Modest Midwest Audiophile

      The Process      Cables are a finicky subject in audio as they are extremely system dependent, and of course a level of trust has to be had with the manufacturer if there is no description of why this design is different or better than another. Cost can't be the only indicator of quality either, as a more expensive cable doesn't always guarantee better performance. This is why in home demos and trustworthy review processes are critical in our industry, and why when I am offered the opportunity to review a piece of equipment, I test a little differently than most. For cables, I stand by a three step process in vetting a new entry into the system.      The first test is to swap the cable into every applicable part of the chain in order to find the most synergistic location for further testing, as well as providing me with a good indication of any similarities in tonal shift. My system has been carefully tuned over the years, and I am very...

     Interconnectivity on a global scale is a balance of good and evil on the mental psyche. We have the ability to expose ourselves to different cultures, communities, and interests while gazing at pictures of places we have never been. Knowledge of any subject is readily available at our fingertips or a keystroke including full college degrees and certifications from campuses on the other side of the globe. Technology’s exponential spread makes distance almost irrelevant as we connect through various social media sharing our lives and interests in the form of videos, pictures, and much like this article, written word. The positive contributions to the global community aren’t without their own caveats, as the disconnect in distance allows for anonymity, for better or for worse. You have to take content at face value whether or not an individual is being genuine, or if it is an elaborate show of acting for marketing purposes. In the same way, it can be difficult to gauge ...

     In any field of electrical science, we endlessly chase performance, pushing the envelope of what wasn’t considered possible just decades before. High-end audio is no different in the hunt for perfection, years being spent in research considering every variable of audio reproduction. The audio shows are where these companies culminate in an attempt to showcase their greatest and state their case on why their audio solution is the best. Rooms of exquisite equipment, hundreds of pounds of aluminum sculpted into all manner of components glisten from the flash of cameras of eager audio reviewers trying to get first looks at what developments have been made over the year's course. Some brands tout performance for budget products, but more often than not you will see some jaw-dropping price tags and a coin toss could just as well predict how well the system will perform in imperfect hotel rooms. Some perform as expected, beautiful engineering marvels flawlessly reproducing ...

     Everybody starts somewhere. When you are young and still learning about the world, sometimes it takes time to find your passion or natural born skills that make you unique. Even then there may have been hints left for yourself along the way as a child, puzzle pieces you will connect later on. My interest in audio started with gaming, computers, and electronics in general. Everything in my room had been disassembled at least once, curious eyes and hands eagerly trying to learn how things worked or how I could improve them. This is how I first learned not to hold a PCB while being plugged in, along with many other life lessons on electronics safety and what parts go boom. My stepfather always had music playing, so I usually always had something audio related I was tinkering with.  I started off with a set of old hand me down Creative brand powered PC speakers and eventually after a while of saving I had the opportunity to upgrade to a Logitech 2.1 set up.  I’...

“ A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. ”                  There are numerous names we tend to don like hats to present ourselves to the world, simple nomenclature casually used in conversation to abridge an involved passion. My favorite descriptive is Audiophile. The one word hides the depth and complexity of the hobby or profession, while offering a fundamental basic understanding of what it involves. It also helps me from ruining a social interaction by going into a 10 minute rant about audio but that’s just me. So what is an audiophile?        An audiophile  is an individual who is enthusiastic in quality sound reproduction. That is the simplest way to describe someone who loves music and wants to hear their favorite artists in better than average quality. Sure you could buy a set of earbuds for your phone for $2 (if you still have an AUX port), but you get what you pay for. At that price point they used ...