Musical excerpts from Alessandro Cortini’s PRE-AVANTI - Berghain - live 1/1/16: https://cortini.bandcamp.com/album/pre-avanti-berghain-live-1-1-16 PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/johndarko Mentioned in this podcast... Barefoot MM27 https://barefootsound.com/micromain27/ AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt https://www.audioquest.com/dacs/dragonfly/dragonfly-cobalt Chord Mojo https://chordelectronics.co.uk/product/mojo/ Astell & Kern SP1000 https://us.astellnkern.com/products/a-ultima-sp1000 Sony W...
Apr 11, 2020•1 hr 17 min
With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio. In this episode... Furutech DeMag: https://www.musicdirect.com/equipment/furutech-demag-lp-demagnetizer JBL 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/zrpUDuUtxPM Ben Salter - The Cat: https://bensaltermusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-cat-album Music: “Snake Oil” by Frook: https://open.spotify.com/track...
Mar 24, 2020•1 hr 23 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. https://www.highendsociety.de/home.html
Mar 11, 2020•32 min
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/...
Feb 12, 2020•54 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. 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/on...
Feb 01, 2020•53 min
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 M...
Dec 25, 2019•1 hr 12 min
With Vinnie Rossi. https://www.vinnierossi.com/
Dec 10, 2019•23 min
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...
Dec 03, 2019•52 min
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
Sep 22, 2019•48 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. 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...
Sep 05, 2019•44 min
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.
May 31, 2019•56 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'? At the very end of the loudspeaker design process, is Jones measuring or is he listening? Are there any pi...
Apr 18, 2019•1 hr 5 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. More info: https://www.audioquest.com/ac-power
Mar 25, 2019•31 min
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/
Feb 25, 2019•26 min
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/.
Feb 12, 2019•1 hr 2 min
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 ...
Dec 19, 2018•55 min
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...
Dec 03, 2018•49 min
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
Nov 24, 2018•33 min
With Roon CEO Enno Vandermeer. He explains the difference between Roon Ready and Roon Tested. https://roonlabs.com/
Nov 12, 2018•10 min
With Jeff Dorgay of TONEAudio.
Oct 18, 2018•1 hr 9 min
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.
Sep 20, 2018•1 hr
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
Aug 12, 2018•1 hr 14 min
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.
Jul 25, 2018•1 hr 18 min
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 ...
Jun 15, 2018•1 hr 13 min
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.
May 21, 2018•48 min
With Darren Henley. Where to buy music as lossless downloads?
May 10, 2018•57 min
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
Apr 24, 2018•57 min
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.
Apr 13, 2018•39 min
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.
Apr 05, 2018•31 min
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.
Mar 27, 2018•39 min
