You say you want some resolution, we-ell you know....

[gmgraves]

Of course, I thought that was understood. No digital signal can be allowed to exceed "0" Vu without incurring distortion, no matter how many bits one is using. The increased headroom comes from being able to reduce overall record level without the low-level stuff being down in the mud and without danger of the peaks over-modulating. That's where the increased headroom comes from.

 

[MarkS]

I agree that

 

"I think a lot of people are missing out on the enjoyment, because they are obsessing about an unattainable perfection, and wondering what's wrong, instead of simply savoring all that's right."

 

Except that some stuff sounds absolutely awful.

 

 

 

[bdiament]

Hi Tim,

 

As I see it, every system (and every component within a system) is a window on the recording.

 

Just as a real window in a house shows the world outside, our gear shows us the "world" contained in a recording. And just as a cleaner window will make it easier to see what is outside, both the beauty and the ugliness, so it is with the "windows" that are our gear. A better system will reveal more of what is good in every recording and more of what is bad.

 

So, it becomes the owner's choice as to just how clear they want their windows to be. (The "windows" in 99.9% of the studios I've been in are hopelessly tinted and a good many are opaque.)

 

A clearer window makes it easier for the engineer to hear what their work sounds like - I mean really sounds like. (The idea, voiced in some quarters, that studios need certain things exaggerated is, in my opinion, just plain silly. Purposefully distorting the "glass" will not reveal reality; it will obscure it.)

 

As to pricing, my experience has been that it isn't a necessary indicator. I've heard $2000 systems that tell a lot more truth than some $100,000 systems I've heard. But I've also heard some six figure systems that are extraordinarily good at getting out of the way.

 

Getting back to the recording, in my view, a great recording is identifiable as such, regardless of the system on which it is played and regardless of the format in which it is encoded. The system and the format may obscure some (sometimes more than some) of its qualities but not all of the fundamentals that have already been determined by the time the signal is leaving the microphones.

 

Best regards,

Barry

www.soundkeeperrecordings.com

www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

 

[PeterSt]

Tim has been banned from here a couple of years back.

 

[bdiament]

Thanks Peter.

I didn't know.

 

The points in my post remain.

 

Best regards,

Barry

www.soundkeeperrecordings.com

www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

 

 

[tomE]

Well said Barry. I agree. Almost everyones collections of recordings have material from quite an array of studios and the quality of those recordings vary a lot. It might be justifiable (probably not to my wife though) to have a couple of separate systems or maybe just source components to allow one to enjoy ones recordings better. One that is very detailed and another that maybe is not quite so resolving for poorer recordings. Kind of like my other hobby of astronomy. It's nice to have a quality refractor for its very sharp and pleasing views and a so called "light bucket" to search out the "faint fuzzies". I wouldn't like to be restricted to just one of these scopes. My audio system right now tends to be a bit on the resolving side. Hmmm.... maybe I need to look in the garage and dig up the old BSR mini-changer with the genuine Astatic cartridge....

 

[bdiament]

Hi Tom,

 

My own feeling is a system that brings out the best in any recording, will necessarily bring out the worst too. What I want is better recordings, not different systems.

 

Interesting you mention astronomy too. Like audio, it is something I've been into since childhood. I have a 3" refractor for those times I just want to go out in the yard for a quick look. It is great for solar observing (filtered of course) and did a great job of showing me the fragments of Shoemaker-Levy and the marks they left in the clouds of Jupiter.

 

For the more lengthy, "serious" evenings, probing deeper into the sky (and for really close looks at nearer objects), I have a 15" Dobsonian reflector. This is the "big system" for my stargazing.

 

I've met many folks who are both music lovers/audiophiles and amateur astronomers. Two fascinating subjects.

 

Best regards,

Barry

www.soundkeeperrecordings.com

www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

 

[tomE]

Barry, you won't get an argument from me. I want better recordings too! But the reality is I have is several thousand mostly vinyl records that are for the most part not too bad. There are however quite a few what I consider to be sub par recordings in my collection.

I have a 90mm APO and am in the process (long and slow) of putting together a 12 1/2" Dob (truss tube)for my larger scope. I belong to a club and have been fortunate to be able to use scopes up to 25"! What I used for Shoemaker-Levy was my old Tasco 4 1/2" Newtonian. What a scope!

A few of my astro buddies are into audio as well. Fascinating subjects indeed!

 

Tom

 

[Paul R]

I have a 10" truss tube Lightbridge Dob that I almost never get to use, even though it is easy to pack and setup just about anywhere. I usually wind up with a cheap set of binoculars I bought from Montgomery Wards and a lawn chair in the back of my pickup.

 

I don't suppose you guys are also into reef-keeping, guppies, diving, science fiction, pre-columbian art, dogs, mystery theaters, geo-location, long slow fishing trips that you don't catch any fish on, and good food are you?

