Alle afleveringen
129 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
-
#20 - Snake Oil
24 maart 2020 · 1 uur 23 min
With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. Lees meer
In this episode...
Furutech DeMag:
https://www.musicdirect.com/equipment/furutech-demag-lp-demagnetizerJBL L100 Classic:
https://www.tonepublications.com/old-school/jbl-l-100-century-loudspeakers/
https://darko.audio/2019/09/retro-sound-with-jbls-l100-classic-loudspeaker/Floyd Toole YouTube lecture:
https://youtu.be/zrpUDuUtxPMBen Salter - The Cat:
https://bensaltermusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-cat-albumMusic: “Snake Oil” by Frook:
https://open.spotify.com/track/7zJV2H5UIGz3RQhJ3dFNYE?si=YF3Wt-nGR0emyXvY5tBHuQ -
Munich High-End 2020 - what happened?
11 maart 2020 · 32 min
With Stefan Dreischärf of Germany's High-End Society: organisers of the Munich High-End show whose 2020 edition was cancelled due to the Coronavirus. Lees meer
https://www.highendsociety.de/home.html
-
#19 - The future of hi-fi show music
12 februari 2020 · 54 min
With TONEAudio's Jeff Dorgay. Lees meer
In this episode, Jeff and I discuss audio/hi-fi show music choices, how those same choices talk only to a narrow range of established audiophiles and what needs to change in order to get new people to take more of an interest in high-end audio.
Jeff's editorial:
https://www.tonepublications.com/blog/an-answer-to-one-of-audios-ultimate-questions/Anthony Rother - Simulationzeitaler
https://anthonyrother.bandcamp.com/album/simulationszeitalter
https://www.discogs.com/Anthony-Rother-Simulationszeitalter/master/12493Smog (Bill Callahan) - "I Was a Stranger":
https://open.spotify.com/album/7eTzaJ4xVuJnDpvlxUSOtA?highlight=spotify:track:4YHhyILeIIR5RqAx0gWSWm -
EXPERT OPINION: Paul McGowan (PS Audio)
1 februari 2020 · 53 min
In this most illuminating interview, the PS Audio CEO discusses the differences between USB cables and how not all listeners react the same way upon hearing those differences. McGowan also talks about how measurements cannot tell us how a piece of gear will sound and how his YouTube success has impacted business. Lees meer
Also mentioned in this podcast...
Klaus Heinz interview:
https://darko.audio/2019/05/a-short-film-about-the-hedd-audio-tower-mains/Jürgen Reis interview:
https://darko.audio/2019/04/onsight-an-afternoon-with-mbls-jurgen-reis/ -
#18 - Best hi-fi products of the 2010s
25 december 2019 · 1 uur 12 min
TONEAudio's Jeff Dorgay and I discuss our favourite hi-fi products of the last ten years. Lees meer
Mentioned in this podcast...
Devialet Expert
https://www.devialet.com/en-eu/expert-pro-audio-system/Devialet Phantom
https://www.devialet.com/en-eu/phantom-premier-speaker/Roon
https://roonlabs.com/REL 6 x 25 subwoofers
https://rel.net/shop/powered-subwoofers/reference-series/no25/Raspberry Pi
https://www.raspberrypi.org/HiFiBerry DAC HAT
https://www.hifiberry.com/shop/boards/hifiberry-dac-pro/Chord Mojo
https://chordelectronics.co.uk/product/mojo/Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital
https://www.project-audio.com/en/product/pre-box-s2-digital/AudioQuest DragonFlys
https://www.audioquest.com/dacs/dragonflyLogitech Squeezebox Touch
https://www.logitech.com/assets/33606/squeezebox-touch-fg.pdfdCS Vivaldi (One)
https://www.dcsltd.co.uk/products/vivaldi-dac/Burial
https://burial.bandcamp.com/album/tunes-2011-to-2019The Positiva Ambient Collection
https://www.discogs.com/Various-The-Positiva-Ambient-Collection/release/215515Until The End of the World OST:
https://shop.runoutgroovevinyl.com/until-the-end-of-the-world-1.html -
What is the difference between power and gain?
10 december 2019 · 23 min
With Vinnie Rossi. Lees meer
https://www.vinnierossi.com/
-
#17 - What's new? (Oct/Nov 2019)
3 december 2019 · 52 min
With TONEAudio's Jeff Dorgay. Lees meer
We switch up to a new format where Jeff and I share recent audio-related discoveries and experiences.
