HiFi
Welcome!
Here at Twittering Machines (TM), we take the enjoyment to be found in listening to recorded music seriously—as seriously as we take any of our other passions.
HiFi Reviews
System Review: The Barn (Mine)
I like system reviews. What better inaugural system to review than my very own? I’ve taken great care, over many years, to end up with this exact mix. This system gives me pleasure every single day and I’m going to tell you why.
HiFi
Question: What Would You Like To See TM Review?
There’s a sea of hifi gear out there, more than any one, two, or three (or more) people can cover. While we have our ideas and interests, I’d love to hear from you about what you’d like to see picked from the shoal for review.
Art&Culture
What’s in a Name: Paul Klee’s Twittering Machine
The inspiration for our name comes from Paul Klee. His work, Twittering Machine (Die Zwitscher-Maschine), from 1929 captivated me the first time I saw it at the Museum of Modern Art as a child. And it continues to do so.
Music
Tim Hecker Shares Something New
I’m a fan of Tim Hecker dating back to 2011’s Ravedeath, 1972. His music can be spare and brooding which suits me just fine at the right times.
HiFi
In Barn: Audirvana Plus
Audirvana Plus: The audiophile player for Mac and PC (Windows 10) ($74.00).
HiFi
Question: Who Wants Lovely Music?
Back when I was editor of AudioStream, I ran a feature most Mondays called “Lovely Recordings” and it was one of my favorite things about AS. For those who are not familiar with Lovely, the posts were reader-submitted lists of some favorite music with explanations […]
Music
Vivendi Plans To Sell As Much As Half Of Universal Music
Universal Music Group (UMG) is the world’s largest label by revenue, reporting €2,628 million for the first half of 2018, a +6.8% change year-on-year. UMG is home to Capitol Music Group, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Polydor, Verve, Republic Records, and more. The company announced their plans […]
Music
Bleep’s 100 Best Vinyl Soundtracks
What a great list! Bleep gathers up a nice, big, fat, and varied list of 100 soundtracks on vinyl to keep you inside on long hot summer days.
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 […]
Art&Culture
Cone Mills White Oak Denim: The End of An Era
In modern times, it used to be the case that the only way to buy made-in-America Levi’s made from American-made denim was to buy them overseas. All of the Levi’s sold in the US of A were made in places like Mexico and even the […]
Music
Le Butcherettes on Tour
I had the good, no make that great, fortune of seeing Le Butcherettes live last year at Rough Trade in Brooklyn.
In Barn for Review
In Barn: Almost
Here’s a current list of the gear that’s headed to the Barn for review:
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 […]
Music
Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band: The Roxy July 7, 1978
Talk about choices! Let’s talk about these download options.
Art&Culture
The First Streaming Service: Thaddeus Cahill’s Telharmonium
Thaddeus Cahill was born 1867 in Oberlin, Ohio and by the age of 14 he’d built his first telephone receiver to play with and read Helmholtz’s On the Sensation of Tone, which set his fertile imagination on fire. He became an attorney and moved to […]
Music
Recommended Reading: This Is Your Brain On Music
“As Simon Baron-Cohen has described it, with all this sensory cross talk, the infant lives in a state of complete psychedelic splendor (without the aid of drugs).” Our brains develop into perfect musical receivers right around the time of puberty (but we already kinda knew […]
Art&Culture
MASS MoCA: A Dream (Place) Come True
I graduated from Bennington College in 1985 and at that time MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) was but a rumor (at least as far as I knew). The abandoned factories that lined the Hoosic River in North Adams, MA sat in wait, like […]
Art&Culture
Svalbard Global Seed Vault: The Need for Seed
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is what it says—a place for the safekeeping of over 890,000 seed samples from nearly every country in the world. Why do we need it? Global food security.
Music
The Quietus Offers Up Their Fav 100 Albums of 2018 (so far)
If you’ve recently thought to yourself—”Where’s all the new music?” The Quietus has your answer.
In Barn for Review
In Barn: Google Chromecast Ultra
Google Chromecast Ultra ($69.00). In addition to its TV chops (I want the Criterion Chanel), Google’s Chromecast devices are now Roon-Ready making them prime candidates for a TM review.
Album of the Week
Album of the Week: Welles
Do you like T. Rex? I do because I enjoy hook-rich rock. If you like T. Rex, you’ll like Welles.
In Barn for Review
In Barn: PS Audio Sprout100
PS Audio Sprout100 integrated amplifier/DAC ($599.00).
Music
Alice Coltrane’s Lord of Lords Vinyl Reissue
Ethereal beauty. That’s what I think of when I think of Alice Coltrane’s music. Lord of Lords was her last record for Impulse!, released in 1972, and its a humdinger.
Art&Culture
The Audiophile Tree of Life
I made this ‘print’ some years ago. The image is based on alchemy text updated for our hifi hobby. The print was a limited edition as it was printed on ancient paper (from one of my childhood sketchbooks).
In Barn for Review
In Barn: Alta Audio Io
Alta Audio Io speakers ($3,495/pair).
HiFi
Computer Audio Basics: DAC Types
Think of Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) as the genus and DAC types as the species.