lamhorn 1.8: canadian audiophile speakers

i only gazed at the lamhorns at a friends pad and read about them but conceptually i fell in love with them. although i have yet to hear them, the principle of a single driver embedded with another seemed pure in theory. i can’t wait to have a listen once they are set up in the months ahead. the bass that is usually created by another driver is channeled through the lamhorns humungous trumpet like enclosure eliminating the need for yet more circuitry. although huge the lamhorns can be driven by a small 4 watt (yes that is four not 40) amplifier making it an extremely efficient speaker. designed by robert lamarre in canada, the lamhorn speakers are among a category of speakers that are special in technology, efficiency and innovation. now if only someone could save the audio industry from its bleached wood demise and offer us a more intriguing finish we’ll be extremely happy. $9,500 canadian dollars a pair or 9,351 USD made individually to order. (with special thanx to joakim and shadi for this introduction.  by uh

why the hell is everything black and white all of a sudden?

an amazingly red, and yellow from certain angles, french (sorry fiat, italy) 1961 abarth simca 1300 s1. now just try and find one.

most people associate abarth with fiat, but a very successful liaison was also formed with simca. the lesser known french company was partly owned by fiat at the time, and when they wanted to appeal to a younger market with a more sporty model, they turned to the italian giant for help. fiat in turn went to abarth, who received sponsorship from the larger company. a deal was struck whereby simca shipped floorplans of their 1000 sabour to abarth, who then cut 4″ out of the chassis and built handsome lightweight aluminum bodies around them. the engine was an all-abarth 1300cc four-cylinder twin-cam unit which produced up to 140 bhp and was mounted in the rear, while suspension was nearly stock simca 1000, incorporating a transverse front leaf spring with telescopic dampers and upper wishbones and rear semi-trailing arms a la porsche. with this car, abarth won the world championship for makes in 1962. the racing version of the abarth simca was developed throughout the 1960s, and the winning design was found to be more than a match for its competitors. in two-liter, 202 bhp specification, the simca abarth was easily able to beat the porsche 904 on the track and won the european mountain climb challenge outright. by xy

Elvis Presley at 21


a great portrait of elvis presley by alfred wertheimer. crazy enough i’ve been listening to elvis these last few days. the man did have a incredible voice… the saddest part was his stint in hollywood where he reinvented what bad acting was all about and lost his southern kindness and defiant attitude to the bright lights. this picture shows a sadness that was well kept to himself. by dd

glen luchford: black magic

glen in early days with handsome jack (sparrow)

our soft-spoken friend, photographer, and film maker glen luchford, has truly reinvented himself with his beautiful black and white work. i saw something of his today and it prompted me to check his work again. his work for prada was for years the holy grail of fashion, and he’s sure to be on top of the list again with his new work above with models  mariacarla boscono and malgosia bela, beautifully rich . by uh

Indianapolis: klipsch speakers since 1946


beautiful horn heritage speakers reissued by klipsh. the hand-built and horn loaded american made speakers are back. originally dating back  to 1946, the new heritage range comes in four levels. the top one, klipchorn, is a fully horn-loaded, full range, three-way speaker system. it weighs 80 kg and stands 1.28 meters high. the 1-inch tweeter and 2-inch midrange driver alongside a 15-inch fiber- composite woofer give a sensitivity of 105 dB. $9,500 a pair. the second down, is named la scalla II (another one of those silly names). $5,450 a pair. the third one is the three-way cornwall III speaker that boasts a sensitivity to match the fully horn-loaded cabinets.  $2,700 a pair. The 4th and cheapest model is the heresy III that comes equipped with a powerful woofer, bi-wire network, diaphragm tweeter, midrange drivers and a removable slant riser. $1,350 a pair. by dd