Gramophone’s Favorite Things

10 Reasons To Join Us for a Martini Night...

Dear Readers,

I can imagine that maybe you're sick of me writing about all my product encounters...I can understand that; therefore, I'm going to move in a different direction.  We have an event rapidly approaching that will be: EPIC (that's what the kids are saying these days, right?) And we want you to join us.

On May 18th (at Timonium) and May 19th (at Columbia), we will be hosting an event titled: Diamonds are a Guy's Best Friend.  

1. There will be Custom-Colored Martinis.
2. Experience the difference that diamond makes in B&W's 800 series speakers.
3. Exclusive Promotions from B&W, McIntosh, and Runco on their hottest products!
4. Meet Charlie Randall, Presdient of McIntosh.
5. Learn how McIntosh uses garnet dust to manufacture their products.
6. Discover why a custom-colored TV from Runco may be in your future.
7. Delicious catering from a local restaurant.
8. Complimentary Valet Parking (who doesn't love to have someone else park their car?)
9. To the ladies: You'll definitely want to find out why your man is in love with diamonds too...
10. It's free to attend.

We know you want to attend, so send us your RSVP to diamonds@gramophone.com.

Cheers!

Kate

Diamonds & Hearing Clearly

Back when I was about 8 years old, I got my first pair of glasses.  I still remember the first time I was able to distinguish the leaves on the trees.  Up until that time, I had known trees to be clumps of green blurs; but, when I put on my first pair of (blue clear plastic framed) glasses, I discovered what everyone else had been seeing all their life.  

I had another "seeing clearly" moment today when I got a demo of the B&W 800 series speakers (what B&W refers to as their Diamond Series, as the tweeter contains diamond!).  It was as Barenaked Ladies' "Brian Wilson (Live)" played and I could hear the clapping of the audience.  For the first time, I was able to hear the variety of distinct sounds in the clapping.  Impossible? Not on these speakers. We've become accustomed to hearing blurs of sound as our speakers don't fully reproduce the sounds of our music -- to the point that we're not even hearing the full songs.  There's something absolutely exhilerating about actually hearing the music - the strings of the guitar, the drumsticks hitting the drums, the rasp in the voice.   

The speakers, to say the least, are shaped interestingly.  These are not your typical rectangular, box speakers.  These have curves, are spherical on top, with tweeters (that have been mistaken as microphones) resting on top.  For me, they take some getting used to, but when the music plays, the shape just makes sense.  I can't explain why, because I haven't figured that out yet.  These aren't small, compact, or bookshelf speakers in the least, but the power of the sound that plays is worth every square inch of floorspace occupied by their footprint.

I haven't met a single person who doesn't enjoy hearing music live, and these speakers have the horsepower to give that experience from the comfort of your home.  In one word: Amazing.

-Kate

Let Your Music Play Outside

Having lived in Maryland for my entire life, I understand that it is possible to experience the 4 seasons over the period of 4 days: Snow on Friday and 80 degrees & sunny on Monday.  If you're not from the area, you may be surprised by this fact, but trust me: it's possible.

The good news is that it looks like we may be heading into a very spring-like weekend, with temperatures reaching 70 degrees.  Which means it's going to be the perfect time to head outside...with your music.  But don't limit the experience to your headphones: share it with your friends & family on a pair of outdoor speakers.  

When you add the Sonos ZonePlayer 90 to your system, along with a pair of Sonance outdoor speakers, you'll have easy access to your entire music collection and be able to play all your music outside.  We can even set it up so that you can choose which music to play from your iPod or smartphone.  Just imagine: you're lounging outside.  The music's on.  Your friends are over.  And all of a sudden, someone makes a song request.  In 5 seconds, you've quickly found the song, and set it to play without having to move!  How simple is that?

GoldenEar Speakers OR My First Real, Live Demo

 

Sure, I’m pulled into meetings with manufacturers to quickly check out a new product and give my opinion in 5 seconds.  I’ve gotten good at a gut response.  How does it sound? Is this something that people would want to have in their home?  And then back to my office I go.  But today was different.  I’ve been hearing about the GoldenEar Triton Speakers for a couple months, and for some unknown reason, haven’t yet heard them.  So I walked down to talk to one of our Customer Advisors and ask for a real, live demo.  The GoldenEar’s have been getting one positive review after another; the press LOVES them, but what would I think?  I like music a lot.  I like it even better when it’s not coming out of laptop speakers.  I don’t care what anyone says about their laptop’s speakers: Nothing compares to a solid set of floorstanding or bookshelf speakers.  Nothing.  And if you tell me there’s no difference or you don’t really care: You’re lying (to yourself).