Featured in this episode...
LMC Home Entertainment:
https://www.lmche.com/Warsaw AV Show:
https://audioshow.pl/pl/mainMartin Logan Motion Series:
https://www.martinlogan.com/en/Rotel Michi:
http://www.rotel.com/en-apac/michiManley Absolute headphone amplifier:
https://www.manley.com/hifi/mabhpaCampfire Audio Solaris:
https://campfireaudio.com/shop/solaris/Meze Rai Penta:
https://mezeaudio.com/products/rai-pentaThe HEDDphone:
https://www.hedd.audio/en/heddphone/Warwick Acoustics Aperio:
https://warwickacoustics.com/headphones/collection/aperio/JBL L82 Classic:
https://www.phileweb.com/news/audio/201911/21/21319.htmlApple Macbook Pro 16”:
https://youtu.be/wz3uTlRb9vE -
#16 - Amazon Music HD, RMAF/CEDIA 2019
22 september 2019 · 48 min
With TONEAudio's Jeff Dorgay. Lees meer
In this episode, Jeff and I discuss the newly announced HD tier from Amazon Music and Jeff gives his thoughts on RMAF 2019 as it compared to CEDIA 2019.
More info:
https://darko.audio/2019/09/amazon-launches-cd-quality-hi-res-streaming-tier/
https://darko.audio/2019/09/global-feedback-do-you-classify-cd-quality-as-hi-res-audio/https://sambarker.bandcamp.com/album/utility
-
How can hi-fi & headphone companies better use social media?
5 september 2019 · 44 min
Less for consumers, more for hi-fi manufacturers, distributors and retailers. In this episode, Jeremey Lim discusses how Zeppelin and co. - a head-fi store & coffee shop in Singapore - has used social media to build its business and brand identity. Lees meer
I also chime in with some thoughts of my own on how audio manufacturers might more effectively use Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to build their online presence and expand their reach.
https://zeppelinandco.com/
https://www.facebook.com/zeppelinandco/
https://www.instagram.com/zeppelinandco/?hl=en -
#15 - Lifestyle products
31 mei 2019 · 56 min
With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. Lees meer
What is an audiophile lifestyle product? Jeff seems to have a better handle on it than I do. And yet in 2019, many audio products coming to market don't ask us to bend our lives around them and don't suffer the sound quality penalty of yesteryear.
-
What are the realities of loudspeaker design?
18 april 2019 · 1 uur 5 min
ELAC's Andrew Jones is a loudspeaker designer with a knack for making the complicated sound ever so simple. I'm less interested in his CV than understanding why most loudspeakers are wooden boxes. Or if active crossovers can solve problems that passive networks cannot? Or if a pair of loudspeakers can accurately reproduce a live event and can a loudspeaker ever be considered 100% 'neutral'? Lees meer
At the very end of the loudspeaker design process, is Jones measuring or is he listening? Are there any pitfalls that he looks for when measuring a loudspeaker? Why doesn't he publish his own measurements of ELAC'S Debut and Uni-Fi series?
Further info: https://www.elac.com/
-
What is electrical noise and how does it affect your DAC?
25 maart 2019 · 31 min
Garth Powell, AudioQuest's Direct of Power/Engineering, explains how electrical noise can infect a high-end audio system and how that noise can trouble a DAC to obscure its low-level detail retrieval. The same low-level detail retrieval sought by many audiophiles. Lees meer
More info: https://www.audioquest.com/ac-power
-
What's the deal with pre-amplifiers?
25 februari 2019 · 26 min
With Vinnie Rossi. Lees meer
What is a pre-amplifier? What are the differences between active and passive designs? Do volume controls matter? What about tubes? Do I even need a pre-amplifier?
I put these questions to high-end audio manufacturer Vinnie Rossi in the hope of lifting the veil on perhaps the most misunderstood component in the audio chain.
https://www.vinnierossi.com/
-
#14 - Vinyl
12 februari 2019 · 1 uur 2 min
With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. Lees meer
"Nothing beats the sound of vinyl". "Nothing beats the sound of digital".
Idealism sure sounds silly. We bring some much-needed pragmatism to the vinyl playback conversation.
More coverage at http://Darko.Audio and http://www.tonepublications.com/.
-
#13 - Our favourite hi-fi gear of 2018
19 december 2018 · 55 min
With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. Lees meer
In which we discuss some of our favourite products of the last twelve months.
