The latest Mac generation features a relatively good audio circuit that makes many budget dongles and headphone amps obsolete.

Introduction

Apple computers, unlike the company’s mobile devices, have traditionally delivered poor audio quality through their 3.5 mm headphone socket. And most Windows machines are not any better.

Plugging an earphone or headphone into my 2012 MacBook Air and listening to iTunes/Apple Music creates a dull and blunt listening experience. This low quality is a contradiction to the capabilities of digital audio, which goes back at least 20 years. Even the 2013 iPhone 5S had stunning audio quality. Similarly, Apple’s “Lightning to 3.5 mm Audio Adapter” delivers excellent sound quality.

In order to make computers sound better, digital audio pioneer Gordon Rankin of Wavelength Audio (and contractor to AudioQuest), invented the dongle DAC back in 2012, the DragonFly Black. A tiny device without its own battery, it drew power from the host. The DragonFly was restricted to use with a computer as it drew more than 100 mA, too much for iPhone to handle.

As of 2016, the next version of the “Black” was within the iPhone’s current draw tolerance. Many companies jumped on the bandwagon flooding the market with such devices. But not all dongles are equal and ALL of them are a compromise. Such that draw little current (and therefore drain your phone company slowly) have limited power, and the powerful ones empty your phone’s battery fast.

When it comes to dongle-DAC use with computers, current drain is largely irrelevant considering that desktop machines don’t have a battery at all, and notebooks have high battery capacities compared to a phone. Power is therefore no problem with computer application, sound quality has foremost priority.

Dongle DACs typically have 1 to 2 V, depending on impedance. Some, such as the Helm Bolt, automatically switch voltage depending on detected headphone impedance.

Apple introduced a new integrated audio circuit in their latest models:

• MacBook Air introduced in 2022
• MacBook Pro introduced in 2021 or later
• Mac mini introduced in 2023
• Mac Studio introduced in 2022

These models contain an audio circuit that is power wise very similar to dongles such as the Helm Bolt, ifi Audio GO Link, DragonFly Red and Cobalt. Below 150 ohm headphone impedance, the circuit provides a voltage of 1.25 V RMS, above 150 ohm and up to 1000 ohm, the headphone jack delivers 3 V RMS. You find Apple’s respective support article here.

Apple’s integrated DAC supports sample rates up to 96 kHz (just like the AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt).

I calculated the resulting power and current drain as displayed in the following table:

What we have learnt so far is that Apple’s new audio circuit is as powerful as a standard dongle DAC of the kind that also works with a phone. Yes, there are more powerful dongles on the market such as the Apogee Groove, Questyle M15, or ifi Audio Go bar, which will work better with insensitive headphones.

The 2022 MacBook Air with the M2 processor has its headphone jack on the right-hand side.

Amplification and Sound Quality

Playing in-ears with 32 ohm impedance is a piece of cake, even the 70 ohm Sennheiser HD 25 headphones (on the title photo) get lots of volume. Just like many “standard dongle DACs”, the 300 ohm Sennheiser HD 600 brings the Mac audio to its limits. Yes, it principally works, but it lacks pizazz.

The current-hungry Final E5000 iems are a special case in that they do not run well with most current-conserving dongle DACs and daps, for example the ifi Go link, Helm Bolt or TempoTec V6. They play loud enough but lack bass control, an indication that hey don’t receive enough current.

My testing confirms the tech data comparison with comparable dongles.

And here comes the surprise: the sound quality of Apple’s new audio quality is…astonishingly good for what it is: crisp, transparent, clear. Very surprising. It sounds very similar (in terms of quality) to the ifi Go link or Helm Bolt.

Concluding Remarks

Apple’s new adaptive audio circuit finally sounds quite decent. Poor audio circuits in computers were the reason for the invention of the dongle DAC. The idea was to keep it small, down to the size of a thumb drive.

Some basic $50-100 dongle DACs have now become obsolete for modern Macs, which makes these devices even more compact. Where Apple are exaggerating is with the compatibility with high-impedance headphones. It principally works, but you are better off with a dedicated, powerful, headphone DAC/amp such as the ifi GO bar or the Questyle M15 on the go.

Testing this is easy: if you have a new Mac, try it out. If you don’t have one, don’t bother as you won’t buy one for this purpose anyway.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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Disclaimer

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The post Using Headphones With Your New Mac [Without An External DAC/Amp] – A Review appeared first on Music For The Masses.

The ifi Audio GO link was supplied by the company for my review – and I thank them for that. You find more information on the GO link product page.

Introduction

ifi Audio from Southport in Northern England have become a mainstay in personal HiFi. The company offers a wide range of product from desktop/portable DAC/amps through USB “decrappifiers” and power supplies to dongle DACs. Their top-of-the line GO bar is probably the most versatile product of its kind on the market.

ifi Audio are also quite open and give us insight in their (proprietary) technologies such as S-balanced, X-bass etc. Very educational, but, of course, also enticing to the technologically inclined customer.

Dongle DACs were invented by USB-audio pioneer Gordon Rankin (“AudioQuest DragonFlys”) and gained widespread popularity in 2016, when current-draw had been reduced to the point for them to work with iPhone. What followed was a flood of mostly budget-priced Chinese products (“dongle madness”) so that the potential buyer was left in confusion.

Whilst ifi Audio typically keep above the low-end market, they may have realized that it is a lucrative one nevertheless. And, I speculate, their ambition was to take the lead in whatever segment they compete in.

The company rep told me that the GO link sounds better than any dongle at this price point…and I was eager to test this statement. TL;DR: the GO link is the best-in-class for a combination of reasons.

Specifications GO link

Physical Things

For $59 you get ifi Audio craftsmanship. The Go link features a magnesium alloy enclosure just like the big brother GO bar: quality build, great haptic. In the box are also a USB-C to USB-A adapter as well as a lightning adapter for iPhone. This lightning adapter saves the iPhone user $35 for the Apple Camera Adapter — it is the same Hidizs sells for $15 individually. This moves the GO link ahead of the competition by a mile without even having listened to it.

Technology, Functionality and Operation

The GO link features the ES9219MQ/Q, which is a standard SoC (“system on chip”), that is DAC and amp are on the same chip. This saves space and helps keeping the device’s size down, but it leaves the audio engineer only few options to tweak the sound (you cannot bypass the SoC’s amp). Hence devices with the same SoC sound similar.

Questyle found a way for their M15 by tagging their proprietary modules onto the chip, and ifi Audio also found a way to improve the prefab sound by adding their proprietary components:

• “Global Master Timing” jitter clock
• Dynamic Range Enhancement (extends the dynamic range by 6 dB)
• S-balanced circuit

S-balanced (Single-Ended Compatible Balanced) means that the listener gets the benefits of a balanced circuit (“reduced crosstalk”) with a normal 3.5 mm TRS plug (also with 3.5 mm TRRS). The advertised QUAD technology and patented Hperstream technology are standard features of the SoC. Any device with this SoC will also have these technologies.

Amplification and Power Management

It is important for a dongle DAC not to draw too much current from a phone – in order to avoid quick battery drain. After all, you still need it for calls. On the other hand, a low battery drain means low power — and one may not be able to use low impedance/low sensitivity earphones and headphones.

in my test, the GO link plots in the midfield of current guzzlers. It appears to strike a balance between power and battery drain. In comparison, the GO bar draws twice as much current and is way more powerful.

In terms of power, the GO link reaches its limits with my 300 ohm Sennheiser HD 600, but drives my 70 ohm Sennheiser HD 25 and most iems with ease. Exceptions are some “demanding” final models, that also don’t work well with most daps.

As like many other dongle DACs, the ifi GO link does not drive the current-greedy final E5000 iems well. The sound is loud enough, but the bass is mushy, indicative of a starved current supply.

Sound

The GO link’s sound is indeed very similar to other devices featuring this type of SoC, most notably the $129 Helm Bolt (which actually features the older ES9281A SoC…which is only different in data handling).

The GO link has a neutral sound with perhaps a bit of a lift in the bass, very good transparency, good midrange clarity, decent depth, and good extension at both ends. I don’t think the sound quality is of any concern for the potential buyer, it is rather the power and battery drain…which have to harmonize with the source device.

Compared to the very similar sounding Helm Bolt, the GO link is a bit edgier in the upper midrange, the Bolt has “sweeter treble” and a bit more bass. These differences are negligible for everyday use, considering that staging, transparency, and amplification are essentially identical.

What matters is value, GO link comes are 1/2 price of the Bolt with a lightning adapter included. 

In comparison, AudioQuest’s $300 flagship “Cobalt” is probably not more powerful (as it has a lower current drain than GO link), but rolls up the field of competitors in terms of sound quality. The Cobalt sounds smoother, has better rounded notes, better dynamics, and better resolution. It reproduces music more true to the original.

But again, the differences are not earth shattering, and it depends what kind of listener you are: if you are out for value, the GO link is unbeatable, if you don’t want to make any compromises, the GO bar or Cobalt may be more appealing to you.

Concluding Remarks

The Go link is a decent sounding dongle DAC without competition, simply because there is no other device that combines sound, build, and accessories at this price. Only the now discontinued $45 TempoTec Sonata HD Pro could be used with iPhone out of the box, but didn’t sound as good as GO link.

The next step up would be the $129 EarMen Eagle, to me still the lowest-priced dongle with premium sound. But that’s more than twice as much as the GO link…which remains in a class of its own.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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Disclaimer

The ifi Audio Go link was supplied by the company for my review – and I thank them for that. You find more information on the Go link’s product page.

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This article was published during an excursion to Chile.

The post ifi Audio GO Link Review (2) – All In appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Executive Summary

This article discusses the issue with DAC and amp on a single “all-in-one” chip, also known as System on Chip (“SoC”). SoCs have a characteristic sound whereas DAC chips do not.

Introduction

USB DACs + amps (“dongles”) were invented for mobile use with iPhone. The idea was to design small devices in the shape of a USB thumb drive (with a USB-A plug). Such small form factor means no (space for an) internal battery so that the device relies on the host phone’s battery.

The first of its kind, the AudioQuest DragonFly Black, appeared in 2012, but only the next DragonFly generation in 2016 used little enough battery to work with iPhone, which allows only 100 mA current draw. At the time Android was not considered as it does not reproduce music files bit-perfect (and it still does not).

This low-current design came with two tradeoffs, limited power and limited use with low-impedance/low-sensitivity earphones and headphones. Such transducers may distort at higher volumes when not receiving enough current, which starts at the current-hungry low-end (bass and sub-bass). The AudioQuest DragonFlys remain the leaders in low battery consumption, but that comes at a price.

Most recently, manufacturers jumped on this bandwagon and flooded the market with probably >100 such devices, almost all of them connected to their source by a short USB-C cable – which led to the term “dongle”. These typically are battery hogs which drain your phone in no time while exhibiting low distortion and generous amplification power.

Such dongles are therefore more suited for use with computers or as dac/pre-amp with a desktop amp, but the question arises why one should pay extra for miniature when an equally priced but bigger device offers “more technology inside”.

Some of these current-hungry, powerful dongles may be small, but nevertheless are they not really portable.

Prices range from $5 to $400, and I find the biggest differences in the sound quality and not the amplification power (relative to current draw) or the features. The “better dongles” sound richer and smoother, and the lower-end ones are leaner and sharper sounding.

When it comes to purchasing such a device, the potential buyer has the opportunity of testing the product only in the rarest cases. Most acquisition is done by mail order so that the buyer has to rely on reviews.

DAC Chips – do NOT make the Sound

One selection criterium applied by many is the chip that converts the digital signal to analog, which is highly overrated and even misleading. Chips of certain brands are assigned a characteristic sonic signature in the internet’s echo chamber.

For example, ESS Sabre chips are widely believed to have an upper midrange glare and AKM chips are not very dynamic, but this is an urban myth as the chip is only one part in the design.

USB-Audio pioneer and DragonFly inventor Gordon Rankin told me: “There is too many factors to pigeon hole a sound for any DAC: power, filters, analog design, digital design, electrical components, software etc… Power, filtering and new controller make up a big part of the difference in sound. More so than the DAC chip itself.”

And Paul McGowan of PS Audio let me know: “The way a DAC sounds has everything to do with its analog output stage (plus the amp design) and little to do with its DAC chip”.

And the first alarm bell of a poorly implemented chip is vocals gone “wrong”.

It is therefore not surprising that my five devices featuring the ESS ES9038Q2M dac chip, that is the Audioquest DragonFly Cobalt, Shanling UA2, Hidizs S9 Pro, Khadas Tone2 Pro, and the EarMen TR-amp, all sound completely different. Because of this general misconception, and to protect themselves from misinformation, many manufacturers do not disclose the DAC chip used at all (e.g. Sony). 

In summary, the same DAC chip contributes to different sound signatures in different devices.

SoC: System on Chip

But, hold it, not anymore. ESS offers a generation of SoCs (“System on Chip”) that combine DAC and amp “all-in-one”. Examples are the ESS9281P and the ES9281A/80A PRO, and there is no electrical difference between them (the ES9218P is the DAC/Headphone portion of the ES9280/81 chips without the high-speed USB interface, and the ES9281A Pro adds MQA decoding over the ES9280A Pro). Another example is the ES9219C, which replaced the ESS9281P (both all-in-one DAC/amp chips have effectively the same specs, but the ES2919C features hardware-level MQA decoding and it has a lower battery consumption at no load).

This pre-fabrication simplifies product design and allows less experienced/technically inclined/competent audio engineers to develop dongles – which may explain the current dongle flood. Some companies are not even laying out the circuit board, they are using the ESS designed boards and the same parts that ESS used in their evaluation module. The enclosures of such dongles can therefore be very small. And the devices are cheaply produced.

The sonic result: devices with such all-in-one chips sound essentially the same because they are all the same design. For example, the Helm Bolt (ES9281A Pro) sounds almost the same as the Shanling UA1 (ES9218P), they certainly have the same current draw. These sonic similarities were the reason to pursue this topic. Many Shanling daps also feature the ES9218P or ES9219C SoC (such as my M0).

The savvy audio engineer faces a couple of problems wth the SoCs:

• The software cannot be optimized. For example, the DragonFlys feature code to reduce jitter.
• The components are so small that they vibrate and create distortion. This design draws additional current so that DC DC converters are needed to keep the current draw below the phone’s ceiling…which adds noise.

Higher-quality capacitors and resistors as used in the original dongle designs are rather big and expensive in comparison, and they don’t fit in a small enclosure. Cheap resistors lead to power dissipation that alters the sound.

The result of these SoCs is spread of mediocrity and stifling of ingenuity at ever dropping prices. The uncritical consumer’s wallet may benefit from this but not their ears. And probably no their satisfaction in the long run either.

Less is more! Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (famous architect and last director of the Bauhaus).

Exceptions

The Hidizs AP80 Pro-X dap, the Hidizs XO and Qudelix-5K dongles, the TempoTec Serenade X digital desktop player, and a few Shanling devices feature two ES9219C SoCs, the Questyle M15 dongle one ES9281Pro SoC. Both SoCs differ only in their data handling but not in sound. But Questyle added two Current Mode Amplification (CMA) SiPs (“System in Package”: each with two independent amplification circuits) to the SoC to achieve the characteristic crisp Questyle sound.

When listening to well-mastered jazz recordings (a mix of naturally and electrically amplified instruments) with the Moondrop Kato iems using the single-ended circuits, the Hidizs AP80 Pro-X with the M15 attached to is sounding crisper and sharper than without. The tagged-on CMAs make all the difference.

Replacing the M15’s single ended circuit with the AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt now connected to the Hidizs, the sound got even crisper, more detailed, and more resolving. No, it is not the Cobalt’s (customized) DAC chip, it is the proprietary output stage, sophisticated filtering, and their proprietary software that, among others, make the difference.

In summary, going from Hidizs dap alone through the M15 to the Cobalt, is like sending your sound through a pencil sharpener.

There is only so much you can do do with an SoC, but you can also hardly screw the sound up. Designing a great dongle needs great designers.

Concluding Remarks

Quality dongles are more expensive because of DAC chips customized to fit the product, higher-quality parts, and last but not least software implementation to optimize the design. But this is not any different with desktop DACs and amps.

SoCs may cater mainly to the manufacturers – and dongles with them appeal more to budget buyers than to audio enthusiasts. In my observation, a relatively large number consumers tend to purchase a lot of repetitive cheap gear rather than a few quality pieces. SoCs play into these markets.

As so often in life, less is more (imho).

In the end, it is up to the consumer, whether they want hyped, low-cost, generic devices or pay for enjoying quality. But SoCs are here to stay.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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Disclaimer

This article is partly based on discussion with Gordon Rankin of Wavelength Audio and Paul Gowan of PS Audio – and I thank them for that. The title image is the Shanling UA1 DAC-amp taken from its product page.

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You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

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The ddHifi TC35i is a dongle sonically identical to Apple’s lightning audio adapter in a more compact shape with a better shielded and more premium metal enclosure.

Pros — World’s most compact 3.5 mm lightning adapter; good sounding; compact; great design; rugged.

Cons — Pricey.

Introduction

When ddHifi released the TC25i, which is 2.5 mm balanced version of their lightning adapter, they were tight lipped about its internals. But rumour had it they used the same chip as found in the Apple dongle (the one that used to come with your iPhone).

And whilst the rumour solidified, Apple themselves never released the specifications of their own adapter. The TC35i analysed for this article also features the Apple chipset, so that the specs published here may give us insight into the Apple’s adapter design.

ddHifi have been specializing in attractive and well-made accessories (and lately also iems such as the Janus) that blend design and functionality in a way that put the whole company up on our Wall of Excellence.

Specifications

Physical Things and Usability

The ddHifi TC35i is the world’s most compact and most rugged Apple Audio adapter. Yes, it features the same tech components as its Apple counterpart: a microscopic stereo digital-to-analog converter (DAC), a stereo headphone amplifier, a microphone preamplifier, and monophonic analog-to-digital converter (ADC) – and power converters to run the whole.

The big difference to the Apple adapter is that the TC35i comes in a metal enclosure that is not only much sturdier but it also provides better shielding against electromagnetic interference.

Amplification and Power Consumption

The key asset of Apple’s internal dac/amp combination was a very low output impedance of about 1 ohm, which should be indentical in the TC35i. We ideally want a low output impedance for any music player (<3 ohm) for optimal earphone/earphone pairing.

The Apple adapter not only has an output impedance of <1 ohm, it also has by far the lowest power consumption of all the dongles I have tested. Again, this should also be valid for the TC35i. In terms of amplification, Apple/TC35i handle iems and headphones up to 50 ohm impedance with ease. The 70 ohm Koss Porta Pros are marginal.

Sound

The TC35i’s sound is neutral, clear, clean, transparent with accurate and tight bass reproduction. In comparison, most dongles such as the Helm Bolt, Shanling UA2 or the AudioQuest DragonFlys are slightly coloured. The ddHifi dongle works well with even the most sensitive multi-driver items.

Anything the TC35i drives sounds excellent be it phone or computer. The Audioquest Dragonflys actually add bass and therefore colour (“warmth”) whereas the TC35i is more neutral. It is hard to find a dongle that equals or surpasses the TC35i/Apple audio adapter in terms of dynamics, clarity, cleanliness, and imaging.

Concluding Remarks

The ddHifi TC35i is the world’s smallest and most compact Apple audio adapter, improved over the original trough better shielding and a more rugged design. And a more premium look and feel. It may not be the most powerful but will drive any iem up to 50 ohm with ease at a sound quality adapted from and designed by the engineers of one of the world’s most influential tech companies. The TC35i delivers proven quality in a better shell.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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Disclaimer

The TC35i was provided by ddHifi for my analysis and I thank them for that. You can purchase it from DD Official Store.

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Summary

These two single-chip dongles (Bolt: ESS9281 Pro, UA1: ESS9218 Pro) are superficially similar but quite different sounding. The Bolt can be summarized as clean and midrange-focused, the UA1 as bass- and upper-mid-emphasized (more “Harman”). Which is preferred will depend on the transducers they’re paired with as well as the tastes (and budget) of the listener.

