JENNY CHEN at Tippet Rise
Jenny Chen’s Diary at Tippet Rise Tippet Rise has an eco-friendly environment, and all things blend as a part of nature. I remember from the moment I stepped down from the car, I noticed the solar-powered panels in the parking lot and saw that the touring vans were also solar powered. I thought to myself, “What a wonderful way of green living!” During my stay in the beautiful cabin Tippet Rise built for traveling artists, wildlife frequently passes by. The wild turkey family, deer, and sheep have been frequent visitors. Once I was running on the road and encountered a herd of cows, which I sang to as an experiment, and they actually waved their tails and responded, Mmooooo. My favorite time of the day is morning, having a cup of coffee while watching from afar the shepherd herding the sheep on horseback, whistling and shouting ecstatically. Sometimes this flock of sheep would pass by my cabin making hilarious cries. Some sheep rub their bodies against the elevated wooden decks attached to the house, because of its absorbed warmth under the sun. Unseen in many other performance venues, these pastoral scenes are especially exclusive at Tippet Rise. 2 Jenny Chen at Tippet Rise
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Also through Tippet Rise, I participated in the educational outreach program by giving a family concert, having a luncheon with the university students, and performing a concert in lecture form. At the family concert, the age of the children ranged from babies a few months old to young teenagers. I had the opportunity to interact frequently with the audience in fun activities such as inviting some kids to learn to dance on the stage, having quizzes, and teaching them about instruments such as piano and violin. After the concert, it was such a therapeutic scene when the kids were surrounding me with curious faces and asking many questions. At the luncheon with the local university students, I had meaningful conversations seated at the same table, as I had the previous night, after they attended my concert. Lastly, the concert hall of the Olivier Music Barn was designed from the model of the Esterhรกzy room (the patron whom Haydn served); only at Tippet Rise. It provides an intimate setting like a Schubertiade gathering, where Schubert and his friends of different occupations would act out dramas and sing songs. Before I play every piece, I speak about it in the way of a musical exchange with the audience, rather than as a stiff concert hall presentation. I was glad to learn from audience members who approached me after the concert that the speaking parts were useful in helping them to understand the meaning behind the playing. In the modern world, it could be hard to understand classical music, which is an abstract sound form, without the fundamental knowledge of music history and theory.
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Another fascinating thing about Tippet Rise is that it’s like a museum of sculptures and kinds of architecture. Each artwork demands time to understand and study. The awe that I gained from these massive sculptures gives me the chills, the sense that the sculptures could not possibly be made by humans, particularly at an unreachable level. Alexander Calder’s Two Discs, Mark di Suvero’s Proverb and Beethoven’s Quartet, Patrick Dougherty’s Daydreams, and many others are truly inspiring. A special experience that made a deep impression on me was performing under the Domo, which was constructed by Ensamble Studio. It is beautiful land art as well as an outdoor concert space. As I execute my playing, the sound reverberates back and forth under the Domo, and the surrounding Beartooth Mountains echo the vibrating sounds. This combination of music, art, and nature is overwhelmingly powerful. It seems like everything in my heart and soul is transmitted through sounds in the Domo and Beartooth Mountains, as a vehicle to resonate with all the people present under the Domo umbrella. An unforgettable and magical moment to remember. 6 Jenny Chen at Tippet Rise
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The concert hall at Tippet Rise, the Olivier Music Barn, is a very rare utopian place, where an approach of what John Cage called the “indeterminacy” compositional technique can be made. The view from the large window, right next to the performer, is itself an art of “chance” (a compositional process of random acts that includes “whatever sound comes along”); the changing weather, creatures or people walking by, are elements of random acts that happen while the performer performs. There was a time when I was performing the Chopin 24 preludes, starting from No. 1, when the window scene was still serene. As the numbers went on, the lightning got intense, up until No. 8 when the thunder struck as my fingers were busily swiping across the piano keys in the plunging dark hole of the F-sharp Minor Prelude. It was an absolute coincidence that music and nature combined in a perfect way of expressing emotion. A comprehensive art form combining music and nature creates magic that impresses all the senses. It is not possible for me to use words to thoroughly describe Tippet Rise. I believe your own hands-on experience would affect you more deeply. I hope you can come! 8 Jenny Chen at Tippet Rise
