Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Death of High Fidelity

[LS (lashdeep]

Bravo! 

While I definitely *can* hear the difference between any of my vinyl LPs 
compared to a CD of MP3 files, I still like the process of listening to analog 
music. There's something about looking at a vinyl 12" album cover, pulling the 
record out, placing the tone arm, etc...

And, the sound is ridiculous...you don't need to spend thousands and thousands. 
For about $2000, you can get some nice 1980s gear including a turntable that 
will sound fantastic.

LS



----- Original Message ----
From: Rick Lindsay <rolindsay [at] yahoo.com>
To: LS <lashdeep [at] yahoo.com>
Cc: The FerrariList <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Sent: Monday, March 2, 2009 3:10:41 PM
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Death of High Fidelity

  One must also consider what 'true' high-fidelity reproduction of a 
'synthesized musical instrument' might mean.  Ponder that please...

  I would argue that high-end audiophiles are no different from high-end 
exotic car owners and high-end camera owners.  We're in love with the 
technology, more so than the end result.  Ask yourself this;

+ What makes a vacuum tube superior to a transistor?

+ What makes discrete transistors superior to integrated circuits?

+ Why does my Sony digital camera take better pictures than the
  thousands of dollars of Nikon SLR stuff I have in the closet?

+ And why can about any modern sports car smoke my 308GTB?

Then ask yourself;

+ What is it about the warm glow of tube-type equipment that is so
  appealing?  Is hum better than hiss?

+ Why are chips good for computers but not for audio?  (This was the
  big argument when I was young.)

+ Why do I still covet my Nikons, even though a computer designed and 
  manufactured lens is oodles better?

+ And why do I cling to my VERY-old-tech 308GTB when there are so many
  other, better-driving cars available for less money?

  Right!  It's not about the performance.  It's about the soul of these
objects.  I like soul.

Regards,

rick

-- On Mon, 3/2/09, Michael James <cavallino_rapante [at] yahoo.com> wrote:

> From: Michael James <cavallino_rapante [at] yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [Ferrari] Death of High Fidelity
> To: "Rick Lindsay" <rolindsay [at] yahoo.com>
> Cc: "The FerrariList" <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
> Date: Monday, March 2, 2009, 1:51 PM
> 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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