The metalwork is all done in-house—Jeff comes from a family of craftsman machinists and has invested heavily in CNC…
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There are always oases of two-channel audio on the main floor at a CEDIA conference. Boulder Amplifiers were showing their beautiful-looking and equally beautiful-sounding range of solid-state electronics, including their cost-no-object 2000 series components and the more affordable 1000 and 800 series gear. The latter includes the $5k Model 850 200W monoblock (center), seen here framed by company founder Jeff Nelson (left) and marketing exec Rich Maez (right).
Wendell Diller demos the "just been completed" Magnepan Automated Speaker. Essentially a Maggie MGMC1 ($725) in a wooden frame with a remote-controlled magnetic latch. When you're not using the speakers, they fold flat against the wall, looking like minimalist wall art. When you fire up the hi-fi or HT, click the button and the Automated Speakers spring into position, angling off the walls for best imaging. Price not yet determined.
While on-wall/in-wall systems were ubiquitous at CEDIA, the in-room speakers stood out for their imaging and sound quality. Even the tiny Dynaudio 2.1 system consisting of a pair of Contour SR speakers ($2200/pair) coupled with the Sub 250 ($1k) made sounds that many bigger installations would envy. Add another pair and a Contour SC ($1900) to fill out a 5.1 system that can do music as well as movies.
Quietly tucked at the back of the main hall, Musical Fidelity had a lot of new stuff of great audiophile interest. First off is the new "audio Swiss Army Knife," as JA referred to it in his blog yesterday, the all-in-one, $9000 kW250. But among the other goodies on the Signal Path booth was the X-Package, consisting of the neat little X-RAYv8 24/192 upsampling CD player, the X-T100 60Wpc tube hybrid integrated amp, and the Triple-X power supply which powers both as well as an optional external DAC, tuner, etc. In their compact but non-resonant aluminum casings, this $3000 system was…
John And Rudy Dopyera's collection of one-of-a-kind musical instruments is for sale at Elderly Instruments. If you know who they are, you've already clicked the external link, so I'll tell everybody else that the trademark "Dobro" is a contraction of DOpyera BROthers and their resonating instruments changed the sound of American music—blues, Hawaiian, bluegrass all rely on that haunting, sliding sound.
Via Boing-Boing.
At two points in my life, I experienced cluster headaches that lasted for about six months. They're completely incapacitating—not only is the pain crippling, but you live your life anticipating that every change in your internal balance is the onset of your next session.
My first thought upon reading this Nature article was why didn't I know? My second thought was what a bummer it would be to have a cluster headache and be tripping.
Amir Taheri has an interesting take on Grass' recent revelation of his Waffen SS past.
Money quote: "[Grass] recalls the moment when GIs arrive at the camp where Grass was a war prisoner. Grass says that one GI, a white man from Virginia would not directly talk to another GI, a black man, driving a truck. In the truck taking Grass and other prisoners to the camp, the white Virginian, whom Grass describes as 'a good man but a bit stupid,' asks Grass to relay orders to the American black driver. ...
"Grass writes: I cannot say I was shocked, but, suddenly, I discovered racism."…
Just a reminder: Tomorrow is International Talk Like A Pirate Day. If John Atkinson sticks to his guns and actually observes this holiday, it's going to make for an interesting day of jury duty.
Might be a good strategy to keep from being sequestered.
When I was younger, I wanted to grow up to become a Major League baseball player. Baseball runs in my family. My grandfather played in the sugarcane fields, my father played in the street, my uncles played Little League. Each generation, it seemed, got better and closer. I had one uncle who made it all the way to a Major League farm club before injuring his knee.
"Stevie's gonna make it," he'd say. "Stevie's got what it takes."
The happiest day of my eleven-year-old life came when I made a diving catch to win the Ironbound Little League championship. The rest of the…
Somehow it all relates to Maslow's hierarchy of human needs.
Remember, violation of these rules will lead to nothing less than the end of civilization as we know it.