Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Death of High Fidelity

[Michael James (cavallino_rapante]

High fidelity is 'around', although I would claim that the pool of ears capable 
of appreciating the sounds generated by equipment that costs about as much as a 
new Mercedes is much, much smaller than ever.  Convenience rules, and lest we 
forget that the music that matters most to today's listeners was NOT generated 
or recorded on equipment that is as sophisticated as the modern Audiophile's 
setup - so what, exactly, is the need for ultra-fidelity audio reconstruction 
of a sound file that started life as a digitally preserved, low-fi recording?  
You're throwing big-money away trying to create a soundstage or recover audio 
data that was never there to begin with.  
 
Don't get me wrong, I love the aesthetics of tube-powered amplifiers, 
especially the ones for ipod and digital sources, but most folks of my 
generation grew up on cassettes/CDs and cannot 'hear' the difference in sound 
reproduction that would justify the $$$$$$$$ investment for such equipment.  
I'd like to, but my ears must be shot from the loud concerts and the constant 
headphone play cranked to 11.  
 
M 

--- On Mon, 3/2/09, Rick Lindsay <rolindsay [at] yahoo.com> wrote:


From: Rick Lindsay <rolindsay [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Death of High Fidelity
To: "Michael" <Cavallino_Rapante [at] yahoo.com>
Cc: "The FerrariList" <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Date: Monday, March 2, 2009, 1:53 PM


Funny how some common threads run through our List.  I mixed music for years, 
including all the dynamic adjustments, effects, EQ and levels.  I started this 
so-called career in the analog era of the 70's.  We (Colored Rain, Showboat, 
The Breeding Bunch, Exile (called The Exiles at that time) were making music 
while everyone else was doing whatever 'disco' is.  On breaks I would play 
reel-to-reel (and later cassette) tapes but instead of routing them directly 
into the mixer, I put the signals through a dbx (brand) compressor - set to 
'expansion'.  That way, the dynamics of the pre-recorded music was expanded and 
sounded more 'live'.  I found that when I ran the music straight, folks just 
talked and sipped their drinks.  When I ran the tapes through the expander, 
they danced!  The music sounded more 'live'.  

Further to this thread.  My wife always asks, "Why are the commercials so 
loud?" to which I reply, because they're highly compressed.  They're in your 
face because they want you to hear them when you're up talking a pee.  "Billy 
Mays here with..." or "...you'll be saying ShamWow!"

That mixing stuff was a lifetime ago.  Today, I listen to tunes in my car, 
going home from work - and when NPR gets so far left that reality suffers.  

That's about as good as it gets for me.

rick
--- On Mon, 3/2/09, Scott Saidel <Ferrarisimo [at] comcast.net> wrote:

> From: Scott Saidel <Ferrarisimo [at] comcast.net>
> Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Death of High Fidelity
> To: "rolindsay" <rolindsay [at] yahoo.com>
> Cc: "The FerrariList" <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
> Date: Monday, March 2, 2009, 12:34 PM
> Sad but true - when we are working in the new studio
> (www.hellaphantrecords.com 
> ) we initially listen and set levels listening through
> decent  
> monitors, but we usually do the final mixdown using
> standard iPod  
> headphones, since most people are going to be listening to
> it that  
> way.  It makes a huge difference in how you set the
> compression levels  
> and how you set-up the spatiality of the soundstage.
> 
> For my own "at home" listening, I am sticking to
> the old-school rig  
> for the most part (and listening to unremastered original
> CD  
> recordings) -
> 
> Cinepro PowerPro 20 power conditioner
> Cary CD 303/200 CD Player
> Outlaw ICBM Crossover
> Cary CAD-805c Amplifiers (open ended triode tubes)
> MIT TubeTerminator Speaker Cables
> MIT Output Terminator Interconnects
> Miller and Kreisel S100B satellites
> Miller and Kreisel MK125ii sub-woofer
> 
> Apple iBook G4 / Seagate 1tb harddrive / AirPort Express /
> Intech  
> optical digital to AC3 converter
> 
> I recently connected the old laptop as a iTunes server.  I
> use the  
> laptop as a selection device and use a new AirPort Express
> to feed a  
> direct, optical, digital signal off my network (where I
> have 18,000 /  
> 265 Mb of music on iTunes - mostly in Apple Lossless
> format) into the  
> digital input for the Cary CD player and use it's D/A
> decoder.
> 
> I can also access the music on the iTunes harddrive from my
> everyday  
> Macbook and stream it to the rig in the Studio / Theatre
> (Sony ES  
> E9000ES Preamplifier / N9000ES Amplifier) and the stereo in
> my bedroom  
> (1967 Fisher Receiver - all tube front and back end),
> although in the  
> bedroom I had to "settle" for the stereo analog
> output from the  
> AirPort Express
> 
> No noticeable loss in sound quality vs. direct playback
> from a CD.    
> Although, before I had the dedicated computer, I would
> occasionally  
> lose the data stream and get "drop-outs" in the
> playback when I was  
> playing iTunes and working on the computer at the same
> time.
> 
> I am in the process of backing up my existing CD collection
> to DVDs  
> and selling off the original CDs while they still have some
> value.  At  
> least, the stuff that is not exceptional or rare.
> 
> Scottie
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Mar 2, 2009, at 1:00 PM, Fellippe Galletta wrote:
> 
> http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17777619/the_death_of_high_fidelity/
> 
> If I could spend 5 minutes with Obama, I'd ask him to
> CHANGE this.
> 
> :)
> 
> FG
> 
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