Many and perhaps most of today's popular-music superstars are women: Beyoncé, Adele, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, and of course Taylor Swift. Beyond the headlines is a vast world of independent and assertive music creation. From the costumed, Black Sabbath–indebted metal stylings of Riley…
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Women have undeniably become the most dynamic and vital creative force in music today. Without their good energies and ideas, music, which in the digital age has become more background than art, would be much less interesting and inspiring.
In Robin D.G. Kelley's definitive, 450-page biography of Thelonious Monk, Monk and tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse first meet on p.100, in 1944. Their next encounter comes 91 pages (11 years) later, when Rouse is working with Monk at the Music Barn concert series in the Berkshires. Then, from p.250 to p.409—that's 1958–1969, when the two parted ways—there aren't many pages that don't bear Rouse's name. The two are not only linked in music history; they are literally together in heaven—in the heavens rather: Astronomer Joe Montani named asteroids after them. Monk, of course, is one of the half…
Neil Blanchard Designs offers bespoke DIY speaker kits—purchase the build manual and matching cabinets, each available separately through his website.
Blanchard presented his Tower 4T4 Mass Loaded Transmission Line Speakers; its build manual is $200. Accompanying 18mm‑thick Baltic Birch cabinet panels, which Blanchard calls Flat Packs, cost between $525–$625, plus shipping. Choose your own drivers and dial in the sound you prefer. His Super Tower prototype speakers were also in the room.
Post‑show, Blanchard wrote "The mid-woofers in the Tower 4T4 are the Dayton Audio…
Robin Wyatt is a good egg, a mensch, a stand-up guy. Not only does Robin create badass listening rooms and occasionally shower attendees with fine scotch; he's also generous to a fault. Most recently, Robin donated a Miyajima 78 cartridge to The Hot Club of New York, which plays 78s on a restored vintage system. It's a must-hear room if you're in New York's Flatiron District.
In New Jersey, Robin joined forces with Bill Magerman and Nick Fitzsimmons of Rogue Audio to create a superb-sounding system featuring the world debut of the Rogue Audio M250 Ultra monoblock…
Jason Tavares of New York's HiFi Loft presented not one but two instantly eye- and ear-catching systems.
The big-rig system combined a Soulines tt42 turntable ($15,400 without arm(s) or cartridges) with Electrocompaniet electronics: the EMC 1 MKV CD player ($7200) and ECM 1 MKII streamer/DAC ($6000).
An Electrocompaniet ECP 2 MKII phono preamp ($3200) and a Soulines The Loop tube phono preamplifier ($2500) conveyed analog signals.
The Electrocompaniet EC 5 preamplifier (TBA) was also in the system—a US debut—accompanied by Electrocompaniet AW 800 M monoblock…
As the Spin Doctor, I tend to lead an analog life. I'm not just talking about my preferred ways of listening to music, but also my approach to other everyday technology. For decades, there has been a push to turn everything we use into a connected, "smart" device. We now have technology that allows us to change the color temperature of the lights in our living room while we sit on the sofa, or to answer our front doorbell from the other side of the world. I prefer an older-school approach. For one thing, I drive a very analog car, a 33-year-old Mercedes-Benz diesel, which, once started, could…
Springfield, Illionois–based Legacy Audio, which is under new ownership, promised a "Total HiFi Experience" at the "Legacy Audio Showcase." They weren't kidding. Creating three rooms out of a single lower-level chamber plus a larger, special-purpose room, Legacy Audio provided a different listening experience around each corner.
Room one was dubbed The Aeris XD System, showcasing Legacy Audio's Aeris XD loudspeaker ($36,000/pair), driven by the iV2 Ultra amplifier ($6000), augmented by twin Metro XD subwoofers ($4000 each). Processing and room correction were handled by the Wavelet 2…
Norm Steinke, Burmester sales manager for the US, presented two complete Burmester Audio systems at T.H.E. Show in New Jersey. Both systems were composed of components drawn from Burmester’s tiered product lines: Signature Line, Reference Line, Top Line, Classic Line. The two displayed setups featured an assortment of components divided among these categories.
System one consisted of a Reference 111 music server/streamer ($60,000), Reference 175 turntable ($65,000), Top Line 088 preamp ($37,000), Reference 218 amplifier ($60,000), and in a debut, a pair of BX100 loudspeakers ($110,000/…
Tony Minasian brought his handsome Oriaco loudspeakers and his own CDs recorded with top players as sources.
"We don't manufacture speakers; we craft instruments of acoustic truth," Minasian states at his Oriaco Audio website. "Our dedication to perfection demands complete oversight of the creative process, which is why we design and manufacture our own drivers, modify existing drivers to our standards, hand-select premium components for crossovers and cabinets, and employ proprietary measurement systems that push the boundaries of precision engineering."
The Burbank,…
Shayne Tenace is a cigar smoker, like me. So once we meet up at shows, we know smoke is in the works! But first, business.
Shayne's gorgeous-looking Burmester system included a Top Line 151 MK2 Musiccenter CD player/network ($30,000), a Top Line 088 preamplifier ($37,000), and a Reference Line 218 power amplifier ($60,000). The amplifier was driving a pair of B38 loudspeakers ($35,000/pair). A 948 power conditioner ($12,000) completed the array.
Honestly, this kind of shiny, solid state componentry is not usually my thing. There wasn't a turntable in sight, much less tubes or…