The Black Keys: Turn Blue
Nonesuch 7559795555 (LP/CD/HDtracks download). 2014. Black Keys, Danger Mouse, prods.; Kennie Takahashi, eng.; Collin Dupuis, Geoff Neal, Bill Skibbe, asst. engs.; Tchad Blake, mix. TT: 45:09
Performance ****
Sonics ****
There was a time when calling the Black Keys "sexy" would have been thought perversely stunted, given that they were a two-man, raw-as-hell, blow-me-down, frat-rock grinder that jammed and pounded and convinced everyone that their version of Tony Joe White's groove was something new and revolutionary.
Yet their eighth studio…
Playing recorded music in the home is a complex, coded, cultural experience: We sit, we listen, we think and dream—and, when it feels just right, we admire. We admire who we are and how we arrived at this beautiful moment. This simple act of admiration is usually a happy sort of self-congratulatory expression of our basic desire to have meaningful as well as enjoyable experiences. We are proud of our good taste and love of music. But this type of listening can also provoke anxiety and self-recrimination. We ask ourselves why we like this music and not some other kind. What would my friends…
On July 17, industry veterans Richard Schram, founder of Parasound, and John Curl, the company's legendary circuit designer (above), made a rare joint appearance at Century Stereo in San Jose, CA. Surviving unexpectedly horrendous freeway traffic, which made for a late start—perfect for this writer, who made the same commute—the two men's great spirits contributed to an evening as entertaining as it was informative.
Schram noted that when Parasound began in 1981, his strategy was informed by the very direct, unfiltered feedback he had received about the products he had developed for…
In Living Stereo's Steven Mishoe holds an EMT OFD25 pickup head.
On the evening of July 24, the passing of EMT's classic OFD series of pickup heads was noted in singular style: In Living Stereo, the hi-fi and record store that represents EMT in New York City, invited their customers to drop by for drinks, snacks, and the opportunity to hear their favorite mono LPs played with OFD 15 and OFD 25 pickups on an otherwise all-Shindo system: 301 turntable/tonearm ($30,000), Aurieges Phono EQ phono preamplifier, which includes a dedicated mono input transformer ($7895), Vosne-Romanee…
Inspired by Watch Mr. Wizard, a children's science show that aired on American TV 1951–1965, loudspeaker designer Albert Von Schweikert brought his updated, all-ages loudspeaker installment to Orinda, CA last weekend. Presenting to members of the newly constituted San Francisco Audio Society, who packed SFAS Events Goddess Leslie Lundin's newly renovated listening room, Von Schweikert and his grandson, Devon Von Schweikert, enabled attendees to compare the sound of various midrange drivers and enclosure materials.
"We could measure it, but instead we'll listen and see what we like best,"…
It is really funny how a simple thing like what hat I am wearing can affect everything I see and hear. When I used to wear my audio show "visitor" hat—only a few rooms had good sound and the equipment all seemed overpriced. When I wore my "exhibitor" hat my room always had the best music and the best sound. Now, I am wearing my "reporter" hat and a little tag that says Stereophile at the Capital Audio Fest, which runs Friday through Sunday at the Silver Spring, Maryland, Sheraton and the first three rooms I visit have amazing sound. How can this be?
Willow Room: I always wanted to meet…
It seems like the Red Hot discs have been around forever, dutifully, as their longtime motto proclaims, “Fighting AIDS Through Popular Culture.” The shtick has always been simple and appealing: choose a songwriter like Cole Porter, a genre like country music or a personage like Fela, and have performers record their take, no matter how radical, on that music. Twenty-five years ago, the Red Hot Organization released Red, Hot + Blue, a compilation of Cole Porter tunes sung by the likes of Tom Waits and U2. It was a hit and now, thirteen Red Hot albums later, after collections featuring dance…
They spoiled all my fun.
When I receive a product sample for review, I look forward to taking photos while I unpack the thing, as a guide to repacking for later on. This company provided an illustrated packing list—it was the first thing I saw on slitting open the carton. I look forward to crafting amusing remarks about poorly written or whimsically translated owner's manuals; this company provided the clearest, most comprehensive manual I've ever seen. I look forward to having some sort of anomalous event—smoke, noise, or smoke and noise—to write about. This product offered nothing of…
My review sample benefited from generous run-in time; moreover, during every listening session, the V 40 SE sounded notably richer and more natural after 15 minutes or so of playing time. One day, immediately after powering up the Octave, I put on a fine LP reissue of selections from the first two suites from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, performed by Dimitri Mitropoulos and the New York Philharmonic (Columbia Masterworks/Speakers Corner MS 6023); it wasn't until the fourth excerpt, Masks, that strings began to have a really good sense of touch. Consequently, I went back to the first…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Two-channel, tubed integrated amplifier. Tube complement: four KT88, one 12AX7, one 6922. Line-level inputs: 4, plus 1 home-theater bypass. Rated output power: 40Wpc into 4 ohms (13dBW). Frequency response at 10W: 5Hz–70kHz, –2dB. Line input sensitivity: 180mV. Line input impedance: 50k ohms. Channel separation: 40dB. Signal/noise: 100dB. THD at 10W: 0.1% into 4 ohms.
Dimensions: 15.9" (408mm) W by 6.2" (159mm) H by 16.2" (415mm) D; with Black Box connection, 19.1" (490mm) D. Weight: 40.9 lbs (18.6kg).
Finishes: Silver or Black aluminum.…
