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September 2017

ECM 2581
Format: CD

Musical Performance

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Overall Enjoyment

There’s a common refrain in the wider jazz community that there are few stars left, and that those who still remain -- Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Sonny Rollins are those most often cited -- are well into their senior years. The people who repeat this refrain like a mantra mourn the days when, as my colleague Howard Mandel wrote, “giants walked the earth.” The typical roll call of giants includes Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and select others of their generation.

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September 2017

Life changes. People move up, they slip down. They get kicked out, they get invited in. One day they rent, the next day they own. If they’re lucky, someday they’ll own the house of their dreams, and be attached to the humans and pets of their dreams. If they’re really lucky, they’ll have a place where they can listen to music.

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Tidal Force Wave 5 headphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

August 2017

In the last several years, new headphone brands have seemed to emerge almost weekly. It used to be we reviewers would roll our eyes and ignore the latest press release touting a celebrity endorsement, or boasting of a headphone’s “Xtreem!” bass, or trying to lure us with flashy styling. We figured these mass-market products wouldn’t appeal to most of the people who read our reviews. Lately, though, we’ve seen more new brands focus on the audiophile segment. One is Tidal Force, which just launched its first headphone model: the Wave 5 ($299 USD).

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August 2017

An Amusing Journey to a Unique Era

The Criterion Collection 887
Format: Blu-ray

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Lost in America (1985) is a social satire from a period in American history in which many sought to find themselves, usually by letting go of possessions and exploring their spiritual side. David and Linda Howard (Albert Brooks and Julie Hagerty) are about to celebrate David’s pending promotion by buying a bigger house and a Mercedes. Instead, David is fired, and decides that he’s now free and that they should sell the house, Linda should quit her job, and they should go on a quest for truth and fulfillment.

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August 2017

There’s only one headphone model whose sudden disappearance would literally change the world of audio: Sony’s MDR-7506. Introduced in 1991, the MDR-7506es have become something of a standard for audio and video production. I’ve worked in and visited innumerable recording studios across the country, as well as quite a few radio and TV stations, and I can’t remember ever not seeing a set of ’7506es -- more likely, several pairs -- either in use or easily within the engineers’ reach.

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August 2017

When designing a new model of loudspeaker, manufacturers can go with something totally innovative and different from anything they’ve done before, or with a “family” concept: a speaker of the same design as before, but of a different size, or with different refinements or features. JBL’s Flip 4 is of the second type. The Flip line of Bluetooth speakers has been very successful, and the latest addition, the Flip 4, fits right in with the family, as well as did the JBL Charge 3 ($149.95 USD), which I reviewed in March. The Flip 4 ($89.95 USD) is about two-thirds the size of the Charge 3, has the same cylindrical design and plays loud, and, also like the Charge 3, is not merely water-resistant but entirely waterproof.

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Monoprice M1060 headphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

August 2017

The audio industry is now seeing two clear, opposing, concurrent trends in product development: a race to the top and a race to the bottom. The race to the top is evident at any hi-fi show, where demos are dominated by amps and speakers priced in the mid-five figures. The race to the bottom can be found on the Internet, where high-value audio specialists fight to see who can most dramatically undercut audio’s storied brands. The Monoprice M1060 headphones ($299 USD) exemplify the latter trend.

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August 2017

New West 6398
Format: CD

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Overall Enjoyment

Beck’s idiosyncratic mashups generally defy cover versions, let alone by veteran southern jazz-rock artists. So finding a credible version of “Devils Haircut,” one of the core tracks of Beck’s breakthrough Odelay, on the 14th album by Randall Bramblett is a surprise.

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July 2017

“Schiit happens.” It’s not the sort of language usually found in an owner’s manual for a headphone amplifier like Schiit Audio’s Jotunheim ($399 USD). No, an owner’s manual is usually full of bland marketing copy, loosened rules of grammar, regulatory warnings, and stultifying technical detail. I almost never use them, and unless you’re a novice audiophile, neither should you. The folks at Schiit seem to agree. In the preface to their safety instructions, they state: “The following is required by the roughly 9,542 government agencies and regulations we have to comply with. If you have some common sense, they should seem pretty straightforward.” Who are these guys? I did some digging.

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July 2017

An Oddity from an Unexpected Source

Arrow Films AA011/A-TM
Format: Blu-ray

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We have the Criterion Collection to thank for a 21st-century interest in French film director Georges Franju (1912-1987). The release of the black-and-white horror film Eyes Without a Face (1959) singled out Franju as a most interesting artist, and his Judex (1963), also reissued by Criterion, also proved worth watching.

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