This story starts in July 2011 at the California Audio Show. That's where I was introduced to the Aurender music server team and where I had my first opportunity to use the server. I was immediately impressed by the product and the people. Everyone in the room knew their stuff. I asked question after question about the server's capabilities and the team's design decisions. I received polite and comprehensive answers to all my questions. I also asked if I could shoot photos of all the internal server components and was given the simple answer, "Yes, we have nothing to hide." I walked out of that room feeling refreshed. The people I'd just met weren't jaded from decades in the industry yet they had more music server knowledge than 99% of the exhibitors at the show. Fast forward to the end of February 2013. Days after Korea elected its first female President I touched down at Icheon Airport on a trip to speak at the Seoul International Audio Show and visit the headquarters of the Aurender team. I enjoyed meeting computer audiophiles at the show despite the language barrier. Furthermore I gained additional respect for the Aurender team, the company, and its products.
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and the Audirvana Plus home page .
An email came in today from a friend directing me to this video of Beck covering David Bowies's Sound and Vision. I'm thrilled I clicked the link! This is a very cool production sponsored by Lincoln Motor Company. It's a 360 degree experience with more than 160 musicians, binaural microphones, and face recognition to enable each viewer to control the "camera". Viewers can manually select different cameras that constantly rotate around the stage, audience, and musicians or even watch the linear version if desired. There's a series of videos explaining the creative process and providing behind the scenes looks into this production. I'd love to know what Lincoln spent on this whole thing. Something this cool doesn't come cheap. Enjoy.
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The Computer Audiophile Product of the Year is an award I started giving out in 2011. The first winner was WideaLab's Aurender S10 music server. The award is one way to give credit where credit is due. I don't have ten different categories with ten runners up in each category as that's a copout for those unwilling to make difficult decisions. This year I will select a hardware and software product of the year. Both products must have been reviewed or used extensively by me in 2012. The software selection was much easier for me than the hardware selection. This year my hardware selection came down to two very different products. One product is the best DAC I had heard in my system and costs $15,500. The other product is the best value I can ever remember and costs $250. The former product sounds lightyears better than the later but this award doesn't focus on sound quality only. A CA product of the year has to be much more than good souding. Groundbreaking and innovative certainly don't hurt. Neither does a product's ability to bring excellent sound quality to the masses. 
This is a great time of year to be a computer audiophile. Both new audio and new computer components are traditionally released between now and CES in January. I'm awaiting arrival of two computer components for C.A.P.S. v3 testing. The release date of these components has been pushed back a bit by the manufacturers. I feel like a little kid full of excitement waiting for these items. I'm also very excited to attend Rocky Mountain Audiofest this week in Denver, CO. In addition to seeing and hearing some new components I'll be conducting two seminars in the Aspen Amphitheater. A DVD Audio and Blu-ray Ripping session as well as my favorite Computer Audio Q&A session. A few weeks after RMAF I'll be flying to Warsaw, Poland. I've been invited to present two computer audio seminars at the 16th annual Audio Show Poland's largest exhibition of audio-video equipment and home theater. The best part will certainly be meeting CA readers at RMAF this week and next month in Poland. It's truly a great time to be a computer audiophile.
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