Getting ready for the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in Denver next month, I was looking over the photos we took driving (ugh) to RMAF two years ago.

This one stood out.

While I can’t remember where this was, I do remember that it was very windy outside and we immediately turned on Led Zeppelin very loud when we all got back in the car. What else do you do at the Point of Rock?

Dragged Marc Phillips and our lovely art director down to the Portland Art Museum to see the Devil Music Ensemble tonight.

In the best silent film tradition, these three guys who are all Berklee graduates have composed and perform a soundtrack while the acieent Chinese KungFu movie Red Heroine plays in the background.

Because the film is the only one left of the series remaining and was pretty badly deteriorated, there was probably only about five shades of grey in the movie! The talent of the DME carried through and was very imaginative, however by the end I was ready to call it a night.

I would definitely check them out again though, especially if they can get their hands on a bit better movie. While it was admirable that they picked this classic, I don’t think the movie was up to their level of talent.

They are about half way through a 45 city tour, so if you are in the mood for the ultimate art school experience, check them out. You can get their tour information and more information about the DME here.

http://www.devilmusic.org

What the heck am I doing up on the roof of the TONEAudio office with power tools and no shoes? You will never know. It’s a Northwestern thing.

However, we did get something productive today.

Watch our website tomorrow for concert updates and a review of the IeGO power cord.

The man responsible for most of Fleetwood Mac’s commercial success showed the Portland crowd he’s still got it tonight.

With no opening act, Buckingham took the stage and left everyone screaming by the time he was done almost 2 and a half hours later.

Watch for more pictures on our website in the concert section and a full concert report and review of his new album in the October issue of TONEAudio. If you are a fan, the tour just started on the 7th. Check his website for tour details.

Always the sucker for advertising and spicy food, I had to check this one out. Watching a few TiVo’d episodes of The Jon Stewart Show back to back, I was bombarded with about 300 commercials for Taco Bell’s newest creation, The Volcano Taco.

So I gave in. Read More »

Just got back from the CEDIA show in Denver and back at my desk.

In addition to seeing all of the people in the industry that we work with on a regular, there was some fun stuff to see as well. While this show does not provide the listening environment that CES or RMAF does, everything is in one place, so it is very easy to navigate.

Here are two products that really caught my eye, the new compact system from McIntosh and the Utopia Be from JM Labs/Focal. All that Mac needs is a handle! It’s a serious compact though, with the internals from their 301 player and 75wpc of discrete power, no class-D here!

The new Utopia flagship speaker will come in at about $175 K and will debut for all of us to hear at the RMAF in Denver, beginning of October. It will be in the Audio Unlimited suite matched with a stellar system, so make sure you see this one if attending the show.

The new REGA Elicit integrated amplifier is here.

80 watts per channel, on board MM phono stage and very beefy.

It is part of the new series of upscale components from REGA that started with the Ios phono stage. And we all know how great that was!

Watch for a full review in the next few weeks on our website in the spotlight section.

www.rega.co.uk