Theta Data universal disc transport

Theta Data universal disc transport

"In the fields of observation, chance favors only the mind that is prepared."

When Louis Pasteur uttered these words more than a hundred years ago, he must have speculated that they would apply equally well to future circumstances as to the events of his day. What he couldn't anticipate, however, was the technology to which his insight now seems so appropriate.

Sanctuary with the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless M2 AEBT

Sanctuary with the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless M2 AEBT

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

The audiophile in me was disappointed when I learned that Sennheiser's big reveal at CES this year would be some physical changes to, and wireless versions of, their Momentum and Urbanite lines. What hot blooded headphone enthusiast doesn't yearn for the next Sennheiser flagship? The pragmatist inside me understood the move perfectly, Sennheiser is invested in the two brands and is strengthening them for the long haul. Fair enough.

Let's have a look!

Access Journalism vs Accountability Journalism

Access Journalism vs Accountability Journalism

I write this in a Seattle coffee bar—my flight home to New York has been canceled due to a snowstorm. As I try to put down these thoughts, I'm listening to the high-resolution masters of the April issue's "Recording of the Month," Sasha Matson's jazz opera Cooperstown, on my Pono player using Ultimate Ears UE18 in-ear monitors. I was in Seattle for Music Matters 10, held by retailer Definitive Audio, and this was my first road trip with the Pono since I reviewed it for the April issue. (Bruce Botnick and Charles Hansen comment on that review elsewhere in this issue.)

Trip and Jitter: the Electronic World of Dan Deacon

Trip and Jitter: the Electronic World of Dan Deacon

Violet- and orchid-colored LED banks shimmer across the room. Green and pink spots radiate out and back. A steady stream of beats and keyboards from other electronica luminaries rumbles out of the speakers. Let's dance! Or maybe just listen?

Onstage, Dan Deacon is busy tweaking his gear. Out on the floor, the audience is oddly antsy. To fight the waiting, one woman hangs on her boyfriend. Clumps of hipsters conviviate. Very strong drinks (a sponsorship deal?) flow for seven bucks a pop. Anticipation thickens. Impatience turns to pacing. Young men make solo air grooves.

Recording of May 2015: Bruckner: Symphony 8

Recording of May 2015: Bruckner: Symphony 8

Bruckner: Symphony 8
Rémy Ballot, Upper Austrian Youth Symphony Orchestra
Gramola 99054 (2 SACD/CDs). 2015. John Proffitt, prod., eng.; Richard Winter, prod.; Rémy Ballot, Matthias Kronsteiner, eds., mastering. DDD. TT: 103:44
Performance ****½
Sonics *****

This performance of Bruckner's greatest, most generous work, his Symphony 8, took place in August 2014 in the basilica of St. Florian, the Austrian monastery where Bruckner was schooled and served as organist. It was taped before an audience, directly above the crypt in which Bruckner is buried. The band was the Upper Austrian Youth Symphony Orchestra: 130 players, average age 17, conducted by Rémy Ballot, a student of the late Sergiù Celibidache.

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