although the real tube amps still remain to be, for the most part, american made this little japanese number, which is still in the works, looks pretty good. read more here. by dd

damn pp you posted the wrong picture, where’s your turn table boy? great stuff, thank you mr. kevin krumnikl. by dd

as promised here is the follow-up review to the joey roth ceramic computer speakers available for under $500. we received our review copy about 10 days ago. they arrived in an eco-friendly unbleached corrugated box. right off the bat you could feel the hand made, small production, feel you crave for in an age of mass production and junk culture.

the ceramic unit is lovingly crafted (no bubbles and carefully glazed) and feels solid. the heavy speakers (magnets) signaled a promissing start and the mini volume control amp, made of stainless steel and wood is sturdy enough to out-last new york city’s cocaroches.

all good, we originally loved the look and we enjoyed the craftsmanship, but what about the sound? well, as an audio enthusiast who sports a pair of quicksilver mono block tube amps and audio research preamp at home i was anxious to see what these juniors could do. each year i read and search for small computer speakers as that’s where i spent most of my day. i have so many collecting dust that its becoming a liability in a city where a square foot of space is worth a $1,000. from tube mono speakers, to my portable suitcase cambridge audio unit, to audio engine monitors, as well as a range of consumer monitors… none ever fully fit the bill. so what can i say about these?

well i was pleasantly surprised and happy to see something, that was so well designed, sound so good. i am not a sub fan and i prefer to rely on my speakers for a more natural bass, and in this case, without a sub-woofer these speakers hold their own quite galently. the only bummer was the wood speaker stands, holding the sculptural speakers. i didn’t like the loose fit of the wood pieces and the speakers inside the felt lining. to get a tighter base i had to build my own contraption with rubber nipples to direct the resonance. perhaps version 2.0 will address that. that taken care of, the sound was warm and clean, the highs & lows were not exaggerated as in most consumer speakers, and having listened to them, everyday for the past 10 days, i can say that there is no fatigue associated to the sound. this is not something i can say for any other desktop speakers thus far. in low volumes the sound was full a key point for me. i had in the past recommended the audio engines to most friends, but the joey roth ceramic speakers will be up there on top of my list moving forward.

last the price tag may seem like a chunk of change for many, but if you are into music and equipment that replicates it accurately, you will appreciate the craftsmanship, and quality, making $500 a steal for something that will possibly last you a lifetime. my home pre amp alone sold for $4,000 and that was in the 70’s and i challenge a new model to beat it at any price. i hope that these will be the last desktop speakers i get. well done. by dd

below: the GX200 model with the über cool add on LC-1 auto lens cap, a must!

at first glance, the ricoh r-10/gx200 digital camera appears to be rather serious. its wide angle 28mm lens and minimal styling points to great possibilities. i tried the gx200 over a dinner and was rather amazed at the quality in low light and its tactile feel. i was about ready to purchase one, however i have read terrible reviews about the mechanism and the noise at high ISO levels in the r10. the issue are to be confirmed and if they apply to the gx in actual review of the camera and will re-appear in fuller description at a later date. hold off for now, and if you already have one love to hear. by xy

Proac D28 (approx $6,000) above, and the proac D1’s (approx $1,300) far below

proac response D28, electrical impedance (solid) and phase (dashed) – (2 ohms/vertical div.)

not much for looks, but these will be my next set of speaker purchases. the proac D28’s sport a pair of 6.5″ coated polypropylene cone drivers on die cast chassis and a pair of 1″ silk tweeter dome. i wont go into the black hole of audio adjectives (you can read them here) but the speakers are known for their uncolored (un-abusive base and highs) as well as proac designer, stewart tyler’s simple cross over design. they are honest sounding speakers that will not abuse or distort the recording and are a joy for long listening periods. if your music is predominantly electronic these are perhaps not for you, but then again no speaker can be accurately judged with such genre of music. at about $6,000 a pair (used ones can be fetched at audiogon for approx 3-4k) you can not expect anything more than a two way speaker, and the proacs are as good as they get in that category. the smaller mass bookshelves are bound to lack some of the base of the D28s but again you can’t cheat the laws of physics. the floor standing D28s have been on my list of replacement with my morels for some time now and i fully recommend them. if you’re in the market these are worth a listen. technical specs: 8 ohms nominal impedance, recommended amp of 10-200 watts, frequency 20hz o 30khz, sensitivity at 88db. weight 120lbs a pair. by dd

