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.
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
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…
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.”
“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.
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…
“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.
“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.”
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.
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…
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!”