Stereophile Jul-12

A few years ago, while on vacation in Puerto Rico, I found myself sitting at a nearly empty beach bar, discussing music with Cassie Ramone, singer and guitarist for one of my favorite bands, Brooklyn’s Vivian Girls. When the conversation turned to the topic of so-called “lo-fi” bands, Cassie’s tone became critical, almost bitter: “No one wants to make ‘lo-fi’ records,” she said. Cassie was exaggerating—there are bands that, for artistic, philosophical, or other reasons, enthusiastically embrace the raw, hazy “lo-fi” sound—but her point was nevertheless interesting and, to me, exciting: Vivian Girls was just one of many young, independent bands that wanted to make hi-fidelity recordings but lacked the means to do so. What if these talented musicians were somehow given the opportunity to realize their dreams? My mind…

FEEDBACK TO THE EDITOR One woman’s view Editor: In response to the letter questioning a woman’s ability to listen to an album (April, pp.11–13), I would like to offer a female music devotee’s point of view. I understand the audiophile world is populated by a much larger number of men than women, and can only hope the gender balance will begin to shift in the way I have seen the music world transform over the last 30 years in which I have been involved. As the founder of Classic Album Sundays, I would like to enlighten Mr. Shelton with the fact that, on average, half of our CAS attendees are females and are able to sit down and listen to a whole album all the way through without speaking. They…

CYBERSPACE Stereophile Staff On May 15, we launched the third website to complement Stereophile magazine and www.stereophile.com: AnalogPlanet.com joins InnerFidelity.com (devoted to headphone and personal listening) and AudioStream.com (devoted to computer audio). Edited by Stereophile’s longtime analog maven, Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet will be the premier source for information and reviews of new analog products, including turntables, cartridges, and phono preamps, as well as accessories and setup tips. Michael’s more than 200 “Analog Corner” columns for Stereophile will eventually be posted to AnalogPlanet, as will select analog product reviews originally published in Stereophile; “Analog Corner” will continue to appear in Stereophile. Reviews and columns by Michael originally published in Stereophile may be enhanced with further material when they appear on AnalogPlanet. Visitors to Fremer’s popular MusicAngle.com website will be redirected to…

ATTENTION ALL AUDIO SOCIETIES: We have a page on the Stereophile website devoted to you: www.stereophile.com/audiophile-societies. If you’d like to have your audio-society information posted on the site, e-mail Chris Vogel at info@vcable.us. Please note that it is inappropriate for a retailer to promote a new product line in “Calendar” unless this is associated with a seminar or similar event. ARIZONA Wednesday, June 27, 7pm: The Arizona Audio Video Club will hold a meeting at the Phoenix Airport Marriott (1101 N. 44th Street). Larry Owens of DEQX will demonstrate the DEQX HDP-4 processor. A raffle is planned and refreshments will be served. Guests, visitors, and new members are invited. Nonmembers should RSVP to wootsmusic@live.com. For more info, visit www.azavclub.org. CALIFORNIA May–June: Lavish Hi-Fi (402 Moore Lane, Healdsburg) will hold a…

On the fifth floor of Rose Records, on Wabash Avenue, the greatest vinyl dump Chicago ever saw was under way. Thousands of cutout (discontinued) LPs at near-giveaway prices, as all the major record labels and some minor ones emptied their warehouses. This was June, 1984. One block away, at the Congress Hotel, on South Michigan Avenue, the summer Consumer Electronics Show was going on. The Compact Disc had been launched in the US the previous year. Sales of 331/3rpm vinyl had already tanked, thanks to the Compact Cassette. Convenience always trumps sound quality, as it did beginning in 1948, when 331/3 vinyl replaced the 78rpm shellac. Now it was the LP’s turn to take a shellacking. Sadly, Rose Records itself became a broken record. Manufacturers fell over themselves to exit…

Will yet another $150,000 turntable fly in 2012? I’m speaking metaphorically, of course, but if any designer could make a turntable literally fly, it would be the Onedof’s designer, Aleks Bakman. Bakman’s credits include structural analyses of airplane wing assemblies and engine attachments, and parts of the airframe and landing gear for helicopters. He’s also worked for NASA, and participated in the design of the next generation of the Space Shuttle. (You can read more about his background on Onedof’s website, www.onedof.com/onedof-turntable-designer-aleksbakman. You’re guaranteed a laugh at the bottom of the page.) Bakman earned a master’s of science degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Mechanical Engineering, where he studied fluid dynamics, robotics, turbodynamics, tribology, rheology, applied mathematics, finite-element analysis, electronics, advanced dynamics, material science, and vibration theory.…