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Jenny Chen showed exceptional promise at a young age. She was accepted
at the Curtis Institute at 10 years old, and then sped through to her master’s degree at Yale at age 18. She is currently a doctoral candidate at the Eastman School of Music and staff pianist at the Curtis Institute of Music. As a winner of the Lowry Award, Chen was honored with a Carnegie debut in 2019. Her mentors include Eleanor Sokoloff, Gary Graffman, Robert Blocker, Melvin Chen, Douglas Humpherys, Anne-Marie McDermott, and André-Michel Schub. While still quite young, she distinguished herself by winning numerous first prizes in Taiwan, including the Kawai Piano Competition, the Baroque Competition, the Steinbach Music Competition, Mandarin Daily Piano Competition, the Vienna National Piano Competition, the Yamaha Piano Competition, the Seidof & Sons Piano Competition, the Victory Cup Competition, the Taipei Music Competition, and the National Music Competition sponsored by the Ministry of Education. In the United States Chen received top prizes at the 2016 MTNA National Competition, the Rodney and Lorna Sawatsky Rising Stars Concerto Competition, the American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition, the Fifth New York International Piano Competition, the 12th Eastman International Piano Competition, and the Young Concert Artists’ International auditions. Chen has been on full scholarships throughout her education, as well as winning a Teaching Assistant Award at Eastman, the Suzanne Roberts Cultural Development Fund Annual Fellow, the Taiwan Chi-Mei Artist Scholarship, the Stravinsky Awards Scholarship, and the Taiwan Dong-Sung Culture Foundation Scholarship. Chen made her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age 14, and subsequently the orchestra invited her again. She also performed with Taipei 10 Jenny Chen at Tippet Rise
Symphony Orchestra, National Repertory Orchestra, Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, New York Downtown Sinfonietta, and Pacific Symphony, with conductors such as Rossen Milanov, Neil Varon, Carl Topilow, Stuart Malina, and Carl St. Clair. As a passionate chamber musician, she has collaborated with prestigious musicians such as Arnold Steinhardt, Peter Wiley, Anne-Marie McDermott, Andrew Bain, Zach De Pue, and Anton Nel. She has been invited to perform at many festivals, including events at Chamber Music Encounters of Lincoln Center, Tippet Rise, Sejong International Music Festival, Mainly Mozart, and Bravo! Vail. Chen’s performances have been broadcast on live television and radio from WHYY’s On Stage at Curtis, Classical MPR’s Performance Today, and FOX Rochester. Moreover, her performances were selected for inclusion on CDs released by Curtis Institute and Tippet Rise (Opus 2016: Domo). Despite all her successes, the energy and insight of her music have not lost the joy of youth, a contradictory mix where the rigors of virtuosity abet, rather than hinder, the spontaneity, the freshness of her music. Chen has received audience acclaim appearing in solo and chamber music performances across the United States and abroad in venues including Alice Tully Hall of Lincoln Center, Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, and Merkin Concert Hall in New York; Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall in Pennsylvania; Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in California; Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Colorado; National Concert Hall in Taiwan; Vredenburg Leidsche Rijn in the Netherlands; and Solti Hall in Hungary. Jenny Chen at Tippet Rise 11
Chen brings creativity to the concert stage through her collaboration with Bruce Adolphe (Director of Family Programs at Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center), as part of the family program at the Bravo! Vail 2017, to produce the original play “Leave It to Ludwig,� for families to learn the stories and meaning behind selected Beethoven compositions. Chen is always interested in engaging and entertaining people of all ages, including families who attended a recent educational outreach program at Tippet Rise, which fostered community through music and interaction with the live audience. Among other educational activities at Tippet Rise was an in-depth panel discussion featuring environmentalist professors, a scientist, an architect, and composers from all parts of the world.
