The Audio Explorer

Led Zeppelin in a day

2011-09-17T21:41:00.002-05:00

Not long ago I decide to listen to all of the Led Zeppelin albums back to back in a single day and write a couple of micro reviews on Facebook.

Led Zeppelin - "I" thoughts: The album starts off with a bang, the sound of a revolution beginning. It's a band that's already found it's sound but not quite it's voice. Lot's of covers, songs that are heavily based on existing blues standards, or direct rip offs with one or two originals mixed in. But, since they play them so amazingly well it's all easily excusable.

July 22 at 10:49am ·

Thoughts on Led Zeppelin "II" - It's a frenetic album that shows the chaos and creativity of being recorded while touring. The influences are less obvious and are more assimilated. The bands style is expanding and they are becoming more self-assured in abilities.

July 22 at 11:36am ·

Thoughts on Led Zeppelin - "III" Jimmy Page and Robert Plant solidify their rolls as the creative engine of the group. The band lets off of the accelerator a bit creating an album with both calm and frenzy. There's very little musical "borrowing" on this album. Hats Off to (Roy) Harper is the only song to "lift" lines from blues classics.

July 22 at 1:51pm ·

Thoughts on Led Zeppelin-"IV" Jimmy Page begins to "paint" with sound using a multitude of guitars and different tones within the same song increasing the sonic palette exponentially. Robert gains confidence in his lyrical abilities. The group creates a fully realized coherent style that raises this above just a collection of songs and makes it a true album that must be listened to start to finish to truly enjoy.

July 22 at 2:48pm ·

Thoughts on Led Zeppelin - "Houses of The Holy" The musical complexity greatly increases compared to previous releases. Not a single song on the album has a simple riff. The band is challenging themselves and pushing each other to their creative limits. If Zeppelin ever made anything close to a progressive rock album this is it.

July 22 at 3:48pm ·

Thoughts on Led Zeppelin - "Physical Graffiti" The album is a bit like an quilt cobbled together from other, older items. Half of the songs on the album were recorded for previous albums. While there are lots of great songs the album lacks a certain coherent focus. It's more of a book of short stories as opposed to a novel.

July 22 at 5:36pm ·

Thoughts on Led Zeppelin - "Presence" It's the sound of a band eager to re-invent itself. The album is full of melancholy and uncertainty. The songs all fit together well to present a satisfying total picture. It's a great listen while alone late at night or during a rainy day.

July 22 at 6:21pm

Thoughts on Led Zeppelin - "In Through The Out Door" It's the sound of a band struggling to be as great as they should. While Page and Bonham are present, they really aren't "there." Plant and Jones work hard to pick up the slack. For the first and only time Jones Keyboard take center stage in many if not most of the songs.

July 22 at 8:13pm ·

Thoughts on Led Zeppelin - "Coda" It's not really an album more just a bunch of left-overs. In fact "Poor Tom" sounds like the drums were added after the fact by taking a bit of left over drums and looping them. The guitar on "We're Gonna Groove" is clearly an overdub done most likely after the end of the band. All of that having been said, Led Zeppelin's leftovers are better than most band's best efforts.

July 23 at 12:30am ·

record store crawl

2011-08-08T19:47:00.004-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FTFY8Fk7AI

Write About Love

2010-09-11T19:55:00.002-05:00

October 11th can't come fast enough for me to see Belle & Sebastian at the Chicago Theater.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQnodOwG0OM

Live On From Beyond The Groove

2010-08-27T23:05:00.003-05:00

Thinking of a unique way to immortalize yourself that doesn't involve the wind blowing your ashes back into your friends' faces?

Get your ashes pressed into a vinyl record instead! Read on in this article from Wired.co.uk.

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2010-08/27/and-vinyly

David's been busy

2010-08-24T21:30:00.015-05:00

Apparently, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd fame has been keeping busy. Here he is performing with Roger Waters at an event for charity.

Hoping Foundation benefit performance from Hoping Foundation on Vimeo.

While the performance isn't great it's just nice to see these two being civil to one another, let alone playing music together.

Mr. Gilmour has also recently snuck out a collaboration with Orb. Hopefully it won't be too hard to track down the two disc version which has a special surround mix for headphones. Where are those Stax headphones when you need them?

Last, but certainly not least he served as Executive Producer on the new Syd Barrett compilation, not so cleverly titled, "An Introduction to Syd Barrett." Which will mix Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd and solo material, some of it remixed. Sadly, "Vegetable Man" nor "Scream Thy Last Scream" will be included, another missed opportunity. Why not put out these songs officially and give the fans the best quality possible and make a couple of quid in the process, instead of forcing us to continue to listen to sub-standard bootlegs? It would be a win-win for all involved. The big draw of the package isn't even on the disc it's a free bonus download of "Rhamadan,"a 20 minute previously unreleased instrumental. Since it's a download the sound quality won't be what it should. As obsessive as David is about sound this is a very odd choice. A bonus disc on the first pressing would have been a better way to get it out there, maybe even including "Vegetable Man" and "Scream Thy Last Scream". Now that would have been a great.

Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin

2010-07-16T16:35:00.004-05:00

This looks like a perfect pairing. I'm sure lots of people will buy this besides Clint.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCy-z3e4D9A

Sheryl Crow Tuesday Night Music Club

2010-06-01T22:17:00.003-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIx8XMjy5mg

Vinyl Hoarding

2010-04-28T23:30:00.004-05:00

The vinyl revolution shows no signs of slowing down, let alone stopping. Some of the shots of these peoples collections make me feel like a poser but then again there's probably a lot of crap in there and no one has enough time to listen to all of that stuff. Maybe it's as much hoarding as collecting music that they have any serious intention of spinning and enjoying.

To Have & To Hold - Taster Tape from Jony Lyle on Vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/10284225

JA's Podcast Appearance

2010-04-22T20:56:00.005-05:00

Audiophiles often get a bad rap for being unreasonable and unrealistic. Stereophile's editor John Atkinson does a wonderful job showing that many of us are reasonable, intelligent, and well adjusted individuals in his podcast appearance here. The portion about the difference in the audibility of cables near the end was of particular interest. Especially his illustration of how an amplifier has not one, but three inputs.

http://twit.cachefly.net/htg0017.mp3

Which Smith are you?

2010-04-05T21:06:00.006-05:00

This 1957 film endeavors to describe what hi-fi is all about while discussing the importance of the then relatively new stereo format. Oddly enough as much as things have changed audio enthusiasts still fall into roughly one of the three categories discussed.

http://www.archive.org/details/HowtoLis1957

Van Speakers?

2010-03-31T20:08:00.005-05:00

Anyone who has ever worked at an audio store have been on the other end of this transaction when a customer brings in one of these cheap pieces of shit when they stop "working." This segment does a great job of dissecting the scam. Hopefully this guy will go to jail for a long time but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/hall_of_shame/sweet-sounding-deal-hits-a-sour-note

Your So Vain (You probably think this post is about you)

2010-03-10T21:29:00.003-06:00

A certain female singer/songwriter finally revealed the name of the person that inspired her song “You’re So Vain” and it was of course for the most artistic of reasons, to sell a new album that no one would have known about otherwise. Is the song about Warren Beatty, James Taylor, Mick Jagger, David Bowie Jack Nicolson, Kris Kristofferson, David Cassidy, Cat Stevens, or even Abraham Lincoln? After 38 years who cares? How many famous men did she sleep with anyway? The only one more stupid than all of the people who wasted their energy trying to figure it out is Dick Ebersol, who spent 50 grand to know. She's so vain that she thinks people still give a shit. As she said in another song when it comes to being egotistical "Nobody Does It Better." Apparently it’s about David Geffen, now that you’ve been nice enough to tell us you are free to fade back into obscurity.

Big Dock

2010-02-28T18:27:00.008-06:00

The iPod has officially brought music listening so far into the future that we've actually reached the distant past again with giant monolithic speakers.

http://thewosexperience.com/

How far back in the past am I talking? Well...

For Sale by heartless corporation: number 3 Abbey Road

2010-02-16T20:10:00.010-06:00

According to a number of sources EMI’s parent company, Terra Firma is trying to sell Abbey Road Studios in an attempt to stave off the wolves at Citibank. Sadly the studio is only expected to bring in something like tens of millions of dollars when the amount necessary to stop the $3 billion dollar loan from going into default is over $190 million dollars. If that's the case it's a bit like throwing the deck chairs off of the Titanic thinking that it will stop it from sinking. Also sad is the fact that many feel the “brand” of Abbey Road is worth more than the facility itself.

Abbey Road of course is most famous for having been the studio of choice for the majority of Beatles recording sessions and many early to middle period Pink Floyd recordings, though not “Dark Side of the Moon” as many sources are erroneously claiming. According to some sources EMI doesn't consider a recording studio an essential asset. That's not a joke by the way the music industry has lost it's way so badly it doesn't even see the value in owning a first class facility in which to record music. In this day and age a lot of music can be recorded using a computer and pro tools, many consider anything over and above that to be a luxury.

Customer Satisfaction

2010-02-16T08:13:00.004-06:00

While this isn't something solely related to audio, I hope it serves as a reminder for home theater installers not to make a "goddamn maze" out of the wires behind your customers' systems. Especially when that customer is Hunter S. Thomson.

Delicious Sound

2010-01-21T20:35:00.003-06:00

Haven't you ever wondered what would happen if you made a record out of chocolate? Me neither. Just think of what this thing would do to a decent cartridge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVM18iJTMZs

Sort of Supergrass

2009-12-25T15:23:00.008-06:00

The boys from Supergrass are going to have a busy year. In addition to a new studio album there will also be a new side project consisting of covers called The Hot Rats. The album was produced by Nigel Godrich so it should be a good one. Samples are available on their myspace page. Below is a video of them performing The Beatles "Drive My Car."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2Ak9eypq0U

Roads to Rome

2009-11-26T21:29:00.005-06:00

One of the most unique things about high end audio in the diversity of ideas present in the hobby. I've always believed that there is more than one road to Rome. While every path doesn't make sense to me as long the traveler arrives at the destination, which is musical enjoyment of course who am I to judge? When a designer looks at their products as something that is created, rather than simply manufactured that is always a good sign. After all if they aren't passionate about their offerings what's the chance that anyone else will be? After all we aren't talking about toasters or washing machines. Audio equipment acts as a conduit through which an artistic is conveyed. Just some ideas that these two videos inspired. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh9n9v4bNhY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1KpWkhGFlM

Them Crooked Vultures

2009-11-14T22:18:00.007-06:00

In many ways John Paul Jones was the most under appreciated member of Led Zeppelin. Until recently his post-Zeppelin work has been pretty sparse but recently he seems to be making up for lost time. In the last couple of years he has released two excellent solo albums, "Zooma" and "The Thunderthief" and produced a couple of others. On Tuesday, November 17th his next project will be released. The album is a collaboration with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame titled Them Crooked Vultures. It is currently available to stream through youtube.

Even more Beatles remasters news

2009-11-07T17:46:00.004-06:00

In addition to The Beatles remasters being released on CD in mono and stereo versions Mojo recently broke the inevitable news that they will also see a vinyl release as well. Thus far there is no news on pricing, stereo and/or mono, or whether they will be sourced from the 24/192 digital masters or analog masters. But it's good news for record lovers everywhere. For those on the complete other end of the spectrum the catalog will also see release on a USB drive according to Reuters news agency, just in time for Christmas of course. Apparently, the release will be limited to 30,000 units. Probably in much the same way that the mono boxed set was "limited" to 10,000 units. In addition to the 320 Kbps MP3 files the drive will also contain the albums in FLAC at 24 bits 44.1 Khz. It's good to see that they are offering people something at higher resolutions than MP3. Now the only question is when will they release the music in 24/192 (possibly on Blu-Ray) because we ALL know that it's coming sooner or later.

The Beatles Mono vs. Stereo

2009-11-01T21:06:00.005-06:00

There has been quite a bit of discussion on this blog about the importance of The Beatles catalog in mono. This video does a great job of demonstrating many of the variations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0p6tOVlKK8&fmt=22

Memories of Jim Thiel

2009-09-19T13:45:00.013-05:00

Most of my fondest memories of Jim Thiel come from a factory tour in 2001. During the first night at dinner Jim, Kathy, and the higher ranking people were in a discussion about finish options, price points, shipping time, and other business matters while Ken Dawkins and myself were making non-audio small talk. Finally Ken asked me, "So what kind of receiver are you using with your speakers?" My response was, "Well, I'm actually using a Parasound P/HP850 preamp and an Adcom GFA5802 amp with Audioquest cables." Jim, who happened to be sitting next to me was obviously bored by the business talk and turned to me and said, "That's a pretty nice system." Jim spent the next 45 minutes or so having an in depth conversation with the least important person at the table, a kid in his early 20's that few people in the industry took seriously. It wasn't a one sided conversation either, he was interested in my thoughts and opinions as well.

The next day in the Thiel listening room Ken asked us to listen to the PowerPoints which our company had repeatedly declined to put on display. In fact myself and my co-workers were under strict and explicit orders to not listen to the PowerPoint speakers under ANY circumstances. The higher ups in our company had never heard the speakers but had decided based on size that they couldn't possibly be worth the money. At the time the first Thiel sub was still in prototype form, but nearly finished. I shocked my co-workers by saying, "I'll be glad to hear the PowerPoints, but only if we can hear them with the Thiel Sub." Well, one of the Thiel sales guys quickly said that it was Thiel policy to not demo prototypes. No sooner had he said that then Jim said, "deal." Needless to say on my return to the store myself and my co-work told everyone that would listen that we NEEDED the PowerPoints on display. We kept on the decision makers until they listened to them and in a couple of months we had them.

On the same trip I was struck by a sign near the door to the workshop that said something to the effect of, "Perfection is our goal, excellence will be tolerated." I told Walter that it was a great sign. His response was, "That sign isn't accurate, when it comes to Jim is should read "excellence will be grudgingly tolerated.""

A couple of years later while demoing a pair of Thiel CS2.4's for a customer I accidentally hooked them up to the 8 ohm taps of a McIntosh MC402 instead of the 4 ohm taps. The sound was remarkably better and I called down to Lexington to find out why, Sherry said she didn't know but would ask Jim about it and get back to me. A couple of hours later I received a 3 page email from Jim explaining that while he did not have direct experience with the amp in question that my findings did not shock him. He then went on to lay out an extremely involved scientific theory on why I heard what I heard.

Goodbye Jim

2009-09-17T20:09:00.009-05:00

Today the sad news about the passing of Jim Thiel was announced. On the few occasions that I met Jim he was always very gracious. I can't think of anyone in the audio business that I respect more. He will certainly be missed. Like many others I'm sure, I only wish that I could have known him better.

The Thiel philosophy holds, among other things that a speaker should be time and phase coherent. Phase coherence is when two drivers in a speaker are working to create the same frequency and they are doing so by moving in unison. Time coherent means that the sound from each driver arrive at the listening position at the same time, which is made possible by the sloped baffle of his designs. The third major component to all of the recent Thiel designs was short voice coils held within a long magnetic gap. This arrangement has the advantage of keeping the voice coil of a driver within the magnetic field of the gap and dramatically reducing distortion.

