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SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…

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Former NXT UK Women’s Champion, Kay Lee Ray, is reportedly headed for full-time status on the main NXT brand.

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After appearing at NXT TakeOver 36 on Sunday at the end of the Raquel Gonzalez vs. Dakota Kai championship match, PWInsider is reporting that Ray will be a full-time act on that roster moving forward and that she will be living in the United States.

Ray was a prominent fixture of the NXT UK brand and held the NXT UK Women’s Championship for over 600 days. Ray lost the title to Meiko Satomura earlier this year.

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CATCH-UP: Nick Khan details upcoming changes and revamping of NXT

• Kay Lee Ray
• nxt
• nxt uk

It’s a keeper. Those are the thoughts that stuck with me after listening to the British-made Graham Audio LS5/9f ($7999/pair), a two-way reflex loading loudspeaker that had its US launch at Washington state’s Gig Harbor Audio on Saturday afternoon, May 25.

Most of my listening was to a 15ips tape of select jazz and classical tracks prepared by Yarlung Records—everything from “Missing Miles” from Yuko Mabuchi Plays Miles Davis to Jung-A Lee’s Fantasia from A Private Organ Recital in Walt Disney Hall and mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke’s Handel. Using an old Pioneer tape deck, Gig Harbor Audio cabling assembled with Dueland wire, and power treatment that included AudioQuest’s PowerQuest 2 and NRG Edison duplex wall outlets, we listened through two very different-sounding integrated amps, the 30Wpc, single-ended Line Magnetic LM845 Premium ($7500 right now, $8000 in a week due to tariffs) and brand new, hardly broken-in 200Wpc Krell K-300i ($7000, $8000 with streaming DAC; review forthcoming). The LS5/9f made it easy to hear how different those amps sound.

The three-hour launch event took place in a relatively intimate space. It was not a quiet space: Owen wants his shop to be friendly. To quote GHA fan Casey Richardson of Federal Way, WA, “How many other hi-fi stores are there where you can sit around and have a beer and talk to people and talk shop all at the same time? I’ve met new friends here; we all go to each other’s houses to listen. This isn’t just a hi-fi shop; it’s a community of people that love hi-fi.”

That’s another way of saying that while lots of people took turns listening on the store’s comfy couch or standing near the sweet spot—a bunch arrived well before the event started—just about everyone spent the bulk of their time sipping beer while chatting informally with new and old friends, including Graham Audio founder Paul Graham, Graham distributor Philip O’Hanlon (On a Higher Note), and store owner Erik Owen.

O’Hanlon was the impetus for the development of the LS5/9f. “[We] were listening to Graham Audio’s little LS5/9 last year, and we were smitten by its midrange magic and how it could sound so good with whatever electronics and cables I had lying around,” he told me. “But we felt that floorstanders would sell better in the US.”

Graham agreed. “A lot of buyer’s spouses didn’t like the look of the stands,” he explained during our 40-minute chat. “This new LS5/9f is based on the classic BBC LS5/9 monitor, but it has about 5Hz more bass extension. We’ve tried to retain the same studio-grade quality and strengths of its monitor predecessor while extending the bass lower. As for its price, when you take the monitor and figure in the cost of good stands, it’s about the same.”

Lovers of the BBC speaker sound probably already know much about the genesis of Graham Audio. “Over 30 years ago, I was buying and selling equipment and started buying stuff from the BBC,” Graham said. “Even if the BBC speakers were in poor condition, we were getting good money for them. So I asked the BBC if I could get a license to reproduce them. Since Rogers had stopped doing everything apart from the 3/5a, they said, ‘Sure.’”

Graham started with the 5/9, but after talking with O’Hanlon, began producing the 5/8, then the 3/5, and then the LS3/5A under license from the BBC. The crossover design remains, but Graham says the speakers are “much better than they used to be because they’re using better components. “Derek Hughes, the son of Spendor founder Spencer Hughes, does all our ‘re-creation’ work for us. Derek has the knowledge from working with his dad, and still has his dad’s notes at home. Everything we do has good lineage, as it were.”

Graham maintains that while the BBC designs were solid, the speakers weren’t particularly well-made. Their early propylene drivers deteriorated “quite badly” with the passage of time, for example, and their capacitors weren’t as good as many modern varieties. In addition, because the performance of supposedly identical tweeters varied widely in the ‘70s, the original 5/9 had a solder pin adjustment on a Traffolyte plate on its front, which enabled owners to solder wire from common to either +.5, +1,+ 1.5 or +2—whatever was necessary to balance the tweeters. The new LS5/9f follows that example with a HF level switch on the front. (We listened with the tweeters set flat.)

