Mosaic's Complete Ahmad Jamal Trio
I’ve never been crazy about Ahmad Jamal. His piano style has struck me as patio-cocktails jazz—nice harmonies and rhythm, but soft-spoken, too precious, de-sensualized.
LATEST ADDITIONS
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Miyajima Shilabe phono cartridge
The unusual Miyajima Shilabe moving-coil cartridge ($2800) came to my attention through a friend, and I obtained one from the importer, Robin Wyatt of Robyatt Audio, a music lover and dedicated audiophile who imports gear as a sideline, and who lives nearby in New Jersey.
Recording of July 1989: Yellow Moon
<B>The Neville Brothers: <I>Yellow Moon</I></B>
A&M CD 5240 (CD). Malcolm Burn, eng.; Daniel Lanois, prod. AAD. TT: 53:01
Axpona 2011: a Goldmine for Audiophiles
Axpona lives! The Audio Expo of North America, the consumer high-end audio show whose <A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/axpona2010">successful 2010 launch</A> in Jacksonville, Florida, established it as the premier high-performance audio show on the East Coast, has moved to the far more accessible and convention-friendly Sheraton Atlanta, in Georgia. Scheduled for April 15–17, 2011, with a special four-hour trade preview on April 14, the show is cosponsored by <I>Stereophile</I> and <I>Goldmine</I>.
Drinking Rum
I’ll be up by 3am tomorrow morning, on my way to JFK International Airport to board an early flight to Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Once in Aguadilla, we will rent a small car and drive a few miles to my aunt’s guest house, which is situated atop a lovely little hill in the great beach town of Rincon. I will spend the next five days there, drinking rum and thinking about nothing in particular.
Inside Box Number One
<i>Inside Box Number One: Sumiko’s new <a href="http://www.sumikoaudio.net/okki_nokki/idx_products.htm">Okki Nokki</a> record cleaning machine ($549)!</i>
The Post-Show Blues
<i>Photo: John Atkinson</i>
Now On Newsstands: Stereophile, Vol.33 No.11
The November 2010 issue of <i>Stereophile</i> is now on newsstands. Immediately after shipping the issue to press, we had to redirect our focus to shipping the <i>2011 Stereophile Buyer’s Guide</i>. And almost immediately after shipping the <i>Buyer’s Guide</i>, we had to redirect our focus to shipping the December 2010. While the December issue was in its very final stages, we had to fly to Denver to cover the outstanding <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/rmaf2010/">Rocky Mountain Audio Fest</a>. It’s been a whirlwind and I can honestly say that I hardly remember <i>working</i> on the November issue.
Can your ears always be trusted?
One of the most-frequently given answers to last week's Vote! was a variation on "trust your ears." But can your ears <i>always</i> be trusted?
RMAF 2010 Surpasses Expectations
Photo: John Atkinson
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t's one thing to know that you're attending what has quickly grown into the largest annual high-end show in the United States. It's something else entirely to try to take in even a third of the 180 exhibits that were spread over the width, breadth and height of the Denver Marriott Tech Center.
RMAF 2010 drew such a huge rush of attendees on the first day (October 15) as to cause at least one overly packed elevator to spend what seemed like a minute in limbo, considering whether it should dare try to ascend. When it finally determined to go up rather than crash down, it moved in fits and starts, and shuddered each time it reached a floor. I think more than one of its occupants took a vow then and there to finally lose some weight. Stereophile ran out of their new-at-the-Show November issue by the end of the second day, and when a member of the Colorado Audio Society donated his collection of back issues to us on Sunday (see the photo), they were all gone within minutes.
Show exhibits extended to eight packed floors, and down into the. . .