Copper


Table of Contents – Issue 220

Issue 220Table of Contents

“And when he feels the world is closing in/he turns his stereo way up high” – The Kinks, “A Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy” In this summer issue: I review the...

On the Scene at T.H.E. Show 2025

Issue 220Show Report

  On Friday, June 6th and Saturday the 7th, I attended T.H.E Show in Costa Mesa, California with my friend, Jim Carry. This year, T.H.E. Show included a car audio...

They Say It’s Wonderful: Octave Records Present...

Issue 220Octave Pitch

Brian Nova is a world-class jazz guitar virtuoso and vocalist, and on Octave Records’ latest, They Say It’s Wonderful, he takes listeners on a nostalgic musical journey through a varied...

Orchestra in the Age of Algorithms: A Reflectio...

Issue 220Featured

In a world shaped by TikTok – a world that scrolls by in seconds and speaks in soundbites – where does an orchestra belong? What becomes of nuance in an...

The Kinks – The Journey, Part 3, and an Intervi...

Issue 220Frankly Speaking

About a year ago, the Kinks released The Journey, Part 1, the first of three double-album retrospectives commemorating the band’s 60th anniversary. The Journey, Part 2 followed at the end...

Blues History By Way of Classic Rock Part 2: T...

Issue 220Featured

Introduction I decided to construct a playlist of music from the 1930s for my own listening enjoyment. In doing research of leading artists from that decade, I discovered some household...

Buzz Me In: Inside the Record Plant Studios, a ...

Issue 220Book Review

The former Record Plant studios in New York and California are the stuff of music legend, places where a mind-blowing number of hit albums and singles were recorded, and mind-bending...

Laura Nyro's Final on Vinyl

Issue 220Wayne's Words

Angel in the Dark: a Last Look Back When I spoke to Laura Nyro in 1993, she had released what was then her last studio album, Walk the Dog and...

Quick Takes: Stjernebru, Ola Onabulé and Nicola...

Issue 220Quick Takes

Stjernebru (2L Records) Stjernebru is a new release from Morten Lindberg’s 2L Records, which, as the Norwegian company states, specializes in making recordings in spacious acoustic venues: large concert halls,...

From The Audiophile's Guide: More About Room Tr...

Issue 220Paul's Place

This article is part of a series of excerpts from The Audiophile's Guide, a 10-volume set that offers guidance and knowledge about all aspects of audio reproduction and system setup. Previous...

Confessions of a Setup Man: An Unexpected Audio...

Issue 220Frankly Speaking

It’s well-known among audiophiles that our systems can sound better or worse from day to day. Sometimes, the better the system, the more inconsistent it can sound. Over the past...

How to Play in a Rock Band, 13: Adventures at t...

Issue 220Frankly Speaking

While I usually play an average of a gig or so a month, once a year our band gets the opportunity to play multiple gigs in a single three-day stretch...

What’s the Story with Meters in Home Audio Play...

Issue 220From The Listening Chair

   Analog VU meters with bouncing needle displays have long been present on audiophile components, particularly amplifiers and tape decks. Think of the 1970s and 1980s vintage gear made by...

Robin Trower’s Classic For Earth Below Album Ri...

Issue 220Disciples of Sound

Robin Trower has never sat still. His tenure with the band Procol Harum from 1967 to 1971 was cut short because he simply kept coming up with musical ideas that...

The People Who Make Audio Happen: Adventures at...

Issue 220The People Who Make Audio Happen

NAMM is the world's biggest music industry trade show, filled with instruments, artists, concerts, parties, and people. It’s a complex event, ranging from the trade show, to NAMM U for...

The Vinyl Beat: New Grooves and Old Favorites

Issue 220The Vinyl Beat

New Grooves: Here are some recent new additions to the collection.   The Blackbyrds: City Life (Jazz Dispensary/Craft Recordings) Back in the early 1970s, Donald Byrd departed from his hard bop...

Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 19: Reports...

Issue 220Copper Classics / Natural Born Kessler

(Please note that this installment relates directly to the previous column, published in Issue 219.) Having established that my comparison between the Tuchel and the four-banana-sockets line-level outputs on the...

PS Audio in the News

Issue 220PS Audio in the News

The Audiophiliac aka Steve Guttenberg called the Aspen FR5 loudspeaker “PS Audio’s heavyweight champion,” noting that it “filled the room in a way that few small speakers can do.” He...

Shades of Summer

Issue 220Audio Anthropology

Those of us of a certain age remember seeing countless tube components that looked like this 1950s Bell Model 2200C integrated amplifier. This ones missing its bloated-looking tube cage. Courtesy...

Uplifting

Issue 220Parting Shot

This dad repeatedly picked up his little girl in response to her endless requests. The picture was taken on Fletcher Cove in Solana Beach, California.

How to Post Comments on Copper

Issue 220How to Post Comments on Copper

We get queries on how to post comments at the end of Copper articles. Here's how to get set up to leave comments: To comment at the end of an article, you...

Table of Contents – Issue 219

Issue 219Table of Contents

“And for everyone who thinks that life is just a game/do you like the part you’re playing?” – Love, “You Set the Scene” In this issue: Jeff Weiner looks at...

Narada — The Other New Age Label, Part One

Issue 219Featured

Quite possibly the most-maligned genre of music in the last 60 years (aside from progressive rock, which I also enjoy), new age had its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s....

The Wood Brothers Celebrate Their 20th Annivers...

