It is another early morning of sipping coffee while listening to the custom vintage Voice of the Theatre loudspeakers that were built for Leopold Stokowski back when he lived in New York, before he moved back to London permanently. There's just something magically musical about the combination of the SPEC RSA-M3 EX Real Sound Amplifier and the Maestro's VOTTs. This... Read More »

I'm up early this morning drinking some excellent Kenya Kangunu coffee from Stumptown, and listening to the Maestro's VOTTs system I've put together, which is so musically beguiling it's hard to convey how satisfying it is to listen to music with, and in a small room at that! Yazaki-san's SPEC RSA-M3 EX Real Sound Amplifier is a... Read More »

My Maestro's VOTTs & SPEC RSA-M3 EX Real Sound Amplifier room has become my go-to coffee nook in the morning. I've developed a week-day ritual of rolling out about 4:30 a.m. and firing up the SPEC RSA-M3 EX, the Mhdt Paradisea+ USB DAC, and my old MacBook that I'm using as a source. Then I wander into the kitchen to... Read More »

Happy 90th Birthday, Mom! We (Dad, Mom, and me) had a terrific 90th birthday celebration for Mom yesterday here at Jeff's Place. For dinner I played chef and cooked mesquite grilled filet mignon, Beurre Monté lobster tails, baked potatoes with trimmings, carrots, and champagne to drink. Birthday cake and Portland's Stumptown fresh roasted coffee for dessert.... Read More »

Last week was my second annual 'Seattle Through the Back Door' bicycle tour with my buddy Chad (below), so I thought I'd share a few of the highlights with you. In case you're wondering about the title, it's a tip of the hat to one of my favorite Europe tour providers, Rick Steves, who's based in Edmonds,... Read More »

Today's Fresh Catch is the Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall 2-LP reissue set that was mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original 3-track master tapes, and pressed at Quality Record Pressings. I've been away for four day road trip to Boise, Idaho, getting my parents' house prepped for sale after they moved into assisted living... Read More »

Yesterday evening I wrote myself into a state of burnout, so for therapy I spent the rest of the evening listening to music for pleasure, drank a cup of good Ethiopian coffee with its 'citrus & dark cocoa' flavor tones to help keep my ears open, and then finally had a glass of a nice... Read More »