Rogers announced they now are selling direct to customers, following PS Audio's earlier move in this direction. Hard to argue with this though it means even more challenges for audio dealers. In many ways, it's inevitable. Magazines constantly defend their reviews by telling readers to go hear for themselves before buying but it's becoming harder and harder to do so. I've remarked here before how even in an urban market, the availability of audiophile products is limited, even when a dealer apparently exists. Esoteric gear, and let's face it, all audiophile gear is esoteric to the masses, is not amenable to convenient audition. What this means for the long-term health of the industry is anyone's guess but I think manufacturers have little chance of growing their market by proceeding with business as usual.
Rogers also announced a factory-reconditioned listing space on site too, offering a chance to get a used item with some assurances, another nice touch. So, never heard Rogers gear myself but their phono stages and integrated amps were always of interest. I hope this works for them.
So much is said about the value of streaming services and how you can explore at will, lucking onto great music you might not have otherwise heard. I don't disagree. But there's also something about having your own material collection that is hard to quantify. Case in point - tonight I was just doing some record playing and for no particular reason, pulled out an old chestnut - the Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago.
I looked at the cover, thought that might be fun to spin, pulled it from the sleeve and knew I'd cleaned it so it was ready to go but looking at the label and the vinyl I expected a somewhat rough sound from this 60 year old slab of history. Well, what do you know? Sure, a couple of clicks and pops on the run in grooves but then the music kicked in, and I sat back with a nice drink and just listened. Phew...what a delight. Sax oozed from the left, drums from the right, and yes, that was a classic case of real stereo separation (maybe a little too much, if you know what I mean) but what fun.
A couple of tracks in, I'm reaching for the sleeve. Yep, Cannonball for sure but what else do I see....Coltrane, Kelly on piano, Chambers on bass, Cobb on drums. A small note underneath saying 'this session was cut while all the above were sidemen working with Miles Davis at the Sutherland Hotel in 1959!'. Oh now you're talking. Absolutely glorious sonics in a sort of 'to hell with frequency extension and detail, this is the pulse of a band playing in front of you'. Then, in the lower right corner, a note entitled 'HiFi Information'
"This epochal jazz session was recorded in Feb 1959 at Universal Recording Studio B, Chicago, with Bernie Clapper, president of the firm, at the audio controls. In order to achieve the spitome in cohesive sound and coordiantion, the group was set up very tight, the way they worked in personal engagements,. Microphone sets were worked out to make for the most possible directivity of sound with very little crossover, because this is fundamentally a session which featured solos by these outstanding progressive jazzmen. Mike (sic) pickups included: Solo Reed Telefunken U-47; Reed accent mike-RCA 44BX; Bass-Telefunken U-47; Piano-Telefunken U-47; Drums-Telefunken U-47; Rhythm accent mike-Telefunken U-47. The entire session was recorded at 15 inches per second on Ampex 350-2 modified tape recorders."
And the kicker -- the sleeve notes about the musicians has the following, written in 1959:
"Cannonball Adderley looks forward to the future of jazz with great enthusiasm. He expresses justified confidence that his co-worker and prominent tenorman, John Coltrane will have much to do with the opening of new horizons"
Time travel indeed - a small capsule of music, history and perspective, sitting on my shelf just waiting for the moment to remind me of what it all means. Try that Spotify!
I was horribly surprised by the news today that Art Dudley, audio columnist for Stereophile and former chief of the Listener has died from cancer. In a small way it makes no sense that a stranger with whom my only interactions were as passive recipient of his monthly articles should have such an effect on me but tonight I cannot help mourn the loss. Many audio writers are dull, a few are entertaining, fewer still are also informative. Stereophile in recent years seems to have cornered the market on the subset who provide fun with insight, but even still, Art was in another league.
I don't quite know if it was the turn of phrase, which undoubtedly was delightful, or if it was the love he communicated for great music and great design, regardless of fashion, time, or supposed relevance that made him feel like a friend, a couple of drinks in, telling you what he really felt about life, art and why the two matter. His was the column I both turned to first and yet put off reading immediately so that I could savor it at leisure. And many of his writings I've read more than once because the strength of his work ensured that it warranted and rewarded multiple engagements. I've sold old copies of Absolute Sound, but I keep back issues of the Listener and Stereophile largely because of him. An edited collection of his work would not be out of place. And yes, even this week as I considered the value in refreshing my old Naim Nait, it was Art's piece from a few years back that I referred to when weighing the cost. Was his presence felt in those final days?
I never imagined the death of an audio writer would reduce me to tears but this evening, when I read the news while I worried if my stereo was sounding as good as it should, my breath stopped for a second and I genuinely felt a deep loss. To his wife and family I send my deepest sympathies, but to all of us, the world is a little dimmer now that Art is no longer among us. A name was rarely more appropriate, he was indeed Art.
Lots of comments and videos out there - this is one of my favorites as it's the nearest we'll all get to sitting down with him to listen.
Lots of confusion I suspect about how the Apollo Masters fire will impact record production. It's not about pressing plants, it's the actual supply of the nitrocellulose lacquers that is disrupted. Seems the industry was super-reliant on this one plant and developing a new supplier or hoping Apollo can make a quick comeback ignores many of the issues involved in manufacturing this stuff now.
