July 2026 Rock/Pop Record Reviews
T. Rex: Electric Warrior; Tasha Warren & Dave Eggar: MotherLoad; Bruce Hornsby: Indigo Park; Altin Gün: Garip; King Tuff: Moo; Snail Mail: Ricochet.
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LATEST ADDITIONS
Spin Doctor #38: the Sorane ZA-12 tonearm and Parks Audio Waxwing phono preamp
In 1936, the great blues pioneer Robert Johnson recorded his song "Cross Road Blues," which many interpret as his telling the story of how he went to a crossroads and fell to his knees to make a deal with the devil, selling his soul in exchange for musical genius.
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Lost Nights, Found Solos: The Penthouse Tapes
The Penthouse jazz club was on First and Cherry in Seattle. It had a seven-year run from 1962 to 1968 as one of the premier jazz venues on the West Coast. The site is a parking lot now. Yet the Penthouse lives. This is the story of why.
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The 30 Year-Old Hi-Fi Show Virgin
The writer of this report, Akilan Gopal, and his brother Adhi are the people in the middle with the biggest smiles. Adhi is on the left.
AXPONA was immense and overwhelming. Bass vibrated down hallways. Rooms spilled sound into each other. We took a deep breath and dove in, starting with the car audio section.
Dynaudio to Exit the US. Market
This developing story will be updated as information comes available.
In a tersely worded press release that was leaked before its planned July 8 release date, Dynaudio A/S of Denmark announced its decision "to focus its future market development efforts on Europe and Asia as part of its long-term business strategy. As a result, the company ... will cease operations of its commercial activities in North America and permanently shut down its U.S. subsidiary in the fall of 2026."
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A Day in Tarifa: Pittsburgh Guitarist John Shannon
Pittsburgh has played a very meaningful if largely ignored role in the history of jazz. Known more for steel and sports teams than for musical innovation, Pittsburgh is the birthplace and first musical incubator or home to bandleader-vocalist Billy Eckstine; pianists Erroll Garner, Earl "Fatha" Hines, and Ahmad Jamal; drummers Art Blakey, Kenny Clarke, and Jeff "Tain" Watts; and bassist Ray Brown.
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Revinylization #76: Joe Jackson's New & Old Albums
Photo by Harry Elliott
Joe Jackson, the veteran British pianist/vocalist, insists on a certain level of sound quality, which can be traced all the way back to his 1979 A&M debut album, Look Sharp! His five-decade-long career has covered a vast repertoire, and along the way, he's stuck in a few allusions to previous work.
AXISS Audio Distribution Files Federal Lawsuit - UPDATED
On July 2, major US audio distributor AXISS Audio filed a federal lawsuit against Michael Bovaird and his businesses (Suncoast Audio, Luxury Hi-Fi Distribution, and Clarisys Audio), Michael Gefteas, aka The Greek Audio Geek, and his business (Bespoke Audio), and Florian Wiegand, part owner of Clarisys Audio. In separate Facebook posts, The Greek Audio Geek and the other defendants have pushed back.
Eversolo DMP-A6 Master Edition Gen2 streaming D/A processor
I am not big on streaming overall, but I do like to find new releases on Qobuz, enjoy the live feed from the Berlin Philharmonic via their Digital Concert Hall, and sample multichannel music on Apple Music. If I really like something, I buy discs or downloads to add to my local collection. But I must admit that audio streamers are hot!
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A Major Shake-Up at Audio Research and Acora Acoustics
David Gordon, Brand Ambassador of Audio Research.
Valerio Cora, who served for four years as executive leader of Minnesota-based Audio Research Corporation, founded Toronto-based loudspeaker company Acora Acoustics in 2018, and was a minority investor in both companies, has been relieved of his responsibilities. David Gordon (seen above), the longtime Brand Ambassador of Audio Research who departed the company on March 23, returned as ARC Brand Ambassador on June 15.