I’d like to think that I could’ve been friends with the late Hideo Matsushita, founder of Japanese Hi-Fi powerhouse Audio-Technica. If I could, I’d travel back in time to 1960’s Tokyo, where a young Matsushita curated “vinyl listening sessions” at the Bridgestone Museum of Arts, exposing visitors to the sounds and possibilities of high end audio and the warmth of vinyl records. I imagine sitting with him in a mod coffee shop, listening to the stories of what he witnessed in those sessions, the conversations he had with visitors, and what ultimately motivated him to head back to his small apartment above a ramen restaurant and start an audio company of his own. In the histories I’ve read regarding AT’s humble beginnings, Matsushita’s motives seem clear. Produce high end audio at affordable prices, bringing audio excellence into spaces and to customers that simply didn’t have access to it before. His first two products, the AT-1 and AT-3 phono cartridges did exactly that, and...

Hi friends, I recently had a mishap with my Xduoo Poke II, that is, it fell out of my hands and now it turns on but the command buttons now work sometimes and sometimes not. I have written several times to Xduoo directly because it was with them that I bought this Dac and to find out what I can do about it but after two months I have not received a response. I live in Mexico City but I would like to know if anyone knows of a technical service in the US that could repair my Poke II and know if it would be worth it for me taking into account the cost of repair and the issue of shipping, or if it is better to think about buying a new portable Dac. Thanks and Cheers everybody.