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“Go Tell Veronica…” – A Brief, Superficial Glim...

Issue 48FEATURED

Adam Sandler, in his impish introduction on Saturday Night Live to the original “Hanukkah Song”, quips, “There’s a lot of Christmas songs out there, but not that many Hanukkah songs. So, I...

So This is Christmas…

Issue 48FEATURED

“So this is Christmas”, sings John Lennon, “And what have you done? Another year over.  And a new one just begun.” In our western society there is no holiday or seasonal...

Southern Italian Wines: A Walk on the Wild Side...

Issue 45FEATURED

It’s a Malbec world out there. Once upon a time, it was a Merlot world—and then came the movie Sideways, based on Rex Pickett’s novel of the same name. Sideways detailed the misadventures of...

The Two Most Important People in the World

Issue 45FEATURED

Let’s call my audio-show buddy Gavin. I first met him in the elevator at the 2017 Los Angeles Audio Show, and we chatted for ages in the foyer. Then I...

The Agony of the Leaves

Issue 43FEATURED

I’d never heard the phrase “the agony of the leaves” until I landed a project for a specialty tea manufacturer (there’s the clue, in case you haven’t heard it either)....

Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2017

Issue 44FEATURED

RMAF this year was back to full size, with the memories of tents and blocked-off rooms behind us. The show seemed particularly busy Friday morning, as you can see from...

Confessions of a Beleaguered Music Fan

Issue 44FEATURED

While most Copper readers are fans of different types of audiophile gear, the one love that I would lay odds that is universal for all of us is the love of music. While...

Classic Album Sundays

Issue 43FEATURED

The heart of Classic Album Sundays is built around a deep love for music, involving listening to entire albums on vinyl and on an amazing hi-fi. We feature vinyl for the warmth...

Analogic

Issue 43FEATUREDweb-2517

A wise man once said “the most difficult thing that there is to do in the world, is to separate a man from his suffering”. Had I heard that earlier...

RMAF Preview

Issue 43FEATURED

In a year that’s seen some ups and downs in the show world—a new show in LA, and longtime reliable venue THE Show cancelled, at least for this year—it’s good...

Digital vs. Analog, Ad Nauseum

Issue 44FEATURED

“What If Digital Had Never Happened?” writes Steve Guttenberg in the October 2017 issue of Stereophile. It’s a thoughtful, well-written piece. I just wonder why the audiophile community needs another piece glorifying analog...

Hi-Fis, Cars, and Planes

Issue 45FEATURED

Through the years my idea of listening to a stereo has evolved, to where I’m now at the point where I expect  to be totally transported and blown away by a sound...

CEDIA

Issue 42FEATURED

The Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association — better known as CEDIA — holds an annual show for audio/video installers and custom home integrators.  It’s a great place to learn about custom...

LP Playback: Is It Really Reference-Quality?

Issue 41FEATURED

Is it truly superior if it has not one, but two iterations of eq; an extra gain stage; a signal-to-noise ratio that is definitely not so superior; inner-groove distortion; variable performance; and...

Not Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting

Issue 42FEATURED

The popularity of martial arts has grown exponentially in the US in recent years. The sale of the UFC for $4 billion last summer only demonstrates the huge demand for...

The Beauty of Song Part 2

Issue 42FEATURED

[In the last issue of Copper, Jason Victor Serinus introduced us to the beauty and communicative power of art song. That story paves the way for what follows below.—Ed.] One of the great...

The Beauty of Song Part 1

Issue 41FEATURED

The magic of classical song springs from the fact that it requires a singer and accompanist to construct an entire emotional universe in a very short amount of time. You...

Welcome to the Smoke on the Water Jungle Sweet ...

Issue 41FEATURED

Imagine John Cleese with a red dot on his forehead, wearing a lungi and sitting on stage, playing Indian classical music on an alto saxophone. Carnatic musician Kadri Goplanath looks so much like the...

The Death of High-End Audio?

Issue 40FEATURED

We’ve all seen and heard the discussions concerning the so-called death of high-end audio.  There are many reasons why that topic keeps resurfacing, but here is the one that I...

I Scream, You Scream---For Gelato? Sorbet?

Issue 40FEATURED

The freezer section at the local grocery store is only getting more complicated as food trends ebb and flow. Seasons change, kitchen technology improves, and what results is a seriously...

Out of Control

Issue 40FEATURED

This article was first published in the Dubai-based English daily Gulf News. I’ve written a personal essay for their op-ed page twice a month since 2005. I often write about music and...

Spiking Your Speakers: What’s the Point?