Issue 219Disciples of Sound

Next year The Wood Brothers celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band, and in advance of that milestone they are about to release their ninth studio album, Puff of Smoke...

Bruckner for a Desert Island: Ambling in Realms...

Issue 219Featured

Translation by Stéphane Treyvaud   Anton Bruckner (1824 – 1896), perhaps more than any great composer, endured relentless criticism and ridicule during his lifetime. Even today some music lovers find...

Another Bucket List Event: the 19th Annual La J...

Issue 219Show Report

On Sunday, April 27, 2025, the 19th Annual La Jolla Concours d’Elegance rolled unto the Pacific coastline for a celebration of style, elegance, and engineering. What began as a modest...

The Vinyl Beat: The Cat’s in the Bag?

Issue 219The Vinyl Beat

With AXPONA 2025 safely in the past, it’s time to hop back into the listening room with some records. I didn’t spend a penny on vinyl at the show (too...

From The Audiophile's Guide: Room Treatment and...

Issue 219Paul's Place

The previous installment on room treatment appeared in Issue 218.   If you’ve already set up your system using the guidelines in The Audiophile’s Guide: The Stereo or The Loudspeaker,...

Talking With Yair Raz of Speaker Maker Innovo A...

Issue 219The Copper Interview

Innovo Audio Designs is a relatively new company that makes active loudspeakers, with a unique take on built-in amplification and design. Their very distinctive Luxe T1 first caught my attention...

Suzanne Vega Paints Her Masterpiece Flying with...

Issue 219Wayne's Words

I've known Suzanne Vega since 1983, when she was a receptionist at a publishing company and sent some lyrics to me at the New York office of Newsday. The words...

Blues History By Way of Classic Rock, Part One:...

Issue 219

Introduction I decided to construct a playlist of music from the 1930s for my own listening enjoyment. In doing research of leading artists from that decade, I discovered some household...

How to Play in a Rock Band, Part 12: Eating and...

Issue 219Frankly Speaking

Timing is everything – especially when it comes to eating and drinking before, during and after gigs. You want to be at your best when performing, and this requires giving...

Living Dangerously with Adona Corporation’s Zer...

Issue 219The Listening Chair

Not to be confused with an insect, a Black Widow spider is a type of poisonous arachnid, which means that, among other things, it has its skeleton outside of its...

Octave Records Presents Singer/Songwriter Clay ...

Issue 219Octave Pitch

Few albums convey the raw emotional intensity of an artist like Octave Records’ latest release, Clay Rose Live at Dharma Barn. It’s a stark, unvarnished presentation of a man and...

Hear the Quality!

Issue 219Audio Anthropology

Let's face it, not many audio components are as iconic as a McIntosh MC275 vacuum-tube power amplifier. This all-time classic was made from 1961 to circa 1970 and was reissued...

Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 18: Reports...

issue 219

Open-reel tape devotees are aware of the current state of support for the format, which is now entirely the province of the niche. As far as machines go – leaving...

PS Audio in the News

Issue 219PS Audio in the News

Audiophilia published two extremely positive reviews of the StellarGold DAC and Stellar Strata MK2 integrated amplifier. The DAC received an Audiophilia Star Component Award. The reviewer noted, “The StellarGold sets...

Changing Priorities

Issue 219Audio Static

  This cartoon originally appeared in Issue 155.

How to Post Comments on Copper

Issue 219How to Post Comments on Copper

We get queries on how to post comments at the end of Copper articles. Here's how to get set up to leave comments: To comment at the end of an article, you...

The Beauty of Aging

Issue 219Parting Shot

This old International Harvester truck parked in Bisbee, Arizona has attained strikingly beautiful wear patterns.

Table of Contents – Issue 218

Issue 218Opening Salvo

“Thank you for the days / Those endless days, those sacred days you gave meI'm thinking of the days / I won't forget a single day, believe me” – The...

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AXPONA 2025: Bigger and More Bustling Than Ever

Issue 218Show Report

AXPONA has become the major audio show in the US, and AXPONA 2025, held at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in Schaumburg, Illinois, was bigger than ever, with more...

It’s a Gas: Restoring the Legendary Hill Plasma...

Issue 218Frankly Speaking

Audiophiles of a certain age might know about the Hill Plasmatronics loudspeakers, a unique design that used ionized air, aka plasma, to create sound. Those of us who have heard...

Strawberry Fields For Ezra

Issue 218Wayne's Words

  My grandson learns to dig the Beatles I had a very close relationship with my maternal grandfather, Harry Levine. He emigrated to the United States more than 100 years...

How to Play in a Rock Band, 11: The Extremes of...

Issue 218Frankly Speaking

Playing outdoors can be a lot of fun, especially if it’s on a big stage to a large crowd. Summer outdoor gigs have a warm vibe that’s great to be...

A Visit to Turntable and Cartridge Maker Cleara...

Issue 218Featured

Copper has an exchange program with selected magazines, where we share articles, including this one, between publications. This one's from Germany's FIDELITY magazine.   Did you know that Clearaudio initially manufactured loudspeakers when it...

The Black Hole Boogie Band Brings a Fresh and F...

Issue 218Octave Pitch

Jazz/funk fusion with a nonstop melodic drive is what fuels Octave Records' latest release, Protostar from the Black Hole Boogie Band. The album, named for the process of stars being...

I'm Quitting Audio! Here's Why

Issue 218Featured

Copper has an exchange program with selected magazines, where we share articles, including this one, between publications. This one's from PMA Magazine: the Power of Music and Audio. When I recently said to my wife and...