To learn a lot more about the innovations and views of this founding father of high-end audio check out the following interviews. Also of interest is the March 1998 Stereophile interview conducted by John Atkinson.

Breaking down Thiel

2009-09-13T15:37:00.006-05:00

As anyone who's been following the blog for a while knows I am a big proponent of Thiel Loudspeakers. They contain quite a few original design ideas and unique parts that set them apart from the competition. Gary from Thiel worked with on-line retailer Audio Advisor to create the videos below to discuss a couple of the things that set Thiel apart from it's competition.

The first video briefly describes some of the technical aspects of Thiel speakers that make them something special

The Thiel CS2.4 has been the apple of my eye since it was a 2.3.

Next up is the CS2.4SE, the new apple of my eye. What a beautiful finish!

The PowerPoint speaker is one of the most surprising and technically unique speakers ever developed. While being mounted on a ceiling it still manages to image where a normal floor standing or stand mounted speaker would.

The SCS4 might be Thiels most versatile speaker. It can be used as a standard left/right speaker, a center speaker, or for rears in a home theater application.

Last, but certainly not least is the Thiel CS3.7. The 3.7 is one of the most advanced speakers available today.

Wilco - Summerteeth on Nonesuch (vinyl)

2009-09-06T18:43:00.005-05:00

Nonesuch records (Wilco's label after being dumped by Reprise for refusing to change aspects of their brilliant Yankee Hotel Foxtrot) has re-released the band's first three albums on vinyl with Summerteeth arriving in stores late last month. Summerteeth is considered by many to be the album which finally shed them of their alt-country moniker which they inherited from Jeff Tweedy and bassist John Stirratt's former band, Uncle Tupelo with singer Jay Farrar. And happily, this double LP follows in the band's recent tradition of quality vinyl sound, which I was slightly surprised by since I never thought Summerteeth was particularly great, sonically, on CD (a copy of that CD [or maybe a remastered CD, come to think of it, I haven't checked] is included here, as well). I always thought the Reprise CD was overly compressed and crowded sounding. This LP, on the other hand, offers a much cleaner, unencumbered sound with Tweedy's voice high up in the center allowing much more room for the instruments to stretch out - especially the percussion and Jay Bennett's little sonic thises and thatses. And while I've never heard the initial vinyl pressing from 1998 when the album was first released, opinions I've read are that this one is much better.

And to think people have been buying the original LP on eBay as recently as last spring for highly inflated prices. It shows a little patience pays off - especially now that a new vinyl age is upon us.

Beatles Stereo Remasters

2009-09-04T15:48:00.013-05:00

Both my blogmate and I agree; until the Beatles mono remastered box set arrives, it will require one thing and one thing only to tide us over - an ever larger box set.

I thought I'd post some quick pictures and impressions of the stereo Beatles remasters.

There are two songs ("Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You") which couldn't be included in stereo due to the lack of the proper mastering source, so the engineers wisely present the mono versions here rather than an inferior stereo mock-up.

The astute observer will note that, while the original UK Parlophone and Apple record labels are replicated for the 2009 disc art, Magical Mystery Tour uses the North American Capitol record label with colorband and silver Capitol stamp since it was first released in the US. I am of the opinion that all Capitol CDs should use this disc art, even today.

Attention was spent on detail with the aesthetic packaging of this boxed set. While the iconic yellow Parlophone logo was used throughout most of the Beatles releases on the label, from year to year and album to album, there were slight variations on the typeface and text placement. EMI/Apple made sure they were all replicated with the disc art (current logos and legal verbiage notwithstanding).

As for how the boxed set actually sounds, the first word that came to mind is "crisp." While listening to the first several albums, they finally sound the way they were meant to - full of energy, fast-paced, plenty of bottom end that sends McCartney's bass notes into your shoes and furniture, in-your-face guitars and vocals that scream out. On the later albums, once the engineers began paying a little more attention to how to properly mix for stereo (as opposed to the first couple of LPs with instruments on the left, vocals on the right, rinse, repeat), the sound begins to fill out with more elaborate arrangements and studio techniques, and these CDs demonstrate it far better than the 1987 masters.

Over the next several weeks, we're sure to hear all about how the engineers either created the finest digital remasters in the history of both digits and masters, or that it's "too loud" with "no sense of space" and how they've completely botched it for future generations, and that Sir Joseph Lockwood will be spinning in his grave - so I won't bore anyone with a long review of each album. As a huge Beatles fan who spent their own money, I'd be biased anyway. Besides, if you're reading this, you've probably read a dozen other reviews, already. Let me just say that they sound every bit as good as a modern CD made from the original master tapes can sound, which is long overdue. These remasters have successfully sent the 1987 CDs back to 1987. Without pristine early vinyl pressings and an expensive turntable and hi-fi system, you will not get a better impression of how the stereo records were intended to sound. Were the band's producer and engineers preoccupied with giving the recordings a huge sense of "air" and space? Not at all. By today's pop music standards, it certainly seems that way, but the Beatles were never exactly an audiophile's delight, either. The Beatles recordings are just some great sounding rock n' roll, pure and simple, and it's evident on the original master tapes. Now, for the first time, it's evident on CD as well. And for what it's worth, it's reinvigorated my hunger to hear Beatles music again.

2009-09-03T19:07:00.004-05:00

Audiophiles often bemoan the lack of a younger generation of audio enthusiasts. To be honest it's all a bit like Chicken Little claiming that the sky is falling. High end audio has always been a niche product and there is a good chance it always will be a niche product. However, the next generation of audiophiles are being created at this very moment by two completely different driving forces, the resurgence of the vinyl record and the iPod.

With records the kids are finding that they need help with turntables which leads them to stumble into the various on line audiophile forums and learn about much more than just how to properly set up a turntable and to care for vinyl. They are being indoctrinated on what to listen for in speakers, how to choose the proper amplification, and many more esoteric topics.

The iPod has made listening to music cool again and many of those kids are discovering the included headphones leave much to be desired and they are upgrading. When doing research on which new cans or ear buds they should get they are also learning about how to properly rip and encode digital music.

Below is a video about a young man that's fallen in love with records and reproduced sound. Hopefully this hobby will bring him many years of joy.

Yet more Beatles mono news

2009-09-02T21:14:00.002-05:00

Just to make The Beatles mono-mania that's going on around here a little more absurd earlier today I received the following email from amazon:

Hello from Amazon.com,

Our records indicate you purchased a Beatles Mono Box Set, and we wanted to update you on its availability.

This new information will not affect your pre-order--if you pre-ordered a mono box set, you will receive it.

The manufacturer has informed us that they will be producing additional mono box sets due to high demand. While the box set remains a limited-production item, it will not be capped at 10,000 copies for the U.S. market, as originally reported.

That's good news for those who haven't already ordered.

George Martin Featured on BBC Radio 2

2009-08-31T23:26:00.004-05:00

Since it's essentially Beatles month here at The Audio Explorer, I thought I'd link a very interesting program from BBC Radio 2 where record producers are featured. This week, it's George Martin talking shop about recording The Beatles, and of course there are clips of current engineers discussing briefly new technologies used in the upcoming remasters.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00mc0cc

IT'S ALMOST HERE!!!

2009-08-28T18:25:00.014-05:00

Both myself and my blogmate have been anxiously awaiting the release of The Beatles remasters box sets, particularly the mono set since they were announced. For those not aware the mono boxed set is limited to 10,000 copies in the United States and amazon.com is already sold out. Now being "limited edition" means nothing in and of itself however, since it is of limited appeal there is every chance that it will go out of print. So why all of the the excitement for the mono set?

George Martin and The Beatles spent days, sometimes weeks mixing the mono version of most of their albums. The stereo mixes were done usually by an assistant engineer. Sometimes it was even worse, the stereo mix was done by an apprentice engineer. Paul McCartney briefly mentions this in the extra material on The Beatles Anthology DVDs. Saying roughly, "the stereo mixes were done one day while we (George Martin, the producer and The Beatles) were at lunch." With the exceptions of "Yellow Submarine", "Let It Be", and "Abbey Road" the mono mix was the baby. The stereo mix was the bastard redheaded stepchild at best.

At first blush this sounds like a massive oversight. But as Mr. McCartney goes on to point out ". . . ninety-Eight percent of people were listening in mono." Stereo was new, many thought it was a fad and wouldn't last. Many Hi-Fi enthusiasts resisted it in the beginning. It meant a serious amount of money needed to be spent. They were forced to buy another amplifier, another speaker, a new preamplifier, and a new turntable.

Will the sound live up to the expectations? If the review on Tone Audio is any indication the answer is a resounding YES! Also of interest is an ongoing thread on the Steve Hoffman forum. Amazon has some interesting podcasts on the remasters on the right hand side of the page. In addition to two 10 minute interviews with two of the engineers involved in the 4 year project there are there are numerous half minute samples of various Beatles songs to enjoy until the sets ship. September 9th can't arrive fast enough!

8-Bit Miles Davis

2009-08-25T20:54:00.003-05:00

Do you like Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, but can't stand all that analog fidelity or unencumbered studio ambiance. Then look no further than Kind of Bloop.

The listening room of George Cardas

2009-08-25T19:19:00.013-05:00

Enjoy a quick video that presents a snapshot of George Cardas' listening room. What I find refreshing is that he could have any equipment that he wants, yet his system is very tasteful. If I'm not mistaken that looks like a double pair of Magnepan MG3.6. Those particular Maggies are one of the very best values in high end audio. For less than $5,000 they will easily compete with anything in the world when it comes to transparency in the midrange and extension in the high frequencies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCFhBmy6XFQ

Kind Of Blue

2009-08-23T15:50:00.004-05:00

Recently Miles Davis' seminal "Kind Of Blue" album turned fifty years old. It's quite possibly the most re-issued and praised jazz album of all time. The vast majority those accolades are richly deserved. Nearly any jazz fan that wasn't being a pretentious ass would recommend it as one of the ten best jazz albums for people looking to get into the genre. The work has been endlessly analyzed but that analysis hasn't stripped of any of it's power or magic. It's hard to put a finger on what makes it so special, but that's how it often is with things that transcend their genres and become part of popular culture.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBpLKm8vw4M&feature=player_embedded

. . .to boldly go . . .

2009-08-17T18:40:00.005-05:00

This photo is all over the internet and I have one major question. Does the Wow and Flutter make every singer sound like William Shatner? Sadly, for many Star Trek fans this isn't available but I'm sure that some Enterprising (sorry I couldn't resist) fan will make one in his parent's basement. Hopefully, Paramount won't sue him when he does.

Another Legend Gone

2009-08-13T18:53:00.000-05:00

Sadly many people haven't heard of Les Paul. In addition to being a great guitarist he was a great innovator and even an inventor. He invented the solid body electric guitar, thus greatly reducing the problem of feedback on stage. He also invented the idea of over-dubbing allowing one musician to record many parts for a single work. Not to mention his innovation of synchronizing a number of recording machines to allow for multi-track recording, thus making mixing after the performance possible. Modern recordings simply couldn't exist without his vision.

Les Paul (1915 - 2009)

2009-08-13T11:53:00.007-05:00

Les Paul may not be the most celebrated guitarist of all time, but there is little doubt that he was the most important. Having not only paved the way for virtually every rock and jazz guitar player with his invetion of the modern electric guitar, he was also equally, if not more so, influential in the world of studio recording with the invention of multi tracking, overdubbing and other tape effects; all of which are still widely used today.

The Gibson Les Paul, a guitar so iconic it is rivaled only by the Fender Stratocaster, was designed in collaboration with Les and Gibson. While he may not have literally designed the entire instrument he made famous, Gibson recognized Les not only invented the technology, but through his own fame gained as a musician, made the electric guitar widely popular.

Guy Fletcher's Diaries

2009-08-08T00:57:00.006-05:00

Below is a link to the professional diary of Guy Fletcher, a veteran keyboardist who has worked with Mark Knopfler (among many others) since the Dire Straits days and on every solo album thereafter. I find these posts to be very interesting, especially the technical notes and photos from the recording sessions of Knopfler's recent records.

Some highlights include seeing vintage EMI tube desks and tape machines still being used by Knopfler and his long-time engineer, Chuck Ainlay. Also, don't miss the pictures of George Martin stopping by to visit the sessions and to show off iPhone pictures from his frequent trips to Montserrat, or indeed, the revelation that Big George actually owns an iPhone.

http://guyfletcher.co.uk/diaries/index.php

Recovering History

2009-07-28T19:12:00.004-05:00

One of the best ways to explore the history of music is to find out who influenced a given artist and explore their work. In this way Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton would lead directly back to Robert Johnson. For this method do work one very important thing is necessary. The recordings must be available. Many older jazz or blues performances are extremely rare and only available on 78 RPM shellac discs. These discs are relatively delicate and can be easily damaged. Unfortunately until recent to these historically important performances could be lost forever. United States Library of Congress has been working on a solution. They've come up with a machine that optically reads the information on an analog disc, similar to the way that a computer scanner works. Check out the NPR story, as well as some some before and after samples. Click here for the full story.

Bimbos and audiophile recordings

2009-07-27T18:50:00.009-05:00

What do bimbos and audiophile recordings have in common? For the most part after the first encounter or two the thrill is gone. In the end they are great for impressing friends, but offer little to no long term happiness. I haven't heard the recordings from DirectGrace but they don't belong in the bimbo category. Even if the music does fall flat for some listener they will still be able to take satisfaction in knowing that their purchase helped those in need. Now that's long term happiness, it's a fantastic idea. Who among us hasn't felt at least a pang of guilt as we spent more on a pair of interconnects or a power cord than many people around the world make in a year? For that matter many of us own speakers that cost more money than people in the third world will see in an entire lifetime. Is it our faults? Not entirely. Can we do something to help change the situation? Certainly. Just some things to think about while watching the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipJDG_jnyUk

It's In The Hunt

2009-06-30T18:55:00.016-05:00

As one who is still very new to the active collection and enjoyment of vinyl records (I'm not counting using them as frisbees or surfing the basement carpet on them as a child), I've begun to appreciate the fickle, frustrating nature of the medium. Everything about the collecting, the listening, the tweaking, the maintenance and the hunt can be equal parts maddening and rewarding. I once spotted a pristine, mint-looking early Nat King Cole record at a thrift store. The jacket - shiny. The spine - solid. The inner sleeve - factory crisp. The record inside - "101 Strings, The Glory of Christmas." It's enough for me to cause a scene there amongst the rusty Faberware.

There are good days, however. Here are a few recent finds from a Goodwill.

James Brown - I Can't Stand Myself (1967, King)

This is a very lively record with The Godfather of Soul in his prime doing what made him famous.

Tony Bennett - I Left My Heart in San Francisco (1963, Columbia)

This is a Canadian pressing (I'll explain my hang-up about this in some future post), but I couldn't pass this up at $1.99 CDN. This album was the first LP, I believe, with the hit title song which had already been released as a single.

