Copper


Opening salvo


Table of Contents – Issue 209

Issue 209Opening Salvo

“I see music as fluid architecture.” – Joni Mitchell In this issue: Paul McGowan begins a series on the 50th anniversary of PS Audio. Octave Records releases one of its...

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Table of Contents – Issue 208

Issue 208Opening Salvo

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Alón Sagee, Copper contributor and president of the San Francisco Audiophile Society. While I never had the opportunity to meet him...

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Table of Contents – Issue 206

Issue 206Opening Salvo

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” – Albert Einstein In this issue: We have two AXPONA 2024 show reports, from Rudy Radelic and AXPONA coverage from myself, and...

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Table of Contents – Issue 207

Issue 207Opening Salvoweb-2517

“A composer is a guy who goes around forcing his will on unsuspecting air molecules, often with the assistance of unsuspecting musicians.” – Frank Zappa In this issue: What if...

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Table of Contents – Issue 205

Issue 205Opening Salvo

“I kicked off my shoes and felt the good earth under my feet/I loosened my tie and felt what it feels like to breathe” – the Association, “Time for Livin’”...

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Table of Contents – Issue 204

Issue 204Opening Salvo

“Just because I wrote the song doesn’t mean I know what it means.” – Lou Reed In this issue: I talk with Steve Morris of Streamline HiFi, who hand builds...

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Table of Contents – Issue 203

Issue 203Opening Salvo

Tony Cordesman was a great friend to those of us at PS Audio and to so many in the industry, and we deeply mourn his passing on January 29 at...

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Table of Contents – Issue 202

Issue 202Opening Salvo

Happy New Year everyone, from all of us! Copper contributor Howard Kneller, founder of The Listening Chair, has launched a new Facebook group. As he notes, “This group is a...

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Table of Contents – Issue 201

Issue 201Opening Salvo

All of us at Copper wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season and new year, and peace on Earth in these difficult times. Beginning with this issue you’ll see...

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Table of Contents – Issue 200

Issue 200Opening Salvo

It’s Copper’s 200th issue! We’ve had a fantastic run of more than seven years of publishing every two weeks. It’s happened thanks to the incredible talents and efforts of our writers, contributors,...

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Table of Contents – Issue 199

Issue 199Opening Salvo

“The songwriter can make you laugh or cry He’s pumping gas at night just to survive And all he asks of you is to sing his songs And put his...

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Table of Contents – Issue 198

Issue 198Opening Salvo

“Wo-oh, what I want to know, where does the time go?” Issue 198 is the 100th issue of Copper I’ve edited. Whoa! I want to thank all the wonderful people...

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Table of Contents – Issue 197

Issue 197Opening Salvo

Feet on the ground Head in the sky It's OK, I know nothing's wrong... nothing – Talking Heads, “This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)” In this issue: I write...

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Table of Contents – Issue 196

Issue 196Opening Salvo

I could feel at the time There was no way of knowing Fallen leaves in the night Who can say where they're blowing? – Roxy Music, “More Than This” In...

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Table of Contents – Issue 195

Issue 195Opening Salvo

“When you’re not afraid to do it wrong the first time, you’ll eventually get it right.” I hadn’t seen an inspirational fortune cookie in a while, until I came across...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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Table of Contents – Issue 191

Issue 191Opening Salvo

“I know what I like, and I like what I know” – Genesis, “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)” Well, there’s comfort in the tried and true, but...

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Table of Contents – Issue 190

Issue 190Opening Salvo

Astrud Gilberto – the voice of an angel, the Girl From Ipanema. Sadly, she left us at 83, but the timeless gift of her music lives on. For sheer musical...

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Table of Contents – Issue 189

Issue 189Opening Salvo

Copper’s Dan Schwartz was a true friend – the kind who told you what you needed to hear, not what you wanted to hear. Sadly, he left us on May...

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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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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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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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Table of Contents – Issue 185

Issue 185Opening Salvo

Copper’s gone to a new web platform, as many of you have undoubtedly noticed. We’ve got new features like a search bar (yay!), and others – but there are also...

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Always Something There to Remind Us

Issue 182Opening Salvo

Burt Bacharach has passed away at 94. This hits especially hard. Bacharach was a hero to me and one of the greatest songwriters ever – along with lyricist Hal David,...

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Issue 184

Issue 184Opening Salvo

Mike Kuller, former writer for The Absolute Sound, has a new book, The Lucky Audiophile. It’s the story of Mike’s lifelong journey through music and audio, and has lots of details about high-end...

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I Can See Clearly Now

Issue 183Opening Salvo

As Copper’s mailing list subscribers know, I recently had cataract surgery on both eyes. I want to thank everyone for the tremendous outpouring of good wishes – I’m truly touched...

