Before I’m a reviewer, I’m a consumer. I always attempt to thread my customer-oriented thoughts through my hi-fi commentary. For me, it keeps things real. I never want to lose sight of the opportunity cost of spending $3k on a new DAC. That’s an overseas holiday that I’m foregoing. I don’t review anything that I can’t afford. I guess that’s

The trouble with websites peddling free electronic music is you have to wade through a lot of chaff to get to the wheat. I have an aversion to anything that brushes up against new-age (you can keep your crystals and dolphins) and 145 bpm psy-trance (oonce-oonce-oonce) dumbness.  Best to stick to the likes of paid site lies Bleep and Boomkat.  Even

A few years ago now I was shooting the shit with a friend of a friend over a few beers. That day, the jukebox was getting hit hard with Red Hot Chilli Peppers and I went off into a mini, semi-humorous (or so I thought) rant about how they were overrated. Rather than engage in debate/discussion, my drinking buddy simply

It’s amazing to think that I’ve owned an iPod in some form or other for over ten years now. I was one of the first to jump for the Windows version when it launched in late 2002. (Remember when iPods came in Mac and Windows versions?). I also recall bundling a Belkin firewire card into the bargain. My PC’s motherboard

“Hey pretty baby, Do you know any hate songs, Do you know any hate songs we could sing?” – Stephen Jones (BabyBird) As a reviewer, I mostly adopt an upbeat manner when writing about music and the hardware that makes it happen. As a person, I’m usually pretty happy and content. Not this week though. Like every human I occasionally

You’re not gonna find any sign of Japandroids or Frank Ocean in my Top 10 albums of 2012. I reckon The Cloud Nothings are overrated too. But then again, I’m not 23 so I probably don’t need that much angst in music anymore. Everyone went gaga for Andy Stott’s Luxury Problems but I think it’s just too pleasant – no

You know what really grinds a vinyl lover’s gears more than anything? MP3 download coupons. Surely folk buying the black stuff aren’t just young hipster kids or those looking to connect with something tangible. A significant portion of vinyl buyers are audiophiles – they buy records for their (supposed) maximal resolution. And yet record companies insist on endlessly insulting our

Digital Audio Review has just stumbled into its third year of operation. It’s always a tough time of year this, getting over the post-US trip fallout (swindled by Dollar Car Rental…again) and following up on conversations with exhibitors at RMAF – still the most popular dedicated hi-fi show in the USA. T.H.E. Newport Beach Show might steal RMAF’s crown in

It’s not how she looks; it’s her personality that counts. That’s both a cliché and a half-truth – a relationship falls as much to physically attraction as it does to emotional and cerebral nourishment. And so it goes with hi-fi gear. There will be folks lining up with disingenuity to tell you that it’s not how it looks, it’s how

Art Dudley’s recent Stereophile article calling bullshit on high-end bling has a lot of people singing hallelujahs. Few readers will be blind to this possibly being an (indirect) editorial – and advertising – repositioning for Stereophile but it got me thinking about how much I agree with Dudley.  His post read as more of a stand against the exploitation of

That post title sounds so corporate, doesn’t it?  In real life things boil down to a greater level of simplicity: as per the announcement made by editor Jeff Dorgay in the current issue’s editorial intro, I am joining the writing team at TONEAudio.  Dorgay isn’t your typical audiophile: he doesn’t worship at the altar of Diana Krall and he possesses

Tomorrow is the day the world’s clock ticks over into 2012. Skidding in under this year’s fast-closing door, here are 10 albums that kicked ass inside my head during 2011.  In no particular order: Nicolas Jaar – Space Is Only Noise*  (Whispering, intimate electronics) Perc – Wicker And Steel*  (Sometimes brutal, sometimes delicate, sometimes metallic) PJ Harvey – Let England Shake