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Welcome to the Society of Saint John the Evangelist

Here Am I, Lord – Br. Geoffrey Tristram

“They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and the woman hid themselves from God.  But the Lord called to the man, and said, ‘Where are you’?” (Gen 3:8-9)

Those words, “Where are you?” send a shiver through me.  They express in just three words something of the terrible existential loneliness, the alienation of life lived cut off from God.  These words perhaps also express something of the pain and sadness of God when he loses his children, when they break their relationship with him.  God’s plaintive cry ‘where are you’ is his heart-broken response to what Milton in Paradise Lost calls “man’s first disobedience.”

But there are three other words which are spoken time after time throughout Scripture.  And these words, coursing through Scripture like a drum beat, are full of hope, full of promise for the mending of our relationship with God, and of the return of prodigal humanity to the loving heart of God.  These three words are words of faithfulness and obedience, words which will allow God to redeem that which was lost, and bring all of humanity back into relationship with him.  These three words are “Here am I.”  If “Where are you?” are the most tragic words in Scripture, then “Here am I” are the most hopeful.

When God begins his great work of salvation, he first chooses Abraham.  In today’s first lesson (Gen 22:1-14) , the harrowing story of the command to sacrifice Isaac, God calls to Abraham, and says “Abraham!”  He answers “Here am I.”  And then, having heard the terrible command to sacrifice his only son Isaac, he obeys God, and takes his son and binds him, ties him to the altar, and raises the knife – but then the angel calls out “Abraham.”  He again replies, “Here am I.”  “Do not lay your hand on the boy … for now I know that you fear God, since you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.”

Adam – “Where are you?”  Abraham says, “Here am I.”  God knows that in Abraham he has found a man of faithfulness and obedience, unlike the disobedience of Adam.  It is through faithful Abraham that God can begin the great work of the redemption of humankind.  “Abraham, I will bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is on the seashore.  By your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed – because you have obeyed my voice.”  “Here am I, Lord.”

And it is this courage and grace to say “Here am I” that marks out all those faithful men and woman who have followed in Abraham’s footsteps.  “Here am I” are the first words spoken by Moses after God called him by name out of the burning bush.  “When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses. Moses!’.” (Ex 3:4) And he said, “Here am I.”

“Here am I” are the words uttered by the prophet Isaiah when he has that extraordinary vision of the Lord in the Temple.  “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (Isa 6:8) And I said “Here am I, send me.”

And then, as the history of salvation reaches its climax, the angel Gabriel appears to Mary, and announces that she is to be the Mother of the Lord.  “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.” (Lk 1:31) And Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38) And that gracious consent, ‘Here am I,’ allowed Jesus to be born into the world, to finally bring us home to God – to heal the broken relationship between God and humankind.  Jesus, the second Adam.  But where Adam disobeyed God, and hid for shame from God’s presence, Jesus “humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even death upon a cross.” (Phil 2:8)

I’ve been reflecting lately upon all those people in my own life, who because they were obedient to God’s call and able in their own way to say “Here am I,” have helped to form me and bring me to know and love God.

This weekend is a special anniversary: 160 years ago a quiet, unassuming young woman called Marian Rebecca Hughes answered God’s call to her and said ‘Here am I.’  On this day 160 years ago she took solemn vows to lead a life of poverty, celibacy and obedience in the service of God.  She was the first person to make such vows in the Anglican church since the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII.  And so in that simple ‘Here am I’ the religious life was once more restored in the Anglican Communion.  Twenty-four years later, on December 27, the Feast of St. John the Evangelist, 1866, our own founder, in the presence of Charles Grafton and Simeon Wilberforce O’Neill, made the following vow:  “I, Richard Meux Benson, promise and vow to Almighty God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, before the whole company of heaven and before you my Fathers, that I will live in celibacy, poverty and obedience as one of the Mission Priests of St. John the Evangelist unto my life’s end.  So help me God.”  By these words the religious life for men was restored to the Anglican Communion.  Because Richard Benson had the courage to say ‘here am I’ to God’s call – I am here today – all of us are here today, worshipping in this beautiful chapel.

We brothers are so full of thanksgiving to God for all his many blessings to us – and for you and so many others who are sharing with us our life and ministry.  We also have a real sense that God is calling us into an exciting future, and we so want to be faithful and obedient to that vision.  I would like to invite you to continue praying specifically for our future, that together we may have the faith and courage always to say “Here I am, Lord.”  Please pray for our ministries, and all those whom we are called to serve.  Please pray particularly for the gift of vocations – for new men to join us as brothers.  Look out for someone you think may have a vocation.  Pray for them – that they may hear God’s call and have the courage to say “Here am I.”

The most important thing of all, is for each one of us to remain faithful to our relationship with God.  That means, every day renewing that relationship.  If you are like me, you will know those seasons in your life when you have been more like poor old Jonah, hiding from God, running away from God.  “Geoffrey, where are you?”  But God never gives up.  Like the hound of heaven in Francis Thompson’s famous poem, “those strong feet followed, followed after.”  God loves us too much to let us go.

The invitation from God is always to come home.  To know again just how much God love you and then to take the risk every day to say ‘Lord, here am I,’ I am yours.  I offer my life to you this day.  Use me in your service.

When you come up in a little while to receive holy communion, remember all those men and women whom God called by name: Abraham, Moses, Mary, Marian, Richard.  As you receive the body and blood of Christ, hear God calling your name, and with thanksgiving in your heart, say “Here am I.”

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  1. Anders on September 18, 2017 at 11:23

    As a father of two sons, I don’t accept that the God of Love could have the terrible command to sacrifice his only son Isaac. Life and love are about the next generation over obedience to anything past or present. Even at the cost of my eternal soul, my response wouldn’t be “Here am I” but rather “Here I stay. There you are.”

  2. CHRISTINA MCKERROW on September 18, 2017 at 09:31

    You see, I think there is another side to this story. I have known people who I call My Angels – they have been here and there in my life since I was a little girl. Some of them have been churchgoers, some not so. But, they have all answered the words: Here am I. Ordinary people who would never have thought of themselves as being good or answering God’s search: “Where are you.” Somehow, thanks be to our almighty Creator, they have been imbued with that great gift of giving to their fellow men and women. I am eternally grateful to them and the influence they had on my life.
    Blessings to all the SSJE brothers, and to those who read their daily Word Christina

  3. Julianna Hodge on September 12, 2015 at 09:19

    Just the words I needed to hear & read this morning!
    Thank you, Bro. Geoffrey!
    Peace & blessings!

  4. Anders on September 12, 2015 at 08:15

    Thank you. Reading about Abraham’s sacrifice makes me reflect that at times we act “in faith” and may cause tremendous harm on others. I believe this happened to both Isaac and me in how we were both bound by sins of dogmatic beliefs which Jesus came to untie. Our faith is divinely inspired and sometimes we are breathed into new life and at other times it’s an overdose of CO2 on the exhale. Yet God moves in it all, calling us to proclaim “Here I am” and resting in this place as good, even when we don’t always recognize it ourselves.

  5. petra perez on February 17, 2015 at 11:40

    Here I am. Despite body pains may my work relieve someone esle.
    Here I am. Despite the turbulance of life I clear my soul to see you clearly lord.
    Here I am. Even though my own heart aches. I beg your healing so I may open it to others. Amen.

  6. Fred Adams on November 15, 2014 at 14:33

    Brother Geoffrey, and indeed all the Brothers of SSJE,
    First, thank you for the powerful reminder; the daily reminder to say “Here I am, Lord”. That is such a big deal!

    and second, to all the brothers: You may never know the difference you have made and continue to make in my life–every day. Your “cyber ministry” if that is what you might call it affects me deeply and brings me spiritual direction. I thank God for your presence in my life, and bless your most holy work.

  7. Ruth West on November 6, 2014 at 20:53

    What a powerful sermon! Thank you. There are days when His voice is muffled by the sounds of the world, the T V, the cell phone, and some very legitimate interferences. I want to be more open, more silent, and sure in knowing WHO I am hearing. I like the story in I Sam. chapter 3 about the boy Samuel who thought Eli was calling him, but finally realized it was the Lord who called. In vs. 19 it states, “As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.” May we be granted the ability to say,
    “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

  8. Michele on June 8, 2014 at 14:11

    Thank you for sharing this message. I have been “too busy” to listen. The past few weeks, I have not been spending time listening for our Father’s message. I let too much white noise and other “priorities’ get in the way. Through this sermon, I am reminded to put our Lord first, listen to what is being asked of me, and responding in kind, Here I am Lord, I apologize for not putting you first, my Father.

  9. Maggie on June 6, 2014 at 09:34

    Simple words straight from and to the heart

  10. George on December 27, 2011 at 19:16

    “Here I am.” I resisted a call to ordained ministry for 20 yrs before allowing God’s grace to move me. It is never too late to say “Here i am” to God’s call on our life; no matter what that call may be.

  11. Polly Chatfield on December 27, 2011 at 07:44

    Thank you, Geoffrey. I can understand from your words that saying “Here am I” is a way of taking the difficult events of life – sorrows, losses, unexpected turns or setbacks – and turning them to the service of God. It is like saying, “If this is what you want of me today, here am I, Lord,” and thereby making even the worst moments into a prayer.

    • Leslie on February 13, 2015 at 08:15

      Polly, those are wise words. I reconcile times of personal loss by praying, “Here am I , the servant of the Lord. Let it be with me according to your word.”

  12. Ed Nilson on December 27, 2011 at 06:35

    Sometimes actions truly do speak louder than words. While I find Abraham’s faithful response encouraging — this man who was called the friend of God — I’m perhaps more encouraged by those who initially failed, but later by their actions said, “Here am I.” Jonah gave Ninevah another try. The Prodigal Son came home to a Waiting Father with a rehearsed speech, but the delighted Father and returning Son both realized what was most important was for both of them to simply say, “Here am I.” Thank you for the reminder that an act of faith can yet be to say, “Here am I” and the slightest turning to God does, in the words of Thomas Merton, please Him.

