Ariel Bitran

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A Quick Dip in the Digital Stream
Ariel Bitran
Ariel Bitran  |  Oct 12, 2011  |  0 comments
Valle del Elqui, Chile. Photo: Alberto Bitran.

For the past few months, my system has been in a serious playback rut. The disc tray on my Oppo DV-980H does not pop out, and my Rega P1 is in unmistakably poor shape: the tonearm cable to connect the tonearm to the cartridge ripped off from the tonearm, one of the tonearm pins ripped off the tonearm cable and is firmly pinned onto the cartridge I never installed (an Audio Technica AT95E), and the needle on my old Ortofon cartridge is bent backwards, which is the reason why I needed to change my cartridge to begin with. I promise, I have reasons for all of this. Not good reasons. Thus, most of my music listening for the past seven months, has been done at work in my cubicle via different digital music streaming services, in the hopes of finding a service that would be fun and functional.

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Hi-fi, Fashion, and Rock’n’Roll
News
Ariel Bitran  |  Sep 30, 2011  |  2 comments
McIntosh VP of Sales and Marketing Linda Passaro poses with producer Tony Visconti (middle) and fashion designer John Varvatos (left)

Iconic hi-fi manufacturer McIntosh and fashion designer John Varvatos are joining forces in hopes to spread the love of great sound to customers at Varvatos stores across the country. Both brands hope to bring customers closer to the rock’n’roll experience by bringing them closer to the music through a high-fidelity audio system. Varvatos’s relationship with McIntosh began at age 17, when he heard his first Mac system. Varvatos, an audio enthusiast, described how he felt listening to a hi-fi for the first time: “I thought it was the future then, and it’s the future now.”

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Polk Audio UltraFit 3000
Headphone Reviews
Ariel Bitran  |  Sep 29, 2011  |  0 comments
The outer walls of the Cooper Square Hotel reflect blue sky and angle gently as they rise to the penthouse suite. When construction on the hotel began, New Yorkers cried “Abomination!” at the idea of a glass-sheathed high-rise towering over the short brick buildings of the East Village. Now that the Cooper Square Hotel has integrated itself into the Bowery’s landscape, it is the ambitions of the building’s architects that are remembered, not New Yorkers’ gripes.
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Hegel Music Systems Releases HD2 and HD20 DACs
News
Ariel Bitran  |  Mar 23, 2011  |  0 comments
On March 17, 2011, Norway’s Hegel Music Systems announced the release of the HD2 and HD20 DACs. The HD2 and HD20 feature what the company claims "may be the world’s most advanced jitter reduction circuitry.”
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Celebrate Dynamic Range Day on March 25th
News
Ariel Bitran  |  Mar 03, 2011  |  2 comments
On March 25th, interested parties can join music producer and mastering engineer Ian Shepherd in his commemoration of rich and sonically inviting recordings by participating in Dynamic Range Day.
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HDTracks + ABKCO Release Hi-Rez Downloads of The Rolling Stones
News
Ariel Bitran  |  Mar 02, 2011  |  2 comments
Courtesy of ABKCO Music & Records, Inc.

The tides of the digital audio industry are turning as hi-rez audio downloads are pushed further into the mainstream. On March 2, 2011, HDTracks welcome ABCKO's Remastered Series of the Rolling Stones to their catalog, available at 176kHz/24bit and 88kHz/24bit.

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You Have Been Poked by Jim Thiel
Ariel Bitran
Ariel Bitran  |  Dec 05, 2008  |  12 comments
"So what are you doing this Friday?" my father asked, trying to elicit information I could tell he already knew.
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A Week in the Life of Listening, Parts 5, 6, & 7
Ariel Bitran
Ariel Bitran  |  Nov 25, 2008  |  0 comments

Following that record, I tuned in to Luciano by Luciano Pavarotti, also found in the trash. Pavarotti sang with impact and the timpani were a joy.

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A Week in the Life of Listening, Part 4
Ariel Bitran
Ariel Bitran  |  Nov 18, 2008  |  0 comments

"Ain't it strange how sounds can let you down / When you're waiting for the one you love."

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A Week in the Life of Listening, Parts 2 & 3
Ariel Bitran
Ariel Bitran  |  Nov 12, 2008  |  12 comments

Secondly, we listened to Bobby Womack's The Facts of Life. Actually, I didn't even listen to it. I had to get some guitar stuff prepared for band practice later that evening, but Alex chilled on my couch, listening to the LP.

After Side 1 was over, he screamed, "This guy is AMAZING."

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