What a great idea. I sort of remember having been to one in South Korea. He mentions listening bars in Japan. I’m planning a possible move there. If that happens I’m going to look for them. If I make it in the markets it’s on my bucket list as a hobby project, with emphasis on Golden Era tango of course. I particularly love the horn speakers. They must sound amazing and would probably be perfect for tango.
Acoustics is absolutely the main issue I have with most bars, they all just sound awful. Apart from the sound system, they never have any room treatment, just super resonant. Even ones that have live music. I once plugged my Chord Qutest DAC into a system in a bar that had pretty expensive PA system. It sounded really good. They were just plugging the audio cable into a phone or iPad. They told me that they’re planning improving their sound by getting a mixer. I felt like banging my head against a wall.
Generally, I love this guy’s idea: creating a community atmosphere, eliminating barriers between the audience and the artist, getting people interested in the music. That is the attitude that we really need to bring to tango. Things would be just so much better.
Ki of Milonguero 