Even before I'd really listened to PSB's Alpha PS1 powered desktop speakers (see last month's column), I suspected that I'd like them: They're affordable, attractive, small enough to actually fit on my desktop, and designed and manufactured by a true high-end audio company. I only needed the speakers to sound good in my home. And they did—clean, clear, detailed, and dynamic, with a surprisingly big and bold overall sound. What I didn't expect, and what consequently convinced me to buy the PS1s, was that Ms. Little would also enjoy using them. That she does remains a bit of a shock.
In the six months we've lived together, the woman hasn't touched the hi-fi. At least, not intentionally. Especially not willingly. Unwillingly? Eh, maybe a little more often than she'd like. Unintentionally? Um, yeah, totally more often than I'd like. She exhibits an uncanny knack for merging the blunt handle of a vacuum cleaner with the side panel of a loudspeaker, yet panics whenever I ask her to flip a record on the Rega or put a CD in the NAD.
"Me? Now?"
I'm working on that. In the meantime, I've stripped her of all vacuuming duties. "Why? Because I like vacuuming, sweetheart. It's my favorite chore."
In the company of the PSB Alpha PS1s, though, Ms. Little feels both comfortable and capable. On several occasions, I've come home to find her bouncing and shaking to Katy Perry or Kylie Minogue, the speakers connected to her MacBook via AudioQuest Evergreen cable. But why? Why is Ms. Little so inclined to use the PS1s, but so uninterested in the bigger, more accomplished hi-fi?
I guess she appreciates the simplicity and convenience of the desktop system. Her favorite music is already stored on her computer. All she has to do is connect the computer to the speakers, open iTunes, and press Play. There's no learning curve, no intimidation factor. Because she's played music from her laptop for years, she already understands the relationship between the computer and the computer speakers. The PSB Alpha PS1s may be cosmetically different from any other computer speakers she's used, but they're conceptually identical to even the most modest, most common designs. Compared to Ms. Little's cheap, plastic computer speakers, there's nothing really unusual about the PSBs—they're just so much better and more beautiful.
Ms. Little loves our PSBs, but she's nevertheless held on to her old speakers. She stuffed them in her purse, took them with her to work, and now uses them in her office, where appearance and sound matter far less. Once necessities—the only computer speakers we had in the apartment—they've become purely practical. They sizzle and ting and make other annoying computer sounds, alerting Ms. Little to incoming e-mails and upcoming meetings. I'm glad the plastic noisemakers are out of our home.
Now I just have to get Ms. Little to become friendly with the hi-fi. And I think I know how. Give me a few months . . .
I heart the Internet
Last month, I mentioned that Natalie had been having some trouble streaming Pandora from her iPhone through her Audioengine A5 powered speakers. This, by the way, is how most young people listen to music: A recent survey by the retail analyst firm NPD Group showed that, in the fourth quarter of 2012, 23% of consumers between the ages of 13 and 35 cited Pandora and other subscription-based Internet-radio services as their primary sources for music—a 6% increase over last year. While traditional AM/FM radio still occupies most of our music-listening time, its 24% market share represents a 2% decline from the previous year. Of those people who primarily use streaming services, Pandora remains the strong favorite, with 39% of the market share. Coming in a distant second is iHeartRadio, a service completely new to me, with 11% of the share. Spotify holds just 9%. And if you still can't believe that people are actually playing music through their telephones, consider that more than half of Pandora and iHeartRadio subscribers do just that. Ask Natalie.
In addition, NPD Group reports that about one in five Pandora or iHeartRadio users also currently connect to those services in their cars. (I've seen Nat work that strange magic, too.)
The IFPI Digital Music Report 2013, recently released by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, quotes Edgar Berger, president and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment: "Music is the media that is most fun to consume on the new generation of digital devices. What is a smartphone without music? You take away half the fun." His words may be self-serving, but for most people they're also true. Max Hole, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group International, is also quoted in the IFPI report: "Music is the most searched-for art form on the internet." Is that true? It certainly is for me. I visit the Forced Exposure, Other Music, and Boomkat websites at least 500 times a day. Don't you?
