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Valentine's Day Mini-TBVO - Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On

A few weeks ago, a reader wrote to let me know that they enjoyed my TBVO on Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On and to ask me if I had a favorite version of Let’s Get It On. That got me thinking. What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with a Let’s Get It On Mini-TBVO?   Seeing as this is a Mini-TBVO, I won’t be doing my usual exhaustive (or, depending on your perspective, exhausting) history of its recording. Instead, I’ll skip right to the version analysis. But for those interest

Josh Mound

Josh Mound in Mini-TBVO

Props to SVS's Customer Service

There aren't many audio companies from my hometown, Youngstown, Ohio. When I began shopping for my first subwoofer six or seven years ago, I didn't even know that SVS was located just a short drive from my childhood home.   At the time, I was in living in Ann Arbor, Michigan. But the possibility of buying a subwoofer in-person when I was home for a visit helped me decide to go with an SVS SB-1000. Even though in-person sales aren't really part of SVS's business, and even though I'd sho

Josh Mound

Josh Mound in Equipment

Still Bill TBVO Update

When new editions of classic albums are released, audiophiles rightly obsess about the source. For pre-digital recordings, it's assumed that the original master tape is the best source for any new remaster. But as the new Still Bill CD/SACD from MFSL shows, that's not always the case. If you want to find out why, scroll to the bottom of my Still Bill TBVO to read the newest update:    

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Josh Mound in TBVO Addendum

TBVO Samples: Wheels of Fire and Aja

I recently published my twofer TBVO on Cream's Wheels of Fire and Goodbye, as well as an update on my Steely Dan Aja TBVO. The former included audio samples of Goodbye, but not Wheels of Fire, while the latter didn't include any samples.   For Wheels of Fire, here are edited clips of "Politician" using my level-matched files: Drake: Politician (Drake).wav   Hoffman: Politician (Hoffman).wav   24/192 Download: Politician (Hi-Res).w

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Josh Mound in Mastering

Removing Haeco-CSG Processing (Sort Of)

Particularly with the growing popularity of surround sound and immersive audio, it’s easy to forget that two-channel stereophonic sound is itself a relatively recent invention. As any Beatles or Beach Boys fan can attest, many of the greatest albums of the 1960s were conceived of as monophonic releases. Stereo mixes, if they were pursued at all, were an afterthought.   That’s because in the early-1960s, mass ownership of record players was an even more recent development. Prior to the

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Josh Mound in Mastering

Cream TBVO, Steely Dan Update, Why I Haven't Posted Much Lately, and Other News

I'm sorry that it's been several months since my last update.   But that's because I can't seem to stop accumulating various degrees and certificates! Prompted, in part, by the widely reported literacy crisis in the U.S., I decided to pursue a literacy specialist degree this year, while still teaching full time and (when I have the chance) writing for Audiophile Style and designing t-shirts. The latter two pastimes are easily the most enjoyable, but for now the former two have consumed

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Josh Mound in Life

"Hello Baton Rouge": Talking The Nightfly, TBVO, and Audiophilia

A month or so ago, I had the pleasure of talking with Alex of BadDanTakes, the hugely popular Steely Dan-themed Twitter account. BadDanTakes has been central to the recent "Danaissance," so much so that Alex was featured in Rolling Stone.   Alex invited me on his podcast to talk about Donal Fagen's The Nightfly, which was the subject of perhaps my favorite TBVO:     Along the way, we discussed my TBVO series, why Steely Dan's music is so often used to test speakers and

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Josh Mound in TBVO Addendum

Mini TBVO: Pearl Jam's Give Way

I can still remember the smell of the Best Buy flier that would come in the Sunday newspaper. Back when the internet was in its infancy, the big box store's advertising circular was the best place to find out about upcoming album releases. For teenage me, that meant alternative and "grunge" CDs. Above all else, it meant Pearl Jam.   Vitalogy was released in 1994, when I was 11. It was my first Pearl Jam album, and I was hooked. I quickly picked up the group's previous albums, Ten and V

