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Lab - thoughts on music, sound quality. Plus discuss sonics with other people

Getting more from your iPod: the definitive audiophile’s guide

Since its launch in October 2001, the Apple iPod has been responsible for a revolution in the way we enjoy music – and that’s not hyperbole. Where our portable music was once limited by how many CDs, cassettes or MiniDiscs we could carry around with,... Read more

Voices in my head – A guide to headphones

Headphones have enjoyed a diverse technological history, Paul Rigby looks at their past, present and future. Headphones are one of the most personal items in anyone’s hi-fi. They generate some of the most intense, passionate and, sometimes, vitriolic fervour you’re likely to hear. We love... Read more

Vinyl – A new hope

Seemingly moribund with the onset of CD, vinyl, especially audiophile vinyl, is now enjoying, says Paul Rigby, both a cultural and marketing renaissance. Vinyl was supposed to be finished. As a mass medium, that much was true. However, like any mature industry which has experienced... Read more

The definitive guide to 24-bit FLAC

High resolution downloads are changing the way we enjoy music, opening up possibilities undreamed of back in digital’s early days… It’s hard to understate the impact that Compact Disc made, upon its introduction back in 1982. At the time, the music world was very different,... Read more

Sound Tasting at Abbey Road with Dr John Dibb

Continuing on our mission as sound evangelists we invited a group of journalists to a Sound Tasting at Abbey Road Studios. The aim was to give them an insight into how a speaker engineer (in this case, B&W Senior Development Engineer Dr John Dibb), goes... Read more

The Art of Sound

Discovering the Creative Potential of Audio The premiere of the John Cage’s 4’33″ was given by David Tudor on August 29, 1952, at Woodstock, New York as part of a recital of contemporary piano music. The piece was composed for any instrument, or any combination... Read more