At the L.A. and Orange County Audiophile Society's annual GALA last Sunday, AnalogPlanet editor Michael Fremer was given the society's prestigious Founder's Award. It was also the Society's 25th anniversary so many of the past Founders award winners were on hand including Tim DeParavicini, EveAnna Manley and Richard Vandersteen, among others along with more than 200 of the society's 2600 members.

Nabisco recently announced a turntable that plays Oreo cookies. Pop any Oreo cookie onto the platter and it will play a tune. Take a bit out of it and it plays a different tune. Apparently it's been on the market for a few weeks and the company is sold out for now. It sells for $19.99. Sweet deal hopefully back in stock for Christmas.

In 1987 Wilson Audio Specialties launched the WATT (Wilson Audio Tiny Tot), its first loudspeaker. This Wednesday evening December 5th, the entire line of "retired" WATT speakers will be on display and played at a special Audio Salon event hosted by Wilson's Peter McGrath. The event also celebrates the introduction of the new SashaDAW (David. A. Wilson) loudspeaker that produced among the best sound at the recent Warsaw Audio Video Show.

Billed as “The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions”, Resonance Records’ Black Friday offering Eric Dolphy Musical Prophet is anything but one of those RSD repackaged assemblages of cast off secondary material meant for fanatical completists. The phrase “connective tissue” kept running through my head as I listened to the 3 LPs and read “mouth agape” the vital annotation that threaded together the confused recorded history.

During last fall's "Blues Masters at the Crossroads" concert weekend at Chad Kassem's Blue Heaven studios, attendees were invited to tour Quality Record Pressings where workers were busy assembling the just-released Electric Ladyland box set containing a Bernie Grundman all-analog remastering from the original analog tapes of the double LP set, a double LP of early takes, a double LP of Jimi Hendrix Experience Live at the Hollywood Bowl, a Blu-ray disc containing a 96/24 high resolution version of the original double LP, a 5.1 channel Eddie Kramer mix at 96/24 resolution and an expanded documentary including interviews with the late Chas Chandler, Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding and in-the-studio footage. There's also a full-sized 46 page booklet in the box. I'm working my way through the box for a review.

To help pay for her self-funded debut EP Sophia Pfister worked in a mortuary. Now, two years later, she’s released her first LP—also self-funded. Since that first effort she’s expanded her web presence on her own website as well as on most social media platforms and streaming services. Most importantly, she’s steadily gigged, performing live around the Los Angeles area.

Peekskill New York based Soundsmith launched at last October's RMAF a new ES line of moving cartridges that includes ES versions of their Otello, The Voice, Aida, Carmen MKII, Zephyr MKIII, Zephyr MIMIC, Hyperion, Paua MKII, and Sussuro MKII.

North American SME importer Bluebird Music recently announced "significant" across the board price reductions on all SME products, effective November 23, 2018.

The Blue Note Review subscription box set series returns with "customer feedback" based improved Volume Two. You'll like both what's in the box and what the label has done to improve its overall quality. Plus it will be easier to obtain than was the first set, limited to 1500 copies. Volume Two will be a 2000 set edition.

Bose ran a full-page ad for its Wave radio a few weeks ago in the New York Times. The headline was "Proof That Great Ideas Get Heard." The company patted itself on the back for winning a technology award for the radio from "Forbes ASAP." The award cites the Wave as being one of 15 "world-changing" technological breakthroughs, on an equal footing with Bell's telephone, Edison's light bulb, and the invention of the CD.

When I read that, my morning coffee went up my nose and back into the cup.