HifiZine
The enthusiast's audio webzine

Oliver Masciarotte

A graduate of the Lowell Institute of MIT, Oliver A. Masciarotte has spent over three decades immersed in digital media verticals, working on facilitation, marketing, and product development for clients such as NPR, the San Francisco Symphony, Harper Collins, The Hit Factory, Universal, NASA Johnson, Sony and Apple. Masciarotte holds a US patent for a detection system & method for mobile platform marketing. His writings, a book and well over 100 articles in all, have appeared in sundry trade publications and, of course, here in HifiZine! As an invited presenter at numerous trade conferences and active member of the AES, SMPTE, PMI and DCS, he enjoys working with folks on technological best practices. Masciarotte is currently CMO and co–founder of MAAT Incorporated, an emerging leader of Loudness measurement and audio signal processing solutions for engineers, consumers, OEM and enterprise markets.

Triangle Genèse Trio

In the world of consumer audio, you don’t usually find both high style and remarkable performance embodied together in a “budget” product. Distinctive industrial design is largely reserved for the Very High End, where vast planes of aluminum, hardwood, copper or glass are milled into an over–spec’d behemoth. Despite that broad generalization, there are exceptions

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iFi Audio iPurifier3

Sometimes, it pays to do research…I had a problem that needed fixing. To be frank, it was a rather trivial, First World Problem. Join me in a lengthy tale of woe, you may find it an interesting process…

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Spatial Audio M3 Triode Master + interview with designer Clayton Shaw

Oliver Masciarotte spends time with the Spatial Audio M3 Triode Master open baffle speaker, and quizzes designer Clayton Shaw about his design choices. Oliver concludes: “The M3 Triode Master is a outstanding example of OB design; exacting imaging combined with broad uncolored off-axis coverage and an airy, expansive soundstage. It… lends itself nicely to rooms large and small.”

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Music In The Mountains

“In year’s past, the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF) has been hampered by an aging, rather stale venue, and backward looking management. This year, things were looking up with the hosting hotel being newly refreshed and the exhibitors better able to cope with the remodeled rooms.” Oliver Masciarotte provides his retrospective of the 2017 show.

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Bernstein On Broadway: Bringing West Side Story To A Modern Audience

In 2013, the San Francisco Symphony took on a monumental project, a re–staging of the beloved West Side Story. After listening, Oliver Masciarotte came to realize that the album’s production must have been a heroic effort, and wanted to know more…

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BenQ treVolo Portable Electrostatic Speaker

“With piles of snow in the back yard, ice storms rolling across the northern States, and a Christmas tree still gracing a corner of the living room, the holiday will be with us for a while longer. Along with the tree, I’ve been living with a small but exciting powered speaker system that redefines clarity and versatility on the desk top.” Oliver Masciarotte tells.

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Tisbury Audio Mini Passive Preamplifier II

“Sometimes, it’s the little things that drive you crazy… take, for example, gain. It seems there’s always too much or too little, never the perfect Goldilocks amount.” Oliver Masciarotte test-drives the Tisbury Audio Mini Passive with adjustable gain switches as a solution. “For modest or minimalist systems, the Mini Passive is a no–brainer; versatile, compact, low cost and aurally unobtrusive.”

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Gauder Akustik Arcona 40

High style and higher fidelity, the ARCONA 40’s exceptional voice draws you into an ever deeper infatuation with your music; It commands, “Just sit still and listen!” Oliver Masciarotte reports.

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Canorama — Four Value–priced Earphones

Thinking of buying headphones? Here are four In–Ear Phones from thinksound, Etymotic, RHA and Ultimate Ears to consider. Each is exemplary for their cost and represents “excellent value in their class.” Read what $60 to $400 buys you in terms of fit, finish, features and sound quality…

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Geek Out 1000 by LH Labs

The USB dongle form factor for DACs has become not quite common, but certainly not a surprise. With the fairly rapid appearance of DXD and multi–rate DSD downloads, many consumers desire a future–proof purchase that will play everything. To address that market, LH Labs decided to… get weird! Oliver Masciarotte reports that “It’s a tiny techno tour de force, and a bargain to boot… highly recommended!”

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