It’s Gone:...

Issue 187Featured

It seems to me that in recent years the lyrics to Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” have never been more relevant when looking through the lens of musical instrument shop...

Up-and Coming Guitarist Nick Lisanti of Sticks ...

Issue 187Idle Chatter

Having been inoculated in rock and roll since picking up the instrument at the age of seven, 20-year-old guitarist Nick Lisanti has come a long way. The shredding six-stringer for...

A Visit to an Audio Engineering Society (AES) C...

Issue 187Show Report

The AES (Audio Engineering Society) conventions are among the most important shows in professional audio, which means that what you hear there today will have an impact on home listeners...

Producer/Engineer Bill Schnee: Talking With the...

Issue 187The Copper Interview

When one thinks of some of the iconic records from the 1970s through the 1990s, albums and songs like Steely Dan’s Aja, Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love For You,”...

Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 29: Tonbrid...

Issue 187Natural Born Kessler

Like the recent AXPONA hi-fi event in Chicago, deemed by all to be a roaring success, the latest Tonbridge AudioJumble in early March was certainly one of the best, but...

Darlene Love: Blossoming Into R&B Greatness

Issue 187Off the Charts

Darlene Love is one of those artists who took much too long to gain fame on her own terms. The first half of her career is so closely intertwined with...

Table of Contents – Issue 186

Issue 186Opening Salvo

As noted in the last issue, Copper’s gone to a new web platform. Though there’s still a bit of a learning curve, we’ve worked out a lot of the kinks...

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Singin' in the Studio

Issue 186Audio Anthropology

Portable listening fun: an RCA VZP11B record player. Admit it: how many of you owned turntables or record players where the LP was bigger than the platter?   You could...