Where Measurements and Performance Meet featuring Andrew Jones

Electrocompaniet + Ø Audio at High End Munich 2025

LATEST ADDITIONS

T.H.E. Show Newport 2013

Holger Stein

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 04, 2013

Holger Stein (center), designer of the Stein Harmonizers that have such a baffling effect on system performance, was beaming in the Hilton lobby. Perhaps he was thinking about all the attention his new phono cartridge is getting.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2013

EveAnna Manley

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 04, 2013

Racing in shortly before the show was to begin, Manley Labs’ one-and-only EveAnna Manley was liberally dispensing hugs and smiles in the lobby.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2013

The Showman

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 04, 2013

Last year, after my photo of him briefing a cadre of adoring acolytes appeared on this site, Richard Beers forbid me to ever publish pictures of him that were taken unawares. So this time, with his full knowledge and consent, the miracle man whose expertise and persistence makes T.H.E. Show(s) possible, has allowed me to reveal to the world what he looks like at 10:12AM, before his 25th cup of coffee.

T.H.E. Show Newport 2013

The Lines at the Irvine Hilton

Jason Victor Serinus Jun 04, 2013

It was 10:10AM on Friday, 50 minutes before the start of the T.H.E. Show Newport Beach, and the lobby of the Hilton Irvine was abuzz with activity. Folks were standing 510 deep, in multiple lines, waiting to register or retrieve their pre-registration badges. Close by, at the entrance to the lobby, photographers for multiple publications and organizations were establishing turf, staking out the best spot for catching every smile, grimace, and nuance of the 10:30AM ribbon-cutting ceremony. And in the midst of it all, hotel visitors whose deepest association with audio is that it rhymes, more or less, with rodeo were eyeing the whole thing with a mixture of curiosity, incredulity, and downright dread.

Welcome to T.H.E. Show.

Sweepstakes

Westone 4R In-ear Headphone Sweepstakes

Jon Iverson Jun 01, 2013

Register to win a set of Westone 4R In-ear Headphones (MSRP $599.99) we are giving away.

According to the company:

"The Quad-Driver Westone 4R-Series with durable and removable EPIC cable take your listening experience to an entirely different level. Four symmetrically balanced armature drivers engineered into an advanced three-way crossover network deliver breathtaking clarity, realism, and imaging. Left and right earpiece responses are tested by each driver pack and matched to an extraordinarily tight +/- 2dB tolerance, delivering unparalleled balance and accuracy of sound-stage reproduction. "

[This Sweepstakes is now closed.]

Fred Kaplan

Maria Schneider’s Winter Morning Walks

Fred Kaplan May 31, 2013

Readers of this space know of my near-boundless admiration for Maria Schneider, the most accomplished and imaginative big-band composer of our time and high up in the pantheon for all time. Her swaying lyricism, muscular rhythms, and kaleidoscopic harmonic voicingsaccented with both a Latin tinge and an airiness as spacious as her native Minnesotarival and, in some ways, exceed the heights of erstwhile mentors, Bob Brookmeyer and Gil Evans.

Now, with Winter Morning Walks, Schneider leaps to still loftier terrain, fusing her jazz sensibility with classical idioms, while staying true to both. . .

Ariel Bitran

Passion

Ariel Bitran May 30, 2013

This guy cares a lot about his headphones. Though ludicrous, the Beats tattoo is admirable. He's saying, “Music runs through my veins and the Beats pumps that blood.” Would you tattoo “Vandersteen” in cholo lettering in an arch across your back? Would you inscribe “S-O-U-N-D” and “S-T-A-G-E” on each of your knuckles so that if someone insulted your system, your beat-down would arrive in stereo?

How much do you care about your hi-fi?

Stephen Mejias

Aidan Baker: On Music, Sound, and Already Drowning

Stephen Mejias May 30, 2013

Aidan Baker. Photos: Leah Buckareff.

Aidan Baker’s Already Drowning is our “Recording of the Month” for June 2013. In preparation for our review, I asked Baker a few questions about the album. We discussed literary and musical influences, the songwriting and recording process, and the importance of sound.&#151SM

Interviews

Roy Gandy: 40 Years of Reganomics

Steve Harris May 30, 2013

It's not easy to get Roy Gandy to look back. "I'm not a past person, I don't reminisce," he says. "But right at this moment I'm feeling very happy. We've not quite completed the launch of a whole new range of turntables and a new range of electronics, and I'm feeling elated."

Recording of the Month

Recording of June 2013: Already Drowning

Stephen Mejias May 29, 2013

Though classically trained in flute and exceedingly capable on a wide range of other instruments, including drums, trombone, piano, and various electronics, Aidan Baker is best known for his work on acoustic and electric guitar. A perusal of his unofficial discography on Discogs.com reveals some 80 full-length albums, and another couple dozen singles, EPs, and compilation credits. Beyond merely prolific, Baker's recorded output is profoundand nearly impossible to chart.