a visual collective outlet of inspiration
at least, olympus is releasing a digital camera with a decent function, not just a gadget, that looks good! why did it take so long for those guys to get what we don’t want? that is not another startrek object in our pocket? whatever, this one in soon to be released. more info here by pp’
audio/electronics
nagra: Analog candy
the nagra IV-S portable audio/sound recorder
call me crazy but I always wanted to get one of these units for my home use for playback of music ever since the film industry went digital on me. where is cassavetes? the professional audio field recorders by nagra where simply too expensive in the day, but now… used ones can be fetched up for a measly $2,000.
these audio recorder/playback decks are simply amazing not only in how they sound but also in how they are made. originally designed by a polish inventor by the name of stefan kudelski and built in cheseaux-sur-lausanne, in switzerland, their built and finish are to die for. they remind me of my old minox spy camera that my father gave me except they are swiss made. silver. slick. and rugged. of course there is a cool little story to the name… the name nagra is actually based on the polish slang meaning “it’ll record”. well, it did more than that indeed.
the swiss manufacturer of course has recently come up with a whole line of consumer audio equipment but the marketing reeks badly and the desperate jump to audiophile markets is simply not in style with old nagra. i have a strong feeling either the company was sold or took over by people who are looking to make a fast swiss frank. by dd
Nixon headphones: listening in style
nixon’s first addition to the world of personal acoustics. the line of three models; the wire, the nomadic and the master blaster wont be easy to find. as far as we know these are just prototypes. still, with this kind of well designed beauty it would be a sin not to produce it for the masses and end the white cable trend of the ipod. by kv
clearaudio turntable
“this fellow, made of wood and aluminum, weights in at 770-pound and has a magnetically driven sub platter that eliminates contact with the main platter and a nifty real time speed control.”… and cost 125,000$US! at NYLVI by pp’
speaking about guitars
above-model 6119: note the “cadillac” V at the bottom! gretsch 6119 chet atkins tennesseean (also 6120, and the 6121 model, released at the same time, 6121 looked like a solid body, but was actually more of a small, semi-hollow version).
below-model 6196: a beautiful green country club from 1956. (click images to see detail)
above-model 6132: solid body duo jet from 1957. (click images to see detail)
below-model 6136: the dream machine that gretsch originally put together to show off a little at the trade show was never intended for production. but it became the symbol of the glorious excesses of the 50’s and a cult item. from its debut in 1954 falcon featured white paint, real mother of pearl, exotic ebony hard wood and 24 karat gold plating and remained virtually unchanged until 1958. it was the cadillac of guitars when cadillac was the cadillac of cars. it cost $600 back in 1954 that’s like 5 figures today!
we were discussing guitars the other day and i couldn’t help but look into my dream guitar that i never had, a vintage gretsch! vintage as in before 1966, when the family sold the company. from my first trip to new york until today, everytime i crossed the bridge to brooklyn i would see the old factory and wonder how it must have been. unfortunately it has been turned into a pseudo-luxury apt. complex now… my favorites were and are the jazz synchromatic archtops (not pictured here), and the chet atkins semi-hollow bodies. they run about 10-15k if you can find them, or must settle for a new reissue for about 3-4K. either way, like my favorite chess set that i never bought, i have to become much better of a player to actually deserve owning one. by dd
ipod sounding like kak?
I’m seriously considering getting one of these wadia 170i transports. if you are sick of your ipod’s shit sound like me due to that 49¢ cent Chinese D/A converter inside, making the rest of your stereo equipment obsolete this “can” potentially be the answer for approximately $320. But here’s the dilemma. the biggest ipod you can get is still only 120gigs and rather pricey per gig when you think of it. which means, even with a 120gig ipod you still can not put all of your music in uncompressed state or by using apple’s lossless format. Sooloos is not an option either yet. the price ofc ourse, but also you have to be psychotic to deal with PC interface in this day and age. the other issue is what do you do with all the; massively compressed, 10th generation re-compressed, yet great tracks you got from your various rug rat friends! now you need to get those original CD’s and that’s a job and a half. I wish apple would allow a digital out from you mac for music to avoid it going through apples or ipods D/A converter, and you could just get a terabyte drive and be done. wadia made a deal with apple to go around the elaborate protection software and tap direct into the digital file avoiding the D/A conversion and this is the first time i understand they allowed that. Still no great answer. Just inferrior sound for now. Portable and potable. by dd
AKG K 701 Headphones
note the XLR plugs on this baby above!
AKG K 701 Headphones:
Mouth watering! The AKG K 701s are significantly more transparent sounding than any other headphone that I’ve tried, and they embody an amazing level of taste when it comes to modern headphone design. Obviously each of the major brands; Sennheiser, AKG, Beyerdynamic, Grado, and Ultrasone, all have their own “sound”, which in some way makes one want to own one of each. I do.
There are major differences between the Sennheiser HD650s (which I own) and the K 701s (which I just bought for $450), making each one better for a specific genre of music. The rock/alternative/metal crowd are unanimous in their preference of the Sennheiser ‘phones, no doubt influenced by their rich, extended bass response, while others are more taken by the AKG’s smoother tonal balance, and crystal clear midrange. What ever your taste these are worth a listen.
They are a five-star performer and worth a try for sure. by dd
