COPPER

A PS Audio Publication

Issue 121 • Free Online Magazine

Issue 121 Opening Salvo

A Question of Time

A Question of Time

Do you sometimes feel like we’re living in an alternate universe? After all, alternate realities and parallel universes are not uncommon concepts in pop culture, let alone physics – just watch the Netflix series Dark or DC Comics’ “Crisis on Infinite Earths” or read Ray Bradbury’s short story “A Sound of Thunder,” which gave birth to the phrase “the butterfly effect.” But we’re not really living in the Matrix, or a changed history created by meddling with the time stream...are we?

I am certain of one thing – time travel does exist. All we have to do is put on a record like Giant Steps or Songs for Swingin’ Lovers or Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band or The Fame, and we can be transported back to the time when the album was recorded and our memories of when we first heard the music. Any time we want.

Reminder: our Name That Column Contest runs through October 31. We’ll be running a new column about PS Audio’s Octave Records label, and we need a name. (For now it’s “The Column to be Named Later.”) The winner will receive a 16 x 24 photo on canvas of Copper photographer James Schrimpf’s photo of musicians Dale Watson and Chris Crepps, used as Issue 105’s Parting Shot.

Please submit your suggestions for the column name to letters@psaudio.com.

In this issue: Anne E. Johnson gets into Otis Redding and his deep soul, and free-jazz trailblazer Sam Rivers. Tom Methans isn’t with the band. We interview MartinLogan and Eikon Audio founder Gayle Sanders, and the Audio Engineering Society’s Gary Gottlieb. Roy Hall takes a trip to Copenhagen and one of the world’s greatest restaurants. Todd Rundgren’s Nearly Human album changes Ray Chelstowski’s life. We have an inside look at Octave Records’ new release, Temporary Circumstances by Clandestine Amigo. Rudy Radelic digs The Mavericks’ En Español.

J.I. Agnew asks: how hi would you like your fi? Jay Jay French revisits the Grateful Dead’s Workingman’s Dead on its 50th anniversary. Rich Isaacs revives some unusual cover versions in the latest installment of “Complete Recovery.” Steven Bryan Bieler knows what it’s like to be cool. Ken Sander goes one step beyond with Madness and the Go-Go’s. Tom Gibbs finds great new music and reissues from John Coltrane, Cat Stevens/Yusuf, Thelonious Monk and Gillan Welch. Reader Adrian Wu’s audio journey takes him to the present. We conclude the issue with hittin’ the note, spending money and socially distancing.

