Video: "Sweet Dreams" by Angel Olsen
Her voice aches like a memory.
LATEST ADDITIONS
In the News: Oswaldsmill Audio & Audioarts
The OMA Imperia loudspeaker at the Oswaldsmill Audio showroom in DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY.
Jonathan Weiss’ fabulous Oswaldsmill Audio Dumbo showroom was featured in a recent episode of “The Blueprint” on Jay-Z’s Life+Times.
Watch the video below.
Listening Party: The Capital Audiofest and DCAudioDIY
Saturday, February 23, 16pm: The Capital Audiofest and DCAudioDIY will hold a listening party at Capital Audiofest founder Gary Gill’s home, in Fells Point, Baltimore.
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Aperion Verus Grand Bookshelf loudspeaker
I received a call from Aperion Audio, who wanted to know if was interested in reviewing their Verus Grand Bookshelf loudspeaker ($598/pair). I've had good experiences with speakers from this Oregon-based, Internet-only company. I reviewed their Intimus 6T (January 2009) and Intimus 533-T (April 2007), and felt both provided overall good sound and great value for the money. I was also impressed with the speakers' quality of construction and physical appearance. But those models were floorstanderswhat excites me more is finding new bookshelf speakers at low prices. I was anxious to hear the Verus Grand.
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Dayton Audio B652 loudspeaker
I was ready to have some fun with Dayton Audio's B652 loudspeakersthe ones with the outrageously high price of $39.80/pair.
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Available from Parts Express (catalog #300-652), the Dayton B652 is a simple two-way, sealed-cabinet design with a 6.5" polypropylene mid/woofer and a ferrofluid-cooled, 5/8" polycarbonate tweeter. The cabinet is clad in black vinyl and has a removable grille of black cloth. The B652s sounded pretty much the same regardless of whether the grilles were in place, but I preferred their looks with the grilles off, so that's how I listened. Better looks often equal better soundat least in my home.
David Manley, Tube-Amplifier Pioneer, Has Died
David Manley, 73, founder of VTL, Manley Laboratories, and the ViTaL record label, died of a heart attack on December 26, 2012, at a hospital near his home in Varrennes-Jarcy, France. Famously described in the pages of Stereophile by Robert Harley in a 1991 interview as expressing "his strongly held beliefs with a passion and conviction that the printed word does not adequately convey," Manley leaves behind a rich legacy that continues to grow under the leadership of, for VTL, his son Luke Manley and daughter-in-law Beatrice Lam, and for Manley Labs, his fifth wife, EveAnna Manley.
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Timothy Wins a Sonos for Christmas!
Congratulations to Timothy Brown in Omaha, Nebraska on winning the Ultimate Gift of Music from Sonos.
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The Beach Boys Remasters 12 CD Box Set and Merchandise Sweepstakes
Register to win The Beach Boys Remasters 12 CD box set and associated merchandise (MSRP $200) we are giving away.
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These releases mark the stereo debut of Smiley Smile and Beach Boys Party!, while The Beach Boys Today! and Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) are being released in stereo for the first time in their entirety. The new releases include the first-ever stereo mixes of several key Beach Boys classics, including “Good Vibrations,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” “I Get Around,” and “409,” among others.
[This Sweepstakes is now closed.]
Wilson Audio Specialties Alexandria XLF loudspeaker
The Wilson Audio Specialties Alexandra XLF costs $200,000/pair. So does a Ferrari. Perhaps if Wilson Audio Specialties sold as many pairs of XLFs as Ferrari sells cars, the price might drop. For now, $200,000 is what you pay.
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Can a loudspeaker possibly be worth that much? Add $10,000 for speaker cables, and that's what I paid for my first home in 1992. Today, the average American home costs around $272,000, which is likely less than the cost of an audio system built around a pair of Alexandra XLFs.
Devialet D-Premier D/A integrated amplifier
Most reviews are straightforward. One preamplifier or power amplifier replaces another. DACs are swapped out. A new pair of speakers takes up residence in the listening room.
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But some products demand a complete revision of a system's architecture. Such was the case with Devialet's D-Premier ($15,995). Not only is this French product an integrated amplifier, with phono and line analog inputs; it has digital inputs and an internal D/A section.