  13. DLa Rue on December 27, 2011 at 06:29

    Thanks for a reminder, too, that in this winter season of family visits and home-centered activities, our real home is beyond that which is shadowed on earth. Even when all family members are loving and faithful people, it is important not to have our focus short-stopped on earthly connections alone. The idolization of the family, tender as those bonds may be, must be gently resisted where family expectations and scenarios may limit our growth or the actions we have tested and felt called to by God. It takes courage not to do what people who love you think you should do, sometimes….and to do what they think you should not do, all else equal.

  14. Andrew Bain on December 27, 2011 at 03:18

    I turned to your website this morning as it’s already St John’s day in this time zone (here in Scotland) and I’ve been remembering your community in morning prayer in our chapel today. I’m an Anglican priest and a member of a small “new monastic” community here in Edinburgh. Thank you for a “word in season”, and a good word on the brink of a new year when the invitation to say “here I am” always asks for an ever deeper and more joyful response. God bless SSJE on your feast day today. Andrew

  15. ruth corston on July 14, 2011 at 13:46

    Thank you –

    a quiet moment , at the end of my work day – so I visited your site – and read the sermon – Here I am – the next time – I’m at the communion rail – I will be mindfull of our baptism & confirmation comittment – and say “here I am.

    – my husband, Bishop Tom ( diocese of Moosonee Canada – is an associate of SSJE & I am an associate of SSJD (toronto Canada)

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STAMFORD -- Dogged police work and an anonymous caller led police on Sunday to arrest an El Salvador national who allegedly brutally assaulted a 37-year-old Stamford woman behind a Greenwich Avenue home one week ago.

Police arrested Rudy Cortez-Angel, 20, of 19 Davenport St., Stamford, and charged him with first-degree assault. Although he was held overnight by police in lieu of $250,000 bond, at Cortez-Angel's arraignment at state Superior Court in Stamford on Monday Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Steven Weiss asked that Judge William Wenzel hold him on only $25,000 bond. Wenzel agreed.

Cortez-Angel, who told police he was a dishwasher at a local pizza parlor, admitted that he assaulted the woman because he said the woman tried to rob him with a knife after he paid her $20 for sex, a police report in his court file said,

The woman, whose name is not being released by The Advocate because she is a victim in the case, told police she smoked crack cocaine on the night she was assaulted and while she used to be a prostitute in Bridgeport, she was not looking to sell her body sex the night she was assaulted, a police report said.

After spending the week talking to people in the area and showing residents and store owners a picture of the assailant gleaned from the security camera of a Greenwich Avenue bodega last Monday night, police got their lucky break at 5 p.m. Sunday when an anonymous caller phoned police to tell them that the man they were looking for just walked out of a Greenwich Avenue store and was heading toward Davenport Street, police Sgt. Anthony Lupinacci said.

Officers went down to Davenport Street with the picture and were told that Cortez-Angel lived in a basement at 19 Davenport, Lupinacci said.

Officers from the Major Crimes unit and patrol officers found Cortez-Angel in his apartment with a fake Social Security card and Permanent Resident card.

While he was being interviewed at police headquarters, police put together a photo array and showed it to the assault victim who "immediately and positively" identified Cortez-Angel as her attacker, Lupinacci said.

At first the woman told police that she had gotten off a train and was walking to a friends house on Fairfield Avenue when she saw a man sitting on the steps of a Greenwich Avenue home.

She said the man began speaking to her in Spanish and because she couldn't understand him she walked closer to him and that is when he attacked her for no apparent reason.

Then the woman told police that she had been smoking crack at a friend's house on Fairfield Avenue when she went out for beer.

She ran into Cortez-Angel in a bodega, and asked the clerk to ask him if he would buy her a beer. He did.

The two then went walking up Greenwich Avenue. The woman said they stopped and sat down on the steps of a house at 396 Greenwich Avenue and Cortez-Angel told her he had to relieve himself.

He then told her to go into the back yard where he attacked her, she said.

Cortez-Angel said the two were approaching the back yard of 396 Greenwich Avenue when he mistakenly pulled $40 out of his pocket and she snatched it from him. He protested that she had $20 than they agreed, but she told him to go in the back yard and pull down his pants. After she pulled her pants down she pulled a knife with a hook on the end and told him she was going to kill him.

She swung the knife at him and she slashed his right palm and index finger when he tried to defend himself, he said.

He picked up a stick and hit her in the arms. She then kept swinging the knife when Cortez-Angel said he hit her in the head with a plastic bag full of beers, the report said.

The woman said Cortez-Angel struck him with a ceramic flowerpot and she blacked out. Police found a broken pot in the rear of the property.

Lupinacci said the woman's wounds did not appear to resemble those that would be inflicted by someone trying to defend them self.

The woman, who sustained gouges to her arms, had three gashes to the back of her head that took 50 staples to close up, Lupinacci said.

"Those wounds were made by someone standing behind her," Lupinacci said.

Staff Writer John Nickerson can be reached at 964-2320 or

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GAMBIA 1935 SG145a Mint

GAMBIA 1935 SG145a Mint
1935 Silver Jubilee 6d light blue and olive-green, from vignette plate "1" showing variety "Extra flagstaff" (R9/1), unmounted o.g. Slightly trimmed perfs at left, but scarce. Total printing only 787 sheets, probably from six vignette plates. (cat £190+)

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Customer 4.0 – how challenges can become opportunities

The POS is changing. Online, mobile, social, cross-channel… the new possibilities seem to be taking over from offline trade and are putting stationary suppliers under pressure.
Everybody is talking about the “Millennials”, a new group of buyers with purchasing behaviour and demands that are supposedly no longer a match for our points of sale, retailers and sales ideas.

But how different is this new consumer group in reality? Are the Millennials really turning our entire approach upside down?

If we take a look back at the past, we often see incomprehension, fear and a requiem lamenting the “way things were”. Each new generation bends the rules of the elders. So why shouldn’t the Millennials do the same thing? But until now, no generation ended up changing the world in the way that was feared. So what’s different this time?

It is not the Millennials with their new self-perception that constitute the actual change; the change is due to technological progress. It allows the Shopper – not just the Millennial – to formulate new needs, expectations and make very direct demands. These needs are now coming to the surface thanks to the advanced technical possibilities.

However, this applies to all Shoppers, not just Millennials. All of them! What will this have an influence on?

1) Challenges

a) The POS in transition – what has really changed?

When we compare today’s POS with the POS as we knew it, the thing that stands out is that the Shopper is the determining factor. The Shopper is at the centre of all developments at the POS – his or her individual needs are the focal point for Marketing and Sales.

The driving force behind this development: technological progress. It gives the consumer the power and the possibility to clearly formulate and demand new expectations.

These new expectations must be taken into consideration at the POS and also on the inextricably linked Customer Journey. If they are not addressed, the consumer will punish us directly with their next purchasing act.

We must pay special attention to four current consumer expectations in order to maintain our relevance:

  • EGO: The “ego”, i.e. the focus is on the individual. Nowadays, the consumer expects a personal appreciation of the individual. He or she also expects a (correct) personalisation as well as tailor-made offers and only wants to be contacted with his or her permission.
  • EVERYTHING: Nobody is satisfied with half measures. The customer wants “everything”, which means a large selection, high quality, low prices and good service.
  • IMMEDIATELY: The customer expects to be contacted immediately, fast transactions and short response times.
  • EVERYWHERE: The offer should be available regardless of space, time and specific technologies, channels or devices.

The POS is changing

b) Attracting the attention of the Shoppers

In addition to the expectations of the customers, the possibilities of contacting him or her have multiplied phenomenally. And with each new possibility comes the threat that the consumer will punish us if we do not make use of it.

Over the past 10 years alone, the number of advertising methods has doubled thanks to the many new digital possibilities. Digital Marketing is complementing classic advertising methods such as print, radio or TV advertisement due to the growing significance of the Internet.

Thus, the Customer Journey has become more complex.
On the one hand, this means that the buyer is bombarded with information and advertising, so it has become more difficult to stand out from the crowd. But it also means that Marketeers have to divide their advertising budget across more channels. The focus is moving towards marketing measures that generate measurable sales. There isn’t a lot of leeway for experimentation.

This complexity underlines the feeling of helplessness towards the supposedly new target group of Millennials. However, one thing is quite evident:

As the last metre before the purchase is the POS – no matter whether on or offline – it is the decisive point at which the product has to assert itself against the competition. The Customer Journey defines the necessary tools to address the consumer. It must be fine tuned, and with the POS – digital as well as analogous, it has a clear strategic direction.

2) Our Customer 4.0 toolbox

A few simple rules must be observed in order to convince the Shopper.
We have developed four questions, which anyone who wishes to successfully position their product at the POS should ask himself or herself.

a) Product relevance

Be contemporary and be relevant to the target group. This has always been the key to successful products and services. However, as a result of the high level of innovation, rapid social developments and changing customer needs, we have to ask ourselves the relevance question at increasingly shorter intervals.

This means being courageous because we all live on an exchangeable market and the pioneer is the one who reaps the rewards. Relevant products must also always be communicated in a relevant manner. What suits me as well as my product and my business model? Where and how must I be present in order to remain relevant in the mid-term?

The targeted and well thought-out use of meaningful advertising methods in-store, out-of-store and/or online not only communicate the relevance of the product but also enables an all-round satisfying Customer Journey with “Experience Points” that are perfectly aligned.

b) Trends

Keep an eye on the latest trends. In addition to the relevance of a product, it can also pay into one or more current meta trends. This increases its chance of success, and at the same time offers product design and marketing approaches that appeal to the customer needs and the spirit of the time.

Market and trend researchers have identified nine trends, which are currently influencing society. This leads to the question: Which consumer trends does my product pay into?

  1. Smart Convenience: Efficiency in all aspects
  2. Green Responsibility: Sustainably produced goods
  3. Value Promise 2.0.: Technology-supported savings
  4. Quality Moment: Rediscovery of the fun in shopping
  5. Stealth Health: Being healthy made easy
  6. 100% Transparency: Understanding origins and ingredients
  7. Social Networking: Using the power of social networks
  8. Individualisation: Tailor the shopping experience to meet MY needs
  9. Back to Origins: Less complexity and more authenticity

Brief digression: An example from everyday life

The beer trend Craft Beer pays into a total of 4 consumer trends and explains the current development in a very clear manner:

Green Responsibility: Sustainably produced goods
-> Sustainability can be incorporated into the product concept and the communication with images, colours and the tonality at the POS.

