April Fools – Audiophile Edition
Who doesn’t love a good April Fools joke? This year was full of good posts, products and teases to tickle your fancy. Here are some of the highlights from the audiophile friendly to keep you up and running all week long.
The KEF AirFresh Paint
The KEF flagship Blade is always a welcome sign at audio shows and listening rooms across the nation. This unique looking beast apparently now comes with an air freshener coating sure to keep the smelly basement room your wife/mom has exiled you to while you indulge in your favorite hobby fresh year after year. I give KEF full marks for producing not only one, but four amazing looking faux graphics for the occasion. This brilliant idea has quickly earned a place in my heart as my new favorite air freshener in the $30k range, I just hope the rear view mirror in my car can support the weight.
From KEFs Facebook post:
“The Technology
The new Airfreshpaint® used as part of the lacquer process for these finishes harbours a clever microencapsulation technology which carries similar principles behind the scratch-and-sniff printing concept. It takes the aroma generating chemical and encapsulates this in microscopic plastic spheres which release the subtle fragrance when ruptured. The scent is essentially held in millions of tiny bubbles, which preserve the fragrance for years. Even with the KEF Blade’s acclaimed vibration free cabinet design, the slightest of soundwaves, almost immeasurable to our instruments, rupture some of these spheres and release the aroma.
“The scented finishes add an entirely new dimension to the listening experience. The lime finish is a revelation with Samba and a piña colada.”
Dr Jack Oclee-Brown – Head of Acoustics”
The Astell and Kern AK480
Hot on the heels of the release of the AK240, the AK480 promises everything in a factor of two: 2X the fun, 2X the model number and of course, 2X the cost. So rummage through your couch cushions looking for loose change, because this will be the must-have gift for the portable audiophile on your holiday list. The tease here is light hearted poke at the current pace of new DAP technologies, which seem to be resurfacing in a similar fashion to the cellphone in its heyday. The jest is even a Head-fi.org exclusive. A limited run opportunity designated by lottery to every hungry audiophile ready to drop $5k on the new best thing… that is until the AK960 come out next week. [Here] is the full thread on Headfi.
The Emotiva ERC-8T
I think the bigger winner of today’s reckless fun is definitely Emotiva. Going the extra mile for a chuckle, the guys released an full video featuring their newest high resolution player. Floating graphics, an emotional soundtrack and the incorporation of a Bieber album all give this prank a well deserved “atta boy” with 3 gold stars for awesomeness.
The Chord Mystic Signature
Oh audiophile cables, how long will you make us the butt of everyones joke? Not to be left out, HiFi Pig magazine pokes fun at everyone’s favorite discussion topic with a cable from Chord “designed to allow anyone, anywhere in the world to channel the same immense creative energy waves, that previously only those that live or work within the energy matrix of Stonehenge, have been able to benefit from.” The Mystic can apparently only be crafted upon a certain phase of the moon, reducing the production to only a few limited quantities. Double bonus points for utilizing the term “wind-breaking” into a adjective.
http://hifipig.com/natural-mystic-flowing-through-chord/
PartTimeAudiophile Wins the Lottery!
We always knew that the PartTimeAudiophile was lucky guy (best part time job ever) but this April 1st day event takes the cake! $400M richer, Scot has plans to spend the money like a typical lotto winner, as quick as possible and with the reckless abandon of a teenager with a no-limit credit card. His surprisingly reasonable plans include buying up Stereophile, designing new DAC that includes lasers, and a starting a Bravo TV show. Everyone at Audio-Head wishes Scot all the best with his new endeavors, cha-ching!
http://parttimeaudiophile.com/
The LIRPA DDRX – 401
Steve Rochlin provided a very in-depth report on a new product set to revolutionize the way we listen to music. The LIRPA DDRX – 401 is the ultimate in digital conversion, finally bridging the gap between vinyl and low rate MP3s. All it takes apparently, is an SHDMI cable and access to “huge mainframe supercomputer situated in Lucerne”. That’s all well and good, but will it be able to handle my collation of Bread albums on reel to reel?
Headroom’s First Headphone
While know mostly for their retail sales and long-time-running amplifier line, this 1st of April also brings a brand new pair of headphones from the tenured company affectionately named the HamPhones. This new product has somehow already managed to accrue 13 positive reviews in a single launch day. According to the company’s site these acoustic beauties sport “Pork-Based 120mm Titaniham Drivers” that are capable of “Moist Notes With Hickory Overtones”. The “HamPhones” are obviously not for everyone, vegetarians and those not down with the split hoof need not apply.
The Woo WA7 Fireflies MonoBlocks
Woo Audio has really found a way to dig deep into its niche this year with the release of its first desktop DAC/Amp combo, the Woo WA7. While the initial joke of mono block amplifiers for headphone listening may seem absurd, the ultra high end of audio knows no such boundaries. The Questyle CMA 800R and even Woo itself offers high ticket products in such an arrangement. Given the popularity of the WA7 and its mid tiered pricing, there is no surprise that the most popular comment on the company’s Facebook post was “how much?”