Opinion

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Opinion
Music and activism
Steve Harris  |  Apr 25, 2025  |  First Published: Apr 01, 2025

From Dylan and Baez to Geldof and Sting there’s a long history of music and activism – now artists including Coldplay and Jacob Collier have climate change in their sights, says Steve Harris

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Opinion
Bass invaders
Mark Craven  |  Apr 25, 2025  |  First Published: Apr 01, 2025

They are the darlings of the home cinema world, but subwoofers aren’t only about bringing a T-Rex into your living room, says Mark Craven – your music system might welcome one, too

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Opinion
Component interactions
Jim Lesurf  |  Apr 25, 2025  |  First Published: Apr 01, 2025

Before you begin fine-tuning your system’s sound with room treatments and seating changes, you should pay attention to ‘interactions’ further back in the chain, says Jim Lesurf

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Opinion
The Record Plant returns
Barry Willis  |  Apr 25, 2025  |  First Published: Apr 01, 2025

The outside needs a lick of paint, but otherwise this famous Bay Area recording studio is ready to make music once more, this time as a non-profit. Barry Willis salutes its owners’ ambition

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Opinion
Return to Ronnie Scott’s
Barry Fox  |  Apr 25, 2025  |  First Published: Apr 01, 2025

Barry Fox heads along to Ronnie Scott’s in London to find out how the legendary live music venue has revamped its sound system, and why it’s in a ‘war of attrition’ with drummers...

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Opinion
NXT’s flatpanel speaker
Steve Harris  |  Apr 16, 2025  |  First Published: Mar 01, 2025
Steve Harris looks at the legacy of NXT’s flatpanel speaker, which once promised to revolutionise audio replay. Did you realise the technology is now more widely available than ever before?
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Opinion
Never too old
Peter Quantrill  |  Apr 16, 2025  |  First Published: Mar 01, 2025
The longevity of conductors can be misleading, says Peter Quantrill, when the sentiment of the occasion obscures the vitality of the music-making. Yet with age can come great wisdom...
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Opinion
Reviving radio's lost dynamics
Jim Lesurf  |  Apr 16, 2025  |  First Published: Mar 01, 2025
After concluding that a well-designed digital FM tuner can surpass the best analogue super tuners of old, Jim Lesurf wonders if software can be used to revive the lost dynamics of music on radio
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Opinion
A night at the opera
Barry Willis  |  Apr 16, 2025  |  First Published: Mar 01, 2025
Front-of-centre drama, battles behind the scenes... Barry Willis attends the opening of Verdi’s Un Ballo in San Francisco, but for him it’s the acoustics that truly bring down the house
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Opinion
Is it worth recording at hi-res?
Barry Fox  |  Apr 16, 2025  |  First Published: Mar 01, 2025
Are only certain musical genres and acoustics ‘worthy’ of recording at high sample rates, or is it more a case of cost and practicality? Barry Fox is in favour of capturing every overtone
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Opinion
Cutting your own vinyl
Steve Harris  |  Apr 01, 2025  |  First Published: Feb 01, 2025
You’ve made homebrew cassette recordings and burned music files to CD, but what about cutting your own vinyl? Steve Harris looks at the options available from low-fi to hi-fi
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Opinion
Death of the orchestra?
Peter Quantrill  |  Apr 01, 2025  |  First Published: Feb 01, 2025
Peter Quantrill finds reasons to be cheerful in the proliferation of young-musician ensembles based on more flexible models of organisation – but can traditional venues follow suit?
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Opinion
Digital to the rescue
Jim Lesurf  |  Apr 01, 2025  |  First Published: Feb 01, 2025
As DAB proliferates, has the era of high-quality FM tuners come to an end? Jim Lesurf believes modern technologies could be used to put the sparkle back into analogue radio
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Opinion
Gallium’s going places
Barry Willis  |  Apr 01, 2025  |  First Published: Feb 01, 2025

Following a flying visit to an audiophile friend’s listening room, Barry Willis believes Gallium Nitride (GaN) power transistors could be just what the amplifier world has been looking for

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Opinion
Mending cables
Barry Fox  |  Apr 01, 2025  |  First Published: Feb 01, 2025

There are often affordable solutions to tech problems, says Barry Fox, whether that’s a cable failure or a stuttering home network. You might even want to write your own ‘Idiot’s Guide’

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