Sony making vinyl again?

Three decades after it abandoned vinyl production, Sony will start making records again amid surging demand. Full story

Speaker fun for summer

Am happily hosting a pair of JWM Alyson speakers in my home, courtesy of owner and designer Joshua Miles who dropped of a lovely looking pair, with matching stands, for review. This is an elegant MTM design which comes in various finishes, but that description hardly does justice to the handwork that goes into these. More to come, I have some extended listening to do.

And good to their word, Wireworld shipped a pair of their top of the range power cords to use with the PS Audio amps in for review. These still need a few hours (I am not running the amps endlessly due to their tube stage) but it's a nice opportunity to try some top of the range cords to see how the amps react. All to say, there's a few reviews coming over the next few months.

Del Amitri fans enjoy -- Justin Currie offering a new album

Justin Currie - This is my kingdom now

Songwriting is a craft and in my view, Currie was one of the great (and greatly underrated) songwriters of his generation. He was one of the late 80s wave of young Brits who brought rock sensibilities and lyrical bite back into the mainstream after years of over-produced, stylized and synthesized pap (sorry folks, the 80s were  mostly crap). His main band, Del Amitri produced a string of strong albums from Waking Hours on and could kick-ass live too, as evidenced by the comeback tour shows released two years ago in a small box set. The last decade or so has been a quiet time for Currie the songwriter and it's good to have him back, though this recording is likely to appeal only to hardcore fans. 

The thirteen tracks here are slow, or mid-tempo ballads, recorded in a quality that suggests low-key, domestic technologies, limited accompaniment ( a bit of piano here, some bass there, drums spread about) with the main man musing throughout on life, loneliness and his own various shortcomings. Nothing too stark and nothing too lively here, the album has the feel of hearing an old friend demoing with some tunes while sipping a few drinks and reminiscing of old times. 

Audiophiles will not be impressed with the sound quality and yes, you have to order from the UK as I don't believe there's a US outlet, but for all the challenges, it's hard not to enjoy the work.  And at a total cost of under $20 shipped, you get a digital download immediately with the CD arriving less than 2 weeks later.

(this, and other album reviews are archived in the Listening Notes page)

Rega in red...

Just announced through the regular PR push. Looks great in red....used to have a Rega 3, great table, bought it for £150 (pounds), used, back in the late 1980s.  More at http://www.soundorg.com.

Better than the KEF LS50?

Well, so claims the gushing PR from Essence -- a pair of active speakers, under a grand, might be worth a listen given the design roots:

New gear in for review

The PSAudio BHK 300 Monos are in for review and making sweet music in my reference rig. I've been trying various permutations of cords and cables with these, and will be adding a pair of Wireworld cords soon as these are incoming.

This is an interesting hybrid design with tubes in the input stage and balanced Mosfet output. Consequently, rule #1 for me is to remember to turn these off when no longer listening....a new habit I have to acquire the hard way.  Review forthcoming.

Hinges for your Bryston table cover coming...

Want to take that cover off your turntable from Bryston -- new hinges coming:

Can't say it was a problem while I had that table in the house -- just a reminder, this is a lovely sounding analog front end, and not fussy to set up. Check out my original review here

Vinyl sales continue up but is the LP an ornament?

You see these trend data a lot these days --- vinyl sales are apparently undergoing a resurgence, reaching their highest numbers for 30 years it would now seem.  But you realize, when you look closely, that the old adage about damn lies and statistics is applicable here. Even as LPs sell more in comparison to CDs, the total sales are not that great. Moreover, according to this article, many people buy records but never actually listen to them!  Hey, I sometimes take a while to get around to new records when I buy a few in quick succession, and maybe some of my records have not been played in a while, but buying them just to have a trophy?  This too will pass, surely?