For this comparison I listened with JVC HA-FDX1 single DD & Ultimate Ears UE900S quad BA earphones to 16/44.1 FLAC files played via USB Audio Player Pro from a Nokia 4.2 Android phone. The Bolt is currently $110, the UA1 $45. For details on physical things, specs, etc., see Jürgen’s individual reviews here and here.

Helm Bolt

In summary, the Bolt’s tonal/timbral package is warm in the bass and more clean & precise in the upper mids & treble. With some material, these contrasting characters make it seem a bit disconnected top to bottom. While having good weight in the bass, bass & sub-bass can come across as a bit boomy, un-defined (one-note) & soft, particularly with the source-picky JVC HA-FDX1. 

With the UE900S, though, the tendency for softness in the bass goes away and the rounder character benefits the otherwise lean BA bass notes. Treble is extended but not overemphasized; ‘sweet’ would be the old-school audiophool term. The clean nature of the mids and highs gives a very good sense of instrument separation and imaging. 

Overall I found the Bolt to be very good with UE900S – they sound ‘cleaner’ than from other SE dongles I’ve tried them with and the tonal balance benefits their lean-in-the-bass, low-in-the-upper mids, tizzy-up-top character.

Shanling UA1

First impression of the UA1 is of good top-to-bottom integration and good resolution, with dynamics that are more consistent in character across the range. The top end is well defined but well controlled, not splashy. There’s good bass: with HA-FDX1, sub-bass definition & extension are certainly there, both better than with the Bolt.

However, the UA1’s upper mids are a bit nasal/honky/shouty, particularly with the FDX1s which are a bit elevated there. With those ‘phones the UA1 is more balanced at the extremes than the Helm, but a bit tonally and timbrally off in the mids.

With the UE900S, the bass remains good but the upper mids & treble come off as overexaggerated, sibilant and a bit hashy compared to the Bolt. Cable games might help this, but I’m not optimistic.

Matching

Comparing these two dongles with these two earphones shows the importance of synergy: the Helm is a much better driver for the UE900S than the UA1 is. The sweeter treble of the Helm helps balance the 900s’ overdone highs, and although the 900s’ dipped upper mids would ostensibly seem a better fit with the UA1’s tendency for shoutiness, they actually seem cleaner and better balanced there with the Bolt. The Bolt’s softer, rounder bass isn’t a problem, as it makes the 900s sound a bit more natural. With the FDX1s, however, the Bolt gives a very soft sub-bass compared to the UA1. Conversely, while the bass of the UA1 matches the FDX1s better, its Harmanish tonality does their upper mids no favours.

It’s tempting to attribute differences in the bass, in particular, to differences in output power.  According to Audio Science Review’s measurements, the Bolt clips at 60 mW into 32 Ohms and about 56 mW into 16 Ohms (HA-FDX1 impedance). Shanling specifies the UA1’s power output as 80 mW into 32 Ohms. The difference between the two dongles isn’t large and I doubt it tells the whole story, because the DragonFly Black is very anemic at 18 mW into 32 Ohms yet the HA-FDX1s don’t lose the definition in the sub-bass when fed from the Black to the extent that they do from the Bolt (warmth of the Black’s signature aside). I conclude that with these dongles, transducer synergy is ‘a thing’.

Other Quick Comparisons

Audioquest Dragonfly Black: pleasant warm emphasis (more than the Bolt), but everything softened and resolution lost (blurred, even a bit scratchy or fuzzy in the highs) compared to the Bolt and UA1. Would view as smooth if not by comparison. Smooth (but not soft) in the bass & lower mids; relaxing with the FDX1s.

Apple dongle: softer than DragonFly Black throughout, not as warm though.

EarMen Sparrow single-ended output: Bolt has better macrodynamics, more and cleaner treble, and is more resolving. UA1 has better note definition (resolution). Sparrow balanced output bests both in dynamics & resolution.

Ifi iDSD Nano BL SE (unfair comparison because: not a dongle, battery powered, 200 mW @ 16 Ohms, significantly more expensive; but included here for completeness because I compared it): darker tonal balance, timbre across the range more integrated, balance between dynamic swings & transient speed more even (maybe a little on the slow side compared to the ESS sound, but to me more natural because of that; organic). S-Balanced is a notable step up over SE in ‘cleanliness’.

Conclusion

It was interesting to hear such different sonic characters from these superficially similar dongles. I hesitate to recommend one over the other as transducer synergy, based on my admittedly limited trials, seems to be important. In general terms, I’d suggest that the Shanling UA1 might be the better match if you have ‘phones that are known to be demanding in the bass; and the Helm Bolt might be the better if you have ‘phones you find at the edge of your tolerance in the upper mids.

Disclaimer

These two dongles were sent to Jürgen for review by Helm Audio and Shanling, who we thank for the opportunity to hear them.

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You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

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Cons — Interference could be an issue with certain mobile phones or signals; SE output takes such a hit in dynamics and resolution vs balanced that it might be a waste for many users; power consumption via balanced is likely high.

Summary

The EarMen Sparrow is a flexible (balanced or single-ended), powerful USB DAC/amp dongle with great sound quality, being particularly dynamic from its balanced output. However, it can be susceptible to interference when run from a mobile phone.

Sonics and Comparisons

I listened to the EarMen as part of a comparison of a few USB DAC/amp dongles old and new. Listening to all was mainly done with the Drop+JVC HA-FDX1 single dynamic-driver IEMs using the Mee Audio MMCX balanced cable (SPC), with a 2.5 bal. to 3.5 SE adapter where necessary to minimize possible cable differences. Being an Android user, I sent audio (mostly 16/44.1 FLAC files) to the Sparrow with USB Audio Player Pro.

Balanced: From the balanced output, performance is impressive: macrodynamics, note definition & weight, instrument separation, and transient resolution are all excellent, making for a very ‘technical’ package. Tonal balance is good too, no particular part of the range seeming over- or under-emphasized.

While I liked it, the dynamic and fast presentation from the balanced output might become fatiguing after a while with revealing and dynamic transducers like the JVCs and especially with very ‘technical’ multi-balanced-armature IEMs. Matching with smoother ‘phones, or switching to the SE output, might be preferable for long listening sessions.

Single-ended: There’s a notable hit in macrodynamics and low-level resolution from the 3.5mm SE output vs balanced, and note definition, particularly in the bass, is weaker, leading to a much more relaxed presentation.

As mentioned above, depending on the transducers the EarMen Sparrow is paired with, this might not be a bad thing. The contrast however is very pronounced, especially when comparing with others: The Tempotec Sonata BHD, for example – a balanced-only unit – is itself pretty revealing but is notably less dynamic than the Sparrow’s balanced output and notably more dynamic than it’s SE output. And the latter is more relaxed than the single-ended Shanling UA1, and – except notably in the bass – than the single-ended Helm Bolt (which uses the same ES9281Pro SoC as the EarMen Sparrow).

Non-Sound Stuff

Here’s what might be a deal-breaker for some: when playing from the balanced output, the EarMen Sparrow can pick up interference when it’s close to a phone. This has been discussed on internet forums, and EarMen to their credit tried to address it by replacing the original cable with a longer, better shielded one.

I replaced the original with another that was reported to help, the OEAudio OEOTG, which improved the issue but didn’t completely solve it. If you can keep the dongle away from your phone, if you only use it in airplane mode, or if your phone/carrier/local signal doesn’t give you this problem (Jürgen tells me he didn’t experience it with his iPhone SE), great – but it might be a lottery.

For me (Nokia 4.2) it’s much reduced (or absent) from the SE output, but present enough to be annoying at listening levels from balanced when everything’s jumbled together in a pocket.

Minor considerations: unlike with other dongles, sometimes the EarMen Sparrow doesn’t play right away from UAPP when hot-swapped in after another dongle, requiring a re-boot of the player. This doesn’t happen every time, though, and I suspect a recent UAPP update might have cured the problem entirely; I haven’t seen it in the last couple of weeks.

Also, the EarMen Sparrow gets very warm in balanced mode – you can tell it’s putting out some power! This is good, but will come with a pretty high battery drain. Jürgen found the drain when using SE to be in the higher half of his tested units; be aware that balanced use will drain your battery faster still.

More Comparisons & Conclusion

The most obvious comparison among the units I have here – because it’s the only other one with a balanced output – is the dual-CS43131 Tempotec Sonata BHD. Compared to the EarMen Sparrow this has tonal emphasis in the upper mids, a splashier/hashier treble, a more rounded bass, and transients which apart from in the bass are similar in speed to the Sparrow but lesser in weight. However, the Sonata BHD is currently under 1/3 the price of the Sparrow.

The Earstudio HUD100 Mk2 (currently $120), a favorite of Jürgen’s which I haven’t heard, could make for an interesting comparison because although being single-ended, has two outputs, one with high power. Comparisons with other, non-balanced units should be seen in terms of price – and not having heard similarly priced SE units, I can’t usefully comment. 

Overall, I’m impressed with the EarMen Sparrow. The flexibility and differences in sound signature offered by the choice of outputs, and the absolute performance of the balanced output, make it a great contender in the dongle space. The interference issue however, is a serious one.

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Disclaimer

This is the same unit reviewed by Jürgen here, which was supplied to him by EarMen upon request.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post EarMen Sparrow Dongle DAC/Amp – Brief Second Opinion appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Cons — Upper-midrange glare.

Executive Summary

The Shanling UA1 is a well-built and organic sounding budget dongle that could be a bit tamer at the top end.

Introduction

I recently analyzed the Shanling UA2, a rich and warm sounding dongle-shaped DAC/amp that features single-ended and balanced outputs – possibly the best of its kind below $100.

The company had slit the the $45 UA1 as an encore in that package, which was Shanling’s first foray into the world of small DAC/amps. It joins an army of sub-$50 dongles that presently crowd the market – but with a distinct difference: Shanling is a brand name that is also established in the premium segment.

Let’s find out whether “noblesse obliges” also works for the budget domain.

Specifications

Physical Things and Usability

The box’s content is spartan: device, USB-C to USB-A adapter, and a manual. The enclosure is made of anodized aluminum, and the 3.5 mm headphone socket is reinforced with a gold-plated metal rim. There is a tiny LED status light by the socket. The haptic of the enclosure is top notch.

The fixed cable is made of high purity copper with cotton shielding against outside interference. The strain reliefs appear to be sturdy but a detachable cable would have been favourable.

Functionality and Operation

The Shanling UA1 is another entirely source operated/powered DAC/amp. It works plug’n’play with mobile devices and Mac OS, but requires a driver for Windows.

It is powered and operated from the source device and decodes Hi Res up to 32 bit/384 kHz and DSD 256. I have not found MQA decoding capability in the documentation.

Amplification and Power Consumption

I my 3h battery drain test of several dongles, the Dragonfly Black and Red had the lowest consumption on my iPhone 5S, the Shanling UA1 consumed about a third more, which placed it in the midfield. But it could have done far worse than that….see the detailed results. I would call the UA1’s battery consumption ok but not outstanding.

Power Consumption Test: Parameters and Raw Results

I tested the power consumption of several portable headphone amps connected to my iPhone 5S. The conditions were as identical as possible: 3 h test, volume calibrated to 85 dB  ± 0.5 dB white noise with Dayton microphone, no sim card, BT off, no other apps open; network on, 32 ohm Blon BL-03 iem, Genesis’s Supper’s Ready (from the Seconds Out album) played in an endless loop.

The iPhone’s battery was fully charged at the start of the test and the remaining charge was measured thereafter. The result is shown in the table below. Since the tests were performed at different times and considering the ongoing battery deterioration, the results have to be seen with a grain of salt.

[collapse]

Sound

Equipment used: Macbook Air/iPhone SE first generation; Sennheiser HD 600 & HD 25; Sennheiser IE 400 PRO, JVC HA-FDX1, TRI I3 Pro.

The Shanling UA1 features the ESS ES9218P (dac + amp), a “System-on-Chip” (SoC) that leaves the audio engineer little room for tweaking, it comes down to mainly filtering. This means devices with this SoC will actually sound alike or very close.

The UA1 is close to neutral, but has a faint tone colour with a slightly boosted bass, but also with an elevated upper midrange/lower treble, which adds some grain to the top end top-end that can be fatiguing to some in the long run – and that’s the UA1’s only downside. There is a companion app for Android phones that allows filtering which may mitigate the issue, but it does not work with a computer or iPhone.

Presentation is leaner compared to a $100+ dongle, but not in a bad way. Staging is fine. Midrange is clear and clean, and resolution is pretty good. Nothing sterile or analytical. I also did not record any hiss.

It drives my 300 ohm Sennheiser HD 600 with some pain but any iems, including the power-hungry planar-magnetic TRI I3 Pro earphones with ease.

The $99 Helm Bolt and Shanling UA1have a very similar general sound signature (and even a very similar build; the Bolt decodes MQA, the Shanling does not). The Bolt has less bass, which is a tad tighter and cleaner, it sounds more open and the vocals are more up front because of it, and it is a bit more dynamic. The UA1 has more low-end rumble whereas the Bolt is more composed and “sweeter” at the top end. These differences are not earth shattering but the Bolt appears o be better balanced by more sophisticated filtering.

When going up the ladder, the $85 Shanling UA2 has a richer, bassier sound, better staging, better 3D rendering, more punch, and the corners are smoother.

Concluding Remarks

At $45, the Shanling UA1 is an impressive performer with a warm-bright, organic signature, good staging, dynamics, and resolution that does justice even to $200-300 iems (I have not tested any higher-priced ones as I don’t have any). The only polarizing feature may be its hot upper midrange/lower treble glare, other than that it plays one league higher than its price and comes close to the $99 Helm Bolt that shows a few better rounded corners. However, the Shanling’s lively top end will bring some life to iems with an early treble rolloff.

I am a particular fan of the great haptic and build of Shanling’s UA1 (and also the UA2) that compare even to the most expensive models.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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Disclaimer

The Shanling UA1 was included with the UA2 and ME80 in a review package from the manufacturer. I thank them for that. I sent the UA1 to Biodegraded for a second opinion.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post Shanling UA1 Review – Prefab Sprout appeared first on Music For The Masses.

21-11-21 Jürgen

Our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/audioreviews finally cleared 9,800 members. It was established on 1 Jan 2020 and its growth has been stalling lately. Will we have 10,000 members by Christmas?

21-11-19 Jürgen

More drama ahead? I published me take on the $5 VE Monk Pro earbud. They finally got the impedance down from 64 ohm to 32 ohm to present a truly “portable” earbud. I think my writeup is reasonably entertaining.

21-11-19 Jürgen

We have been playing with Google Adsense in order to try out whether Google prefers their clients in their listings. We put the settings on “autopilot”…after 203 days, this angry guys showed up. Sign of things to come? We’ll monitor this.

21-11-17 Jürgen

This “drama” over this Facebook post generated quite some outrage. What some people did not understand was that I don’t see a relationship between the hype and the quality of this iem. If you read between the lines, you’ll see my subtle criticism of peer pressure and compulsive buying triggered by pied pipers. 8000 views: goal achieved :).

21-11-17 Jürgen

Durwood posts his review of the $1500 Questyle CMA Twelve DAC/amp combo…endgame for many.

21-11-15 Jürgen

Loomis publishes his Sennheiser CX 400BT review.

21-11-13 Jürgen

Baskingshark’s IKKO Zerda ITM1 review now published. I see some KZ reviews being presently worked on. In the immediate line-up are a Sennheiser TWS and a premium Questyle amp.

21-11-13 Kazi

Received the Fearless Barcelona recently for review. It is the cheapest Fearless IEM till now and the design belies the price tag. I love how they’ve designed the face-plate here.

Sadly, they sound horrible. Not recommended at all. Too much bass, highly recessed mids, zero treble extension. Get something else this holiday.

21-11-12 Alberto

Yesterday I received my new/old Cowon Plenue 2 and of course the very first impression is imprinted over my experience with QP1R. At first listen the P2 on its balanced output is quite nice, nicely extended and with a very good note weight. While less clean / revealing / detailed compared to the QP1R (whose single ended output is a quite good proof of why balanced is more a marketing name for decent quality output than anything else) on the other hand it offers a huge host of sound finetuning options, commencing from selectable reconstruction filters, to a very good “tweakable” graphical EQ module (not a true PEQ but close) and some further DSPs. Connectivity options are null / nil / zero – like QP1R. There’s not even BT – and that’s perfectly fine

21-11-12 Jürgen

Singles day is over…as the name implies, I didn’t buy a single thing. Our blog stats are surprising: 70% of our traffic stems from Google searches, and only 15% from Facebook. It is therefore not worth posting across FB groups…which is uncool anyway.

21-11-11 Jürgen

Today is 11/11 Asian Singles day. Not many exciting deals as far as I can see…but our blog experiences lots of views. In the meantime we published reviews of the FIIL CC2 and Oneodio Pro C reviews.

21-11-07 Jürgen

Burson Funk review out now. A fantastic headphone amp it is.

21-11-04 Jürgen

Working on the Burson Funk amp to hit the weekend deadline. Fantastic, powerful amp that works for headphones and speakers alike.

21-11-03 Jürgen

Published the Tin Hifi T2 EVO review. Kazi and I ordered a Final A3000 as found on our Wall of Excellence.

21-11-02 Jürgen

Re-dressed the blog’s right sidebar and added useful information. Meet your 8 authors, Wall of Excellence etc. Just look to the right.

21-11-01 Jürgen

Alberto’s iBasso IT04 review published. 283 iem reviews altogether now. Solved a caching problem, which affected our Google indexing. Thanks to the support of rankmath.com SEO plugin.

21-10-31 Jürgen

Finally got the Shanling UA1 review published. It is currently in Biodegraded’s hands for a 2nd review. Will have to finish the NiceHCK T2 EVO next week, and work on the Astell & Kern PEE51 dongle.

21-10-30 Alberto

Got my Hip Dac 2 review loaner unit in yesterday. First thing I noticed it came equipped with firmware 7.3 installed. The odd part is that on IFI’s website the 7.3 firmware is not listed under Hip Dac 2’s eligible downloads. Which means I could not recupe any “release info” about what’s different in 7.3 vs 7.2

While I was there, I also checked under Micro iDSD Signature’s section, and apparently firmware version 7.x has been removed from there too. Odd, at least. I put a question into IFI to get more info.

21-10-29 Jürgen

Published my Venture Electronics BIE Pro review on the blog. Submitted link to VE Clan Facebook group, where it got stuck in censorship, but was eventually posted after approval. That was only intermittent, I think I was tacitly expelled from that group after mentioning censorship. Be prepared that VE Clan Facebook group is manipulative as it presents cherry-picked information.

On another note, Loomis Johnson submitted his review of the Sennheiser CX-400BT True Wireless Earphones for publication.

21-10-28 Kazi

Received KZ ZEX. Their naming convention is making me go bad. Graphed it and labeled the graph wrong because these names all sound similar (ZAX/ZEX/ZSX). Either way, not too impressed with the sound. Kinda peaky in the mid-treble. Graphs show that as well.

21-10-27 Jürgen

Behind with some reviews, e.g. Unique Melody 3DT and Tin Hifi T2 Evo.

21-10-26 Jürgen

Blog received a few more tweaks, including a new site map.

21-10-25 Jürgen’s 10 Day Roundup

In the last 2 weeks, we published reviews of 2 totally underrated Final Audio headphones (Sonorous II+III) including some update earpads.

We identified some good TWS iems for the office in the Elevoc Clear.

We further think the Moondrop Kato is a winner (but need a second set for our European crew).

And we had a couple of second opinions of the GeekWold GK10, Tforce Yuan Li, SeeAudio Bravery, and Tanchjim Tanya.

We currently offer 281 earphone reviews.

21-10-25 Kazi

Received the iFi Hip DAC2 today, and the copper colorway will surely steal some glances. The sound isn’t changed much from the original Hip DAC (if at all) but it didn’t need to since the OG was one of the best DAC/Amps out there under $200. Full review in the works.

21-10-25 Jürgen

Worked on search engine optimization “SEO” all weekend after some trouble with Google. Also subscribed to webmaster tools of Bing and Yandex search engines. You can analyze the SEO of your own site here: https://rankmath.com/tools/seo-analyzer/

21-10-24 Kazi

Slow weekend, nice weather. Went out mostly to enjoy the fall colors. Also did some random photoshoot for the upcoming reviews. Also received the VE Monk SM recently. Not a fan. Shrill, sharp sound and technicalities are middling even for the $20 price bracket. At least it looks and feels nice in hand.

