Analog Corner #63

"Simply Annoying," the section of last February's "Analog Corner" devoted to British reissue company Simply Vinyl, did not result in any clarification from the label regarding its source material—my e-mails went unanswered. Apparently, however, some consumers have had more luck.

UHQR Returns, This Time From Analogue Productions Starting With Jimi Hendrix Classics

50 years to the day of its original release in both mono and stereo, Analogue Productions announces tomorrow the UHQR reissues of Jimi Hendrix's epic Axis: Bold As Love, newly remastered from the original analog master tapes by Bernie Grundman. Click that hyperlink and watch Bernie at work cutting!

Riva Audio's Magic Wand!

Just had to sneak this in before heading for vacation. Riva Audio's Wand is a spectacular-sounding wireless Wi-Fi based distributed audio system that features open architecture, meaning you can stream using Google's Play app via Chromecast, or Apple's Airplay, or directly from a hard drive via DLNA or control the system Riva's own Wand app, at up to 192/24 bit resolution. It has Spotify built in.

Analog Corner #62

What's June without a hi-fi show? With Stereophile's exhibition put on hold for 2000 while emapUSA sorts out future possibilities—Manhattan in May 2001 is the most probable place and date—I flashed on High End 1996 in Frankfurt, Germany, a June show I'd attended and reported on in this column. German audiophiles were still heavily into vinyl back then, so why not hit High End 2000?

Portugal-Based Sempersonus Introduces New Epicyclic Drive Turntable

Sempersonus, a new audio company based in Lisbon, Portugal just announced its first product: a turntable based upon an idler wheel-type drive it calls "Epicyclic Drive", because the motor and pulley directly drive the platter's inner rim.

Analog Corner #61

Joni Mitchell played The Theater at Madison Square Garden recently, supporting her new CD, Both Sides Now. Mitchell with symphony orchestra sounded like a no-brainer, so we got tickets, though by the time my friend was able to get through online to Ticketmaster the best seats were gone. We got second-best accommodations for $75, which seemed reasonable, given the cost of rehearsing an orchestra, then traipsing around the country with it.

Blue Note's Bi-Annual Blue Note Review Box Set Reviewed

Don Was, community organizer. Who would have thought? There's long been a Blue Note "community" but it's a loose knit, worldwide group of like-minded label enthusiasts that have kept the Blue Note flame glowing. The fans remained true even as the company changed hands, lost artistic focus, engaged in self-exploitation and occasionally tried to re-invent itself into something it was not.

Grado's New Prestige Series 2 Updates Classic Grado Cartridge Line

Which "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs"?

After the messy "supergroup" hype surrounding Blind Faith—more a one-off money maker than a group formed to last—Eric Clapton decided to downplay his fame and so was born in 1970 Derek and the Dominoes and the Layla... double LP that initially flopped. Many people today forget that, but flop it did. It didn't help that it was a costly double LP by an "unknown" group.

Primary Category: 
Artist: 
Derek and the Dominoes
Album: 
LAYLA and other assorted love songs
Cred Label: 
Mobile Fidelity/Atco MFSL 2-470 2 180g LPs
Cred Prod: 
The Dominoes (Tom Dowd, Executive Producer)
Cred Eng: 
Ron Albert, Chuck Kirkpatrick, Howie Albert, Carl Richardson and Mac Emmerman
Cred Mix: 
N/A
Cred Mast: 
Krieg Wunderlich, Assisted by Rob LoVerde At MFSL, Sebastopol, CA
After the messy "supergroup" hype surrounding Blind Faith—more a one-off money maker than a group formed to last—Eric Clapton decided to downplay his fame and so was born in 1970 Derek and the Dominoes and the Layla... double LP that initially flopped. Many people today forget that, but flop it did. It didn't help that it was a costly double LP by an "unknown" group.

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