If that title hasn't gotten your attention, nothing will . . . except, perhaps, the Northwest preview of: 1) the forthcoming Aesthetix Metis linestage preamplifier (est. price $20,000–$25,000), which is expected by the second quarter of 2015; 2) Clearaudio Concept Wood turntable with tonearm ($2200); and 3) DS Audio DS-W1 "Nightrider" Optical phono cartridge with dedicated phono equalizer ($8500). This tempting trio of coming outs, arranged by Garth Leerer and Jesse Luna of Oakland, CA-based…
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Musical Surroundings' Jesse Luna (left) and Garth Leerer (right) flank Nuts About HiFi's Jim Lee.
A few times, while watching the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra at New York City's Jazz Standard last week (and, by the way, they were as wondrous as ever), I reflected how central the pianist, Frank Kimbrough, is to her sound: his lush improv intros, the rich harmonies he infuses even in the most routine comping. (I once told him that he was Bernadette Peters to Schneider's Stephen Sondheim, a remark that, understandably, he didn't quite know how to take.)
But Kimbrough is a protean artist; his voices are myriad, adaptable to the occasion, as a musician, bandleader, sideman, and composer…
Soundings Fine Audio Video are having an open house Thursday, December 4, from 6 to 9pm, celebrating the Colorado debut of Boulder's 3060 and 2160 stereo amplifiers and the 2110 preamplifier. Representatives from Soundings and Boulder Amplifiers will be on hand to demonstrate and talk about these new products and to answer questions you may have about them. Adult beverages will be served alongside fine food provided by Great Northern Tavern. Click here for more details.
Soundings Fine Audio Video is located in the Marina Square shopping center on the NE corner of Belleview & Ulster:…
Register to win a pair of AudioEngine 5+ Speakers (MSRP $399.00) from Needle Doctor we are giving away.
According to the company:
Audioengine continues to manufacture powered speakers that are among the best you’ll find for the money. They’re a very focused company, and for that, we’re lucky. With resources pouring into a relatively centralized field, Audioengine is able to dream of and produce poignant products that entirely meet the needs of many listeners.
The A5+ powered speakers sound bold and brilliant. They seem unbothered by challenges holding other powered…
Devialet's new Ensemble system will be featured at Overture Audio/Video, 2423 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE this Saturday, December 6. Shows are from 12–4pm.
Devialet's Julien Bergère and John Bevier will be on hand to both demonstrate and answer questions about the Devialet Ensemble System, which features Devialet's SAM (Speaker Active Matching) technology. SAM processes the music signal in real- time to ensure that the sound pressure reproduced by the speaker, matches exactly the one recorded by the microphone.
Devialet says that there are now 150 speaker systems that can…
No doubt every model in the current Jaguar lineup is at least good, if not great. Their specs speak of high power, nimble handling, blinky acceleration, and no shortage of creature comforts. Yet for all that, modern Jags don't interest me in the least, partly because I know I'll never have the money to buy one, and partly because the Jaguars of the 21st century lack the character of their mid-20th century forebears. It seems to me that Jaguars have, over the years, gone from being in a class of their own to being scarcely more than upmarket versions of everydamnthing else.
But imagine if…
Through it all, the A95's natural, colorful timbral presentation endured. Playing Norman Blake's simply arranged and beautifully recorded The Fields of November (LP, Flying Fish 004), the newer SPU actually outpaced the old in giving a better sense of body to fiddle and cello alike, and Blake's singing had a bit more chest. The same could be said of the SPU 95's portrayal of Dame Janet Baker's voice on her French Songs, with the Melos Ensemble of London (LP, L'Oiseau-Lyre SOL 298); additionally, the new SPU handled that record's many peaks—as in Ravel's "Mefiez-vous des blancs"—without…
`Tis the season and yeah, I’ve been self–gifting, so what? At this time of the year, when you should be out there, fighting the credit card clutching crowds, thinking of others, trying to buy things that will surprise and delight your loved ones, it’s nearly impossible not to find a few things that you want as well right? That process just got a whole lot easier this week when the Music Direct catalog arrived. If you’re a gear or music geek, it doesn’t get much better than this annual 200 page tome, which this year has a really killer photo of young Bruce on the cover and a John Varvatos ad…
And so the first item to catch my eye was Mobile Fidelity's newly remastered LP pressing of Brothers and Sisters (1973) by The Allman Brothers Band. It also comes as an SACD if you prefer. This is the second time that MoFi, which is now owned by Music Direct, has reissued this album, the first being in 1994 (on CD) and 1995 (LP).
The second album released after the motorcycle accident that killed Duane Allman (1971) and the first after yet another motorcycle accident—three blocks from where Duane died—killed bassist Berry Oakley (1972), B&S became the Brothers biggest seller and…
It's time for another holiday gift list:
12. Holst: The Planets (24/96 download): $18
The Planets is the definitional crowd-pleasing orchestral warhorse—there are more than 40 recordings of it currently available in a dizzying array of over 90 couplings, sets, and formats. Add versions on synthesizer, pipe organ, brass ensemble, et al, and the total exceeds 100. There are good reasons for the work's enduring popularity: inspired orchestration, brief movements alternating between drama and repose, and memorable, rollicking big tunes.
The audiophile-approved recordings of The…