Tour PS Audio

We’re all a bit crazy with the pandemic entering its second year. Crazy or not, it’s important when we’re in public to wear our masks and when it’s our turn, get vaccinated so we can someday get back to normal. But still, it’s restricting.

Terri and I have been fortunate enough to get both our doses of protection and we’re certainly feeling a lot better. Still, it’s hard because things just aren’t as they were.

Part of what “they were” was PS Audio’s factory tours. For years we’ve invited anyone and everyone into PS Audio’s Boulder facilities. Visitors get to meet our team of more than 50 PS’ers, see how products are engineered and manufactured, get a glimpse of how records are made in Octave Record’s studios, and best of all, a chance to sit alone with PS Audio’s amazing reference system.

Just seeing the IRSV in Music Room Two is an experience in itself, but to be able to enjoy its amazing sound is…well…something you don’t get to do on a regular basis.

We can’t invite visitors in until our crew’s been vaccinated, but there’s an alternative. A virtual tour.

When you have a bit of extra time, click on the link below and join me for a virtual walk through tour of PS Audio. We filmed this hour-long piece in one shot on two video cameras so it is as live as if I were personally walking you through the building.

Enjoy!

Take our virtual tour

If it’s good enough for NASA

…it’s probably good enough for Octave Records.

DPA Microphones (just down the street from us) is one of our favorite microphone suppliers. Many Octave releases are made using their terrific microphones. So it was no little surprise to learn that those same microphones used by Octave Records are now sitting on the surface of Mars.

Yup, DPA’s parent company out of Denmark has outfitted the Mars lander with DPA’s 4006 Omnidirectional Microphone, MMA-A Digital Audio Interface and MMP-G Modular Active Cable, to provide the first sounds from the surface of Mars.

After being put through vigorous testing by NASA scientists, the DPA equipment, affixed to the Mars “Perseverance” Rover, officially launched into space aboard the Atlas V-541 rocket in July 2020. Over the past seven months, the DPA equipment has faced pressure changes while leaving Earth’s atmosphere and again when entering the Martian surface, and extreme temperatures — as low as -100 Celsius/-148 Fahrenheit — on Mars. Additionally, the DPA gear has endured the massive vibrations caused by the rocket launch and subsequent landing on Mars.

So the next time you listen to an Octave Records release, just remember some of what you’re hearing was captured by the same microphones as are now sitting on Mars.

Wow.

Copper Magazine

We’ve lost two more titans: keyboardist and composer Chick Corea (79), whose influence on the birth of jazz fusion cannot be overstated. WL Woodward offers a tribute in this issue.

Also in this issue: we’ve got a trifecta of interviews, as John Seetoo talks with Nason Tackett of Hear Technologies, Don Lindich goes Rogue with Mark O’Brien of Rogue Audio and Rich Isaacs interviews musical synthesizer pioneer Patrick Gleeson. Larry Schenbeck considers Bach’s monumental Passion settings. Adrian Wu considers the unending analog vs. digital debate. Tom Gibbs reviews new releases from Steven Wilson, the Staves and a solo album from Hayley Williams of Paramore. Ken Sander spends time in Peter Tosh’s Jamaica.

Anne E. Johnson gets down with Mary Chapin Carpenter and jazz drumming legend Max Roach. Jay Jay French dives into streaming audio, and Andy Schaub starts a series on the technology behind music streaming software. Galen Gareis of ICONOCLAST and Belden continues his deep exploration into audio cables. J.I. Agnew makes a very big move. Russ Welton gives us more speaker setup tips. I speculate about whether audio systems can ever attain perfection. We wrap things up with James Whitworth racking them up, Peter Xeni contemplating the sound of silence, leisurely listening and a rave new world.

Copper is cost-free, ad-free, and committed to great articles without an attitude.

Spotify Goes high resolution

When it comes to the needs of audiophiles the Hi-Fi streaming experience has been rather limited. Certainly Tidal and Qobuz both have lossless options that sound great and their libraries are big, but none as big as the giant Spotify. Problem was, Spotify was always lossy: good for background music only.

But recently, Spotify announced they will be joining the lossless streaming world too, letting Spotify Premium subscribers upgrade to Spotify HiFi, which will “deliver music in CD-quality, lossless audio format.”

According to Spotify, this has been one of the most-requested additions, and the rollout was announced with the help of Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas. “High-quality audio means more info, there are things you will not hear if you don’t have a good sound system. It’s really important just because we make music that [we] want to be heard in the way that it was made,” Eilish said. Her brother added: “Anytime anyone really takes time to sit down with our music and listen to it in a really high-quality way it’s very exciting because I know they are hearing everything that we intended them to.”

So, check out their video. While clearly neither Eilish are audiophiles, they’re at least giving it a good go and we applaud not only their efforts but the efforts of Spotify to keep the high end high end.

Watch the video