Jason Victor Serinus

News

Living Stereo Goes Social and Streaming

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 28, 2018

In a definite sign of the times, Sony Classical is poised to bring the 60-year old classic RCA Victor Living Stereo series to streaming, hi-rez download, and social media platforms. Beginning on Friday April 27, and lasting for two months, Living Stereo playlistsLiving Stereo Spectaculars, Living Stereo Top 50, and Living Stereo Deep Cuts among themwill stream on Apple Music, Spotify, and Deezer.

Media Server Reviews Miscellaneous

LG V30 Hi-Res smartphone with MQA

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 24, 2018

"Phones are the gateway device," proclaimed Marc Finer, executive producer of the Hi-Res Pavilion, at the start of the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show. When he pointed to LG Electronics' V30 Hi-Res+MQA smartphone, which includes streaming apps for Qobuz, Tidal, and YouTube, I sensed the truth in his words. The latest stats from survey company MusicWatch confirm that at least 87% of smartphone owners use a music-streaming service, including the largest, YouTube. Twenty percent of owners said that they stream music/music-related content daily, and 39% stream five or more days per week.

Jason Victor Serinus

Podger's Delightful Four Seasons

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 21, 2018

"Why should I bother with yet another recording of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons?" you may ask. "There are already 226 entries for it at arkivmusic.com!"

Because baroque violinist Rachel Podger and Brecon Baroque's new, period instrument Channel Classics SACD of Le Quattro Stagioni and three other violin concertos by Vivaldi is likely the freshest, most joy-filled, and best-recorded of the bunch.

AXPONA 2018

AXPONA Raises the Bar

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 20, 2018

The remarkably relaxed, smiling faces of AXPONA Tradeshow Coordinator Jordan Brereton (left) and VP/Event Director Liz Miller (right) say it all. Photographed after show's close, Jordan and Liz were poised to announce that under the leadership of JD Events Founder and CEO Joel Davis, their team of 8 had sold 8134 ticketsup 21% from 2017and welcomed 5718 unique visitors to the largest consumer audio show in the United States. The number of tickets sold to students ages 15-25 increased by 27%. This to a show with 165 active exhibit rooms and an over-15,000 square foot exhibit hall that hosted booths from 96 companies, half of which were part of the Ear Gear Expo.

AXPONA 2018

Jason Heads to the Finish Line

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 19, 2018

The final room I visited on the 15th floor turned out to be one of the best. Thanks in no small part to Jeff Joseph and Lucien Pichette's joint set-up acumen, plus a little help from what Jeff calls the "audio gods," a recording of the great Ella singing, on tape, Johnny Mercer and Richard Whiting's "Too Marvelous for Words" was a total delight.

AXPONA 2018

Jason Time-Travels to Day Three

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 18, 2018

"The core audiophiles, they are aging," the collective subconscious of exhibitors on the 15th floor seemed to say. "Since they're attempting to bask in the glow of their golden years, they don't want to hear anything in their sonic sanctuaries that might expose them to the harsh realities of the present day. Hence, we shall warm up the sound, add a few tablespoons of sugar, and ensure that everything sounds as safe, warm, and cuddly as those TV commercials for assisted living communities."

AXPONA 2018

Jason Finishes Day One with Quality Sound

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 17, 2018

With very few exceptions, the 4th floor of the Renaissance Schaumberg was filled with fine to extraordinary sounding rooms. The sound was so good that Jana Dagdagan and I returned to the floor on Day Two to shoot video in three of the rooms. You'll see what fun we had (in very cramped quarters) when the video appears down the road

AXPONA 2018

Jason Discovers More Fine Sound on Day One

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 15, 2018

Most of my audio show experiences have been mixed, with strings of fine-sounding rooms punctuated by others that have sounded mediocre or worse. On the worst of days, the pattern has been reversed, with room after room sounding so dismal that I occasionally began to wonder if I was suffering from a temporary case of sonic indigestion. But on the Renaissance Schaumberg's 4th floor, despite room layouts that seemed to have been designed by the Son of the Set-up Demon himself, room after room delivered fine sound.

AXPONA 2018

Jason Starts AXPONA with Small and Not Small at All

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 14, 2018

If AXPONA seemed to get off to a slow start on the 4th floor of the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center, it was only because, the second the clock struck 10am, huge numbers of people made a mad dash for the first level Marketplace. It was only after they had sated themselves with all the rare LPs and other paraphernalia they could find that they ventured forth into the great unknown.

Jason Victor Serinus

Régine Crespin Sings Berlioz and Ravel Live

Jason Victor Serinus Apr 08, 2018

My excitement upon discovering the heretofore unavailable two-CD set, Régine Crespin: Rare Broadcast Recordings, in the catalog of historical performance specialist Norbeck Peters & Ford can only be partially conveyed through words. Crespin's London/Decca studio recordings of Berlioz's Les Nuits d'été and Ravel's Shéhérazade, accompanied by Ernest Ansermet et L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, which were captured in Victoria Hall, Geneva in September 1963, have long been coveted by audiophiles for both their sound quality and Crespin's incomparable artistry. The opportunity to hear the same two French song cycles, delivered with the extra frisson and interpretive touches that great singers share in live performance, in a collection that also includes other live and rarely encountered studio performances by Crespin, is not to be missed.