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

Sennheiser Drops HDB 630 Wireless Headphones

LATEST ADDITIONS

Interviews

The Gospel According to Mark Levinson

Barry Willis Sep 14, 2012

Nothing at 41 E. 62nd Street in Manhattan offers any clue as to what sort of business that takes place inside. The waiting room feels vaguely monastic: straw mats on the floor, a row of shoes near the door. Like a day spa offering acupuncture and shiatsu. There's no corporate name, no logo, no mission statement.

A clock running six and a half hours late hangs above a receptionist's unoccupied desk. An enormous white dog is asleep under framed pictures of old blues artists: Son Thomas, Etta Baker, Pernell King, Cora Fluker, Big Joe Williams.

Stephen Mejias

Stillwater Artisanal & Lower Dens

Stephen Mejias Sep 14, 2012

We all know that good beer and good music make a beautiful couple, so it should come as no big surprise that craft brewer Stillwater Artisanal Ales is partnering with independent artists to create a new line of beers. The first of Stillwater’s Sensory Series is inspired by “In the End is the Beginning,” the closing track from Lower Dens’ recently released Nootropics.

Says Brian Strumke, Stillwater owner and brew master:

News Stephen Mejias

Meet the Innovators: Dan D'Agostino at Innovative Audio

Stephen Mejias Sep 14, 2012

The D'Agostino Master Systems Analog Preamplifier, first seen at the 2011 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. Photo: John Atkinson

Wednesday, September 19, 69pm: Innovative Audio Video (150 East 58th Street, New York) will hold a “Meet the Innovators” event, featuring Dan D’Agostino, who will introduce and demonstrate the new D'Agostino Master Audio Systems Momentum Analog preamplifier. Refreshments will be served. Space is limited. RSVP: (212) 634-4444 or info@iavny.com.

Stephen Mejias

Touch.30 Live in NYC

Stephen Mejias Sep 14, 2012

Michael Lavorgna reports on Philip Jeck and Ted Riederer’s performance, last night, at Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral, in Brooklyn. Jeck sat at a table, with access to a small keyboard and a few simple turntables. Meanwhile, Riederer played guitar and sang, sending his signals through various effects pedals, looping them and transferring them directly to lathe-cut vinyl. Upon the completion of a side, Riederer would hand the newly created record to an unsuspecting Jeck. In turn, Jeck, with a smile, would place the record upon a turntable and play along. It continued like that for some time.

Like ML, I was captivated by the total experience: the dim lighting, the attentive crowd, the lulling sounds, the rich scents, the soft feel of old floorboards and torn carpeting&#151it all worked to transfix and transport.

Ariel Bitran

Klipsch Presents! Featuring the B-52s and more on the Klipsch S4s

Ariel Bitran Sep 12, 2012

I’ll be honest, when Klipsch invited me to see the B-52s on Thursday, August 9th, all I really wanted was for Peter Griffin to stroll across the Irving Plaza stage oblivious to the swirling lights and drifting artificial fog, whip out an acoustic guitar, and play that jangly lead from “Rock Lobster”. A bearded lobster donning a turban would then prance to the front of the stage and everyone would scream “Death to America / And butter sauce!” This never happened. However, I did successfully ignore the opening band Love Funk, had my mind blown by the B-52s, but most importantly, I discovered a bunch of new products from the Klipsch family.

“Iraq Lobstah!”

Stephen Mejias

Dan Deacon: America

Stephen Mejias Sep 11, 2012

I'll have more to say about Dan Deacon's America, both here and in the pages of Stereophile, but, for now, I'll just quickly say that I like it&#151a LOT.

Full of major chords and glorious crescendos, littered with screeching electronic noise and dressed up with sweeping violins, America is bold, ambitious, arrogant, pretentious, and really beautiful.

Floor Loudspeaker Reviews

Marten Django XL loudspeaker

Erick Lichte Sep 07, 2012

If it's rare to go to an audio show and hear most of a company's products set up properly in multiple rooms, it's rarer still to hear those products also sounding terrific in each and every room. Such was my introduction to Marten's loudspeakers at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show. In each of the systems in which the Swedish company's speakers were set up, and no matter what gear was upstream of them, I heard distinctly neutral, open, musical sound. After having the very same experience with Marten's speakers at the 2011 CES, I concluded that they must know what they're doing, and that their speakers are the real deal. I wanted to review some.

Stand Loudspeaker Reviews

Polk LSiM703 loudspeaker

Robert J. Reina Sep 07, 2012

When a reviewer specializes in seeking out innovation and value in affordable loudspeakers, certain manufacturers warrant revisiting again and againcompanies that consistently deliver high-value products, but also steadily revamp their lines to trickle down design innovations to ever more affordable models.

Stephen Mejias

Happy Birthday, John Cage

Stephen Mejias Sep 07, 2012

As I mention in last month’s “Entry Level,” September 5th would have been John Cage’s 100th birthday, and celebrations of all shapes and sizes are taking place around the world. Fans of Cage’s music are especially lucky: several exciting new releases are now available.

Here are just a few:

Art Dudley Listening

Listening #117

Art Dudley Sep 07, 2012

When I was seven years old, my father brought home an air-conditioner: a flimsy, hulking thing that sat in an open window just as a frame of X-ray film sits in an open mouth. It worked by consuming a steady diet of ice cubes and water, then blowing a fan across the slurry and into our grateful living room. It was loud and it stank and it wasn't very cold at all.