John's picks...
Naim Uniti Atom £1,999
https://www.naimaudio.com/product/uniti-atomChord Qutest DAC £1,195
https://chordelectronics.co.uk/product/qutest/Devialet Expert Pro 140 €4,999#
https://www.devialet.com/en-eu/expert-pro-audio-system/Campfire Audio Atlas IEM $1,299
https://campfireaudio.com/shop/atlas/Campfire Cascade $799
https://campfireaudio.com/shop/cascade/
MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Open $799
https://www.mrspeakers.com/headphones-22/aeon/aeon-flow-open-back-headphone.html
Audeze LCD 2 Classic $799
https://www.audeze.com/products/lcd-collection/lcd2-classicJeff's picks...
Hana SL $749
https://www.musicdirect.com/phono-cartridges/Hana-SL-MC-Mono-Cartridge-(Low-Output)Boulder 508 $5,000
http://boulderamp.com/products/508-phono-preamplifier/PS Audio DirectStream PowerPlant 15 $7,499
https://www.psaudio.com/products/directstream-power-plant-15/Roon Nucleus €1,500 - €2,500
http://blog.roonlabs.com/what-makes-nucleus-so-special/dCS Vivaldi One $88,000
https://www.dcsltd.co.uk/products/vivaldi-one/ -
#12 - Small speakers
3 december 2018 · 49 min
With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. Lees meer
Sometimes we want steak, other times only sushi will do. So it goes with loudspeakers: we might lust for (full-range) floorstanders but either our room's acoustics and/or our aesthetic sensibilities demand standmount standmounts. Like food, it's better to have too little than too much.
In the latest Darko.Audio podcast episode, Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio and I discuss small loudspeakers with our informal chat romping through the following products (and more):
47 Labs Lens: https://www.sakurasystems.com/
Atacama Nexus 6i: http://www.atacama-audio.co.uk/p/nexus-i-speaker-stands-600mm-23-6-pair
Blumenstein Audio: https://www.blumensteinaudio.com/
DENSOTen Eclipse 510Z MKII: http://www.eclipse-td.com/products/td510zmk2/index.html
ELAC Debut 2.0: https://www.elac.com/series/debut-2-0/
ELAC Uni-Fi UB5: https://www.elac.com/product/ub5/
Genelec 8341 'The Ones': https://www.genelec.com/studio-monitors/sam-coaxial-studio-monitors/8341-sam-studio-monitor
Genelec GTwo: https://www.genelec.com/home-speakers/g-series-active-speakers/g-two-active-speaker
Harbeth P3/ESR: https://www.harbeth.co.uk/hifi-speaker/11/Harbeth-P3ESR-loudspeaker
JERN 14DS: http://jernspeakers.com/specs/
KEF LSX: https://m.int.kef.com/products/lsx
Michael Green Room Tunes: https://www.michaelgreenaudio.net/
Martin Logan Motion 4i: https://www.martinlogan.com/en/product/motion-4i
Paradigm Monitor SE Atom: https://www.paradigm.com/en/passive/monitor-se-atom
Pioneer SP-BS22-LR: https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Speakers/Pioneer+Speakers/SP-BS22-LR
ProAc Tablette 10/Signature: https://www.proac-loudspeakers.com/html_files/Speakers.php?Range=Tablette&Speaker=Tablette10
Raidho Acoustics D1.1: http://raidho.dk/product-detail/d-1-speakers/
Sonus Faber Sonetto I: https://www.sonusfaber.com/en/products/sonetto-i/
Sound Anchors: http://soundanchors.com/
Wharfedale: http://www.wharfedale.co.uk/A must listen for any apartment dweller.
-
Why isn't digital audio simply a matter of ones and zeroes?
24 november 2018 · 33 min
With Innuos R&D Director Nuno Vitorino. Lees meer
He explains why there's more to digital audio connections than just the accurate transfer of data.
http://www.innuos.com/en
-
What is 'Roon Ready' and how does it differ from 'Roon Tested'?
12 november 2018 · 10 min
With Roon CEO Enno Vandermeer. Lees meer
He explains the difference between Roon Ready and Roon Tested.
https://roonlabs.com/
-
#11 - RMAF 2018 & More
18 oktober 2018 · 1 uur 9 min
With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio.
