Gramophone’s Favorite Things

Gramophone Hosts: Digital Living 2011 on November 2nd & 3rd

Did you know music is literally everywhere? Yes, it’s in the air, on your computer, all over the internet, on your phone, and probably sitting with dust on your shelves! There is a revolution going on in the music world. An amazing amount of music can be at your fingertips, with ease of use and selection like nothing you have ever seen. The ability to discover new artists will boggle your mind.

On Wednesday, November 2nd & Thursday, November 3rd, Gramophone will be hosting its Digital Living 2011 event & this is one not to be missed!  From 6pm-9pm you'll get to enjoy delicious food & drink while mingling with the industry experts on digital living technology, including computer audio, smart-home automation, digital audio, home networking, and more.  Be one of the 1st: We will also be featuring some of the newest consumer electronics products (so new, in fact, some of these products haven't even made it off the production lines yet!)

This event is for the technology geeks, music lovers, smartphone-obsessed, iPad lovers, the curious & intrigued, and those looking for the hottest holiday gift ideas.  Click here to request your FREE tickets.

Our vendor partners for this event include:

• Arcam Arcam’s technology-conscious designs allow for wireless music playback from your Apple device or computer with easy-to-integrate streaming devices. The unbeatable quality and performance of Arcam’s products will certainly make owning and creating your own home audio system an effortless process.

• Audioquest  A cable company? Yes! Shane Buettner, former editor-in-chief of Home Theater Magazine, will show you how AudioQuest is taking the lead in the digital music revolution. What many folks don't realize is the impact on performance that cables have when transporting your digital media. Shane will show you why with a great presentation. 

• GoldenEar The folks over at GoldenEar just can't seem to get people to stop saying wonderful things about their products!  Not only are these speakers affordable, they've got a "Wow" factor that you can hear each time you listen. Attendees will get to see the newest model of GoldenEar speakers: the Aons.

• Lutron The Lutron RadioRA2 is a wireless control system for lights, thermostats, & motorized shades.  This energy-saving system gives you the ability to adjust the amount of daylight & electric light as well as temperature in a single room or throughout your whole home. Their new iPad app takes RA2 to whole new level of control.

• Meridian Meridian's Sooloos could be described as the "sexy librarian" of the bunch: that is, it's beautiful, but has an innate need to catalog & categorize your media. With Meridian Sooloos, you have all of the technology with none of the complexities.  At the event, you'll have the opportunity to touch & play with the Sooloos interface, and we know you'll fall in love.

• NAD Electronics Brushing aside over-exaggerated claims and promises, NAD dives into the reality behind the bells and whistles of audio equipment. NAD believes that designing a product should always present the option for upgrade & integration, not replacement.  NAD will be showcasing some of their newest products, including the VISO1, which is bi-amplified, high-output music system that has amazing bass performance.  The VISO1 also allows you to easily stream your music & supports both Apple & Android devices.  This is going to be a hot gift this holiday season.

• Peachtree Audio  David Solomon, of Peachtree Audio, will be in the house. David is a highly entertaining presenter, especially when it comes to talking about digital audio & the secrets your iPod has been keeping from you! Check out a little YouTube video we posted a year ago to get a sneak peak at what it might be like to be in the same room with David (energizing to say the least!)

• PSB Speakers The folks at PSB Speakers just recently introduced their Imagine Minis, and the world has truly gone "mad over minis".  At just 6.5 pounds & approx. 6in x 9in x 9in, these speakers are most definitely the babies of the Imagine family, but don't treat them like a baby.  You'll be blown-away by what these little things can do to your music: room-filling sound, impressive bass, and of course that true-to-nature sound that PSB is famous for. 

• Sonos This is one of our favorite entry-level streaming music systems. It does music only, and it does it really well. Sonos systems allow almost anyone to be able to have a whole-house music system integrated into their home.  We'll show you, though, how to upgrade the performance of your Sonos system with a few simple tricks!

We're very much looking forward to seeing you on November 2nd or 3rd!

-The Gurus at Gramophone

How Lightning Can Ruin Your Gear, And You Won't Even Know it

written by: Leon Shaw, founder & chairman of Audio Advice in North Carolina. 

North Carolina, depending on how you measure it, is either #2, #3, or #4 for lightning strikes in the United States. [Maryland isn't quite as bad, but we get our fair share!*]  I would also suspect most of you have dealt with surge damage at some point due to a lightning strike.  I have just personally encountered what could be very frustrating for a home owner and wanted to tell my story so you could be better prepared.

As you might guess, I have quite a bit of consumer electronics in my home.  I’ve got a whole house audio system, video distribution system with several TV’s, and two home theaters.  Everything is as fully surge protected as I can make it. Every single signal path has surge protection on it.  I do not have lightning rods on my house.

About 3 weeks ago in the late evening some storms passed through and we heard a fairly loud thunder clap.  It did not sound like it was a direct hit, nor did it sound like it was right in our yard, just one of those loud bangs that felt like it was maybe a few blocks away.

The next morning, my wife complained that she could not select the Tivo she wanted to watch on our video distribution system.  I did a quick check and found the video matrix switcher locked up, did a reboot and everything was fine.  I thought to myself, that is weird, maybe the strike somehow locked up the switcher as it had worked flawlessly for 5 years.

I did not use the theater that day, but that evening my daughter complained she could get no sound in the theater.  I rebooted the Classe processor a couple of times, played around with its settings and finally got audio back there.  Now, I was starting to worry.  Nothing was broken, but this was a bad sign.

Boy was it ever.  Over the last two weeks things have gone totally downhill.  My XM tuner has died.  The TV in our bedroom will randomly turn itself on and off.  The big multichannel power amp I use for the whole house speakers started going into protection, a reboot would fix it, but last night, it totally died.  The audio is dropping out on one of my TIVO units at random times.  One of my Cisco cable card convertor boxes keeps rebooting itself randomly.  I hate to think what else will go down.

What has happened to me is what can happen to you.  Somehow I was hit even though I am fully protected.  The damage was not catastrophic, but appears to be showing up over time most likely due to stressed components.  The moral of this story is, if you hear a loud thunder clap, and you have ANY weirdness at all with your consumer electronics afterwards, call your insurance agent and warn them you might need to file a claim.

*As many of us in Maryland are aware, we're in the midst of Hurricane season, and there are quite a few storms that have made their way through our region.  Gramophone wants you to be prepared before you end up with damaged equipment.

Band of Horses’ Infinite Arms: Ballads and Soft Vocals with a Bold Sound

Music is my escape, as cliche as it sounds, so when I find a band who can really take me into another dimension in a matter of seconds, it’s worth mentioning. It all started with Pandora and a listen to The Shins radio. I looked up from my sketches to realize another 4 hours at work had passed by in what felt like only a few moments. Almost one hundred songs had played through in my trance but this one caught my attention. With a few simple notes strummed along to a backup guitarist I was hooked. The song was “Infinite Arms” by Band of Horses, and incidentally the title track of their latest album.

Formed in 2004 by lead singer Ben Bridwell, Band of Horses is an indie rock group that hails from Seattle, WA. With two successful albums under their belt, Infinite Arms takes the cake as a Grammy Nominee for Best Alternative Album in 2010. The album was recorded with Columbia Records and self-produced by the 5 current members - Bridwell, Ramsey, Reynolds, Barrett, and Monroe - and released worldwide May 14-19 of 2010. An American band debuting at #7 on UK charts is no doubt talented and a Grammy Nominee is certainly worth the listen, but why?

What looks to be a motley crew of 60s hipster style, their music is sure to say otherwise. From the opening song of the album, begins a epic rock ballad titled “Factory,” setting the mellow yet catchy set to follow. Continuing with tracks “Blue Beard” and “On My Way Back Home”, Band of Horses demonstrates their polished vocals and fresh addition to the alternative music scene. The album pleases yet again with the calming guitar melodies and soothing tones of the title track and proceeds to pick up a with a rhythm driven tune, “Dilly”. Returning to the albums mellow roots, “Evening Kitchen” experiments with vocalized harmonies. The remaining tracks of Infinite Arms continue to exude the overwhelming presence of the album and undoubtedly show Band of Horses’ success with the “soft is the new loud” approach.

Intrigued? Check out Band of Horses’ album Infinite Arms on iTunes.