Teddi King - All The King's Songs (1959, Coral)

This is valued at $60-$70, but more importantly, it's a great recording and is a very good record with outstanding performances by Ms. King.

Jimmy Rushing - Five Feet of Soul (1963, Colpix)

Jimmy Rushing was a blues singer who sang for Count Basie. His powerful voice and powerful personality is on display here. "Five Feet of Soul" refers to his nickname, "Mr. Five By Five." Five feet tall by five feet wide.

Cecil Payne - Performing Charlie Parker Music (1961, Charlie Parker Records)

Cecil Payne was a saxophonist who played with Dizzy Gillespie. He only had a handful of records as a bandleader, and this one is from 1961. It's also in great shape.

In the film American Splendor, Harvey Pekar, in an interview, commented on his time spent at garage sales looking for old jazz records, in search of that one title which will somehow magically make his collection complete. To paraphrase, just when he feels like giving up, he makes some find that whets the appetite all over again, and the cycle continues. I wouldn't draw too many comparisons between myself and Harvey Pekar. Besides, finding records at garage sales is becoming rarer and rarer. The energy spent (and weekend sleep lost) getting up on Saturday to check out garage sales which might advertise records on Craigslist are usually in vain since eBay and flea market creeps often contact the sellers early to try to get first crack at the bounty. Who wants to compete with that?

Luckily, I've rarely spent more than just a few dollars for a used record. Demand is low for analog, which is sad for the industry, but great for fans. Unless, of course, you're a Michael Jackson fan. After his death, Thriller began selling for over $100 for used copies on eBay. I'm glad I got a replacement copy for my 1984 original a few months ago from the 50-cent rack at a local record store. Of course, eBay is the worst place to buy anything, really, since prices are usually driven up by one singular moron with more money than common sense.

I refuse to be that moron.

Perfecting Sound

2009-06-23T19:33:00.009-05:00

NPR has a wonderful interview with Greg Milner, author of "Perfecting Sound Forever: An Aural History of Recorded Music" which can be downloaded here. In the book Mr. Milner traces the development of recording technology from the Edison wax cylinder to the modern day. Based on the interview the books will probably a very compelling read.

Audio over USB

2009-06-06T21:07:00.015-05:00

The arrivals of the iPod, iPhone, Airport Express and Apple TV have raised the bar of consumer expectations of convenience when it comes accessing their music collection. With hard drives being as cheap as they are and so many new DACs coming equipped with USB inputs putting together a DIY music server seems like a better and better idea every days. However, like many things in high end audio it's not as simple as it first seems. At least two major factors stand between the interested audiophiles and good sound.

Jitter: In essence all of the "1" and "0" are present and in the correct order but the word clock that tells the DAC when to decode them is wrong. We're talking about fractions of a second here but our ears do pick up on it. Think of it this way. The world's best marching band all taking their time from a drummer with great rhythm vs. that same marching band with someone with no rhythmic sensibility. The musicians haven't changed, their instruments haven't changed, and the sheet music is still the same. But the rhythm won't be the same and things will start to sound sloppy and lax. Many of the new digital to analog converters are built specifically to reject incoming jitter are based on the Burr Brown PCM270x chips. That chip set has two major limitations. First it has a strong jitter component at 1kHz, which as misfortune would have it is smack in the audio band AND the frequency at which the human ear is MOST sensitive. Second, the chip is limited to a maximum sampling frequency of 48kHz which excludes it's use to transfer high resolution 88.2 kHz, 96kHz, and 192 kHz content. A better solution is a DAC capable of exploiting USB's asynchronous mode where the DAC requests the data when it is needed and therefore determining it's own word clock. Curently very few DACs on the market are capable of properly implimenting the asychronous mode because of the coplexity of the computer code necessary to make it work properly. Gordon Raskin, whose first career was in the computer world is one of the few people on the planet with a good understanding of bother sides of the problem. Currently his custom code is available in products from his company, Wavelength Audio and the upcoming QB-9 from Ayre.
Re-sampling: CD's are at a sampling rate of 44.1kHz which means that every second is broken up into 44,100 slices with each slice being described by a series of 16 "1" and "0." Microsoft in their infinite wisdom decided that most of their products translate everything to 48kHz or 48,000 by adding essentially garbage in a part of the program called the "K Mixer." According to the Wavelength web page the "K" mixer can be by-passed or mapped through as it's called (proceed at your own risk) by the following steps. "Go Control Panel => Sounds and Audio Device => Select Hardware Tab => Select USB Audio Device.

Click Properties Button => Select Properties Tab => Click the “+” to the left of [+] Audio Devices that will pop down USB Audio Devices.
Select USB Audio Devices and click Properties.

Check both Use audio features of this device and Do not map through this device.
==> [ Apply ] <=="

Passion

2009-06-02T17:15:00.006-05:00

Many times it is a struggle to explain to those not interested in high-end audio what drives the audiophile to sacrifice time, money, aesthetics, and domestic tranquility to achieve their goal of sonic bliss. Trying to describe any emotional experience to another individual is always difficult but the euphoria that is brought on by experiencing a phenomenal musical reproduction in one's own home of a favorite artist, many times long since dead is particularly difficult.

For the most part when trying to explain the quest to those who are interested in understanding I've repeated the same anecdote. When I was in college most of my friends were training as classical musicians which gave me the chance to hear live orchestral and string quartet music on a very regular basis. Though I 'm no expert. One night we were all sitting around and shooting the breeze while my stereo was playing a piece by Debussy in the background and one of my good friends asked, "Isn't this all a bit excessive?" while motioning to my system of the time. He was a huge Johnny Cash fan so I asked him, "When you pop in a CD of early Johnny Cash recordings into your boom box what is your goal?" He smugly replied, "I want to listen to a Johnny Cash CD of course" thinking that he had won the argument. My response was to say, "Then a boom box is an acceptable tool to reach your goal. My goal is different. I want to be transported back in time and space to 1955 Memphis, Tennessee at Sun Studios with Mr. Cash and his band 10 feet in front of me and Sam Philips a couple of feet behind me in the control room. To me a really great audio system is almost a time and space machine which should create a virtual reality experience." Instantly everyone in the room sort of got what all of the madness was about and from that day forward they respected what I was trying to accomplish.

Of course if this 20 minute documentary involving the Audiophile Club of Athens by Ken Barns had existed then I would have shown them this as well. It's a great peak into the passion, humor, and diversity that is the hobby. It's also wonderful viewing for audiophiles that have somehow lost their way and forgotten that it really is all about the music. Even though these gentlemen and I have had very different life experiences there is no doubt that the passion that we share for music and audio would be enough common ground to enjoy each others company for an afternoon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs1aUws0Lrs

Jay Bennett

2009-05-25T21:58:00.007-05:00

Click on the photo to see a Wilco studio outtake featuring Jay.

Sadly, last weekend saw the passing of former Wilco member, Jay Bennett. Bennett's tenure with the band saw a profound period of Wilco's evolution, and many fans largely attribute Wilco's rapid growth during this period, both musically and sonically, to his talents as an arranger, songwriter and engineer. His sound is most evident on Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot where his songwriting partnership with Wilco's frontman Jeff Tweedy was in full bloom, and his arrangements and presence behind the mixing console gave the songs a richly textured, yet incredibly sparse (and never overproduced) sonic splendor.

Apart from Wilco, Jay has released solo records and has also played as a studio musician for Sheryl Crow and produced Blues Traveler's 2005 album, ¡Bastardos!.

Why Cost-No-Object Speakers Are Good for Everyone

2009-05-22T21:35:00.009-05:00

Without a doubt the audio component furthest away from perfection in our systems is the lowly loudspeaker. With distortion ratings left of the decimal place for nearly every transducer on the market (many in the double digits) there is a lot of work to be done. So cutting edge, no-holds barred, statement products not only improve the state of the art but also hold the promise of providing technology that can trickle down to improve performance for nearly everyone. Below is a picture of Kef's newest all out effort, "The Blade." Click on the picture to watch a short video outlining the basics of these beautifully, sculpted speakers.

http://www2.kef.com/resources/video/gb/blade/video.html

Objectivist Rant

2009-05-16T14:23:00.014-05:00

To All Subjectivists-

[sarcasm begins]
Cast off your subjectivist sins and all will be forgiven. Become an objectivist, it's cheaper and there's no need to pursue "happiness." Because so-called "happiness" can't be scientifically quantified surely it's just an illusion created by chemicals in the human brain.

When are you going to stop "listening" to music and realize the truest and purest way to "appreciate" it is via oscilloscope? It has the added benefit of being cheaper and the SAF* is much higher too.

You should also be enjoying your wine by testing it's chemical composition instead of wasting it by dumping it down your unscientific throats. This method has the added benefit of getting rid of the wines unfortunate side effect that many refer to as intoxication.

A painting should be evaluated by the number of colors per square inch and the size of the work rather than how it makes you FEEL.

I also advocate the testing of cars by seeing how fast they can make a piece of toast out of a slice of bread placed on the engine. There's no need to actually waste ones time test driving the damn thing. My 2001 Hyundai Accent does it just as fast as the top of the line BMW 5 series, therefore they must be just as good.
[sarcasm ends]

One of the things that I don't get about most objectivists when it comes to audio they deny anything that can't be measured as if it can't exist. Don't they realize that the first step to scientific understanding is many times anecdotal observation which is then followed to a new scientific understanding? The most eloquent word for this is serendipity. Penicillin was discovered because Sir Alexander Fleming had a runny nose that dripped onto some slides containing bacteria. Louis Pasteur once said, "In the fields of observation chance favors only the prepared mind." Just because we can't measure something doesn't mean it is non-existent, it just means we don't yet have a method to quantify it. Newton didn't discover gravity he only found a way to quantify and describe it. Gravity existed long before him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sREBSuJDnYg&feature=player_embedded

Ken Ishiwata makes an excellent point in passing. Why are specs seen as so important when they are obtained using CONTINUOUS (or static) test tones and yet a piece of audio gear's purpose is to reproduce a constantly VARIABLE set of tones? The measurements are obtained in an entirely different manner than the product's intended use.

*SAF, or Spouse Acceptance Factor is the more politically correct
version of WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor.)

The Furutech Furor

2009-05-09T20:27:00.024-05:00

The Furutech deMag device has been causing controversy in high-end circles for some time now, Stephen Mejias' excellent blog entry reignited debate on the Stereophile forum. It's main purpose is to de-magnetize vinyl records although there are reports of people using it on interconnects, speaker cables, power cords, even CD's; all with positive results. According to the manufacturer while vinyl is not magnetic carbon black, the material used to make records black does exhibit some magnetic properties.

I'd like to thank Michael Fremer for posting the files for comparison sake. Not only does it let us look at (although in a flawed manner) what the Furtech demag device does or does not do, it also lets us all get a glimpse at how special Mickey's turntable is. The digital recordings were made using a Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn turntable, Cobra tonearm, Castellon stand and "probably Manley Steelhead, Lyra Titan i cartridge" as the analog front end according to Michael Fremer.

Right after the downloads were complete I listened to the two samples using the computer as the source through my Tivoli Model One table radio, just for fun. Even on the Model One after the first listen I thought I heard a difference. It was so small as to be indescribable, but "Step Right Up 2" was just a little more alive. From there I burned it to a CD-R and put it on my system.

There are two things that are important to mention. First, this is a digital conversion of an analog medium so some of the differences are bound to have gotten lost in that conversion. That seems obvious, but it's still worth mentioning none the less. Second, while my system is very, very good most likely it's not nearly as resolving as Michael Fremer's system.

Alright, on to my conclusions.

All comparisons were done over the course of a number of days. "Step Right Up 2" consistently bested "Step Right Up 1" in the following ways:

The bass is more articulate and has a more complex tonal structure.
The Scatting and the finger snaps at the beginning of the song are much more prominent.
There is greater soundstaging depth and space in general.
The sax sounds at once further back in the soundstage AND less veiled.
The performance is more involving with a greater sense of micro dynamics, especially in the nuances of Tom Waits vocal delivery.

Were the differences HUGE? Not on my system but as previously mentioned the scale of those changes were probably reduced by the conversion process itself and the system that I'm using is several steps below the one that Michael is blessed with. However, I'm confident those differences are real. For someone with a ultra high end vinyl set up looking to add those last few drops of resolution the Furutech DeMag might just be the ticket.

Old Vinyl, New Life

2009-05-08T21:11:00.016-05:00

I often tend to approach my hobbies with a collector's mentality. Unfortunately, this means I always have shelves overflowing with media, not to mention the never ending search for storage solutions. Still, the hook always comes in the form of those random, unexpected finds.

Once a week or so, I'll stop into a Goodwill which is situated between my house and where I work to check out their CDs and vinyl. Any vinyl collector knows the usual thrift store fare rarely consists of more than collections of religious hymns from the 1970s, Herb Alpert and records by the 101 Strings. However, I recently stumbled upon stacks of old Capitol and RCA Victor discs. This means a lot of Perry Como, recorded using RCA Victor's much-derided Dynagroove technology, Jackie Gleason Presents Music for Lovers Only, Harry Belafonte, and several records by Vera Lynn (one of which I almost bought just to hear the song referenced by Pink Floyd in their song, "Vera Lynn"). I might not have been interested in any of the records at all, but the $0.99 price tag encourages me be a little more adventurous. Besides, at that price, it isn't like I can't just roll the dice and donate them back if I don't like it.

I brought home two discs; Harry Belafonte Sings of the Caribbean (1957), a simple collection of gentrified calypso songs in mono, and Henry Mancini - Our Man in Hollywood (1963).

Our Man in Hollywood was part of RCA Victor's popular "Our Man in..." series, in which they "place" their recording artists in various locations and genres (e.g. Chet Atkins - Our Man in Nashville and Sonny Rollins - Our Man in Jazz ).

Our Man in Hollywood is a collection of movie and television themes arranged by the brilliant Henry Mancini, and was offered in mono and "LIVING STEREO." I was lucky enough to find the stereo version since it gives the already quirky arrangements an also quirky sense of stereo separation, which was very common in the 1960s, but doesn't detract from the arrangements at all. Instead, thanks to plenty of natural reverb and the skill of the recording engineer (see below), it gives the recordings an extraordinarily wide soundstage and tons of space and clarity. Not all of the tracks are exactly stellar, but the majority of them sound quite amazing. Especially "The Theme from The Wonderful World of The Brothers Grimm," "Too Little Time ('Love Theme from the Glenn Miller Story')," and an absolutely 'swingin' 60s' version of "Seventy Six Trombones" from 'The Music Man.'

Side 1:
Days of Wine and Roses
Walk On The Wild Side
The Theme From The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
Love Song From Mutiny on the Bounty
Mr. Hobbs Theme
Seventy Six Trombones

Side 2:
Love Theme From Phaedra
Bachelor in Paradise
Too LIttle Time
Drink More Milk
The Wishing Star
Dreamsville!

It should be noted that the album was recorded by Al Schmitt, one of the all-time great recording engineers who has also recently worked with Diana Krall and Shelby Lynne on her wonderful sounding 2008 tribute to Dusty Springfield, Just a Little Lovin' (which was produced by Bacharach's old collaborator and the 1967 Casino Royale soundtrack engineer Phil Ramone).