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Jenny Chen in Recital Friday, July 21, 2017, 6:30 PM Olivier Music Barn
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Sonata in E-flat Major, K. 282 Adagio Menuett I Menuett II Allegro WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Variations, K. 455 FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN: Nocturne Op. 48, No. 1 Étude Op. 10, No. 1 Étude Op. 10, No. 2 Étude Op. 10, No. 3 INTERMISSION WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Sonata No. 18 in D major, K. 576 Allegro Adagio Allegretto WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Fantasia in D minor K. 397/385g CLAUDE DEBUSSY: Préludes Book 1, No. 5 “Les collines d’Anacapri” Préludes Book 1, No. 8 “La fille aux cheveux de lin” Préludes Book 1, No. 9 “La Sérénade interrompue” Préludes Book 1, No. 11 “La danse de Puck” Préludes Book 1, No. 12 “Minstrels”
GIOACHINO ROSSINI: “La Pastorella delle Alpi” Jenny Chen at Tippet Rise 15
Technical Specifications Recorded live on July 21, 2017 Recording Engineers: Monte Nickles, Monica Boles Sound Editor: Jim Ruberto Mixed and Mastered by Monte Nickles Performer: Jenny Chen Piano: CD-18 Recorded in Auro3D format for immersive playback mixed down to stereo in 32bit 384kHz DXD. Microphones used: Main array: Left: DPA 4041a Right: DPA 4041a Center: DPA 4041a Sur L: DPA 4041a Sur R: DPA 4041a Height FL: DPA 4006a Height FR: DPA 4006a 16 Jenny Chen at Tippet Rise
Spot microphones: DPA 4006a’s inside piano Microphone preamps: Grace M802’s Converters: Merging Technology’s HAPI and HORUS with premium converter cards DAW: Merging Technology’s Pyramix
Flip Book Design and Layout: Craig M. White Photography: Erik Petersen, Emily Rund, Yevgeny Sudbin, and Jeanne Reid White Text: Jenny Chen Pianist: Jenny Chen
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Conversation with Jenny Chen By Alexis M. Adams
AMA: You are an incredibly friendly performer. Some musicians are a little reserved,
but you have a way of embracing the audience and including them in the performance.
JC: To me, performance is a very, very special thing to do. When I’m on the stage, I really
want to give all I have to the audience. And, at Tippet Rise, it’s special, so you want to give even more than usual. When you perform in New York City, it often feels like there’s an expectation. The ticket prices are high, so when the audience arrives, they want something. There’s a little pressure. But, at Tippet Rise, the environment and the people bring out the best in the performers. And at Tippet Rise, you’re immersed in nature. As an artist, I feel most comfortable when I’m close to nature. That’s when I have the most natural, the most intimate, feelings—it’s where I’m most calm. And it’s where I can express everything in my heart and out to the audience. So, I think my best performances will always be at Tippet Rise.
AMA: That’s lovely, Jenny. We love having you there. I was just talking to the pianist
Adam Golka and he said the best performance he gave was after getting lost hiking in the mountains of Colorado. When he found his way to the trailhead, he had just a few minutes to get ready for his performance, which left him no time for his usual preperformance rituals. He said it wound up being the best performance of his life, and he is sure it was because of that immersive experience in nature. 18 Jenny Chen at Tippet Rise
JC: I can imagine that! But those rituals are important. I do exercises every day before I
perform, kind of like meditations. Menahem Pressler talked about meditating before he performs—because he gets nervous about performing and because he feels he must develop the highest concentration possible to perform well. Music is an abstract form, and when you’re performing, it’s very easy to lose concentration. For me, I’m an excitable person. My energy can help me lose concentration, so my rituals help me perform the most beautiful music I can make. And I exercise every morning. If I don’t wake up on time, my father calls me, “Jenny, it’s 5 AM! It’s time to exercise!” He does this all the way from Taiwan, every morning. He really cares about me and wants to make sure I do well.