It’s not that I don’t believe in specs, it’s more that I know if you’re the kind of person looking for them, you will find them; but, if you’re the kind of person bored out of your mind by specs: You’ll appreciate the lack of them here.

For me, reviewing a pair of speakers is like reviewing bottles of wine, by the time you’re finished, you’re definitely feeling better about life - even if you know barely anything about wine (or speakers).  Just the fact that you’ve had the opportunity to drink some wine or listen to music is a good thing.  Sometimes I wish more chocolate was involved in reviewing what we sell, but everyone has some challenges to overcome.

When you demo a pair of speakers, you’ll want to compare them back and forth between another pair.  As well as: Make sure you’re checking out the receiver that’s powering the speakers.  The difference can sometimes be astonishing - Something I, personally, had never thought would make that much of a difference.  

The speakers are tall and are completely covered in fabric, which gives them a softer feel than most floor-standing speakers which are built of hardwood and are very rectangular.  

So, I sat down.  If you want your music to have some punch (bass), this is it.  The speakers have integrated subwoofers (a phrase I never would have had in my vocabulary 2 years ago), so there’s no worry about having to purchase a 3rd item to hide conspicuously in your room.  As a woman, I appreciate that fact more than men might realize.  And, even as I write, I can still feel the power of the sound that came out of these modestly priced speakers ($2500 for the pair - and no need to purchase a separate subwoofer).  Afterwards, I could still feel the sound.  If they were wine, I’d say they leave a pleasant aftertaste.  

-Kate

Just How Home-Integrated are Your Mobile Devices?

 

Brought to you by Terrance Gaines:  Terrance Gaines is a technology evangelist who empowers the lives of people via his expertise with gadgets and consumer electronics. He’s a “Jack of All Tech” with his own technology consultant business (Tech Life Coach). He also posts daily technology commentary, tools, tips, news and reviews on his website, BrothaTech.com, in addition to writing for several tech-related online publications. He has also appeared on several tech radio shows and has presented at local technology events.

Since the mobile app craze took off a couple of years ago, all types of companies from a variety of industries are flocking to develop apps to supplement, augment, and market their goods and services to mobile device users. For me, the Home Automation (smart home) industry is a perfect fit for techies and non-techies to integrate their favorite smartphone/tablet into how they interact with their homes. Rather than introduce yet another "remote" for the home user to figure out, Home Automation companies simply create a single app that can do the same thing.

Whether it be consolidating/replacing a myriad of remotes, playing/streaming media (music, movies, and pics) across multiple devices, or complete home environment management (entertainment, lights, HVAC, security and energy), the ability of a mobile device to work one way when away from the home, then "code-switch" and work another way when inside the home just makes sense...to me anyway.

So now we see companies like DirectTV, Dish Network, Comcast, Time Warner, Sonos*, Crestron*, Lutron*, Control4*, HAI, and others are all racing to develop apps to run just about ALL of your household gear/and systems.

But I'm curious - How many consumers actually have their homes set up the right way to capitalize from the awesome Home Automation innovation that is being discovered via smartphone apps? I mean, sure, most people can probably user their smartphone to schedule their DVR to record "Two and a Half Men" re-runs. Others have even figured out how to get music from their office to their stereo. But does the average consumer know what goes into getting their home to send them an email to their smartphone when "Jenny" (I don't know your kid's names) comes home? Can the average user check their smartphone to make sure they turned off the fish tank lights, but kept the Foyer lights on?

It's not as easy as a simple app download is what I think I am getting at. In other words, for the Home Automation industry to REALLY resonate in the minds of the average consumer, there still is a great deal of education by industry leaders that needs to be done in order for "Joe Plumber" (I don't know your name either) to really start to grasp at all that their mobile device can do...at home and away.

-Terrance

Note from Gramophone:  We are experts at explaining how a variety of these Home Automation tools work, and can demonstrate in our showroom.  We’ve hand-selected those that we know are most reliable, and easiest to use.

*Sold at Gramophone.