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“Go Tell Veronica…” – A Brief, Superficial Glim...
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…
“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...
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
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
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
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
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
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...
RMAF Preview
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
“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
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...
LP Playback: Is It Really Reference-Quality?
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
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
[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
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 ...
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?
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?
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
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?
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...
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...
Controversy Corner ?
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?
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
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
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...
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
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...
A Dedicated Listening Room
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!
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
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!
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
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
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?
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
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
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
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
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...