AMA: Do you have a particular composer that you identify with or love to play most of all? JC: When I was at Curtis, I focused more on piano technique and I didn’t really go in depth
with a particular composer. But when I went to get my Master’s degree, I began to fall in love with each composer, all of them. If I had to name one, I’d tell you that Rachmaninoff is really my thing. I think this relates to my childhood when my family was separated in three different places: my father was in Taiwan, my mother was with me in the States, and my brothers were in Taiwan and New Jersey. Before I was 10 years old, we were together all the time and had fun, making lots of great memories, but after that, we were in different places, and this was because of me. Everyone separated because of me: because I got into Curtis, which is really hard to get into. They only take three to six students out of about 350 applicants. The separation was difficult for me. I couldn’t see my family, I didn’t feel the security you feel when you’re with your family. It’s painful when you miss someone, especially at such a young age. Rachmaninoff gave me a way to put myself into the music and express my sorrow. Jenny Chen at Tippet Rise 19
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Jenny Chen plays Liszt: Sonata in B minor Franz Liszt: Sonata in B minor Performed by Jenny Chen Tippet Rise Art Center, The Olivier Music Barn, July 22, 2017
https://tippetrise.org/films/jenny-chen-plays-liszt-sonata-in-b-minor
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The Tippet Rise Downloads Library Frequently Asked Questions Peter Halstead
How to play a track
Click on the arrow on your chosen track and listen. Many computers after 2016 can play high-quality sound.
If no sound
Your computer may not be able to read the chosen track. You can upgrade your sound by adding a converter and headphones (see the lists under FAQs).
Here’s how to attach them to your computer:
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To add a converter and headphones 1. Plug the items in: Computer + USB cable + converter + headphones 2. Double-click on the TRACK you’d like to hear. 3. Go have lunch while it downloads. It could take five minutes to half an hour, depending on your internet speed. 4. You’ll see the ICON for the track in your downloads window. You can play it from there. 5. If it feels more convenient, drag it to your desktop. 6. Double-click the ICON. You might see a PLAYBACK WINDOW with controls to pause, stop, play. 7. Figure out how to turn the sound up and down on your computer. 8. Put the SOUND down LOW. 9. Put on the headphones. 10. Push PLAY in the PLAYBACK WINDOW. 11. Turn up the sound until you can hear the music comfortably, on both the converter and your computer. (Note that you may have turn up your computer’s sound in its PREFERENCES window in its SETTINGS.)
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I can’t hear the tracks that I’ve downloaded.
- Make sure you can hear other things, like YouTube. Make sure the volume is up. Check Settings: Sound.
If you still can’t hear anything, your computer may not be able to play DXD files. You can simply add a converter (see our converter listings below). You can then plug headphones into the converter.
I can’t get the sound loud enough on my computer.
- Make sure the sound bar is all the way up in Setting: Sound, and on your computer dashboard. If it’s still too quiet, you can simply add a converter (see our converter listings below). You can then plug headphones into the converter. The headphone volume control on the converter will provide excellent volume.
What is the advantage of “high resolution”?
- It sounds like you’re actually there in the room with the musicians in a good recording session. If it’s a great piano or violin or cello, you can tell.
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What are the kinds of high resolution? - There’s 16/44.1, 24/88.2, 24/96, 24/192, 24/356, 32/384, and 32/768 (the highest). The first number shows the length of each digital “word,” such as 16 bits. The second number shows how many thousand times a second the word “samples” (that is, records) the original sound. “44.1” means the track visits the sound 44,100 times a second. 16/44.1 is the measurement (or resolution) of the sound on a CD.
What is a sampling rate? - The higher the sampling rate, the more accurate the description. The computer actually visits the original master tape as many as 768,000 times a second. This is written 768 kHz (kiloHertz, or a thousand vibrations), as in 32/768.
What is DXD?
- It’s short for Digital Extreme Definition. DXD is a recording format that uses a very high sampling rate of 24/352.8 to 32/384. Merging Technologies and Pyramix incorporated the DXD format into their workstations to provide a higher standard than was available at that time. Initially it was used as a master file from which lower resolutions were extracted. DXD Data is transferred three times faster than with DSD64, and is eight times larger than a CD’s transfer rate. It has a more
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exacting sonic response and lower noise than other formats. The Norwegian recording company 2L has pioneered its use and its marketing. The Pyramix System is used by a few high-end studios and symphony orchestras.