-
#10 - Accuracy, Schmaccuracy
20 september 2018 · 1 uur
With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. Lees meer
Taking the long way 'round: starting with IFA and journeying through the Sonus faber Aida, CEDIA, the Kii Three, the Harbeth Compact 7ES-3 and room acoustics, John and Jeff discuss whether or not an audio system can be "true to source" and/or is capable of reproducing a live event.
-
#9 - Music formats
12 augustus 2018 · 1 uur 14 min
With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. Lees meer
With the recently announced Aphex Twin 'Collapse' EP to be issued on limited edition vinyl, regular vinyl, CD and cassette (plus downloads and streaming), Darko and Dorgay discuss music formats.
And thanks to our friends at AudioQuest, we are also giving away a Beetle DAC to one lucky listener: https://www.audioquest.com/dacs/beetle/beetle
-
#8 - Music Discovery
25 juli 2018 · 1 uur 18 min
With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. Lees meer
In which Darko and Dorgay discuss the Microsoft Surface Book 2, Audirvana for Windows, Roon's Nucleus server, new music discovery, David Bowie's Loving The Alien 1980s box set and maintaining perspective on vinyl sales.
More coverage at Darko.Audio and www.tonepublications.com.
-
#7 - Streaming Methods
15 juni 2018 · 1 uur 13 min
With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. Lees meer
Naim's Uniti Atom could be the poster child of the modern hi-fi age: a small 40wpc integrated amplifier with probably the best volume control in the world that streams every which way: aptX Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay, Googlecast, UPnP and Roon; plus Internet radio and Tidal through Naim's own app.
The Uniti Atom is the perfect platform from which to discuss how we stream music in the home and the perfect starting point for the seventh Darko.Audio podcast, the second with TONEAudio's Jeff Dorgay.
The podcast ending I also had pre-planned: a hat tip for Nathan Fake's mind-blowing Dekmantel podcast that runs rings around his latest album, Providence. The Uniti Atom's Googlecast support brings SoundCloud into the audiophile picture where it rightly belongs.
However, at 80 minutes, the seventh Darko.Audio podcast is also the longest (and probably best) episode to date. In between Naim and Nathan, Dorgay and I discuss how Spotify Connect works, the limitations of Apple AirPlay, the differences between Tidal and Qobuz, hifi review methodologies, "Musicality", Tidal's promotion of hip-hop / RnB, the LG V30 smartphone, our latest favourite gear and the importance of coloured finishes.
More coverage at http://Darko.Audio and http://www.tonepublications.com/.
-
#6 - Munich High-End 2018
21 mei 2018 · 48 min
With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. Lees meer
On the final day of Munich High-End 2018, TONEAudio's Jeff Dorgay joined John Darko for breakfast to chat about the world's greatest audio show. Please excuse our eggs and coffee.
Audiophile safety warning: Jeff and John dig Aphex Twin and Kiss but have little time for the endless deployment of Diana Krall or The Eagles.
-
#5 - Downloads
10 mei 2018 · 57 min
With Darren Henley. Lees meer
Where to buy music as lossless downloads?
-
#4 - Recommended DACs under $2500
24 april 2018 · 57 min
With Darren Henley. Lees meer
Darko's DAC picks below $2500
High-end and entry-level server/streamersMore information at Darko.Audio and thenewold.co
Brands featured in this episode: Schiit Audio | Chord Electronics | Mytek Digital | Audio-gd | AudioQuest | Sonore | Innuos | Allo Digital | Antipodes Audio
-
#3 - Room issues
13 april 2018 · 39 min
With Darren Henley. Lees meer
A piece of gear that Darko would replace in an instant
The room as a tone control
Powerline network adaptors - any good?
Un/reliable places to audition audio gear
Jonathan Wilson, Peter Gabriel & Casiotone For The Painfully Alone.More information at Darko.Audio and thenewold.co.
-
#2 - Coffee & TV
5 april 2018 · 31 min
With Darren Henley. Lees meer
Cables as a mind-altering substance
Experience matters!
Audiophile listening: social vs. solitary
The 'education angle'
Kii Three loudspeaker introductionMore information at http://Darko.Audio and http://thenewold.co.
-
#1 - Pilot
27 maart 2018 · 39 min
With Darren Henley. Lees meer
Improving TV sound with Bluetooth.
'The Art of Listening'.
Why we can't yet have FLACs for everyone.
Music streaming services - too cheap?
Audiophile embarrassment.
Audio gear we'd replace in a heartbeat.More information at http://Darko.Audio and http://thenewold.co.