Do you still consider music streaming a fad? On Wednesday, May 15, Google, aka God, announced its own music-subscription service, All Access. The company has already secured licensing agreements with Universal, Sony, and Warner. And remember: Among teens, Google's YouTube is the No.1 source for new music. According to Nielsen's Music 360 report, (August 2012; ) 64% of teens listen to music via YouTube. That's a staggering figure. As CNET's Paul Sloan surmises, "If YouTube gets the rights to offer a powerful free streaming service on smartphones, it could be a game-changer for music streaming."
Sloan is right. Meanwhile, the IFPI report provides further indications of a music industry on the mend: In 2012, the industry's global trade value increased by 0.3%—a small figure, but the best result since 1998 (!), and "a sign that the improvement in market conditions seen in 2011 has been sustained." Further, as the music industry recovers, peer-to-peer file sharing continues to plummet: In 2012, the volume of music files downloaded from P2P sites dropped by 26%, while the number of files swapped via hard drives decreased by 25%.
Before we get too excited, it's fair to note that Techdirt.com's Mike Masnick, an expert tech analyst and a far smarter dude than I, questions the legitimacy and relevance of IFPI's findings. According to him, the music industry's growth has less to do with its antipiracy efforts than with its long-overdue decision to get with the times: "If you let the tech industry create useful new services that better provide the public with what they want, you get services and products that people are willing to pay for."
How's that for smart?
Masnick's view isn't exactly at odds with the IFPI's. He simply sees different reasons for the music industry's recent success. Frances Moore, CEO of IFPI, has a different angle: "These are hard-won successes for an industry that has innovated, battled, and transformed itself over a decade. They show the music industry has adapted to the internet world, learned how to meet the needs of consumers, and monetized the digital marketplace."
In any case, the point is clear: The music industry benefits when it gives people what they want.
Where does the high-end audio industry stand in this? As I see it, a successful music industry means greater potential for growth in the hi-fi industry. If the high-end audio industry really wants to survive—and I can't imagine why it wouldn't—it simply needs to create products that people want to buy. Adapt to the Internet world. Learn how to meet the needs of consumers. Get money. In other words, follow the music. Go where the people go.
I go where the girls go. Getting back to Natalie's problem: We connected her iPhone to the Audioengines and called up Pandora. The music sometimes dropped out altogether, and was otherwise plagued by intermittent buzzing. I guessed this had something to do with the cable, a simple minijack-to-minijack interconnect supplied with the Audioengines, which transmitted the audio signal from Nat's phone. It sounded as if the cable's connector was no longer making proper contact with the speaker's input jack. Though music was momentarily bearable, the intermittent buzzing was terribly annoying; listening to music would soon become impossible. Applying pressure to the cable at the input jack seemed to help, but not entirely—the slightest movement caused the buzzing to return. Replacing the stock cable with AudioQuest's Evergreen ($32/1.5m) took all of two seconds and completely cured the problem. The connection was secure. Music was free from interruptions and sounded clean, clear, robust, and very well controlled.
Replacing the Audioengine's stock cable with an identical one would have cost Natalie $5, maybe less. The AQ is significantly more expensive, but the quality and value it represents are so great that its cost still seems negligible. The Evergreen is pretty, built to last a long time, sounds excellent, and works like a charm.
How can the high-end audio industry attract more customers? The answer has always been obvious: Make good products that people actually want to buy. Products like PSB's Alpha PS1 powered speakers and AudioQuest's Evergreen interconnect will succeed for the simple reason that they provide obvious improvements over the components already found in most homes. Imagine that.
Teen Stereophile
During the recent New York Audio Show, held April 12–14 at the Palace Hotel, in Manhattan, I noticed several older audiophiles accompanied by young children—their sons, daughters, nephews, nieces, even their students. It made me very happy. I've said this time and time again, and I'll probably never stop saying it: The best way to get young people interested in hi-fi is to share it with them. Make it fun. Keep it simple. Let it be about music, happiness, and discovery. They'll enjoy it.
My favorite and most memorable experience of the show was when a father and son entered one of the Innovative Audio demos and introduced themselves as fans of this column. The son was holding tight to a copy of our May issue—the one with the Beats Solo HD and Skullcandy Aviator headphones on the cover. Earlier that day, I'd received an e-mail from a reader who, I'm pretty sure, was disappointed with both the cover and my column. The subject of the e-mail was "canceled," and the text read: "Hi. I just canceled my subscription to Stereophile because: a) the cover; b) I skipped to your article and it's just garbage. I can't believe it's come to this. Maybe call the mag Teen Stereophile—just a thought. Regards."
