A completely random, not at all comprehensive, compendium of audio nuggets we’ve seen this week.
Some new horns have materialized from upstate New York bespoke audio creator A for Ara. Spinning out from the former Wheel-Fi creative union of Jeffrey Jackson (EMIA & general awesomeness) and Etsy founder Rob Kalin it appears that AfA continues to operate in the rarified crossover point of the “Art / Audio” Venn diagram.
Given the commission-based nature of this small atelier not much information is available, but I’ll be digging for any details to share. A for Ara
Anyone with an interest in the vagaries of 50’s,60’s, & 70’s jazz pressings would be well served to check out the blog of the London Jazz Collector. Curious about the differences between the myriad versions of Blue Note, Prestige, Verve, Savoy discs? You’ve come to the right place. Just entering the world of Van Gelder stamps, run out codes and Plastylite “ears”? Old dog willing to learn new tricks? Follow LJC.
Well written, interesting and comprehensive but not painfully so – all with a great dose of humor and perspective. London Jazz Collector
France’s totaldac, maker of handcrafted, discrete resistor-based ladder DACs (and lately servers and horn speakers) is moving into the amplification arena. This week a post appeared teasing the Amp-1, a stereo power amplifier. Details are still sparse but more will be revealed as we approach Munich High End 2019.
This is something I’ll be watching closely as the sound of their DACs is simply “right” (for lack of a better term) to me and if their amps follow suit it could be a very interesting product, with a very interesting voicing. Head-Fi Forums
David Remnick profiles Buddy Guy who, at eighty two, is the last of the blues masters. “Funny thing about the blues—you play ’em ’cause you got ’em. But, when you play ’em, you lose ’em.” The New Yorker
Paper + Oil 