Copper


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...

Don Felder: Bringing Musical Gems from The Vaul...

Issue 218DIsciples of Sound

Guitarist Don Felder has been known for many musical talents, one of which is being the creator of magical musical parts that ended up being the foundation of some of...

The Vinyl Beat Pays a Visit to AXPONA 2025

Issue 218Show Report

I settle into the car, buckling up one last time. I’m walked out. I’m talked out. I’m certainly listened out. And I’m heading home. Another AXPONA under my belt. Another...

From The Audiophile’s Guide: Optimizing the Lis...

Issue 218Paul'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....

Where Zeus is Dead, Chaos Rules

Issue 218Featured

Brendon and Eleanor had been sweethearts since high school. They got married, bought a house, and had three kids. He was a truly happy man and credited Eleanor for much...

Australia’s Melbourne Audio Club Celebrates its...

Issue 218Featured

As told by co-founders, Kevin Morrish, aged 91 (pictured in header image with his DIY speakers), and the late Graham Cobb. The night wind blew down Bridge Road as the...

Channel Surfing

Issue 218Audio Anthropology

  This Grundig GDSM 202 stereo dynamic microphone system has to be one of the coolest-looking rigs ever. Although, one has to wonder about the stereo imaging in this configuration....

Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 17: Stalkin...

Issue 218Copper Classics / Natural Born Kessler

In the wake of recent AudioJumble shows – see my articles in Issue 217 and Issue 164 – there has been a palpable buzz about vintage gear over the last few...

PS Audio in the News: PMG Signature Series Audi...

Issue 218PS Audio in the News

PS Audio has announced its all-new PMG Signature Series of top-of-the-line ultimate-performance audio components. The four models in the series include the PMG Signature Preamplifier, PMG Signature 512  PureStream DAC,...

How to Post Comments on Copper

Issue 218How 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...

Mind Games

Issue 218Parting Shot

Is that who we think it is? We can't say for sure as the artist wasn't available. The image is an art installation in Lowell, Arizona with a view of...

Florida Audio Expo 2025, Part Two: The Sound of...

In Issue 216 I offered my initial coverage of Florida Audio Expo 2025, and you can read my report here. To briefly recap, it’s become a major event with a...

Table of Contents – Issue 217

Issue 217Table of Contents

“I haven’t understood a bar of music in my life, but I have felt it.” – Igor Stravinsky In this issue: We conclude our report on Florida Audio Expo 2025....

The Vinyl Beat, AXPONA Edition: Audiophiles Jus...

Issue 217The Vinyl Beat

By the time this is published, it will be four days away from opening day at AXPONA. I am one of those show attendees who simultaneously dreads and looks forward...

Celebrating National Heart Month

Issue 217Subcatgory_Featured

Last February was National Heart Month, so I decided to go for a PET scan. Shortly thereafter, my physician referred me to a cardiologist, who said I needed a stent...

Kraftwerk Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Autoba...

Issue 217Frankly Speaking

Kraftwerk pretty much invented electronic pop, and the “pretty much” part may be an unnecessary qualifier. After having released three previous albums of experimental-leaning music, 1974’s now-classic Autobahn found the...

The New York Dolls: David Johansen Looks Back

Issue 217Wayne's Words

  "We might as well been called the Tehran Dolls." Last February I got an e-mail via long-ailing but resilient New York rocker Jesse Malin and the Sweet Relief Musicians...

Florida Audio Expo 2025, Part Two: The Sound of...

Issue 217Show Report

In Issue 216 I offered my initial coverage of Florida Audio Expo 2025. To briefly recap, it’s become a major event with a lot of rooms and exhibitors. As has...

Octave Records Presents Love in the Moonlight: ...

Issue 217Octave Pitch

Octave Records’ latest release, Love in the Moonlight: Operatic Fantasies for Violin and Piano by Susan Paik and Teddy Niedermaier, offers unique interpretations of beloved opera favorites, adapted for violin...

Rescuing Music With X-Rays

Issue 217Special Report

This article was originally published by Paul Scherrer Institute and in AAA Magazine. Copper has an exchange program with selected magazines, where we share articles, including this one, between publications. Following is...

A Film Review:Becoming Led Zeppelin

Issue 217Featured

I’m writing this review of the documentary film Becoming Led Zeppelin from the lobby of The Edgewater hotel in Seattle, Washington. Why, you may ask? Many a rock star has...

Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers’ Blood on th...

Issue 217Disciples of Sound

When Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band rolled through Pittsburgh last August, the night wouldn’t have been complete if he didn’t invite out the city’s own favorite son to...

From The Audiophile’s Guide: Sample Rates and T...

Issue 217Paul's Place

PS Audio CEO Paul McGowan has launched The Audiophile’s Guide, a 10-book set of the knowledge he’s garnered over the years. It’s a comprehensive collection of practical information, from understanding...

Good Vibrations With a Collection of IsoAcousti...

Issue 217From The Listening Chair

Next up for this photo column are a collection of vibration management products from IsoAcoustics, located in the Canadian city of Markham, Ontario. I used the company’s footers, stands, and...

Book Review:The Musical World of Paul Winter

Issue 217Frankly Speaking

Paul Winter is a name familiar to most jazz and world music aficionados as a saxophonist, musician and composer across a variety of genres, and also as a dedicated environmentalist....

How to Play in a Rock Band, Part 10: When Good ...

Issue 217Frankly Speaking

As a musician I can tell you that nothing equals the excitement of playing a live gig. When you’re feeling good and the band is firing on all cylinders, it’s...

The Genesis MuseumCollectors Exhibit

Issue 217Featured

One might think that, by superfan standards, Adam Gottlob was bitten by the Genesis bug relatively late in the band’s career, around 1981. Peter Gabriel had left the group in...

The People Who Make Audio Happen: Thoughts on C...

Issue 217Show Report

When Nancy Burlan and I headed to this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, it was with a mix of curiosity, and confusion. Ostensibly, our primary interests were in audio, digital imaging,...

Back to My Reel-to-Reel Roots, Part 16: Stalkin...

Issue 217Copper Classics / Natural Born Kessler

A slight departure this time, as a wonderful event – directly related to tape pursuits – took place on May 29th, 2022, After two years and three months, the Tonbridge...

PS Audio in the News

Issue 217PS Audio in the News

7 Review was extremely enthusiastic about the Aspen FR10 loudspeaker. The author of the review began by noting, “Not surprisingly, [speaker designer] Chris Brunhaver scaled down the FR10 from the...

Laser-Focused

Issue 217Audio Anthropology

  The French Teppaz company made some very nice-looking portable record players and electronics from the 1930s until around the 1960s...? There's not much information about the company online, even...

How to Post Comments on Copper

Issue 217How 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...

Air and Ground Transport

Issue 217Parting Shot

Taken in Lowell, Arizona, site of a daytime UFO sighting in the mid-1990s. Lowell was once a...copper mining town. It's now known for its vintage automobiles parked throughout the town.

Table of Contents – Issue 216

Issue 216Table of Contents

“Where words fail, music speaks.” – Hans Christian Andersen In this issue: I have a first look at Florida Audio Expo 2025. Octave Records releases its latest album: jazz pianist...

Talking With Triad Magnetics: Demystifying the ...

Issue 216The Copper Interview

Triad Magnetics is one of the world’s foremost manufacturers of transformers for audio, musical instrument, and industrial applications. Founded in 1943, Triad is based in Perris, California and offers thousands...

Florida Audio Expo 2025: First Impressions (Wit...

Issue 216Show Report

I’m writing this after coming back from Florida Audio Expo 2025 (and a few days off) on a drop-dead deadline, so my full report will have to wait until the...

The Vinyl Beat Special Edition: Cataloging Your...

Issue 216The Vinyl Beat

Since we’re in winter, with spring not quite here, I have a little project that music collectors can work on during this slow time of the year. Looking back to...

Octave Records Presents Compelling Original Jaz...

Issue 216Octave Pitch

Octave Records continues to expand its catalog of contemporary and classic jazz with the release of Sovereign Mind by Ryan Benthall, who plays piano and analog synthesizer. The album of...

Steely Dan’s Katy Lied, Reissued by Analogue Pr...

Issue 216Frankly Speaking

So much has been written about Steely Dan that it’s like trying to write about the Beatles. What can I add? I’d venture that 99 percent of Copper readers know...

How to Play in a Rock Band, Part Nine: Look Sharp!

Issue 216Frankly Speaking

At the beginning of this series, I emphasized that once you’re on stage, you are no longer just a musician – you are a performer. An entertainer, there to give listeners...