By Juan C. Ayllon Fifteen years and three houses ago, my wife, Belle, bought her beloved mahogany media center armoire and shelving units. After we married in 2011, it was a media room mainstay in our first and, now, our second home together.
Being an audiophile reviewer, friends urged me to get rid of it, as it interfered with the sonic characteristics of the listening room. Moreover, snaking cables behind and into the heavy, oversized entertainment center was tricky and downright frustrating as I swapped review gear around. However, Belle wouldn’t allow it.
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By Juan C. Ayllon Sitting down to listen to the Cypher Labs Prautes headphone amplifier/preamplifier warming up in my system, I feel like I just emerged from the vortex of a Category 5 storm -- concluding my two year cycle tenured teacher evaluation, healthcare concerns with the inlaws, audio reviews and AXPONA (Audio Expo North America). It is time to catch my breath and, as I hear Samba licks on an acoustic guitar, a little piano and Diana Krall crooning over my system, my shoulders relax. Just breathe. There’s just something about that classic warm tube sound paired with an excellent recording that soothes as aloe on sunburned skin.
Photos and text by Juan C. Ayllon BARRINGTON, IL -- The middle aged proprietor at Barrington Barbershop was cutting my hair some time ago when he told me about his musician friend’s Leslie speaker that employs a motor to spin its treble horn and woofer for an unusually pleasing effect.
“Would you believe he spent over $2,000 for that?” he said, fascination turning to disbelief. |
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