All in all, I consider it 99 cents well-spent.

Simon Yorke

2009-05-07T03:08:00.003-05:00

Below is a brief interview with Simon Yorke, designer and manufacturer of some of the worlds most highly regarded turntables. While I don't agree that digitally reproduced music is incapable of moving the soul I do share his concern that music is being treated more like a commodity than art.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQrXvYZv1zQ&feature=player_embedded

Beginnings

2009-05-03T23:05:00.012-05:00

Hello, folks.

Audio Explorer has graciously invited me to contribute to this site, so I thought I'd provide a little background about myself. Basically, I love music. I love listening to it, I love collecting it and I even love (trying) to make my own. Listening to music can, at once, be one of the most therapeutic, relaxing and invigorating experiences we humans can have.

That is why, several years ago, I decided to set about building a stereo and entertainment system to finally do justice to the hundreds of CDs I had collected over the years. Being out of college, engaged to be married and (more or less) out of the red, financially, I began consulting Audio Explorer, or rather this blog's administrator, a very old and dear friend, and one who knows his shit when it comes to hi-fi, about which speakers I should listen to and which A/V receivers offered the most "bang for the buck." It had long been a goal to slowly begin putting together a system, but, as with a lot of "noobs," I was always kept away by astronomical price tags. Still, I knew enough not to just head out to Best Buy, bring home the Bose and call it a day.

I waited.

Eventually, after a lot of calls to Audio Explorer, I had a great system for music, movies, games and television. The Rotel RSX-1057 and Paradigm Studio 100s v.4 anchored a 5.1 system that really breathed new life into our living room entertainment. Along with a nice Sony XBR LCD, it all culminated to a substantial improvement over our hand-me-down mid-90's Pioneer stereo and CRT TV.

Now that my wife and I have moved, temporarily, to work in Canada, we've rented a house that has a small space in the basement for TV/movies/gaming and an empty living room upstairs in need of music. Again, I began researching some amps and associated gear to use my beloved Paradigms for a music-only system.

Here's what developed:

Here are the speakers and the Arcam FMJ A38 integrated amp and the matching CD17. I also added a Panamax power conditioner. Like many others, I have also been getting back into vinyl, so awhile back, I went with Pro-Ject's entry level Debut III turntable and Phono Box phono stage preamp. I intend to eventually order Arcam's on-board phono stage.

Nothing re-energizes collecting music as a hobby than a new stereo to listen to it on (or "on which to listen to it," for you English nerds). That's my intention with The Audio Explorer - to chronicle record hunting, discuss music and stereo-related topics and continue to discuss new ways to enjoy music.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back.

2009-05-01T21:02:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I find it remarkable how much disrespect people can treat objects that are art. I was saddened to read earlier today that the pressing plant responsible for the pre-2006 albums of mainstay indie label, Matador had not only went bankrupt but had carelessly thrown away the vinyl master plates for those albums. If you want more of the gory details check out The Guardian article

Only Belle & Sebastian

2009-04-30T23:25:00.004-05:00

Here is a good teaser video concerning Belle & Sebastian's next project. Which is an album and soon to be a film. What other band in the world would let a fan sing lead on a song?

Previews of three songs are available here.

With the way that crew operates one of the fans might end up as a permanent member. Eventually there's going to be like 20 of them. It's going to be less of a band and more of a gang. Then it will sub-divide into two bands of 10 people each one called Belle which will be all of the girls and some of the more twee boys and the other will of course be called Sebastian and will be made up of boys obsessed with classic rock. Mark my words!

Myrtle Wood Blocks

2009-04-29T17:19:00.006-05:00

Many after market component support tweaks are manufactured from man-made materials and are made to extremely tight tolerances which results in a uniform "tuning" frequency. The uniformity usually adds some distinctly negative coloration in addition to the products sonic benefits. That doesn't occur with the wood blocks. Since the blocks are a natural material every sample is going to differ a bit. That might, in fact be part of why they work so well. Each block works on slightly different set frequencies because of variations in the grain structure and density of the wood.

During my time at an Ayre dealer I sold hundreds of sets of the wood blocks and told everyone the same thing, "If you don't hear a difference please bring them back." I can't speak for Cardas but Ayre is very picky about who their dealers are from a customer service stand point. If someone purchases a set and DOESN'T hear a difference I'm sure any Ayre dealer would let the customer return them for a full refund. I only had one set come back in over three years and that was because the guy owned Halcro gear and the standard feet were too tall to allow their use. I once sold a set to a hard core skeptic non-tweaker because his wife demanded that the system fit into an armoire and the CD player was blocking the top vents of his hot running preamp. When I told him that in addition to allowing the preamp to breath it would make the CD player sound better he gave me a complete "FUCK YOU" look. Three days later he called me back and bought three more sets for the other components because he had heard a difference even though he didn't want to.

The Ayre wood blocks in my system are used in sets of three because three points define a plane, with the logo right side up. Not to name drop but Charlie Hansen and Steve Sliberman of Ayre also feel it to be the best sounding orientation so I'm in good company. When I worked for an Ayre dealer Steve would only reveal his conclusions after I had done the experiments myself, they encourage people to "play" with the blocks. I do not believe that the benefit of the Ayre/Cardas myrtle blocks is in their resonant behavior ADDING a pleasurable element to the sound. I believe that the mechanism is the DRAINING of resonances AWAY from the component and into the equipment rack. I always place one block under the power supply of the component because that's usually the biggest source of vibration in components other than CD players and turntables.

Whenever possible the Myrtle wood blocks are placed against the side of a protruding screw, bolt, etc on the bottom cover because these fasteners are the best mechanically conductive pathways for vibrations. The amount of change in the sound just by making sure that they made contact with a fastener of some type was an ear opener. I found that chestnut of thinking while reading about Symposium products after Stephen Scharf's thread on DIY roller blocks had piqued my interest. The acoustic impedance of the wood blocks is much more similar to the metal (Myrtle wood being extremely hard) of the component bottom AND the wood of the rack shelves than the stock rubber feet offered on most products, thus it drain the vibrations away much more quickly and efficiently. I will admit that according to this theory the ideal situation would be to have metal shelves and metal footer, all made for more or less the same metal. Maybe Cardas should make some of these blocks, with the same dimensions in metal too. Why don't these blocks allow outside vibrations into a component as well as drain internal resonances away? I'm don't have a good answer to that question, but I assure you that I have thought about it.

Another Interesting Video from Paul

2009-04-26T16:14:00.005-05:00

A while back PS Audio's Paul McGowan bought some gear to make their "Coal to Coltrane" DVD and has been making interesting smaller videos ever since. The new one discusses what high resolution digital audio is, why it's better, and how we can get it into our systems. It's a good way to spend the next 9 minutes. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu_2EBnM4sI&feature=player_embedded

The Find of a Lifetime?

2009-04-21T18:57:00.014-05:00

Being a semi-serious Beatles fan I was aware that Capitol had not released the earliest Beatles album or single in the US, that honor went to a small Chicago label named Vee Jay. While at Second Hand Tunes in Evanston, IL. I came across a copy of The Beatles - "Introducing. . . The Beatles Englands No.1 Vocal Group." on the Vee Jay label. Of course my Southsider skepticism was immediately raised but for $20 and with my best friend whom I still owe a wedding present being a HUGE fan I figured that I'd take the chance. After all if a record this rare would be found anywhere, why not Evanston it's pretty much Chicago after all.

As I often do I called my buddy from the record store in a hushed voice as to not tip the store's staff off to what treasure I might have found and asked for his input. Of course he also knew that the first album had been issued on Vee Jay but didn't know of any distinguishing marks to spot a possible fake. After arriving home I Googled the title hoping to find a website with a little guidance. The first site that I found had an encyclopedic amount of information. Apparently the The Beatles first US album is one of the most faked albums ever. The fact that Vee Jay issued many, many variations of the album in a short period of time can make identifying an original a bit difficult. The copy that I purchased had many of the signs that it was the genuine article but it failed one or two of the crucial tests. In the end it looks like it is one of the better forgeries that was produced, fooling many professionals in fact. I hope that he isn't too disappointed. Below are photos of the label and back cover of the version of the forgery that I ended up purchasing.

Round table

2009-04-06T20:49:00.004-05:00

Below is video of Stereophile's round table discussion at the Salon Son et Image Audio show, broken into eleven parts. The participants included John Atkinson, Art Dudley, Stephen Mejias, and Robert Deutsch. It looks like it was an enjoyable time, and now the world knows how pronounce Stephen Mejias' last name.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyCJ4qtPZkQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p4a6Emc01U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1eS2-R2BY0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5VKvkd7WRc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2CVjdRa1t4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWBU2pY9lyk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8ooRPAUKX8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBshmJ1CvA8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-3DnK_3BG4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRp8rtZLj8Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmh27IPBlAk

Single-ended vs. Balanced

2009-04-02T19:59:00.005-05:00

There never seems to be a shortage of questions about the difference between single ended and balanced connections when it comes to high-end audio. This will be a bit of a simplification but in a single ended connection (normally utilizing an RCA connector) there is a "signal" (the music) and a "ground" (electrical ground.) In a balanced connection (normally carried on and XLR but sometimes on other connectors for PRO applications) there is the "signal" (again music) the "ground" (electrical ground) then the third leg is "the signal 180 degrees out of phase." That is to say AN EXACT OPPOSITE of the original musical signal.

The practical benefit is that if the entire system is balanced, including inside the components at the end of the chain the "signal" and the "inverse of the signal" can be compared. Anything that they have in common must be noise picked up in the journey of the signal, and is therefore discarded. Making for "blacker" backgrounds and wider, deeper sound stages.*

It is important to note that just because a component has XLR connectors on the back DOES NOT mean that the circuit is truly balanced. Many time manufacturers will add XLR connects for comparability with other gear OR as marketing hype. A truly balance circuit close to doubles the price of a component because for every wire, cap, resistor, etc there must now be two. Only the chassis and the power supply don't need to be doubled. If it isn't balanced throughout the entire circuit, it's of negligible value. In fact, a pseudo-balanced design adds one EXTRA part in the signal path that wouldn't be in the signal path for the single-ended connections which is usually phase splitter used to "manufacturer" a balanced signal when only a single-ended one exists.

*Not everyone agrees that balanced connections run over shot distances have an audible effect, including some very good manufacturers. Like many things in high-end audio there are some very knowledgeable honest people on both sides of the fence. For the record my system is balanced, but I've heard many impressive systems that were purely single-ended.

Jeffery Lewis - "12 Crass Songs"

2009-03-29T18:42:00.005-05:00

Originally written Big Black Disk.

Jeffery Lewis "12 Crass Songs"
(2007 Rough Trade)

Sound: ***
Performance **

It was once remarked in my presence that if an old painting was put into a new frame it forced the view to re-evaluate the work from another perspective. That's exactly what Jeffery Lewis' "12 Crass Songs" sets out to do. Jeffrey Lewis re-interprets 12 songs by punk band Crass as folk tunes. It's not such a strange idea as it first seems, in some ways punk and folk are closely related. Both genres are democratic musical forms. Anyone can form a punk band or become a folk troubadour. Being able to play an instrument competently, follow a melody, or in anyway sing are strictly speaking optional. All one really needs is a quick fire vocal delivery that's almost fast enough to slip by the standard left wing observations as being profound. A skill perfected by Bob Dylan.

The three best songs are all on the second side, which is a bit hard to find owing to the fact that marking the sides as A and B or 1 and 2 would be far too conformist. Instead one side lists all twelve songs, which is in fact the first side and the other side has a picture on it. "Do they Owe Us a Living?" is a bit catchy as a hint of melody is allowed to intrude on the politics. With the lead singer asking "Do they owe us a living?" and the backing vocals chanting, "Of course they do. Of Course they do." Then the vocalist asks again "Do they owe us a living?" The second answer is a resounding, "Of course they F6&%ing do!" The drumbeat adds a nice sense of urgency to the song. "Demoncrats" (sic) begins with the random tunings of a radio over a mournful organ figure, which is accented by a triangle. Add double tracked vocals and this is by far the most interesting song sonically. Of course the random radio tuning may land him in trouble, just ask Pink Floyd. Ironically the most effective track on the album is "Punk is Dead" which takes the musical form itself to task for it's many hypocrisies. With lines such as, "Punk is dead, yes that's right, punk is dead/It's just another cheap product for the consumer's head." and "CBS promoted The Clash, but not for revolution, just for cash." it's dead on the mark about the genre. The draw of Punk has always been more about the off stage antics and how much parents hate it than musical or lyrical content.

The record is very well pressed with very little surface noise. Included with the LP is a gift card that entitles the owner to download the entire album as MP3s. I didn't bother, it's a nice touch but I'll record the vinyl onto a CD and dump that into iTunes, to get the best sound possible. According to the website, "The downloads are MP3 format at 256kbps. These downloads are virtually indistinguishable from CD-quality audio and we think offer the best audio quality vs. download time." I'm glad that they are not 192kbps, but I take exception to 256kbps being referred to as "high quality" or "virtually indistinguishable from CD-quality." It's odd that they can tell that vinyl sounds better than CD and yet find 256kbps MP3s to be nearly identical to CDs. The booklet reproduces all of the lyrics in addition to a comic book inspired telling of how Mr. Lewis came to be familiar with Crass' music.

If I were between 17-20 years old I might find these songs powerful, compelling, and insightful. But I'm not and to these jaded ears they just sound like oversimplifications of all of the political issues they try to address. The singer's voice sounds OK, he might have a future reading news on NPR, his backing vocalist could handle the dreaded pledge drives. Isn't that what punks do when they grow up?

