Reflection


  • Books, Beats, and Buds: Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Purple Haze’

    In the swirling, electric year of 1967, a groundbreaking track reverberated through the UK, soon to envelop the US in its mesmerizing sound waves. This wasnโ€™t just any songโ€”it was โ€œPurple Hazeโ€ by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, a sonic masterpiece that would redefine the boundaries of rock music. But beyond its revolutionary guitar riffs and…

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  • Review: Pylon Audio Diamond 25 mkII Loudspeaker

    “It’s a completely new, vastly superior design that I hope heralds a new direction for Pylon Audio.”

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  • Bose Before Noise: The Amar Bose Story

    In the heart of Philadelphia, amid the echoes of American history, Amar Gopal Boseโ€™s journey into the world of sound and acoustics began on November 2, 1929. His childhood was a tapestry woven with threads of intellectual curiosity, inspired by his father, an Indian freedom fighter, and his mother, with her French and German heritage.…

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  • Echoes of Apollo: The Music of Ancient Greece

    Introduction: The Soul of Greek Culture In the heart of ancient Greece, music was the very pulse of society, intricately woven into the fabric of daily life and imbued with a significance that went far beyond mere entertainment. This deep integration of music in Greek culture manifested in various dimensions, from the sacred echoes in…

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  • Best Audio Systems For $30,000: World-Class Sound From Kii, Melco, EAR, Cardas, Pro-Ject

    Ed Stone of Executive Stereo has led an interesting life, particularly from an audio perspective. Letโ€™s start with that nameโ€”Ed Stone. It sounds rock โ€˜nโ€™ roll verging on bad-ass, like a made-up rock star alias. Except it isnโ€™t, as Ed confirmed with me during our interview over the phone, in which he jokingly added, โ€œAt…

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  • The Room Acoustics Series: Reflecting on Sidewall First Reflections

    A room acoustics expert tells us all we need to know about the subject, starting with this first installment in the Room Acoustics Series.

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  • The Beatles’ Final Liverpool Show

    Liverpool, December 5, 1965: The Beatles, amidst their UK tour, made a significant stop at the Liverpool Empire Theatre for their final live performances in their hometown. The significance of this event was heightened by its setting in the midst of a series of concerts across the UK, including Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, London,…

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  • De-Kloss-ified: Decoding the Genius of Henry Kloss

    In the sleepy town of Altoona, Pennsylvania, during the twilight of the Roaring Twenties, a future luminary of sound, Henry Kloss, entered the world. Born on February 21, 1929, Kloss was handy with tools from a young age. In his childhood, he was known for his precocious building skills, adding fixtures and even rooms to…

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  • Girl, You Know It’s False: The Milli Vanilli Lip-Sync Scandal

    In the glittering circus of pop music, where smoke, mirrors, and synthesized beats reign supreme, few scandals hit harderโ€”or landed messierโ€”than the Milli Vanilli debacle of 1990. This wasnโ€™t just a little hiccup in the pop machine. This was a full-on implosion, a moment when the flashy veneer of the music industry was peeled back,…

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  • The 1985 Effect

    In the ever-evolving landscape of hip-hop, a phenomenon reverberates with unwavering resonance – “The 1985 Effect.” This term is harvested from the seeds of J. Cole’s candid song “1985 (Intro to ‘The Fall Off’),” where wisdom intertwines with rhythm, creating a narrative that pierces the fabric of contemporary hip-hop culture. The song paints an authentic…

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  • Sister Rosetta Tharpe: Rock’s Overlooked Matriarch

    Beginnings in the Delta Cotton Plant, Arkansas, 1915: Nestled amidst a sea of cotton fields, this town, where the Mississippi Delta begins its stretch, bore witness to the birth of Rosetta Nubin. It wasnโ€™t just any place; the Delta was the cradle of American music, a melting pot of African rhythms, field hollers, and church…

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  • The Rolling Stones:  Hackney Diamonds Review

    The best Rolling Stones album since Lady Gaga was a toddler.

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  • Klipsch, Klipsch, Boom! The Explosive Brilliance of Paul W. Klipsch

    The Roaring Twenties was not just a decade of economic prosperity and cultural explosion; it was also an age of technological marvels. And even amidst this transformative era, Klipsch’s feats stood out. The 15-year-old, from the confines of his makeshift workspace, constructed a radio receiver. This was not just any youthful experiment; it was a…

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  • Katana & Keynotes: A Samurai’s Discourse on Sound

    Nestled amidst a lush garden, the distant chirping of cicadas providing a serene backdrop, Master Tekashi and young Daichi sit opposite each other on tatami mats, a steaming pot of tea between them. The fragrant aroma of the brew serves as a prelude to their conversation, bridging the worlds of sound and samurai. Daichi: Master,…

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  • ‘Definitely Maybe’: Oasis and the Birth of Britpop

    On August 29, 1994, Oasis burst onto the global music scene with the release of their debut album, โ€œDefinitely Maybe.โ€ At a time when the grunge movement had brought a darker, introspective mood to rock music, five lads from Manchester brought an audacious, youthful energy that dared to dream big, invoking the aura of the…

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