In other news, A&K released the SR25 mk. 2. Not a fan of the design at all. The tilted makes no usability sense. Also it’s basically the original SR25 with just a 4.4mm jack added. Meh.

21-10-23 Jürgen

Our blog has currently problems with Google indexing. I re-created the sitemaps. It would help if you linked to it from your site. Thanks.

21-10-23 Jürgen

The ongoing power crisis in China has led to increased operating costs as well as to price hikes of raw materials. Expect delays and price increases for your Christmas shopping.

Have not heard of 11/11 deals this year…strange.

21-10-22 Jürgen

Coming next on the blog (tonight my time) is Baskingshark’s review of the SeeAudio Bravery. We have a few more ready ones such as a tech article on “System on Chip” (SoC), that is dac and amp on the same chip. Another tech post will be an elaboration on the 1/8 rule on the example of the Apogee Groove.

Alberto will be offering reviews of the iBasso IT04, the Kinera Leyding earphone cable, and the Tanchjim Tanya in the very near future. These are ready. He is still working on a couple of Fearless models among others.

Also almost ready to go are reviews of the Shanling UA1 dongle, the VE Bonus Pro iem, and the VE Monk Go.

21-10-21 Biodegraded

Behind in evaluating various dongles sent by Jürgen for second opinions: Helm Bolt, Shanling UA 1, Earmen Sparrow, Tempotec Sonata BHD. So far, I’m surprised by the contrast between the Bolt and UA 1 (both use the same ESS DAC/Amp chip but yes, they sound a lot different) and by the bal vs SE contrast from the Sparrow. Comparisons will be made to the Audioquest DragonFly Black and ifi nano iDSD Black Label.

I’m also considering a winter project building this Pass Labs class A solid-state headphone amp to complement my tube hybrid and little USB- or battery-powered desktop/portable things. Much swearing will no doubt ensue. Right now though, have to clean the scratchies from the volume pot of an integrated amp that needs to be moved on.

2021-10-21 Kazi

Have had quite a hectic October, so couldn’t manage to publish anything. However, look forward to the “Review Extravaganza” over the coming two weeks or so. At least four articles are in the works and shall be published withing quick succession including:

• FIIL CC2 (a pretty good TWS)
• Moondrop Quarks
• Campfire Audio Holocene
• Campfire Audio Honeydew
• Final A4000
• Shanling Q1
• Cayin Fantasy

And just to close out, one of the photos I shot today (I think it came out pretty good). See you on the other side.

2021-10-21 Jürgen

Sitting currently on review units of Burson Funk amp and two Allo power supplies that may take some time. Almost ready is a review of the Unique Melody 3DT iem whereas the IKKO OH10 still needs some work. Overdue are reviews of several VE Electronics items as well as some ddHiFi accessories.

That famous Hidizs S9 Pro Copper edition dongle (limited to 500 copies) has been on its way from Calgary to Bologna for a good week now. Let’s see how fast Air Mail is.

Currently looking for a second Moondrop Kato review unit for our European chapter. After all, a single opinion is not sufficient for an item to qualify for our Wall of Excellence.

2021-10-21 Jürgen

This page was established to report our progress (but also some observations and opinions) within audioreviews.org. All our authors with WordPress accounts have access.

2021-10-20 Jürgen

Android Brick alas audioreviews.news is using our good name to attract traffic to his fake reviews. This may be legally correct but it is not ethical. He was shamed and left our Facebook group.

Beware of imitations!

This is https://www.audioreviews.org/news/

No marketing!

No sugarcoating!

Just genuine analyses!

The post Our News appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Cons — Fixed cable.

Executive Summary

The Helm Bolt is a very small and light MQA certified portable DAC/amp that excels in terms of its organic/natural reproduction.

Introduction

The source-operated dongle dac-amp has experienced a huge upsurge recently. Originally designed in 2012 to convert your phone into a high-quality digital analog player (dap) and first able to do so in 2016, the market is currently flooded with tens to hundreds of such devices – which makes it is essentially impossible for a single person to keep the overview.

Prices range from a handful of dollars to $400 with a crowding in the $80 to $150 range. The Helm Bolt fits into this sweet spot.

Helm is a young British-American company that specializes in portable devices from headphones/earphones to amplification.

The Bolt is the company’s sole portable DAC/amp that works with a phone, either alone or in combination with the Helm DB12 AAAMP amp. It appears to be a popular item as it is always sold out. Many favourable reviews of the unit exist already, so I would like to put it to my ultimate test.

Specifications

Visit mqa.co.uk for more information.

Physical Things and Usability

The box/s content is rather spartan: Helm Bold, USB-A adapter, and pleather storage case.

The dongle comes with a fixed USB-C cable, which is great for connecting to an Android device or a newer Mac, and, with the USB-A adapter, to a Windows computer. But using the Bolt with an iPhone requires the Apple camera adapter, which doubles the “snake” in length. Since the enclosure of this 8 g dongle is very small, the whole construct is effectively just an extension of the earphone/headphone cable.

The housing is made of metal and feels premium. The cable is cotton-shielded against outside interference and the strain reliefs on both ends could be a bit longer and sturdier.

The Bolt has no physical controls and is operated through its host device. It is completely plug-n-play, and does not even need a Windows driver.

The enclosure features a small LED that changes colour with playback rate/type: Blue SD Audio <= 48kHz – Red HD Audio > 48kHz – Magenta For MQA.

Headphone output level automatically detects headphone impedance and sets level accordingly: 1V for < 150 ohms, 2V for >= 150 ohms, which corresponds to low gain and high gain. The device is plug and play, there are no Windows 10 drivers needed. 

Amplification and Power Consumption

The Helm Bolt drives all iems I have thrown at it, but it reached its limits with the 300 Ω  Sennheiser HD 600. For large cans, Helm offers the Helm DB12 amp [product page],which can be used in series with the Bolt. The DB12 adds a constant 12 dB gain, and a 6 dB bass boost (if selected).

I my 3h battery drain test of several dongles, the Dragonfly Black and Red had the lowest consumption on my iPhone 5S, the Helmo Bolt consumed about a third more, which placed it in the midfield. But it could have done far worse than that….see the detailed results. I would call the Bolt’s battery consumption ok but not outstanding.

Power Consumption Test: Parameters and Raw Results

I tested the power consumption of several portable headphone amps connected to my iPhone 5S. The conditions were as identical as possible: 3 h test, volume calibrated to 85 dB  ± 0.5 dB white noise with Dayton microphone, no sim card, BT off, no other apps open; network on, 32 ohm Blon BL-03 iem, Genesis’s Supper’s Ready (from the Seconds Out album) played in an endless loop.

The iPhone’s battery was fully charged at the start of the test and the remaining charge was measured thereafter. The result is shown in the table below. Since the tests were performed at different times and considering the ongoing battery deterioration, the results have to be seen with a grain of salt.

[collapse]

Sound

Equipment used: Macbook Air/iPhone SE first generation; Sennheiser IE 400 PRO, Meze Rai Solo, JVC HA-FDX1; Sennheiser HD 600.

The Helm Bolt has an organic sound with a good tonal colour. It is not warm and not neutral, that is not dark and not analytical, but it strikes a balance between the them. The presentation is clean and lean (in a positive way), think of slimline – as opposed to fat and congested.

The Bolt is not the bassiest dongle, which keeps the vocals up front. Midrange is clean and clear with a tinge of warmth. One of its biggest qualities is the very pleasant, well-rounded, smooth, appealing top end. It works well with most earphone/headphone signatures and, in particular, helps taming shouty ones.

Compared to the $10 Apple audio adapter or the $10 VE Odyssey HD, the Bolt sounds much more refined and it is more powerful. The $50 Shanling UA1 features the same SoC and almost identical specs. Both therefore feature principally the same sound signature with one big difference at the top end: the Shanling is much scratchier/grainier in the upper midrange and lower treble. Helm must have applied effective filtering.

The Shanling UA1 is also a tad bassier which pushes the vocals back. The Bolt’s bass is tighter and cleaner, it has a more open sound with a wider stage, and it is a tad more dynamic.

Scaling up to the $200 AudioQuest DragonFly Red. The Red is punchier, bassier, fuller bodied with bigger staging and more midrange clarity and depth. Bolt is more relaxed, softer on the attack and has the lesser separation, but is sweeter in the treble.

Using the Bolt as a preamp and adding the Helm DB12 as an amp opens up the stage substantially, however takes away from the note weight. The sound is fluffier, bigger, “inflated” like a balloon. But since both devices have fixed cables, this combination can create some cable chaos in your pocket.

Concluding Remarks

The Helm Bolt is a fine sounding dongle which I like a lot. It may not have the strongest amplification but it has a very refined sound. It sticks out of the crowd by its small size and weight and convinces by its natural sonic reproduction. The Bolt has played any iem well for me I had thrown at it. It is a quality product and I am not surprised it is always sold out. It is a serious contender in the $100 segment.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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Disclaimer

The Helm Bolt was supplied by Helm Audio for my review – and I thank them for that.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

Gallery

The post Helm Bolt DAC/Amp Review – Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Cons — Small soundstage; hissy with sensitive iems, rel. high current draw.

Executive Summary

The highly rated VE Odyssey HD dongle is tested against the Apple audio adapter, both priced at $10. It is concluded that the Odyssey excels in amplification, build, and haptic, whereas the Apple prevails in terms of sound quality. Both dongles constitute very good value.

Introduction

Dongles – little source-powered DAC/amps – have been on everybody’s mind and phones for the last couple of years. I personally have used one since 2016 (with iPhone) as I don’t want to carry a dap as a 2nd device in my pocket. And I have given dongles a closer look in my reviews in the last 1.5 years.

Apple were the first to introduce the “Lighting to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack” a dongle that is a microscopic stereo digital-to-analog converter (DAC), a stereo headphone amplifier, a microphone preamplifier, and monophonic analog-to-digital converter (ADC) – and power converters to run this all. And it costs a measly $10. Not bad, eh? My review of this adapter is now one of our blog’s standard staples.

But the competition has not been sleeping, and Venture Electronics released the Odyssey HD in 2019, also priced at $10. The Odyssey HD has been riding on a wave of euphoria in some forums recently, to a point where it is believed to compete with and even outclasses dongles at multiple times its price.

If this was justified, the Odyssey HD should beat the Apple dongle hands down – for a start. Let’s put it to the test.

Specifications

Physical Things and Usability

The Odyssey HD has a stellar build and haptic. Great industrial design with snug fitting premium metal connectors, good enough even with the $800 Cayin Fantasy. The cable between the 3.5 mm headphone jack and then USB-C connector looks somewhat cheap in context, but is actually Oyaide 102 ssc high-quality copper cable from Japan [Oyaide website].

The Odyssey HD is available with different headphone jacks: standard 3.5 mm TRS, or 2.5mm/2 mm TRRS, or 4.4 mm TRRS. While the balanced plugs work with balanced devices they do not produce balanced sound. The accessories are completed by an complementary Type-C to USB 3.0 adapter.

In comparison, the USB-C Apple audio adapter is flimsy, only comes in standard 3.5 mm TRS, and there is no USB-A adapter included. It is also available in a Lightning version.

Under the Hood…

The Odyssey HD features the Realtek ALC4042 chip, introduced in 2018. Typically, and against all urban myths, a dac chip does not tell you anything about a dongle’s sound. Different dongles with the same dac ship do sound completely different in almost all cases [as discussed here].

This is different in this case, as the ALC4042 is an SoC, a “System on Chip”, hosting both the digital analog converter and the headphone amplifier. You can purchase this SoC on Shopee, Tobao, or aliexpress. The current bulk price is about $4.50 per piece (I saw the iPhone 5s’ for $3.50 audio circuit on ebay ).

An SoC leaves the audio engineer very little room for tweaking. For example, he/she cannot add code (for re-clocking etc.) so that any two dongles with the ALC4042 will essentially perform alike or at least very similarly.

Power Consumption

I my 3h battery drain test of several dongles under identical conditions, the Apple audio adapter had by far the lowest consumption on my iPhone 5S, the Odyssey HD consumed about 2.5 times as much.

Power Consumption Test: Parameters and full Raw Results of more Dongles

I tested the power consumption of several portable headphone amps connected to my iPhone 5S. The conditions were as identical as possible: 3 h test, volume calibrated to 85 dB  ± 0.5 dB white noise with Dayton microphone, no sim card, BT off, no other apps open; network on, 32 Ω Blon BL-03 iem, Genesis’s Supper’s Ready (from the Seconds Out album) played in an endless loop.

The iPhone’s battery was fully charged at the start of the test and the remaining charge was measured thereafter. The result is shown in the table below. Since the tests were performed at different times and considering the ongoing battery deterioration, the results have to be seen with a grain of salt.

[collapse]

Sound

Equipment used: Macbook Air, iPhone SE (1st gen.); Sennheiser HD 600; JVC HA-FDX-1 @ 32Ω; Sennheiser IE 300 @ 16Ω.

Let’s have a look at the well established Apple dongle first. …Neutral, clear, clean and very precise. Basically as audibly transparent, good-sounding and clean-sounding to my ears as it gets. Precise and tight bass reproduction with sensitive multi-BA in-ears.

In comparison, the Odyssey HD is more powerful and therefore able to drive power-hungrier headphones or iems than the Apple dongle. It is also bassier and therefore not neutral. However, users report a hiss above 11 kHz with sensitive iems. Even company CEO “Wild Lee” admits to a high noise floor.

Iems with low impedance, let’s say 16 Ω, may not get enough current and sound muddy at the low end [the underlying physics is discussed here]. 32 Ω iems work fine. Attack is pretty soft, the Odyssey lacks that brittle crispness of the Apple dongle and it has a fairly narrow soundstage in comparison. The Apple does not distort with low impedance iems as it draws much less current, and it has the cleaner midrange and better controlled treble.

Both dongles are aching under the 300 Ω load of the Sennheiser HD 600 headphones. The Odyssey HD amplifies louder but its attack is softer than the Apple’s, which is crisper while playing quieter. But, let’s face it, none of the two is well suited for running power-hungry headphones.

Throwing the $200 AudioQuest DragonFly Red into the mix: it excels with better imaging, better dynamics, and a richer sound than the two current protagonists. Even the $100 Helm Bolt is far superior over both Apple and Odyssey: it has a nicer tone colour, a sweeter top end, and is overall more homogenous sounding, albeit leaner and less punchy than the DragonFly Red.

But, the Odyssey is still MUCH better sounding than my MacBook’s integrated audio circuit.

Concluding Remarks

Well, there is no $10 miracle in this world, sadly. The Venture Electronics Odyssey HD is a well-built and decent sounding dongle that may not justify its current hype, but you can very well listen to music with it. It may not even beat the [probably heavily subsidized] Apple audio adapter in most respects but it provides more amplification power and has a more robust haptic.

At $10 these competitors are affordable enough so that you can pick them up both for your own testing.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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Disclaimer

The VE Odyssey HD was provided unsolicited by Venture Electronics for my analysis. I thank them for that.

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You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

The post VE Odyssey HD Review – Taking Bites Out Of The Apple? appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Cons — No automatic power off; bass boost at too low a frequency to be effective; fixed cables; sound relies to a large extent on source dac; non-serviceable battery (planned obsolescence).

Executive Summary

The Helm DB12 is a powerful portable, battery-operated inline headphone amplifier that serves the sole purpose of adding 12 dB of linear gain to your audio signal (plus an optional independent 6 dB linear bass boost) in numerous applications.

Introduction

Helm Audio are a British-American company established in 2017. Their Helm DB12 amp was introduced at CES Las Vegas in 2020. At a time where integrated headphone dac/amps (“dongles”) flood the market, the Helm DB12 is a bit of an oddball device: old school connectivity paired with the latest THX amplification technology.

Helm are cooperating on the DB12 with THX, a company established by George Lucas in 1983 to make his Star Wars movies sound better. THX is currently owned by Razer, a Hong Kong manufacturer focusing on devices for gamers,

The rather light Helm DB12 lamp looks a bit rudimentary with its oversized buttons and it is similar in size and shape to a Bounty chocolate bar. Audio enthusiasts slaved to their desktop stacks may roll their eyes….but never judge a book by its cover. Bottom line: it works, and it does so very well.

The Helm DB12 is marketed primarily as a mobile device, to be used with your phone or tablet. And this this works very well, there are so many other uses one could think of. Stay tuned.

Specifications

Physical Things

Physicals according to the Manufacturer

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In the box are the amplifier unit with fixed cables, a USB-C charge cable, a roomy carrying bag, and the usual paperwork. The body is made of brushed aluminium, the inline-remote buttons and the on-off-bass slider are made of plastic. The unit is rather light and sits well in my hand. The large buttons make operation easy.

Functionality and Operation

What It does

• connects to the 3.5 mm audio socket of your phone/tablet or computer…actually of any device. Also works with OTG/Apple lightning adapter
• 3.5 mm sockets include airplane entertainment system, car stereo, gaming consols, dap, iPod, discman, walkman, radio…
• is purely analog: operates independently on software and drivers…picks up any signal and adds a linear gain of 12 dB and, if desired, and independent 6 dB of bass boost
• works plug’n’play, no drivers needed
• allows for phone signal to pass through its TRRS connectors and adds volume to your phone calls
• conserves phone battery
• saves iPhone users from buying the pricey Apple camera adapter
• creates space on the go: no bulky device strapped onto the phone with rubber bands
• has no dropouts as with dongles (when moving around in one’s pocket)

What It does not

• no digital to analog signal conversion
• cannot be connected to a USB port

The Helm DB12 is essentially a self-powered headphone cable extension that amplifies and upgrades your source device. You could also say it is an oversized inline remote with integrated amp that reminds me of the control panel of my wife’s heating blanket. And it works like a regular inline remote that is part of many Sennheiser and AKG headphone/earphone cables.

When the Helm DB12 is switched off or out of battery, your headphone and source device still work as it it was not connected at all, thanks to the TRRS connector. This is very useful for A/B-ing. TRRS also comes in handy for phone calls, which do not work with USB dongles.

The Helm DB12 has two main purposes: to amplify your source’s analog signal and to make it sound better. As a side effect, it preserves/conserves your phone’s battery.

The Helm DB12 has an on/off switch that, if moved one step further, activates a bass boost. Of the large three buttons on top of the device (ergonomically useful as easily usable inside your pocket), the middle one is start/stop/forth/back and the two outer ones are volume up/down (just like the Apple remotes). When increasing/decreasing volume with these buttons, the slider on my iPhone moves up/down accordingly.

And that’s it. Or not. The Helm DB12 is meant to be connected to your phone/table or computer via their 3.5 mm socket – the simplest plug-n-ply possible. iPhone users will save their money on the Apple camera adapter.

But that’s still not where it stops. The fact that there is no dac, the Helm DB12 has distinct advantages: you can connect it to essentially any device with a 3.5 mm headphone jack, be it an iPod Classic, a walkman/discman, even a normal FM radio or a car stereo, or an airline entertainment system. The options are unlimited to combine the latest THX amplification technology even with your vintage devices – anything with a 3.5 mm socket.

You can also use the Helm DB12 in combination with in-line with portable headphone amps like the Helm Bolt. A/B-ing is easy: just switch the Helm DB12 on and off.

The remote buttons only worked properly when connected directly to my iPhone’s 3.5 mm socket of the Apple Audio Adapter. When putting a portable dac/amp between phone and Helm DB12, the volume will have to be controlled from the phone. The DB12 amp still adds a constant 12 dB linear gain.

When connected to my Mac’s headphone jack, the 3-button remote is not fully functional. Both middle and “+” button only work for start/stop/forward/back functions. The “-” is disabled.

Limitations of the Inline Control Buttons according to Helm

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Practical mobile Use

The Helm DB12 is marketed as a mobile headphone amplifier so I primarily tested it with my phone on the road. The device essentially works as a three-button remote on steroids. It is practically more and add-on to the headphone than to the source device. It is like lowering the output impedance and increasing the sensitivity of power-hungry headphones.

Whenever you plug the Helm DB12 in, it works – no software needed. The large buttons are extremely handy for adjusting volume and and forwarding tracks in my pocket. No need to fiddle with the phone’s screen and no need to strap a portable amp onto it with rubber rings…which has been awkward at best of times.