Is DXD better than vinyl?
- Originally, performers were recorded in 17 channels by RCA. But no one could figure out how to put more than one channel into the side of each groove. So vinyl became mono and then stereo (two channels). After a few plays, vinyl begins to sound scratchy. It also thumps as the physical vinyl disk wobbles, because the plastic mold warps over time. Dust on the disk causes pops. DXD has the same warmth as the original master tape, but without the pops, thumps, and scratches of vinyl. It also has the potential to play back as many as 10 channels.
Are headphones better than loudspeakers? - A cheap $60 pair of Dr. Dre “Beats” headphones sounds as good as a stereo costing an awful lot. Headphones sound better than speakers generally because their sound goes immediately into your ear, with no friction from the air or from distance to degrade the sound waves. When you sit 10 feet from a speaker, you lose a surprisingly large amount of the sound by the time it reaches you. There are great headphones from Sony, AKG, Sennheiser, Bose, Beyer, B&W. Grado, Focal, Audeze, Stax, Shure, HiFiMan, and Sonoma make more expensive headphones, with diminishing returns.
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Can I just plug headphones into my computer? - Yes. Apple computers can play files up to 32/384. Using the headphone miniplug, just plug in your headphones and hit play on the computer. Other computer brands may need a converter plugged into their USB port (with headphones attached) to play resolutions higher than 24/96.
What is a converter? - A converter is a unit which converts sound waves from digital modes (which the ear can’t hear) to analogue waveforms (which is what our ears can hear). Digital files, vinyl records, compact disks, DVDs, and Blu-rays need to be translated into the waveforms which our ears hear as frequencies. The technical term for a converter is a Digital-to-Analogue Converter, or DAC. Today, you can plug a DAC the size of a pencil sharpener into one of the ports of your computer and then plug headphones (or speakers) into that DAC. - Many headphones sound just fine by themselves. Other kinds require a boost in volume. Many DACs have amplifiers in them, so you just plug and play.
Is there a difference in quality between cheap and expensive DACs? - Not always. For instance, the iFi Nano “LeDAC,” for $139, can handle files up to 384 kHz. You can spend thousands of dollars for a DAC with the same chip and the sound will be exactly the same. Jenny Chen at Tippet Rise 27
What is a “chip”? - A chip is a minuscule wafer with wires in it. The wires form an integrated circuit, which conducts electricity. Sometimes wires aren’t full conductors, like copper, but can be made of very inexpensive materials like silicon (sand) or even biomaterials which use human biological material. There are various bands. Sabre chips can make an inexpensive converter sound as good as an expensive one which also uses Sabre chips. Burr-Brown chips, now made by Texas Instruments, are also very good. Different models of these chips are hard to tell apart. The Topping DX7 retrieves more detail from complicated classical files, and thus produces greater depth in the music. Crystal, ESS, and AKM all produce fine chips.
Why are some DACs more expensive? - Using different materials and different designs of circuits will produce different results, so you pay for the “room” or the configuration in which the chip is seated, not the chip. For instance, a moderately sized engine in a Tesla or a Lexus will produce faster acceleration than a Ferrari, because an electric motor has no gears and thus no friction to slow it down.
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How can I hear multichannel sound? - Headphones and cellphones can produce only two channels of sound for our two ears. But a stereo system or a home theater nowadays may have five or more speakers to create the effect of being surrounded by sound.
Is multichannel sound better than stereo?
- Two stereo channels over headphones can capture so much accurate and deep sound that you don’t need a room with a dozen speakers. That being said, if you have guests for dinner, the most practical way to listen to music or a movie is to have a stereo system so everyone can hear at once. If you have more speakers, the music seems to come from everywhere, rather than just one point. This creates the psychological effect of being in the original hall where the music was recorded. The music vibrates more, and is thus more “reverberant” or “resonant.”