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#232 What came first: Art or Music? A Conversation With Artist Jose Acosta by Joe Caplan Jul 06, 2026 #232 Blow By Blow: The Jeff Beck Story: An Insightful Book About a Guitar Icon by Ray Chelstowski Jul 06, 2026 #232 Creed Over Camaraderie? by B. Jan Montana Jul 06, 2026 #232 Chronicles of a Sound Pilgrim at the 2026 Montreal Audiofest by Hugues Morin Jul 06, 2026 #232 The Vinyl Beat: Summer Grooves by Rudy Radelic Jul 06, 2026 #232 Hibbing Hillbilly Dylan's Acoustic Rock by Wayne Robins Jul 06, 2026 #232 Quad Quads and Plasmatronics Tweeters: An Extraordinary System Comes to Life by Frank Doris Jul 06, 2026 #232 In Praise of Live Music, Once Again by Ted Shafran Jul 06, 2026 #232 Allnic Audio’s L-9000 Preamplifier: Design and Engineering Innovation by Howard Kneller Jul 06, 2026 #232 “Best Of” Lists and Rage Bait: Enough Already by Frank Doris Jul 06, 2026 #232 Quick Takes: Bud Shank, Paulo Almeida, Jakob Dreyer, Tim Eriksen and Peter Irvine by Frank Doris Jul 06, 2026 #232 My Impressions of AXPONA 2026, Part 2 by Frank Doris Jul 06, 2026 #232 How to Play in a Rock Band, 25: Encounters With Famous Musicians, Part Three by Frank Doris Jul 06, 2026 #232 Budgets, and Systems From Small to Outrageous by Paul McGowan Jul 06, 2026 #232 PS Audio in the News by PS Audio Staff Jul 06, 2026 #232 Hand It Over by Frank Doris Jul 06, 2026 #232 Difference of Opinion by Peter Xeni Jul 06, 2026 #232 Wabi-sabi Tree by James Schrimpf Jul 06, 2026 #231 Piano Prodigy Jude Kofie Releases His Debut Album On Octave Records by Frank Doris Jun 01, 2026 #231 Underappreciated Artists, Part Two: City Boy by Rich Isaacs Jun 01, 2026 #231 Music and the Art of Creation: Talking With Saxophonist Rob Scheps by Joe Caplan Jun 01, 2026 #231 How to Play in a Rock Band, 24: Further Adventures at the 2026 Montauk Music Festival by Frank Doris Jun 01, 2026 #231 Courtney Barnett: Creature of Habit by Wayne Robins Jun 01, 2026 #231 Angine de Poitrine: Interstellar Guitar Rock Saviors Headed for Late-Night TV Pop Stardom? by Mark Lepage Jun 01, 2026 #231 My Impressions of AXPONA 2026, Part One by Frank Doris Jun 01, 2026 #231 2026 La Jolla Concours d'Elegance: Another Aesthetic Feast by B. Jan Montana Jun 01, 2026 #231 Country Music Icon Jo Dee Messina’s Bridges: A New Beginning by Ray Chelstowski Jun 01, 2026 #231 The Luxury Dispatch Hosts a Video Podcast With Ken Kessler by Ken Kessler Jun 01, 2026 #231 The Vinyl Beat: Tracking in the Motor City by Rudy Radelic Jun 01, 2026 #231 Lots of Fun With DSP: The Ferrum Audio WANDLA DAC and Its Tube Mode by Frank Doris Jun 01, 2026 #231 From The Audiophile's Guide: Digital Source Components and Streaming Audio by Paul McGowan Jun 01, 2026 #231 Onkyo’s Monster M-510 power amplifier by The Staff at Just Audio Jun 01, 2026 #231 PS Audio in the News by PS Audio Staff Jun 01, 2026 #231 Naming Convention by Peter Xeni Jun 01, 2026 #231 Les Invisibles by Frank Doris Jun 01, 2026 #231 Wildlife Scene by James Schrimpf Jun 01, 2026 #230 Camaraderie by B. Jan Montana May 04, 2026 #230 AXPONA 2026: A Family Gathering by Paul McGowan May 04, 2026 #230 Pianist Ryan Benthall Explores Jazz Realms and Far Beyond With Divine Sky by Frank Doris May 04, 2026 #230 The Vinyl Beat in AXPONA-Land by Rudy Radelic May 04, 2026 #230 Teddy Thompson’s Musical Growth Deepens With Never Be the Same by Ray Chelstowski May 04, 2026 #230 More Fun in the Sun: Florida Audio Expo, Part Two by Frank Doris May 04, 2026 #230 CanJam NYC 2026 Show Report: Heady Sound, Part Two by Frank Doris and Harris Fogel May 04, 2026 #230 Sonic Youth On Murray Street by Wayne Robins May 04, 2026 #230 Graffeo Coffee: A Symphony of Sensory Experience by Joe Caplan May 04, 2026 #230 The Saul Authority: The Story of Hi-Fi Pioneer Saul Marantz by Olivier Meunier-Plante May 04, 2026 #230 How to Play in a Rock Band, 23: Encounters With Famous Musicians, Part Two by Frank Doris May 04, 2026

A Question of Time

A Question of Time

Do you sometimes feel like we’re living in an alternate universe? After all, alternate realities and parallel universes are not uncommon concepts in pop culture, let alone physics – just watch the Netflix series Dark or DC Comics’ “Crisis on Infinite Earths” or read Ray Bradbury’s short story “A Sound of Thunder,” which gave birth to the phrase “the butterfly effect.” But we’re not really living in the Matrix, or a changed history created by meddling with the time stream...are we?

I am certain of one thing – time travel does exist. All we have to do is put on a record like Giant Steps or Songs for Swingin’ Lovers or Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band or The Fame, and we can be transported back to the time when the album was recorded and our memories of when we first heard the music. Any time we want.

Reminder: our Name That Column Contest runs through October 31. We’ll be running a new column about PS Audio’s Octave Records label, and we need a name. (For now it’s “The Column to be Named Later.”) The winner will receive a 16 x 24 photo on canvas of Copper photographer James Schrimpf’s photo of musicians Dale Watson and Chris Crepps, used as Issue 105’s Parting Shot.

Please submit your suggestions for the column name to letters@psaudio.com.

In this issue: Anne E. Johnson gets into Otis Redding and his deep soul, and free-jazz trailblazer Sam Rivers. Tom Methans isn’t with the band. We interview MartinLogan and Eikon Audio founder Gayle Sanders, and the Audio Engineering Society’s Gary Gottlieb. Roy Hall takes a trip to Copenhagen and one of the world’s greatest restaurants. Todd Rundgren’s Nearly Human album changes Ray Chelstowski’s life. We have an inside look at Octave Records’ new release, Temporary Circumstances by Clandestine Amigo. Rudy Radelic digs The Mavericks’ En Español.

J.I. Agnew asks: how hi would you like your fi? Jay Jay French revisits the Grateful Dead’s Workingman’s Dead on its 50th anniversary. Rich Isaacs revives some unusual cover versions in the latest installment of “Complete Recovery.” Steven Bryan Bieler knows what it’s like to be cool. Ken Sander goes one step beyond with Madness and the Go-Go’s. Tom Gibbs finds great new music and reissues from John Coltrane, Cat Stevens/Yusuf, Thelonious Monk and Gillan Welch. Reader Adrian Wu’s audio journey takes him to the present. We conclude the issue with hittin’ the note, spending money and socially distancing.

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