Tech2

I am not a luddite. In fact, barring cybernetic augmentations (bring 'em on), I'd say I'm about as far from a luddite as one could be. I love technology. Thanks to my job, I'm often the first of my circle to have the latest gadget. I've got tons of Apple iStuff, a beloved Android phone, an oversized HDTV, 18MP DSLR, and yadda yadda.

Yet, I still buy CDs.

The 30th Anniversary of Raiders of the Lost Ark came and went on June 12th, and while there's still no Blu-ray announcement, a special screening at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (you know, the Oscar folks) brought together a panel of behind-the-scenes people who worked on the film.

RedMere, based in Balbriggan, Ireland, is one of those clever companies that comes up with something needed, then licenses it out for other companies to make and sell. In this case it's a tiny chip, small enough to fit in an HDMI connector, that allows the cable to be significantly smaller than other cables.

I have a confession to make: Often when I see a new über-expensive high-end audio product, I think, “It’s cool, but who would actually buy this?” I sure didn’t feel that way when I got a demo of the new Steinway Lyngdorf S-series at the company’s showroom in Los A

An audio reviewer hears two lines over and over: “That never happened with any of the other samples” and “We created this [fill in the blank] because the products that are out there now are inadequate.” I heard the second line last week in a ramshackle Van Nuys, California industrial space bordered by a security gate and half-filled with piles of decades-old test gear. Unlikely as the setting seemed, its tenant actually delivered on his claims.

Ever left a concert with your ears ringing? How about after mowing the lawn? Working in the shop? Listening to your in-laws?

Last year, an audio dealer named Gordon Sauck called to get my permission to use a 1997 article of mine on his website. As I chatted with him, I realized there was a huge emerging trend to which I and most of the other guys who write about audio have been largely oblivious.