Darko.Audio podcast

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. https://www.highendsociety.de/home.html

With TONEAudio's Jeff Dorgay. 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/12493 Smog (Bill Callahan) - "I Was a Stranger": https://open.spotify.com/album/7eTzaJ4xVuJnDpvlxUSOtA?highlight=spotify:track:4YHhyILeIIR5RqAx0gWSWm

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. 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/

TONEAudio's Jeff Dorgay and I discuss our favourite hi-fi products of the last ten years. 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/dragonfly Logitech Squeezebox Touch https://www.logitech.com/assets/33606/squeezebox-touch-fg.pdf dCS Vivaldi (One) https://www.dcsltd.co.uk/products/vivaldi-dac/ Burial https://burial.bandcamp.com/album/tunes-2011-to-2019 The Positiva Ambient Collection https://www.discogs.com/Various-The-Positiva-Ambient-Collection/release/215515 Until The End of the World OST: https://shop.runoutgroovevinyl.com/until-the-end-of-the-world-1.html

With Vinnie Rossi. https://www.vinnierossi.com/

With TONEAudio's Jeff Dorgay. 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/main Martin Logan Motion Series: https://www.martinlogan.com/en/ Rotel Michi: http://www.rotel.com/en-apac/michi Manley Absolute headphone amplifier: https://www.manley.com/hifi/mabhpa Campfire Audio Solaris: https://campfireaudio.com/shop/solaris/ Meze Rai Penta: https://mezeaudio.com/products/rai-penta The 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.html Apple Macbook Pro 16”: https://youtu.be/wz3uTlRb9vE

With TONEAudio's Jeff Dorgay. 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

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. 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

With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. 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.

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'? 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/

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. More info: https://www.audioquest.com/ac-power

With Vinnie Rossi. 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/

With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. "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/.

With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. 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-atom Chord 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-classic Jeff'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/

With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. 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.

With Innuos R&D Director Nuno Vitorino. He explains why there's more to digital audio connections than just the accurate transfer of data. http://www.innuos.com/en

With Roon CEO Enno Vandermeer. He explains the difference between Roon Ready and Roon Tested. https://roonlabs.com/

With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio.

With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. 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.

With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. 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

With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. 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.

With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. 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/.

With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. 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.

With Darren Henley. Where to buy music as lossless downloads?

With Darren Henley. Darko's DAC picks below $2500 High-end and entry-level server/streamers More 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

With Darren Henley. 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.

With Darren Henley. Cables as a mind-altering substance Experience matters! Audiophile listening: social vs. solitary The 'education angle' Kii Three loudspeaker introduction More information at http://Darko.Audio and http://thenewold.co.

With Darren Henley. 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.