ok. simple tasks are always the hardest… the crappy panasonic cordless home phone is once again out (mind you i’ve gone through a half dozen cordless phones) yet I have 2 old corded phones (a beautiful beige one that i picked up from an estate-sale and a grey ericofon from my mom) both of them perhaps made in the 60’s and they still work. I really despise this junk culture we live in where nothing is made to last over 2 years. anyhow i’m having a hard time looking for a phone as the old ones i have are impossible to dial (rotary dial) and its hard not to puke while you look at all the designs from vtech to star trek to jacob jensen.

so i thought i’ll post the best of the crap for anyone else on the search. please do let me know if there are others i missed. now i’m sure you’re wondering, who has a home phone anymore? we’ll talk about that when the brain cancer records are released on cell phones in due time. cigarettes anyone?

so a natural attraction was to a new version of my moms grey ericofon that sat next to her bed but with actual push buttons and US plug. scandiphone‘s reissue is based on the classic ericsson ericofon ‘cobra’ (as it was known in the days).
it is an upright phone that was introduced in europe in the mid 1950s. smaller and lighter than anything available at the time, its unusual one piece design rocked the house (back then). the push button version was introduced in 1967 (although not to my mom apparently). in 1973 the phone was selected to be part of the MOMA collection, as a piece of good design in the 20th century but unfortunately for now, it’s found in every 2 cent NY hotel that wants to be cool, thus ruining my memory of it to some extend… not so perfect. this phone is corded. Approx $60

then there is the skype enabled motorola D851 Motolivn range that includes a special power-saving mode for environmentally-aware mouths. the D851 actually has white on white buttons so a bit cleaner than the D801 pictured above. they have a built-in speakerphone, and up to ten-hours of talk time (100-hours in standby) and as mentioned the D851 model comes skype-enabled for those interested, but the best part of it is the white shell. i still hate the blue screen and the shape however. approx $70 (seems like the best of the batch choice since it can handle skype but it seems unavailable in the US as far as my search has gone)

last its the premium S-802 which is a DECT 6.0 and the latest for 2009 from motorola. its key feature is the blue tooth capability. nicest part of this phone, making it on this blog, is the black screen but otherwise ordinary. i know its not much, but if you look its almost impossible to avoid that horrible blue, orange or gray back lite screen on most phones. ok but still not perfect. approx $80

still searching. by dd

‘the seventh seal’ by ingmar bergman just one of the many new releases on the criterion collection blu-ray series

if you are looking to get a blu-ray player, or simply need to replace an old CD player to rediscover your discs and chuck that ipod, be sure to consider this. its no beauty, but for the value it’s a real steel.

 

the oppo BDP-83’s ordinary and unassuming front plate 

the unit came highly recommended by a trusted friend and I am considering it to finally put to use my 1080 flat screen with a few criterion collection blu-rays. the oppo BDP-83’s $499 price tag is deceiving because it is a direct to consumer price, there is no retail distribution chain with oppo, so most of your dollars are going to the product and the people who designed it, not to distributors and retailer margins. the oppo is designed by the brainiac engineers in silicon valley and built in the people’s republic of china. if a player of this standard was built in UK or USA and the pricing had to account for distribution and dealer margins, it would have to sell for $1,500 or more. 

outputs include: digi-audio: coaxial, optical, HDMI, composite and component, also note that the power supply is detachable and up-gradable (UK vs US or Europe) 

the oppo BDP-83 rivals the PS3 in speed, and uses the same VRS™ by Anchor Bay (DVDO) de-interlacing and scaling technology that offers outstanding up-conversion of standard DVDs. the oppo also plays Super Audio CD (SACD), CDs, DVD, Bluray disc, DVD-Audio, MP3 and supports both stereo and multi-channel high resolution audio programs. you can select whether to output the DSD (direct stream digital) signal in its native format or convert it into PCM. the unit allows output resolutions, including 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, and up to 1080p 50 or 60Hz. the BDP-83 also supports NTSC and PAL systems for both disc playback and video output. by uh