perfect gift

ipod sounding like kak?

I’m seriously considering getting one of these wadia 170i transports. if you are sick of your ipod’s shit sound like me due to that 49¢ cent Chinese D/A converter inside, making the rest of your stereo equipment obsolete this “can” potentially be the answer for approximately $320. But here’s the dilemma. the biggest ipod you can get is still only 120gigs and rather pricey per gig when you think of it. which means, even with a 120gig ipod you still can not put all of your music in uncompressed state or by using apple’s lossless format. Sooloos is not an option either yet. the price ofc ourse, but also you have to be psychotic to deal with PC interface in this day and age. the other issue is what do you do with all the; massively compressed, 10th generation re-compressed, yet great tracks you got from your various rug rat friends! now you need to get those original CD’s and that’s a job and a half. I wish apple would allow a digital out from you mac for music to avoid it going through apples or ipods D/A converter, and you could just get a terabyte drive and be done. wadia made a deal with apple to go around the elaborate protection software and tap direct into the digital file avoiding the D/A conversion and this is the first time i understand they allowed that. Still no great answer. Just inferrior sound for now. Portable and potable. by dd

CATEGORIES: audio-electronics, objects, perfect gift

AKG K 701 Headphones

note the XLR plugs on this baby above!


AKG K 701 Headphones:

Mouth watering! The AKG K 701s are significantly more transparent sounding than any other headphone that I’ve tried, and they embody an amazing level of taste when it comes to modern headphone design. Obviously each of the major brands; Sennheiser, AKG, Beyerdynamic, Grado, and Ultrasone, all have their own “sound”, which in some way makes one want to own one of each. I do.

There are major differences between the Sennheiser HD650s (which I own) and the K 701s (which I just bought for $450), making each one better for a specific genre of music. The rock/alternative/metal crowd are unanimous in their preference of the Sennheiser ‘phones, no doubt influenced by their rich, extended bass response, while others are more taken by the AKG’s smoother tonal balance, and crystal clear midrange. What ever your taste these are worth a listen.

They are a five-star performer and worth a try for sure. by dd

CATEGORIES: audio-electronics, objects, perfect gift

tobias wong : a beautiful mind

originally from vancouver, canada, tobias wong creates in new york. after studying art and architecture, he graduated in sculpture from the cooper union. wong treats design as a medium rather than a discipline to show how it embraces the aesthetics traditionally relegated to the fine arts. he’s coined the term “paraconceptual” to describe his dismantling of the hierarchies between “art” and “design.” in wong’s hands, both have similar goals.

tobias wong in his studio

remote control light switch designed for conduit group

real gold capsules… so you can shit gold… talk about social criticism

the “mirror” puzzle set a black one was done in collaboration with commes des garcon – good luck with that

wong has a way of looking at the ordinary and transforming it into something extraordinary, as expressed by his bent pencil (above), reverse diamond ring (below)

smoking mitt for those very cold days (below)

“protect me form what i want”

not merely conceptual, his work mocks its own consumption. wong literalized this message with a jenny holzer tattoo on his right forearm: “PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT.” this maxim was written on wong’s flesh by holzer herself, then made permanent with injected ink. equally indelible are wong’s readydesigneds (replacing the anonymous readymade objects with well recognized designer pieces) refashioned. these new forms and aesthetic concepts brace against, appreciate, and invite desire. wong’s continuing exploration of this conundrum goes beyond the paraconceptual to projects he now refers to as “postinteresting”…

CATEGORIES: art, design, perfect gift