KEF Debuts New Finishes for Blade One Meta and Blade Two Meta

Sennheiser Drops HDB 630 Wireless Headphones

LATEST ADDITIONS

Fred Kaplan

Darcy James Argue's Brooklyn Babylon

Fred Kaplan Nov 12, 2011

Photo: James Matthew Daniel

Darcy James Argue has one of the most original big-band sounds in recent years. His 2009 CD, Infernal Machines, may be the most promising jazz debut of the decade. But his world premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music this weekan hour-long suite, accompanying a mix of animation and live painting by graphic-novel artist Danijel Zezelj, called Brooklyn Babylonputs the composer and his 18-piece big band, Secret Society, on the verge of a quantum leap. . .

Stephen Mejias

The Collect-i-Bowl Record Show: Winter Edition

Stephen Mejias Nov 11, 2011

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.

Headphone Reviews InnerFidelity

House of Marley Exodus

Tyll Hertsens Nov 11, 2011

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Bob Marley's "Exodus" ... wow, what a great album. I must have heard it a thousand times. It's a total classic. Prior to receiving these, I wondered skeptically if Bob Marley "Exodus" the headphone would be a classic. Time will tell ...

... but I think they're off to a good start.

CD Player/Transport Reviews Digital Processor Reviews Computer Audio Reviews

Resolution Audio Cantata Music Center

Jon Iverson Nov 10, 2011

The dual subwoofers were bumping and our pant legs were flapping. Only moments before, we'd been treated to a polite viola da gamba. Not now. Resolution Audio's designer, Jeff Kalt, had brought only two discs with him to ensure that his company's Cantata Music Center was functioning properly in my system: Jordi Savall and Hespérion XXI's Altre Follie, 15001750 (CD, Alia Vox 9844), and Tool's 10,000 Days (CD, Tool Dissectional/Volcano 81991). After changing a few things around with the chamber music, we'd advanced to the hard rock of Tool.

CD Player/Transport Reviews Digital Processor Reviews

Simaudio Moon Evolution 650D CD player

Michael Fremer Nov 10, 2011

In the early 1980s, when CDs began trickling out of the few existing pressing plants, they were such rare and exotic objects that Aaron's Records, on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, kept them secured under lock and key in a tall glass cabinet. A customer forsaking vinyl would enter the store and, with great fanfare, announce the decision by dropping a load of LPs on the front counter with a disgusted thud. Then, in a ceremony resembling a rabbi removing the sacred scrolls of the Torah from the ark, the customer would approach the glass cabinet. An employee would unlock and swing open the doors, and, under that watchful gaze, the customer would choose from among a scattering of titles, carefully avoiding any disc that did not include the Strictly Kosher mark of "DDD."

News

Wisdom Audio LS4 Demonstrations

Stephen Mejias Nov 10, 2011

On Tuesday, November 22, at 6pm, Stereo Exchange (627 Broadway, Manhattan) will host a demonstration of Wisdom Audio’s Reference LS4 planar magnetic line-source loudspeaker system, STS subwoofers, and SC-1 system controller.

Stephen Mejias

Last Friday Night

Stephen Mejias Nov 09, 2011

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.

Integrated Amp Reviews

Leben CS300 integrated amplifier

Art Dudley Nov 08, 2011

In a perfect world, I would own the following: one good turntable (footnote 1), one good tonearm, one good pickup head, one good step-up transformer, one good integrated amplifier, and two good loudspeakers. And some decent cables. That's all, except maybe a home and a dog and some records and some books and one good guitar.

Phono Preamp Reviews

Leben RS-30EQ phono preamplifier

Art Dudley Nov 08, 2011

The Leben RS-30EQ phono preamplifier ($2695) incorporates a pair of common dual-triode tubes (12AT7) for phono gain, but breaks with tradition by using a CR-type equalization circuit rather than the more common negative-feedback type. Total gain is specified as 23.5dB, which is sufficient for moving-magnet pickups; an external transformer is recommended for use with moving-coil types. A silicon full-wave rectifier supplies heater voltage, while the rail is supplied by a 6X5GT rectifier tube.

Stephen Mejias

Everything is An Afterthought: The Life and Writings of Paul Nelson

Stephen Mejias Nov 08, 2011

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?