For those of you that enjoy the sound of high performance (engines, that is), Club Mix columnist Scott Tetzlaff is waiting for qualifying to start soon for the Monaco Grand Prix.
Stop by www.formula1.com to keep track of who’s going to be where on the grid Sunday morning.
Hey, we can’t just geek out with stereos all the time!
If you ever doubted the value of buying a $35 case for your iPhone or iPod touch, here’s the proof. All it takes is a nudge from an unsuspecting terrier’s nose and your iPhone is crashing to the tile floor. This 30″ drop yielded a $200 repair.
Don’t think you’ll be headed to the Apple Store for a replacement either. You only get ONE $199 iPhone 3G if you are an existing iPhone customer. Perhaps the advertising is a bit misleading? I wish the freindly guy at the Apple Store would have told me something like “guard this baby with your life, because the next one will set you back $600…” And like other cell phones at the AT&T store, you can’t buy an insurance plan for your iPhone.
The good news: you can have it repaired from Apple for (you guessed it) $200, or if you are very technically inclined can get a kit to repair it yourself for $65. Usually up for a challenge, I backed down on this one, as my iPhone 3G is only a few months old.
Lesson learned, be careful with your iPhone 3G.
For those of you that were fans of the Aragon and Acurus brands, they are making a comback! Ex-Klipsch employees Rick Santiago and Ted Moore have purchased the brand and will be starting on new products ASAP. We will be finding out shortly what, if any plans they have for repairing legacy product.
TONEAudio staff writer Todd Sageser will be taking a trip to their lab very soon and we will have a report on what the new owners are up to. There are some rumors that they will be bringing on another big name or two in the engineering department, so we’ll let you know as soon as a decision is made.
We wish them the best of luck.
Just got back from Los Angeles and a few days behind the wheel of the Aston Martin DBS with Club Mix editor Scott Tetzlaff. The goal was to evaluate the Bang & Olufsen stereo system for the next issue of TONEAudio, but the hidden agenda was to evaluate the thrust of the 510 horsepower, 6-litre V-12 under the hood.
Best of all, on the way home, our pilot on Southwest Flight 500 informed us that we were traveling on a brand new airplane. New car smell and new plane smell all in one weekend!
If you would like some more information about this beauty, just click the link:
You probably don’t know Rick Carr… But he could use a little help.
An employee at the MartinLogan speaker company, Rick has been recently diagnosed with small intestinal cancer. Unfortunately, he’s in stage IV and his prognosis is that this is “treatable but not cureable” and the doctors are giving him about two years to live.
MartinLogan has donated some speakers that you can buy a $20 ticket to win. If you are interested, please go to http://www.rickcarrbenefit.com and buy a ticket and a chance to win a pair of MartinLogan Purity speakers or a Depth i subwoofer. (2 pairs of Purities and 2 Depth i’s will be given away)
Even if you don’t need speakers, and can spare the cost of a CD this week, we at TONE join with Rick’s family to ask for your help. Anything you can do will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit the YG acoustics factory in Denver, Colorado. For those of you not familiar with YG, they have been running a series of ads in Stereophile and a few other hifi magazines with the headline “The Worlds Greatest Speakers.” It’s a bold claim, but after two days of listening and watching them build speakers, I’d easily say that they are worthy of a spot in the top five.
Just to clarify, I’ll go as far as to say their Anat Reference 2 Professional is at the top of my top five list, but we all have our personal favorite and I have not been able to spend time with the Grand Utopia from JM/Focal yet. So I’m happy to add YG to the list of world class contenders.
Watch for an upcoming review and interview soon. And if you are shopping for the ultimate destination in speakers, I suggest adding YG Acoustics to your audition list.
Several hundred guests packed the 9th floor and roof (though most stayed inside in the chilly weather) of Nashville’s ICON condo building in the Gulch Tuesday night for the launch party of One Revolution Entertainment. With a record label, publishing company and other music business interests, One Revolution is the brainchild of Dean Miller, Nashville recording artist and the son of the late country legend Roger Miller.
Nathan Barlowe, front man of the Rick Rubin-produced Luna Halo, sported a newly-dyed semi-Mohawk, while Nashville Music Guide publisher Dan Wunsch, in his ubiquitous baseball cap, worked the room looking for stories and advertisers and beer. Fine young saxman Eddie Vance brought his band up from Oxford, Mississippi to provide a night of funk, fusion and mellow pop radio covers.
The ladies looked fabulous as they always do at Nashville music industry parties, and the food from Maggiano’s was stellar. Also on hand were One Revolution Entertainment’s first two signings, Nathan Lee and Rob Blackledge, both of whom are singer/songwriters whom owe more of a nod to classic rock and Americana than country.
Indie labels popping up on every corner in Nashville, but One Revolution is a little left of center and may be just what Music City needs. The festivities were enjoyed by all, with One Revolution making its presence known in style.
- Rick Moore
Well, we’ve been bashing it on and off for years, but I’ve got a feeling that we are on to something good after all.
The kind folks at Sound HiFi in the UK (www.soundhifi.com) have sent us their power supply upgrade and adaptor plate to mount an SME tonearm to the workhorse SL-1200. I’ve always felt the arm (and its dreadfully dark wiring) was the weak link in this table, combined with the relatively primitive power supply. The Sound HiFi mods promise to fix this, and from looking at the goodies in the box, I’m confident. The armboard is a work of beauty!
Most importantly, the directions for installing the power supply upgrade are concise, well photographed and in color! Impressive.
Proprietor Dave Cawley is a cool cat that did not make outlandish claims either. When we spoke, he said, “Look, it’s not a world beater, but I think you will find the Technics deck with the SME arm very interesting. I made the first one for a customer that had an older SME arm. I had no idea he would mount a current 309 on the 1200, but it works very well.”
Stay tuned and we’ll keep you posted. (Photo courtesy of Sound HiFi)
If you are a jazz lover and haven’t heard of Eastwind Imports, that’s reason number one to head over to their website. The proprietor Hajime Sato is one of the friendliest guys in the business and he specializes in nearly impossible to find Japanese import CD’s that were originally recorded in Japan. We’ve reviewed a few of their discs over the last year and every one I’ve had the pleasure to listen to has been of exquisite quality.
Reason number two to zip over to Eastwind Imports, they are now starting to carry LP’s! When Hajime first opened his shop, I asked him if he would be carrying vinyl and he told me, “as my business improves, I will do my best to stock some vinyl; I love it!”
Keep your eyes on our music reviews, as we have about ten new titles from Eastwind that we will review shortly. In the meantime, head over to Eastwind Imports and grab a few LP’s!
Slugs are a way of life in the Pacific Northwest and here’s our way of sharing a little bit of our culture with you. To keep the slug mood rolling right along, it’s time to spin John Hiatt’s Slug Line. Hey, what else could we play after seeing this little monster? Just so you know, this one is about 9 inches long!