Quality Moment: Rediscovery of the fun in shopping
-> Shopping is fun if it is an experience. This can start with an educational Craft Beer Display.

100% Transparency: Understanding origins and ingredients.
-> Listing the ingredients and the origins can be part of the design and the presentation at the POS.

Back to Origins: Less complexity and more authenticity
-> A story about the founders, their passion or their roots can become part of the marketing & the philosophy of the brand.

c) Technology

Technology always plays a part in dealing with Millennials. The approach is simple: implement technologies where they make sense. The technologies in Marketing and at the POS have developed rapidly and sometimes seem very complex. However, selecting the appropriate technology is easily managed with two simple questions:

  • Is the objective for the implementation of a technology either image or sales?
  • Who does the target group consist of incl. their affinity for technology?

This way, you will only use technologies that suit the objectives, the product and the target group.

d) Implementation

Demonstrate your courage and pioneering spirit. There is no recipe for success or a guarantee that things will work out, so it makes sense to approach this phase in a playful manner and to quickly process the acquired insights.

Our recommendations quickly explained in four steps:

  1. Think big. Come up with 2-3 concepts with daring ideas in line with the current trends and develop them until they are ready to be realized.
  2. Test small. Head into a pilot project with just one partner at first in order to keep the budget and expenses at a minimum.
  3. Learn fast. Use the results of the pilot project as the basis for the next test.
  4. Optimize and repeat. Until you achieve the desired success.

Conclusion: Challenges are opportunities

The hype about Millennials clearly falls short. It isn’t this new target group that must be taken into consideration. Nowadays, the technological environment gives the consumer the power to formulate partially buried and very understandable demands towards the retailers and brands.

Although technological progress and the explosion of media present an extremely complex environment, focusing on the key factors of successful brands and products still helps. Relevance, an understanding of trends and the courage to take a playful approach to handling tests allow you to learn along with the Shopper, as he or she is also currently in the process of discovering the new opportunities.

This transition presents a great opportunity for all companies. However, it involves courage as well as the willingness to change and deviate from worn-out approaches.


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  • Find the Stencil Archives' best original photos on Instagram and flickr.

Thanks so much - Russell

5Pointz Artists Win $6.7m in NYC VARA Case

Decrying Real Estate Developer’s ‘Insolence,’ Judge Awards Street Artists $6.7 Million in Landmark 5Pointz Case

The ruling is a decisive victory for street artists.

Eileen Kinsella, February 12, 2018 (Artnet)

In a dramatic conclusion to a landmark case, a judge has ruled that a New York developer must pay $6.7 million to a group of graffiti artists to compensate for painting over their work without warning in 2013. The decision represents a decisive victory for street artists in a case that pitted their rights against those of a real estate executive.

The artists sued the developer, Gerald Wolkoff, for violating their rights after he whitewashed their work at the famous 5Pointz art mecca in Long Island City to make way for condos. A jury ruled in favor of the artists in November, but it remained up to a judge to determine the extent of the damages.

In a 100-page decision handed down today, Judge Frederic Block awarded $150,000 for each of the 45 works for a total award of $6.75 million.

“5Pointz was its temple, though it can never be replaced, this judgement is a monumental step for our culture and our art form,” Jonathan Cohen (also known as Meres One), the former director of 5Pointz, said in an email to artnet News. “Judge Block’s decision will change the art form perception for generations to come.”

Judge Block had harsh words for Wolkoff and the 2013 whitewashing episode in particular. He wrote: “If not for Wolkoff’s insolence, these damages would not have been assessed. If he did not destroy 5Pointz until he received his permits and demolished it 10 months later, the Court would not have found that he had acted willfully.”

TXMX 2018 Submissions

TXMX (his archive), Stencil Archive's longest and most prolific collaborator, has sent his annual stack of photos to add to the site. His general photos are easier to check for duplicates and upload. Here is the first part of his photos, from Hamburg and Spain. In the coming weeks the rest of TXMX's stack, attributed to Hamburg and other artists, will go up with other fresh updates.

Stay tuned, and deep thanks (as always) to Mr. TXMX!

Masters of the Pochoir

Masters of the Pochoir
A tour d'horizon, by Paul Zwartkruis (Netherlands)
For The Writer's Drawer
<<< Hand movements with the pompom at the Jacomet atelier

Pochoir: “the most versatile and luxurious reproduction process in modern time"
John Bidwell, curator of the Graphic Arts Collection at Firestone Library

Picasso, Braque, Van Dongen, Miro, Matisse, Dufy, Léger, Modigliani, Rouault and many other artists worked in Paris in the first half of the 20th century. They asked other people to make hand-crafted illustrations of their work – pochoirs. The artists had rediscovered this technique, which is of Japanese origin. They thus added an unparalleled quality to contemporary colour illustrations.

Pochoirs are highly realistic, manual reproductions of works of art. But it was not the artist himself who made the pochoirs. The technique was far too complicated. In about 50 specialized workshops in Paris female colourists produced these gems, which are characterized by a marvellous vibrancy of colour. Various templates, brushes and paint (water-gouache, silver or gold paint) were used in order to achieve this effect. For a simple pochoir, some figures or texts were cut from thin metal foil or plastic. These stencils were then placed on paper or some other surface. Nowadays, street artists such as Banksy and Vhils frequently use this reproduction technique when creating their art.

RIP Lord Hao (France)

In the early years of Stencil Archive, Hao (Stencil Archive here and 2004 interview here) began submitting his stencils from the streets of Paris. He supported the project, and was also excited to be part of the 2009 Stencil Nation book project. I never got to meet him in person, but knew that he was inspired by DIY, ska, punk, Pacific Island culture, and the lowbrow Los Angeles art style.

What I remember most about Hao is his enthusiasm, encouragement, and anticapitalist belief that stencils are for the streets, free for everyone to enjoy. He kept a low online profile, didn't seek gallery exhibits or even notariety beyond the Paris streets. He also inspired others to get in on the stencil fun, which is how I only recently found out about his death around 2012/3.

Staying in touch with him was difficult. At one point, he friended me on Facebook, but used an alias. He sent me a PM telling me that it was Hao from France. Eventually I lost touch with him again.

Sadly, I will finally get to visit Paris this summer, but I will not get to meet Lord Hao. As soon at the tickets were booked, I searched online to try to figure out a way to find him, and I only found a few memorial posts about his passing.

So here is a belated farewell to an artist I admired, both for his talent and his kindness. Rest In Paint, Hao. You are missed!

fnnch Wants SF to Decriminalize Stickers and Posters

Street Artist 'Sign-Bombs' Downtown Neighborhoods With 450 'Honey Bears'
Mon. January 29, 2018, 4:34pm
by Nathan Falstreau for hoodline

Street art is part of San Francisco's landscape, but one local artist recently installed hundreds of pieces of his work to spark a conversation about using public spaces as a canvas for self-expression.

Over the weekend, fnnch [Stencil Archive album], best known for his depictions of honey bears, ladybugs, seashells, flamingos and turtles, fastened 450 pieces to utility poles between Market and Harrison and the Embarcadero and 5th Street. To comply with city rules for posting signs, he mounted the artwork using zip ties.

The installation, which features an array of honey bears and was billed as "sign bombing," aims to bring attention to what the artist deems "an excessive and absurd amount of [legal] signage." According to fnnch, adhering a "simple sticker" to public property could result in possible felony or misdemeanor charges.

The artist hopes to sway future legislation with the work and has teamed up with Care2 to start a petition urging members of the Board of Supervisors to decriminalize certain types of street art. As of this writing, the petition has garnered 10,816 signatures of support out of a goal of obtaining 11,000.

In particular, fnnch wants the city to decriminalize the application of stickers and wheatpaste—a removable adhesive that's commonly used by street artists.

“What I want to do is show the absurdity of our laws," he said in a statement. "Had these signs been affixed with adhesive to the poles, I could go to jail, but if they are put up with tape or a zip-tie, then it not only becomes legal to hang them up, but illegal for anyone to take them down.”

26 JAN: In Memory of Michael Roman (SF, CA)

Stenciled Visions of Love, Peace and Chaos
at the Mission Cultural Center
his Stencil Archive photo set

In remembrance of our artist friend, we invite you to come and celebrate Michael Roman’s creative works. Michael was a long time artist-in-resident and supporter of the Mission Cultural Center. His signature works left a lasting legacy for the Bay Area Community and beyond. We honor his artistic contributions by showcasing some of his works. This exhibition will feature works from personal collections.

JANUARY 26, 2018 | $5 Admission | Inti-Raymi
Exhibit Dates:
JAN 26th - FEB 17th, 2018 | $2 Admission | Inti-Raymi

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A Visit to the Magico Factory

Alon Wolf with the Magico M Project speakers. All photos: Jason Victor Serinus

Ever since 2013, when Alon Wolf's California-based Magico loudspeaker company consolidated its original 5000 sq. ft. Berkeley headquarters and 5000 sq. ft. San Jose warehouse into a single 20,000 ft. facility in Hayward, people have been telling me that I had to experience the company's "incredible" listening room. Ironically, it was only after I had relocated from the Bay Area to Port Townsend, WA, that the opportunity arose to take Alon Wolf up on his long-standing invitation to visit.

"It was a shame to leave Berkeley," Wolf told me at the start of the multi-hour tour. "But we couldn't find a suitable space. Already, we've almost outgrown this location. Part of our inventory is currently overflowing into what will become the Magico Museum one day."

The Magico Museum, with the Mini at the right and awards on the left.

Indeed, that Magico collection, in which discontinued models starting with the reputation-building Magico Mini (a monitor with a $32,000/pair price tag, right above) and the V3 that John Atkinson enthused about in May 2008 (center above) share space with shelves of award plaques and cover-story editions of audiophile magazines, is quite impressive. So is the fact that in just 10 years, Magico has achieved distribution in over 30 countries. The company has over 30 dealers in the US alone, and has 35 people working in the factory, plus two sales people traveling about.

The Kippel Production Analyzer in use in the Magico facility.

