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Your Show of Shows: Newport Beach 2013 Starts Friday
News
Jason Victor Serinus • May 25, 2013 • 0 comments
In only its third year, T.H.E. Show Newport Beach has already become the largest consumer high-end/high-performance/fine-audio show in the United States. Running May 31–June 2 in the Hilton and Atrium Hotels, directly across the street from southern California's surprisingly low-key Orange County/John Wayne airport, the booked-to-the-max show promises 140 active exhibit rooms, an estimated 450 manufacturers from around the globe, and enough ancillary events to rival a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey three-ring circus.

Except that there are a lot more rings.

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21 Tracks for Newport Beach: A Playlist
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • May 24, 2013 • 11 comments
T.H.E. Show Newport Beach will be held May 31 through June 2, at the Hilton and Atrium hotels, near Orange County Airport, in Irvine, California. John Atkinson and Jason Victor Serinus will cover the show for Stereophile.com, while Tyll Hertsens and Michael Fremer will represent for InnerFidelity and AnalogPlanet.

Jason asked if would send him a flash drive carrying a few demo tracks that he might use to audition systems at the show—a fun idea, however one that I can’t successfully realize: At this time, I have no real library of high-resolution (or even CD-quality) digital files, nor do I have proper means of ripping CDs. Simply put, while I do plan on building a proper computer-audio system, I haven’t gotten around to it yet. I’ve been busy hanging out with girls and cats, decorating the new apartment, and admiring the Mets’ ability to find creative ways to lose close games. Give me a few more months.

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Payday Albums: 5/24/13
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • May 24, 2013 • 1 comments
Jenny Hval. Photo: Kasper Vogelzang.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I haven’t made much progress since the last Payday Albums post: I keep buying records, but the days don’t get any longer. What’s up with that? The number of LPs in my collection that have gone unplayed is growing dangerously large; soon enough, my collection will be made mostly of unplayed LPs. Meanwhile, I’m just plain running out of shelf space. What’s a guy to do? Buy a massive hard drive and convert to computer audio?

Hmm . . . I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

For now: Today’s payday. These are the albums I bought.

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VTL's Luke Manley
Interviews
Jonathan Scull • May 24, 2013 • Published: Jun 01, 1996 • 0 comments
Luke Manley at Manhattan's Innovative Audio (Photo: John Atkinson)

Jonathan Scull: How long has VTL been in business, Luke?

Luke Manley: My dad, David Manley, and I co-founded VTL in June of 1986. We started small on the East Coast, and soon after we moved to California.

Scull: Is it because you're really a West Coast kind of guy?

Manley: [laughs] You bet! There's a lot of supporting industries out there; a big base of electronics manufacturers, for example.

Scull: What, in the San Francisco area?

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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.

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Broken Deer: Polaraura
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • May 23, 2013 • 5 comments
I first became acquainted with Lindsay Dobbin’s work in 2010, when she released, under the name Broken Deer, a limited-edition cassette on Al Bjornaa’s Scotch Tapes label. The music sounded like it came from some other, remote time and place—hushed, fragile, inspired by dreams and memories.
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Looking Forward: Julianna Barwick’s Nepenthe
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • May 23, 2013 • 2 comments
Julianna Barwick’s third full-length album, Nepenthe, is scheduled for release on August 20th, by Dead Oceans. Unlike Barwick’s previous work, largely self-produced in her Brooklyn bedroom, Nepenthe was produced and engineered in Reykjavík, Iceland, by Alex Somers. And while Barwick’s earlier work is made mostly of her own voice, Nepenthe features contributions from Icelandic band Amiina, guitarist Róbert Sturla Reynisson of múm, and a female choir.
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Looking Forward: Julia Holter’s Loud City Song
Stephen Mejias
Stephen Mejias • May 22, 2013 • 2 comments
Photo: Rick Bahto

Julia Holter’s new album, Loud City Song, is scheduled to be released on August 20th, by Domino. This is Holter’s third album in as many years: Her limited-release debut, Tragedy (recently given proper and deserving reissue treatment by Domino), was met by almost universal critical acclaim, while her follow-up, Ekstasis, expanded her sound, solidified her standing as one of today’s most exciting young artists, and was one of my favorite records of 2012.

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Genesis Technologies Genesis III loudspeaker
Floor Loudspeaker Reviews
Robert Harley • May 21, 2013 • Published: Aug 01, 1993 • 0 comments
The loudspeaker designer's art has changed radically over the past 20 years. Although the goals are largely the same, today's designer employs tools and techniques unimaginable two decades ago. Computer modeling, powerful and affordable FFT machines, and sophisticated new driver technologies are just a few of the advantages enjoyed by the modern designer. The high-tech result is a vastly better loudspeaker—even inexpensive products today are significantly better than those of even five years ago, never mind 20.

The new Genesis III loudspeaker shows just how sophisticated the designer's art has become. The Genesis III is as far removed from the cones-in-boxes loudspeakers of yesterday as a Ford Taurus is from a Pinto. Combining a radically different cabinet with unusual custom drive-units, the Genesis III is a paradigm of how high technology has transformed loudspeaker design.

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Live: Anamanaguchi, Bitchin' Bajas, and Angel Olsen
Ariel Bitran
Ariel Bitran • May 21, 2013 • 0 comments
Despite a recurring and subtly bothersome perirectal abscess, I was committed to making this a good weekend. My life had been devoid of concerts and bars due to my renewed vow to frugality, but an endless stream of incredible live music in NYC this weekend could not and would not be ignored.
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