The Inner Ear & Crystal Glass

[bluesman]

Keystone Light, Almaden box wine, Old Thompson Whiskey or Lipton Tea

OK, then. I readily admit to never having heard of Old Thompson, so I googled it and found a very interesting review:

 

Nose: None. That is to say, it smelled like a clean hotel room glass.

 

Palate: You know how, with some whiskies, you're disappointed that what you experience nosing doesn't carry through in your experience tasting? This is one of those whiskies. To be clearer, let me transcribe what I wrote during the tasting itself: "nasty mud" (That is, it was nasty, and there was a flavor of mud; the mud flavor itself wasn't the nasty part.)

 

Finish: Some things are more clearly grasped when shown than described. Here, for me, is the finish of Thompson American Whiskey:

 

 

So Old Thompson appears to be a non-starter as an audio accomplice.

[bluesman]

Haha, funny. I knew it was bad, but... well, it really depends upon what you're listening to

It might just be the perfect accompaniment when listening to this, though...

 

 

 

The album from which this comes (Sports) is actually pretty fine - it wasn't a serious audiophile session, but the band produced it themselves so there was more care, thought and effort than usually found in early 80s pop. And it's fun music. I love listening to the original vinyl - check out the pedal steel on Honky Tonk Blues. I can't vouch for any digital versions because there weren't any when this came out in 1983. I don't listen to it often enough to rip the vinyl or buy and rip a CD, so this is the only version I've ever heard.

[bluesman]

Any cognitive psychologist will guarantee that if you just sit a bottle of your favorite beverage on the stereo while listening, the you will rate sound as better.

...as long as you have a sufficiently long straw.

[bluesman]

In my old age, both my pallet and my hearing are not what they one were. Enjoy a great wine, not because you can detect leather in the bouquet, but because it is a great wine. Enjoy a top class audio system, not because of the ability to resolve the air between instuments, but because it draws you deep into the musical experience.

Welcome and well said! As an intact and functional septuagenarian, I gratefully enjoy it all and will do so until I can no longer do so. And at that point, I hope I'll be as happy enjoying the memories. But 'til then...

 

[bluesman]

Amar Bose was a genius and used psychoacoustic 'tricks' to enhance the listening experience for the average listener

Bose was bright, but he wasn't exactly a genius as a designer and engineer (although he was a bit of a marketing genius). He was not the inventor of reflector speakers - there are multiple prior patents and examples (e.g. Dan Greenfield, Fred Martin). His only significant modification of the reflector principle was using the wall behind the speaker as the reflector, as all prior systems had a reflecting panel. Most prior reflector speakers had a hinged flap of some kind as part of the cabinetry, because the designers thought it necessary to be able to adjust the angle of incidence for best sound quality. Bose also used a single direct driver and multiple rear-firing drivers in the 901s for which he became known.

 

Bose's other "contribution" was heavy duty EQ between amp and speaker to "expand" the flat response range of multiple identical 4 1/2" drivers. When set to full output, the equalizers that came with the 901s boosted the lows by 18 db (!) at 35 Hz, which gave dramatic but relatively low fidelity sound. I remember 901s used without EQ for live sound reinforcement and stage monitors in the '70s with their backs pointed forward, so that the single "front firing" driver pushed some sound back to the band. They were grabbed up for almost no money from people who learned their lessons and moved on to better speakers at a time when the stage monitors we take for granted today were entirely unknown and most rock & blues bands and audiences were sufficiently mellowed out not to have noticed or cared about a lack of flat frequency response as long as there was thumping bass coming from the SVTs, Acoustic (that was a manufacturer's name) "bass bins", etc on stage.

[bluesman]

Wow - this thread is still alive !?!?!?!  Here's what we drank in 1968 as we dropped the needle.....

 

 

Old Frothingslosh was truly unique - it was marketed as the only beer in the world with its head on the bottom, until some fool woman sued them (successfully, it seems) because she didn't realize it was a joke and claimed that the party she planned around it was ruined when it turned out to be a can of plain old beer.......