 

 

 

[bdiament]

Hi Paul,

 

"...I don't suppose you guys are also into reef-keeping, guppies, diving, science fiction, pre-columbian art, dogs, mystery theaters, geo-location, long slow fishing trips that you don't catch any fish on, and good food are you? ..."

 

Al Nagler, maker of TeleVue 'scopes and eyepieces, belongs to the same astronomy club and audio society that I do. On the observing field, we've often talked audio. At audio meets, we've often talked sky. ;-}

 

I'm definitely a sci-fi fan (Heinlein, Pohl, Dick - movies too, though it took about six viewings of "Bladerunner" before I realized Deckard was a replicant (!)) and love my dog, Rosie. And luckily for me, my wife is an ace chef (I can make a mean salad though).

 

Best regards,

Barry

www.soundkeeperrecordings.com

www.barrydiamentaudio.com

 

 

[tomE]

Paul, I am a sci-fi fan (afterall, fandom is a way of life!)although I don't read it as often as I used to. I am also a sport diver (NAUI)and definitely like good food. Fishin' is fun too. Larry Niven RULES!!

 

Tom

 

[Part-Time Audiophile]

I don't suppose you guys are also into reef-keeping, guppies, diving, science fiction, pre-columbian art, dogs, mystery theaters, geo-location, long slow fishing trips that you don't catch any fish on, and good food are you?

 

No, no, no, yes, no, who isn't, no, no, no and yes as I trained as a chef. Love wine, too. Wish cigars wouldn't kill me. Oh, and I'm always up for debating politics and religion -- but art is just silly (LOL).

 

[Paul R]

We all seem to love music, sci-fi, and good food. What could be better?

 

 

 

 

[earwaxxer]

I have a pair of Maggie MMG's. I have had to do quite some work on them, as well as the rest of my system to get the sound I am looking for. For short, I hacked out the crossovers and wiring in the MMG's. Went to t-amp vs. A/B mosfets. The planars are a bit "unforgiving". The "off axis" effects you are talking about means they are not playing well with the rest of your system. No room for mid-fi here. Everything needs to be absolutely clean. Go with silver in your wires/interconnects etc.

 

[Hifiguy]

I think audiophiles --a label often applied from the exterior-- often get generalized as being more into the gear, and the care and feeding of said gear than into music. I once read that a music lover listened to music on a stereo while an audiophile never played the second side of an album. He (always a he) switching versions, genres, and formats like an ADHD air traffic controller.

 

I’ve been involved in this activity since the early 70’s, and I’ve got to tell you, it is the music that always drives the decision. The influences may be suspect, and the choices questionable, but scratch the vinyl clad veneer of an audio consumer and you’ll find that coaxing that bit more of undefinable stuff, or the “there’ from the music is what it’s all about. Criticisms of high priced gear are always lobbed by those that can’t, or choose not to afford it. It’s all part of the yacking-- the static if you will-- outside the listening. Debates about neutrality, resolution, euphonic coloration and visceral massage points are the icing on our auditory cake.

 

If when you listen it hurts your ears, it’s bad. If when you listen your head bobs and your toe taps to the music it’s good. If when you listen you you dance with reckless abandon or weep with music it’s good. If your like what you have but want it to be better...that’s good too.

 

I always loved the music, but I also loved the junk (Hey, I’ve been selling this stuff since 1972 and that’s what we reverently called the machines that make the music. And we invited you into listen at any time; the first taste is free kid...). I know savant-like musicians who couldn’t care a wit if they listen on a hi-fi or a clock radio. It’s the same to them, I pity them, but their enjoyment is no less valid than mine.

 

So, read the forums, the blogs, the reviews, but take them all with a grain of salt. Listen to the gear at a local shop. If they don’t have it, push them to get it. Trust your ears, trust you soul. Have some fun. And isn’t the new Steve Earle album great?

 

[James1776]

Where can you buy silver wire??

 

[Encore]

Well spoken, Hifiguy :-)

 

[Miska]

I once read that a music lover listened to music on a stereo while an audiophile never played the second side of an album. He (always a he) switching versions, genres, and formats like an ADHD air traffic controller.

 

Well, not everybody. Heck, that's one of the reasons I created an album-oriented player software. To select and play entire albums (one or more). No play-lists (except album playback list), no shuffle/random playback, etc nonsense cluttering the UI.

 

One of my favorite CD players in the old days were Teac VRDS machines with minimal front panel buttons. I personally don't even need a remote control, I have to walk to the CD player anyway to change discs. Power, play and stop buttons are all I need...

 

 

[earwaxxer]

There are several good sites - I use this one. Quick service. Good prices. Solid core pure silver with Teflon insulation.

 

http://www.homegrownaudio.com/

 

[James1776]

I am wiring a speaker switch box....