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Heaven is a Place

Issue 181Opening Salvo

“The band in Heaven, they play my favorite songPlay it once again, play it all night long.” – Talking Heads, “Heaven” In this issue: John Seetoo talks with Grammy-winning engineers...

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Goodbye to Jeff

Issue 180Opening Salvo

Sadly, we’ve lost a lot of great artists, but this one hit particularly hard for a lot of us: Jeff Beck passed away on January 10, 2023 at the age...

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Issue 179

Issue 179Opening Salvo

Our B. Jan Montana concluded his epic Pilgrimage to Sturgis saga in Issue 178. A number of readers and this editor were sad (and some quite emotional) to see it...

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Sincere Flattery

Issue 178Opening Salvo

As a fortune cookie connoisseur, I may have found the best one yet: “Listening, not imitation, may be the sincerest form of flattery.” Especially when it comes to audio gear!...

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You Made Listening Fun

Issue 177Opening Salvo

We’ve lost another one of the greats with the passing of Christine McVie at 79. As singer, keyboardist and songwriter for the monumentally popular Fleetwood Mac, her voice has been...

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The Long and Short of It

Issue 176Opening Salvo

Seen on a fortune cookie: “A short pencil is usually better than a long memory any day.” Tell me about it! In this issue: Jay Jay French reviews the new...

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Setting the Scene

Issue 175Opening Salvo

You go through changes, it may seem strange Is this what you're put here for? You think you're happy and you are happy That's what you're happy for – Love,...

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Commentary

Issue 174Opening Salvo

We’d like to take a moment to let readers know that Copper’s Comments sections are moderated. While we encourage thoughtful and spirited discussion, please be civil. The editor and Copper’s editorial staff reserve the...

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Club 19

Issue 173Opening Salvo

We are saddened by the loss of Loretta Lynn (90), one of the most iconic and groundbreaking country music artists of all time. Immortalized in the movie Coal Miner’s Daughter,...

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Redemption Song

Issue 172Opening Salvo

Sir Rastus Bear who’d ever believe You’d be by a song Redeemed – Blue Öyster Cult, “Redeemed” Copper’s Tom Gibbs is going to be absent from the next few issues....

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The Meanings of Life

Issue 171Opening Salvo

For though your ship be sturdy No mercy has the sea Will you survive on the ocean of being? – Genesis, “Watcher of the Skies” As long as I gaze...

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Digital in an Analog World

Issue 170Opening Salvo

We are greatly saddened to report the passing of Chris Sommovigo on August 15, 2022, from a cardiac event. He was most recently associated with Black Cat Cables, and had...

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Issue 169

Issue 169Opening Salvo

Through good times and bad, we always have the memories. Until we forget them. I hope I haven’t used that one before. In this issue: Ray Chelstowski interviews the spellbinding...

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Under the Same Sky

Issue 168Opening Salvo

As a fortune cookie connoisseur, this one caught my eye: “We all live under the same sky, but we don’t see the same light.” Quite a profundity from the usually...

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Sitting Down and Listening

Issue 167Opening Salvo

We are pleased to say that audio reviewer and photographer Howard Kneller has launched a YouTube channel called “The Listening Chair.” Howard is a regular contributor to Copper and his work has...

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Seeking Enlightenment

Issue 166Opening Salvo

I’ve noted before that I’m a connoisseur of silly fortune cookie sayings. I read one that said, “To truly find yourself, you should play hide and seek alone.” Maybe finding...

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Here Comes the Sun

Issue 165Opening Salvo

As a bandmate likes to say, a day without the Beatles is like a day without sunshine. Saturday, June 25 is Global Beatles Day (yes, it’s a thing) and was founded in...

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The Space Between the Notes

Issue 164Opening Salvo

Sometimes, music is good. Other times, silence is good. It is with sadness that we report that Mr. Atsushi Miura, the founder of high-end tube electronics company AIR TIGHT, has passed away...

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We All Belong...

Issue 163Opening Salvo

Thanks, mom. For everything. “La, la la la, la la la, la la la,Sing a simple song,We all belong,Only to Time…” – Jim Dawson, “City Song/Simple Song" (click below to...

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Showgazing

Issue 162Opening Salvo

As you might have seen or heard, AXPONA 2022, Audio Expo North America, was a big success. Literally, with more than 7,500 attendees visiting more than 150 rooms. It felt good to...

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On With the Show

Issue 161Opening Salvo

AXPONA, Audio Expo North America, is happening as you are reading this and we’ll be reporting on it in upcoming issues. A drug that reverses hearing loss? I haven’t dug deeply...

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Two is Better Than One

Issue 160Opening Salvo

According to a recent article in The Hearing Review, acoustics researchers at Aalto University in Espoo, Finland have come up with an improved method for measuring room acoustics. The new method, called the...

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