On Sonic Youth's 1992 album, <i>Dirty</i>, there is a song called "Youth Against Fascism," in which Thurston Moore lists a series of difficult political themes (racial violence, a poor economy, a lousy president, etc.) and follows each item with the refrain:
The Internet has been a boon to buyers and sellers of used audio components. Reader Mark Lemelin wonders whether you mostly buy used gear, or do you buy new equipment on the Web?
As soon as we pulled up, I knew that this was gonna be the highlight of my trip to New Orleans. When the door to <B>Snake and Jakes Christmas Club Lounge</B> swung open, I got tears in my eyes as I beheld the kind of unclean, unsafe booze shack that I've wasted many an hour in.
When I was younger, in my teens and early twenties, it happened all the time. On a whim, I'd go out to a small rock venue, and be absolutely shocked, ignited, <i>devastated</i> by some young, unknown band. Afterwards, I was always too shy to speak to the musicians, but, if I had any extra cash on me, I'd be sure to head to the merch' table and pick up a demo, maybe even buy a button or t-shirt. The feeling was as intoxicating and brilliant as New York City's snow-covered streets on a sunny winter day. This band was now <i>yours</i> to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, from this day forward, or until they signed to a major label.
Although it was shown in protype form at the 2008 CES, the Giya from South African manufacturer Vivid ($58,000/pair) is now in production and was being demmed in US distributor On A Higher Note's penthouse suite at the Mirage hotel with Luxman amplification, Nordost Odin cabling, Quantum power conditioning, and open-reel tapes from The Tape Project's second batch of releases played back on a Tim de Paravicini-modified Technics deck.
A new speaker from Vandersteen Audio doesn't happen very often—Richard Vandersteen introduced his Model 2 in 1977 and the 2009 CES witnessed the debut of the Model 7, which, at $45,000/pair is the most expensive speaker ever from the frugal Mr. V.
Richard Vandersteen showed me the new midrange unit he designed for the Vandersteen 7. The cone is a sandwich of balsa wood between two carbon-fiber skins, the voice-coil is titanium, and most notably, there is almost nothing in the skeletal chassis that would obstruct the cone's rear-wave.