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Josh Mound in Mini-TBVO

Dandy Demo — The Cars’ “Drive”

When I write my TBVO articles, I tend to focus on the the version that presents the original album in its best sonic form. Occasionally, I’ll mention bonus tracks, but those tend to be relegated to a secondary concern. Given that, I’d like to use Club TBVO to highlight some superb bonus material from various releases. In particular, I’d like to focus on demos and alternate versions that present a track in a form that’s arguably superior to the official release.    Few late-‘70s debut albu

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Josh Mound in Dandy Demos

Digital Cables That Actually Work With iPads and iPhones

I’m not one who attributes much sonic impact to cables, especially digital ones. I look for well-constructed cables that don’t add any noise to the system and do what they’re supposed to do.   That last, most basic qualification, though, is particularly hard to come by when one uses Apple products. For all their advantages (and I’m an erstwhile Windows user turned Apple adherent), Apple puts a lot of proprietary tech into its products, which can make things difficult when one wants to use

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Josh Mound in Equipment

Bonus Budget IEM Review — 7Hz Salnotes Zero

A few weeks ago, Audiophile Style published my review of five budget ($50 or less) IEMs. One affordable IEM not included in that roundup is the 7Hz Salnotes Zero, which can be had for a scant $20 USD on sites like Amazon and Linsoul. Based on the suggestions of readers, I bought a pair of the Zero to augment my previous review.   Like many Chinese-produced IEMs, there’s not much information online about 7Hz. However, the company’s products are relatively well-known among IEM enthusiast

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Josh Mound in Equipment

An Audiophile's Best Friend: Etymotic ER120-HHT

In my pre-audiophile days, I did silly things. I went to concerts and played in my (pretty not good) high school band without ear plugs. Fortunately, these stupid decisions haven't cost me too much in the hearing department, though it's impossible to say how much better my hearing would be without those errors.   When I began my audiophile journey in earnest eight or so years ago, I started to think seriously about my hearing. That meant making sure to get quality hearing protection th

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Josh Mound in Equipment

The Practical and Ethical Considerations of Sourcing Album Versions for Each TBVO

A few of my first Club TBVO posts dealt with how to be an ethical music fan in the age of streaming. In the second of those articles, I concluded that ethical music consumers should purchase in-print media, but that the ethics are a bit murkier when the release in question in out-of-print. In this Club TBVO entry, I'd like to lay out how I research my TBVO columns and how I acquire all of the necessary releases in light of these rough ethical guidelines.   My research always begins at

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Josh Mound in Money, Money, Money

A Short Interlude...

Hello Club TBVO Readers,   I apologize for the inactivity of late. My wife and I have been flattened by COVID-19 the past week-plus. All I can say is that I'm happy I was vaccinated and boosted before we caught this. I can't imagine what it would be like pre-vaccine.    A new full-length TBVO and an amplifier review from me should be up on the main page shortly, and I hope to have some new blog posts soon, too.   In the meantime, I thought everyone would get a kick

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Josh Mound in Life

Mini-TBVO: Steely Dan's Can't Buy a Thrill

Welcome to the first “Mini-TBVO.” These Mini-TBVO blog posts allow me to publish an analysis of the best masterings of a classic album in a shorter format. The biggest difference between a Mini-TBVO and a full-length TBVO is that I’ll provide (sometimes much, much) less background information about the artist and the recording of the album and will instead skip right to the technical analysis.    An album might wind up being a Mini-TBVO, rather than a full-length TBVO, for several reas

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Josh Mound in Mini-TBVO

Led Dan: The Artifice of the Studio and Music's Suggested Mental Imagery (or What Makes Steely Dan Different)

Note: I have a few book-length projects in various states of planning. One is dedicated to Steely Dan. As TBVO readers know, I'm fond of writing of Walker Becker and Donald Fagen, in both their Dan and solo incarnations. Below is a short excerpt of the book-length work-in-planning, which deals with how the image of Backer and Fagen as anti-rock stars so seamlessly supports the experience of listening to Steely Dan's perfectly crafted studio albums -- an alignment of image and sound not true of m