When I receive this kind of e-mail, my first impulse is to leap from my desk, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka-style, and deliver a flying head-butt to the computer screen. I console myself with the thought that losing a few bad readers (the kind I don't like) will make possible the acquisition of many more good readers (the kind I do like). Then I hear John Atkinson's irritatingly calm, rational voice telling me that all readers are good readers. Then my anger returns. Then I scold myself for being angry. Then I forward the offending e-mail to my friends, and we all have a good laugh. Nicole usually comes up with the wittiest retort. In this case, she offered some keen and needed levity: "Wow. It's nice that he skipped right to your article."
Nicole had taken the edge off, but by the time I'd arrived at the New York Audio Show, my anger had returned in full. It wasn't until I met the father and son in the Innovative Audio suite that my mood took a decided turn for the better. The son, who appeared to be in his early teens, asked for a recommendation on an "entry-level" digital-to-analog converter.
"Would $250 qualify as 'entry-level'?" I asked.
He nodded.
I told him about the AudioQuest DragonFly. His eyes lit up.
DragonFly, meet Navigator
The AudioQuest DragonFly digital-to-analog converter ($249) is another truly affordable, truly high-performance audio product that marries sense and simplicity. It's not just a good audio product, it's an important audio product. That's why it was named Stereophile's Budget Component and Computer Audio Component of 2012. It's important because it provides people—audiophiles, but also real people, normal people, even women and teens—an easy way to make their music sound better. It gives us what we want.
I handed the DragonFly to Ms. Little. She didn't understand its purpose—not immediately—but she knew exactly where to stick it. The DragonFly is the size and shape of a flash drive. It's cute. It lights up. It delivers music directly from your computer to your headphones or, via an interconnect, to your desktop speakers or hi-fi.
I offered a quick demonstration. Ms. Little seemed surprised. "Hmm," she said. "Yeah, the music sounds bigger—and better."
"Bigger's always better, baby," I winked.
"Is it?"
"Hey!"
"What is that thing, anyway?"
Most people have never heard of a digital-to-analog converter. They don't know what one is, don't know what one does, don't know why they need one. Fact is, you don't need one—you've already got one. If you didn't, your computer couldn't make sound. But your computer wasn't designed to play music. Music may be your first priority, but your computer, like your weird Uncle Buck, would rather solve algebra equations or make fancy spreadsheets or stream porn. A dedicated D/A converter, such as the AudioQuest DragonFly, bypasses your computer's compromised audio circuitry and delivers your music with pure, high-quality sound. Music is the DragonFly's only priority.
Art Dudley reviewed the DragonFly in our October 2012 issue, but used it primarily, if not exclusively, as a supplement to his main hi-fi system. I used the DragonFly to drive Skullcandy's Navigator on-ear headphones ($99).
You can think of the Navigator as the smaller brother to Skullcandy's over-the-ear Aviator ($149.95). Similarly styled but slightly more discreet, its plastic earcups (available in gloss white and translucent black, blue, or pink) are shaped to even more closely resemble the lenses of Ray-Ban's famed eyewear. I found the Navigators to be just as well built, durable, and comfortable as the Aviators, but with better isolation from external noise. And while the Navigators provided a similarly well-balanced overall sound, they traded the Aviators' brilliant highs and open mids for something softer, darker, more bottom heavy.
Compared to my trusty Grado SR60is ($79), the Navigators produced a heavier, more robust and exciting sound, but lacked the Grados' refined highs and wide, open soundstage. The Grados are classic; the Skullcandys are cool. I recommend both—especially when partnered with the AudioQuest DragonFly.
Right now, I'm sitting at my desk, using the DragonFly and Navigators to listen to Jenny Hval's brilliant new album, Innocence Is Kinky (CD, Rune Grammofon RCD 2142; see this issue's "Record Reviews"). The DragonFly is creating more space around Hval's beautiful voice, tightening the image focus, providing more impact and drama, revealing tone color and texture so that I can more easily distinguish and enjoy the various instruments. The sound and music are spectacular, vibrant, gripping—exactly what I want.
