Regular readers will be aware that I like a bit of a mix on the old Technics. I’ve been DJing with vinyl for nigh on 40 years now, although these days it is done entirely at home and purely for my own amusement, though I have a cunning plan on that front. Back in the […]
Yesterday we did something we’d told ourselves we probably wouldn’t do again. Every year there’s an event around these parts called Art in the Chapels. It’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like. A collection of artists each takes over a chapel and exhibits their work, with visitors following one of several suggested routes from […]
There’s this expectation, isn’t there, that if you’re a HiFi reviewer or one of those blogging types, you spend every waking hour listening to music. The image you probably have is of someone permanently sat in the sweet spot with a laptop or a notepad, and a mug of coffee, endlessly swapping amplifiers, speakers and […]
Given lastnight/this morning’s incredible football match against France and England, I considered writing something about that, but the connection to HiFi just wouldn’t come, and I’d already written much of the following, anyway. I was having a look at Facebook the other day when I came across a post we’d shared on the HiFi PiG […]
Regular readers will probably have noticed that Sunday Thoughts has been conspicuous by its absence over the past couple of weeks. One week was because nothing had come to mind that I thought was worth writing about. I could have sat down and bashed out a piece for the sake of it, but that has […]
It’s Father’s Day, which has got me thinking about my dad and music. Not HiFi, mind. Dad never really got the whole HiFi thing. He did get music, but the thought of spending the price of a half-decent second-hand car on a pair of loudspeakers horrified him. He had an uncanny ability to look at […]
The nearest record shop to where we live is a good forty-minute drive away. As a result, I buy most of my music online these days, which, as an ageing vinylista, feels a bit wrong. After writing this, I’ll go outside and give myself a sound talking to.
In a few days, we will be heading off to Vienna for the High End show that will be held away from its long-time home at the MOC in Munich. Preparations are underway at HiFi PiG Towers, and we’ve been working out which of the team will visit which halls and which booths, as well […]
Listicles. We’ve all seen them, and we all know them when we see them. “Ten Best Loudspeakers Under £5000”. “Seven Turntables That Will Change Your Life”. “Twenty Albums Every Audiophile Must Own”. “Seven ways to use up leftover Brussels sprouts”. They are everywhere because by all accounts, they work. They are easy to write, easy […]
The week before last, I wrote about our trip to Milan Design Week where HiFi felt like it had slipped into a different world, a world where it sat really beautifully alongside thoughtfully designed furniture, interesting spaces, and people who probably own fewer cables than most of us, but have far nicer chairs. I also […]
The week before last, Lin and I were in Milan for what was meant to be a much-needed break. A proper holiday where we were going to switch off, eat well, wander about, look at nice buildings and not think too much about work or HiFi or any of that.
There is a bit of a thing in certain more cynical circles of audiophiles, where it is assumed that all of us reviewer types are wandering about, thinking we have been gifted some superhuman hearing. You get the idea: the chosen few, the blessed, the ones with ears so finely tuned and accurate they can […]
I came across something the other day on social media that I probably should have ignored. One of those things that you read, roll your eyes at, and scroll on – Roll and Scroll. Except this one kind of stuck with me. Not because I believed it, but because it didn’t fall apart straight away […]
It all feels a bit on edge at the moment, doesn’t it? I am not going to go full doom-and-gloom, but there is something in the air that’s impossible to ignore. It’s on the news, it’s on socials, and it’s a bit all-pervading. Even if you try to ignore it, it tends to get in […]
Like it or not, streaming is now the dominant way most of us consume music. It is convenient and immediate, and for listeners, it feels almost limitless. Sometimes I actually feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of music that’s avaialble, and I only use one streaming service. For a monthly payment that is less than […]
I wanted to do a Sunday Thoughts piece on the bars we often frequent at HiFi shows around the world – that is, the bars actually at the events themselves, rather than some random bar we might have stumbled into on our adventures. They are all different, and they all give you a little insight […]