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Live at the Lab: Gem Trails "Adobada" Lathe Cut EP

I'm running sound at a new DIY venue in Brooklyn called The LAB, and I snag some weird stuff. Here's a sample…

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Trevor Peterson arrived with a guitar and a bevy of pedals and samplers. With the help of adaptable computer music softwares like Ableton and Logic and popular hardware like the Roland SP-404SX or the Akai APC40, the combinations of technologies passing through the Lab morphs constantly. Some acts will use an APC plus a drum pad (Skeleton Zoo), others a processed vocal through a Korg Kaoscillator backed by analog synthesizers and live drums (Our Future), or in…

Laissez Le Bon Temps Roulet

So it’s Fat Tuesday, or mardi gras, and while I have not had a Hurricane cocktail quite yet—old men need to keep pacing in the forefront of their thoughts—I have been listening to many of the gems of NOLA's glorious musical history. Most of the best New Orleans music compilations ever assembled in the LP/CD era were released either by Rhino Records or Rounder Records in the late 1980’s/early 1990s. Happily the two best, Rounder’s Mardi Gras Party and Rhino’s New Orleans Party Classics both remain in print. For me the edge goes to New Orleans Party Classics because it has a better selection of…

Afrobeat Eric

Stereophile.com participant Eric Schneck of Brooklyn, New York (that's right, Brooklyn...watchu lookin' at) is the lucky winner of the Fela Kuti Box Set Sweepstakes.

After receiving notice of his winnings, Eric wrote, "Pity. I'm on a conference call so I cannot jump up and yell and scream!" When Eric stopped by the Stereophile office on Madison Avenue to pick up his prize, he seemed especially giddy, pacing back and forth and ripping open his prize the second I turned my back. He says his Nigerian coworker is crazy jealous.

In this picture, Eric poses with his prize and the…

Ask Me Anything: Reddit

A shot of me at the recent Consumer Electronics Show. The headphones are Skullcandy's Aviators. Photo: Robert Deutsch.

Tomorrow afternoon, from 3 to 5pm EST, I'll be joining the Reddit social news and entertainment website for an "I Am A" question-and-answer session. Participants can ask me anything pertaining to Stereophile magazine or, I suppose, life in general. I'll do my best to answer intelligently.

Tune in here.

The Fifth Element #77

A particular audio interest of mine has long been cost-effective systems that work really well together. I think most of the audio sob stories I've heard can be traced to one or both of two things: mismatched equipment, and inadequate attention paid to room acoustics. I've previously written about systems that range in price from $7500 to under $1500. Here's as minimal and classy a high-performance system as you can ask for: one box for the electronics (including USB connectivity), and two stand-mounted, two-way loudspeakers. The total cost is just under $10,000, but I think the price is…

The Fifth Element #77 Page 2

Those interested in learning more about the thinking that went into the Canalis Anima can download "What's Up With Those Animas" an eight-page white paper by Joachim Gerhard.

Listening: Seeing as the Canalis Animas' $1500/pair stands had yet to arrive, I made do with what was on hand, which positioned the speakers' tweeters too low. My initial listening impression was of the chilled-vodka clarity we've come to associate with Joachim Gerhard's designs. In that respect, I am completely in agreement with Wes Phillips' 2007 impressions of the Sonics Anima speaker, including the slight…

The Fifth Element #77 Contacts

Sidebar: Contacts

AVM GmbH, Audio-Video Manufaktur, Daimlerstrasse 8, D-76316 Malsch, Germany. Tel: (49) (0)7246-4285. Fax: (49) (0)7246-4289 Web: www.avm-audio.com. US distributor: AVM Audio USA, 8390 E. Via de Ventura F110-194, Scottsdale, AZ 85258. Tel: (888) 593-8488. Fax: (310) 601-7976. Web: www.avmaudiousa.com.

Canalis Loudspeakers, 2606 Ninth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710. Tel: (510) 559-2050. Web: www.canalisaudio.com. US distributor: Immedia, 1516 Fifth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710. Tel: (510) 559-2050. Fax: (510) 559-1855. Web: www.immediasound.com.

Lyra Atlas MC phono cartridge

At the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, I spoke with Lyra's Jonathan Carr about the Atlas. He told me that, rather than having started as a blank sheet of paper, the Atlas is an outgrowth of the Kleos ($2995), which I reviewed in January 2011, when I thought it Carr's best balanced design yet, even if it didn't have quite the resolution of the Titan i. Like the lower-priced Delos ($1650, reviewed in August 2010), the Kleos included Carr's New Angle technology, which mechanically aligns the coils to be perfectly positioned relative to the front and rear magnets when the stylus is in the groove…

Lyra Atlas MC phono cartridge Specifications

Sidebar: Specifications

Description: Low-output moving-coil cartridge. Nominal output: 0.56mV/5cm/s.
Price: $9500.
Manufacturer: Lyra Co. Ltd. Web: www.lyraconnoisseur.com. US Distributor: AudioQuest, 2621 White Road, Irvine, CA 92614. Tel: (949) 585-0111. Web: lyraanalog.com.

X-Men in High Fidelity #2: Break on Through

See X-Men in High Fidelity #1.