John E. Johnson, Jr.

Jazz Great Karrin Alysson Talks with Secrets

It's the special qualities of Karrin Alysson's instantly recognizable, slightly hoarse vocalism that set her apart. Her careful attention to words, the phrases molded with an intelligence that declares her total involvement, the impeccable pianism that illuminates a good share of her performances, and her overarching desire to tell a story all unite to pull listeners into her songs. Whether she's singing about poet Robert Frost or a lover's embrace, the warmth, depth, and honesty of Alysson's artistry catapults her into the same august company as three of her jazz idols, Carmen McCrae, Nancy Wilson, and Dinah Washington.

Earthquake MiniMe P10 Subwoofer

I keep thinking that subwoofer technology improvements have flattened out, but I keep getting proven wrong. The Earthquake MiniMe P10 is a good example of that. It is small, lightweight, easy to set up, and best of all, it delivers.

HD Digitech HDX900 HDTV Media Streamer

The HDX900 is an HDTV streamer based on the Network Media Tank (NMT) middleware platform by Syabas. If you don't know what a streamer is yet, think of the AppleTV but without any of the Apple restrictions. Consider a player that will play all of your movies, in file format, including Blu-ray, DVDs, or any popular format you might have on your computer hard drive, as well as pictures and audio, but doesn't require you to pay a monthly iTunes bill.

Marantz VP-11S2 Single-Chip DLP 1080p Projector

Remember back a few years when projectors were 720p resolution, had modest brightness, not so great contrast, and you could spend $15,000 to get one? Well, you can still spend that kind of money and a lot more, but it gets you a lot more too. The buzzword now of course is 1080p and HDMI all the way. Marantz' latest donation to this category is called the VP-11S2. It has two HDMI inputs, will accept and project native 1080p, has Deep Color capability, and is built like a tank.

Movie Renter’s Guide – June, 2008

Classic War Films: The Sand Pebbles (Blu-ray), Battle of Britain (Blu-ray), Patton (Blu-ray), The Longest Day (Blu-ray), A Bridge Too Far (Blu-ray), The Eye (Blu-ray), Jumper (Blu-ray), Bella (SD DVD), Witless Protection (Blu-ray), Step into Liquid (Blu-ray), Meet the Spartans (Blu-ray), The Spiderwick Chronicles (Blu-ray), Weeds, Season 3 (Blu-ray), Chipmunks TV Shows (SD DVD), Gangs of New York (Blu-ray), National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets (Blu-ray)

Sony Bravia KDL-46X3500 46″ 1920x1080p LCD HDTV

When the local Sony dealer asked me which model I wanted to check out, I wasn't sure if I should get the smaller 40" or the larger 46" model. On the one hand, statistics say that the 40" model will be a lot more popular, but they also suggest that the 44-50" segment, particularly in the US, is growing at an amazing rate.

Montana EPS2 Floor-standing Speakers

Montana Loudspeakers, marketed by PBN Audio, is a company whose products I have been very interested in for a long, long time. I have seen them at numerous hi-fi shows, and since I have two massive 1,200 watt monoblock power amplifiers that I like to pair with massive speakers once in awhile, I have been attracted to the Montana's, partly because the line includes some really big models. But more importantly, they have always impressed me with the sound quality at shows - which is not easy to do because the rooms are less than ideal - and they are incredibly beautiful.

Eggleston Works The Nine Floor-standing Speakers

Sometimes a disappointing start can lead to a glorious finish. Such has been my experience with Eggleston Works' The Nine, a beautiful loudspeaker that more than deserves the copious amounts of praise it is receiving here and abroad. I have spent a long time – far too long, with The Nines. I have done so for purely selfish reasons. I have grown quite fond of these babies, and will be sad to see them go. But other speakers are on their way, and there's only so much room at the Inn.

Nordost Thor Power Distribution Center

Nordost's new power distribution center is called the Thor. In my system, it took music reproduction to an entirely different level. Within minutes, I felt that everything I had heard before was merely play-acting. What changed? Images that had previously floated in their correct little spaces in that classic, somewhat disembodied "audiophile way" now seemed to hold together in a far more realistic manner. They weren't simply arranged or staged; they belonged together.

JL Audio Fathom f112 Subwoofer

"Seriously, thanks. I haven't had anything this refreshing from audio equipment since a long, long time. This is the kind of $#^+ that makes me want to believe again. As sincerely as a junkie can get."