Stephen Mejias

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Greenhaus Events at Pitch Perfect Audio
Stephen Mejias  |  Dec 07, 2011  |  5 comments
Photo: DeVore Fidelity

Sunday, January 15, 5–9pm and Monday, January 16, 6–9pm: As a way to recuperate from the madness of the Consumer Electronics Show and with a hat tip to Devore Fidelity's popular Monkeyhaus listening parties, Pitch Perfect Audio (300 Brannan Street, Suite 209, San Francisco) will host their first “Greenhaus” events.

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Stephen Mejias
JA Sings at the 18th Annual LAOCAS Gala
Stephen Mejias  |  Dec 07, 2011  |  5 comments
Clearly, my boss, Stereophile’s esteemed editor, John Atkinson, lost another bet.

Here we see him singing, furiously, at the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society’s 18th Annual Society Gala and Awards Banquet, held last weekend in the Grand Ballroom of the Buena Park Holiday Inn. He really hits his stride at about 40 seconds in. (Thanks to "The Audio Otaku" for capturing the magic.)

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Stephen Mejias
A Sunday Drive, an Unbeatable Experience
Stephen Mejias  |  Dec 02, 2011  |  7 comments
The big difference between car audio and home audio, explains WIRC Media's Micah Sheveloff, is car audio’s need to overcome ambient noise. In fact, to a large extent, it’s this simple requirement which dictates a system’s overall design. In the case of the Caprice, the system had to have enough power to overcome the car’s custom-built 2.25-inch stainless dual exhaust.

By this point in our conversation, Micah has already apologized for the noise a number of times.

“Let’s listen to the system for a bit and I’ll see if we can find some good roads,” Micah suggests. “Ready?”

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Stephen Mejias
Sinkane: “Jeeper Creeper”
Stephen Mejias  |  Dec 01, 2011  |  2 comments
Ahmed Gallab is perhaps best known for his work in Caribou, Of Montreal, and, most recently, Yeasayer, all bands which combine electronic elements with more organic sounds to get listeners thinking and moving on the dance floor. But Gallab is also keeping busy with his own project, Sinkane.
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Stephen Mejias
Javelin: “By Hook or By Crook”
Stephen Mejias  |  Dec 01, 2011  |  4 comments
In collaboration with the clever people at Buzz Media, creative electronic duo, Javelin (Tom van Buskirk and George Langford), roamed the streets of Red Hook, Brooklyn, with samplers and mics in hand, and created an interesting new track called “By Hook or By Crook.”
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Stephen Mejias
Abandoning the Compact Disc?
Stephen Mejias  |  Nov 30, 2011  |  27 comments
In our December issue, I write about the Emotiva ERC-2 CD player, which, at $449, brought me many hours of listening pleasure. Stereophile editor John Atkinson will describe the player’s measured performance in an upcoming issue. In January, I’ll write more about the Emotiva, and, in February, I’ll discuss NAD’s affordable ($300) C 515BEE CD player.

Obviously, I’ve been listening to a lot of CDs lately; and, while I have started to long for my LPs, I haven’t really gone crazy or anything. Listening to CDs can be fun, too—especially when the discs hold music by Alva Noto and Ryuchi Sakamoto, David Sylvian, and Matthew Shipp.

Meanwhile, Natalie and Nicole have mentioned a rumor that’s spreading all over the Internet:

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Stephen Mejias
Looking Forward: Sharon Van Etten’s Tramp
Stephen Mejias  |  Nov 29, 2011  |  2 comments
I’ve quickly and deeply fallen in love with Sharon Van Etten’s album, Tramp, to be released by Jagjaguwar on February 7th. My review is scheduled to appear in our March issue, but I’ll tell you now that this is an album worth owning and playing again and again.
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Sound By Singer’s Grand Re-Opening
Stephen Mejias  |  Nov 28, 2011  |  10 comments
On Thursday, November 17, Sound By Singer celebrated the grand opening of their new showroom with an evening of music and product demonstrations.
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Stephen Mejias
What is Sound?
Stephen Mejias  |  Nov 17, 2011  |  1 comments
SoundCloud, the neat “social sound platform” that allows users to create and share sounds with anyone who has an internet connection, turned to design company, The Wilderness, to help answer the question, “What is sound?”

See what the experts—Moby, Imogen Heap, Julian Treasure, Martyn Ware, and others—have to say.

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Stephen Mejias
Now on Newsstands: Stereophile, Vol.34 No.12
Stephen Mejias  |  Nov 16, 2011  |  First Published: Nov 15, 2011  |  2 comments
The December 2011 issue of Stereophile is now on newsstands. Here are 60 reasons to buy it:
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Hi-fi Hootenannies at Whetstone Audio
Stephen Mejias  |  Nov 15, 2011  |  4 comments
Look eye! Always look eye!

Friday, December 2, 6–9pm: Whetstone Audio (2401 East 6th Street, #1001, Austin, Texas) will host an evening of music with Bob Clarke of Profundo (Heed, Transfiguration, VivA, Trenner & Freidl, Silent Source) and Colleen Cardas of Colleen Cardas Imports (Unison Research, Opera Loudspeakers).

Brian Di Frank of Whetstone Audio says this is just “the first of many hootenannies” and he offers a warm invitation:

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Stephen Mejias
The Collect-i-Bowl Record Show: Winter Edition
Stephen Mejias  |  Nov 11, 2011  |  1 comments
Mark your calendars: The Winter Edition of the vinylicious Collect-i-Bowl Record Show will be held at Brooklyn Bowl (61 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn), from noon to 6pm, on Sunday, December 4th.

Admission is free. For more info, visit Brooklyn Bowl. And be sure to bring your appetite: The food at Brooklyn Bowl is heartstoppingly good.

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Stephen Mejias
Last Friday Night
Stephen Mejias  |  Nov 09, 2011  |  4 comments
Photo: Tio Denny.

Last Friday night, my old band, the Multi-Purpose Solution, played a show at Maxwell’s in Hoboken. We hadn’t performed since 2006, and, because we had only managed to get together for three full rehearsals prior to the show, each member of the band felt a certain amount of anxiety. But when we saw the room quickly fill with fans, family, and friends, we knew nothing could go wrong.

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Stephen Mejias
Everything is An Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson
Stephen Mejias  |  Nov 08, 2011  |  1 comments
Tomorrow night, from 7 to 8pm, in the Rare Book Room of Manhattan’s wonderful Strand Bookstore (828 Broadway), author Kevin Avery will sign copies of his new book, Everything is An Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson.

Who was Paul Nelson?

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Stephen Mejias
The Multi-Purpose Solution: Live at Maxwell’s
Stephen Mejias  |  Nov 02, 2011  |  2 comments
Lately, I’ve been listening almost exclusively to CDs and CD players. It hasn’t been bad at all. In our December issue, I’ll talk about the Emotiva ERC-2 CD player ($449); in January, I’ll compare the Emotiva to Michael Lavorgna’s longtime digital reference, the original Sony Playstation 1 (typically $15–$75, used); and, in February, I’ll listen to NAD’s C 515BEE ($300), the disc-spinning counterpart to that company’s awesome C 316BEE integrated amplifier.

It’s been the perfect time for me to listen to CD players because my old band, The Multi-Purpose Solution, is reuniting to play a show this Friday, November 4, at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ.

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