Ariel Bitran

Sort By: Post Date | Title | Publish Date
Gralbum: Re-Thinking the Concept Album
NewsAriel Bitran
Ariel Bitran  |  Apr 23, 2014  |  0 comments
Many music lovers share a moment in common. On a cloudy evening, you put on a record. Hopefully, it was Rush’s Hemispheres. Most likely, it was Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. The LP sleeve rested in your lap. The receiver’s meters bobbed gently, and the lights were dimmed just enough so your eyes could transfix on the junction of prism and light that refracts into a rainbow wrapped in black. As those guitars and synthesizers roared, the artwork and its melding with the music allowed you to transcend conceptual planes by uniting abstract visuals with word, rhythm, and melody. For just a moment, the world wasn’t so bland.

The Gralbum Collective are trying to recapture this enlightening experience with the Gralbum, or graphic album, a packaged release of image, word, and song for iPad and iPhone.

Continue Reading >
Happy Birthday
Ariel Bitran
Ariel Bitran  |  Aug 22, 2007  |  2 comments

Happy Birthday to me
Found some speakers for free
In the trash
Sonic cash
Happy Birthday to me

Continue Reading >
HDTracks + ABKCO Release Hi-Rez Downloads of The Rolling Stones
News
Ariel Bitran  |  Mar 02, 2011  |  2 comments
Courtesy of ABKCO Music & Records, Inc.

The tides of the digital audio industry are turning as hi-rez audio downloads are pushed further into the mainstream. On March 2, 2011, HDTracks welcome ABCKO's Remastered Series of the Rolling Stones to their catalog, available at 176kHz/24bit and 88kHz/24bit.

Continue Reading >
Hegel Music Systems Releases HD2 and HD20 DACs
News
Ariel Bitran  |  Mar 23, 2011  |  0 comments
On March 17, 2011, Norway’s Hegel Music Systems announced the release of the HD2 and HD20 DACs. The HD2 and HD20 feature what the company claims "may be the world’s most advanced jitter reduction circuitry.”
Continue Reading >
Hello Grado
Ariel Bitran
Ariel Bitran  |  Aug 09, 2007  |  4 comments

As I venture further into the hi-fi universe, I can start to understand what I like and what to listen for in my equipment: natural musical delivery, groove, and clarity. I'm excited.

Continue Reading >
Hi-fi, Fashion, and Rock’n’Roll
News
Ariel Bitran  |  Sep 30, 2011  |  2 comments
McIntosh VP of Sales and Marketing Linda Passaro poses with producer Tony Visconti (middle) and fashion designer John Varvatos (left)

Iconic hi-fi manufacturer McIntosh and fashion designer John Varvatos are joining forces in hopes to spread the love of great sound to customers at Varvatos stores across the country. Both brands hope to bring customers closer to the rock’n’roll experience by bringing them closer to the music through a high-fidelity audio system. Varvatos’s relationship with McIntosh began at age 17, when he heard his first Mac system. Varvatos, an audio enthusiast, described how he felt listening to a hi-fi for the first time: “I thought it was the future then, and it’s the future now.”

Continue Reading >
HiFiMAN RE-400 In-ear Monitor
Ariel Bitran
Ariel Bitran  |  Apr 25, 2013  |  0 comments
The HiFiMAN RE-400s come with four sets of eartips, flanged and unflanged, and a rubber dongle for wrapping your headphones up safely.

The HiFiMAN RE-400s Waterline cost $99. By definition, waterline is the point where a boat meets the water. According to HiFiMAN representative Peter Hoagland, “waterline” implies these headphones are “reference for its class”. Is HiFiMAN trying to say these headphones float above the rest? Maybe.

Continue Reading >
Hot Off the Presses: 1000 Copies of Stereophile Test CD 1
Ariel Bitran
Ariel Bitran  |  Feb 07, 2013  |  13 comments
Stereophile's Assistant Editor Stephen Mejias models the fresh produce

Are you curious to hear J. Gordon Holt's lecture on "Why Hi-Fi Experts Disagree"? Maybe you are yearning for Sam Tellig, the "Audio Anarchist" as identified in the liner notes, to whisper sweet nothings into your ear with his radio-friendly baritone while checking a 1kHz reference tone at –20dB. Or how would you like a dog named Ralph to howl at you while configuring your left and right speakers? All this and more can be found on Stereophile's Test CD 1, now available in the Stereophile eCommerce Store.

Continue Reading >
How Not to Change a Tweeter
Ariel Bitran
Ariel Bitran  |  May 24, 2013  |  4 comments
In April of 2011, after watching one of the many iterations of The Due Diligence perform at Silent Barn, the soundman made an announcement: “We have a bunch of old music gear for sale in the venue’s basement.” I jumped from my seat.

Dusty guitar amps, dirt-speckled stage light fixtures, and busted drivers piled atop each other on a series of shelves. I inspected each piece of gear carefully. Atop the highest shelf, I found them. Though covered in scratch marks and gum, the logo was clear: Polk Audio. The “i" was dotted with a little heart. I fell in love.

Continue Reading >
Immediate Ecstasy in the Wes Bender Room
NY Audio & AV 2012
Ariel Bitran  |  Apr 17, 2012  |  First Published: Apr 18, 2012  |  1 comments
The open and relaxed feel of the orchestral music immediately impressed me upon entry to the Wes Bender Studio room. One showgoer played his demo track of Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Richard Strauss, and immediately again, I was overwhelmed by the size these speakers could create yet how relaxed the remained. Music flowed from their pores (and drivers).

Continue Reading >

Pages

X