After seeing Magico's not-so-ancient history display, it was time to tour the facilities. Wolf was quick to point out that Magico is the only high-end speaker company in the U.S. to maintain quality control via an ultra-expensive Klippel Production Analyzer. [Many companies use Klippel analyzers in the design of their drive-units.—Ed.] He also noted that every part of a Magico loudspeaker is machined on site.

Magico has invested in expensive CNC machines.

In the next spacious room, Frank Fafek, who was only too happy to pose (with his safety goggles removed for beauty's sake), was at work machining midrange ring adapters for Magico's limited edition M Project loudspeakers ($129,000/pair). Wolf noted that the ring adapters' conical shape prevents the formation of standing waves. He also explained that he had sold all 50 pairs of the M Project, sight unseen, within 30 days after it was announced. The new Magico Q7 Mk.II loudspeaker ($229,000/pair)—"our latest and greatest loudspeaker," enthused Wolf—uses the same diamond-coated beryllium tweeter as in the M Project.

Magico builds its drive-units in-house.

Rich Bush assembles a Magico S3 speaker.

After seeing a tray filled with M Project footers—not even Magico's speaker supports are off-the-shelf—and watching employee Rich Bush assemble an S3, it was time to explore Magico's vast, 33' x 22' x 13' listening room. The room, which cost a quarter-million dollars to build, boasts a noise level of 24dB. Its outside walls are 5"-thick Quiet Rock, and the inside walls are composed of two layers of sheet rock. The floor, as you might expect, floats independently of the outer shell.

"Most of the time, when you listen to a loudspeaker, you're listening to the room," Wolf said at the start of our exploration. "It's very easy to measure a speaker above 800Hz, regardless of the room it's in. Below that, it gets tricky. Hence, the environment in which you listen to and test your loudspeakers is crucial.

"There is no 'average' room. You always have the potential to alter the environment you're in, but you can never change an abnormality in a loudspeaker. If you design a loudspeaker to work in your living room, for example, it won't necessarily work well elsewhere. So I've taken the room out of the equation. In this room, you hear the bass from the speaker alone, not from the interaction of the speaker with the room. This helps us voice loudspeakers more accurately."

As I gazed with wonder at what is unquestionably one of the finest high-end listening "laboratories" to be found, and thought of the much smaller listening room I'm building concurrently in our two-car garage, I felt overcome with fear at the thought of the cost of the room treatment alone, which was manufactured by RPG. Good Lord, I prayed, please don't tell me that we're going to need all this room treatment, because we can't possibly afford it. Furniture, wall hangings, and all the magic that Synergistic Research's Ted Denney can possibly summon forth are going to have to do the trick. But I digress . . .

The M Project speakers in the Magico listening room were driven by Soulution electronics.

"This has been a big dream of mine for maybe 30 years," said Wolf before briefly listing the equipment in the room. While components are always in rotation, the component chain during our visit was similar to that used in Magico's room in the Mirage at CES 2015, and consisted of a pair of M Project loudspeakers that were breaking in prior to shipment, Soulution monoblock amplifiers, a Berkeley Alpha DAC, Baetis music server, and a combination of Vovox and MIT cabling. Racks were by Magico, with Magico's QPods providing further support.

As I listened to jazz cuts by Suzanne Abbuehl and Kurt Elling ("Am I a Poet?"), I marveled at the system's ability to highlight maximal differences between colors of voices and accompanying instruments. I also noted that, while the room treatment did not deaden the room entirely—you could hear a modicum of ambience around our speaking voices, which sounded quite natural in the space—the sound of reproduced music was a little dry and analytical for my taste.

When we switched from jazz to classical, I marveled at how much detail I could hear as mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig sang Mahler's Lieder eines fahrendes Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer) with Sir Adrian Boult and the Philharmonia Orchestra. It was extremely easy to hear how well (or not so well) the sound of Ludwig's voice in its different ranges was suited to expressing the music's emotional core. Both her vocal greatness and limitations were conveyed in equal measure.

I wanted to try to understand how much of my experience of feeling that I was sitting outside the music and thinking about it more than losing myself in it had to do with Ludwig and Boult, rather than the system's presentation in this particular space. I was dying to compare Ludwig's performance to Janet Baker's famous rendition, which I've heard many times, but the classic performances by both Baker and Fischer-Dieskau weren't part of the collection.

Wolf then surprised me with the huge soundstage the system created on Aaron Copland's The Red Pony, and how well the hilarity of the music came through. I loved it.

Serious me then asked to hear a movement from a Mahler symphony. Wolf struggled with the search function in the Baetis software, trying multiple strategies for finding all of his Mahler collection. As I lamented the dearth of consistent metadata for classical music, and wondered why such a reportedly good server came up short in the search department, I kicked myself for not bringing along my two bags of USB sticks filled with familiar and much-loved music of multiple genres.

Finally we settled for a bit of Solti's 1966 version of Mahler Symphony 2. Not only were instrumental balances not to my taste, but what I conjecture were the shortcomings of multi-miked finagling in the control room also came through loud and clear. Picture me simultaneously dismayed by the engineering, and in awe at how clearly the system depicted the mangling of musical intent. In all fairness, since Solti could never have heard all of what the engineers were doing on the studio monitors of the period, maybe I was hearing exactly what he thought he wanted me to hear.

Whatever recording was played on this system, the sound was absolutely in control. The absence of audible distortion revealed myriad nuances that are all too frequently obscured by room reflections, cabinet resonances, crossover design shortcomings and the like. I wasn't always emotionally involved by what I heard—again, I kept longing for familiar music so I could fully grasp if my lack of involvement was due solely to the renditions I heard—but my wonder at what I did hear was constant.

Wolf might object to me talking about a sound signature, but I would characterize the system as conveying a somewhat cool, understated elegance that impressed by its essentials rather than splashy frills. How much of what I heard was due to the inherent sound of the speakers, and how much was colored by the server and amplifiers, I cannot say.

If I were a recording engineer, I would definitely hope for the opportunity to audition my recordings on Magico loudspeakers in Magico's purpose-dedicated listening room. It's no wonder that when Bay Area journalist Wilson Rothman penned his unbiased and very revealing Wall Street Journal story, "Hi-Res Audio Hijinx: Why Only Some Albums Truly Rock," he headed to Wolf's sound room, and auditioned his tracks on Magico Q7 Mk.II loudspeakers. During my time in the room, I felt as though everything the artists we listened to put into their performances, I could hear.

Something Stereophile's readers have asked for more than once: Inside a Magico speaker.

Anon2's picture

...."the most expensive speaker in America and darned well worth it."

I have had the opportunity to hear the Q5, S1, and V3 speakers in product expos. The performance of the speakers is among the very finest I have heard. At one demo I was able to touch the cabinet of the V3. This speaker had the smoothest surface of any manufactured product I have felt.

AV Showrooms has a great Youtube video of the Magico Q1 from the 2011 RMAF. Unfortunately, my Youtube searches have yet to yield a video of the Magico Mini/Mini II.

Magico speakers will never be in my budget. Nonetheless, the attention to detail, innovation, materials science philosophy, and manufacturing precision of Magico speakers are undeniable. I wrote to Alon Wolf to express my appreciation of his wares; to my surprise he replied offering thanks.

Alon Wolf's 2008 interview with Stereophile remains among the most memorable and candid assessments I have read in this publication about speaker technology. He offered an unvarnished appraisal of the speaker technology of the day. Much of what he said in this 2008 interview probably remains true 7 years later.

This interview has influenced my purchasing decisions of audio equipment. In particular this interview taught me not to look for "big differences" among speakers for those products in my more modest price range. I invite the reader to go back to this interview and draw his or her own conclusions.

Magico also deserves praise for sticking to its guns on acoustic suspension cabinetry in an overwhelmingly bass reflex/ported speaker market. Magico, and a couple other US speaker manufacturers, prove that high-value added, technologically advanced finished goods, assembled by American hands, still has viability in the US.

dalethorn's picture

Viable they are, but I wonder what viable means in this context. It must mean that they sell enough of a model, say, the $32k Minis, to make a profit on them. But I wonder how many of those Minis are purchased as primary speakers by persons who are fairly well-to-do, and how many are sold as secondary-room speakers to wealthy persons who already bought the bigger speakers.

Venere 2's picture

Saw your question on Facebook. Don't know what an AQ Jitterbug is Dale? It's only one of the most talked about audio devices of the past few weeks. It was mentioned at least 6 times on the page you asked the question!

dalethorn's picture

I see that John deleted a "flame". Of course it's not a flame as all who have followed your obsession know too well. All I can help you with is to tell you to let go and get a life.

corrective_unconscious's picture

Even if your completely evidence free conjecture that the monitors only get sold to those who already own floorstanding Magicos were true, that would not speak to whether the monitors (or the company's speakers in general) were "viable" either economically or in other ways. I don't believe you're saying anything.

Of course it's obvious from the notes about their consolisation/expansion, their selling off an entire run of speakers grossing altogether in the millions in 30 days time, from their successful overseas network that the company is viable financially. The reviews suggest they're viable in other senses than just market ones, too.

doak's picture

"At one demo I was able to touch the cabinet of the V3. This speaker had the smoothest surface of any manufactured product I have felt."

And worth paying (through the nose) for

tonykaz's picture

Hello again Jason,

Converting the Two Car Garage, hmm.

Maybe you'll get down to 50db. ambient.

Plenty of Carpeted Walls will do it.

Probably double thickness Drywall 3/4 inch or Plywood ( the better option ).

Sharing space with smelly garbage cans?, yuk but each to his own.

What in the world is that Magico guy doing with a drill-gun?, seems out of place.

My local part time Dealer sells Magico stuff ( or says he's trying to ), we don't have many Donald Trump type big spenders round these parts.

Looks like they're doing a run of about 10 Pairs that some Dealers are gonna buy.

How much production can that dealer network support?

Have they had these things tested at Harmon's Spinorama?, love to see the Direct, Reflected and Room curves.

Oh well, kinda out of my reach anyway, I might as well pass right now.

Thanks for reporting.

Tony in MIchigan

ps. I did hear a Goldmund system on a recent trip to Europe, mega buck stuff is dazzling when done well.

spacehound's picture

I've got a fancy mid-engined Italian sports car. Two weeks old.

It's made in small quantities by a company with well over 50 years experience in such things.