Operating the volume buttons moves the iPhone’s volume slider up and down, too. The Helm DB12 essentially just adds a constant power of 12 dB and relegates the iPhone’s amp to pre-amp, in analogy to a power amplifier in your home stereo.

I could add a dongle such as the Helm Bolt between phone and Helm DB12 to use as dac/pre-amp, but this would block the phone’s signal. This combination drives power-hungry full-sized earphones of 300-600 Ω impedance well.

But while this scenario is rather unrealistic in mobile use, it is good practice when working with computers to improve on their built-in poor-quality dacs. To give you an idea of the unlimited use of the Helm DB12, please watch my video.

Amplification

The Helm DB12 received its name from the 12 dB of linear volume again it adds to any audio signal. This is rather strong considering that perceived volume doubles every 10 dB, if I have not snoozed in physics completely.

Independently, a 6 dB bass boos can be added, too. THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier technology stands for almost zero distortion.

Battery Life

The Helm DB12 contains a non-serviceable lithium-ion battery with a 6-8 hrs of battery life. This is beneficial on the road as it conserves battery life of the device “phone” it is connected to.

And if the battery runs empty, the Helm DB12 just acts as cable extension without any adverse effect on the operation. It can be fast-charged in 2.5 hrs via USB-C with any 5V charger.

Unfortunately, the Helm DB12 will have to be disposed of once the battery has been consumed.

Sound

The sound obviously depends on the source dac and the DB12 combined. It therefore varies across devices it is connected to. But the intended use is with a phone (or similar) – and I tested the Helm with my iPhone SE (1st generation), connected weather via the Apple Audio Adapter or directly plugged into the headphone jack – made no sonic difference.

I used it with some 60-70 Ω headphones such as the Koss HPH30i, Koss Porta Pro and Sennheiser HD 25, all mid-sized headphones that are realistically used on the road in real life, and that are exceeding the 50 Ω recommended max. impedance manageable by phones.

The Helm DB12 adds life to the comparatively brittle Apple-only sound – and a lot of it. Everything becomes wider, bigger, swifter, air and a sense of ease are added, soundstage and headroom are greatly enlarged, space is added between instruments, and the sound becomes clearer and sparklier.

It is as if you transferred your live concert from a smokey bar into a big stadium (around your head). Sound is/remains natural, not analytical or sterile.

This effect also works with <50 Ω earphones (average impedance is 32 Ω), so the Helm adds to the sound even when its strong power is not needed upon, just by downgrading the Apple’s amp to a pre-amp.

But this “stretching” and added “fluffiness” of the musical image also means sacrificing some heft/punch, density/note weight, depth, and intimacy. The amplification is essentially distortion free, hiss-free, and it is linear. There is no bass boost or metallic upper edge, the whole experience is rather smooth.

The situation is different when plugging the Helm DB12 into my MacBook Air with its limited-quality built-in dac. According to the motto “garbage in, garbage out”, the DB12 simply amplifies the Mac’s dull sound – and therefore needs the support of a dongle’s better-quality dac in series with the DB12.

Helm offer the Bolt portable dac-amp (which I don’t have) so I mainly used the AudioQuest DragonFly Red to take over the signal decoding from my MacBook. This worked well even with full-sized headphones used preferably at home such as the 300 Ω Sennheiser HD 600. And since essentially any dongle above $80 drives a 300 Ω headphone, the Helm brings this up to 600 Ω.

The basic sound signature could be varied using different dongles (e.g. EarMen Sparrow or Eagle, Shanling UA2, Earstudio HUD 100, AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt, AudioQuest DragonFly Red) but the principal underlying effects as described with the iPhone remained.

A word on the bass boost: switching it on adds an independent 6 dB bass gain. This did not do it for me as the gain is at a frequency too low to add an effective punch to the low end for my taste. No comparison to the zippy Xbass in the ifi Audio hip-dac.

Concluding Remarks

The Helm DB12 is a versatile amp for on the road improving the sound of my phone, particularly with less sensitive headphones and iems, while being easy to operate in my pocket.

At home, it upgrades the dongles on my computer for driving particularly power-hungry headphones up to 600 Ω. But as the Helm DB12 amplifies any device with a 3.5 mm headphone socket, its applicability knows no limits.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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Disclaimer

The Helm DB12 war provided by Helm Audio for my review – and I thank them for that. You find the product page here.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

Gallery

The post HELM DB12 AAAMP Portable Headphone Amplifier Review – The Sky’s Your Limit appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Introduction

The world of portable music changed forever with the arrival of the first iPod in 2001. But it took earphone manufacturers beyond the 2008 release of the first iPhone to offer some premium alternatives to the stock buds at a grand scale. And where are we today in terms of iems? Yes, more or less saturated.

With the advent of the AudioQuest DragonFly Black v1.5 portable headphone amp/dac in 2016, any smartphone could be upgraded to a premium music player (albeit some dap fans may disagree). v1.5 was the first “dongle” to draw so little current that it could be sourced by a phone’s battery (and it still leads the pack in this respect, jointly with the Dragonfly Red).

Again, it took a while for manufacturers catch on, but the market is currently flooded with tens of models so that it is difficult to keep the overview.

Purpose of this Guide

This writeup is foremost a small encyclopedia for my own comparison purposes and will always be work in progress. Feel free to bookmark this page and come back from time to time. I do not claim that it offers complete information – and it is highly subjective as it caters to my personal preferences.

In the future, I will not only add more models but also update and refine the individual entries. I hope it will grow into a representative database with time.

In Q1 2020, mostly by coincidence, I started having a closer look at dongles – and analyzed some. I focused on listening while ignoring tech specs and chip models as manufacturers report amplification power inconsistently…and not always correctly. All of the models tested work even with my power hungry 300 Ω Sennheiser HD 600 headphones, so the details are irrelevant for my daily usage.

In this guide, I also do not worry about special features offered in the individual models, build, drivers, digital filters, Hi Res decoding, or operation…which is your homework. All I focus on in my descriptions is perceived sound quality. But I care about battery consumption – we don’t want to run out of “juice” on the road – which is listed independently below.

Note: when looking at a dongle, don’t forget one of its main purposes: preserving portability. Fixed cables (typically with USB-c connector) can be awkward for use with iPhones and may result in cable snakes. And good adapters are pricey and cumbersome. I am hesitant with dongles featuring fixed cables – and for good reasons.

If you have tested these models and arrive at a different opinion, please drop a line in the comments section.

Spoiler alert: I identified clear trends in my results that are not surprising:

• The pricier models sound better, sorry for the lack of fantasy. No, they may not have stronger amplification or better features but they sound better.
• It is the other way round with value: the cheaper models offer better bang for the buck.

But to keep you happy: all of the models currently tested are very good in their own way and and each one of them is worthy to be used even with premium iems. Yep, I am mainly evaluating these dongles with iems (and not headphones): both are most portable.

When it comes to value, I intuitively compare to what you get in terms of iem for your money…and feel the dongles fare generally better. Nevertheless do many believe, a good dongle should not cost more than $100.

Equipment used: MacBook Air; BQEYZ Summer (32 Ω), Sennnheiser IE300/400 (16Ω)…this list will also grow to consolidate my findings.

The Lineup

I have no humour and arrange my list according to price from high to low.

AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt ($300)

US design. The smoothie of the dongle world and the dongle with the best sound quality by a long shot. Has simply the biggest note weight, most natural/organic sonic reproduction, and best musicality. It is not its power or resolution or staging that puts it ahead (by $100), it just sounds better. Voices are richer and fuller compared to the other models below.

For people who do not want to make compromises. Received criticism for being overpriced by people looking at the specs/measurements only. You pay for the sound quality, not sound quantity. Output is the same as in the DragonFly Red. Review.

AudioQuest DragonFly Red ($200)

Is somewhat more dynamic and edgier than the Cobalt. In fact, it is the most dynamic dongle I have tested. The most visceral of this lineup. Both DragonFlys have a slight bass boost compared to the other models. Vocals are still richer and fuller than in the Sparrow and HUD 100, but not as smooth as in the Cobalt, which is simply richer sounding. Has by far the smallest battery draw of the lineup. Review.

EarMen Sparrow ($200)

European design. Features two circuits (3.5 mm single ended and 2.5 mm balanced) of which the balanced excels and offers the widest staging and biggest headroom of the competition, beating both DragonFlys in this respect (you need a balanced cable to use this circuit). But the midrange reproduction is not quite a rich as in the DragonFly Red…though pretty impressive. Natural sound.

The Sparrow is more linear, less bassy, and less punchy than the Red and cleaner through the whole frequency range. Review.

EarMen Eagle ($130)

Features essentially the same sound as the Sparrow’s single-ended circuit. Less bassy and with slightly leaner vocals department than the DragonFly Red. Comes close to the “Red” in terms of sound quality, but has a substantially higher battery drain. Natural sound. The lowest-price premium sounding dongle imo. Review.

Earstudio HUD100 ($120)

Korean design. Offers two single-ended circuits with different output powers and three digital filters (I used the “bypass” filter for testing). A bit less dynamic than the Sparrow but very linear with no elevations and a nice wide, stage.

The HUD100 is the most polite of the lot, which is a good thing for taming punchy iems. Received a lot of flack on drop.com for being overpriced, which is simply not warranted. It is the best deal of this selection and worth every penny imo.

Gains richness and depth with the AudioQuest Jitterbug FMJ. HUD100 Review.

This is only a start. There are some upscale favourites that were highly recommended to me such as the Luxury & Precision W2 and the Lotoo Paw S1…but I have yet to get my hands on these. Co-blogger KopiOkaya auditioned these and let me know that they sound technically good but not musically good , and that the DragonFly Cobalt (he bought one in Q1 2021) sounds more natural.

Power Consumption

This is an important aspect when using the dongle on the go. The DragonFly Red wins the “power saving” contest comfortably.

Power Consumption Test: Parameters and Results

I tested the power consumption of several portable headphone amps connected to my iPhone 5S. The conditions were as identical as possible: 3 h test, volume calibrated to 85 dB  ± 0.5 dB white noise with Dayton microphone, no sim card, BT off, no other apps open; network on, 32 ohm Blon BL-03 iem, Genesis’s Supper’s Ready (from the Seconds Out album) played in an endless loop.

The iPhone’s battery was fully charged at the start of the test and the remaining charge was measured thereafter. The result is shown in the table below. Since the tests were performed at different times and considering the ongoing battery deterioration, the results have to be seen with a grain of salt.

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Sneak Peak into the <$100 Realm

That’s where the biggest crowding is, currently, although it appears to shift toward the $150 – $200 category with the recent releases by interesting companies (Astell & Kern, Razer…). Of the sub-$100 dongles I can really only offer the Shanling UA2 right now, which is not any less powerful than the >$100 models listed above, sounds natural, features a second balanced circuit and the same dac chip as the DragonFly Cobalt (and even more power).

But where it falls short in comparison even to the (admittedly much pricier) Earstudio HUD 100 is its less linear response, particularly its leaner, sharper midrange and elevated bass.

This is in line with my observations that the more expensive models offer a richer, thicker, fuller, smoother sound. That said the Shanling UA2 offers tremendous value alone for its natural sound. Review.

Concluding Remarks

My preliminary observations (based on the few available data points) appear to correlate somewhat with desktop equipment: more money buys you a better sounding dac. But where it does not compare well is the amp part, at least in terms of power. You can get a lot for less in this respect. Your choice will depend on your budget and personal preference.

Oh, and the EarMen Eagle is about to arrive for analysis. And the Helm Bolt is also somewhere in limbo.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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The post A Simplified Personal Guide To Small Portable Headphone DAC/Amps ($100-300) v0.9 appeared first on Music For The Masses.

All our DAC & Amp Related Articles

ALL OUR REVIEWS (headphones, earphones, dacs/amps, daps, bluetooth, clean power & USB, microphones, cables/adapters, eartips, earpads, noise insulation): here

Model labelled with “*” are on our Wall of Excellence.

Integrated DAC/amps

Simplified Guide to Small Portable DAC/amps (Jürgen Kraus)

Apple Computer’s Internal Audio Circuit [iMac, MacBooks] (Jürgen Kraus)

Apogee Groove* (Alberto Pittaluga)

Apogee Groove: Technical Considerations (Jürgen Kraus)

Apogee Groove Anniversary Edition (Alberto Pittaluga)

Apple Audio Adapter* (Jürgen Kraus)

Appleオーディオアダプタ（Lightning版、USB-C版とも）* (Jürgen Kraus)

Apple Kopfhöreranschluss Adapter* (Jürgen Kraus)

Astell & Kern PEE51 (Jürgen Kraus)

Audirect Atom 2 (Loomis Johnson)

AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt* (1) (Jürgen Kraus)

AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt* (2) (Alberto Pittaluga)

AudioQuest DragonFly Red (Jürgen Kraus)

BGVP T01s (Loomis Johnson)

Colorfly CDA-1MP (Durwood)

Colorfly CDA-M2 (Jürgen Kraus)

Conexant (CX-Pro) CX31993 (Loomis Johnson)

Cozoy Takt-C (1) (Jürgen Kraus)

Cozoy Takt-C (2) (Durwood)

E1DA 9038SG3 and 9038D (Alberto Pittaluga)

ddHifi TC35i (Jürgen Kraus)

EarMen Angel (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)

EarMen Eagle (Jürgen Kraus)

EarMen Sparrow* (1) (Jürgen Kraus)

EarMen Sparrow* (2) (Biodegraded)

EarMen TR-Amp* (Jürgen Kraus)

Earstudio HUD100 (Jürgen Kraus)

Helm Audio Bolt (Jürgen Kraus)

Helm Bolt and Shanling UA1 compared (Biodegraded)

Hidizs S2 (Loomis Johnson)

Hidizs S3 Pro (Loomis Johnson)

Hidisz S-9, Cozoy Takt-C and Meizu MasterHifi USB Dac/Amps (Loomis Johnson)

Hidizs S9 PRO (Jürgen Kraus)

Hidizs XO (1) (Jürgen Kraus)

Hidizs XO (2) (Durwood)

Hidizs XO (3) (Loomis Johnson)

Hilidac Audirect Atom Pro (Jürgen Kraus)

Hilidac Audirect Beam 2SE (Kazi Muhbab Mutakabbir)

iBasso DC-05 DAC/amp (Loomis Johnson)

ifi Audio Go bar (1) (Alberto Pittaluga)

ifi Audio Go bar (2) Jürgen Kraus)

ifi Audio Go bar (Deutsch) Jürgen Kraus)

ifi Audio GO blu (Alberto Pittaluga)

ifi Audio GO link (1) (Alberto Pittaluga)

ifi Audio GO link (2) (Jürgen Kraus)

ifi Audio Gryphon (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)

ifi Audio hip-dac* (Jürgen Kraus)

ifi Audio hip-dac2 (1) (Kazi Muhbab Mutakabbir)

ifi Audio hip-dac2 (2) (Alberto Pittaluga)

ifi Neo IDSD2 (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)

iFi Audio Micro iDSD Signature* (Alberto Pittaluga)

ifi Audio nano iDSD Black Label (Alberto Pittaluga)

ifi Audio Neo iDSD (Kazi Muhbab Mutakabbir)

iKKO Heimdalir ITB03 (Kazi Muhbab Mutakabbir)

IKKO ITM1 Zerda (1) (Baskingshark)

IKKO ITM1 Zerda (2) (Alberto Pittaluga)

IKKO ITM02 Zerda (Loomis Johnson)

Khadas Tone2 Pro (Jürgen Kraus)

Moondrop Dawn (Durwood)

Questyle CMA Fifteen* (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)

Questyle CMA Twelve (Durwood)

Questyle M15* (1) (Jürgen Kraus)

Questyle M15* (2) (Alberto Pittaluga)

Questyle M15* (3) Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir

Qudelix-5K* (Jürgen Kraus)

Shanling UA1 (Jürgen Kraus)

Shanling UA1 and Helm Bolt compared (Biodegraded)

Shanling UA2 (Jürgen Kraus)

Shanling UA2 Plus (1) (Durwood

Shanling UA2 Plus (2) (Loomis Johnson)

Shanling UA3 (Durwood)

Shanling UP4 (Durwood)

SMSL C200 (Durwood)

SMSL DO400 (1) (Loomis Johnson)

SMSL DO400 (2) (Durwood)

TempoTec March III M3 (Jürgen Kraus)

TempoTec Serenade X Digital Desktop Player (Jürgen Kraus)

Tempotec Sonata BHD (Jürgen Kraus)

Tempotec Sonata HD Pro (1) (Jürgen Kraus)

Tempotec Sonata HD Pro (2) (Baskingshark)

Tempotec Sonata HD II vs Tempotec Sonata E35 (Durwood)

TRI TK-2 (KopiOkaya)

Truthear SHIO (1) (Durwood)

Truthhear SHIO (2) (Loomis Johnson)

Venture Electronics Odyssey HD (Jürgen Kraus)

Xumee USB-C DAC (Loomis Johnson)

Digital Analog Converters (DACs)

EarMen Tradutto (Jürgen Kraus)

EarMen Tradutto (Deutsch) (Jürgen Kraus)

SMSL C100 (Loomis Johnson)

SMSL DO100 (Durwood)

SMSL DO200 MKII (Jürgen Kraus)

SMSL DO300 (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)

SMSL SU-6 (Loomis Johnson)

SMSL SU-9 DAC/Preamp I (Loomis Johnson)

SMSL SU-9 DAC/Preamp II (Durwood)

Headphone/Power Amplifiers

Ampapa A1 (Durwood)

Burson Funk (Jürgen Kraus)

Burson V6 Classic (vs. V6 Vivid) opamps (Jürgen Kraus)

Cayin C9 Portable Amplifier (Kazi Muhbab Mutakabbir)

EarMen CH-Amp (Jürgen Kraus)

EarMen CH-Amp (Deutsch) (Jürgen Kraus)

Fosi Audio BT30D Pro (Durwood)

Fosi Audio P3 (Durwood)

Fosi Audio TB10D (upgraded) (Durwood)

Fosi V3 Amplifier (1) (Durwood)

Fosi V3 Amplifier (2) (Loomis Johnson)

Fosi Audio ZA3 (Durwood)

Helm DB12 AAAMP Portable Headphone Amp (Jürgen Kraus)

ifi Audio Zen Can Amplifier (Kazi Muhbab Mutakabbir)

ifi Audio Zen Can Amplifier (Alberto Pittaluga)

ifi Audio Zen Phono RIAA Preamplifier (Biodegraded) 

Pairing the JVC HA-FDX1 earphone with the Earstudio HUD100, ifi Hip Dac, and Tempotec Sonata HD PRO

SMSL AO200MKII (Loomis Johnson)

SMSL A300 Power Amplifier (Loomis Johnson)

SMSL HO100 (Durwood)

SMSL SH-6 (Loomis Johnson)

SMSL SH-9 Balanced Headphone Amp (1) (Loomis Johnson)

SMSL SH-9 Balanced Headphone Amp (2) (Durwood)

The post Our 118 DAC & Amp Reviews appeared first on Music For The Masses.

Supercrush, SODO Pop—hard edged, jangly guitar band sounds exactly like classic Teenage Fanclub, albeit without the Scottish accents. Which, since Teenange Fanclub hasn’t sounded like itself for years, is a good thing. (“I Cant Stop Loving You”; “Get It Right”).

Young Jesus, s/t—haunting postpunk from LA variously evokes Talk Talk and shoegaze, while  the principal croons uncannily like Jeff Buckley. The long, meandering songs and poetic, stream-of-conscious lyrics are oddly hypnotic, though they keep you off guard with some jagged metal passages. This is a real find.

Phoebe Bridgers, Punisher—this sort of femme altfolk definitely ain’t my genre, and she’s neither musical nor big-voiced enough to grab me. She is, however, a brilliant lyricist—sardonic, fearless and funny—and this is worth the megahype if only for “Moon Song” (“we hate Tears in Heaven/but it’s sad his baby died”).

Holy Wave, Interloper—spacey neopsychedelics mine the same Spacemen 3-meets-Krautrock vein as peers like Wooden Shjps, but are hookier and more tuneful, with well-crafted songs, understated vox and a keen sense of dynamics.