In fact, I can hardly pay any more attention to writing this column. Excuse me while I spend the next five hours Googling Jenny Hval and streaming everything she's ever released.
In the six months we've lived together, the woman hasn't touched the hi-fi. At least, not intentionally. Especially not willingly. Unwillingly? Eh, maybe a little more often than she'd like. Unintentionally? Um, yeah, totally more often than I'd like. She exhibits an uncanny knack for merging the blunt handle of a vacuum cleaner with the side panel of a loudspeaker, yet panics whenever I ask her to flip a record on the Rega or put a CD in the NAD.
"Me? Now?"
I'm working on that. In the meantime, I've stripped her of all vacuuming duties. "Why? Because I like vacuuming, sweetheart. It's my favorite chore."
In the company of the PSB Alpha PS1s, though, Ms. Little feels both comfortable and capable. On several occasions, I've come home to find her bouncing and shaking to Katy Perry or Kylie Minogue, the speakers connected to her MacBook via AudioQuest Evergreen cable. But why? Why is Ms. Little so inclined to use the PS1s, but so uninterested in the bigger, more accomplished hi-fi?
I guess she appreciates the simplicity and convenience of the desktop system. Her favorite music is already stored on her computer. All she has to do is connect the computer to the speakers, open iTunes, and press Play. There's no learning curve, no intimidation factor. Because she's played music from her laptop for years, she already understands the relationship between the computer and the computer speakers. The PSB Alpha PS1s may be cosmetically different from any other computer speakers she's used, but they're conceptually identical to even the most modest, most common designs. Compared to Ms. Little's cheap, plastic computer speakers, there's nothing really unusual about the PSBs—they're just so much better and more beautiful.
Ms. Little loves our PSBs, but she's nevertheless held on to her old speakers. She stuffed them in her purse, took them with her to work, and now uses them in her office, where appearance and sound matter far less. Once necessities—the only computer speakers we had in the apartment—they've become purely practical. They sizzle and ting and make other annoying computer sounds, alerting Ms. Little to incoming e-mails and upcoming meetings. I'm glad the plastic noisemakers are out of our home.
Now I just have to get Ms. Little to become friendly with the hi-fi. And I think I know how. Give me a few months . . .
I heart the Internet
Last month, I mentioned that Natalie had been having some trouble streaming Pandora from her iPhone through her Audioengine A5 powered speakers. This, by the way, is how most young people listen to music: A recent survey by the retail analyst firm NPD Group showed that, in the fourth quarter of 2012, 23% of consumers between the ages of 13 and 35 cited Pandora and other subscription-based Internet-radio services as their primary sources for music—a 6% increase over last year. While traditional AM/FM radio still occupies most of our music-listening time, its 24% market share represents a 2% decline from the previous year. Of those people who primarily use streaming services, Pandora remains the strong favorite, with 39% of the market share. Coming in a distant second is iHeartRadio, a service completely new to me, with 11% of the share. Spotify holds just 9%. And if you still can't believe that people are actually playing music through their telephones, consider that more than half of Pandora and iHeartRadio subscribers do just that. Ask Natalie.
In addition, NPD Group reports that about one in five Pandora or iHeartRadio users also currently connect to those services in their cars. (I've seen Nat work that strange magic, too.)
The IFPI Digital Music Report 2013, recently released by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, quotes Edgar Berger, president and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment: "Music is the media that is most fun to consume on the new generation of digital devices. What is a smartphone without music? You take away half the fun." His words may be self-serving, but for most people they're also true. Max Hole, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group International, is also quoted in the IFPI report: "Music is the most searched-for art form on the internet." Is that true? It certainly is for me. I visit the Forced Exposure, Other Music, and Boomkat websites at least 500 times a day. Don't you?
Do you still consider music streaming a fad? On Wednesday, May 15, Google, aka God, announced its own music-subscription service, All Access. The company has already secured licensing agreements with Universal, Sony, and Warner. And remember: Among teens, Google's YouTube is the No.1 source for new music. According to Nielsen's Music 360 report, (August 2012; ) 64% of teens listen to music via YouTube. That's a staggering figure. As CNET's Paul Sloan surmises, "If YouTube gets the rights to offer a powerful free streaming service on smartphones, it could be a game-changer for music streaming."