It has a five and a half litre 600 brake horse power V10 engine and is made out of carbon fibre, aluminium, etc. and the seats are the finest leather you can get in any color you want.

The 10 pistons are matched so they all weigh the same and the 10 conrods not only weigh the same but have the center of gravity in the same position.

I could say much more.

If the first ones they made (right in the picture) were identical but $3000 a pair nobody would have paid Magico the slightest attention.

Kodak805's picture

I just cannot get past those plastic binding posts. Perhaps a minor issue if not for the price of admission. YG machines their own.

spacehound's picture

The only thing that got Magico noticed IS the price of admission.

"Oh look, here is a company with no track record selling a pair of small speakers at $32,000 so I will review them in my magazine"

And people fell for it and still do. The only thing that was in his mind when he started was high price equals high attention.

In this somewhat weird world we HiFi enthusiasts live in that's how nearly EVERYTHING works.

Such as five thousand dollars for a USB cable that isn't a USB cable at all, just a length of wire with USB-style connector on each end. Because it does NOT meet the tight specification and thus cannot carry the certification. (So it won't be what the DAC designer expected either.)

Yes, I fall for it too, but maybe not so much as many and I KNOW I'm being a sucker.

John Atkinson's picture
spacehound wrote:
"Oh look, here is a company with no track record selling a pair of small speakers at $32,000 so I will review them in my magazine"

For the record, Stereophile never reviewed the Magico Mini. See the introduction to my V3 review (linked in the report above) for the reason why not.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

gio's picture

You mean the nylon knob and spacer, which is the proper way to grip and isolate the conductive parts of a binding post, especially on a metal cabinet? Why would you want to machine these from metal, risking a short, even if coated??

Kodak805's picture

YG must have it all wrong then.

tonykaz's picture

is who should be showing this outfit.

Why is Stereophile dangling stuff like this in front of lowly us?

They might have a nice "look-see" photo shoot of Bottlehead ( up in Washington State ) or Schiit in LA. This is the gear we-all aspire to. Maybe even PS Audio in Colorado ( hello Paul ).

Speakers for the Top 1%, phew!

Do Audiophiles buy $30,000 Turntables or quarter million dollar Loudspeakers?

A nice Beech A-36 with IFR Avionics has a cost about that level.

Something's ><))))'> about $32,000 solutions to $3,000 problems.

Tony in Michigan

spacehound's picture

Don't you realize we HiFi enthusiasts are crazy and rip-off merchants are taking advantage of us.

We even buy 10,000 dollar short lengths of wire. Some do, anyway. I'm not one of them

gio's picture

Yep, must hurt really bad not being able to afford nice stuff.
Not you, I am sure you can afford anything you like...
What a sad crowd, depressing.

spacehound's picture

What you can afford and what you actually buy are two entirely different issues :)

And speakers are basically simple things and development costs are relatively low compared to more complicated things and are also largely empirical.

Thus the price charged, if in the tens of thousands of dollars range is poor value.

I don't CARE that the manufacturer is small so 'incidental' costs may be high. That's HIS problem.

tonykaz's picture

Enough of you HiFi people buy this stuff to justify Advertising Dollars spent to turn your Press into "Advocates" for this kind of thing.

I wonder who the intended "Clientele" could be. Perhaps it's those Children of the Walmart Founders ( inheritors of vast Stock Portfolios ).

Is that who Stereophile caters to, these days?, a far cry from the founding father Gordon Holt's concepts.

Trying to be "Fair & Balanced" here ( a Fox News Trademarked term ), Stereophile's Publisher "is" sponsoring Tyll Herston's headphone project ( up in Montana ) where Tyll and knowledgeble personages such as Bob Katz ( the Recording Engineer ) are evaluating $1,000 to $5,000 Headphones.

Tyll's "Big Sound 2015" is exactly the kind of thing we consumers can find useful.

Tyll and his Crew are the Fun People in Audio today!

Headphones is where a person gets HUGE "Bang for the Buck"; outstanding Electronics start around $250 and range up to a couple of grand.

It's a Multi-Billion Dollar Industry that's way under reported and it's our industry, specifically for us!

Tony in Michigan

John Atkinson's picture
tonykaz wrote:
I wonder who the intended "Clientele" could be. Perhaps it's those Children of the Walmart Founders ( inheritors of vast Stock Portfolios ). Is that who Stereophile caters to, these days?

tonykaz wrote:
a far cry from the founding father Gordon Holt's concepts.

Gordon covered expensive audio components right from the start. See, for example, his 1968 review of the Infinity ServoStatik speaker, - www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/845/index.html, which at the time cost $2000/pair. This is equivalent to nearly $14,000 in 2015, but more significantly, was almost equal to the price of a contemporary late '60s automobile like the Chevrolet Camaro.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

tonykaz's picture

I think I remember that we all read about stuff like this, dolby noise reduction systems too, the Big Shops like "Stereoland" might have these in the same Room with the big Klipsch Corner Horns. I still had Mac mono Tube 35w Amps. ( I think ). These "Under-Years" may have ended with the introduction of LINN's "LP12 concept" taking hold ( the importance of the Source ).

We seemed to have settled-in to owning LS3/5s, Linn Kanns, Pro-Ac Tablettes ( my favorite ) Quad 63s & Thiel CS3 ( r.i.p Jim Thiel ).

Then Enid Lundly discovered Wire and we were Off-and-running again : Sota & VPI, MC carts. SME torn arms., Audio Research, Conrad-Johnson, Electrocompniet, Reference Recordings & Doug Sax, Tip-Toes, Monster Cable and scads more stuff to sneak home with. We became "Audiophiles" .

The CD seemed to have "Popped our Bubble". We fully bought into the Source importance. We were continually reminded about the CD being crap. As 1985 came round, our hobby ended. The Wives got their husbands back (maybe).

20 years go by, Gordon Rankin figured out DAC chipset design and we're Off-and-running again! The Youth need/demand portability, they represent the future, they buy, they love their music ( like everyone ). The Astel & Kern people build and define greatness ( still at the magic number $2,000 ), top level IEMs & Headphones @ $2,000, little Amps/DACs ranging up to about $2,000. Geez, I can be an Audiophile again. There's Hope again. CDs sound superb, even better than the better LPs which were a very "demanding" medium ( we only ever had a few that we listened to "over and over").

I now have Carnagie Hall in my shirt pocket, for god's sake!

I don't need no stinkin Giant Box Speakers no-more, I got tiny greatness. It doesn't shake the walls but it emotionally moves me, it's my personal Dopamine Delivery Device.

I'm in Heaven, anywhere!

Who are these "Rip van Winkles" that missed the 1985-2005 chapter of Audiophilia ?, who still needs room shaking Woofers? Can there be all that many of them? or are we just making Barber Shop Glossys?

Seems that we had Gordon Holt, HP, IAR, Stereophile, Audio but now have Tyll & Company reporting on a multi-Billion Dollar industry working hard to satisfy the "Global Everyman", he's becoming our next HP.

Tony in Michigan

ps. I agree with you about the Camaro Comparisons

gio's picture

Who is “we”? Speak for yourself, buddy. I can’t stand digital portable audio, were the sound is in my head and violins sounds like chainsaws (yes, even on the Astel & Kern). The youth do like something, but I would not call it music, they don’t even know what that is all about since most of them have never heard uncompressed audio signal. Not to mention that they are losing their hearing due to this “new future” of yours. Like I said, depressing…

tonykaz's picture

You're snarling anger is impressive,

You're science and logic isn't.

Tony in Michigan

gio's picture

It is not anger, it is depression.
Nice poetry, though...

tonykaz's picture

sorry for being prickly.

Tony in Michigan

dalethorn's picture

Here's why they're losing their hearing. And BTW, most of the sites that encourage this problem have 'FI' in their title.

dalethorn's picture

Indeed he did cover pricy systems. I bought the FMI 80's - the center unit of the big Fulton J-Mods - and those 80's were a darn fine speaker all by themselves - better in some ways than the Rogers LS3/5a's.

volvic's picture

But it is made in America and in San Francisco where labor, and costs are high, probably has to pay for health insurance for his workers and pay them a decent wage, couple that with the research and materials used to make the things and you have something made in small quantities that yes! costs a lot. Do you think he made the price figure out of the top of his head? He did his break even analysis or had someone do it for him and that is the price he came up with so that he can stay in business and make a living. This is the free market people! I tip my hat to him to have the courage to put everything into this and start it up is a tribute to the love of his craft. I have heard them at shows and think they are wonderful, beautiful works of industrial art. If I could afford I would buy. It is true as someone wrote above - some of these posts are depressing.

tonykaz's picture

I am a Manufacturer, I'm responsible for costs.

The cost of manufacture is 20% of the Retail price.

Unless you're Proctor & Gamble working at 9%.

A couple of CNC machines, no measurement stuff in sight, no surface tables, no temperature controlled enviornment, naw, we'e looking at the folks making the "King's New Suit".

Limited production?, so what, it's a CNC, every cycle is a limited production.

Sounds good at a Show, under "Dog & Pony" conditions, big deal. Can a person build a proper home environment to cope with mega watt low frequency Room Effects?, No, they can't, that takes careful "On-Site" Engineering and Careful Room Construction Crews.

However a person can have this stuff to Show-Off, which is about all a Civilian can hope to accomplish.

I do know of ONE owner: Bruce Brisson of MIT, who has a small pair on a steel shelving unit in his little lab.

Genelec make a range of Aluminum Housing Speakers, nice Industrial Art, Recording Studios use Genelec.

I don't mind little shops turning out wildly expensive, I object to their stuff being presented as significantly better without subjecting their stuff to double blind tests at Harmon's facility.

If I'm impressed it's with our Press tendencies to Worship.

Tony in Michigan

volvic's picture

Yes, they are expensive, yes manufacturing is 20% of cost but R&D, salaries, shrinking market, cash flow projections all have to be taken into account when pricing. Could he have sold them for $30K? perhaps if he could ramp up production or know that economies of scale would sell lots. Don't know, do know what I have heard and the little monitors have really impressed me and are quite impressive. Like I said if cost were no object, but admire his chutzpah for doing what he does.

tonykaz's picture

Genelec & Focal & Emotiva along with a wide range of others build and sell in this segment, which is growing.

