Music News
Michael Lavorgna’s Favorite Albums of 2019
Perhaps contrary to popular belief, retirement fromhifi does mean retirement from music. Here are twenty of my favorite records from this year. Enjoy!
Year: 2019
Classic Albums
Classic Albums: Bill Dixon & Cecil Taylor, DUETS 1992
I transferred to Bennington College from the School of Visual Arts as a philosophy major, which lasted all of two weeks before I switched back to fine art.
HiFi News
Farewell
Due to personal and professional reasons, Twittering Machines will close its virtual doors next month [footnote 1]. I am, in effect, retiring from hifi [footnote 2 (7.18.20)].
#NewMusicFriday
#NewMusicFriday: August 9, 2019
Each Friday, Stephen Mejias, AudioQuest’s Director of Communications and former Stereophile and Audiostream.com columnist, will browse through the many exciting albums released that day and select 15 worth a closer listen.
Album of the Week
Album of the Week: Lingua Ignota
Raw power, sheer emotion, and frightening fury. These are some of the things that make Kristin Hayter as Lingua Ignota’s second album Caligula a force to be reckoned with.
Art&Culture
RIP: Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison (February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019)
Art&Culture
Artists’ Books: Daisuke Yokota, Taratine
If someone forced me to pick a favorite living photographer, my pick would be Daisuke Yokota. If I had to then select just one photobook from his rather vast amount of work, I’d pick Taratine.
Music News
Nick Cave Hints at Grinderman 3
Grinderman fans rejoice! From Nick Cave’s blog July 2019:
HiFi Bargains
HiFi Bargains: AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt
In the beginning, there was Black. Then Black v1.5, followed by Red. Well, there’s a new sheriff in town and his name is Cobalt. DragonFly Cobalt.
#NewMusicFriday
#NewMusicFriday: August 2, 2019
Each Friday, Stephen Mejias, AudioQuest’s Director of Communications and former Stereophile and Audiostream.com columnist, will browse through the many exciting albums released that day and select 15 worth a closer listen.
Album of the Week
Album of the Week: Knife Wife
Sami Cola, Nico Castleman, and Ruby Parrish + guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. This is Knife Life, raw and simple.
Classic Albums
My 100 Favorite Albums (as of today)
Culling a list of 100 favorite albums could be seen as an arduous task. But it wasn’t. By combining a look at my digital library in Roon sorted by “Most Played” and my memory of the LPs I love mostest, I put together this stream-of-consciousness […]
HiFi Thoughts
Why I Hate Measurements (I don’t)
I don’t hate measurements but some people think I do because I am often critical of how people interpret them. These are two very different things.
Music News
Pre-Order Begins Tomorrow
Lana Del Ray Norman Fucking Rockwell!
Classic Albums
Classic Albums: Jean Barraqué, Le Temps restitué
Digging through the Contemporary Classical bins at the old Tower Records on Broadway in NYC was an endless source of mystery and magic. Sometimes, I would pick a recording based on nothing more than the fact that I didn’t know much, or anything, about it. […]
HiFi Reviews
Review: Linear Tube Audio MZ3
I just dropped the Linear Tube Audio (LTA) MZ3 at our local UPS store. It’s hot (112, says The Weather Channel), so I rushed back home to the shady, cool listening space that is my office. On the way back, I was thinking about the […]
Art&Culture
Artists’ Books: Masahisa Fukase, The Solitude of Ravens
Masahisa Fukase’s Solitude of Ravens, first published in 1986, is considered by many to be a high point in postwar Japanese photography, and even one of the most important photobooks ever created. While I am not qualified to make such proclamations, I can testify to […]
HiFi Thoughts
Pet Peeves: “I feel sorry for people who own and enjoy that…”
Some people say this, “I feel sorry for people who own and enjoy that…”, and some actually believe it. I’m not kidding.
HiFi Bargains
HiFi Bargains: Denon 103 Moving Coil Cartridge
1962. nineteen sixty freakin’ two. That’s when the world was introduced to the mighty & magical Denon 103 Moving Coil Cartridge.
#NewMusicFriday
#NewMusicFriday: July 26, 2019
Each Friday, Stephen Mejias, AudioQuest’s Director of Communications and former Stereophile and Audiostream.com columnist, will browse through the many exciting albums released that day and select 15 worth a closer listen.
Album of the Week
Album of the Week: Vanessa Wagner
French classical pianist Vanessa Wagner’s latest record, Inland released on InFiné, presents a wonderfully diverse and charmingly off-kilter set of minimalist works for solo piano.
HiFi Reviews
Review: Vinnie Rossi L2 Signature Preamplifer and L2 Signature Monoblock Amplifiers (Part 2)
In Part 1 of our review of the Vinnie Rossi L2 Signature Preamplifer and L2 Signature Monoblock Amplifiers, we looked at and listened to the pre-power combo using the L2 Signature Preamplifer as just a preamplifier. Here, in Part 2, we’ll focus on the optional […]
In Barn for Review
In Barn (after being In Brooklyn): totaldac d1-direct
Alex Halberstadt has been living with the review sample totaldac d1-direct ($19,280) and is feverishly writing his review (maybe it’s just the heat). Now the d1-direct is here for a follow-up from yours truly.
HiFi News
Streaming Integrated Amplifiers: A List
A streaming integrated amplifier is a device that connects to your network via Ethernet or WiFi while also housing a DAC, preamplifier, and power amplifier all-in-one.
#NewMusicFriday
#NewMusicFriday: July 19, 2019
Each Friday, Stephen Mejias, AudioQuest’s Director of Communications and former Stereophile and Audiostream.com columnist, will browse through the many exciting albums released that day and select 15 worth a closer listen.
Album of the Week
Album of the Week: Guts
90+ degree heat for days on end changes things. Like moods and the music we listen to.
HiFi Thoughts
Pet Peeves: We Don’t Own Downloads
Ownership has its privileges. When we own things, we can do anything we want with them—share, loan, sell, etc. Not so with downloads.
Art&Culture
Rock ‘n’ Roll Jewelry from The Great Frog
Do you wear jewelry? Do you like Rock ‘n’ Roll? If that’s 2x “Yes”, check out The Great Frog’s Rock ‘n’ Roll culture inspired rings.
HiFi Reviews
Review: Bluesound PULSE 2i Premium Wireless Multi-Room Music Streaming Speaker
Big sound from a little box. Isn’t that everyone‘s dream?
In Barn for Review
In Barn: Linear Tube Audio Z10 Integrated Amplifier
Linear Tube Audio Z10 Integrated Amplifier ($4900.00 + $500 for optional MM/MC Phono Preamp).