Stones Speakers in Vò Euganeo (PD) - Italy 💫

 

I’ve been following Michele & Giacomo’s work for years and their unique, no-compromising approach is truly seldom seen, in Italy and abroad.

Their loudspeakers are built… better, carved out of trachyte, an effusive igneous rock of syenitic magmas, consisting essentially of feldspars, sanidine and plagioclase, associated, in subordinate quantities, with micas, pyroxenes and amphiboles on a mostly holocrystalline groundmass.

These heavy, dense and naturally non-resonant material comes from the volcanic Colli Euganei area, situated a few kilometers from Padua and Vicenza, in Northern Italy.

What these two young and talented entrepreneurs did has been following, in the case of Michele Gastaldello, their DNA as Michele’s dad and uncle were into trachyte mining and carving.

Michele Gastaldello and his rocking Stones’

In vino veritas 

Some of the music played at the event, courtesy of yours truly 😉

These people probably was guessing: what’s a material that rocks?

Stone, was the answer!

… and having listened to some of their creations, I must say that Stone Speakers rocks, indeed!

These imposing and carefully manufactured loudspeakers - which were also present at last Munchen Hi-End audio fair - reached an enviable maturity which I greatly appreciated today at an event organized to welcome old and new friends, also coming - yes! - as far as from Japan!

🇯🇵 

The ancillaries which greatly supported the music were impeccable gears by Robert Koda, Esoteric Grandioso and Soulution, courtesy of AltinPD 💫

Also present at the event were Faber Cables and CanEver amps, quite impressive.

The invitation:

If you happen to be in the area, tomorrow will be possible to experience something worth the journey to Enoteca La Costiera.

Rock Rocks!

🥂🍀🤟🍀

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Neumann PA2 # 23 restored by J.P. Van Vliet in The Netherlands 💫

 

Neumann PA2 # 023 update

In the fall of 2025 I finally found some time, parts and materials to restore the original tonearm from the Neumann PA2 # 023 from 1958. The original tonearm which came with the turntable was in poor technical - and cosmetic condition so it needed a full restoration including the reproduction of some (small) parts. The restoration of the tonearm was not simple but with an amazing result and is now reunited with the Neumann PA2 # 023 and together with a Neumann DST replica stereo MC cartridge the set is now exactly how as Neumann brought it into the market in 1958.

Read the full restoration story at: https://www.jpvanvliet.nl/restoration-blog/neumann-pa2-023-from-1958/

Quad 303 - ain’t bad at all!

 

The last time I enjoyed Quad ESL and 303 it was almost 40 years ago… it’s like time-traveling.

In direct competition vs. Quad II, the venerable and humble 303 it’s a bit dry and harmonically shy, but timbre and dynamics and detailing are truly impressive!

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Smartland?

 

Me & ‘Xmas time 😎

 

… I’m kidding 🤪

The Reel to Reel masterdub of the Century 💫

 

If you didn’t order your box from the first batch, here is the second (and last?) chance…

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Die wunderbare Blume 🙃

 

Carla Bley to Infinity 💫

 

Taking more than three years to complete, Carla Bley's epic recording Escalator Over the Hill (1971) put her firmly on the map as a groundbreaking composer and musician.

But music aside, there's an incredible feature for some listeners... The final groove continues for INIFINITY on manual record players...

  

Initially released as a triple-LP box set, a locked groove on the final track ("...And It's Again") allowed it to play ENDLESSLY on manual record players. 

(The CD version fades out around 17 minutes..!)

The French Académie du Jazz hailed it as the finest modern jazz album of its time, and in the same year, Carla Bley was honoured with a Guggenheim Fellowship for composition.

The Room which colors Life 💫

 

Bill Frisellitude 💫

 

… but I have much more, and vinyls, too 🤟💫🤟

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Peter Carl Goldmark - the vinyl-disc inventor 💫

 

The so-called records, LP (long play) now commonly called vinyls, were the work of an Hungarian engineer, nationalized American in 1937, named Peter Carl Goldmark, who was born on December 2, 1906 in Budapest. Upon emigrating to the United States, he accepted a position as an engineer at Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) in 1936. 

In that company he developed several projects (in fact he has more than 150 patents registered to his name), one of the most important being the invention of the vinyl-disc, developing between 1945 and 1948, which allowed to reduce the speed of record players from 78 to 33 1/3 rpm. 

In 1948, Goldmark invented the long-lasting PVC plastic disc, which soon replaced the lacquered rubber disc. 

This invention that was maintained for two generations and is currently being tried to revive was the means by which music in any genre became a global expression of culture. 

Peter Goldmark  passed away at the age of 71 in 1977.

Myyypreecioooussss - a selection from Robert Crumb’s 78s’ collection 💫

 

Owned this for many years, now, and I quite often return to this great music 🤟

P.S. - a few copies are still available on Discogs 🍀

Anouar Brahem awarded 💫

 

Tunisian oud player and composer Anouar Brahem is the recipient of the 2026 “Ehrenpreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik”, an honorary prize given out by the annual committee of the German Record Critics’ Award association and presented to outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions in the field of audio or video recording.

Over the years, Anouar’s close partnership with ECM has yielded many seminal recordings, including collaborations with Jan Garbarek, John Surman, Jack DeJohnette and many others. Brahem’s most recent recording, “After the Last Sky”, with Anja Lechner, Dave Holland and Django Bates, is also nominated for a Grammy, more specifically for the album’s liner essay by London Review Of Books editor, writer and journalist Adam Shatz. The album, recorded at Lugano’s Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI in May 2024, was produced by Manfred Eicher.

 

From the jury statement:

“Anouar Brahem’s art unfolds in many ways: when he plays the short-necked oud, which originates from the Middle East, as a soloist or in harmony with other musicians, and in his encounters with non-European cultures. […] Brahem’s work crosses borders and defies conventional categories such as world music, ethnic music or jazz. He always follows his own idiosyncratic, experimental path, where Arabic and European sounds meet with improvisational influences from jazz. […] Anouar Brahem tirelessly interrogates the expressive possibilities of his instrument – in haunting explorations that we hope to hear from him for a long time to come.”

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Oscar Wilde’s wisdom 💫

 

"Always forgive your enemies. 

Nothing makes them angry like that.“

😎

The new Quad ESL long-legs 💫

 

After a decade of using Arcici’s metal risers (it was many years ago) and, recently, stock short legs on beloved Quad ESL, I finally gave in to the allure of the long sides/legs… masterfully hand-carved in solid beech wood by a Swedish craftsman, they are - as you can see from the photos - humble little masterpieces, so harmonious in their rounded shapes.

Bespoke handmade in Sweden: a labor of love 💫

From same manufacturer but in a different wood… I asked and obtained the new sides/legs in beech-wood.

Such a beauty 💫