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Hi-Fi & Audio

They Played an Album in Complete Darkness. Does Removing Your Eyes Change What You Hear?

They Played an Album in Complete Darkness. Does Removing Your Eyes Change What You Hear?

A listening session played Caribou’s Andorra in complete darkness. Could removing visual distractions change how we perceive sound? There’s a simple hi-fi experiment you can try at home for free.

The Rolling Stones Recorded Without a Click Track. Then Their Producer Added Synth Bass.

The Rolling Stones Recorded Without a Click Track. Then Their Producer Added Synth Bass.

The Rolling Stones recorded without click tracks, kept the microphone bleed, and let the performances breathe. Then Andrew Watt added synth sub-bass. It’s a fascinating lesson in knowing what technology should, and shouldn’t, fix.

Apple Just Built a Concert Venue Around Spatial Audio. That Could Matter More Than It Sounds.

Apple Just Built a Concert Venue Around Spatial Audio. That Could Matter More Than It Sounds.

Apple’s new 600-person London venue combines live music, multitrack recording, Spatial Audio, and video production under one roof. Could the future recording studio have an audience?

The CD Isn't Dying. The Machines That Play Them Might Be.

The CD Isn't Dying. The Machines That Play Them Might Be.

High-end CD and SACD players are disappearing, not because collectors stopped buying discs, but because the optical mechanisms needed to build them are becoming unavailable. What happens when the media survives longer than the machines that play it?

Your Mac Is Making More Audio Decisions Than You Think

Your Mac Is Making More Audio Decisions Than You Think

My Bluetooth test revealed how much the transmitter matters. Now a bit perfect Mac player raises a bigger question: how many audio decisions is your computer making before the music ever reaches your DAC?

Michael Jackson’s Bad Has a 16 Bit Digital Master. Can a $125 Audiophile Record Actually Improve It?

Michael Jackson’s Bad Has a 16 Bit Digital Master. Can a $125 Audiophile Record Actually Improve It?

Mobile Fidelity’s new $125 One Step pressing of Michael Jackson’s *Bad* starts with a 16 bit/48 kHz digital master. Can premium mastering, 45 RPM cutting, and One Step vinyl still make it sound better?

He Digitized His Project Hail Mary Vinyl Box Set. Then He Found Something Strange.

He Digitized His Project Hail Mary Vinyl Box Set. Then He Found Something Strange.

A collector digitized his *Project Hail Mary* vinyl box set and found the same strange 17.5 kHz cutoff across all four records. What can it tell us about mastering, pressing, and where vinyl problems really begin?