Sloan is right. Meanwhile, the IFPI report provides further indications of a music industry on the mend: In 2012, the industry's global trade value increased by 0.3%—a small figure, but the best result since 1998 (!), and "a sign that the improvement in market conditions seen in 2011 has been sustained." Further, as the music industry recovers, peer-to-peer file sharing continues to plummet: In 2012, the volume of music files downloaded from P2P sites dropped by 26%, while the number of files swapped via hard drives decreased by 25%.
Before we get too excited, it's fair to note that Techdirt.com's Mike Masnick, an expert tech analyst and a far smarter dude than I, questions the legitimacy and relevance of IFPI's findings. According to him, the music industry's growth has less to do with its antipiracy efforts than with its long-overdue decision to get with the times: "If you let the tech industry create useful new services that better provide the public with what they want, you get services and products that people are willing to pay for."
How's that for smart?
Masnick's view isn't exactly at odds with the IFPI's. He simply sees different reasons for the music industry's recent success. Frances Moore, CEO of IFPI, has a different angle: "These are hard-won successes for an industry that has innovated, battled, and transformed itself over a decade. They show the music industry has adapted to the internet world, learned how to meet the needs of consumers, and monetized the digital marketplace."
In any case, the point is clear: The music industry benefits when it gives people what they want.
Where does the high-end audio industry stand in this? As I see it, a successful music industry means greater potential for growth in the hi-fi industry. If the high-end audio industry really wants to survive—and I can't imagine why it wouldn't—it simply needs to create products that people want to buy. Adapt to the Internet world. Learn how to meet the needs of consumers. Get money. In other words, follow the music. Go where the people go.
I go where the girls go. Getting back to Natalie's problem: We connected her iPhone to the Audioengines and called up Pandora. The music sometimes dropped out altogether, and was otherwise plagued by intermittent buzzing. I guessed this had something to do with the cable, a simple minijack-to-minijack interconnect supplied with the Audioengines, which transmitted the audio signal from Nat's phone. It sounded as if the cable's connector was no longer making proper contact with the speaker's input jack. Though music was momentarily bearable, the intermittent buzzing was terribly annoying; listening to music would soon become impossible. Applying pressure to the cable at the input jack seemed to help, but not entirely—the slightest movement caused the buzzing to return. Replacing the stock cable with AudioQuest's Evergreen ($32/1.5m) took all of two seconds and completely cured the problem. The connection was secure. Music was free from interruptions and sounded clean, clear, robust, and very well controlled.
Replacing the Audioengine's stock cable with an identical one would have cost Natalie $5, maybe less. The AQ is significantly more expensive, but the quality and value it represents are so great that its cost still seems negligible. The Evergreen is pretty, built to last a long time, sounds excellent, and works like a charm.
How can the high-end audio industry attract more customers? The answer has always been obvious: Make good products that people actually want to buy. Products like PSB's Alpha PS1 powered speakers and AudioQuest's Evergreen interconnect will succeed for the simple reason that they provide obvious improvements over the components already found in most homes. Imagine that.
Teen Stereophile
During the recent New York Audio Show, held April 12–14 at the Palace Hotel, in Manhattan, I noticed several older audiophiles accompanied by young children—their sons, daughters, nephews, nieces, even their students. It made me very happy. I've said this time and time again, and I'll probably never stop saying it: The best way to get young people interested in hi-fi is to share it with them. Make it fun. Keep it simple. Let it be about music, happiness, and discovery. They'll enjoy it.
My favorite and most memorable experience of the show was when a father and son entered one of the Innovative Audio demos and introduced themselves as fans of this column. The son was holding tight to a copy of our May issue—the one with the Beats Solo HD and Skullcandy Aviator headphones on the cover. Earlier that day, I'd received an e-mail from a reader who, I'm pretty sure, was disappointed with both the cover and my column. The subject of the e-mail was "canceled," and the text read: "Hi. I just canceled my subscription to Stereophile because: a) the cover; b) I skipped to your article and it's just garbage. I can't believe it's come to this. Maybe call the mag Teen Stereophile—just a thought. Regards."