Where $3,000 buys this level of performance ( including Amps ) sales of the $30,000 version evaporate.

20% Costs includes R&D, Salaries, Rents, depreciations, Warranty, Travel, Co-op Advertising, in-house Sales Staff and all the misc. expenses.

Competing is hard work, Sales don't come easy, repeat Sales drive the Business, Word of mouth is Gold or can be death.

Magico is well named, it's magic when they sell sell one, maybe they're writers for Disney.

Tony in Michigan

gio's picture

Now you sound angry...
And you know Mr. Brisson from MIT (I own his cables). You also seem to suggest that unless a product is tested blindly at Harmon's facility (I take it you know them as well), it can't be taken seriously.
Perhaps you care to tell us what it is that you are manufacturing??

dalethorn's picture

I admire Harman for what they research, and for loaning their guy to the AES, but check out their flagship AKG K812 sometime - whoever designed that could not have been following the Harman test curve.

tonykaz's picture

I suppose I am angry, good call.

I'm GM Corp., since the 1960s, I left GM in the early 1980s to Import British stuff LINN-B&W-KEF-Meridian kind of gear, I also opened and operated a High-End Shop : Esoteric Audio, I manufactured Turntable parts ( for the Audio Industry ).

As CDs came to replace Vinyl recordings, 1985 or so, I left Audio to return to GM.

Now, after 7 Decades on this Planet, I'm only Fiduciary. I do get to travel about.

About MIT : I worked with Karen Sumner who had a hand in Elecrocompaniet and MIT, I love her stuff and sold scads of the MH-750 ( wonderful stuff ), I also worked with the Monster People selling every single thing they offered, they had a marvelous line of Audiophile bits and pieces. Karen is now in Maine, making Transparent Cables for mega buck prices.

About Harmon : Floyd Toole and Professor Oliver at Harmon have a testing facility available to anyone. The provide accurate testing and evaluations, they loved the Meridian M-2s I was Importing ( which didn't sell well, here in the States ).

I suppose that I'm distressed or angry that the Show-off products dominate the Press that we need to educate our emerging audiophiles.
Music is an important component of our society, Superb reproduction capabilities are available for modest amounts.

Whilst we Spotlight the Big Wilson/VTLs, Apple is scooping up all the new-bees with the iPhone6.

We're loosing by default!

I ain't happy about it.

The Bright part is Tyll up in Montana.

Tony in Michigan

gio's picture

Appreciate your reply and I understand where you are coming from.
I am not in the high-end business, but I have been buying high-end for a long time. I am an electrical engineer by training, and do like the “under the hood” stuff, (I even read Toole’s book and I am familiar with his work). I do own a pair of Magico loudspeakers, and I would think that someone like you might actually appreciate what this company has done. This is not your typical high-end boutique, with some fancy ideas on what should work or not within the very limited, off-the-shelves components, available to all. If you wish to talk about value, I would argue that Magico products, in comparison to many other high-end loudspeaker brands, are actually a pretty good deal. Yes, they are expensive, but I can easily see where the money is going. Losing or not, Magico is one company that I am always excited to see what they will do next, if we had more companies like that in high-end, perhaps the hobby would be in better shape.

BTW, their products has been reviewed and tested by all major publications around the world. Their superb performance has been well documented, both subjectively and objectively.

Sorry, but who is “Tyll up in Montana”?

tonykaz's picture

I've lived and worked with Audio Transducer devices to the point of no longer being impressed.

On the other hand, the recorded music can be quite impressive, stunning even.

I know that I can make Bose 901s sing and dance beautifully ( not that I like the darn things or think of them as being useful ).

I've seen Pro-Ac Tablettes fool people into thinking they're large floor standing full-range devices. ( they're the size of a shoebox ) .

I worked with Jim Winey of Magnapan, at CES in Vegas to demo his little planers to show that they have scads of bass ( convincingly ).

I've sold over a hundred pair of Quad 63s that the Press loved, I made them sound wonderful in my listening room with a VPI, Koetsu Rosewood and Electrocompaniet electronics & MIT Cabling. A little secret: they're not all that good a transducer, in fact we though they were marginal and WAY over-rated.

I've learned that people trust what read and see, they don't trust themselves.

Our big Thiel CS3s had powerful lows, enough to vibrate our dampened walls but only with Mono Amps. People bought them and a Harmon Kardon Receiver that reviewers said was Ok.

Geez, I'm feeling like I'm on a Rant, I gotta stop, right now.

I'm happy for ya, you're an EE, you can handle this stuff, I don't think you've been fooled or that you tricked yourself.

I'm told that Transducers are 97% , Amps nearly 100%, Recorded music is nearly flawless, a person's hearing can be ok to bad, Room Acoustics range from acceptable to horrible but we hear a decent music system and start dancing. Our Brains adjust, we accept a certain "Clear" sounding system with happiness.

So, I'm going back to build a distribution network for Iran. fingers crossed.

Tony in Michigan

tonykaz's picture

Tyll is Editor in Chief of the Stereophile's Innerfidelty site.
It's well worth a look!

JA is Stereophile's Print Editor in Chief.

or something like that. JA will probably write something here to clarify.

Both are a must read for music loving audiophiles.

TAS is rather long of tooth.

John Atkinson's picture
tonykaz wrote:
JA is Stereophile's Print Editor in Chief. or something like that. JA will probably write something here to clarify.

Not just the print magazine. I am responsible for all the content in the magazine and its website, as well as editorial policies and strategies.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

tonykaz's picture

By the way, I had a Magazine stand for Hifi News & Record Review, in my Salon mid 1980s, I thought your Glossy was the best in the Business. I love those British Adverts ( especially the "Needle in a Haystack"). The British writers are glorious, I buy British today just to hear the wonderful articulations i.e.. Robin Lane Fox on Gardening & Alexander the Great.

Round these parts we stay with Hemingway's four letter words. Too Bad.

Aussies like Darko & "Lachlain likes a thing" seem way better than us, why is that?, Edgeamaktion, I suppose. Better vote for Clinton this time round.

Tony in Michigan

ps. Iran is complaining that they are the only Nuke Power that is required to Cut Back on the Doomsday Clock, all the rest of us are Racing ahead. hmm. I'm trying to sell em Chevys and Schiit.

volvic's picture

To suggest a $3000 speaker can compete with a higher end Magico or MBL or Wilson or Verity Audio is laughable. Even my 50 year old ears have been impressed by the higher end stuff. Armed with similarly priced equipment and source components they are capable of magic. Most of us compromise and try to get the most bang for the buck but even I know my Linn Kans and Klout cannot compete with the more expensive MBL's, Magicos and Vitus to suggest otherwise is a pipe dream.

tonykaz's picture

Have you ever double blind tested any of this stuff?

Show us some science.

Magic is a pipe dream, a crack pipe dream.

But maybe you're trying to re-create Fleetwood Mac's Road-Show PA for your living room, a Yellow earplugs experience, my neighbors with the Pool do this sort of thing.

Tony in MIchigan

dalethorn's picture

Assuming you have a system with plenty of headroom, and when you turn up the volume a lot you don't hear obvious distortions, then the best thing you can do at that point is grab the equalizer and smooth out the serious peaks and suckouts. That will restore your soundstage better than a million-dollar component upgrade.

tonykaz's picture

Eq can only be properly effective with direct axis, as in headphones.

Loudspeaker reflected axis needs room corrections ( as in non reflective surfaces i.e. anechoic treatments ),
Standing waves in the low frequencies require the Woofer parts to be separate and movable for placement, sometimes a Center Woofer is needed to nullify Standing Waves.

Every single object in the room can go into sympathetic vibration creating a chorus of issues. ( We were able to get the dishes in kitchen cabinets to dance on their shelves ).

Those big Woofer Amps have enough power to vibrate the Walls ( Sound Studios are built with cement Block ) .

Get it right and those speaker systems can't be identified, a person only hears music. ( the Bob Katz studio system ). A person can't tell if it's the Full Lipinski array, or Bob's Revels or what it is, the speakers simply dis-appear, they vanish, poof!

I've been taking the Phonak people's recommendations on Equalizing earphones. I've been able to make every headphone ( I've dabbled with ) sound wonderful.

Transducers have a sonic quality ( much like professional singer's voices ), some sound like Bonnie Rait some like Pavarotti, I like em all. Sennheisers seem like Joan Sutherland type of voice ( which I love ). Audeze seem more like the Germanic Baritone ( which I also love ) .

I haven't had my hands on any AKG, it's a German outfit that Harmon Imports and distributes. They make an entire Wireless IEM system for Stage Performers that I'm considering.

Good morning,

Tony in Michigan

dalethorn's picture

There are people like myself who have 40-plus years experience with EQ, yet whose names are not well known. But of course you could google...

Anyway, I won't borrow on other experts' reputations to pad my own - suffice it to say that flattening out the big (or AKG K812 really big) peaks and dips in headphones not only makes the sound smoother and more pleasant, but it makes the wonderful soundstage of the music pop out in a most endearing way.

The speaker and shelves-rattling argument is misplaced. You can certainly add "rattling" to the distortions I already mentioned as a pre-qualification, before reaching for the equalizer.

tonykaz's picture

or even more.

All Phono had RIAA equalizations as do the recordings themselves. The recording engineers rolled everything below 120hz into Mono with Eq so that it would fit the Groove cutting requirements.

The Dish & Glass rattling is just something Big Amps & Woofers do, it's a fun showiness kind of thing but it does illustrate how a house resonates ( as does everything ) , people in the listening room won't notice it.

Although, we would provide customers with white styrofoam coffee cups, the cups would have annual ringlets showing as the music played. Another showiness gimmick. Our Speakers would blow-out a Bic lighter ( customers will show off this trick in they're own homes ). Sales silliness which is what is necessary to get those wallets opened-up. I felt like a Carnival guy.

I digress,

Apple & Google are the NEW "& improved" Pharaohs, the Music Industry is shifting to our new requirements, again.

We have to catch the curve or get left behind.