Orange Humble Band, Assorted Creams—something of an underground supergroup founded by Aussie Daryl Mather, who enlisted powerpop luminaries like Ken Stringfellow and Mitch Easter to sing his unfailingly catchy tunes. Strangely soulful in spots, though there’s an Americana, countryish vibe to much of this, while songs like “Fanclub Requiem” and “Little Picture Story Book” have the feel of classics. Impecable production.

Eleventh Dream Day, Beet—long running Chicago altrockers in the vein of Yo La Tengo or the Feelies have been making good-to-excellent records since the late 80s, of which this is probably the earthiest. Rick Rizzo is a good shredder and a serviceable frontman, but it’s his ex-wife/drummer who writes and sings the best stuff here, like “There’s This Thing” and “Rose of Jericho”. 

John Prine, “Pink Cadillac” the venerable folk songwriter wasn’t known as a hard rocker or an interpretative singer (or, for that matter, as much of a singer) but here he covers classic rockabilly stompers like “Ubangi Stomp” and “Baby Let’s Play House” along with a handful of originals like “Saigon,” which sound just as authentic. Surprisingly raw and raucous; his Covid death this year is particularly irksome.

Palace Brothers, “There is no One What Will Take Care of You”—in the wrong hands this kind of rootsy, intentionally primitive alt-country can sound pandering, and I haven’t really connected with the rest of Will Oldham’s lengthy oeuvre. This debut, however, is something of a lo-fi masterpiece, with his cracked warble somehow meshing perfectly with melodies so primal you wonder why you’ve never heard ‘em before. (“Long Before”).

Flaming Lips, “American Head”— I’ve always admired their ambition, but found most of their records since 1993’s “Transmissions from the Satellite Heart” to be generally forgettable. This latest retains the usual ork-pop template but, however, is surprisingly songful with wistful (and deeply disturbing) autobiographical tunes and real hooks (“Assassins of Youth”, “My Religion is You”).

Population II—“A La O Terre”—young French Canuck trio play a jammy, spacey sort of prog in the manner of Dungen, although I also hear a lot of exploratory, avant/ jazzy 60’s influences like Soft Machine and Can. They can play their instruments, but are more about atmosphere and feel than virtuosity, with enough heavy/noisy passages to awaken your inner metalhead.  I’ve had this on repeat for a week now.

Smashing Pumpkins, “Siamese Dream”—I have real issues with Billy Corgan’s mewling, hyper-emotive voice. Fortunately for him, this is a guitar record. Sonics/songwriting are beyond reproach. (“Rocket;” “Cherub Rock”).

Smashing Pumpkins, “Cyr”—the virtual antithesis of the aforesaid, there’s barely a guitar to be heard on this synth-laden New Wave horror.  A real singer might have mitigated some of the damage, but I’m not that convinced the songs are there, either. Lousy album cover.

Strum and Thrum: The American Jangle Underground 1983-1987—an unexpected gift for music geeks—28 tunes from the innumerable Rickenbacker-toting bands who emerged in the wake of REM. A few of these (Windbreakers, Absolute Grey) got some critical love (if not record sales) back in the day; others like The Darrows and Vandykes are wholly unknown even to obsessives like me, but are no less worthy. Much like 80’s Sarah and Flying Nun, there’s a shared ethos to these bands—melodic, pastoral and hooky as hell—and this is a nice counterpart to the glossy New Wave and heavy punk of its era.

The Gun Club, “Miami”—I’d previously underrated this psychobilly/cowpunk outfit,  who were  indifferently recorded and lacked the musical chops  of X or the campy charisma of the Cramps. On re-listen, however, they  were actually pretty great, with lotsa wild slide, some ace tunes like “Mother of Earth” and “Carry Home” and an intense lead singer who wails like a cross between Johnny Cash and the Wipers’ Greg Sage.

Vincent Gallo, “When”—gentle, ethereal balladry is the last thing you’d expect from the oddball filmmaker/actor, but this is haunting stuff. The best parts of this are just his guitar and quavery, almost feminine vox (think Jose Gonzalez or Bon Iver), though he periodically throws in minimalist keys or electronics for color. Perfect listening for before bedtime or after a few anisettes.

Verbow, “Chronicles”—the principal’s an excellent musician and Cobainesque singer best defined by his idolatrous worshipof Bob Mould, who produced here. First-rate tunes like “Holiday” and “Fan Club” would fit perfectly on a Sugar record, although the liberal deployment of cello gives a nice symphonic swell to these proceedings. 

Guided by Voices, “Do The Collapse”—a Ric Ocasek production reviled by purists who resent their transformation from shambolic lo-fi rock to polished, New Wave-y professionalism. I find it oddly endearing—Robert Pollard’s lyrics have never been more inscrutable, but Doug Gillard’s guitar cuts through all the studio trickery and the whole thing sounds good. “Teenage FBI” and “Surgical Focus” rank with the very best of Pollard’s 57,000 or so compositions.

Califone, “Roots & Crowns”—atmospheric blend of postrock, ambient, folk and blues from longtime Chicago scenesters. They have a unique ability to shift from spacey to thrashy to earthy without sounding schizophrenic. “The Orchids” is a perfect song.

Spinanes, “Manos”—90’s guitar/drum duo played a restrained sorta shoegaze/dream pop dominated by the sultry alto and interesting, cryptic tunes of Rebecca Gates. I like how they leave a lot of space between instruments without sacrificing power; occasional dissonance and guitar skronk keeps this from fading into mere pretty background. (“Dangle,” “I love That Party”)

Flamin’ Groovies, “At Full Speed—The Complete Sire Recordings”—after the departure of co-founder Roy Loney they mutated from Stonesy garage rockers to jangly Byrds/Beatles imitators. Here they do a surfeit of straight covers of their idols (along with an inspired version of “Werewolves of London”) along with a bunch of “originals” which, comically sophomoric lyrics notwithstanding, sound just as tuneful. Derivative as hell, but they have a fantastic guitar sound and this is like crack for power pop fans. (“Tell Me Again,” “You Tore Me Down”).

Rolling Stones, “Goat’s Head Soup (2020 Deluxe Remaster)”– as I understand it, a strung-out Keith left Mick to do the heavy lifting here, and coming off the visceral, cathartic “Exile,” this slick, mainstream follow-up can’t help but disappoint. That said, Mick does a yeoman’s job here–“Dancing with Mr. D” and “Heartbreaker” are mere product,  but he nails a bevy of uncharacteristically understated, ephemeral ballads like “Winter” and “Coming Down Again”, while the greasy Chuck Berry rewrites “Silver Train” and “Star Star” prove they haven’t lost their mojo. The demos and and bonus tracks on Disc 2 aren’t revelatory, but they include a tough live set, which, if nothing else, shows how much they’d miss Mick Taylor.

Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians, “Fegmania”—the  insects-and-ghosts fixations get repetitive, and unlike his idol Syd Barrett, his weirdness is more shtick than genetic. Yet like Barrett his songcraft is impeccable, and I’ve always envied his chiming, folk-influenced guitar. “Heaven” makes a fitting requiem for our dying planet.

Dramarama, “Stuck inWonderamaland”— my vote for the best American band of the late 80s (you thought I’d say the Pixies?). Majordomo John Easdale’s brilliant, concise tunes fuse the brainy decadence of  Lou Reed with the insular introspection of a Nick Drake, while the band rollicks like Mott or the NY Dolls. The FM classic “Last Cigarette” and the uncharacteristically Byrdsy  “Lullabye” are the obvious attention-getters, but it’s the lower, slower “It’s Hardly Enough” and “Would You Like” that will haunt you eternally.

Small Faces, “Ogeden’s Nut Gone Flake”—according to Steve Marriott, although co-credited, he wrote all their big hits, while Ronnie Lane wrote the uncommercial weird stuff. On this disc, while straight ravers like “Son of A Baker” and “Afterglow” roar mightily, it’s the weird stuff that elevates this to classic status. The wacked-out rock opera on Side Two has held up a lot better than “Tommy” or “The Wall”.

PJ Harvey, “Dry: The Demos”—not that Chrissie Hynde or Courtney Love don’t rock as hard as any boy, but they needed their bands to put them over. PJ, on the other hand, has always been a wholly self-contained unit, and her voice and guitar dominate even her more lavishly arranged efforts. These skeletal, acoustic versions of her loud debut make up in intensity what they lack in volume and, if nothing else, reminds you how goods these songs were.

Terror of the Deep, “The A-Team”—all of a sudden there are innumerable bands channeling the Go-Betweens (Twerps, RVG, Rolling Blackouts, etc.), but these Kiwis, with a Robert Foster soundalike at the mike, are the best I’ve heard. Their lyrics lack the sheer poesy of their forefathers, but they have the feel down cold. 

Nick Lowe, “Jesus of Cool”—this hyper-clever, studio-gussied sort of English pop can sound smarmy in the wrong hands, but this is great stuff, mainly because he has an instinctive genius for three-chord melody. He’s funny, too (“Marie Provost;” “Little Hitler”), though he’s at his best when he plays it straight, as on the white reggae “No Reason” and the unexpectedly tender “Tonight.” Drummer/Rockpile cohort Terry Williams swings mightily throughout.

Let’s Active, “Big Plans for Everyone”—like Game Theory or the underrated Superdrag, Mitch Easter connects the dots between Abbey Road and Big Star. His adenoidal voice is an issue for some, but he’s an outstanding musician and producer who can throw a lot into the mix without cluttering the sound. “Badger” ranks with “Waterloo Sunset” or “God Only Knows” for sheer beauty.

Shoes, “Elektrafied”—their playing was merely serviceable, although they harmonized beautifully, and they sang almost exclusively about perfidious girlfriends, but they had an uncanny knack for the giant, crunchy pop hook. This box set contains the three major label discs released in the wake of their lo-fi DIY masterpiece Black Vinyl Shoes.  The first two are virtually flawless—recording with  big-name producers in an actual studio did little to temper their melodic genius, and tunes like “Only in My Sleep” and “Now and Then” are time-capsule worthy.  By the third disc, Boomerang, you can sense them struggling for commercial relevance, with slower tempos and some ill-advised synth flourishes, although “In Her Shadow” and “Under the Gun” are among their best. The live set included here is surprisingly ragged.

Catherine Wheel, “Ferment”—on the basis of their later American releases I had dismissed these shoegazey Brits as mere Swervedriver/Ride wannabes. This comparatively raw debut, however, is one of the best records I’ve heard of late, with furious-but-fluid twin guitars, a limber rhythm section and a heartwrenching crooner in Rob Dickinson, who commands the stage without over-singing. The lighter-waving power ballad “Black Metallic” is the obvious hit, but the ruder deep tracks shouldn’t be overlooked. 

Café Racer, “Shadow Talk”—Chicago neo-psychedelics purr like a tamer Tame Impala, although they also evoke the gloomy post-punk of 80s Brits like Echo and the Cure. They’re not especially songful , but they’re atmospheric as hell, with a lovely flowing guitar sound, and this would make a fitting soundtrack to the pending apocalypse. 

Bob Dylan, “Rough and Rowdy Ways”—the Nobel laurels seem to have inspired him, as this is his densest, most literate set of lyrics since the 80’s. His melodic gifts, unfortunately, seem to have waned—most of these tunes are generic jump-blues or pallid Tin Pan Alley balladry—while his voice has settled into an uninviting Tom Waits growl, all of which make this better absorbed as poetry than as popular music.

Neil Young, “Homegrown”—just-unearthed 1975 set proves that his discards are better than most major artists’ hits.  Recorded around the same time as Tonight’s the Night and Zuma, this is folkier and more introspective (and at times weirder), but no less worthy.  The closers “Little Wing” and “Star of Bethlehelm” pinch melodies from JJ Cale and Johnny Cash, respectively, but are lovely nonetheless.

Bottle Rockets, “Live in Heilbronn”—they’ve made some very good studio records, but their real milieu is the barroom, which makes this live German set a good starting point. Usually typecast as alt-country, they actually hew closer to vintage Skynyrd, with live-wire guitars  and one of the best writers in the genre in frontman Brian Henneman. The funny, wise  “1000 Car” and “Gotta Get Up” are working-class anthems for the ages.

Urge Overkill, “Saturation”—their retro hipster pose was annoying, and their creative peak was short, but this is a great album, with memorable songs and excellent, fat-free production. Miscast as grunge, they’re really closer in spirit to sinewy classic 70’s Stones or Bowie, while kitchy-but catchy power ballads like “Turn Your Back” wouldn’t sound out of place on a Boston record. (“Postive Bleeding;” “Bottle of Fur”).

Dangtrippers, “Days Between Stations”—80’s Iowa jangle pop trio didn’t stray far from the  REM-inspired template of peers like Dumptruck or Guadacanal Diary, but stand out for their inventive guitar solos, Byrdsy harmonies and  some really sharp tunes like “Masquerade” and the searing “When Time Runs Out”

Golden Palominos, “Vision of Excess”—something of an underground supergroup built around drummer Anton Fier and a rotating cast of guitarists (most notably Richard Thompson) and vocalists (Michael Stipe, Johnny Rotten, an inspired-sounding Jack Bruce and the superlative, previously unknown Syd Straw). Sort of a cross between artsy King Crimson prog and the driving pop of Moby Grape (whose “Omaha” is covered here);  despite the pedigree of the musicians, this is no mere exercise in virtuosity—the songs have real hooks and there’s enough skronky edges to keep this sounding fresh. (“Boy;” “Kind of True”).

The Jam, “In The City”—Pete Townsend recently complained in an interview about how hard it was to play with Entiswistle and Moon, whose lack of musical discipline left it to Townsend to hold the rhythm together. His acolyte Paul Weller had no such problem—his bassist and drummer stay locked-in even at their thrashiest. This debut isn’t breathtakingly original, but shows plenty of pop smarts and steers clear of the Grand Statements and over-earnestness that marred Weller’s later works. (“Art School”).

Fiona Apple, “Fetch the Bolt Cutters”—this has quickly been anointed a masterpiece (including a perfect 10 from Pitchfork), and while it’s not quite all that it is quite striking. Her sonic approach is very narrow—most of these tunes feature the same slow jazzy tempo with minimalist piano/bass/drums and soul sistah backing vox, and this can get wearying over the course of a whole album. However, she is a commanding vocal presence, even if she lacks the sheer lungpower of some of her peers, the angsty, psychosexual lyrics are supersmart, funny and frequently harrowing and she’s nothing if not her own woman. (“Ladies; “For Her”).

A.C. Newman, “The Slow Wonder”—his fizzy New Pornographers are something of a mixed bag for me, but these 11 concise, slightly off-kilter pop tunes are close to perfect. Usually (and fairly) compared to Todd Rundgren, though you can also hear the effortless melodicism of a Paul McCartney and the glammy flash of Hunky Dory-era Bowie in tunes like “Secretarial” or the sad, sweet  “Drink to Me.” 

Dark Blue, “Victory is Rated”—very Brit-sounding gothy garage postpunk from Pennsylvania band, with a ragged, crunchy guitar sound and a wondrously deep-voiced Peter Murphy soundalike at the mike. They won’t make you discard your Bauhaus and Joy Division records, but they have a real feel for the form and deserve props for keeping the postpunk flame aglow.

Lucinda Williams,  “Good Souls Better Angels”—never a cheery broad, her records since 2001’s Essence have grown progressively more somber and harder to listen to. This latest, however, is something of a reversal of course—a stripped down, surprisingly heavy bar band affair which is closer in spirit to Credence than it is to Hank Williams. A bit underwritten in spots—some of the tunes are mere recycled blues clichés—but she sounds wholly committed on tracks like “Bone of Contention” and can still rock damn hard for a 67-year old.

Lyres, “Lyres Lyres”—oft-imitated, never-surpassed garage rock framed around the plaintive wail and overdriven Farfisa of 60’s obsessive Jeff Connoly. He has a knack for finding and covering obscure gems (“I Love Her Still”), but his own songs are excellent and he’s an underrated singer who can do rude and raucous or tender and soulful with equal aplomb. “She Pays the Rent”, done both as a slow blues and a loud rave-up, is the bomb.

Kurt Vile, “Smoke Ring for My Halo”— oddly appealing freak-folk  from prolific stoner (and J. Macis soundalike), who also  contributed to the critically overpraised War on Drugs. Somewhat monochromatic in melodic approach—he tends to default to a sort of densely-strummed mid-tempo shuffle—but he’s got a rich ambient guitar sound and is an instinctive tunesmith who periodically puts down the bong long enough to pen an offhand classic like the title track or “Jesus Fever.” 

Pearl Jam, “Gigaton”—I sorta get why hipsters hate on PJ—too earnest, too commercial, too white—but even arch-nemesis Kurt Cobain acknowledged that they were nice people, and they do have a knack for the big dramatic singalong. This latest mostly eschews their grunge side in favor of a glossier, generic pop sound which betrays a curious lack of hooks and energy even on the stompers. The low-key, acoustic ballads towards the end (“Comes Then Goes;” “River Cross”), however, are awful purty.

Translator, “No time Like Now”—80s SF guitar band with a driving New Wavish sound somewhere between REM jangle and bright hooky fare like Duran Duran or the Cars. I don’t quite get the fey Brit accents, but they had two strong frontmen and a passel of sharp tunes ranging from the upbeat/anthemic (“Un-alone”) to the emotive/somber (“I Hear You Follow;” “I Love You”).

Strokes, “The New Abnormal”—these overage prepschoolers have been rewriting the same song since 2000, and the drummer and guitarist still haven’t absorbed much more than the rudiments. They are, however, nothing if not comfortable in their vacuity, and frontman Julian Casablancas (in fine falsetto here) exudes charisma. This latest is good for a sugar buzz,  with a nice loose swagger and a raw, almost punkish sound which screams out to be played really loud.

Scrawl, “Travel on, Rider”—forgotten femme trio played a smart, stripped-down sorta punk-pop reminiscent of early PJ Harvey (who also enlisted Steve Albini to produce). This is no mere riotgirl screamfest—the principal is a nuanced, highly expressive singer, bass riffs are slithery, and they have an innate sense of dynamics. Songs like “Good Under Pressure” and the oddly tender “Story Musgrave” are grabbers, but my fave is the thrashy “He Cleaned Up” (“…she took him back/he fucked up/she kicked him out”).

Cowboy Mouth, “Cowboys and Indians”— not the forgettable Louisiana roots-rockers of the same name, but rather NYC-based David Lichtenstein, who (from what little I’ve gleaned) is a former John Cale sideman and son of the pop artist Roy. With hiccupping rockabilly vocals, eerie simple synth lines and chiming guitars, this plays like a mélange of Murmur-era REM and off-kilter Devo-ish New Wave pop. Weird but original; songs like “Long Hard Ride” and “Indy Man” grab you like a stray coronavirus.

Black Pumas, s/t—70’s soul revivalists with an Al Green-soundalike at the mike. The songs hew so close to their influences as to veer towards parody, but they really know their way around the studio, with phunky rhythms and a virtuosic, psychedelicized guitar sound which gives an acid-rock vibe to the proceedings. Supposedly a shit-hot live band.

Stephen Malkmus, “Traditional Techniques”—not that Pavement wasn’t great, or influential, but their shambolic, too-cool-to-tune-my-guitar vibe could be a bit off-putting. Which makes it surprising that Malkamus’s solo outings have been so tightly constructed and professional-sounding. This latest eschews most of the guitar flash and rock-dynamics for a subdued acoustic sound somewhere between Beck and 60’s Britfolk ala Donovan.  This initially registered as melodically underwhelming, but on close listen songs like ShadowBanned and Amberjack show a surprising depth and resonance. Subtle but worthwhile.

Barbara Manning, “In New Zealand”—very talented indie-rock songwriter who, I’m absolutely convinced, would have been a major star if she looked more like, say, Carrie Underwood than Rosie O’Donnell. This set of moody, minimalist folkie tunes is collaboration with principals of some of the best Kiwi bands (Tall Dwarfs, Verlaines, Clean) and, unsurprisingly, sounds a great deal like classic Flying Nun, with insidious guitar hooks, poetic lyrics and an unforced, pastoral beauty.