The LS5/9f is so new that it has yet to appear on the Graham Audio website, but Derek Hughes sent along specs: Sensitivity is 87dB / 2.83V/ m; nominal impedance is 8 ohms; recommended amplifier power is 50–200 watts; maximum output exceeds 100dB for a pair at 2m; and frequency response is 45Hz-18kHz ±3dB. Drivers are a 34mm soft dome tweeter from Audax and a long-throw 200mm Diaphnatone Polypropylene bass/midrange custom-made for Graham Audio by Volt.

Look for Art Dudley’s comparison of the Graham LS3/5, LS3/5A, and Falcon LS3/5a in our July issue.

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Having had components from Wilson, D’Agostino, Aqua, IsoTek, and Kubala-Sosna in my reference system, I have a good sense of their strengths. Hence, I can categorically state that, probably due to untamable room acoustics—see my previous post—the sound I heard from Alma Music & Audio’s pairing of the prototype Dan D’Agostino Progression Integrated amplifier ($18,000 base, +$2000 with phono and +$5000 with digital module) with Wilson Audio Sasha DAW speakers ($37,900/pair) and products from the companies mentioned above was not representative of what these components are capable of.

Note that the design of the forthcoming Progression integrated amplifier, due in August and shown in the photo, is not final. Offering 200W into 8 ohms / 400 into 4, the Progression integrated uses circuitry similar to that in the $40,000 Momentum HD preamp, which sounded stunning at AXPONA, and its outputs (both single-ended and balanced) are similar to those on the Progression stereo amplifier. The Progression Integrated’s optional digital module will stream Tidal and Qobuz, handle MQA, and serve as a Roon endpoint.

Also heard: Aqua La Voce S3 DAC ($4750), Innuos Zenith SE music server ($5000), IsoTek Mosaic Genesis power conditioner ($11,995), and Kubala-Sosna Realization and Sensation cabling.

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In a rematch from the 2019 NJPW G1 tournament, former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley will take on Tomohiro Ishii on Wednesday's AEW Dynamite.

The two men were on opposite ends of a ten-man tag team match at Sunday's Forbidden Door where Ishii, the Young Bucks, Eddie Kingston and Hangman Page defeated Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Shota Umino and Konosuke Takeshita.

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Ishii picked up the win after hitting his sheer drop brain buster on Wheeler Yuta.

The two have only met once in singles competition with Moxley picking up the win in the aforementioned 2019 tournament. Including last Sunday, they have previously been on opposite ends of tag team matches four times.

Here's the current lineup for Wednesday's show from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada:

Jon Moxley vs. Tomohiro Ishii Tornado tag team match: Sting & Darby Allin vs. "The Painmaker" Chris Jericho & Sammy GuevaraOwen Hart Foundation Women's Tournament first-round match: Britt Baker vs. Ruby SohoWe'll hear from "Jungle Boy" Jack Perry

BETHESDA, MD — Employees at Marriott International’s headquarters in Bethesda spent Wednesday giving back to the community by filling toiletry kits for donation to people experiencing homelessness, writing letters of gratitude to active duty and military veterans, and cleaning up local parks.

As part of Marriott International’s Associate Appreciation Week, more than 2,000 employees who work in the company’s Bethesda headquarters and elsewhere in the D.C. area participated in the volunteer efforts.

Apoorva Gandhi, senior vice president of multicultural affairs, social impact and business councils for Marriott International, said the company works closely with Bethesda Cares, a nonprofit group, to help care for people experiencing homelessness in Montgomery County.

Find out what's happening in Bethesda-Chevy Chasewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In the lobby of the new Marriott International headquarters in downtown Bethesda, groups of Marriott employees worked throughout the day — “like a conveyor belt” — filling toiletry kits that will be handed out to people experiencing homelessness, Gandhi told Patch.

Other Marriott employees filled knapsacks with games and other items to donate to KindWorks, a Bethesda-based nonprofit organization that provides a broad range of support to people in need in the D.C. area. The summer fun knapsacks will be handed out to area children to give them a chance to enjoy the summer in creative ways, said Gandhi, who oversaw the local volunteer effort for Marriott.

Find out what's happening in Bethesda-Chevy Chasewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Marriott also held a canned food drive for Bethesda Help, a nonprofit group that provides food assistance to Montgomery County residents. Employees also wrote cards that will get delivered to active duty military personnel and veterans thanking them for their service as part of Operation Gratitude.