Mind blowing

2009-03-19T19:00:00.006-05:00

If you've ever needed proof that some white males can dance. This Ok Go! video is it. I've always wondered what lonely hipsters do on a Saturday night, now I know. The truly impressive thing is that this video is shot in a single take. In case you were wondering they did return the treadmills after they were done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv5zWaTEVkI

Defined A Generation

2009-03-06T21:41:00.005-06:00

Along with Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Pearl Jam's debut album "Ten" helped define a musical generation. According to the band's website March 24th will see the re-release of the album in no fewer than FOUR editions. Anyone who considers themselves a Pearl Jam fan that isn't excited by the Super Deluxe Edition should check their pulse, because there is a good chance they have died and no one has bothered to notice yet:

Legacy Edition (2-disc set in mini-LP style slipcase):
- Disc 1: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered (original mix)
- Disc 2: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered and remixed by Brendan O’Brien, plus six bonus tracks: "Brother," "Just a Girl," "State of Love and Trust," "Breath and a Scream," "2,000 Mile Blues" and "Evil Little Goat"
- Re-designed packaging
Deluxe Edition (2-disc set plus DVD specially designed hardbound package):
- Disc 1: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered (original mix)
- Disc 2: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered and remixed by Brendan O’Brien, plus six bonus tracks: "Brother," "Just a Girl," "State of Love and Trust," "Breath and a Scream," "2,000 Mile Blues" and "Evil Little Goat"
- DVD of Pearl Jam’s previously unreleased 1992 MTV Unplugged performance including never before seen bonus performance of "Oceans" with 5.1 surround sound audio remix
Vinyl Collection (2-LP set)
- LP 1: original Ten tracklisting remastered for vinyl
- LP 2: original Ten tracklisting remastered for vinyl and remixed by Brendan O’Brien
Super Deluxe Edition (2-disc set plus DVD, 4 LPs and replica cassette in linen-covered, slip-cased clamshell box):
- Disc 1: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered (original mix)
- Disc 2: original Ten tracklisting digitally remastered and remixed by Brendan O’Brien, plus six bonus tracks: "Brother," "Just a Girl," "State of Love and Trust," "Breath and a Scream," "2,000 Mile Blues" and "Evil Little Goat"
- DVD of Pearl Jam’s previously unreleased 1992 MTV Unplugged performance including never before seen bonus performance of "Oceans" with 5.1 surround sound audio remix
- LP 1: original Ten tracklisting remastered for vinyl
- LP 2: original Ten tracklisting remastered for vinyl and remixed by Brendan O’Brien
- LP 3 & 4: Drop in the Park – Live at Magnuson Park in Seattle on September 20, 1992 (audio mixed by Brendan O’Brien)
- Cassette: replica of original "Momma-Son" Pearl Jam demo cassette featuring "Alive," "Once" and "Footsteps"
- Package also includes an Eddie Vedder-style composition notebook filled with replica personal notes, images and mementos from the collections of Eddie Vedder and Jeff Ament, a vellum envelope with replicated era-specific ephemera from Pearl Jam’s early work and a two-sided print commemorating the Drop in the Park concert.

A Fun Little Project

2009-03-01T17:47:00.002-06:00

Would you believe that you could build your own loudspeaker in under five minutes for less than a dollar?
http://www.youtube.com/v/8m8fbnShPcw&hl=en&fs=1

I knew that I should have kept the headphones that came with my iPod for some reason. It might even be a good picnic trick but be careful and follow all of the directions to the letter or this might happen.
http://www.youtube.com/v/wOXUBWl1T5U&hl=en&fs=1

Sad news for NHT

2009-02-25T13:22:00.014-06:00

CEPro published the following statement regarding NHT

"February 23, 2009

Dear Friends of NHT,

It's time to turn down the lights: NHT is going quiet.

Over the next 60 days we're going to sell the remaining professional and consumer inventory through our existing dealers and distributors, pay our bills, and then spend time rethinking the future of NHT. However, you should know that we are not bankrupt. Everybody here is fine and no, the car didn't get hit by a train. In a way this difficult economy provided the right opportunity for the change in strategy we felt has been necessary for some time.

One thing that is for sure is that this is not about our love for or commitment to the brand. It isn't about the audio business, either. It's all about the realities of the world and how consumer attitudes are changing, and how we as a brand and an industry can best respond to the need for real invention. We're anxious to get moving. When we do, it will be in the right direction.

NHT has always stood for something more than a great speaker. Our philosophy has to do with a way of thinking – about value, about fair play, about paying attention to what matters, about integrity. For us, it's a way of life.

We have a colorful history that included our share of distractions, but we hope we have made the speaker industry a little more interesting and helped in raising the bar.

We believe March 31, 2009 is to be the last day of "regular" business, at least for now. We intend to offer customer service and repair services for both in and out of warranty, available ongoing. Keep an eye on our website (nhthifi.com) for more details and the occasional update.

Remember, this isn't good-bye, it's just "see you on the other side"

Thanks for everything!

Chris, John and the entire NHT gang"

Stereophile's Jason Victor Serinus was able to get Mr. Byrne to elaborate a bit more in this news item. It's like being "on a break" in a relationship or "seeing other people" it isn't officially the end but in reality it usually is. Think of how the dealers feel. They have supported this brand for years, put in the hard work to build the brand name in their markets, made it a priority ,and then when they need NHT the most it isn't there for them. They will have to sell all of their demos at a huge discount (because many customers will read the statement as NHT is out of business) and pick up a new line to fill the void. How big of a check are their dealers going to have to write to start doing business with a new manufacturer? Can the average Mom and Pop audio store afford it right now? They just torched a lot of bridges. If they do come back everyone in the industry will be wary of doing business with them again for quite some time. Very strange. It's being discussed on Stereophile's Forum right now.

In my system

2009-02-20T13:26:00.004-06:00

I know that my system is listed in the side bar but how everything is used and connected together isn't perfectly clear. I recently typed out a detailed description for a thread on Stereophile's forum and thought I'd post it here too.

-Digital Front End-

-Transport: Primare D20 CD player with three Black Diamond Racing cones. Transparent Power Link Plus Power cord. Custom made 75ohm digital coaxial cable with particular attention to proper termination and shielding connects it to the DAC.

-Digital to Analog Converter: Theta DS Pro Basic III "Version A" with three Ayre wood blocks. Audioquest Panther RCA interconnects to preamp. Transparent Power Link Plus Power cord.

-Analog Sources-

-Turntable: Pro-Ject 1.2 Turntable fitted with Audioquest Sorbothane record mat mounted with a Grado Gold Cartridge. Sitting on a maple butcher block with five Racquetball halves between that and the top of the rack. A single Audioquest Sorbothane footer sits on the plinth when playing and on top of the dust cover when not playing. Dust cover is removed during playback.

-Phono Stage: Pro-ject Phono Box sitting on a single Audioquest Sorbothane puck. Wall wart power supply is fitted with Audioquest noise stopper. Audioquest Ruby interconnect to preamp.

-FM Tuner: Tandberg 3011A FM Tuner sitting on three Ayre wood blocks. Standard power cord because of non standard AC inlet. Audioquest Quartz to preamp

-Preamplifier: Adcom GFP-750 (with unused inputs shorted) sitting on three Ayre wood blocks. A single Audioquest Sorbothane footer is on the top cover to reduce resonance. Transparent Power Link Plus power cord. Audioquest Panther XLR to amp.

-Amplifier: Threshold Stasis S550e sitting on three Ayre wood blocks with a single Audioquest Sorbothane footer on the top cover to reduce resonance Transparent Power Link Plus Power cord. Audioquest Gibraltar speaker cables (pre DBS version)to speakers.

-Speakers: Martin Logan CLS with Martin Logan Energy Transfer Coupler spikes. Audioquest AC-15 power cords.

-Power Conditioner: Panamax Max-5510 with Transparent Power Link Plus power cord. Top panel has magazines stacked on top to reduce resonance.

-Eagle Hospital Grade outlet with ceramic outlet cover to power the system.

-Lovan Equipment Rack

-Various DIY acoustic treatment

Sony begins shipping new product

2009-02-17T19:01:00.001-06:00

I thought that "The Onion" did parodies; not hard hitting, fact based news stories. ;) Language warning don't watch this with small children around or at work!

Have you heard the buzz?

2009-02-16T17:32:00.009-06:00

If there is hum or buzz in your audio system diagnosing the cause is often a frustrating task. Begin by asking yourself some questions. Is the hum at 60Hz? If you have a test CD that has a 60Hz tone use that as a reference for comparison. If yes you are certainly dealing with an electrical issue.

If it's only on your phono input. How close is it to other equipment? One thing to always keep in mind is that the signals that phono preamps are dealing with are absolutely tiny. Much smaller than the line out of a CD player for example, about a tenth the size. The wiring in a tone arm and the interconnects that come from the turntable are likewise vulnerable. I ran out of rack space and instead of stacking my phono pre on top of or behind something I placed it on an adjacent book shelf which did two things. First, it made sure that the unit wasn’t close to the power supplies of other components. Second, it kept the interconnects from the ’table to the phono stage away from all of the other cables in the system. You might also try turning off Digital components when listening to the analog front end because they put out a lot of RFI and EMI.

Hum is normally caused by different grounding potentials. Many times it’s because a video monitor that is connected to cable TV is also connected to an audio system. Is your system connected to a video source? The Cable and satellite Companies are required to ground THEIR system and of course the electrical system has it’s own ground already. This, of course leads to the possibility of two different grounding potentials. Electricity, like water flows to the path of least resistance and that is what causes the hum. Another thing to think of with old wiring is that you might have grounded outlets that aren’t properly grounded because the original wiring job is two wires (hot and neutral) and the conversion wasn’t done properly. This can be tested by a $5 tester that can be purchased at any hardware store. It plugs into the outlet and through a series of lights can diagnose bad grounds, hot/neutral swaps, and a number of other conditions. It’s a small price to pay for piece of mind

Are the audio outputs of TV, Cable box, or the DVD player hooked up to the audio system? If so the audio cable's ground is introducing the second ground. As a diagnostic step try disconnecting the coaxial cable that carries the TV signal that goes from the wall into the cable box. If the hum goes away then we know that the hum was caused by having two grounds with different potential.

If the ground is the problem try:

Xantech 634-00-This one is only about $9 but it tends to knock out higher TV stations in digital cable systems and negatively affect pay-per-view and movie on demand capabilities. It's cheap enough to try and throw away if it doesn't work. But in my experience it usually causes some kind of problem. I only mention it to present all options.

Mondial Magic Box-It's about $100. Which is expensive by comparison but because of it's greater bandwidth tends not to knock out higher TV stations in digital cable systems. Nor does it usually cause problems with pay-per-view and on demand functions.

Tributaries used to make one but it doesn't look like it's available any more. It worked as well as the Mondial.

Did the Grammy Awards get something right?

2009-02-11T16:27:00.004-06:00

For years I haven't watched the Grammy Awards. For the most it's because the awards are more about music that sells a huge number of units or sentimental/political favorites than about truly great music. Like when the Dixie Chicks swept the awards because they were being boycotted by Country music fans for slamming President Bush or when Jethro Tull beat Metallica for the first Heavy Metal Grammy. My faith in the Grammy electorate is extremely low. However, this year they awarded a total of five awards to Robert Plant and Allison Krauss' collaboration "Raising Sand" including Record of the Year for "Please Read The Letter," Album of the Year for "Raising Sand," Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Rich Woman, " Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for "Killing The Blues," and Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album for "Raising Sand." I'm really looking forward to the follow up album.

If they aren't careful the Grammy awards might actually become relevant to good music.

Audio in Unexpected Places

2009-02-05T17:59:00.004-06:00

The audiophile pursuit is so isolated from the "real world" that it's always a pleasant surprise when there is a mention of the hobby in the main stream media. Below is a clip from Mystery Science Theater 3000, know as MST3K to fans.

Unfortunately the robots reactions mirror the attitudes of the general public a little too closely. My favorite part is when he is seen applying the green pen tweak to a CD. Mike Nelson is an audio enthusiast having written for Home Theater magazine in the past and having seen selling used gear on Ebay. I wonder if the system that he named in the clip was his dream system or his actual system at the time. Being from Minnesota he really should be have mentioned Magnepan and Audio Research to give some good people who make stellar gear a bit of free publicity.

PS Audio strikes again

2009-01-26T17:11:00.011-06:00

PS Audio has a habit of coming up with innovative, yet relatively affordable high end audio gear. Their newest transport reads a CD into a memory buffer in an effort to virtually eliminate jitter. The built in display is capable of showing cover art in addition to the standard information normally displayed by a CD player. The unit has been in development for quite some time, above is a picture of the original prototype.

Also of interest is the matching DAC which has an I2S input capable of much lower jitter compared to the more standard digital connections of optical, coaxial, and AES-EBU which are all based on S/PIDF. The built in volume control is also a nice touch. For those who use only digital sources it would allow them to do away with their preamp entirely. Due to the fact that the DAC can find music files on networked hard drives it can also be used to put together a first rate music server. Add all of that up and it's a virtual swiss army knife.

Who better than the man himself to explain it all? Paul McGowan tells you all about them in these two youtube videos.

Discussions

2009-01-15T22:28:00.003-06:00

There isn't much intellectual discussion about the reproduction of audio to be found. In a previous post readers were pointed towards a 2 and 1/2 hour round table discussion that included an audio engineer, a producer, a mastering engineer, an audio critic, and a music lover. High end speaker manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins (known to most as B&W) has begun a new podcast that is a free subscription through iTunes. The first three installments cover the topic of non-musical sound as art, why the standards of recorded sound have recently fallen, and the viability of surround sound for music. Check them out.

Favorites of 2008

2009-01-12T19:39:00.005-06:00

Don't you hate those best of the year type lists almost as much as rhetorical questions? I know that I do. No one gets to listen to every album so it seems a bit presumptuous to compile a list of "The Best Albums of. . ." list. So my list is a little less self important. While these may not be the best five albums of 2008, they are my favorites of 2008.

Vampire Weekend-"Vampire Weekend" The song "A-Punk" was everywhere this year past year and for good reason. The record is a breath of fresh air full of short, catchy pop tunes. The record was recorded in spacious surroundings and features dripping wet guitar tones. Many songs have a The Clash punk sensibility infused with a Paul Simon world music vibe and feature lots of non-standard rock instruments to keep the listener interested.

Belle & Sebastian-"The BBC Sessions" Those Scottish bastards snuck this one out on me. The first couple of songs sound like they were recorded at the bottom of a garbage can with cassette recorder that has speed stability problems. The rest of the album sounds good enough to enjoy the performances and the last four songs, which to date haven’t been released on any of their studio albums are nice additions to their body of work. Make sure to get the Limited Edition. It contains an extra CD with a live 2001 Belfast performance. The covers of The Beatles "Here Comes the Sun" and Thin Tizzy’s "The Boys Are Back In Town" are well chosen and are very enjoyable.

Black Keys-"Attack & Release" was originally planed as a collaboration between Dan Auerbach, Patrick Carney (or The Black Keys as they are collectively known), Ike Turner and producer Danger Mouse. However with the passing of Ike Turner this became impossible and so it became a Black Keys project. Recorded in just 14 days the album has a strong DIY feel from the water color and pencil cover to the hand built recording console that was used during the sessions. What are any of the songs about? For the most part who cares? This isn’t a record about lyrics. It’s about the sound, the feel, and the groove. An atmospheric tour de force. While moments on the album remind me of this band or that , overall the album doesn’t remind me of anything else. The Black Keys are very much themselves, creating their own art. With little regard for how it will be received. Seemingly unaffected by corporate interests and focus groups. Something all too rare today. For a more thorough discussion please check out my full review.

Supergrass-"Diamond Hoo Ha" I literally couldn't wait for it to be released in the United States so I ordered from amazon.ca in Canada. Every great band has one album that can be viewed as a turning point. The work where they stop being the sum total of their influences and transcend them to become something completely unique. These collections are marked by a confident, self assured sound where risks are undertaken without sounding "risky." "Diamond Hoo Ha" demands to be given that role in Supergrass's catalog. At some point I’ll be reviewing this collection for Big Black Disk.