Tame Impala, “The Slow Rush”—curiously popular Aussies have evolved from gutsy, Pink Floyd-inspired psychedelic guitarism  to a much more eclectic, pop-oriented sound.  With ubiquitous synths, trip-hop beats and other such studio trickery, this latest isn’t too far removed from the commercial electro-pap trotted out by the likes of MGMT or Of Montreal. Well manicured and well=performed, but I defy you to actually remember any of the songs.

Air, “Moon Safari”— I’m xenophobically contemptuous of the knob-twiddling Euro-electronic genre, which generally reminds me of the “Sprockets” parody on SNL. That said, this record is actually pretty great, with real melodies, lovely female vox and a broad pallet ranging from trip-hop to Krautrock to cheesy film scores, all impeccably produced and performed.  World-class bassline on “La Femme d’Argent;” 

T-Bone Burnett, “Trap Door”—ubiquitous producer’s later works became progressively more artsy and inaccessible, but this rootsy 1982 EP is near-perfect, with five tight, shimmery originals and a genius reimagining of “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.”  

Kevn Kinney, “MacDougall Blues”—his Drivin N Cryin weren’t fully convincing as heavy rockers, but he’s a natural at this pure folkie milieu. His adenoidal tenor is unpretty (if expressive), but he’s a strong acoustic player and tunesmith and no stupe as a lyricist—sagas like “Maddie Hope” and “Tina’s  Grocery” show surprising depth and resonance. 

Comsat Angels, “Waiting for a Miracle”— debut from atmospheric Brit postpunks, whose first three hard-to-find releases make a strong a trilogy as anyone’s.  More melodic than Joy Division and more cerebral than the Cure, the songs are uniformly superb, with spare, driving rhythms and memorable dadaistic lyrics. “Total War;” “Independence Day.”

The Johnsons, “Break Tomorrow’s Day”— hooky, smart raw-edged  guitar pop from Pennsylvania trio who dropped one disc in 1986 before vanishing from the face of the earth. There’s a classic 60’s folkrock vibe to these songs—Lovin Spoonful and Beau Brummels come to mind– though you can also hear the ebullient drive of early Beatles and the effortless harmonies of the Hollies. The punchy cover of Peter Laughner’s “Sylvia Platt” is spot-on, but originals like “Call Your Name” and “Burning Desire” are just as good.

The Wrens. “Meadowlands”— literate indie guitar pop evokes Pavement or Built to Spill, but has a confessional, impassioned edge that’s quite original. The dramatic “She Sends Kisses” and “13 Months in 6 Minutes” are exceptional.

Bram Tchiakovsky, “Strange Man, Changed Man”—amidst all the glossy New Wave and punky angst of their 80s peers, these pubrockers aspired to nothing more than a fat guitar sound and a hooky chorus. Songs like “Sarah Smiles” and the FM staple “Girl of My Dreams” may sound like they took ten minutes to compose but stick in your craw nonetheless.

The Windbreakers, “Time Machine”—THE ultimate jangle pop band, with memorable songs and two good writers in the hard-edged Tim Lee and the more lyrical Bobby Sutliff, whose Byrdsy Rickenbacker prowess is underrated. This compilation has a few duff tracks at the end, and isn’t as seamless as their studio records, but is a good intro to an essential (if commercially irrelevant) band.

Martin Courtney, “Many Moons”—solo record from principal of Feelies-inspired  folkrockers Real Estate, whose “Days” and “Atlas” were among the better records of this decade. Unsurprisingly, this sounds a lot like his old band, albeit with a more pastoral feel ala Buffalo Springfield-era Neil Young or 80s Flying Nun bands like the Clean. His lyrics are fairly inscrutable, but he’s got unique melodic gifts, with a seemingly limitless repertoire of descending chords and orbiting arpeggios. Pretty stuff.

Latin Playboys, s/t—I always respected Los Lobos more than embraced them, but this trippy offshoot of fragmentary songs and sonic experiments is oddly gripping. Alternately unsettling and calming, there are some memorable riffs buried in the mix + the whole thing sounds good on headphones.

Procol Harum, “Exotic Birds and Fruit”—post-Robin Trower, and largely bereft of orchestral pomp, this set is focused on Gary Brooker’s strangely soulful vox and percussive piano (which reminds me, oddly, of Aretha’s). “The Idol,” “Strong as Samson” and “New Lamps for Old” are as strong as anything they’ve penned.

Ron Wood, “I’ve Got My Own Album to Do”—he’s no one’s idea of a great musician, and his longevity in important bands seems to  have more to do with his being a genial guy with a good haircut. That said, this busman’s holiday has an endearing, loose swagger wholly missing from the Stones’ albums since the 70s and two unexpectedly classic songs in “I Can Feel the Fire” and “Mystifies Me” (later crushed by Son Volt).

Santana “III”—it’s been said, not inaccurately, that Carlos can only play one solo, so adding the fleet-fingered teenager prodigy Neal Schon gives this some flava. Carlos rarely sang, but his vocal on “Everything’s Coming Our Way” is suprisingly moving. Cool album cover.  I never before noticed that “No One to Depend On” had only one line of lyric.

Lucy Show, “Mania”—mostly-forgotten, hyper-tuneful 80s Britpoppers bypassed the synth-driven New Wave of their contemporaries in favor of bright, ringing guitar rock ala the Smiths or the Chameleons. Hooky and big-sounding; songs like “New Message” and “Million Things” still resonate some 30 years later.

Jessica Bailiff, s/t–eerie fusion of Cocteau Twins dreampop and distorted MBV-like slowcore. Like the similarly-inclined Low, she’s moody but not amelodic, and her understated vocals are really haunting. Quite exceptional.

Yummy Fur, “Piggy Wings”—noisy-but-tuneful Scottish punk-pop mines the same jagged, minimalist turf as Gang of Four or the Fall, but had their own brash, oddball approach to the form.   A couple of these guys went on to the distinctly less interesting Franz Ferdinand.

Gene Clark, “American Dreamer”—I saw the last show he ever played, which was memorable if only for the fact that he remained coherent after 50+ shots of bourbon. This compilation is as good as any an overview of the guy who, as much as anyone, pioneered folk-rock and country-rock. You can quibble about some of the omissions, although it does include his best Byrds song, “Set Your Free This Time” and a smattering of his coked-out, baroque pop masterpiece “No Other.” If nothing else, it demonstrates how many great Gene Clark songs there were.

Wire, “Pink Flag”— I had forgotten what a great, snarling punk rock singer Colin Newman was until I re-heard “Ex Lion Tamer.” The records they’ve churned out since 1978 are consistently better than 99% of the pap out there, but this debut remains the ultimate mofo. 

Three Johns, “Live in Chicago”—Jon Langford’s pre-Mekons project had the anarchistic furor of the Sex Pistols and the pulsing drive of Public Image Ltd., but were much smarter than the former and funnier than the latter. This live set includes both their shambolic parody (“McDonna”) and massively hooky near-pop (“Death of a European”) and is the best representation of their distinctive, if minor, genius.

The Suburbs, “Credit in Heaven”—I recall these New Wavers getting a lot of critical adulation in the early 80s, though they seem to be have been forgotten in time. Very reminiscent of (and musically at least on a par with) early Talking Heads; unlike most of the genre this record hasn’t dated at all, with sharp sardonic songs and a broad sonic palette—the really deft rhythm section keeps this sounding a bit raw. 

Freedy Johnston, “Right Between the Promises”—you’ll turn this off if you don’t connect with his quavery, eccentric tenor, which is a shame because his songcraft and sonics are impeccable. Much of this is his trademark melancholic chamber-folk, but the best tunes here hit harder than you’d expect .(“Waste Your Time” “Anyone”).

Jaimie Branch, “Fly or Die”—unusual trumpet-cello soundscapes from Chicago free jazz scenester. Exploratory but not amelodic; the principal has a thin, icy tone reminiscent of Nils Petter Molvaer, while the rhythm section give the ethereal, Eastern-sounding compositions a solid post-bop foundation. Very good late night music. The subsequent “Fly or Die II” features African rhythms and gratuitous vocals and isn’t as compelling. 

Timothy Eerie, “Ritual”— retro-psychedelia from complete unknown, who can churn out a tightly constructed tune like “She Talks to Mushrooms” and “Sold My Sunshine” without a trace of irony. Well sung, with a great fuzzed-out guitar tone and overall grrovy.

The Rutles, s/t—I generally have trouble getting past “Goose Step Mama” (“you’ve got nothing to eins zwei drei Fear!”), but “I Must Be In Love” and “Ouch” are genuinely melodic gems. I’m still aghast that the Beatles’ publisher sued for copyright infringement—I thought it was the Krauts who lacked a sense of humor.

Joe Jackson, “Big World”—I have decidedly mixed feeling about JJ—he’s a very good musician and composer, but a lousy singer and fitfully ham-fisted lyricist. This live recording of all-new material, however, is pretty compelling, with pristine sound and some of his best songs like “Right and Wrong”, “Shanghai Sky” and the riotous ugly American stomper “Jet Set”.

Roy Montgomery, “Hey Badfinger”— soundtrack to an imaginary film by renowned experimental Kiwi guitarist. While much of his extensive body of work veers towards shoegaze/noiserock, these solo pieces are surprisingly poppy and accessible, with ubiquitous hooks and a rich chiming tone. Repetitive but oddly hypnotic.

Basehead, “Play With Toys”— a concept album of sorts about old girlfriends, slacking and beer, this fuses Sly-like funk, old school hip-hop and shambolic guitar rock into something funny, poignant and tuneful as hell. Perhaps the great lost record of the 90s (and oddly unavailable on Spotify/Tidal). (“Not Over You”).

Dick Diver, “Melbourne Florida”—usually compared to the Go-Betweens, these Aussies actually hew closer to the tightly-crafted NewWavey pop of Men At Work or the Cars, with an ambitious sonic palette and a bunch of hooky tunes.

Kevin Salem, “Gimmer”–unsung ex-Freedy Johnston/Dumptruck guitarist made a couple of outstanding records in his own name, of which this is the rawest. An excellent, literate songwriter with a cool Lou Reed-like voice, this’ll appeal to fans of Springsteenish heartland rock, but has a uniquely skronky 80s New York edge–tunes like “Run Run Run” and the extended “Destructible”  sound like lost Television classics.

Lenny Breau, “Hallmark Sessions”—Canuck  jazz guitarist with impressive stylistic range, from classical to Arabic and Flamenco to country,  accompanied here by Rick Danko and Levon Helm from the Band, who keep up better than you’d imagine. Cerebral and subdued in tone, but his’ll get you through the ironing as well as anything.

Artful Dodger, “Honor Among Thieves”—overlooked Virginia band played very British-sounding melodic rock in the vein of Faces or early Who, with memorable tunes, concise guitar solos and an outstanding singer who caterwauls like Rod Stewart on the loud ones but can also get slow and soulful (“Scream;” “Remember”). Their swan song, “Rave On” is even better but hard to find and, as far as I know, never released on CD.

Bill Llloyd, “Feeding the Elephant”—ex-country star turns to super-hooky, jangly guitar pop in the manner of Marshall Crenshaw. His vox are pedestrian, but he’s an outstanding guitarist and tunesmith—“This Very Second” and “Lisa Ann” will remain permanently imbedded in your cranium

Peter Case, s/t-–ex-Plimsoul reinvents himself as a modern folkie in the vein of  Freedy Johnston or Joe Henry. I never liked Mitchell Froom’s overmanicured production style, but he and T-Bone Burnett do very well here—this is a great headphone record, with pristine layering and a crisp percussion sound. Case does well by the songwriting—smart and melodically quirky–though the cover of the Pogues “Pair of Brown Eyes” is the best thing here.

Blankenberge, “Radiogaze”—Siberian kids play swelling, Mogwai-styled postrock, with wispy female vox giving it a bit of dreampop feel. Intense and very dramatic, if not breathtakingly original. This would make a good soundtrack for a Russian war film.

Steve Miller, “Welcome to the Vault”—the LA rock critic Robert Hillburn had an interesting theory about “active” artists like the Clash or Springsteen, who require listener attention and engagement to appreciate, and “passive” artists like Boston or Foreigner, who merely present a glossy surface for you to effortlessly absorb. By this standard, Miller is as passive as they come—his records are virtually all glossy surfaces. That said, my brain needs occasional respite from all the fury out there, and this collection of outtakes and other emphemera works as well as any, proudly vapid but tuneful and well-played.

 Tom Petty, “You’re Gonna Get It”— generally dismissed as an less-refined rehash of their preternaturally accomplished debut, and it is fairly dark and garagey, with a ragged drum sound. On re-listen, however, I think it’s their best, hardest hitting set of songs, closer in spirit to their Southern Rock roots than to the glossier, poppier records that followed.  (“When the Time Comes;” “Too Much Ain’t Enough”).

The Bad Plus, “Activate Infinity”—long-running piano trio are slicker than my usual, but they do this sort of consumer-friendly postbop very proficiently, with expansive sound and the sort of telepathic interplay that reminds me of an updated Bill Evans Trio. This latest, with a new pianist, is more subdued than previous fare and works well as bedtime music.

Young Guv, “GuvI/II”— guitarist for noisy Canuck hardcore outfit Fucked Up moonlights as a melodic pop maestro (he supposedly ghostwrote for Taylor Swift). The best of this channels classic Teenage Fanclub, with jangly guitars and surprisingly deft harmonies, although he can also do an uncanny facsimile of glossy Fleetwood Mac-style AOR and even old-school R&B. Very talented guy.

Lucille Furs. “Another Land”—a JK recommendation, this Chicago band plays tightly-crafted, 60’s inspired pysch-pop in the (somewhat esoteric) manner of the Move or the Zombies. The songs aren’t quite there yet, but they have the sonics down cold with close harmonies, vintage keyboards and chiming Rickenbackers and are definitely a gang worth watching. 

Beatles, “Abbey Road” (50^th Anniversary)—this was generally regarded as Paul’s record, and his ambition and melodic sophistication here vastly surpassed John’s. That said,  it’s John’s comparatively primordial blues (“Come Together”, “Polythene Pam”) that stick. The innumerable demos and alternate versions on this reissue do demonstrate that, if nothing else, Paul could play the hell out of that bass.

Angel Olsen, “All Mirrors”—I liked her lo-fi, alt-country “Half Way Home”, but she clearly had wider ambitions, and this Spectoresque, string-laden chamber pop is closer to Dusty Springfield or Bjork than it is to Patsy Cline. Very cinematic (some of these songs could have been Bond themes), but surprisingly effective—she writes economically and has the pipes and melodic chops to bring off what could have been baroque overkill. Not rockin, but she does seem like a major artist.

DIIV, “Deceiver”—it’s not like the world needed another MBV-obsessed shoegaze band, but these guys are more songful than most, with a heavier-than-typical guitar sound and a bit of pulsing Krautrock groove.

Elvis Costello, “Get Happy”—it has been observed to me that women don’t like Elvis Costello, and I can sorta see why—he can be treacly and morosely self-pitying, and there’s usually a certain acid edge to his lyrical  gymnastics. This neo-R&B record, however, catches him in a cheerier place; he assiduously avoids the oversinging and palpable anxiety of his later works. There’s a loose, tossed-off quality to many of these tunes, and the mastering is somewhat compressed, but “Secondary Modern” and “New Amsterdam” are among his very finest.

The Real Kids, s/t—Unlike the Ramones, whose punky image always seemed like a bit of a put-on, these guys wear their working-class stupidity very naturally. This is pure, alcoholic garage rock; leader John Felice has a distinctive snarl and a deft way with the big tension-and-release, best shown on the mighty “All Kindsa Girls” and the Bo Diddley-ish “Reggae Reggae.” I was at one of their shows the night my son was born, and I gotta admit I still have regrets about leaving early.

Sun Kil Moon, “April”—I’ve seen Kozolek perform live and he came across as a boorish dick; it seems unjust that he would bestowed with such amazing musical gifts. This set is probably the best showcase for his lyricism, with delicate fingerpicked acoustic offset by harder-edged Crazy-Horse churn, all framed by plaintive vocals and tense, mesmerizing melodies. 

The Records, “Smashes, Crashes and Near Misses”—their comparative obscurity is somewhat puzzling—Birch and Wicks were world-class tunesmiths, and they’re underrated as a guitar band, with virtually every tune featuring a big, fluid solo. “Paint Her Face” and “Golden Disc” are every bit as resonant as their classic “Starry Eyes,” although the pervy (if maddeningly catchy) “Teenarama” would not be well-received in today’s social climate.

The Scruffs, “Wanna Meet the Scruffs”—a standout among the myriad of late 70s powerpoppers, with memorable songs and a charismatic lead singer. Much of this is early-Beatles stomp (“Tommy Gun”), but they’ll surprise you with their songcraft, as on the Zombies-like “She Said Yeah” and the gorgeous string-sweetened closer, “Bedtime Stories”. Cool slide part on “Revenge”.

John Coltrane. “Blue World”—being dead for 50 years hasn’t seemed to slow him down, as a font of worthwhile releases keep rising from the crypt. Consisting of re-worked versions of his old classics like “Naima,” this ‘64 set seems like something of an aberration from the Eastern/avant direction he was pursuing at the time, but his approach is more meditative than on the originals and his tone is slower and fatter while the normally subdued Jimmy Garrison’s bass is frequently front and center. Worth your time.

Todd Rundgren, “Something/Anything”—wildly self-indulgent by definition, but this one-man twofer has surprisingly few misses among its dizzyingly diverse 25 tracks. He’s a master at the lightweight blue-eyed soul ballad (“It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference;” “Cold Morning Light”), though the Hendrixy “Black Maria” is genuine heaviosity and the oddly evocative “Piss Aaron” and “Slut” are good dumb fun. The soaring “Couldn’t I Just Tell You” is one of the best songs of the 70s.  

Pure Prairie League, “Busting Out”—this may be the unhippest record I own, but good is good, and this country-rock staple is pretty much flawless, with expansive production and a singer who can really get into bed with these pretty songs. The overplayed standard “Amie” is here, but the best tunes are “Angel #9” and “Leave My Heart Alone”, which have a surprising amount of electric bite. Mick Ronson, oddly enough, adds the well-placed strings.

Chrissie Hynde, “Valve Bone Woe”— I hate the sanitized, Diana Krall-style “adult” pap they force you to listen to in high-end stereo stores, but this retro-jazzy detour by Ms. Pretender ain’t half-bad—there’s still some rock dirt in her voice, and she nails some oddball Nick Drake and Ray Davies covers along with the predictable standards.

Matt Keating, “Killjoy”—underrated singer songwriter slots somewhere between the wry, literate folk of Loudon Wainwright and the driving pop of early Elvis Costello. He’s a pedestrian singer, but has real knack for melody, a crunchy guitar and drum sound and a bunch of first-rate tunes, including the uptempo title track and the acerbic, funny “The L Word.” Great line: “you wanted a man who had substance/you got one with substance abuse.”

Enrico Rava/Joe Lovano, “Roma”—live set has roots in classic 60s Miles Davis Quintet, but moves subtly into modal and free jazz. Very, very well composed and played, especially by Rava, whose cool-but-powerful tone dominates. Exploratory yet accessible, this is a good entry drug to the avant garde.

Byrds, “Untitled”—the surprisingly raw live side of this twofer is actually pretty great. Bluegrass prodigy Clarence White was the best musician to ever pass through the band and McGuinn sings with a fury–check out his pissed-off take on “Rock and Roll Star.” The eclectic studio side has the shaggy-horse story “Chestnut Mare” and some worthy deep tracks like “Well Come Back Home.”

Mazzy Star, “So Tonight That I Might See”—other than the transcendent three-chord “Fade Into You” and the Arthur Lee cover, the songs don’t stick with you, but taken as a whole this is a mesmerizing, fantastic-sounding record—pristine slide, drony organ, crisp drums. Plus that haunting, ethereal voice really could tempt the devil.

Chris Whitley, “Terra Incognita”—his acclaimed debut was impeccably produced and performed roots-rock, but he was clearly looking for something more fugged up and primal, and his subsequent records got progressively more stripped down and rawer. This record is something of a cross between hallucinatory electric Hendrix and acoustic Delta blues– he’s a better player and singer than he is a writer (although “Weightless” is a gorgeous), but the intensity is there and this has a hypnotic feel that’ll stick with you.

