Darko.Audio podcast

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What are the realities of loudspeaker design? Apr 18, 2019

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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/

What is electrical noise and how does it affect your DAC? Mar 25, 2019

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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

What's the deal with pre-amplifiers? Feb 25, 2019

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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/

#14 - Vinyl Feb 12, 2019

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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/.

#13 - Our favourite hi-fi gear of 2018 Dec 19, 2018

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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/

#12 - Small speakers Dec 03, 2018

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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.

Why isn't digital audio simply a matter of ones and zeroes? Nov 24, 2018

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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

What is 'Roon Ready' and how does it differ from 'Roon Tested'? Nov 12, 2018

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

#11 - RMAF 2018 & More Oct 18, 2018

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With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio.

#10 - Accuracy, Schmaccuracy Sep 20, 2018

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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.

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