If it makes the WSJ then it's probably big news. A fire at Apollo Masters, one of only two plants in the world that manufacture lacquers for pressing (and the other has no spare capacity) will likely impact the industry negatively. Some are calling it a catastrophe, some the death knell for a fragile niche product, and while we have no way of knowing what's ahead, you can certainly expect the cost of records to rise. Oh, and if you were tired of the same old titles before this, expect it to be even worse going forward. Fortunately nobody was injured it seems but for those of us who love our records, the future just got a little darker. Here's hoping someone with resources can see an opportunity here.
Am not the most active headphone user but Schiit seemed keen to share this news with the world.
And as always, the company does tend to rock the boat with their price-performance ratio. In their own words:
Schiit Audio announced the availability of Jotunheim R, the first and only direct-drive amplifier for the Raal/Requisite ribbon headphones. Jotunheim R eliminates the need for a speaker amp and interface box to drive the very low impedance ribbons, substantially simplifying a Raal/Requisite system and offering the potential for higher performance. Jotunheim R can be ordered as “Just an Amplifier,” for $799, with an internal True Multibit DAC card at $999, or with the external Bifrost 2 DAC at $1399.
“Jotunheim R is a dedicated amp designed specifically for Raal/Requisite ribbon headphones,” said Jason Stoddard, Schiit’s Co-Founder. “Unlike conventional headphones, the Raal ribbons are extremely low impedance, which requires extremely high current output.”
Previously, Raal/Requisite provided an interface box to be used with speaker amplifiers to drive the headphones. This meant that systems were large and cumbersome, requiring the interface box, a speaker amplifier, and a preamp and DAC. Jotunheim R replaces all of that.
“Choose the internal True Multibit DAC and it’s a complete one-box system,” said Jason. “Plug your source into the DAC, plug the Raals into the Jotunheim R, and you’re done. All in one box that’s less than 110 cubic inches.”
This one-box solution is ideal for professionals who want to use the Raal/Requisite headphones for portable mastering. It also provides professional-level protection, with overcurrent and overtemperature shut-off.
Jotunheim R also provides an extremely high level of performance for high-end listening. “We’ve had many early listeners say this is actually better than high-dollar speaker amps and the interface box,” added Jason.
The goodies keep coming -- am trying to find out more but here you go:
Following on from the highly successful ‘BLUES’ album, Chess/UMC are proud to be releasing ‘Check Shirt Wizard- Live In ‘77’. The album is available to pre-order HERE
This 20-song, previously unreleased, set is culled from four shows (London, Brighton, Sheffield and Newcastle) during an early 1977 tour across the UK in support of Rory’s then latest album 'Calling Card'. Featuring fantastic live versions of tracks from that album as well as songs from the 1975 'Against The Grain' album and other live favourites.
Full credit - this is another of the great things you can find at Micheal Fremer's site, full credit, he's a missionary for analog. Anyway, sharing this, go to his site for more info but it's a long piece on that archive mentioned below. Enjoy.
A couple of months after the initial project goal was not met, Michael's stepped up to try it again. I'm in again and you should be too if you care for contemporary jazz artists and great analog sound. Let's get this going, and thank you Michael for refusing to give up.
The eager-beavers at PSAudio, not content at moving to direct sales only, are offering perhaps the best trade-in program I can remember from a company. Full retail cost on your old gear (as long as it's working) in an effort to tempt you into new products. No doubt some will still complain but this seems to me a really attractive option, especially since they will credit you up front and give you 30 days to try their new product. Check out the video explaining the process (apparently despite approvals I can't embed but you can follow the link)
Update -- despite some last min donations, the project fell a little short but don't give up. Michael is rethinking and might relaunch later. I'll share any info I get - this one is an example of the lengths living jazz musicians must go to in order to give the small audiophile community what we crave. My pledge remains.
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I've meant to mention this earlier but life got in the way -- it's not to late to get involved and support this effort -- previous experience with Jerome Sabbagh's work through similar projects has been great, so if you want to support living artists not just another jazz reissue of familiar music, take a look, you won't regret it. I'm in.
Enjoyed a great performance by Jeff Beck and band at the Paramount Saturday evening. He may be getting on years but Jeff still surrounds himself (mostly) with great musicians and delivers a level of original guitar playing that is unique and powerful to witness. I tried watching his right hand but it's really impossible to capture how he does this mix of stroking, picking, and turning of knobs simultaneously to create that otherworldly soundscape. Superb.
Slight downside for me was the totally unnecessary appearance of Johnny Depp on guitar and vocals for a few songs near the end. See video proof below (though the venue did try very quickly to clamp down on anyone recording stuff). No disrespect to Johnny and another singer who also appeared (sorry, no idea who it was) but the music definitely took a backward step from there to my ears. No biggie I suppose, most people seemed happy or at least curious at all this but I'd have loved a few more tracks from Beck and the band without any special guests. Now, if only Jeff could take some gentle wardrobe advice....
So much is said about the value of streaming services and how you can explore at will, lucking onto great music you might not have otherwise heard. I don't disagree. But there's also something about having your own material collection that is hard to quantify. Case in point - tonight I was just doing some record playing and for no particular reason, pulled out an old chestnut - the Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago. 
