Elton? The Man Wrote A Hit Song For Me For Christ's Sake
I'm sitting on a dark leather sofa, legs crossed, lips pursed, brow furrowed.
Glenn Gould playing Bach's Goldberg Variations can be faintly heard through a tape recorder in another room. To be more specific, a Realistic CTR-68 Model 14-808B.
"Jana, you're such a strong woman. I don't understand why you so desperately rely on Elton John for emotional support and inspiration."
Fred Hersch
New York, NYNews Bar Cafe, Union Square. It's 11am. Low jazz can be heard playing on the overhead speakers, along with background chatter and the occasional ambulance. Caffeinated beverages and breakfast sandwiches are present. I take a tentative sip of cappuccino, reach under the table for my trusty Zoom H5. Across from me sits jazz pianist and composer Fred Hersch. A man who has meant many things to me in my lifetimea musical role model, a source of inspiration, a friend, a set of frequently played digital music files... I sit anxiouslyis it the awe or the beverage? I think to myself: he's now entering the realm of debatable audiophile and breakfast co-conspirator. Cappuccino sip. Let us begin.
GoldenEar's Sandy Gross Talks Loudspeakers
The January 2018 issue of Stereophile, which will hit newsstands at the end of this week, features GoldenEar Technology's flagship Triton Reference loudspeaker on its cover, with a review inside from John Atkinson. When GoldenEar's co-founder and president Sandy Gross visited JA last July to set the speakers up in his Brooklyn listening room, John asked Sandy about his loudspeaker design goals, his preferences in sound quality, his tastes in audio, and the state of the high-end audio market.
High-End Dealer Jeffrey Catalano Talks Horns, Tubes, & LPs with Herb Reichert
This video is about Jeffrey Catalano and his shop High Water Sound, located in Manhattan's South Street Seaport, right under the Brooklyn Bridge. Though it was my first time meeting Jeffrey, I had long been familiar with his nameoften associated with good sound at audio shows and a true appreciation for music.
Industry Profile: Jim Hagerman of Hagerman Audio Labs
This week's Industry Profile features Jim Hagerman of Hagerman Audio Labs. In essence, Jim is Hagerman Audio Labs all-in-one, as he impressively functions as owner/designer/engineer/tester/builder/shipper/customer service, and so on. Hagerman Audio Labs first caught my eye a couple years back when I started getting into DIY projects. Though he has since eliminated DIY from his offerings (you can read why below), Jim continued to interest me because: 1) his website lists an address in Honolulu (a rarity in high-end audio), 2) he publishes his schematics, and 3) his candid approach to social media is refreshingall hopeful indicators that he'd make a very interesting Industry Profile subject.
Industry Profile: Kate Koeppel, Record Dividers
Last month, our sister site AnalogPlanet.com published a brief post about one of Koeppel Design's recent releases: the LP Block ($76; engraved or stenciled, above). The majority of the comments on the blog criticized the LP Block and few of Kate Koeppel's other products purely for being too expensive. When I read these comments, I felt that the value of her products weren't being appropriately considered. I believe it's because there isn't currently a huge market for record dividers, record stands, and casual record-carrying totes. Consumers have little to compare and therefore lack perspective.
Industry Profile: Ken Ishiwata—Brand Ambassador, Marantz
At the end of November, I spent a couple days in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, getting a first look at Marantz's New Reference series audio components. During my brief visit to D+M's European HQ, I was fortunate enough to spend 40 minutes of one-on-one chat time with Ken Ishiwata, Marantz's famed Brand Ambassador, and a key component to Marantz's success for nearly 40 years. I was originally only scheduled to have 10 minutes with him, but thankfully, due to a last-minute adjustment, we were able to talk for longer.
Industry Profile: Skylar Gray—Director, AudioQuest's Ear-Speaker Division
For the past eight months, my headphone of choice at Stereophile's New York office has been a pair of AudioQuest Nighthawks. That's eight hours a day, five days a week, for approximately 32 weeks. Not eternity, but we've spent a good chunk of quality time together. The overall setup is comprised of an Apple MacBook Pro (usually streaming Tidal, Spotify, or Amarra for Tidal), an AudioQuest Jitterbug, an AudioQuest DragonFly Red, and said NightHawks. I suppose it's safe to say that my ears tend to jibe well with AudioQuest products.
Industry Profile: Steve Cohen, In Living Stereo (NYC)
This week's industry profile tells a story about beginnings and changing times, in a conversation with Steve Cohen, a longtime employee (he doesn't have a formal job title) of the New York based hi-fi shop In Living Stereo. I started our conversation by asking Steve how he got into hi-fi. What was his background?
Industry Profile: Summer Yin, AURALiC's National Sales Manager
Dear Reader: This is my first of a series of industry profiles. The hi-fi publication sector largely consists of equipment reviews and music features. My hope for this series is to focus instead on the great people who keep this industry alive from the ground up, behind the scenesdesigners, engineers, listeners, salespeople, and all music lovers alike. It should be interesting.
As the winter months inevitably approach, it feels only appropriate to delay the forthcoming cold with one last bit of summer. Summer Yin and I have known each other for nearly a year and a half, during which she has played integral roles at both HiFiMAN and AURALiC. I started our conversation by asking her about her experience and background in the audio industry.