Issue 39FEATURED

Before we get started, a big IMO should go in front of the next sentence.… Spikes are NOT loudspeaker isolation devices.  They are tuning devices. They will always “lean out” the sound.  True isolation devices will...

High-End Audio: In Need of Higher Fidelity to I...

Issue 38FEATURED

Musings from a long-time listener upon entering the hi-fi industry I remember the exact moment the switch flipped. I was in my early twenties when I hit “play” and was...

Mistakes

Issue 38FEATURED

If you’re human, you make mistakes. Sometimes they are driven by emotion, sometimes by ignorance. But you’re never going to escape them, and you’ll always be sorry you didn’t, or...

Controversy Corner ?

Issue 37FEATURED

Part One:  Past 50? Is your hearing still good enough to worry about your system’s sound quality? I’ll never forget these intertwined events. It was in the early 1980s. I...

Has Music All Been Downhill Since 1969?

Issue 37FEATURED

Some 30 years ago, I was involved in a debate with a younger co-worker on another magazine – let’s call him “Martin T”– about something I had posited, and with...

EQ, DSP, & You: A Cautionary Tale

Issue 36FEATURED

Some of this info was presented in the Copper Subwoofery series. But it was buried within lots of set-up details, and I have felt that it needs to be addressed on its own....

Montana Goes to the LA Audio Show

Issue 35FEATURED

The LAX Sheraton (shown above with my good friend Jim Lindstrom, whose enthusiasm for audio knows no bounds) was a good choice as venue for the LA Audio Show (LAAS,...

What’s Always the Most Important Component in Y...

Issue 35FEATURED

I’ve lost count of the number of homes I’ve visited where the resident audiophile had assembled an expensive sound system from highly reviewed components. The number of these visits is...

Schwartz Tours the LA Audio Show

Issue 34FEATURED

I had about half a day, Friday, at the Los Angeles Audio Show (the show ran June 2nd-4th at  the Sheraton Gateway near LAX).—Well, half a day after attending what Paul McGowan...

Munich!

Issue 34FEATURED

When is a show not a show? When it’s a scene, maybe? I admit to being—-well, hell, blase’ doesn’t begin to describe my attitude towards audio shows. I’m way beyond blase’.  I’ve become the...

A Dedicated Listening Room

Issue 34FEATURED

Even if you want and can afford a dedicated room, there’s something to consider if you don’t live alone… Going into your own dedicated room to listen to music is...

The Return of Even More Neglected Artists!

Issue 33FEATURED

Due to a “senior moment,” I missed the “thirties” in my running series of overlooked artists. As my fellow senior citizen, Editor Leebens, missed it, too, I’m relieved: it was...

Audiophile Therapy

Issue 32FEATURED

Do you remember that special feeling on the way home from a great concert? If you’re like me, you hardly remember the trip home. Do you remember feeling the concert’s emotional...

Axpona: Up Your Game, Exhibitors!

Issue 32FEATURED

While watching Stereophile’s video of 2017 CES impressions, Peter McGrath of Wilson Audio made a comment  (at 1:48) that some of the demo rooms need to “up their game” with the demo music. In his...

Becoming a Curd Nerd

Issue 32FEATURED

When I was eleven years old, Santa left a fondue machine and half a wheel of stinky French cheese in my stocking at Christmas. Most kids (and plenty of adults)...

More Q & A on Getting Better Sound

Issue 31FEATURED

Continuing with our questions & answers series, I have two that have always caused some contention.  In that respect, I hope you find them interesting: Why you should be sour...

What’s the Warmth in Tube Amps?

Issue 31FEATURED

Why are we, as audiophiles, entranced by the reproduction of music using vacuum tubes? As it turns out, noise is traditionally thought of as something to be minimized in all...

Professor Schenbeck Goes to a Show

Issue 30FEATURED

Last month I was in Montréal for a professional meeting when Bill Leebens texted me: “Larry. Listen: there’s a hell of a good audio universe next door!” He was right,...

Simple Acoustics, Complicated Spouses

Issue 31FEATURED

When I was a teenager, I told a girl that I loved her so much that I would die for her. She replied that if I died, she’d no longer find...

The Answer Man Part 2

Issue 29FEATURED

Your Questions – My Answers, continued Continuing our look at some of the most discussed topics/questions at my audio seminars – (Example – RMAF 2010 – relevant topics begin at...

The Answer Man

Issue 28FEATURED

Your questions – My answers Following up from Copper # 26, where readers were asked to pick from a list of popular topics, we will start off with our reply...