Tool, “Fear Innoculum”—  I confess to being underwhelmed by this long-awaited comeback, mainly because they’ve almost wholly abandonded their thinking-man’s metal roots in favor of jammy prog which is closer in spirit to Rush than it is to Slayer. Forsaking the heaviness and tight structures of their earlier work, these really, really long songs devolve into a sort of atmospheric formlessness (“Chocolate Chip Trip” in particular meanders endlessly). Keenan is still an engaging singer, even if I can’t decipher what he’s singing about, and good sonics are a given for this crew, but the drummer overplays to the point of parody—he makes Keith Moon seem comatose by comparison. 

Green, “Green”—recorded on a shoestring by a ragged, garage-y Chicago trio, this 1986 set is something of a tour-de-force. They love the Kinks and the Buzzcocks but also hint at country (“For You”) and even soul (“I Don’t Want Say No”). The principal has an amazing voice which ranges from punkish howl to tender croon to shrieking falsetto, often within the same song.  The anthemic “Better Way” and “She’s Not A Little Girl Anymore” are standouts, but every one of these tunes connect, and this is well worth tracking down.

Lemonheads, “Car Button Cloth”—Robert Christgau described Evan Dando as “a good looking guy with more luck than talent and more talent than brains,” which is funny but perhaps a tad dismissive–the guy may be drug-addled but is unquestionably a natural. This curious, eclectic set veers wildly from sharp, radio-ready pop (“If I Could Talk”) to intense, brooding psychedelia (“Losing Your Mind”) to murder ballads and country, but other than the pointless, noodling closer, holds together surprisingly well. “Break Me” is a truly great song.

Dwight Twilley Band, “Sincerely”—Studio rats Twilley and Phil Seymour were influenced as much classic Sun Records as by the Beatles, and you can hear a lot of Roy Orbison and Everly Brothers in their approach. The original recording was somewhat compressed-sounding, but the remastered version on Spotify/Tidal is much better-sounding, and musically this is near-perfect with enduring songs like “You Were So Warm” and the sorta-hit “I’m on Fire”. The amazing guitar solo on the title track is played by electronic pioneer Roger Linn, who more or less invented digital sampling.

Hoodoo Gurus, “Mars Needs Guitars”—ebullient garage rock from Sydney. Gregarious frontman Dave Faulkner is a smart, funny tunesmith (like the Ramones, there’s a lot of classic Brill Building in his songs), but their real edge is guitarist Brad Shepherd, who has a fat, rockabilly-influenced tone reminiscent of Mick Jones or Johnny Thunders. “Bittersweet” is their acknowledged masterwork, but my favorites are the gothy “She” and the arch, cutting “Poison Pen” (“everyone enjoys sharing a rumor/but when it’s aimed at you it loses its humor…”).

Rolling Stones, “Beggar’s Banquet”—listening to this some 50 years after its release I’m struck by how rootsy/folksy it is, with virtually every song (including the anthemic “Street Fighting Man”) framed around Keef’s acoustic. I never liked “Sympathy for the Devil,” but the rest of these tunes have a depth and sense of humor unmatched by their later, louder opuses. 

The dBs, “Repurcussion”—like Squeeze or the Go-Betweens, the dBs played idiosyncratic guitar pop and hosted two brilliant composers, although they were edgier than the former and less melancholic than the latter. The singing (esp. Peter Holsapple’s) is artless, but the playing is impeccable and the songs are memorable, with Chris Stamey serving as a quirkier Lennon to Holsapple’s more melody-driven McCartney. Future REM/Nirvana knob-dialer Scott Litt gives this a nice sonic sheen. I play this one a helluva lot more than Pet Sounds or Sgt. Pepper.

Ballboy, “The Sash My Father Wore”—another John Peel favorite, this is essentially a showcase for one Gordon McIntyre, who offers minimally-accompanied twee pop in the same vein as Belle & Sebastian. Your reaction to this disc will rest wholly on your tolerance for his Scottish brogue and unabashed sensitively (this ain’t swaggering cock-rock). I find it oddly endearing, especially the rebuke of the “big fat bigoted areshole” and the deconstructed cover of “Born in the USA.”

Matthew Sweet, “Son of Altered Beast”—underneath the honeyed voice and pretty melodies, there’s something deeply sinister and disturbing about Sweet (“I don’t like knowing people/I don’t like people knowing about me”). This (mostly) live set, with Richard Lloyd shredding maniacally throughout, is rawer and harder than his studio albums and includes a lost classic in “Superdeformed” as well as the transcendent “Someone To Pull the Trigger.”

Credence Clearwater Revival, “Live at Woodstock”—suppressed for 50 years because they didn’t like the performance, and it is pretty sloppy, with lumbering drums and frequently out-of-tune bass. John Fogerty, however, howls and plays like a man possessed—he may only know a handful of licks, but delivers ‘em correctly. Deep album tracks like “Commotion” and “I Put A Spell on You” are standouts, while the extended “Suzie Q” channels their inner jam band.

Russian Circles, “Blood Year”— instrumental post-rock from Chicago trio somewhere between the atmospherics of Mogwai and the artsy heaviness of Tool. Scrupulously avoiding solos, the songs are tightly composed and concise, with a jazzbo’s sense of dynamics and a  really, really good drummer.

Jethro Tull, “Benefit” (Steven Wilson Remaster)—Ian Anderson’s subsequent, grandiose art-rock releases veered dangerously close to Spinal Tap, but I keep returning to this disc, with massive riff-rockers (“To Cry  You A Song;” “With You There to Help Me”) and some gorgeous folk melodies (“Sossity”), which seemed to have informed the legendary Roy Harper. I like Anderson’s acoustic strumming much more than that infernal flute, but the real weapon here is Martin Barre, who may be the great unsung English guitar hero. This 2016 remaster radically improves on the murky original, with a cleaner mix and much better instrument placement.

Yim Yames, “Tribute To”— My Morning Jacket has gotten progressively poppier and suckier, but James is unequivocally one of the great singers of his generation, and these solo acoustic renditions of George Harrison songs bring out a depth and resonance that the baby Beatle couldn’t deliver. His “Long Long Long” will get you sobbing like a baby.

Tommy Keene, “Real Underground”—like Game Theory’s Scott Miller or (spiritual godfather) Alex Chilton, Keene had one of those reedy, “alternative” voices that condemned him to cult status, but he wrote excellent, Badfinger-esque songs and was one of the best guitarist in the genre, with a simultaneous lead/rhythmic approach that reminds me of Johnny Marr or Pete Townsend (whose “Tattoo” is covered here). The first five songs on this compilation are fantastic, as are the morose “Safe in the Light” and the Fender workout “Mr. Roland.” 

Underground Lovers, “Cold Feeling”—unknown (to me) 90s Aussie band played a trippy, shoegazy blend of Sonic Youth and 4AD-style dream pop. With soothing male/female vox and reverb-heavy guitars, this is familiar sounding but very hypnotic. Definitely a subject for further study.

Kimberly Rew, “Bible of Bob”—ex-Soft Boy/future Wave was overshadowed by his more flamboyant bandmates, but he’s  a clever, spidery guitarist and ace songwriter with a knack for stripping a tune down to its basics. This obscure pubrock gem finds him backed by three different bands (the aforesaid + the dBs) and has at least two shoulda-been immortal classics in “Stomping All Over the World” and the screamalong “Hey War Pig.” 

Buzzcocks, “Singles Going Steady”— my wife made two salient observations about this record the other night: first, that under all the buzzsaw guitars there’s a lot of 50’s doo-wop and Elvis-style rockabilly in these tunes; and second, there’s almost no bass in the mix—it’s virtually all midrange. True dat, but these are stone classics nonetheless; at least during his late 70s heyday Pete Shelley might have been the great English songwriter.

Ed Kuepper, “Everybody’s Got To”— hard pop masterpiece from ex-Saints guitarist. Largely eschewing his punk past and the dark folk of his earlier solo records, this is closer in spirit to Ike and Tina or Sticky Fingers-era Stones, with blaring horns, big drums and a lovely-voiced backing vocalist. He’s a powerful rhythm player and a distinctive singer, but it’s the songs that really stand out and these are as good as any to emerge from Oceania. (“Lonely Paradise” “Too Many Clues”).

Chris Forsyth, “All Time Present”—he studied under Television guitar madman Richard Lloyd and was obviously a star pupil—most of these compositions sound like variations of “Marquee Moon,” though he also channels Krautrock, Neil Young and Sonic Youth. Mainly instrumental, though his sporadic vocals and lyrics are at least serviceable, this is technically dazzling (if derivative) guitar nirvana.

Sex Clark Five, “Strum and Drum”—Sort of a DIY, indie-rock counterpart to “Who Sell Out” from Alabama, of all places. They fuse REM jangle, Merseybeat, and T. Rex, but have their own unique take on this form, and  virtually all these one and two-minute gems feature a big hook, inventive harmonies and oddball lyrics. John Peel was a big fan.

The Verlaines, “Bird Dog”—sonically akin to, but more ambitious and sophisticated than their Flying Nun labelmates; the principal is classically-trained and uses a lot of shifting time signatures, ethereal choruses and brass and string parts. The somber, melancholic “Makes No Difference” and “Slow Sad Love Song” are the standouts, while the title track is a rousing rumination on old age and German beer, subjects with which I’m growing ever more familiar. 

Pernice Brothers, “Overcome by Happiness”—orchestrated alt-pop in the vein of (and just as good as) “Forever Changes” or “Odessey and Oracle,” albeit with a darker edge. Lead brother Joe is a melodic genius whose world-weary vox and depressive lyrics belie the ebullience of these tunes. “Crestfallen” or “Dimmest Star” are worthy of Brian Wilson or Carole King.

Rory Gallagher, “Calling Card”—he was a purist who refused to dress up his bloozerock for mass appeal; he supposedly turned down Brian Jones’s slot in the Stones because he wouldn’t be able to sing his own songs. His guitar is rightly revered, but I’ve always thought the songwriting was underrated and liked his shopworn voice. This record has more finesse than his usual, with acoustic shuffles (“Barley and Grape Rag”) and wistful ballads (“I’ll Admit You’re Gone”) as well the expected storm-und-drung (“Moonchild”).

Gary Clark Jr., “This Land”—his Hendrixy guitar is a little overflashy, but he’s an outstanding singer who can go from fierce growl to a Prince-like falsetto, and you can’t fault him for ambition. This record, though, is so eclectic as to be almost schizophrenic, with  unconvincing forays into hiphop and reggae offset by tough rockers (“Gotta Get Into Something”) and soulful slow burners like “Pearl Cadillac,” a song so sublime you wish he’d just stuck to his blues roots. 

Black Keys, “Let’s Rock”—their busy, Danger Mouse–produced megasellers didn’t grab me as much as their earlier, primal guitar-and-drums records, though they always sounded big and pounded hard. This latest is something of an enigma—oddly subdued, barely-rewritten rehashes of 70s AOR like Fleetwood Mac (“Tell Me Lies”), Foreigner (“Lo/Hi”) and Stealer’s Wheel (“Sit Around”).  They do know their way around a studio, and the damned thing soundsgood, but this rates about a “D” for effort and passes through you as soon as you hear it. I assume the album title is ironic.

Elephant9, “Psychedelic Backfire Vols I and II”—live organ-fueled improv trio from Norway melds avant-groove, heavy jazz-fusion and prog. The long compositions threaten to veer off into the ether, but never stray too far from their rhythmic bones, and the playing (esp. the drumming) is virtuosic, with a great sense of dynamics and pace. Vol II features the guitarist from Dungen and has more of a jam band vibe, while Vol I hews closer to Tony Williams or electric Miles. Both sets will leave you pining for the fjords.

Beck, “Morning Phase”—he’s always struck me as possessing more  industry savvy than musical genius, but dammit if he hasn’t  gone and written himself a near-perfect facsimile of a Nick Drake record. Similar in tone to his previous “Sea Change” (somber and contemplative), though the arrangements are more austere; there are periodic string interludes and orchestral swells, but the sonic focus is on clean fingerpicked acoustic guitar, with minimal percussion and keyboard coloration.  As on Sea Change, he adopts a somewhat over-emotive, unnatural baritone—a better singer would have crushed this material –but the mostly sad songs themselves are really good and the production is impeccable.

You Am I, “#4 Record”—curiously ignored outside their native Australia, these mod-inspired yobs get my vote as the world’s best bar band, with a Who-like sonic attack and a great frontman in Tim Rogers, who swaggers like Steve Marriott or Paul Westerberg. This record is looser and more live-sounding than their (excellent) prior releases, deftly blending dirty riff-rockers (“The Cream and the Crock”), ballads (“Heavy Heart”) and hard-edged, pretty pop (“Fifteen”).

David Kilgour, “Feather in the Engine”—ex-Clean majordomo draws a line between trad Britfolk like Davy Graham and Bert Jansch, the dreamy din of the Velvet Underground and the Byrdsy jangle of early REM or Yo La Tengo. A subtly brilliant guitarist, he has a real knack for simple, indelible melodies (“Today is Gonna Be Mine;” “Perfect Watch”) and makes this all flow seem effortlessly and naturally.

Posies, “Frosting on the Beater”—probably inspired by their hipper Seattle peers, these popsters added some grunge to their trademark blend of XTC lyricism and Hollies harmonies. Side One (starting with the pounding sing-along “Dream All Day” and ending with the extended “Burn and Shine”) is as strong a set of songs as was produced in the 90s; Side Two is moodier and quieter, though also worthy. I’ve probably listened to this record as much as any I own.

Loudon Wainwright III, “Album II”—the most enduring of the new Dylans, this 1972 set is his best set of songs, ranging from surreal (“Me and My Friend to the Cat”) to sardonic (“Nice Jewish Girls”) to sincere (“Motel Blues,” later covered by Big Star).  As skeletal a production as you’ll hear—almost entirely just his acoustic guitar and reedy voice—but he’s more tuneful than you’d think, and you respond to this melodically as well as cerebrally.

Earth, “Full Upon Her Burning Lips”— atmospheric, instrumental sorta-metal grabs you like a megadose of Robitussin.  There’s not a ton of differentiation between the songs (or, for that matter, between their numerous records)–all feature slow throbbing rhythms and sludgy sustained  guitar riffs ala Sabbath or the Melvins—but this is oddly calming stoner music  which even your mother would love.

Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, “Men Without Women”— white working class R&B from E-Street guitarist/Sopranos consigliere. He throws a lot into the mix–bullring horns, screeching guitar solos, barrelhouse piano –but keeps it ragged, plus the songs are mostly stellar, esp. the poignant title track and the apocalyptic “Under the Gun.”   I’ve wondered if this would be better with a real singer, but his frenetic yowl suits the bar band vibe just fine. 

Edith Frost, “Calling Over Time”–I saw her play a set of Patsy Cline covers in a tiny bar and was sufficiently moved to pick up this odd hybrid of ambient and countrypolitain. She enlists postrock luminaries like Jim O’Rourke (Tortoise) as well as Microdisney/High Llamas prodigy Sean O’ Hagen to inject some dreampop feel into these proceedings, and this record has a lo-fi, electronic sheen, but she’s a country singer at heart and unlike self-consciously artsy peers like Beth Orton, there’s a very organic, natural feel to these proceedings.  Try this.

Ultra Vivid Scene, “Joy 1967-1990“—NY-born one-man band plays concise neopsychelia reminiscent of the early Church (his vox sound uncannily like Steven Kilbey’s) as well as shoegazy English bands like Ride. His drumming is rudimentary, but he has a great, reverb-heavy guitar sound and really knows how to put a song together—“Staring at the Sun” is a classic.

The Bongos, “Drums Along The Hudson”—jittery New Wavy guitar pop not too far removed from early Talking Heads or the B-52s, albeit without the neuroses of the former or the campiness of the latter. They have punkish energy but sound tight, with precise propulsive percussion in the manner of the Feelies, and they have a knack for a hooky guitar riff and  memorable, oblique lyrics (“flash lights when ready, that’s what she said to me/some assembly required, that’s what I said to her”).  

Absolute Grey, “Greenhouse”— jangly Velvet Underground-inspired acid/folkrock with a great female singer and some inspired tunes (“More Walnuts”; “Remorse”). Rawer and more spontaneous than contemporaries like REM or Thin White Rope, their lack of studio polish is endearing and much of this’ll stick with you long after you’ve heard it.

Bob Mould “Workbook 25”—solo debut from Husker Du principal is much closer to the electric folk of Richard Thompson or John Martyn than it is to the grungy barrage of his former band. He’s still a somber guy, and he doesn’t wholly abandon the blistering distorted guitar solos, but he deploys a lot of cello and 12-string acoustic to give this a much cleaner, almost-orkpop quality; songs like the instrumental opener “Sunspots” and “Dreaming I Am” are outright pretty. Meticulously played and produced and very powerful stuff. The bonus tracks on this reissue include a searing cover of Thompson’s  “Shoot Out the Lights.” 

Skip Spence, “Oar”—ex-Jefferson Airplane drummer/Moby Grape founder recorded this visionary, one-man tour de force in a manic burst following his release from Bellevue. Much of this is minimalist folk blues (“Weighted Down;” Cripple Creek”), though he also touches on gospel,  psychedelia and even music hall (“Lawrence of Euphoria” would do Gilbert & Sullivan proud). Out there but not really unhinged—like Syd Barrett’s solo work there’s real melodic heft to the songs and the lyrics are fraught with strange imagery and clever double entendres.

V/A—Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye—Known for primal garage rockers (“You’re Gonna Miss Me”), the recently-departed Erickson had surprising range as a writer and could pen a tender love song as well as acid-fried paeans to zombies and two headed dogs. His own records are uneven, but this tribute project is a fitting obituary. The bigger names (ZZ Top, REM) do fine, but the standout tracks here are from John Wesley Harding and the generally-forgettable Poi Dog Pondering, who nail the sublime, oddly beautiful “I Had to Tell You.”

Cheap Trick, s/t—they’d strike it big with their later, studio-shiny product, but this heavier, underrecognized debut is one of the best-ever hard rock records. Rick Nielsen’s tunes are sharp and  subversive (“He’s A Whore,” “Elo Kiddies”), while Robin Zander may have the strongest lungs in the genre—check out his microphone shredding take on “Speak Now”.

Nirvana, “Live at Reading”—I’ve always had reservations about the sonic approach to the (overpolished) Nevermind and (artificially grungy) In Utero, which leaves this unfiltered barrage as the truest representation of their genius. “Been A Son” rules.

Aimee Mann, “I’m With Stupid”— she’d prbably be miserable on a camping trip, but nobody writes a better kiss-off song and she scores here with surprisingly tough-minded, Oasis-like rockers (“Long Shot,” “Sugarcoated”) and wistful, cerebral torch songs (“Ray,” “Par for the Course”), all sung in her bell-clear dulcet voice. Producer/cohort Jon Brion does well with the arrangements, wisely stripping away the gratuitous New Wave trappings that murked up her earlier works and leaving in enough raw edges and guitar solos to appease more jaded listeners.

Funkadelic, “Maggot Brain”— I was familiar only with the mindblowing, psychedelic ten-minute title track, but the shorter funk-meets-thrash numbers that follow seem to have influenced not just Prince and Rick James but the whole SoCal skatepunk ethos, while the closer, “Wars of Armageddon” is genuinely trippier than anything Zappa could conceive. That album cover still gives me nightmares, however.

The Hotrats, “Turn Ons”—Bowie’s “Pin-Ups” excepted, most such all-covers project are a wank, but this loud, reverent set from neo-classicists Supergrass is really well done, with creative takes on classic songs by Squeeze, Lou Reed and (esp.) the Beastie Boys. 

The Ponys, “Laced With Romance”— exuberant postpunk from Chicago grabs you from the get-go with overdriven riffs and unrelenting grooviness. They borrow heavily from “Nuggets” era garage rockers as well as from Echo and Television—the principal intones like an Anglicized Tom Verlaine—but somehow have their own primal sound; songs like “I’ll Make You a Star” and “Let’s Kill Ourselves” have a way for insinuating themselves into your cranium. 