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What about room sound? Curtains, rugs, and couches absorb sound. Concrete walls and floors make sound bounce back and thus reflect sound, although they can be harsh sounding. If your room has a nice balance between being absorptive and reflective, then your speakers will sound better. Too much furniture absorbs too many frequencies. Cement walls echo too much. So you need to compromise, and have a room that is well “tuned,” or “balanced.” Then you need good amplifiers with the same power on every speaker, and good speakers. Speakers are mostly directional, so the chairs have to be in the “sweet spot,” where all the frequencies come together. The incredible sound from DXD surround makes it worthwhile, if you want to feel like you’re in the original hall.
But is an expensive stereo better than headphones? - $70 headphones and a good $140 DAC will sound as good, if only one person is listening.
Can two people listen on headphones at the same time? - Yes. You can buy a “splitter,” which splits the signal to two different sets of headphones. Some headphone amps and DACs come with two jacks for two sets of headphones.
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Can I hear high resolution on my mobile phone? Apple phones can play “FLAC completely lossless,” “ALAC uncompressed lossless,” and “AIFF lossy” codecs. But this requires fast bandwidth transmission speeds. Apple Music transmits at 256 kbps (thousand bytes per second), so that any cell phone can play Apple’s streams. Deezer Premium, Spotify, Slacker, Tidal Premium, and Google Play require 320 kbps. Napster requires 320 kbps for the ideal quality in streaming its files. Pandora requires 300 kbps for the best results. But you can have mediocre results at 150 kbps. Deezer Elite requires 5 mbps for FLAC files, and 10 mbps for multiple FLAC streams. Tidal HiFi requires 1.411 mbps.
Can I use a DAC on my cellphone? - The Apple “Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter” has a built-in lightning port, which works on Apple cellphones.
Are there other kinds of formats for high resolution? - There’s Sony’s DSD, or Direct Stream Digital, which uses a “Delta Sigma” waveform, which is digital, but strangely has the same shape as a similar audio wave. SACDs use this DSD format.
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The wave shapes we use aren’t DSD, but PCM (pulse-code modulation), which we feel conveys more dynamic range and accurately conveys sudden shifts in volume, such as a sudden drum beat or a lunge at the piano during a Beethoven sonata. Many of the DACs recommended below also read DSD high-resolution files, which many people prefer for their smoothness.
Here is an incomplete list of some converters that I’ve run across which provide high resolution and cost below $1,000: themasterswitch.com has up-to-date listings for all sorts of audio components, such as speakers, amps, and DACs. Audiolab MDAC Nano ($195) 32/384 kHZ Audio Adapter HD ($199) 32/384 Resonessence Herus ($350) 384kHz FiiO Q1 Mark II ($100) 384kHz TEAC NT-503 ($899) 384kHz Chord Mojo Portable DAC ($579) 768kHz iFi Audio xDSD ($399) 768kHz iFi Nano iOne DAC ($199) 384kHz iFi Micro iDSD Black Label ($599) 768kHz iFi Nano iDSD Black Label DAC and Amp with MQA ($199) 384kHz iFi xDSD Portable DAC Amplifier with Bluetooth ($409) 768kHz, MQA, DSD 256
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iFi Nano iDSD LE DAC ($139) 384kHz iFi Nano iDSD DAC ($199) ifi Micro DAC2 ($379) 384 kHz Optoma NuForce High-Res Mobile uDAC5 ($199) 384kHz Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus ($349.99) 384kHz Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital Preamplifier and DAC ($399) 768kHz Pro-Ject DAC Box S2 Plus ($249) 768kHz NuPrime uDSD USB DAC ($179) 384kHz Â
HEADPHONES
AKG K240 semi-open pro studio headphones ($69) Sennheiser closed open-back studio headphones ($150) Sennheiser HD 202 II Professional Headphones ($139) Sennheiser HD200 Pro Headphones ($68) Grado SR80e Prestige Series Wired Open Back Stereo Headphones ($99) Audio-Technica ATH-M30x Pro Monitor Headphones ($76)
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Jenny Chen at Tippet Rise