David Gilmour-"Live In Gdansk" The five disk (Three CD’s and 2 DVDs) version available exclusively from Best Buy. The performance of "Echos" is truly EPIC. The sound is just beautiful on the whole set and the picture quality of the concert is probably the best I‘ve ever seen. The first two of the CD’s contain the majority of the concert. The third CD contains bonus tracks from other stops on the tour, including a great performance of "Wearing The Inside Out" with the late Richard Wright on vocals. The first DVD is an edited version of the concert and a documentary. The second DVD contains a generous offering of performances taped for various TV appearances and the "On An Island" studio album in 5.1 surround. Plus an envelop containing numerous other goodie souvenirs including a postcard, ticket, backstage and artist‘s passes, Custom David Gilmour guitar pick, 7 photo prints, double sided poster and 24 page booklet. This package has immediately become one of the most prized possessions in my library.

Apple's iTunes Store Ditches DRM

2009-01-06T15:30:00.006-06:00

People who take joy in hating all things Apple, iTunes and iPod have one less gripe. After reaching a new agreement with the major record labels Apple announced that it will no longer embed copy protection into any of its songs. Not only does that mean that it will become easier to move iTunes libraries between computers but non-iPod devices will now be able to play files purchased from the iTunes store. Starting today 8 million songs will be offered DRM-free, the transition is expected to be finished in approximately 3 to 4 months. Apple has also decided to allow the record companies to have different pricing strategies for different artists. Tracks will sell for $0.69, $0.99, or $1.29 in the United States. Now if only they would allow iTunes and the iPod to play FLAC files, sell lossless files in the iTunes store, and/or high resolution files they’d really be on to something. The major unanswered question is what about all of those previously sold DRM-encumbered files already? Will customers be able to upgrade to the real deal for little or no money?

Apple

2009-01-06T15:30:00.001-06:00

The Return of the 7" single

2009-01-05T14:52:00.005-06:00

The resurgence of vinyl isn't just happening in America. From all appearances it's a global phanomon. The sale of 7" 45 RPM singles in England broke an estimated 1 million units last year, up from an all-time low in 2001 of 180,000 units. What makes that number all the more impressive is that the collection of data used for these estimates don't take small mom-and-pop stores into account. It's still a long way from 1979's peak of 89 million, but it's a start. Rough Trade East's owner Nigel House consisly states, "Obviously, you make more money selling a CD, but there's nothing like seven-inch singles, especially for the music aficionados. They're tactile, they have fantastic sleeves, they sound great, they're concise. Pure pop."

Click on the picture below to watch the video and read the article:

Christmas Part 1

2008-12-26T15:56:00.003-06:00

Thus far my holiday haul related to music and/or audio is as follows:

1. The 33 1/3 book about The Who-"The Who Sell Out" album. I've skimmed it and it looks like it will be a good read. Although I have a lot of Who albums I don't know a lot about the personal dynamics within the band. For those not familiar with the 33 1/3 series they are short, pocket sized books about ground breaking albums. I've already read the ones that cover Pink Floyd's "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and The Beatles' "Let It Be" which are both excellent. The one about Led Zeppelin IV isn't as good since the author was unable to coax interviews out of the participants.

2. A book titled "The Dark Side of The Moon-The Making of The Pink Floyd Masterpiece" which I've already read 75% of and while most of the information isn't new to me that isn't the authors fault because I've read a ton of stuff about Pink Floyd.

3. The Ryan Adams & The Cardinals album "Cold Roses" which I haven't had a chance to listen to yet but he's pretty reliable when it comes to putting out good to great albums.

4. Eddie Vedder's CD single "All The Way" which is a song about being a Chicago Cubs fan.

5. A David Glimour promo CD with the song "Wot's. . .Uh The Deal?" from his performance at the Gdansk shipyard. It couldn't fit on the album so it was given to those who purchased the two CD version at independent music retailers. Since I bought the 5 disc version (3 CD's 2 DVD's) from Best Buy I initially missed out on it, but I'm glad to be adding it to my collection now.

The Black Keys-"Attack & Release"

2008-12-20T01:00:00.004-06:00

Originally written for bigblackdisk.ning.com

Is heavy, riff based Rock back in style? If the likes of The White Stripes, Wolfmother, Secret Machines, and The Black Keys have anything to say about it the answer is a rousing “Hell Yes!” “Attack and Release” was originally planed as a collaboration between Dan Auerbach, Patrick Carney (or The Black Keys as they are collectively known), Ike Turner and producer Danger Mouse. However with the passing of Ike Turner this became impossible and so it became a Black Keys project. Recorded in just 14 days the album has a strong DIY feel from the water color and pencil cover to the hand built recording console that was used during the sessions.

Side A: “All You Ever Wanted” starts off at a medium simmer but mid way through the song the organ enters and it rivals the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in terms of sheer surprise. “I Got Mine” is a stylistic cross pollination of The White Stripes and Robert Johnson, with an unexpected left turn that heads straight for psychedelia and ends with the gentle hum of the guitarist’s tube amp. The third song on the album, “Strange Times” literally stomps. Being propelled by a big bass drum sound and hand claps. The lead melodic instrument of “Psychotic Girl” is an odd lurching bass guitar riff with flourishes of honky tonk piano and banjo. All of this with the addition of the creepy backing vocals are enough to make anyone remember a crazy ex or two. Is she at the front door? Is she going to stab me in the hand with a pencil again? How up to date is my restraining order anyway? All questions this song brought to my mind. Following hot on the heals of “Psychotic Girl” is “Lies,” a master stroke. Once one starts thinking about that crazy ex pondering all of the out there things she used to say is a natural progression. Of course the creepy soundscape is extended throughout this song as well, even more effectively than the previous number.

Side B: At the beginning of “Same Old Thing” the tape machine can be heard getting up to speed adding to the audio-vérité feel present throughout the album. The lyric “No matter where you been/Those people try to do you in/Every day till dawn/There’s some thieving’ going on.” are worthy of being part of any blues standard. The heavy groove and flute have a Black Sabbath meets Jethro Tull feel. “So He Won’t Break” has the best groove on the record. It is the sound of pure seduction aided by a xylophone. The guitar solo is an affectionate nod to Neil Young. “It Doesn’t Mean a Thing” is the perfect song to close the album. While calling it epic would be a bit of a stretch its obvious that it’s slower tempo and vocals were meant to invite the listener to follow it’s story of loss and regret. Both the organ and the backing vocals add a sympathetic touch to the song.

The pressing is extremely quiet and utilized the half speed mastering technique. Included with the record is a copy of the album on CD, at $18 the package is a bargain. Other artists should take note, it’s a nice touch for many reasons. It makes importing into iTunes a snap, listening to it in the car easy, it aids in the comparison of vinyl vs. CD for those on the fence, and it comes in handy for loaning to friends who are curious about the band. After spending the last several years servicing other people’s turntables it’s doubtful that I’ll ever lend out my records. The number of people who feel that it’s appropriate to put spare change on top of their tone arms in order to make sure that it tracks or are completely missing the diamond of their stylus is just plain alarming. Records, like girlfriends and wives are not for lending. Use the CD to help spread the word, cherish and hoard the record.

Of course the record has a much wider and deeper soundstage than the CD, no surprise there. What was surprising was how much better the bass was, not just in a tonal sense but dynamically as well. On a few of the songs the low-fi aesthetic goes a bit too far, by adding needless effects to the vocals. That slight misstep wasn’t enough to mar the overall presentation, it just seemed like an unnecessary indulgence.

What are any of the songs about? For the most part who cares? This isn’t a record about lyrics. It’s about the sound, the feel, and the groove. An atmospheric tour de force. While moments on the album remind me of this band or that , overall the album doesn’t remind me of anything else. The Black Keys are very much themselves, creating their own art. With little regard for how it will be received. Seemingly unaffected by corporate interests and focus groups. Something all too rare today.

Sound ***
Performance *** and 1/2

cover letter and resume

2008-12-16T16:05:00.005-06:00

Currently I am in the job market looking for a job in the audio industry. Below is my cover letter and resume with some personal information removed for privacy reasons. For contact information and reference please email me at the address on my resume.

To Whom it may concern-

For nearly a decade I've been selling audio/video products. During this time I've become very good at explaining complex technologies to the everyday person. Working with cutting-edge home theater systems has also helped me to hone my strong problem solving and analytical skills. My communication skills are also first rate, both verbal and written.

While at Audio Consultants I was responsible for stock levels at my store and communicating my store’s needs to our central location. Determining what products were to be put on display was also an area that fell under my jurisdiction. My input was regularly sought about what products should be stocked for our company and what levels my individual store required. I was also responsible for working with manufacturers and various other repair facilities to get customer repairs completed in a timely fashion. These duties were in addition to my responsibilities as a sales person.

During my time at Allnet (now known as AVAD) distribution I worked selling audio and video gear to custom installers. Many times they asked for my advice to help them find a solution for one of their customer’s needs. I was able to perform this task not only because of my sales abilities, but also because I understood the products that I was selling. Also while at Allnet I was in constant contact with various manufacturers to check on delivery times and back order situations in an effort to serve our customers better. I was also involved in the training of many new employees.

When employed with Ovation Audio/Video my influence with the buying department was used to make sure that my store not only had the proper products on display, but that adequate stocking levels were maintained. Many times the buyers would ask me to help evaluate products from perspective vendors. I also helped to slim down the number of SKU’s from Monster Cable, while not negatively effecting our company’s sales. In fact because of the smaller number of SKU’s we were able to stock the ones that we used on a regular basis much more deeply. In addition many of my co-workers considered me a resource when it came to cutting edge technology. Many times asking for my help with their projects, or asking me to help by answering customer questions that they could not answer.

A major part of my employment at Great Sounds was to assist them in entering the home audio/video market. The company had been successful with respect to car audio for many, many years but many employees lacked some of the technical expertise for home theater. While there I helped to educate the part time employees on the finer points of home theater and video. During my tenure with Great Sounds we also pioneered HD TV in the Muncie market.

While attending College at Ball State University I worked as a tutor for over three years. This work experience sharpened my presentation skills and made me extremely comfortable talking to various sized groups of people. Also while a student I held numerous positions in student government. All of these skills would be a perfect fit for your company.

Currently I am seeking a position in sales or in purchasing, with or without travel. Relocation is also a possibility for the right opportunity. I am always interested in learning new skills, both audio and non-audio related.

The Audio Explorer

The Audio Explorer
E-mail: meglos@gmail.NOSPAMcom (remove no spam of course)

WORK EXPERIENCE

Account Manager Electrograph

July 2008-October 2008

Interacted directly with the buyers of multi-million dollar accounts.
Negotiated special pricing for large quantity orders.
Prepared back order reports with estimated time of arrival based on all available information, including direct contact with manufacturers.

Sales/Design Audio Consultants
January 2005-February 2008

Enabled customers to choose the proper equipment to optimize their systems.
Designed high end audio/video/whole home audio systems to suit individual customers.
Set up and maintained all store displays.
Interfaced with manufacturers to handle warranty issues in a timely fashion.
Monitored and determined stocking levels for my store.

Sales/Technical Support AVAD (formerly Allnet Inc.)
February 2003-January 2005

Answered incoming phone calls and wrote orders in a fast paced environment.
Assisted dealers in system design and offered technical support.
Acted as a liaison between our customers and our vendors.
Performed 46% of the work for a department of three employees.

Sales Consultant Ovation Audio/Video
December 2000-February 2003

Designed home theaters and coordinated their installation.
Helped customers to choose high-end audio gear that best met their needs.
Set up and maintained all high-end equipment demonstration areas in the store.
Helped to pioneer custom home installation program with this company.
Highest profit margin in the store for nearly my entire tenure.
Worked closely with the buyers to determine appropriate product mix and stocking levels.

Financial Representative American General
July 2000-December 2000

Helped customers plan finances to meet all of their obligations.
Wrote loans that benefited the customer and the company.
Ran the office in the Manager's absence.
Ranked first or second in loan production.
Honed strong negotiating skills.

Sales Consultant Great Sounds
May 1999-July 2000

Set up and maintained all home audio displays
Increased other Sales Consultants' knowledge of home audio equipment
Improved conversational skills and ability to qualify customers
Helped increase floor traffic by 50% with innovative HDTV display

Tutor The Learning Center, Ball State
October 1996-May 1999

Subjects-Political Science, History, and Psychology
Took students from D's to A's
Taught critical thinking skills as well as course material
Helped students to improve their general study and note taking skills

RELEVANT SUMMITS, SEMINARS, AND OTHER TRAINING

How to Sell At Prices Higher Than Your Competitors
Thiel Factory Tour and Training
Martin Logan Leadership in Sound Summit
Monster Cable Evangelist Training
Transparent Audio Labs Emerson
Magnepan Factory training

EDUCATION
B.S. Ball State University May 2000 GPA 3.5/4.0 overall
Major: Political Science GPA 3.8
Minors: Psychology and History

AWARDS, HONOR SOCIETIES, ETC.
Dean's List
History Department Award
Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society in Education
National History Honor Society
Golden Key National Honor Society
Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society in Political Science

References available upon request.

Deep Listening

2008-12-15T20:43:00.001-06:00

Stereophile's analog guru Michael Fremer recently participated in a round table discussion on the importance of quality sound. The other members on the panel included an audio engineer, a producer, a mastering engineer, an audio critic, and a music lover.

Perhaps the most insightful quote of the 2 1/2 hour discussion was from Mr. Fremer, "For Whatever the defects of a record are there's soething about what's in there that makes it emotionally nourishing."

One of the panel members related an interest antidote about how although humans can only hear from 20Hz in the bass frequencies to 20,000 Hz in the high frequencies that we can perceive frequencies much further up than the accepted 20kHz. Click on the picture of Mr. Fremer after you have grabbed the potato chips and the beverage of your choice.

Revolutions In Sound: Warner Bros. Records Launches 50th Anniversary Celebration

2008-12-12T14:54:00.003-06:00

Boxed sets are so much more than just the music that they contain. They are testaments of passion and respect reserved for historically important topics. The 240 page book contains many exclusive photos and interviews. Warner Bros. has released two versions of this collection. One version of the boxed set contains a USB drive in the shape of the Warner Bros. logo and contains 320 songs. It is not immediately obvious what file format or resolution has been used to encode these files. The other version contains 10 CDs which have 199 songs. Would it have killed them to have shoe-horned in one more song?

Pick your own standards

2008-12-11T19:33:00.002-06:00

The wattage rating method used for audio products isn't standardized. The only way that wattage can be used in comparing two products is when dealing with models from the same manufacturer. Is a 300 watt Bryston twice as powerful as the 150 watt Bryston? Yes it is. Is a 300 watt amp from "X" twice as powerful as a 150 watt amp from "Y? " It might be, but it's far from certain. This is because of the variables in rating wattage. Below are just a few:

The Impedance used to load the amplifier's outputs during testing, rated in Ohms.
The frequency range being driven. Some manufacturers drive 20Hz to 20,000Hz because that is what many accept to be the human hearing range. Some cheap receivers are driven at only ONE frequency, 1kHz being the norm.
How many channels are driven AT THE SAME time. Just because a receiver or amp has 5 or7 channels doesn't mean that they were all driven during the test. Nearly all receivers only drive one channel during testing.
How long was the test. Many times an amplifiers circuit can deliver very high wattage but the power supply and heat sinks won't allow it to continue doing so for long.
How much "Total Harmonic Distortion" was deemed acceptable during the testing. More distortion allowed means more watts on paper but distortion is also usually the cause of damage to speakers.