Boris “Rainbow”— hypnotic mix of metal, ambient and Melvins-style stoner rock from Japanese power trio, here joined by the face-melting pysch guitarist Michio Kurihara (whose main band, Ghost, is also a must-hear). Pulverizing and/or droning in spots, this is not your typical Satan-worshipping noisefest—the songs are melodic, even gentle at times, with soothing (if incomprehensible) vocals and a great sense of loud/quiet dynamics. Really exceptional.

Preoccupations, “New Material”—a Calgary band who (like the similarly derivative Interpol) does a very credible take on 80s-style gloom merchants like Joy Division, Echo and the Cure. Lyrics are unfailingly dark—suicide, anxiety, doubt—but the tunes are sprightly, the singer emotes convincingly and the band plays with a nice propulsive swing. Inessential but worthwhile.

Vibrators, “Pure Mania”—fat-free Brit punk owes as much to Eddie Cochran as it does to the Clash. Refreshingly unconcerned with politics or alienation—they snarl mostly about women—virtually all these two minute gems feature a tightly wound verse, a cathartic chorus and a frenzied guitar break. This’ll get your heart pumping as well as anything.    

Bark Psychosis, “Hex”— spacy atmospheric postrock in the vein of Talk Talk, though you can also hear swatches of Eno, ECM-style jazz, dub and prog. Built around reverb-heavy guitar, pulsing rhythms and unsettling, whispery vocals, this is an exceptionally lush sounding work which in its own more subdued way is a much a sonic landmark as “Dark Side of the Moon” or “OK Computer.” Very highly recommended.

Chris Bell, “I Am The Cosmos”— co-founder of powerpop deities Big Star, his lyricism and tormented vocals remind me of no one so much as John Lennon. He could rock out convincingly (“I Don’t Know;” “Got Kinda Lost”), but his real forte was intense spiritual/gospelly numbers (“There Was A Light”) and melancholy love songs of extreme delicacy and beauty (“Speed of Sound”). Sound quality is ragged (this was cobbled together posthumously from demos and singles), but this is fantastic stuff nonetheless. The dreampop supergroup This Mortal Coil covered the title track superbly.

Clinic, “Wheeltappers and Shunters”—eccentric Brits use jittery rhythms, vintage keyboards/drum machines and melodica (!) to create an addictive sort of electropop. They’ve clearly listened to the angular postpunk of Gang of Four and Wire as well as to Radiohead—the singer purrs like a sinister Thom Yorke—but they have a very distinctive take on the form. This new set of songs isn’t as memorable as their 2002 masterwork, Walking with Thee, but this still sounds great on headphones.

Smoking Popes, “Destination Failure”—Green Day-style guitar pop with a Sinatra-loving crooner. Better than you’d think, with some great ravers like “I Know You Love Me” and “Before I’m Gone;” you could actually envision Tony Bennett tackling “Star Struck One” or “Megan”. 

Nils Peter Molvaer, “Khmer”—Swedish trumpeter plays eerie electronic jazz which falls somewhere between bop and industrial. Eschewing traditional accompaniment, he plays his (frequently muted) horn over ambient electronic washes, trip-hoppy beats and squalling, occasionally dissonant guitars. Very accessible—the compositions have real structure and his icy tone is crystal clear. His later records drifted towards New Age/Enya territory and kinda suck, but this one is optimal late night listening. 

Microdisney, “Clock Comes Down the Stairs”–aptly branded “iron fist in velvet glove,” these Irishmen paired sophisticated orchestrations with hyper-literate, acerbic lyrics and an outstanding deep-voiced singer. Sonically akin to polished studio pop like Prefab Sprout or Blue Nile, but this has an edgier spirit–like Morrissey or (audioreviews faves) Go-Betweens, there’s an angsty, sardonic feel to these songs. Not for rockers, but a classic of its type; “Begging Bowl” is one of the greatest songs of the 80s. 

Al Green, “Belle Album”–his last secular album, and you can hear him moving from away from the carnal to the spiritual (“it’s you that I want/but it’s Him that I need”). Darker and more stripped-down and guitar-focused than his prior fare, without obvious hits, this has a hypnotic flow capped off by the gospelly “Chariots of Fire” and the slow-burning, transcendant “Dream.” He sings pretty good, too. 

Crazy Horse, s/t—as Americana I rank this ragged barroom fare on a par with “Music from Big Pink” or Little Feat’s debut. OD victim Danny Whitten really was a formidable talent, and his ballads “Look at all the Things” and “I Don’t Want to Talk About It” will literarily break your heart. Neil Young stand-in Nils Lofgren contributes his best song, “Beggar’s Day,” while Ry Cooder is lethal on slide throughout.

Rain Parade, “Emergency Third Rail Power Trip”—the best of the late lamented Paisley Underground scene, this borrows heavily from 60’s folkrock and psychedelia (think “Eight Miles High” or “Hurdy Gurdy Man”), sometimes with the trippy feel of early Pink Floyd. Melodic and well-recorded, with earnest, uncolored singing, a great clean twin guitar sound and some genuinely beautiful tunes (“Kaleidoscope,” “Carolyn’s Song”).

Vampire Weekend, “Father of the Bride”—I understand this is college music, but I can’t for the life of me grasp why college kids would listen to this sanitized, sexless, saccharine sort of pseudo-World music. Well produced and performed, which, in context, is not a compliment.

Blind Faith, S/T—there’s a bit of a tossed-off quality to this prototypical supergroup project–the lyrics are comically underwritten and the extended “Do What You Like” drifts into aimlessness. That said, I’m surprised at how enjoyable this is–Winwood has never sung better and the songs are there, including the certifiable classic “Can’t Find My Way Home” and “Presence of the Lord,” which may be Clapton’s best non-Dominos composition. I’ve never worshipped Clapton’s playing, which always struck me as technically flawless but rigid and soulless, but he sounds nice and loose here. The scratchy violin solo on “Sea of Joy” is epic.

Richard Buckner,  “Our Blood”–Buckner has evolved from bittersweet altcountry  (ala Son Volt or Lucinda Williams) to an insular, original sort of electrofolk, which fuses his warm, grainy baritone (think an Americanized Joe Cocker) to  simple guitar figures, vintage keyboards and poetic, emotionally raw lyrics about loss and longing. His sonic palette is somewhat narrow–he favors elegaic, downcast melodies –but he’s really mastered this sound, and  this very well-recorded set is as good an introduction as any. 

Liquor Giants, “Every Other Day at a Time”–unfussy 60’s-inspired guitar pop from ex-Gun Club guitarist Ward Dotson, whose harder-edged prior band, the Pontiac Brothers, is also worth checking out. A genuinely great songwriter with an innate knack for clever lyrical and melodic hooks, he effortlessly invokes the Beach Boys, the Byrds and the Move (whose “Fire Escape” is covered here), though he throws in enough skewed Buzzcocks-like guitar and ragged harmonies to keep this from mere rehash or parody. I would kill to knock off a song as good as “Raining Butterflies” or “I Know I’m Wrong.”

Cat Power, “Moon Pix”—I’ve vacillated between thinking she’s a dreary self-absorbed mess or a gifted torch singer before settling, at least on this set, for the latter. Austerely arranged and deliberately paced, though less somber than her usual, she enlists Aussie jazzbos Dirty Three to give this some kick in spots. Much of this has the earthy fervor of an old Delta blues record, and her voice does stick with you.

Prince, “Plectorumelectrum”—he didn’t exactly lose his muse, but most of his post-1990 output was so eclectic/unfiltered as to be almost unlistenable—he’s one guy who definitely needed an editor. This oddball power-trio set, though, is surprisingly coherent, mainly because he stops screwing around and just cranks up his guitar. Leaving most of the vox to a couple of ladies, he mixes slow, Ohio Players-style R&B with heavy almost-metal which borrows as much from Black Sabbath as from Eddie Hazel or Hendrix. Jammin.

Duster, “Capsule Losing Contact”—three disc collection from obscure 90s depressives whose broody, atomospheric output seems to have garnered a lot of recent critical interest. Most of these songs feature glacial tempos, distorted guitars, subdued synths and offhand vocals—tuneful slowcore bands like Low are an obvious influence, though I also hear a lot of emo and Velvet-influenced dreampoppers like Galaxie 500 and Mazzy Star. Very, very pretty stuff, if somewhat lugubrious and monochromatic, this is definitely not suitable for your Zumba class, though it works very well for winding down with a couple of gin-and Valiums.

Anteloper, “Kudu”—psychedelicized, improvisational update of “Bitches Brew” era jazz-funk, featuring a wild, arrhtymic drummer and a fantastic lady trumpeter whose cool but powerful blowing approaches Miles. Exploratory and unpredictable, these tunes nonetheless are surprisingly cohesive, with powerful grooves, ambient electronic washes and real melodies peeking out amidst the sudden dynamic shifts and free-form explorations. A real find.

Fleetwood Mac, “Kiln House”—recorded after Peter Green’s departure and pre-chick singers, this album marks their transistion from blues band to their eventual AOR commercial zenith. Deftly mixing Jeremy Spencer’s sleazy rockabilly (“This is The Rock”, “Hi-ho Silver”) with the melodic, understated genius of Danny Kirwan (“Jewel Eyed Judy”, “Tell Me”), this is song-for-song the best album in their catalog, alternately funny, tender and heavy.

Fig Dish, “That’s What Love Songs Often Do”– maddeningly catchy, Replacements-like rawk from Chicago quartet that got swept up (and subsequently ignored) in the wake of Smashing Pumpkins. Unruly and anarchistic live, their two major-label records actually show a tight, crafty studio band, with massive hooks, subtle harmonies and a giant, crunchy guitar sound ala Meat Puppets or “Monster” era REM. More tuneful than most grunge, and louder than most power pop, though they can dial it down a bit when they choose (“Lemonader,” “Quiet Storm King”); like Nirvana they have a particularly good feel for loud-soft dynamics.  The furious waltz-tempo opener, “Bury Me” is a real stomper, while the edgy “Seeds,” with its terse haiku chorus,  is a shoulda-been classic. I sorta understand why bands like this don’t make it—they lack anything like a marketable image—but if you care more about the adrenaline than the optics, this delivers.Nik Bartsch, “Awase”— hypnotic, minimalist trance from Swiss quartet. Seemingly informed by neo-classical composers like Phillip Glass or LaMonte Young, this also has elements of fusion and funk, albeit without all the wankery. The long songs generally follow a pattern–the rhythm section lays down a propulsive almost techno beat, leader Bartsch plays repetitive, fragmentary piano figures and the horn player adds fluid, melodic lines which gradually intensify and/or approach disorder. Much more accessible than you’d think and a great late-night listen, this is avant-garde for people who thought they don’t like avant-garde

Lorelle Meets the Obsolete, “De Facto”— off-kilter neopsychdelia/triphop from Mexico City. Most of these tunes begin with a druggy, hypnotic feel, with soothing (Spanish language) female vox crooning over pulsing, repetitive basslines and gentle synth washes; however they inevitably add fuzzed-out, noisy guitar, driving percussion and distortion to the mix to give an unsettling quality to the proceedings. Trance-y minimalists like Spacemen 3 (whose Sonic Boom had some interaction with the band) are an obvious influence, though I also hear elements of Krauts like Tangerine Dream and Neu as well as avant guitarists like Glenn Branca and Sonic Youth. Addictive stuff.

Free, “Fire and Water”–granted, Bad Company was kinda stupid, but there’s no denying that Paul Rogers was a great singer–soulful without sounding cloying–and every one of these tunes connect some 50 years later. I like how spartan the arrangements are (no overdubs, no harmonies); impeccably restrained guitarist Paul Kosoff in particular must set a record for playing the fewest notes per full-length album. The real killer here, though, is bassist Andy Fraser who simultaneously plays trebly rhythm and lead and gives this a swing which peers like Cream and Humble Pie never grasped. Their big hits “All Right Now” and “Fire or Water” (later crushedby Wilson Pickett) are here, but my favorites are the stately, somber “Don’t Say You Love Me” and “Heavy Load.” 

Vijay Iyer Sextet “Far From Over”—a cerebral, technically brilliant pianist whose wild genre-hopping experimentation sometimes ventures into inaccessibility, Iyer plays it comparatively straight here, with a horncentric, hard-bop set that brings to mind “Ascension”-era Coltrane or funkier, later-day Miles Davis. Much of this is uptempo and electric (he plays a lot of Fender Rhodes), with swelling crescendos and  big dynamic shifts, tho he varies the mood nicely with quiet piano meditations (“For Amiri Baraka,”) and more modal /Eastern passages. Impressive.

Afghan Whigs. “Gentlemen”—their noisier early records and overpolished faux-R&B later stuff never fully connected with me, but this is one of the best, most harrowing rock records of the 90s. A concept album of sorts—singer/auteur Greg Dulli self-flagellates about his moral failings and dysfunctional relationships while the super locked-in band howls and purrs behind him. Alternately loud/funky (“Debonair”) or slow and somber (“Be Sweet”), these are great, smart songs, esp. the cathartic, piano-driven “What Jail is Like,” which more-or-less sums up his view of romance. The orchestral coda at the end seems tacked-on and incongruous at first, but soon becomes a needed respite from all that psychic fury. Great production, with notable stereo separation and a huge, crisp drum sound. 

Jason Isbell, “The Nashville Sound”—Isbell does a certain kind of sad, pretty tune as well as anyone and this incredibly depressing mediation on the inevitability of death is his saddest and prettiest. (“If we were vampires and death was a joke/We’d stand out on and the sidewalk and smoke/And laugh at all the lovers and their plans/And then I wouldn’t need to hold your hand”). Goddamn if this one doesn’t make me feel old.

DM3, “Hourglass”–pubrockers played an exuberant, garagey  pop not too far removed from Nick Lowe or (fellow Ozzies) Hoodoo Gurus, with hypercatchy tunes and a big ringing guitar sound.  This 21 song best-of has their genre classics like “One Time Two Times” and a great cover of Creation’s “Making Time.” “Take It All” is as purty an old-fashioned power ballad as you’ll hear.

Eyelids, “OR”—ex-Decemberists/Guided by Voices sidemen don’t necessarily do anything different than the legions of other Big-Star worshipping powerpoppers (Velvet Crush, Matthew Sweet, etc.), but like the similarly-bent Posies have a real feel for the form, with a bevy of hooky, melancholic tunes and particularly noteworthy singing and guitar playing (“Slow It Goes”). Unfashionable, uncomplicated and all the better for it. 

Adam Franklin, “All Happening Now”—re-recorded, dialed-down versions of songs from his former bands, the overdriven shoegazers Swervedriver and the spacier, ambient Toshack Highway. Shorn of most of the whammy bars, feedback and overdriven rhythms, this sounds closer to Britpop like Oasis or Suede, either of whom would be thrilled to have so deep a catalog. Franklin’s a very good guitarist and expressive enough of a non-singer to deliver these taut melodic tunes; one wonders why he wasn’t anointed a major artist. Also worthwhile: Swervedriver’s 2019 fuzzed-out reunion disc, “Future Ruins,” which sounds like they haven’t lost a step since the early 90s.

Arab Strap, “The Red Thread”—intense, tough-to-categorize sort of postrock/slowcore features one Aidan Moffat sing-speaking twisted tales of  jealous lovers and perfidious women in a heavy Scottish brogue over rich, flowing guitar-and-drum machine washes, sometimes enlivened with piano and strings.  Perhaps best analogized to a fugged-up Tindersticks or the National, you respond to this melodically even if you can’t speak Scottish—this is intense, often hilarious and definitely original.  

The Bevis Frond, “We’re Your Friends, Man”—DIY psychedelic guitar hero Nick Salomon has been cranking out records of remarkable consistency since 1987 and is the rare rocker who actually improves with age. This latest (his “20-something swinging disc”) is as well-written as anything you’ll hear this year, with nary a duff track among its 20 tunes. Veering capably from tightly-constructed stompers (“Enjoy”; “Old Wives Tales”) to pretty Britfolk ballads (“We’re Your Friends, “Mad Love”) to his typical acid-jammy workouts (“You’re on Your Own”), he variously invokes Richard Thompson, Byrds and Crazy Horse without sounding particularly derivative. Granted, his homely-but-appealing voice (never a particularly supple instrument) sounds noticeably strained, but riffs and lyrics are sharp, his band is tight and he can still shred like a mofo. My pick for album of the year, which shows where I’m coming from.

Pete Townsend/Ronnie Lane, “Rough Mix”—this mostly-low key folksy 1977 set with ex-Small Face Lane tones down the psychodrama and is one of the more listenable records in Townsend’s canon, perhaps because (except for the over-arranged “Street in the City”) it doesn’t aim to make a Grand Statement. Townsend’s rough-and-ready pubrocker “My Baby Gives It Away” and the poignant “Keep Me Turning” (which for some reason always brings a tear to my eye) are among his best songs, but the real gems are Lane’s subtle, acoustic “Annie” and “Nowhere to Run,” which have timeless, classic feel. 

Watter, “History of the Future”–brooding, atmospheric landscapes from Louisville, of all places The shortish tunes are not mere ambient wankery, but have real structure and textural variety, with spacy electronic and pastoral folky parts melding with progrock dynamics and even classical passages; despite the disparate elements the record is quite coherent overall. Experimental and instro bands like Trans Am, Godspeed You Black Emperor or Caspian are fair reference points, but this shows more sonic range and ambition. Great headphone music.

The Stroppies, “Whoosh” –Ozzie primitivists uncannily recreate classic 80s Flying Nun (NZ) bands like the Bats, Tall Dwarfs and the Chills. Deploying boy/girl harmonies, rudimentary Casio organ and jagged loudish guitar lines, these guys have a knack for creating rhythmically insistent, stripped-down tunes which are both shambolic and surprisingly hooky (“Pen Name,” “Entropy”). Pastoral yet punchy, with an innate sense of dynamics, this record will have appeal to admirers of insular indy rockers like Feelies or Pavement and really hearkens back to a better era where good songs and angst-free attitude trumped studio polish. Similar and also recommended, The Stevens, “Good”.

Jenny Lewis, “On the Line”— a charismatic critic’s pet and former child actor who (like the similarly-situated Neko Case and Kelly Musgraves) I’ve never fully embraced, Ms. Lewis enlists a bunch of studio pros (Beck, Ringo, Benmont Tench) to create a big-sounding, glossy countrypolitain production which is unquestionably accomplished but ultimately leaves me unmoved. Dealing largely with loss, death and decadence, the songs are lyrically ambitious although the somewhat monochromatic melodies drag (like Fiona Apple, she tends to default to the same slow, percussive piano tempo). She has a crystal clear, dramatic voice, but sounds curiously detached and soulless here, like she’s playing a role, rather than genuinely inhabiting the downtrodden personas she’s singing about. Mostly, though, there’s an offputting hyper-showy quality to this thing—everything from the overbusy mix to her overarticulated vocals to the boob shot on the album cover screams “look at me.” Pass.

Michael Head and the Strands, “The Magical World of the Strands”—although vaguely aware of Head’s prior bands, Pale Fountains and Shack, this 1998 folkrock masterwork wholly escaped my purview until now. Strongly reminiscent of Fairport Convention or a ballsier Nick Drake, these songs are instantly memorable, with gorgeous melancholic melodies and hallucinatory, introspective lyrics. Like Drake (or Love’s “Forever Changes”), he sweetens some of his arrangements with strings and flute and there’s a subtle chamber-pop feel to some of these tunes, although there’s little that’s twee about it—the band plays with rock dynamics, the drumming is propulsive and the electric/acoustic guitar interplay is sinewy and sometimes freak-folky and exploratory. Head is an excellent, understated singer whose warm tremulous tenor reminds me of Gene Clark or Pete Ham, and there’s a natural organic feel to these proceedings. Optimal late-night listening and a real find. 

Hookworms, Live Vol. III—much rawer than their synth-heavy studio work, this set fuses the Stooges, “Sister Ray”-era Velvets and droning Krautrock into a punkish-but-tuneful organ-fueled clamor which hits you like a bottle of cough syrup.   Heavy but hooky, with a sort of psychedelic feel, the singer howls cathartically over thumping, almost-danceable drums and thick, driving guitar lines; there’s an undeniable emotional power to these tunes even if you have no idea what they’re caterwauling about. More accessible than you might think, this would appeal to fans of early Pink Floyd as well as postpunk bands like Public Image Ltd. Good workout music.

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