In my house, I have a little stack of CDs that I bring out once a year—for Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I then put them away on the shelf until the following year. This annual Festival of Christmas Albums is met with varying degrees of pleasure and resignation by the family members present; listening is non-negotiable, though we may not make it through all of them. Once in a while a new Christmas album will make the cut and be added to the stack, but not every year.
The Warsaw show's biggest site really is a stadium. (Photos by Jason Victor Serinus.)
At the risk of writing hyperbole, I will state that Audio Video 2023, held October 2729, 2023, was unlike any other audio show I've attended. At no other audio show have I encountered so many young people, so many women, and so many brands unknown in the United States. Not even in Munich have I encountered crowds as dense as those that mobbed the show's biggest site, the National Stadium of Poland, PGE Narodowy, on Saturday. A press badge counts for nothing when you're 11" short of 6'3", attempting to see far enough into a huge room to spy a seat. Any seat.
Happily, the majority of attendees at the Warsaw Show did not come to yap away about the stock market or the speaker they built three decades ago. People came to listen, and they respected others who came to listen. Even in the largest rooms, with crowds of some 150 people, it was possible to hear music and learn from presenters' unamplified raps.
ReDiscoveries #6: Old is New, The Beatles' Red & Blue
Dec 18, 2023
The first Beatles music is more than 60 years old, and the group broke up 53 years ago. Yet they and their music remain relevant. So when Apple Corps announced "The Last Beatles Song," on October 26, the world's media ran with the story.
Beatles fans span at least four generations, and the group's promotion machine is looking to hook today's youth, and perhaps rekindle old flames, with 50th Anniversary deluxe reissues of the "Red" (1962-1966) and "Blue" (1967-1970) compilations. These expanded editions12 new tracks on Red and nine on Blue, including the new-old single "Now & Then"sport remixes performed since 2015.
When I was offered the opportunity to review a Burmester productthe 216 stereo power amplifierI accepted immediately, mainly out of curiosity. Berlin-based Burmester is an important hi-fi brand, but I knew very little about the company and their products. What better way to learn more than to review one of their products?
Register to win a pair of MoFi Electronics SourcePoint 8 Loudspeakers (retail value $2,999.00 ) we are giving away.
"In a recent Stereophile review, the MoFi Electronics SourcePoint 8 Loudspeakers, masterfully designed by Andrew Jones, have captured the attention of audiophiles with their exceptional sound quality. Hailed as 'a revelation in audio fidelity,' these speakers showcase Jones' expertise in a compact yet powerful design. A reviewer observed, 'The SourcePoint 8 doesn't just play music; it breathes life into every track.'"
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