There's a nice bit at The Tiny House Blog about three small outbuildings that Gustav Mahler used for writing music.
There's a YouTube video about the "Komponierhäuschen" in Toblach that shows how the building has, sadly, fallen into disrepair.
I think it's interesting that they're all essentially the same house.
The Bach Guild is offering 293 MP3 tracks by Johann Sebastian, aka "The Old Wig" for ninety-nine cents. These deals don't usually hang around long, so get 'em now!
SXSW 2013 has come and gone here in Austintown. So many bands come to Austin for SXSW that it's a little hard to comprehend. It's like Woodstock, except this time, everyone's IN a band. So I do the sensible thing: I ditch work to go see bands and take photos!
A lot of big-name bands play SXSW, but I really enjoy seeing new talent on the way up, so my club circuit is usually: Mohawk, Club de Ville, Red 7, Beerland, The Main and The Jr. (both hosting the Brooklyn Vegan showcase this year!)
Here are some of my photos from SXSW 2013. You can see bigger versions if you click or hover or something:
Alex Edkins of Toronto's METZ at the Brooklyn Vegan showcase at The Main. I lost my glasses during their set when a human being flew off the stage and bounced across my head. That's entertainment!
I can't wait for SXSW 2014!
Naturally, this is the perfect T-shirt to wear when you're at home listening to your Crimson Electronics and Crimson Audio Cables-equipped hifi system, but did you know that it's also the perfect T-shirt for just about any occasion where you want to be a fashion maverick?
Crimson T-shirts are available in S, M, L, XL, XXL and Ladies' Medium. They're $20.00, including postage to the lower 48 United States. Postage will be higher elsewhere. Just drop us a line at info@austinhifi.com or call (512) 236-9100 if you'd like one.
What's that? Who's the debonair chap modeling the Crimson T-shirt? Why, that's none other than the totally urbane James Roadman, drummer extraordinaire, world-class guitar builder/technician and (shhh!) secret agent.
I'm always cruising Ebay for interesting stuff, and I when I find something really good, I like to let you know about it.
Amsterdam-based Ebay seller voossie03 offers this fantastic Meccano Sheba and Meccano Magician.
According to the Meccano Wikipedia page, Meccano was founded in England in 1901 by Frank Hornby (who also founded Dinky Toys).
The Ebay listing says that the Sheba model was built as a display to introduce the yellow/blue edition of Meccano and that the Magician model was built as a display for Dinky Toys; ("When the arm with cover is lifted an antique Dinky Toy car is displayed, four different car models possible.")
The current Ebay "Buy it Now" price for the Sheba is $1200 US and the Magician is $ 1300 US. Here are more pictures:
Announcing the arrival of the new Tocaro 45D Loudspeakers from Gütersloh, Germany!
We've been offering the Tocaro 40 Loudspeakers since 2008 (Austin Hifi is the U.S. importer and distributor), so naturally we were very excited to hear the new D-Series drivers (which are now standard-issue in The Tocaro 45D, The 42D and the 40D Loudspeakers. Owners of pre-D-Series Tocaro Loudspeakers can upgrade their speakers to D-Series specs. Contact us for details!)
The verdict? The D-Series Tocaro drivers do just about everything better than their already-impressive C-Series predecessors. More bass. Clearer highs. Better timing. As one listener said: "Damn, it sounds like music in here!"
The Tocaro 45D Loudspeakers each have twin 10-inch drivers with independent chambers (the bottom driver's chamber is ported while the middle driver's chamber is not.) The 45D Loudspeakers also employ the new Tocaro 5-inch high-frequency driver built around a proprietary laminated wood membrane (see picture above!) Overall sensitivity is 103dB/2.83V/m.
The 45D uses no electrical crossover or filtering and there are three pair of speaker terminals so that the 45Ds may be used with one, two, or three amplifiers. All internal wiring is Crimson Audio Cable.