When I receive this kind of e-mail, my first impulse is to leap from my desk, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka-style, and deliver a flying head-butt to the computer screen. I console myself with the thought that losing a few bad readers (the kind I don't like) will make possible the acquisition of many more good readers (the kind I do like). Then I hear John Atkinson's irritatingly calm, rational voice telling me that all readers are good readers. Then my anger returns. Then I scold myself for being angry. Then I forward the offending e-mail to my friends, and we all have a good laugh. Nicole usually comes up with the wittiest retort. In this case, she offered some keen and needed levity: "Wow. It's nice that he skipped right to your article."
Nicole had taken the edge off, but by the time I'd arrived at the New York Audio Show, my anger had returned in full. It wasn't until I met the father and son in the Innovative Audio suite that my mood took a decided turn for the better. The son, who appeared to be in his early teens, asked for a recommendation on an "entry-level" digital-to-analog converter.
"Would $250 qualify as 'entry-level'?" I asked.
He nodded.
I told him about the AudioQuest DragonFly. His eyes lit up.
DragonFly, meet Navigator
The AudioQuest DragonFly digital-to-analog converter ($249) is another truly affordable, truly high-performance audio product that marries sense and simplicity. It's not just a good audio product, it's an important audio product. That's why it was named Stereophile's Budget Component and Computer Audio Component of 2012. It's important because it provides people—audiophiles, but also real people, normal people, even women and teens—an easy way to make their music sound better. It gives us what we want.
I handed the DragonFly to Ms. Little. She didn't understand its purpose—not immediately—but she knew exactly where to stick it. The DragonFly is the size and shape of a flash drive. It's cute. It lights up. It delivers music directly from your computer to your headphones or, via an interconnect, to your desktop speakers or hi-fi.
I offered a quick demonstration. Ms. Little seemed surprised. "Hmm," she said. "Yeah, the music sounds bigger—and better."
"Bigger's always better, baby," I winked.
"Is it?"
"Hey!"
"What is that thing, anyway?"
Most people have never heard of a digital-to-analog converter. They don't know what one is, don't know what one does, don't know why they need one. Fact is, you don't need one—you've already got one. If you didn't, your computer couldn't make sound. But your computer wasn't designed to play music. Music may be your first priority, but your computer, like your weird Uncle Buck, would rather solve algebra equations or make fancy spreadsheets or stream porn. A dedicated D/A converter, such as the AudioQuest DragonFly, bypasses your computer's compromised audio circuitry and delivers your music with pure, high-quality sound. Music is the DragonFly's only priority.
Art Dudley reviewed the DragonFly in our October 2012 issue, but used it primarily, if not exclusively, as a supplement to his main hi-fi system. I used the DragonFly to drive Skullcandy's Navigator on-ear headphones ($99).
You can think of the Navigator as the smaller brother to Skullcandy's over-the-ear Aviator ($149.95). Similarly styled but slightly more discreet, its plastic earcups (available in gloss white and translucent black, blue, or pink) are shaped to even more closely resemble the lenses of Ray-Ban's famed eyewear. I found the Navigators to be just as well built, durable, and comfortable as the Aviators, but with better isolation from external noise. And while the Navigators provided a similarly well-balanced overall sound, they traded the Aviators' brilliant highs and open mids for something softer, darker, more bottom heavy.
Compared to my trusty Grado SR60is ($79), the Navigators produced a heavier, more robust and exciting sound, but lacked the Grados' refined highs and wide, open soundstage. The Grados are classic; the Skullcandys are cool. I recommend both—especially when partnered with the AudioQuest DragonFly.
Right now, I'm sitting at my desk, using the DragonFly and Navigators to listen to Jenny Hval's brilliant new album, Innocence Is Kinky (CD, Rune Grammofon RCD 2142; see this issue's "Record Reviews"). The DragonFly is creating more space around Hval's beautiful voice, tightening the image focus, providing more impact and drama, revealing tone color and texture so that I can more easily distinguish and enjoy the various instruments. The sound and music are spectacular, vibrant, gripping—exactly what I want.
In fact, I can hardly pay any more attention to writing this column. Excuse me while I spend the next five hours Googling Jenny Hval and streaming everything she's ever released.
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