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Josh Mound in Steely Dan

TBVO Update Appendix - Crosby, Stills, & Nash S/T

I just posted an update to my TBVO on Crosby, Stills, & Nash's self-titled debut album. This update adds the recently-released Mobile Fidelity dual-layer CD/SACD to the mix. While it's a solid mastering, it didn't really come close to knocking the crown from Joe Gastwirt's 1993 mastering. While ADC technology has improved dramatically in the intervening decades, this isn't the first time that an old Redbook CD has topped more recent hi-res masterings. The same was true for Cat Stevens's Tea

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Josh Mound in TBVO Addendum

DAC Review Follow-Up (Matrix, RME, Crane Song, Forssell, and Schiit)

Since I started Club TBVO, I've been meaning to write a few posts updating past gear reviews. Seeing an email in my inbox from Moon Audio announcing that the (now discontinued) Matrix X-SABRE Pro MQA is on sale gave me the nudge to write an update on my past DAC reviews. Here, in no particular order, are some updates on previous reviews:   I reviewed the  Matrix X-SABRE Pro (XSP) back in February of 2020. While my review was clearly positively, at the time I couldn't decide whether

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Josh Mound in Equipment

Shameless Self-Promotion: FSG-Printed Fleetwood Mac Shirt

As those of you who bought a TBVO shirt know, I've gotten into t-shirt design during the pandemic. I started drawing shirts because I'm a music t-shirt fanatic, and I had ideas for shirts that I wanted to wear but couldn't find, such as my Judee Sill shirt.   Many of my favorite music t-shirts come from Austin's Feels So Good. In particular, they have a great collection of oddball Steely Dan shirts. Given that, I'm delighted to say that FSG is printing and selling "Silver Springs" Flee

TBVO Appendix: Pharoah Sanders Karma

In the course of researching my recent TBVO on Pharoah Sanders's album Karma, I tracked down two digital rips of the original vinyl release. However, I didn't mention them in the TBVO.   Why?   At times, I've used vinyl as a sort-of shadow comparison in order to see how the digital masterings compare to the original mastering, particularly if that original mastering was lauded. I did this for the TBVO on Steely Dan's Aja. I don't do this often, however, because I've found tha

Josh Mound

Josh Mound in TBVO Addendum

Recording and Remastering: Are Digital Sources Better than Tape?

Over in the forums, new member @Wonderer poses a great question:       After some excellent responses, Wonderer rephrased the question:         I'm sure to no one's surprise, this is something I've thought about a lot, and as I've interviewed various audio luminaries for my TBVOs and Interview Series, I've put versions of this question to them, too.   The first thing worth underscoring is that the digital recorders introduced in the late

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Josh Mound in Analog vs Digital

How to be an Ethical Music Fan in the Age of Streaming, Part 2: The Death of Physical Media?

In this first part of this two-part blog post, I looked at the difficult economics facing all but the biggest stars in the streaming era. Flatting some nuance, that post concluded that purchasing merchandise directly from artists is often the best way to make sure your dollars are reaching them. It also outlined other important actions that fans can take, such as selecting a streaming service that pays artists the highest rates per stream and advocating for models of divvying up streaming revenu

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Josh Mound in Money, Money, Money

Analog Productions Steely Dan SACDs on the Way?!

A few weeks ago, Acoustic Sounds accidentally published the listing for an upcoming UHQR vinyl release of Steely Dan's Katy Lied mastered by Bernie Grundman. Shortly thereafter, an eagle-eyed fan on Steve Hoffman Forums found that by changing the numbers in the URL, one could find unlisted pages for both vinyl and SACD releases of every Steely Dan album album through Gaucho.   Both the SHF thread discussing these releases and the inadvertently published Acoustic Sounds pages have been

Josh Mound

Josh Mound in Steely Dan




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