For mass market goods the wattage is largely determined by the marketing department and then the engineering department does the algebra to figure out which variables give them the desired answer. The Federal Trade Commission's major requirement is that the rating method be disclosed to the public.

Guster-"Ganging Up On The Sun"

2008-12-09T14:56:00.001-06:00

Originally posted on Big Black Disk

GUSTER “Ganging up on the Sun”
(2006 Reprise)

Sound: ****
Performance: ****

Hidden on Chicago’s FM dial is one of the most eclectic stations in the country. Driving with the windows down on a forgotten Saturday afternoon WXRT played the Cure’s “Just Like Heaven”, Muddy Waters’ “I’m a Man”, and Queen’s “Fat Bottom Girls” back to back to back. How many radio stations would play these three songs in the same year, let alone as part of the same set? XRT displays the same passion and courage when championing new talent. They freely lend their support to Guster and many other under-exposed artists. If you’re thinking about being jealous, don’t. Through the miracles of the internet it’s now available world wide, make sure to send Al Gore a nice thank you note written on a palm leaf using soy ink, delivered by Pony Express. Maybe he’ll read it while riding on a private jet to one of his $175,000 speaking engagements. (Remember do as he says, NOT as he does and Mother Earth will be just fine).

Guster’s “Ganging Up on The Sun” is a meticulously recorded and mixed, ambitious pop album lovingly crafted to induce toe tapping. By the second or third listen the album already sounds familiar, like an old favorite. Except of course it isn’t, it’s a brand new favorite. ”Satellite” has such a perfectly written melody it feels familiar after the first listen. The day after the first spin odds are good that you’ll be humming this one. “Manifest Destiny” combines romance, revolution, and the yearning for a new beginning. ”You and I could quit this scene/Build a town and then secede/Like Adam and Eve.” The pop arrangement stops the song from sounding holier-than-thou and assures that the band’s brand of wide-eyed optimism comes through unscathed. ”One Man Wrecking Machine” has a similar theme, a need for a simpler time. The tune expresses a desire to return to the simpler times of High School via a homemade time machine. The spacey beginning and ending are a nice garnish. The song contains the oddly poetic and yet apathetic line, “I’m going to see the homecoming queen/Take her to the Christmas dance/Maybe now I’ll get in her pants, whatever.” Except for a lack of money and having to follow far too many arbitrary rules I share certain sympathy with the sentiment.

Start with ingredients that include banjo and a shuffling drum rhythm. Stir in a dollop of twang in the form of a guitar solo and “The Captain” has a surprising country flavor. ”The New Underground” is a straight-ahead rocker reminiscent of The Clash in its guitar tone and angry staccato chords. ”Ruby Falls” is a beautiful song that begins with an intimate vocal nestled in soft sheets of arpeggio guitar cords and a bed of organ. A muted trumpet provides a mysterious coda. It would be a tragedy if this song didn’t become a centerpiece of their concerts. This song taps into whatever instinct forces audiences to simultaneously break out their lighters and slowly wave them to and fro. It would be the perfect song to use to leave the stage and say “goodnight,” then of course return for some really rocking encores. ”C’mon” is a call to arms to abandon the tendency of people in their late 20’s and early 30’s to “sell out.” Maracas and tambourine take turns giving the song a nice pacing and the appearance of mandolin is a nice flourish. ”Hang On” has an anthemic, life affirming feel and matching lyrics. Not in the cheesy 1990’s Elton John way, but in the “Hey life ain’t so bad. Everything is going to be ok after all” vein. Imagine Tears For Fears meeting the Beatles in the modern day and you’re there. In short it’s the perfect song to end the album on an emotional high note.

I’ll admit it, I’m a bonus track slut and I don’t care who knows! Live stuff, unreleased songs, b-sides, alternate takes, demos; bring them on. The pure joy of having something that most people don’t even know exists is exhilarating. I like to think of myself as John Cusack’s character from the film “High Fidelity” but truth be told I’m more of a cross between Jack Black and the really awkward one. The spiritedly performed four demos on the fourth side would have been deemed ”good enough” by most bands and record labels to have been unapologetically released as finished product, even though they sound a bit “digital” and lack depth. But that wasn’t allowed to happen here. Bottom line, we have them and the poor bastards who buy the CD don’t.

Every song is too short, only one song totals more than five minutes. In the spirit of a great appetizer they tease, leaving me wanting more, more, more. The album, much like Jennifer Lopez, has a healthy bottom end that is to be admired. Unlike Ms. Lopez it also has musical substance. Every spin rewards the listener with previously unnoticed nuances that add to the experience. With a near perfect distribution of introspective, poppy, and more rockers it’s clear that a great deal of thought went into the running order of the album. This is the type of music that will be appreciated by its owner more and more as the years pass. It’s hard to say what my tastes will be in ten years time, but chances are good that I’ll still be spinning this disc on occasion. Is there any higher compliment?

The end of an era?

2008-12-04T17:37:00.001-06:00

It’s always surprising that customers expect the price of speakers and electronics to defy inflation and continually drop in price. They may have been willing to spend $500 for a Sansui in the mid 1970’s but now they want a unit that has three times the wattage, five additional channels of amplification, video swithiching (or even scaling), and surround decoding for the same money. That’s particularly interesting when one considers that the cost of that $500 Sansui would be approximately $2,500 in today’s dollars. Unfortunately, the audio video industry is thought of in the same way as the computer industry. The costs associated with building audio products don’t follow the same rules as computer processors and hard drives that is set forth in Moore’s law. Moore’s law, which was developed to predict the advancement of computer technology states that the number of transistors on a chip doubles every 24 months. This increase in productivity leads to a decrease in cost for computers, but not audio. So what’s a manufacturer to do when customers are looking for prices to drop as their costs rise? For many manufacturers the answer was simple? Go to China.

Is the cheap Hi-Fi equipment coming from China a good or a bad thing for customers, companies, and the industry in general? That kind of question is impossible to answer in one word for anyone who is informed on the subject. David Wilson of Wilson Audio had some interesting things to say on the subject in a video that has been previously posted here. Compared to Wilson Audio’s approach of cost-no-object speaker building NHT has always been know as a company that wants to give it’s customers outrageous value for the money. Not surprisingly Chris Byrne (one of NHT’s founders) views on the subject have more nuance in them than Mr Wilson. Mr. Byrne, who isn’t against the manufacturer of goods in China does however see this trend of unbelievably cheap Chinese labor coming to an end. While he feels this means an increase in the cost for goods he also sees the potential to create local jobs and industry as well as reduce planned obsolescence. Another positive outcome would be a reduction in electronic waste. Please read his essay here.

Finally, they get it right

2008-12-03T14:04:00.002-06:00

Unfortunately, when the mass-media covers the vinyl resurgence it usually casts it as some kind sort of kitschy nostalgia item. With an introduction that goes something like, “Remember those 12” black disks that you used to listen to that are collecting dust in your attic or basement? Some people still listen to them. Aren’t they wacky for putting up with hisses and pops?”

The cynical hacks that usually write for The New York Times must all be on vacation because someone over there took the time to interview manufacturers of high end turntables (Sumiko and Walker), discuss the differences between direct drive and belt drive, and the importance of proper cartridge alignment. To top it all off no one is made to look like a kook or a crackpot. Be careful New York Times you might lose the scorn of audiophiles everywhere for your audio coverage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/technology/techspecial2/02table.html?_r=3&ref=techspecial2&pagewanted=all

R.I.P October 1, 2005 to August 11, 2008 Alan’s iPod

2008-12-01T23:09:00.001-06:00

Originally written for bigblackdisk.ning.com

August 15, 2008 – 9:50 pm

A couple of days ago my beloved 60gig iPod photo died. She had been ill for some time, occasionally slipping into a coma without warning or provocation. Services will be held at the Fagan-Miller funeral home in Highland, Indiana on Saturday August 23, 2008 from 1 to 5pm. Owing to incompetent emergency surgery it will be a closed casket ceremony.* She leaves behind a car adapter, USB charger, and a pair of ear buds. Send money in lieu of flowers Please bow your head and join me in a moment of silence.
In all seriousness shouldn’t a $400 piece of electronics last longer than two and a half years? Apple, who cast themselves as a customer service oriented “green” company offered me three options:
1. Turn in my departed friend and receive a 10% discount on a new unit of my choice.
2. Buy a “B” stock of the same model that offered no real world savings considering that the newer ones with more capacity would be less money new!
3. Send it to a third-party company for repair. Apple’s name is on the product but they couldn’t be bothered to service it for their customer.
Thanks Apple, don’t do me any favors or anything. Now imagine if I had a problem with a $500 turntable from a Project, Music Hall, or Rega. They would be more than glad to service it, even 10 years hence. Just another item on the check list of why digital isn’t “Perfect sound forever.”

R.I.P October 1, 2005 to August 11, 2008 Alan’s iPod

*My council has advised me to decline any requests for further information because of an ongoing police investigation.

Panamax vs. Monster power conditioners.

2008-11-17T14:29:00.001-06:00

Monster power conditioners use MOVs, which have a relatively limited lifespan. After the MOVs are gone MANY times the units continue to pass current to the equipment meaning that the next surge could destroy the connected gear. The Monster units do have a light to indicate that they are no longer protecting the equipment but who wants to depend on a light that they can forget to check?

Panamax uses an avalanche diode that acts almost like a flood gate. It opens when voltage is above or below a safe area, then starts testing the voltage. After the voltage is back within the normal range for 7 seconds Panamax units allow the equipment to receive electricity again. When an avalanche diodes fails they are stuck in the "open" position 99.9% of the time. Meaning that the equipment receives NO electricity so the user knows that the power conditioner needs to be replaced.

Panamax specifies that MOVs are 1000 times slower then their avalanche diodes. At trainings Panamax regularly does a demonstration where they hook up a Panamax and a Monster into a device that can create spikes, then into each unit they plug an illuminated lamp. Both units are then hit with a 150 volt spike. In the 10 or so demos that I’ve attended I’ve noticed two things. First before clamping down the lamp plugged into the Monster grows momentarily brighter. A sign that is letting the beginning of the surge through before clamping down. Hence the potencial for damage to connected equipment. No increase in the brightness of the lamp plugged into the Panamax is observable. Second, I’ve NEVER seen a Monster live past the third “hit”. Twice they began to smoke, once a small fire began. The Panamax products have lived through 10-15 hits before they go on with the presentation, they don’t fail mind you the presentation just moves on because they’ve proved their point.

From what Panamax says other surge devices using MOVs will act in a similar manner. If you are considering things up market from the Panamax products Transparent Audio’s power conditioners also use avalanche diodes and offer some of the best power conditioning that I’ve ever heard. PS audio’s new power conditioners use something in addition to an MOV. They claim that these two devices in tandem are better than an avalanche diode. They may be, for me I look at how these devices work in the long term (ie years) and their products are just too new for there to be a body of empirical evidence out there, one way or the other.

For my own use I've used the original version of Panamax's MAX-5510 for about 4 years in my high-end two channel system. For my computer, TV, and AV receiver I use one of their cheaper units.

Passion

2008-11-10T19:17:00.000-06:00

At roughly 3.3 million albums Paul Mawhinney has one of the largest music collections in the world. Library of Congress estimates believe that less than 20% of the music contained in his archive is available on Compact Disc. The collection may be worth as much as $50 million, his asking price is a mere $3 million. Check out the site specifically designed to help sell it.

The Archive from Sean Dunne on Vimeo.

Interesting links

2008-11-09T16:23:00.000-06:00

http://marklev.com/ A fan site with pictures, schematics, literature, and dating for most Mark Levinson products.

http://www.arcdb.ws/ A fan site for Audio Research with specs, dating, and original pricing. So complete and accurate that Audio Research has a link to it on their official site.

http://www.6moons.com/news/news.html Frequently updated with the new releases of more obscure high end audio companies. Great photos.

http://desirableaudio.blogspot.com/ High end audio from the perspective of some very passionate individuals in the Far East. They seem to be really into the resonance tuning of their rooms with stuff like Shun Mook and the like.

http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/ Mostly mid-fi and car audio. They also enjoy laughing at the excesses of high end. Occasionally they have some funny stuff.

http://news.cnet.com/audiophiliac/?tag=blgs.list Steve Guttenberg's blog which an interesting mix of high end and mid fi, and some wacky stuff.

http://bigblackdisk.ning.com/ Social network for vinyl lovers. Reviews of new releases from current bands.

http://www.fmtunerinfo.com/ THE source of technical information on analog and quartz lock loop FM tuners.

http://www.classicsansui.net/ Great info on classic Sansui equipment including pictures, schematics, vintage literature, and much more.

http://www.classic-audio.com/marantz/mindex.html Very informative site about classic Marantz gear which includes specs, vintage literature, and some behind the scenes stories.

http://www.stereophile.com/images/masterindex/ Want to know if and in what issue a component was reviewed? This index is an incredibly useful tool to find out. If only it had links to the reviews contained in the on line archives.

. . . and of course Wes and Stephen's Stereophile blogs are lots of fun too!

Black & White

2008-09-28T19:39:00.002-05:00

Don't get all up in arms he only uses records that are already to damaged to be playable. Check out his website here.

The making of Led Zeppelin LP's

2008-09-26T19:04:00.000-05:00

Below is a short video on the making of the recent "Mothership" and "The Song Remains the Same" records.

We're Gonna Groove

2008-09-25T00:16:00.000-05:00

Today marks the 28th year since the death of John Bonham and the end of Led Zeppelin. John was a family man who hated touring and the rock star lifestyle. He preferred to go to the local pub and talk to farmers about how every body's crops were doing. He didn't just own a farm, when he wasn't recording or touring he worked his farm. He was as proud of his prize winning cows as of his gold records. There are many stories about his angry outbursts but for the most part he was depressed about being away from his family. Everyone who knew him described him as a warm and giving person.

Led Zeppelin had one of the most varied list of influences imaginable. Bonham and Jones were into Soul, R&B, and Jazz. Plant loved Blues, West coast psychedelia, pop, and Indian Music. Page was fascinated by Blues, Early Rock N' Roll, Folk music, and world music. When people call them the first Heavy Metal band that's an insult. No heavy metal band has their knowledge of music history or their ability to play just about any type of music they decided to attempt. How many band could play blues, folk, hard rock, punk, reggae, country, and pop? Add to all of those the songs that simply defy categorization.

In interviews both in 1980 and since every band member has admitted that they felt that the band was stagnating and they were hungry to explore new directions and conquer new territory. Were they on the verge of another great period or were they about to head down a creative dead end? If their track record was any indication another great success was in their future. They were always risk takers. Even ending the band was a brave move. They had to know that none of them would ever achieve that level of success as individuals. Led Zeppelin is perhaps unique, with the exception of The Beatles in the fact that they decided to end it and go out on top. A wise move as no one would have been able to fill Mr.Bonham's drum stool. They never won a Grammy during the band's existence, they have since been honored with a Lifetime Achievement award.

