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I first heard the prototypes of the almost-all-glass Arabesque from Dutch wire manufacturer Crystal Cable at the 2009 CES, where they produced sound in the Audio Basics room that belied my negative expectations. Demmed at SSI with Simaudio 5.3 series CD player and amplification, the Arabesques, now in full production, again produced a promising sound. With my my recording of "The Mooche," from Editor's Choice, the Arabesques put me squarely in the church acoustic of Chad Kassem's Blue Heaven Studio in Kansas, where the recording was made.
Wilson Audio Specialties' Peter McGrath (second from left) is embraced by the crew of Coup de Foudre (l–r): Jennifer ("Just Jennifer. No surname. You may have heard of me."), Graeme Humfrey, and Erik Fortier.
Okay, so the system in the big room from Montreal dealer Coup de Foudre was very expensive, and the room's acoustics I knew from the 2008 Show were excellent, but the sound was both my best at show and the best I heard in that room. Not only did Peter McGrath's high-resolution recordings, played back from his Sound Devices recorder feeding the very promising Playback Designs' D/A processor, reproduce with extraordinary dynamics and a superbly transparent window into the soundstage, my own recordings sounded the best I have experienced, with the audiophile attributes supporting/…
It did not require great perspicacity to predict that SSI2009 would not be as well attended as last year's show. Things are tough all over. In any case, as I write this, on Saturday evening on a train en route to Toronto—yes, I manage to catch the train this time!—the show still has another day to go, and, as Michel Plante, with Sarah Tremblay the SSI's organizers, admitted, what often makes or breaks a show like this is the Sunday attendance.
But let me give you my impressions. On Friday things were decidedly on the slow side, but on Saturday the show felt like a big success, with…
I’m appallingly late with this, but the photo show “Jam Session: America’s Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World” is up for a few more days (through April 12) in the arcade of Jazz at Lincoln Center (on Broadway and 60th Street, 5th floor, New York City)—and, if you’re in the area, go see it.
In the mid-1950s, the State Department hit upon the idea that the United States could polish its image around the world, and culturally compete with the Russians, by sending famous jazz musicians on global tours. And so, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Dave Brubeck,…
Alright, back in action. Montreal was a blast. Seriously the most fun I've ever had at a hi-fi show. This was due partly to the fact that we didn't have to adjust to a different time zone, partly to the overall laidback, friendly atmosphere, and partly to the smaller, less demanding size of the show. And I didn't even get sick!
I was thrilled to see the emphasis on smaller, less expensive components and systems. True high end sound does not have to be tied to monstrous, mega-priced loudspeakers and backbreaking amplifiers. At Salon Son & Image, I saw great gateways into…
There wasn't space in the May issue of Stereophile for all these photos of the gorgeous and very talented Eliane Elias so here are a few more to ogle. And while you do, I know you'll all be doing it because you respect her as an artist. Seriously though, her new record Bossa Nova Stories is wonderful.
Not the least astonishing moment of President Barack Obama’s recent trip to Europe (and for my more serious thoughts on that diplomatic voyage, click here) was when Michelle Obama met Carla Bruni and appeared her peer in every way, not at all outclassed. Ms. Bruni, of course, is the Italian-born French model and chanteuse who last year married French President Nicolas Sarkozy and, soon after, dazzled, nay seduced, every world leader she met at diplomatic soires. Mrs. Obama’s one-upmanship in London in no way shoves Ms. Bruni aside—the pairing marked, more, the reemergence of a French-…
I stayed up late last on April 2—late for me, anyway: 11pm. I watched the last episode of ER in real time. (Hang in there, peeps, there will be an audio point after the jump.)
I'm not going to defend my ER habit. I know the show wasn't remotely realistic, having worked in an ER myself (albeit long enough ago that the nurses still wore caps). People running around screaming "Stat!" doesn't happen so much. The ER is mostly an endless slog through folks with no primary care physician who come in when they have no other option—although the Friday and Saturday night "knife and gun club" hours…
So, just when I start getting used to my white P3-24, Rega goes and introduces three new high-gloss finishes: Orange, Blue, and Pink. Can you believe it? I feel kinda ripped-off. Had I known, I might've gone with Orange. I might've gone with Blue. I might've gone with Orange and blue. (Let's go Mets.) Hell, I'm in touch with my feminine side and secure in my masculinity; I might've gone with pink.
I may not have had the options, but you do.
The new high-gloss Rega P3-24 turntable costs $1295 and includes Rega's TT-PSU power supply for improved speed stability and…