UE Boom 2 Launch at Carriageworks Sydney #PartyUp.

#PartyUp indeed. Street Fashion Sydney had the privilege of attending the Ultimate Ears, BOOM 2 2016 launch at Carriageworks in Sydney. And it certainly was a cracker of a party. First shot as you scroll down you just can see the countdown to the launch projected on the left; the curtains opening to a massive industrial space, illuminated 'robots' drawing back the curtain on a colour and sound filled spectacle, in we all go... And I am wondering, how will they showcase, 'illuminate' a small 18 cm personal speaker?

So we had a great light show, including projections some light and flame performances, cool DJs spinning tunes; then about 30 or 40 minuets into the night, the head of UE/Ultimate Ears made the totally bold announcement that they were going to switch from the great sounding music PA.. and go to the 100 linked, BOOM 2 and Mega BOOM speaker cross boom above our heads; cue - light up the boom - and as you can see from the size of that space it was a huge call for tiny speakers! How did it go? Well a LOT better than I expected. The music filled the room, loud - distortion free, it did BOOM that's for sure, it was pretty damn impressive. Now it was not as clear as the 'real' PA - but it was quite amazing, and these small speakers are not really meant to power such a ginormous party space but they did. At the end of the night I was gifted a BOOM 2 and have been testing/using it for a few days now - so keep scrolling down for my REVIEW below towards the end of the pictures. Do I know what I am writing about when it comes to audio? Well for a few years I ran an online-retail called Vintage Audio .Com .Au (now disbanded) and we did pretty well & were pretty well known and respected, so I will be giving it my VA equipment review best. The old site is down but if you are interested the old VA blog is still online, here, http://vintageaudioaustralia.com.au/2006/my-cd-player-or-my-amp.html

The 100 Mega Boom & Boom 2 - Cross Boom - It worked!

Party wigs and Glasses - Best after a few drinks..  - 

Me and my BOOM 2 - Review below - Pic by vivalaViv.

So what is a BOOM 2, what does it do and do you need one? Lets start with what it is.
The BOOM 2 is a small 18 cm tall 6.7 cm diameter portable, waterproof (for 30 min to 1 meter) wireless/Bluetooth active/self-powered speaker. What that means is it's a speaker with a built in amplifier so all you need to do is supply the source-music via your phone or tablet or device-with-Bluetooth connection. Being waterproof it is basically a take anywhere sound source, a 'boom box' without the size. Power is supplied via Li-Ion battery, up to 15 hours per charge is claimed; this would no doubt depend on how hard you run your sound.

I have been testing my Boom 2 in a small but not tiny studio apartment; first music was early 80s classics on YouTube - Psychedelic Furs, Blondie, Talk Talk, Thomas Dolby, which all sounded somewhat better than I remember hearing them when they first came out.. well TV's didn't have very good sound back then anyway. So even though YouTube is a compressed sound format, the Boom 2 had the music sounding pretty good. I then went for Diana Krall Live in Paris which was my key 'test CD' for most Vintage Audio systems I reviewed. The great thing about this album is I know were systems excel or fall down. Now there is no way a small single speaker is going to reproduce a full stereo sound stage; and I certainly don't expect it too. What I would like if I can get it is rich sound, a feeling for the base, clarity, sibilance on cymbals and high percussive notes, no distortion, fast dynamic response. The BOOM 2 delivers, it delivers surprisingly good sound regardless of it's size.

As I sit here typing this review, I have gone over to full uncompressed music files, Roy Hargrove Crisol Habana, all Cuban brass, percussion and piano and the best thing I can possibly say about the sound is that I am forgetting what it is coming out of, where it is coming from; I am just enjoying the music. For some more contemporary bass heavy tunes I went with Angie Stone's Mahogany Soul, which sounded, great, with full rich sound.

But wait there's more! There's an App for the BOOM 2 too.. of course there is and it's pretty useful as well. There is a 5 Band EQ (I knocked the treble back one notch) and if you have more than one Boom speaker you can set the system up for true stereo sound - now that would be interesting to try; OR if you and your friends have more Booms you can hook them up together to spread the sound, increase, the output, which is essentially what was shown to us at the lunch event with 100 hooked up playing together and that was a LOT of sound.

So should you buy one? Well I think I will be taking mine along on small studio shoots in the future, at least I can be sure of the sound quality and how it works. In fact great for taking on any jobs where you want some music & if you use the phone/App it can double up as a speaker phone too, which caught me by surprise yesterday. I have even seen someone working on their motorbike out in the street (before the launch) and thought that's better than boom boxes used to be! So if you like portable sound, I can recommend the BOOM 2. Would I choose to go BOOM 2 over my stereo, no it's a completely different scenario each with benefits of their own, but it's turning into a great second sound source, to enjoy listening too, with pleasure.

http://www.ultimateears.com/en-au/ueboom2
#PARTYUP #MakeMusicSocial

Telling Stories in Pictures all over Sydney..

Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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Back Row - Shiny Studs, Leather Jacket - MBFWA.

Back Row - Shiny studs and leather jacket at the Raffles International Showcase, Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, Sydney Australia. And an iPhone. Must say I loved this show of graduate designers of Raffles college several of whom I have blogged about previously. I think I have tow posts to do on this show alone so stay tuned to Street Fashion Sydney; more Raffles coming soon!

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Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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Art Never Sleeps - While fashion takes a Nanna Nap!

Yes while the art galleries and artists of Sydney are hard at work making and showing art; my inbox has been strangely void of invitations to fashion events save for an invite to a 'socks' launch I sadly failed to attend last Thursday. (sorry guys next time I promise). All the while my gallery list just keeps on listing more and more shows every week; sure its not all work by the same artist but if you think of the much vaunted 'new turnovers-of-range' à la Zara; ART and Galleries are turning around and 'dropping' new Art even faster! Try thinking of the gallery as the Brand, Art as the Range.. So all this art activity VS not-so-much fashion activity has had me thinking about the nature of both these pursuits, and not just in terms of how you market yourself but also in terms of creative output and work put in - how you go about it. And last night a close friend and working/exhibiting/professional artist brought up the hoary old question (in a perfectly nice way) of the gulf between the amateur who would be a professional and the Artist who is; and the difference that does involve.

Of course, as you would,  I am putting this downturn in fashion's largesse of event and party to a downturn in trade and perhaps minding a pre-decimal currency penny while waiting for the customers to 'drop' (and-spend) like a new range 'drops' (perhaps with below average look-books shot by well meaning amateurs not the professional who could... to save a penny) or so they say - and maybe we will have a little launch party when the next range really does 'drop'. Which also brings me to the world-wide-runway-juggernauts known quite simply as brought-to-you-BUY this Brand Fashion Week. Now I love a runway show as much as the next person but I do sometimes think that these big shows have become a bit of a one-stop-marketing-shop, a wonder drug and a fashion panacea that has taken some of the creativity out of the fashion marketing game and gobbled up a large proportion of smaller players budgets. No its not cheap to participate in. Not to mention - and I will, the love of the 'like' button (yes please do like and share this post; ah the sweet irony) and social networking... is this all... So its great to go to art openings and they are happening all-the-time regardless of budgets. And I do know that probably no-one works harder than people in fashion, though many artists work very hard too; but a downturn does not slow down art's parties; though sales may be a little slow; the trade goes on, the celebration continues; now that's something I like - pun intended; something to think about while I await my next fabulous Fashion Event to Drop!

So here's how Art fared last week (tip of the iceberg really), and what people wore, style wise; mouse over for details, gallery and show info links below..

China Heights

Fire Gallery

Plump Gallery

Sexes - Carriage Works

Frasers, CUB development site

Sheffer Gallery

My picture from China Heights...

www.chinaheights.com/ A Study of Hands.
Fire Gallery (Anna Wheeler) 22 Enmore Rd Newtown Sydney - Facebook
Plump Gallery, 240 Enmore Road, Enmore, Sydney - Facebook
Sexes, www.carriageworks.com.au/
http://www.sheffergallery.com/ Gilbert Grace - Luminous
My own little 'luminous landscape' taken from the window at China Heights. Composite Image..

Comments welcome.

All pictures made with the inimitable Fujifilm X-Pro1.

Elodie Silberstein - Sydney Fringe 2011 - CarriageWorks

The exhibition is called IMMERSE and it is a group show at CarriageWorks, part of Sydney Fringe 2011.

Elodies work "The Lost World, 2010" is an instillation (and for the opening) a performance piece which I found to be a completely immersive and mildly disturbing experience. While the three pictures below provide some visual clues as to content of the work and some of its intimate nature, they are but clues and clues alone. The artwork itself is like some-kind-of perfect-fusion; Marcel Duchamp's 'Etant donnés', and George Bataille's 'Story of the Eye' with Grimm's fairy tail'Hansel and Gretel'. This is very much an experiential piece taking in elements of all the five senses...









And being a group show there is additional video, photographic works, Collage based works and the audience-collaborative work pictured below, 'Eleventh Hour' by 'Archrival' of trellis and thread.


I will be heading back to take another look at this exhibition before it closes on the 17th of September. CarriageWorks, Bay 19, 245 Wilson Street
Eveleigh NSW

Elodie Silberstein.

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