A giant among men

2008-09-23T20:12:00.002-05:00

Sadly many people haven't heard of Les Paul. In addition to being a great guitarist he is a great innovator and even an inventor. He invented the solid body electric guitar, thus greatly reducing the problem of feedback on stage. He also invented the idea of over-dubbing allowing one musician to record many parts for a single work. Not to mention his innovation of synchronizing a number of recording machines to allow for multi-track recording, thus making mixing after the performance possible. Modern recordings simply couldn't exist without his vision.

Seriously?

2008-09-16T20:50:00.001-05:00

Have you ever wondered what review's systems look like? Below are pictures of Robert E. Greene from "The Absolute Sound" two systems.

System 1:

Harbeth speakers on make shift stands, Bryston amp setting on the floor, components stacked on top of one another and a turntable that's on a flimsy looking stand. This can't be the recipe for great sound. Sadly this isn't a joke.

System 2:

Looks to be a Bryston Preamp sitting on top of a Sunfire amp (a H-U-G-E, HUGE no-no because the power supply of the amp MUST be radiating noise into the preamp which contains delicate signals) hooked up to a cheap direct drive turntable and a cheap looking CD player all setting on a fire place mantle.

None of this is to say that those systems can't sound great but the chances are very, very slim. Now, for a few pictures of MY system from a couple of years ago. While not perfect the set up is much closer to what the majority of the audiophile community would consider ideal. Lacking a digital camera this is the best photo that I can provide.

Wearing the Inside Out

2008-09-15T23:43:00.002-05:00

Today it was announced that founding member of Pink Floyd, Richard Wright passed away after a short battle with cancer. While he didn’t have many song writing credits after "Dark Side of the Moon" or many appearances as the lead singer his contributions behind the keyboards defined the Pink Floyd sound. It's absence from their album "The Final Cut" insured that album's failure as a "Pink Floyd Album" and guaranteed that it would forever be seen as a "unofficial Roger Waters solo album." With only a small guest appearance on "A Momentary Laps of Reason" he couldn’t stop that LP from being anything more than a David Gilmour solo album that had Mick Manson doing a bit of drumming. His full return for the "Division Bell" album revitalized the sound for a new phase of the band that was far too short. It is impossible to imagine a singer more perfect for harmonizing with and complimenting David Gilmour's voice so seamlessly. The song Echoes from The Floyd's highly underrated Meddle is a prime example. His 1978 solo album, "Wet Dream" which is unjustly out of print is a wonderful collection of songs well worth the trouble of seeking it out. Mr. Wright's family released only a short statement and asks for privacy.

At the very end of "Time" Richard Wright sings

"Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time.
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines.
Hanging on in quiet desparation is the English way.
The time has gone, the song is over, thought I’d something more to say . . ."

Methodology

2008-09-03T20:13:00.000-05:00

Acoustic music is better at diagnosing the sonics of a component simply because the listener has had a chance to hear it in real life. I've always felt that if a component could reproduce the tonality of acoustic instruments accurately, their reproduction of the tonality of electronic instruments must inherently be accurate. However, I would agree that if a trained listener had heard a recording of non-acoustic instruments on a system that is known to be extremely accurate because of it's performance with recordings of acoustic instruments in real space enough times that they could then use that recording with some authority.

Don’t get me wrong it isn’t a bias against rock and pop, or a preference for jazz and classical. It is perfectly acceptable to use acoustic rock as a reference. Drum kits on rock and pop are, as long as they acoustic also a perfectly acceptable instrument to use for evaluation purposes.

While the sound of an electric guitar MIGHT be as complex as a flute, acoustic guitar, or grand piano it is unknowable. By that I mean that unless you were in the recording studio with the guitar player on the day of the original session your understanding of the sound of that guitar can only be in the broadest of terms, not exact terms. There are just too many variables that affect the tone of the guitar. The list of factors that I can think of off of the top of my head are:

1. The Guitar (make, model, and year)
2. The switch positions on said guitar
3. The nob settings of said guitar
4. Custom modifications to the guitar (if any)
5. The foot pedals (not only type but brand)
6. The nob positions on those pedals
7. Any customization of those pedals (if applicable)
8. The Guitar amp (make, model, and age)
9. The setting of knobs and switches on said amp
10. Any customization of the amp (if there are any)
11. Recording mic (model and type)
12. Mic position
13. Tweaks of the mic (if any)
14. Room position of mic
15. Room acoustics
16. String choice on guitar
17. Choice of guitar pick
18. Tube type in guitar amp (if applicable)

Now lets look at the variables for recording a flute:

1. The flute (make model, and year)
2. Recording mic (model and type)
3. Mic position
4. Tweaks of the mic (if any)
5. Room position of mic
6. Room acoustics

Because there are so many variables in the way an electric guitar CAN sound it is completely unsuitable as a reference to determine the accuracy of reproduction. So if a piece of audio gear slightly changes the tonality of electric guitar it’s tough to know because the slightly inaccurate reproduction is still somewhere on the continuum of what an electric guitar MIGHT sound like. It’s pretty obvious that the chance KNOWING in exact terms how a particular performance on electric guitar is supposed to sound is an impossibility. While KNOWING how a flute is supposed to sound in absolute terms, though difficult is possible.

Occasionally

2008-09-02T21:46:00.000-05:00

Occasionally I've been THAT guy! But only when customers really, really had it coming.

Hearing vs. Listening

2008-08-21T18:44:00.000-05:00

The average audiophile's HEARING isn't any better than the average person. However, our LISTENING abilities are much more refined. Our brains have become extremely practiced at analyzing the data that interests us. Hearing is a physical action. Listening is a cognitive, analytical action. Like when we were kids and our parents said, "You don't listen." They were right we heard that they were speaking to us but we didn't bother to remember what they said. We just didn't think that it could be important.

Just a quick thought.

It's Baaack!

2008-08-20T19:37:00.000-05:00

The way those kids were handling that record made me cringe.

An Invitation

2008-08-10T02:56:00.001-05:00

Writing is an activity that has always brought me much enjoyment. From High School through College each of my English teachers encouraged me to make it my profession. There have always two major obstacles. First, my skepticism about how an individual can making a good living as a professional writer (The bohemian lifestyle holds no romance for this rampant consumer) and second the creative muse only seems to visit me when there is an assignment, preferably one with a deadline. Douglas Adams once declared, " I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." But for me there is a strong internal drive to meet my obligations at all costs that trumps my natural laziness.

Recently an opportunity has presented itself to write about topics for which I have no shortage of opinions. Bigblackdisk.com is focused on supporting Mom and Pop record stores, Indie Rock, Hi-Fi, and vinyl records. If there is someone that you know would enjoy my writing or has an interest in those topics please forward this email to them. The site goes live on August 15th and I hope that all of you will join me. Feel free to leave comments good and bad. If you want me to know which comments are yours simply post with your first name and last initial. As a preview to entice everyone to check it out I’ve included the introductions to my first four reviews. You’ll have to stop by on August 15th to read the rest, just call me a tease. ;-)

Black Keys-"Attack & Release"

Is heavy, riff based Rock back in style? If the likes of The White Stripes, Wolfmother, Secret Machines, and The Black Keys have anything to say about it the answer is a rousing “Hell Yes!” Recorded in just 14 days, the Black Keys’ “Attack & Release” has a strong DIY feel from the water color and pencil cover to the hand built recording console that was used during the sessions.

The pressing is an extremely quiet and utilized the half speed mastering technique. Included with the record is a copy of the album on CD, at $18 the package is a bargain. Other artists should take note, it’s a nice touch for many reasons. It makes importing into iTunes a snap, listening to it in the car easy, it aids in the comparison of vinyl vs. CD for those on the fence, and it comes in handy for loaning to friends who are curious about the band. After spending the last several years servicing other people’s turntables it’s doubtful that I’ll ever lend out my records. The number of people who feel that it’s appropriate to put spare change on top of their tone arms in order to make sure that it tracks or are completely missing the diamond of their stylus is just plain alarming. Records, like girlfriends and wives are not for lending. Use the CD to help spread the word, cherish and hoard the record.

Jeffery Lewis-"12 Crass Songs"

It was once remarked in my presence that if an old painting was put into a new frame it forced the view to re-evaluate the work from another perspective. That's exactly what Jeffery Lewis' "12 Crass Songs" sets out to do. Jeffrey Lewis re-interprets 12 songs by punk band Crass as folk tunes. It's not such a strange idea as it first seems, in some ways punk and folk are closely related. Both genres are democratic musical forms. Anyone can form a punk band or become a folk troubadour. Being able to play an instrument competently , follow a melody, or in anyway sing are strictly speaking optional. All one really needs is a quick fire vocal delivery that's almost fast enough to slip by the standard left wing observations as being profound. A skill perfected by Bob Dylan.

Guster-"Ganging Up on the Sun"

Hidden on Chicago's FM dial is one of the most eclectic stations in the country. Driving with the windows down on a forgotten Saturday afternoon WXRT played the Cure's "Just Like Heaven", Muddy Waters' "I'm a Man", and Queen's "Fat Bottom Girls" back to back to back. How many radio stations would play these three songs in the same year, let alone as part of the same set? XRT displays the same passion and courage when championing new talent. They freely lend their support to Guster and many other under-exposed artists. If you're thinking about being jealous, don't. Through the miracles of the internet it's now available world wide, make sure to send Al Gore a nice thank you note written on a palm leaf using soy ink, delivered by Pony Express. Maybe he'll read it while riding on a private jet to one of his $175,000 speaking engagements. Remember do as he says, NOT as he does and Mother Earth will be just fine.

Guster's "Ganging Up on The Sun" is a meticulously recorded and mixed, ambitious pop album lovingly crafted to induce toe tapping. By the second or third listen the album already sounds familiar, like an old favorite. Except of course it isn't, it's a brand new favorite. . .

Mark Knopfler-"Shangri-La"

Mark Knopfler is such a fluid, tasteful, and literate guitarist that he makes it sound easy. This more than anything else accounts him being one of the most under-rated guitarists plying his trade today. He never uses his well formed technical abilities to needlessly dazzle, his gifts are only utilized to serve the song. Not only is Mr. Knopfler an instrumental virtuoso, he is also a compelling song writer. Imagine the pick of Stevie Ray Vaughn and the pen of Pete Townshend and the level of Mr. Knopfler's talents come into focus. Not only is he a great talent, but his modesty allows him to be surrounded by performers of similar talent. Just so my biases are clear to all I wrote the above before compressed carbon met this helping of dead dinosaur for the first time. So I guess that you could say that I'm predisposed to like the disc.

About half of the songs on Shangri-La have a common theme, but not to worry it avoids stepping over the line to become a pretentious concept album. The majority of songs are about the struggles of the working class and their exploitation at the hands of the Bourgeoisie. For me listening to an album about the plight of the working class on a system that costs more than many people make in a year is the source of a bit of chagrin. But if Mark Knopfler is comfortable making more on said album and associated tour than those same people make in a lifetime I guess I can soldier through my guilt.

Bose?

2008-07-29T19:55:00.003-05:00

Bose is a great marketing company that makes mediocre (at best) speakers. First of all, I believe that most would agree that they start their design from a flawed premise. They've always said that 7/8 of the sound we hear is reflected, as apposed to direct sound. This is why most of the drivers in a 901 face in odd directions. Ask anyone from Bose where this number comes from and they can't tell you. This is creating false space as apposed to recreating the space that is actually captured on the recording. Then you have their active equalizer that is there to compensate electronically by forcing drivers past their physical limits to get a "big" sound out of a small box. This MUST create distortion. This is only one of the products, the others are equally flawed.

Then you look at their tendency to sue people for the most goofy reasons. They sued CEDIA (Consumer Electronics Design and Installation Association), a trade association of which they are a member for the use of the word "Lifestyle" with respect to audio. Years ago they sued Thiel because they used that same model number. Which is just stupid because the whole idea copyrights is to avoid confusion in the market place. Who in the world is going to confuse Bose and Thiel? Especially when the speakers looked completely different and were designed from a completely different technical point of view?

The following is from Wikipedia, "In 1981 Bose unsuccessfully sued the magazine Consumer Reports for libel. Consumer Reports reported in a review that the sound from the system that they reviewed "tended to wander about the room." The District Court found that Consumer Reports "had published the false statement with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of its truth or falsity" when it changed what the original reviewer wrote about the speakers in his pre-publication draft. The Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's ruling on liability, and the United States Supreme Court affirmed in a 6-3 vote in the case Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc., finding that the statement was made without actual malice, and therefore there was no liability for libel." I can't believe that they sued someone for a bad review!

Then you look at their draconian approaches in retail such as insisting that their products MUST NOT be set up where they can be actively demoed against other brands and their Secret Police tacts of demanding that managers fire sales people that say anything remotely negative about their brand ON THE SPOT or risk being cut off as a dealer. Neither of these things are myth, I've seen them happen!

Lots to think about

2008-07-26T15:18:00.000-05:00

Wilson Audio is one of the pillars of the High-end audio industry. The following video makes it clear that David Wilson, Wilson Audio’s guiding light has profound thoughts about a great number of topics involving the industry other than speaker design. The half hour video addresses such subjects as the difference between a product vs. a commodity, the financial transparency and solvency of Hi-Fi manufacturers, business models, fair pricing, real customers vs. customers of opportunity, perceived quality vs. real quality, De-localization, corporate social responsibility, labor rates, and shop efficiency. Click on the photo below to attend the lecture.

Maybe I'm amazed

2008-07-18T22:49:00.004-05:00

My Martin Logan CLS electrostatic speakers are now powered by the Audioquest AC15 power cords that I recently mentioned. Each was broken in by using them to power my Threshold Stasis S550e amplifier for 24 continuous hours. There is no contest between the Monster Cable PowerLine300 that I was previously using and these. The first thing to strike me is how much more quiet the backgrounds are with the AC15s in place. On Belle & Sebastian’s “It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career” the gentle hums and buzzes of the guitarist’s tube amp is clearly audible in the right channel as he waits for his turn to enter the song. The acoustic guitar also has more body behind the strings and the piano sounds fuller too. These cords have also made the soundstage more spacious, increased the shimmer around cymbals, and allowed music with lots of layers to really reveal itself much more effortlessly. They’ve also gotten rid of the extremely slight sibilance that female vocals could occasionally take on.

Gone is a slight muddiness on cello that I always noticed on Jacqueline Du Pre and the London Symphony's transcendent performance of Elgar's Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85 conducted by Sir John Barbirolli. The unwelcome hardness of the dynamic peaks at the very beginning of the second movement have also been tamed and sound much more effortless.

The audible effects of power cords continue to amaze me. How much of these changes are due to the ferrite clamps, how much do the Wattgate connectors contribute, how much of it is just the better wire in the cable. It would be hard to know for sure but the overall effect is nothing short of jaw dropping!