"Hola!" from Barcelona
Wes sends his "Hola!" from Barcelona:
LATEST ADDITIONS
Continue Reading »
Bösendorfer NY Donates "Blue Note" Piano
Gerhard Feldmann’s Bösendorfer New York is partnering with the Jazz Foundation of America to donate the legendary "Blue Note" Bösendorfer to the JFA's inaugural auction benefit, which will be held November 16 at the B.B. King Blues Club and Grill in New York City. Auction proceeds will support JFA non-profit programs, especially working gigs and educational programs for victims of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
Would a poorly recorded work prevent you from buying it, regardless of the performance or artist?
Last week's "Vote" results indicate that readers clearly favor better-sounding recordings. But would a poorly recorded work prevent you from buying it, regardless of the performance or artist?
Comfort and Joy: the making of Cantus' Christmas CDs
"I can't make out the words."
Peak Consult Empress loudspeaker
I'd heard rumors about Peak Consult. John Marks was all a-burble, having reviewed the InCognito in "<A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/932/index2.html">The Fifth Element</A>" in the September 2003 <I>Stereophile</I>, but I'd never actually <I>heard</I> anything designed by PC's Per Kristoffersen. Therefore, when US distributor Chris Sommovigo proposed that I audition the $25,000/pair Empress, I was intrigued. Well, who wouldn't be?
Channel Islands Audio VHP•1 headphone amplifier
Back in March, I wrote a <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/images/newsletter/305stph.html">reviewlet</A…; of Channel Islands Audio's VHP•1 headphone amplifier for the <I>Stereophile</I> eNewsletter. (What—you aren't receiving that free download yet? Well, log on to www.stereophile.com and opt in.) The VHP•1 has continued to enchant me—reason enough to examine it in greater detail, I reckoned. But the real reason I returned to the VHP•1 ($349) is that CIA's Dusty Vawter recently sent me his new VAC•1 ($159), a replacement power supply for the VHP•1's stock wall-wart supply. Could a new power supply <I>really</I> offer a substantial improvement in performance?
The Fifth Element #32
I recently spent a few days filling in for a local engineer, recording middle-school and high-school bands and choral ensembles. This was a requirement of the statewide music-educator adjudication process. (Don't laugh; recording high-school bands is how Telarc got its start.)
NHT Acquired by Vinci Group
Like many specialty audio companies, <A HREF="http://www.nhthifi.com">NHT</A> has had its ups and downs. The Benicia, CA–based loudspeaker manufacturer, founded by <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/232/">Ken Kantor</A> and Chris Byrne in 1986, was sold to Jensen International in the early 1990s, sold again to accesssories perveyor Recoton, and then acquired (and some would suggest saved) by Rockford Corporation towards the end of 2002.
Music Goes Cellular
In an era when music as instant entertainment enjoys increasing dominance over music as art, cellular phones have emerged as the <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/101005upod/">latest purveyor of music on demand</A>. Issues of sound quality mean little when the goal is to accumulate more and more files at an ever-accelerating pace and have ever easier access to those files.
Inside Your Brain
Want to improve your hearing? Have someone tickle your toes, or lightly stroke the palm of your hand. Sounds crazy, but it works, and things get even weirder.