Tony in Michigan

ps. I'd love to try the 812s and the other stuff AKG offer.

dalethorn's picture

I had the large Advents and a Crown DC300a, and the room I listened in had a long dimension that allowed a 30 hz wave without cutting it off or building up a standing wave/resonance etc. But it had a large opening, so I procured a temporary and sturdy plug for that opening, which allowed the deep bass tones to sound and feel like they did in the church where the pipe organ was recorded. Down to 30 hz anyway. Once I had that "fix" I was not plagued by rattling or ringing or annoying resonances, however, where there were room nodes higher up in frequency, the equalizer tamed those perfectly. I think as long as people understand the basic acoustics involved, they'll be better off. Dick Heyser of CalTech/JPL hit a homerun with his analysis of earthquake waves as acoustical phenomena back in the 70's, which is a great place to begin understanding bass waves and so on.

tonykaz's picture

Nice story, nice solution, nice result.

I haven't heard the name Dick Heyser in years, maybe decades.

Those years I was working on Forged Connecting Rods for large displacement Diesel Engines. ( 149 cu.in. per cylinder )

I'll pay you everything I own to go back.

Tony in Michigan

ps. go back to being youth again, not diesel stuff again.

tonykaz's picture

I just had a return look at your K812s that Tyll gave a nice to very nice review.

Wonderful musically but have Impulse Response issues.

Back then, I wrote to him that he must have a bad sample!, of which he responded with agreement but said : the second example that Harmon sent out displayed the same problem.

I let it go, it's wasn't any sort of factor impacting me.

Tell now.

After talking to you, I had a look at the Video coverage of the AKG factory, the manufacturing processes around building the 812. The AKG place is a precision outfit, they use instrument manufacturing machinery, they have trained and experienced staff, they can measure and use superb quality controls. They build beautiful product and seem to know exactly what they're doing. This is a no fooling around outfit!

So, how did our Tyll get shipped defective product for an International Review?

I asked our NVH guys for their impression. They felt the Driver had been removed and replaced with over tightened fasteners; the driver got warped a tiny bit.

Still, the Factory should've gotten involved but didn't.

I'd put it down to Importer problems, again.

But it does suggest that these things shouldn't be serviced outside the Factory. kinda like Hasselblad Cameras and Electron Microscopes.

Anyway, Tyll reports a wonderful musicality from the 812s, I better have a pair, I love musicality!

Thanks for mentioning this.

Tony in Michigan ( mostly )

ps. look at these AKG videos compared to the snaps of the Magico outfit -- $1,000 items are being built.
The Sennheiser Plant looks like an Intel Chip facility clean room. phew.

Our GM engine plants are filthy ( by comparison ), we don't brag to visitors, we apologize.

dalethorn's picture

The K812 can be good if you have a really crack equalizer, but for most people, the horrible tonality caused by that enormous 4 khz peak is intolerable.

For example, my EQ curve (a forgiving curve at that): http://dalethorn.com/Photos/Audioforge/Akg_K812.jpg

Note that the vertical separator lines for 300 and 3000 hz are missing. This correction (green line only) is in direct comparison to 50 or so headphones, including the Senn HD800, several Beyers, ......

tonykaz's picture

Hmm, very clever.

I'm rather old school, I use an Antiquated BSR 10 Band analog device. I nearly got around to buying a dbx 31 band 2 Channel but the elderly BSR seems acceptable for my Sennheisers & my own hearing curves ( Audiologist supplied from live testings ).

This is basic stuff, anyone can do this, it should be a feature of our Headphone Amplification Systems.

Should be but it's a total Taboo amongst "high end" folks. ( except you of course )

Anyway, do your 812s have impulse issues? as Tyll reports about in his test samples. Have you read his review commentaries? Just wondering.

My ODAC into my BSR into my Schiit Asgard2 into my Sennheiser HD580 is so beautiful that I've come to a confident place. I could take this darling little system to the Desert Island.

However, I'm an Impulsive buyer that buys up all the gear I'm impressed with, I buy something after every headphone meet. I Ebay it after it doesn't work out, most stuff doesn't quite make it.

I collect the World's Music, I keep 90%, some CDs aren't worth my shelf space. I'm also taking 24 or so Teaching Company Courses ( interesting time-gap fillers for my travels or work day ), a few minutes of Viking history, Robert E.Lee or Dead Sea Scrolls will refresh for the next round of Data discussions which I'll begin with a nice Quote from what I just learned. These Courses I never would've considered in School but now that I have the easy access I find myself loving them, I buy these 6 at a time. Wonderfull stuff.

I think you'd be a good candidate for the Big Sound 2015, I hope you consider it.

Tony in Michigan

dalethorn's picture

I would guess that the K812 "impulse problems", if that's what it comes down to, is a cause or the cause of the slightly rough or grainy sound. That doesn't bother me a lot. But in working with the parametric equalizer over the past 2 years (7 bands only, user-settable), I've discovered that the major colorations in most headphones are caused by sudden and large changes in amplitude from one frequency to the next. And those colorations are soundstage killers. In most cases I can take a $100 headphone that's harsh and gritty and within a few minutes clear those colorations up and open up the soundstage in a marvelous way. But an uneven response at the beginning that's corrected by an equalizer will gain even more uneven areas, albeit those won't be as large of peaks and dips as before. But it won't make the sound smooth or 'liquid'-like unless you can do 30 bands of adjustment by ear, and spend a month or more getting each adjustment perfect.

A person needn't be an expert to use a 7-band parametric equalizer. They might want to keep a couple of well-respected flagship headphones at hand for reference purposes as they work, but the key to this is to NOT think of EQ this way as redesigning the response. The key is to find the most obvious peaks and dips that are the source of the colorations, and try to fix those to restore a more natural sound. Most headphones I EQ sound a lot more natural** after just 10 minutes of effort, but when they don't, I've been known to start over from scratch a couple more times if necessary, to get the more natural sound. That's because the headphone's response is complex, and just because it sounds as even with test tones as the best flagships, does not mean it's right.

**One thing any audiophile who wants to get good at EQ should add to their training is the walkabout test. Pick a route of perhaps 2 miles, going through a park, a moderately busy street, a marketplace, and other varying environments with different types of sounds, including people talking close by. Listening to different things on the headphone at volumes comparable to the environment, remove the headphone every so often and ask yourself if the headphone sounds natural. If your hearing is good, you'll have to have some really good headphones and program material to approach the sounds of real life.

tonykaz's picture

I was about to try one of these as well.

I stumbled across the BSR 10 band and got lucky.

Crisis over, move on.

However I was considering the dbx unit and the Parametrics that Sweetwater offer.

Just now, the Plug-in Eq systems can equal the Analog devices . Bob Katz reveals these things in his Innerfidelty series.

I have squeaky wheel projects requiring attention, this Audio stuff is a nice few moments of escape.

But I'd like to focus on it for an even better result.

The Phonak People are offering me an IEM system that's pre-Eq'd to my hearing curves, able to iPhone, and able to auto-adapt to environments, I'm tempted to try/accept their clever engineering.

We have an ever widening range of solutions for sound reproduction interfacing with our ears & brain. All of it came during our lifetime.

My family began with actual metal needles in 78 Grooves.

Now it feels like I'm watching Genies appearing from bottles.

My company knows exactly where I am and where I've been.

I can be in Frankfort in 8 hours, properly prepared.

My Cardiologist knows my blood pressure and can run an EKG on me without me knowing ( at any time ), my little iPhone transmits this data.

What will the next decade bring?

Tony in Michigan

dalethorn's picture

BTW, one thing I've found important in EQ'ing that also applies to A/B or "blind" tests is to NOT toggle on/off or A/B while tones are playing! I get much better results using music (ex: Morning Has Broken by Cat Stevens) that has "segments" where the toggle can be done between 2 segments - for example, between "Morning has broken" and "Like the First morning". As long as the tonality is the same in the 2 segments, then the differences can be more clearly heard than toggling in the middle of a tone or phrase.

volvic's picture

Have you ever double blind tested any of this stuff? - Nope no need, have a great memory

Show us some science - Logic works both ways you haven't shown any, you first.

Magic is a pipe dream, a crack pipe dream - I have no idea what you are talking about.

But maybe you're trying to re-create Fleetwood Mac's Road-Show PA for your living room, a Yellow earplugs experience, my neighbors with the Pool do this sort of thing. - Now you're just babbling.

I think you're trapped in an era of good hi-fi long long time ago that was great at the time and just have difficulty accepting that good stuff advances and costs. Yes six figures is high and ridiculous but there "lower end" stuff is in line with other competitors. Ok, nuff said on this topic. Done here !

JUNO-106's picture

If one spends $229,000 for a pair of speakers where will one ever find suitable recordings that were also made on equipment costing six figures?

You know, weakest link in the chain and all...

Considering the marginal quality of 99.9% of available recorded music, isn't this like buying a Lamborghini and then driving it on dirt roads filled with potholes?

volvic's picture

I have taken poorly recorded CD's from the early 80's and played them on mega equipment and it made no difference; nothing could save that music. But there are many other great recordings available. If you have a great computer audio setup or CD player or even better great vinyl rig there are still plenty of great recordings out there and every year I am surprised every time I bring a good CD, how much better it sounds as the equipment improves. Can you make intelligent purchases? Yes! Can you get a great bang for your buck? Yes! If I won the lotto would I pay $229K for Magico speakers? No because I would have to buy hyper expensive gear to match it and I am too budget conscious, but if a Magico Mini came up on the used market I would buy it because I know it would make my recordings sound better. I understand and respect Wolf's decision to make statement speakers that provided he can sell, allows him to stay in business and pad his bank account so that he can continue to make his less costly models. To that I say more power to him.

JUNO-106's picture

I have no problem with someone selling a $200k pair of speakers. I have no problem with people buying them either.

But here is my question, let's say I spend $400,000 on an absolute top of the line high end system. What am I going to play on it to realize it's absolute full potential when the vast majority of recorded music is recorded mediocre at best?

Were even the top of the line audiophile grade recordings recorded on equipment costing $400k?

Even if they are how limited of a selection would you have?

Reading the article there is no doubt that Magico takes great care in making their products. But if the recordings you are playing on them were not made with that same amount of care, on equipment made with equal care, then isn't this like eating a McDonald's hamburger off of Waterford China?

volvic's picture

I think in classical, jazz and opera there are plenty of great recordings from the 50's, 60's and maybe even the 70's to justify the cost, if you have that much to pay. Even classical recordings from the 90's onwards are quite good in my opinion. For my tastes in music this is not much of an issue. I think laws of diminishing returns, proper matching components, room placement are bigger issues to ponder when paying this much money.

