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SSI 2012

Be afraid

Art Dudley Mar 26, 2012

Musicians and harmonica players of Montreal, take heed: You are all fair game for a painter named Patrick Larrivee, whose unambiguously available work filled one hall of the Hilton during SSI 2012. Unfortunately, it was the hall that led to my room.

SSI 2012

The Coup de Foudre Party

Robert Deutsch Mar 25, 2012

One of the unofficial highlights of this year's SSI was the by-invitation-only party given by Montreal dealer Coup de Foudre. The genial hosts were Jennifer Cytrynbaum (Store Manager) and Graeme Humfrey (Product Specialist, Store Owner, jazz guitarist, and a recording engineer of 20 years' experience). They had great food and drinks, and they did their utmost to make sure that everyone has a good time. The picture shows Jennifer in her element, along with Wilson’s Peter McGrath (left), Wavelength’s Gordon Rankin (center) and Graeme Humfrey (far right).

SSI 2012

Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing

Robert Deutsch Mar 25, 2012

What would a high-end audio store party be without some live music? The musicians playing jazz at the Coup de Foudre party were keyboard artist Marie Claire Durand and bass player Martin Hezlop. They're also Graeme Humfrey's recording clients.

SSI 2012

Michael Lavorgna Explains PC Audio

Robert Deutsch Mar 25, 2012

AudioStream.com's Michael Lavorgna explains all the intricacies of computer audio.

SSI 2012

VTL's Luke Manley

Robert Deutsch Mar 25, 2012

VTL's Luke Manley was one of the many industry luminaries at the Coup de Foudre party.Through the control-room window of Graeme Humfrey's studio can be seen part of Graeme's large collection of classic pro-audio gear.

SSI 2012

Joseph Audio

Art Dudley Mar 24, 2012

Retailer Coup de Foudre and Canadian distributor Tri-Cell built one of their exhibits around a pair of Joseph Audio Pulsar loudspeakers ($7000/pair, to be reviewed in the June Stereophile by Mikey Fremer), driven by the 70Wpc Brinkmann Audio Vollverstarker integrated amplifier (also $7000), with a MacBook Pro and a Wavelength Audio Brick D/A converter ($2200) as the digital source. As always, Jeff Joseph's room setup was difficult to fault, and the system was smooth, colorful, and dynamic: Listening to the Gypsy swing music of the Howard Fishman quartet, I was happier than I'd been all day.

SSI 2012

Computer Audio 101

Art Dudley Mar 24, 2012

Working alongside Steve Silberman of AudioQuest, Wavelength Audio’s Gordon Rankin offered a series of talks on computer audio for Mac users, while Jim Hillegass, the founder and CEO of JRiver Inc., offered corresponding seminars for users of Windows-based computers. My schedule allowed me to hear only a brief portion of Gordon Rankin’s Saturday seminarand, regrettably, none of Jim Hillegass’s talksyet even so, I learned things I’d never come close to knowing before. (An exemplary gem: When it comes to RFI rejection, Apple’s laptop computers are considerably better made than the company’s desktop models.)

SSI 2012

Tours to Aux 33 Tours

Art Dudley Mar 24, 2012

In years past, the Montreal record shop Aux 33 Tours operated a generously sized retail booth at SSI, and I invariably helped them to lighten their vinyl load. I was disappointed that they weren't selling records at this year's showuntil I noticed their display in the Hilton's hallway: All day Friday and Saturday, they offered a free shuttle service for people who wished to visit their store. (Sadly, the time was too short for me to take that ride.)

SSI 2012

Get 'Em While They're Hot!

Robert Deutsch Mar 24, 2012

Here's the obligatory "People Buying Records" picture, and even though it was taken on Friday, which is usually the show's least-busy day, I had no trouble finding an opportunity to take a suitable picture. There were also quite a few people at the CD racks, but, overall, I'd say there were more LP buyers than CD buyers in evidence. Make of that what you will. (It may be a reflection of the fact that LPs are not as widely available.)

SSI 2012

Dynaudio's Wireless Speakers

Robert Deutsch Mar 24, 2012

I think after every audio show I've attended there was some product that I realized too late I should have checked outtypically, when somebody later said to me "Did you hear the XXXX speakers? I thought they were great!"

After CES 2012, there was one productactually, a line of productsthat I had fully intended to seek out, but somehow this intention did not translate into action. It was on the plane returning home that I realized that I missed seeing the new wireless speakers from Dynaudio. I made a note to myself to make sure that one of the first rooms I'll visit at SSI 2012 would be Dynaudio's.