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Audio News for February 3, 2017

by Audiophile Audition | Mar 3, 2017 | Audio News

Amazon Tap for Alexa – brings a hands-free option and works even if you take your Alexa on the road, it is now $130. You have to literally tape the Tap to give it a command. But it doesn’t sound as good as other Bluetooth speakers in its price range (and not as good as wired speakers), is not waterproof and doesn’t work at all without wi-fi. With a standard Alexa device, you speak into the air and it just hears you, but you can toggle the activation in the app and the Tap responds to the wake word “Alexa.” The always-on mode cuts battery life very little and it is clearly ahead of other devices in terms of multitasking. Where to Find Greek Classical Music – Most people doesn’t associate Greece with classical music. Not many know that Mikis Theodorakis – who wrote the great music for Zorba the Greek – also wrote chamber music. The Greek Chamber Music Project in San Francisco is putting this right with a concert there May 9th. It is titled “From the Village to the Concert Hall, Inspirations from Greek Folk Music.” It includes works by Petros Sakelliou, John Psathas, and the US […]

Captain America – Civil War, Blu-ray 3D (2016)

by Audiophile Audition | Sep 13, 2016 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

A noisy cgi-filled adventure with Marvel comic book characters. Captain America – Civil War, Blu-ray 3D (2016) Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle Directors: Anthony & Joe Russo Studio: Walt Disney Studios/Marvel 135201 (9/13/16) 3D (2 discs) Video: 1.29:1 for 16:9 screens HD color 3D Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, French DD 5.1, Spanish DD 5.1 Subtitles: English, Spanish, French Extras: Audio commentary by directors and screenwriters, “United We Stand, Divided We Fall – The Making of Captain America: Civil War”- Part 1 & 2, “Captain America: The Road to Civil War,” “Iron Man: The Road to Civil War”, Sneak Peak at Marvel’s Doctor Strange, Gag reel, Deleted & extended scenes Length: 147 min. Rating: *** All the reviews at Amazon are very positive, but not being a Marvel comics fan or even having seen previous Avenger movies (only the Iron Man pair) I found it confusing, overly violent, too explosive and full of various super-heros about which I knew nothing. I had no idea that many of them could become suddenly very tiny or Godzilla-like giants, which only added to the confusion. Don’t expect anything to do with the American Civil […]

Audio News for July 5, 2016

by Audiophile Audition | Jul 6, 2016 | Audio News

Panasonic Has a $699 UHD Blu-ray Deck – The DMP-UB900 has 60fps playback, HDR support, and can stream UDH content from Netflix and YouTube. Audio specs include hi-res playback of WAV, FLAC, DSD and ALAC files, digital tube-sound with up-sampling, isolated twin HDMI ports for audio and video, and 7.1 analog audio output. Samsung also has one, at about half the price, and the new Xbox One S will support UHD Blu-ray playback for as little as $300 later this year. What Does a Classical Conductor Do? – The Helsinki Conservatory is the unique center for training of classical conductors. In many countries, student conductors rarely get to practice their conducting on professional orchestras, and the Conservatory solves this. To some audiences, orchestral conductors seem to dramatically wave their arms with no discernible effect on the music. In reality, they undergo rigorous conservatory training, followed by further feedback on the job as they move up the career ladder. What they learn, however, remains a mystery to most non-musicians, and what constitutes good conductor training even more so. Students come from all over the world to study at the Helsinki Conservatory. One of them said: “…you have to learn the mechanics, […]