HiFi Thoughts
Top Ten Radical HiFi Ideas
Just like the title says. I give you…
Articles by Michael Lavorgna
Art&Culture
Artists on Artists: Shana Cleveland’s Lightnin’ Hopkins
There’s nothing better than artists on artists in my book. Whether that’s a cover, words, or images, artists on artists are 1000x more interesting (and insightful) than critics. Incidentally, I feel the same way about writers, philosophers, carpenters, etc.
Album of the Week
Album of the Week: Martha Argerich’s Bach
Some days, nothing short of glorious will do.
Digital Reviews
Review: totaldac d1-streamer
Imagine you are walking down the street on your way to your favorite restaurant. As you approach the front door of Chez Écoute, the door recedes. The closer you try to get to it, the door continues its backward slide remaining just out of reach. […]
Art&Culture
Pitchfork Can Be So Smug: Exhibit A
Pitchfork writers can be smug. I think they get paid extra for smug word-count. Case in point…
HiFi News
“What’s he building in there? What the hell is he building in there?” ~ Tom Waits
There’s something going in the Barn. It’s a secret. For now.
Classic Albums
Classic Albums: Studies for Player Piano Vol. I & II by Conlon Nancarrow
Conlon Nancarrow was born in Texarkana, Arkansas in 1912, played jazz trumpet as a youngster, studied music with with Roger Sessions, Walter Piston and Nicolas Slonimsky, joined the communist party, fought against Franco in the Spanish Civil War, and lived out most of his life […]
HiFi News
iTunes Is Not Dead. It’s Been Dismembered
Everyone likes to type “iTunes is dead.” (I do) Beyond the schadenfreude appeal, there’s the clickbatefulnesss of the headline. Truth be told, iTunes is not dead. It’s just been dismembered.
Road Tours
Road Tour: A DALI Factory Visit
Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries. That’s what DALI stands for so you can remove that mustachioed artists’ image from your head. Along with a group of colleagues, I spent a few days before High End Munich 2019 visiting the DALI factory in Nørager, Denmark.
Art&Culture
Ellsworth Kelly Stamps from the USPS
Fortunately, I am not a stamp collector [footnote 1]. But…
Art&Culture
The Empathy Suite at The Palms: $200,000/weekend
“Who would pay that much for a pair of speakers?” Feel free to replace “speakers” with any other piece of hifi kit and you have all the makings of a fine, old, hifi whine.
Album of the Week
Album of the Week: Jac Berrocal, David French & Vincent Epplay
Fabulously unfamiliar. Sometimes, some days, I want to hear something fabulously unfamiliar. Past experience has proven that Jac Berrocal often delivers along these lines, even though I’ve come to expect such a thing from him. Familiarity breeds, in this case, continual surprise.
Classic Albums
Jerome Sabbagh: Five Influential Recordings
Saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh’s release with guitarist Greg Tuohey, No Filter, has been getting some serious airtime in Barn of late. Jerome and I recently shared an email exchange wherein I asked Jerome if he would be interested in sharing a few favorite records. Instead, and […]
HiFi Thoughts
Top Ten Rules For Buying a HiFi
Just like the title says. I give you…
Classic Albums
dCS Classical Choices Curated by Charlotte Gardner: May 2019
[I am very pleased to be able to share dCS Classical Choices Curated by Charlotte Gardner. I first came across this wonderful selection of music accompanied by equally wonderful words on the dCS Facebook page. The fine folks at dCS were kind enough to allow […]