In Barn for Review

In Barn: Ayre EX-8 Integrated Hub

Ayre EX-8 Integrated Hub (starts at $5,990.00 /  $7,850.00 with optional network board). I like to call this type of component a Streaming Integrated Amplifier because it offers a Roon-Ready Ethernet input (and DAC)  so all you need to add is some music and a […]

Album of the Week

Album of the Week: John Prine

I love John Prine like a dear friend. His first record, John Prine, from 1971 is Master-Class, Grade A songwriting. The Tree of Forgiveness continues that tradition after a 13-year respite where Prine mines the everyday for nuggets of wisdom and beauty.

Music

Haruki Murakami DJ

Anyone who has read anything by Haruki Murakami knows he loves music. Anyone who has dug a wee bit deeper knows he used to own a jazz bar/club/coffee house in Toyko called Peter Cat. Come August 5, he’ll be DJing a set on Tokyo FM. […]

Art&Culture

Inspiration: Soap Bubbles

Soap Bubbles and the Forces Which Mould Them by C.V. Boys first published in 1896 caused quit a stir. In fact, its ripples of influence spread to writers and artists far and wide and helped tip the scales of the rational toward the absurdist. Amen.

Art&Culture

John Cage: Notations

I didn’t know about Notations when I found it in the Rare Book Room at the Strand Book Store. That said, I didn’t discover Notations any more than a hiker discovers Versailles. But that didn’t stop me from feeling a deep sense of discovery (I’m […]

HiFi

Qobuz Hits The US Market

The news of French Hi-Res streaming service and download site Qobuz coming to the US of A broke last December but the Official US Debut will take place at this year’s Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (RMAF) come October. Hi-Res’ers rejoice!

HiFi

Roon-ology: Hardware Basics

Roon, the music player software (think iTunes but 1 million-times better), is more than a beautiful interface to your music. It is an ecosystem that relies on hardware, software, and a network. As such, there are some things you need to understand about Roon’s hardware […]

Road Tours

What’s a Road Tour?

 (a pair of Don Garber of Fi’s listening chairs) I penned my first Road Tour for 6moons back in 2005. Here’s the opening paragraph from that first Tour where I explain my reasoning for hitting the road: