A team of researchers from Switzerland’s Bern University of Arts have discovered that sound affects the development of cheese and hip-hop makes things cheesiest. For six months, the team exposed nine 22-pound wheels of Emmental cheese to an endless, 24-hour loop of music using a mini-transducer, which directed the sound waves directly into the cheese wheels. The “classical” cheese mellowed to the sounds of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. The “rock” … [Read more...]
HRAC Review: Pangea Vulcan Turntable Stand
The vinyl resurgence brings back more than old records. For many, it also brings an old turntable out of mothballs, from the attic or from eBay. For both newbies and returning fans, it’s brought back a world of newly relevant accessories, including furniture, that have been largely dormant since the CD era. The furniture is often an afterthought for the turntable enthusiast, or given last consideration, even though it can have a substantial … [Read more...]
AI is Helping to Understand How The Brain Makes Sense of Sound
For neurologists, human hearing is a process full of unanswered questions. How does the brain translate sounds -- vibrations that travel through the air -- into the patterns of neural activity that we recognize as speech, or laughter, or the footsteps of an approaching friend? And are those same neural processes universal, or do they vary across cultures? With support from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Social, … [Read more...]
A Noob’s First CanJam, 2019 NYC
I attended my first CanJam feeling like a fake, a voyeur, a tourist at best. Everyone knows tourists make the best pigeons. Am I expected to put ear buds into my ears after someone else (how many?) has stuck them in theirs—um, answer is yes? Which brands here are actually quality products vs. quality marketing? I had no idea. I was lost in an unfamiliar but tantalizing world of secret acronyms and jargon that others seemed to know, but was … [Read more...]
HRAC Review: Parasound Halo 2.1 Channel Integrated Amplifier/DAC
One of the biggest reasons for the vinyl resurgence is its perceived simplicity. You choose a record, put it on the table, drop the needle, and enjoy. There are no playlists to organize, no menus or submenus to navigate, no worries about file formats and compatibilities. Records are software the way it used to be. Hardware used to be simple too, but not any more, which is one reason why your friends listen to Bluetooth speakers. Nowadays your … [Read more...]
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