audio-electronics

goodbye genius: steve jobs dead

the original apple logo… phew, we sure dodged that bullet!

 


we need more people like this please. farewell to the man who thought different and did something about it. the son of a syrian muslim father (a professor) and an american mother (a pathologist) he was an unwanted child. set for adoption, and raised by paul and clara jobs in california, steve surely made up for his childhood set backs by becoming the most wanted man. he went on to build perhaps the one company that its products and software sold themselves with one leap innovation to the next. he created the company that made us ask “why doesn’t everything work the way this does?”

 

despite the efforts to insure us all that apple is bigger than one man, unfortunately it will never be. in 1985, after apple’s board-of-directors fired jobs from the company he had built from his garage into a 2 billion dollar business, apple lost its way, despite the presence of co founder and friend steve wozniak and the newly appointed hack of a ceo john sculley, from pepsi (sorry! steve may have forgiven you but we haven’t), and apple nearly disappeared from the face of this earth by talking about processor speeds and chips inside their grey boxes not to mention sculley’s brilliant , the apple newton, a total bomb, which i have an original model of. now without steve, there’s no saying where its future will rest. with apple stocks overvalued by 10 folds, banking not on apple but on steve jobs and his vision, they have a heavy legacy to stand up to, and  the announcement of the 4GS isn’t quite gonna do that. at the end, brands are nothing without the people behind them, despite what corporations, and businesses would like us to believe, and jobs will truly be an irreplaceable citizen of this earth. thank you steve, but also paul and clara, and dog bless. by dd

CATEGORIES: audio-electronics

human audio: bamboo cd player

im sure most people have abandoned their cd’s and cd players, but until there is an affordable digital player that can store the billions of tracks we have afford-ably and in full resolution there will be cd players. human audio transport and player are not not cheap but not only they are beautiful they are amazing sounding alternatives. this model: human audio libretto cd player in bamboo available for approx 7,000 euros, roughly $10,000. click here to contact distributors in your area. by dd

CATEGORIES: audio-electronics

iphone with macro, fisheye and zoom

 


very geeky, but cool none-the-less. the word is that the iphone 5 will be so thin you can floss with it, which will render this gadget useless. on my end i will simply wait till sept before adding anything… although i must say the white iphone has been quite tempting. by xy

CATEGORIES: audio-electronics

fake apple “stoer” in china

effort was made to replicate the material and even the ads inside the store

the iconic blue t shirts and the large id tags where all there

even the store name was “spelled” out just in case you missed the subtlety… granted apple store never uses signage that states it as an “apple store” let alone apple steor.

 

forget the vuitton knock offs and i trust you saw our post about the fake chinese macbook air (laptop for $260), and now this! a free standing store!! a US blooger on a trip to china’s kunming city discovered the “fake” store. after checking with apple about the presence of this store she praises the villains on her blog… “beautiful ripoff- a brilliant one-the best ripoff store i have ever seen”. in her conversations with the staff she was amazed to find that many were convinced that they were employed by the US electronics firm. apple itself has so far refused to comment and its not clear where the “fake” store is getting the products from. clearly not from apple directly!! by cd

CATEGORIES: audio-electronics

on a quest for the perfect breakfast toast

like wallace, i like my toast… well toasted!my first purchase: a delonghi toaster oven – set my toast on fire and nearly my apt… approx $100-120a cheap and clean looking cusineart “classic” toaster, acceptable but completely inconsistent… approx $70-80and finally my latest addition: a magimix vision toaster… $240

well perhaps you followed me in my previous adventures when i was looking for a matress or a dvd player, or for that matter choosing a worthy drink.

 

well, having your breakfast toast, toasted shouldn’t be that complicated, but like anything that matters, it actually is. for my first purchase, a counter top toaster “oven” was chosen for its perceived multi-function. i though, well… i can heat up a chocolate pie for my ice cream and toast my bread all at once. well the $100 contraption worked for a bit but many-a-toasts lost their soul’s to fire. after the 3rd toast inferno, that threatened the cabinets above, i came home oneday only to find it in the recycling bin. in a bind (as i’m the only toast fanatic here), i then made the quick and easy dash for the cheap cusineart toaster. i have to say i loved the look and still find it to be possibly the best looking toaster out there, and who would want to start the day with an ugly one? that worked well, and was fully fire retardent, however the toasts… inconsistant. i would toast a bread on a perfect setting only to find the very next in the bin. then i was finally introduced to the french fancy manufacturer magimix. i had no idea what it was but the name made me laugh, i imagined an anne-sophie look alike in white apron mascotting a “magi mixer” with stars sparkling around her. little did i know this little muppet was what ive been needing all along.

 

the design is so simple you wonder why arent all toasters like this? the clear glass on sides not only allows you to see exactly where your toast is at, but it also opens up my counter top to let some light in ; ) the unit is super well constructed, and surprisingly made in the southern part of france! i think today even hérmes is manufacturing certain items in china so consider this with amazement. the unit weights 5 times my previous toasters and the retrieve button is a solid lump of steel. being an audiophile i will tell you, electronics that weigh a lot are “potentially” very good, doesn’t mean lead will help performance, but trust that, manufacturers don’t add weight for no reason. the colorless silver toaster (like my previous toasters) goes quite well with my thermador oven… mind you i’m no yuppie with some fancy professional oven that i never use, i’m actually a renowned chef… well amongst friends that is. im gonna post this under “perfect gift” just for all you gromits out there. – love wallace. by uh

CATEGORIES: audio-electronics, perfect gift

nagra 300-i: 20 watt integrated tube power amplifier


another beautiful audio object from swiss manufacturer nagra. price per value this unit is not as attractive as its pure aesthetic. for approximately $25,200 (17,750 euros), the approx cost of the 300i, much better sounding units can be excavated, and frankly i personally think anything over $10,000 is a bit of an ostentatious endeavor, but if money was not an issue this is indeed a beautiful piece, not only to listen to, but also stare at. type: integrated amplifier, power: 2x 20w, 15hz to 55khz -3db, total harmonic distortion: 0.8 %, valves: 300b push -pull. by xy

CATEGORIES: audio-electronics, music, perfect gift

the Nagra MSA: stereo power amplifier

beautifully made stereo amps by swiss manufacturer nagra known for its movie soundtrack recorders. with 60w per channel into 8 ohms output or the two channels can be parallel-bridged to reach a double mono output power of 120 watts RMS into 4 ohms. approximate cost $15,000. personally for that price i’d go for  the pass aleph mono blocks but this deserves a post just for its looks. by dd

CATEGORIES: audio-electronics, objects