The overall height of the Tocaro 45D Loudspeakers (with stands, which are included, and are an essential part of the sound of the 45D) is 50 3/4". They're 17 3/4" wide and 13 3/4" deep and are available in a variety of finishes.
Tocaro Loudspeakers are entirely hand-built. The 10-inch driver membranes are made by hand from raw cellulose. The cabinets and stands are made from hand-selected beechwood. There are some terrific photos of the Tocaro Loudspeaker factory in Gütersloh at Tocaro's own page on the subject.
But, of course, the sound is everything, so let's get to that. First of all, if you've been listening to "conventional" high-end speakers, the 45Ds are going to take a little getting used to. Just remember: they're getting you closer to the sound of real music and further from a polite, reserved simulacrum of same. They've got enormous scale, great pitch-definition, excellent timing and impressive dynamics. And as an added bonus, they'll play loud as heck if you want them to. These are extremely revealing loudspeakers that have an amazing way of "digging deep down into" recordings.
A note about amplifiers: usually when people (especially hifi magazine reviewers!) talk about high-efficiency loudspeakers, they say that you should use a low-powered amplifier. And while you can use a low powered SET amplifier with the Tocaro 45D Loudspeakers (did we mention their 103dB sensitivity rating?), we use and recommend (and import and distribute!) the incredible 175-watt Crimson 640E-III Monoblock amplifiers. which will allow you to experience all the scale and dynamics that the Tocaro 45D Loudspeakers can dish out.
Mahler
's composing hut in Maiernigg, in the Austrian state of Carinthia.
Mahler's cabin near Steinbach am Attersee in Upper Austria. Mahler's 2nd and 3rd symphonies were composed here.
Mahler's "Komponierhäuschen" in Toblach, Italy. This is where Mahler's 9th and 10th Symphonies were composed. As far as I can tell, Toblach used to be in Austria. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Tim Gick of TV Ghost, a goth-y band from Lafayette, Indiana. Definitely the best band I saw this year.
Dominic O'Dair of London-based psychedelic band Toy who delivered a great show at the Brooklyn Vegan showcase at The Main. They missed some New York shows because of visa problems, but fortunately, they made it to SXSW.
SXSW wouldn't feel complete without some good, loud heavy metal bands. Here's Michael Dimmit of Brooklyn, New York-based Mutilation Rites at the Vans/Pitchfork showcase at Mohawk.
Zac Pennington of Parenthetical Girls, a great modern romantic pop band from Portland, Oregon. This show was at Red 7.
Isabel Almeida of the Brooklyn, New York-based band Hunters. They played a fast and furious set at the House of Vans showcase at Mohawk.
Jim Blaha of The Blind Shake from Minneapolis, Minnesota at Beerland. Sometimes they reminded me of Devo, and sometimes they reminded me of Link Wray, but always with a generous helping of 1980's punk.
Matt Cherry of Maserati from Athens, Georgia at the Brooklyn Vegan showcase at The Main. Not exactly shoegazers, not exactly psychedelic, but definitely elements of both.
The Reverend J. Peyton of Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band, from Brown County, Indiana at Club de Ville. The knobs on the Reverend's guitar are made from shotgun shells and the tattoo on his arm says "Corn Fed".
Josh Weaver of Atlanta, Georgia-based Royal Thunder at the House of Vans showcase at Mohawk. This band was all over the map, influence-wise, so I won't pigeonhole them, but they were heavy and slow and very, very good.
Hether Fortune of the Wax Idols from Oakland, California at Red 7. A cool, old-school New York-style punk/new wave band.
Nick Thornbur of Vattnet Viskar (Swedish for The Water Whispers), a black metal band from Plaistow, New Hampshire. They played at the House of Vans/Pitchfork showcase at Mohawk.
The 45Ds are the flagship of the Tocaro Loudspeaker brand. You can hear them at The Rocky Mountain Audio Festival 2012 in room 542. You can also hear them at our showroom in Austin Texas.
Here's a close-up view of the 45D's high-frequency driver.