Point is these Magicos are great speakers and judging from the photos a lot of money and thought has gone into making the factory and the speakers. They make cheaper models, the monitors that I have heard are very impressive, at the time I think they were 23k, I know the S3 was around 23k as well (I think) and reviewers and people I know and who I respect heard them and were very impressed. I wish I could afford a pair of those monitors.

B9at627's picture

spacehound's picture

Spot on. Magico pricing is a nonsense.

And we have to remember that magazines are merely advertising vehicles. They just have to have enough 'reviews and articles' to get us interested enough to buy them and look at the ads. Free online ones just support the main magazine.

Reviewers? They are PAID to keep the HiFi pot boiling so they do.

Nellomilanese's picture

of fat, lonesome, angry crowd.
Is your life that worthless to get so worked up about a guy and his PRIVATE company using his own money/resources/passion/talent/time to sell loudspeakers? Is he putting a gun to ur head or something? that u feel the need to vent against his products here?
Get a life....call a freakin' 6 foot tall escort for a few hrs rather than upgrade your cables again. Then your whole view on life, Alan Wolf and his speakers will change LOL
Seriously though....I have met Alan in Lisbon (Portugal).
Also I listened to 3 of his top speakers at Imacustica Lisbon (one of the best hi-fi stores in continental Europe).
In SOME systems the sound was priceless IMO...i'm saying this after I listened to top of the line Sonus Faber and biggest Focal Utopia.
Other systems they sounded like indeed not worth the premium price but still excellent.
Alan is just driven by his passion...there's no one "BEHIND" thinking let's screw the audiophiles by jacking up the prices xtimes over. Sure, he needs to turn a profit...but he's not out there trying to screw you.
Start your own company building loudspeakers, deliver the loudspeaker with 100 k sound for 1 thousand $ THEN we can talk again.
P.s. he got word-of-mouth endorsed by Tom Cruise who convinced Jimmy Fallon to get a hi-fi system...that's priceless and an immense satisfaction.

Stereophile-R's picture

$129,000/pair LOL I'd compare my $ 17,000 PMC's with those with no sweat... anytime !


text:
2013 International CES In One Word: Innovation

Largest show in history with 37 football fields of exhibit space

Las Vegas, NV – 01/11/2013 – The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® announced today that the 2013 International CES® is the largest in the show’s 45+ year history, with 1.92 million net square feet of exhibit space. The previous record was 1.86 million net square feet of space at the 2012 International CES. More than 3,250 exhibitors unveiled some 20,000 new products at the 2013 CES, drawing more than 150,000 attendees, including more than 35,000 from more than 170 countries outside the United States. Owned and produced by CEA, the 2013 International CES is the world’s largest annual innovation event and concluded today.

“Innovation abounded at the 2013 CES and executives from every major industry that touches technology were here this week,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association. “From amazing new products, to CEA’s new book Ninja Innovation, to our new publication – It Is Innovation (i3), innovation prevailed across 37 football fields of technology at the 2013 International CES. Our event is the biggest mobile show to kick-off the year and showcase our new mobile future.”

Major product launches occurred across all 15 product categories at the 2013 CES. In wireless/smartphones, highlights include the launch of Sony’s Xperia Z, the Huawei Ascend Mate and ZTE Grand S. In video displays, LG featured its touchscreen Ultra HD, Sony launched the first Ultra HD OLED display, Samsung featured its bendable OLED and Hisense launched its transparent 3DTV. Digital Health and fitness launches included new products from Fitbit, Withings and BodyMedia. Audi and Lexus featured driverless vehicle technologies. For gamers, the 2013 CES saw the launch of Nvidia’s Project Shield, the Oculus Rift, the Sifteo and Razer Edge. Other noteworthy products launched at the 2013 CES included: the Valve SteamBox, Tobii eye recognition technology, the Kickstarter-funded Pebble smart watch, Qualcomm’s Vuforia augmented reality, multi-device connectivity from Ultraviolet, NFC technology from LG and Sony, tabletop applications from Lenovo, MakerBot’s Replicator 2x and Samsung’s Smart TVs with voice recognition.

The 2013 CES showcased the exciting innovations and industry growth coming from startups and tech-health products.  The Eureka Park exhibits — presented in partnership with the National Science Foundation and Startup America — grew 50 percent, showcasing innovative new companies looking to gain footing in the consumer electronics (CE) industry. HealthSpot’s breakthrough telehealth kiosk exemplified how products sitting at the intersection of health and technology are being introduced at CES.

Industry leaders and visionaries from Qualcomm, Panasonic, Verizon, Samsung, Andreesen Horowitz, Bump Technologies, ZocDoc, RockMelt, i.am.plus,llc., Media Link, Salesforce.com, AT&T, American Express, Coca Cola and Unilever presented keynote addresses. Executive delegations from thousands of global companies attended the 2013 CES to meet with current and future customers.

“If you are a player in technology, you were at the 2013 CES,” said Karen Chupka, senior vice president of the International CES and corporate business strategy. “Every major company, from Amazon, Google, Groupon Goods, Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter, Tumblr and YouTube, was here this week participating in the ‘Super Bowl of technology,’ demonstrating the relevance and impact of the 2013 International CES.”

CEA released its second book, Ninja Innovation: the Ten Killer Strategies of the World’s Most Successful Businesses, at the 2013 CES. Authored by CEA President and CEO, Gary Shapiro, Ninja Innovation follow’s CEA’s 2011 New York Times bestseller The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream. With more than 30 years at CEA, Shapiro has worked with some of the most innovative companies in history and knows what it takes to build a successful business. Shapiro was on hand throughout the show for various book signings. All proceeds from sales of both books are funneled back into industry initiatives.

CEA also launched It Is Innovation (i3) magazine at the 2013 CES, a magazine dedicated to showcasing all aspects of innovation in technology, policy, business and engineering in the consumer technology industry. The magazine celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit in inventions and startups, the ideas, strategies and leadership skills that exemplify the industry.

The 2013 CES was a star-studded event with celebrity guests from musical icons, Hollywood stars and TV personalities promoting the latest technologies. Actress Felicia Day served as the Ambassador for the Entertainment Matters Program. In its third year, Entertainment Matters at CES is designed by and for Hollywood film, television and digital communities. Musical performances by Adam Levine and two members of multi-platinum, three-time Grammy Award winning band, Maroon 5, during Qualcomm’s preshow keynote and the Alicia Keys concert at the Monster Awards were two highlights amongst dozens of celebrity appearances.

The 2013 International CES also featured government officials from the U.S. and around the world, including 12 members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, six state elected officials and five members of the Federal Communications Commission, including Chairman Julius Genachowski. Other representatives from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Energy were also in attendance.

CEA conducts an independent audit of attendance at the International CES and verified figures will be available in the spring. For more news on the 2013 International CES, visit CESweb.org. The International CES will return to Las Vegas Tuesday, January 7-Friday, January 10, 2014.

2013 International CES Exhibitor Quotes

  • “It is the greatest show on Earth!” – Jay McLellan, President, CEO & Co-Founder, HAI
  • “This has been an amazing show.  The turnout from international and government guests is impressive as is the press coverage.  CES is truly the mother of all trade shows!” – John Taylor, LG Electronics USA Inc.
  • “There is no better place to meet and get business done.  The number of representatives here from the financial community was very impressive” – Robert Struble, Ibiquity Digital Corp.
  • “Every major deal we have ever done has occurred at CES.  And the trend continues!” – David Inns, GreatCall Inc.
  • “CES is a terrific way to inspire action and we got to meet with top government leaders.” – Peter Fannon, Panasonic Corp. of North America
  • “There is a pervasive sense of opportunity at CES.  The opportunities available here for a small company are amazing.” – Gary Yacoubian, Specialty Technologies LLC, dba SVSound

Note to Editors:  The official name of the global technology event is “International CES.”  Subsequent references to the show can be shortened to “2013 CES” or “CES.”  Please do not use “Consumer Electronics Show” to refer to the International CES.

About CEA

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $209 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also owns and produces the International CES – The Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services. Find CEA online: www.CE.org and www.DeclareInnovation.com. Follow CES at www.CESweb.org and through social media:     .

Press Contacts:

Tara Dunion
[email protected]

Allison Fried
[email protected]

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Episode Info: SparkTalks, dynamic presentations that share the wisdom of Naropa University’s alumni, will open your heart, broaden your perspective, and enliven your spirit. At age 18, Chris experienced what he thought was a spiritual awakening, only to be diagnosed with acute manic psychosis. After struggling for years amid an affinity for spiritual material and an aversion to psychopathology, he now finds refuge in Love, which holds space for it all. Watch the full talk on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/xemu9UaC40w Big thanks to Naropa University and Kelly Watt, for putting on the inaugural SparkTalks event. Learn more about Naropa here: http://www.naropa.edu/ Thank you ALOC Media and John March for the incredible production. Learn more about ALOC Media's Colorado-based, cost-effective, professional media services here: https://alocmedia.com/ JOIN THE DISCUSSION at https://www.facebook.com/groups/wakingupbipolar Chris Cole hosts the Waking Up Bipolar podcast, focused on the intersection of bipolar disorder and spiritual awakening. He is the author of The Body of Chris: A Memoir of Obsession, Addiction, and Madness, inspired by his own journey of spiritual unfolding and mental health challenges. Chris Cole offers life coaching for any number of mental health conditions, specializing in bipolar disorder and spiritual emergence. Chris’s experience with addiction, disordered eating, body dysmorphia, psychosis, and spiritual emergency allows him to relate to a wide range of clients. He utilizes a holistic approach to mental health which views wellness in physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual domains. Learn more about Chris and his work at colecoaching.com. The Waking Up Bipolar podcast in now available on the following platforms: Apple Podcasts | apple.wakingupbipolar.com Google Play | google.wakingupbipolar.com Stitcher | stitcher.wakingupbipolar.com TuneIn | tunein.wakingupbipolar.com wakingupbipolar.comRead more »

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