Recordings of Marriott employees reading children’s books will also get sent to parents who have children receiving treatment at Children’s National Hospital in D.C. The virtual story time is designed to help relieve the stress of the parents and provide comfort to children at the hospital.

Groups of employees from Marriott’s headquarters also spent the day cleaning up parks in the Bethesda area.

Members of the company’s human resources department, for example, helped to clean up the Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda, while four other groups of employees spent Wednesday cleaning up Leland Park, Elm Street Park, Lynnbrook Park and Battery Lane Park.

Marriott International’s Associate Appreciation Week is held worldwide among the company’s 650,000 employees who work at nearly 8,500 properties.

Last September, Marriott International celebrated the opening of its new global headquarters in downtown Bethesda. The lobby of the new headquarters building, including a café, is open to the public.

RELATED: Marriott Celebrates Grand Opening Of New Bethesda Headquarters

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"The Flash" a-t-il séduit les spectateurs ? Retour sur les premières notes attribuées au nouveau film DC Comics par les internautes d'AlloCiné.

Annoncé dès 2014 pour une sortie initiale en 2018, le film The Flash a parcouru beaucoup de chemin et franchit pas mal de difficultés pour arriver sur nos écrans de cinéma !

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Le personnage était déjà apparu très rapidement dans Batman v Superman et Suicide Squad avant d’être vraiment présenté dans le Justice League de Zack Snyder. Aujourd’hui, il a enfin son film solo.

The Flash

Sortie :

14 juin 2023

|
2h 24min

De
Andy Muschietti

Avec
Ezra Miller,
Sasha Calle,
Michael Shannon

Presse
2,4

Spectateurs
3,0

Séances (988)

Avec 12 films sortis depuis 2013, date à laquelle le public découvrait Henry Cavill en Superman dans Man of Steel de Zack Snyder, le DCEU a déjà engrangé 6,35 milliards de dollars au box-office mondial. The Flash est le treizième long métrage à venir enrichir cette saga.

Réalisé par Andy Muschietti, le film a-t-il mis d’accord les fans du personnage comme ceux de l’univers DC Comics ? Avec une note de 3,4/5 à l’heure de ces lignes (moyenne sur 222 notations arrêtée à 12h le 14 juin), les spectateurs d’AlloCiné le placent actuellement au même niveau qu’Aquaman, seul film DC à avoir franchi le milliard de recettes.

Aquaman

Sortie :

19 décembre 2018

|
2h 24min

De
James Wan

Avec
Jason Momoa,
Amber Heard,
Willem Dafoe

Presse
2,7

Spectateurs
3,4

Streaming

“Excellent épisode dans le DC universe”, écrit Frédéric M. “Partir de la brillante BD Flashpoint il fallait oser. Mais quelle belle entrée au ciné pour The Flash. C’est archi bourré de clins d’oeil et caméo. Certains sont très touchant.. J’avais peur pour le Batman 89 mais il est surprenant et reste crédible malgré le poids des ans. LE film de l’été à voir et revoir au ciné”.

Pour Yacine Laimy : “Franchement j’ai vraiment kiffé, émotionnellement incroyable, certains plans et des scènes du film [donnent] énormément une impression de lire un comics et de voir toutes ces cases bouger, les acteurs sont vraiment incroyables, la musique à certains passages du film qui restent encore coincés dans le crâne à la sortie du film. Les effets spéciaux sont très FLASH pour ceux qui ont lu certains comics de Barry Allen”.

S’il n’a pas la note maximale, c’est aussi qu’il y a des déçus, comme Culturevsnews :

“En fin de compte, The Flash est un film qui a de bonnes intentions et qui tente d’explorer des thèmes intéressants. Malheureusement, il est entravé par des problèmes de narration, des effets spéciaux inégaux et une incohérence dans son ton.

Les fans de super-héros pourraient trouver des éléments à apprécier dans le film, notamment les références aux versions précédentes des personnages, mais il est peu probable qu’il soit considéré comme un classique du genre.”

A titre de comparaison, avec 3,4/5, The Flash se situe (de peu) derrière Wonder Woman (3,7) mais devant Batman V Superman (3,3), Shazam (3,1), Justice League (2,7) ou Suicide Squad (2,5).

Ce film met-il fin au “Snyderverse” au profit d’un univers connecté DC rebooté actuellement par James Gunn et qui se lancera avec un film sur un jeune Superman ? Réponse dans les mois à venir car pour l’instant, on ignore encore qui sera le nouvel interprète de Kal-El.