TimArruda

Thanks for the smile on this snowy, spring day Chris. My neutrino resistant USB cable is on order.

I am 47 years old, and for most of my adult life, I always believed in the "silent majority". You know, your neighbors who are perfectly reasonable folks, have no interest in getting into it with hard core folks on either the left or the right because they have better things to do. Folks who seemed to be able to see the issues and balance out the loudmouths screaming at each other from both sides of the aisle. People with whom you could discuss some of what would be called hot-button issues, and without it degenerating into a shouting match, at the very least you could agree to disagree. The last ten years or so have proven me wrong. I am with AudioDoctor, most people are not very reasonable anymore.

What I find most sad about this post Priaptor, is that one could just replace "evil conservatives" with "evil liberals", and change the references accordingly and it would *absolutely* still be spot on. Ignorance and stupidity is equal opportunity when looking at American politics.

I could not agree more with Claude. I would be much more concerned with who did the remastering then whether they were transferred to PCM and then converted to DSD. Just my personal opinion of course. I say this, because if RVG did the remasters, I would have some serious hesitation. I have heard some of Rudy's remasters that I was pretty happy with, and others that I really didn't like. I have an RVG remaster of Grant Green's Feelin' the Spirit that I'm pretty happy with. On the other hand, I also have an RVG remaster of Hank Mobley's Workout that I really don't care for. If I knew Alan Yoshida or Bernie Grundman were doing them, then maybe I'd be more concerned about the PCM vs. DSD issues.

+1 Earlier in this thread George, your tone was significantly different than it is now. It is disingenuous to make these kind of statements earlier in the thread, and then feign ignorance as to how the thread became heated.

Well, no, it doesn't. My own daughters are 21 & 19. Guess what, they love the Beatles, The Cars, James Taylor, The Eagles, Phish, etc, etc. along with all kinds of music that is of their generation. So now you have another set of kids that have not discarded the music of 20 years ago. I have no doubt that it changes nothing about your certainty in regards to what serious art is, and what will be remembered in the future. Me personally, I haven't the faintest idea, and I have no doubt it will be determined long after I am gone. And yes, you seriously come across as the angry old man.

As far as sources for new pressings, it depends on what they are pressing. There are quite a few labels that clearly state they are using analog masters tapes when remastering an album. As as been discussed here, that can mean a lot of different things, but mainly what I take await from that is they are using analog tape in their remaster which will produce the new stampers. Analogue Productions, Music Matters, Impex, MFSL, ORG, Speakers Corner and other "audiophile" labels are pretty clear on that. If the album was digitally sourced to begin with, there is your answer. Also, for some albums the analog tapes may no longer be available, and it can be difficult to determine the source. Some folks don't see the point in buying vinyl from a digital source, and I get that. I have to say though, I had picked up a copy of Tracy Chapman's self titled album from 1988 at a used record shop. It is digitally sourced, in perfect condition and sounds incredible. Personally, if it was digitally sourced to begin with, I tend to go with a CD of it. I know that Blue Note is essentially reissuing their entire classic jazz catalog for the 75th anniversary, and trying to do it at a price that is affordable for most folks. The source for these LP's that are out right now for about $20 is hi-res digital done by Bernie Grundman. I picked up a copy of Van Morrison's Moondance, remastered by Kevin Gray/Steve Hoffman the other day. This was analog sourced, released by Warner Bros./Rhino and it sounds fantastic. If you are interested in vinyl, you can find a lot of this information over at the Hoffman Forums. I played my copy of Steely Dan's Can't Buy A Thrill last night, a second pressing from 1972. The entire first side is dead quiet as far as surface noise goes, sounds incredible. The second side is not as quiet, but it sounds wonderful. Vinyl is far from perfect, but what is? It's really nice to have both.

Great review Chris, and thanks for the heads up on Laith Al-Saadi, what a fantastic voice that guy has. I'm adding that one to my collection!

I can only answer for myself, but I can tell you why I find it depressing. It's not free. And saying it's almost free is disingenuous. And honestly, I'm not asking for it to be free. It's *another* monthly bill. Everything seems to be moving towards the subscription model. Add your monthly streaming fee to your monthly cable bill, your monthly cell phone bill, your monthly internet access bill, your monthly Netflix bill, your Hulu bill, , your Beer of the Month Club bill, your monthly Adobe Creative Cloud bill, and it goes on and on. And as soon as you stop paying, that access to virtually any recording ever released is gone and you've got nothing left. On top of that, I value and appreciate my local music stores. Bull Moose, Enterprise Records, Moody Lords, Electric Buddha; I either know the owners or know the employees. I appreciate that they are there and what they do. Music is a social thing for me. I enjoy talking to other people in the store about music. I appreciate walking into a store, and the owner or whomever knowing me and my musical interests. Hey Tim, I just got in this album you may be interested in. I'd rather have a person recommend music to me than an algorithm. That is not meant as a knock on anyone who values and enjoys streaming services. I understand why someone would value it. For a time I was a subscriber to MOG before it became Beats. It was nice to be able to listen to and album for me when trying to decide what I thought about an artist I wasn't familiar with, or a particular album. I've discovered new music through Pandora or whatever, and appreciate that. And I'm not a Luddite. I enjoy and appreciate technology. What I am looking for is balance. And a future in which music ownership goes away, where all music is stored in the cloud and streamed, where my "music provider" knows every track I play, or have ever played, etc... is a future I have zero interest in participating in. *That* is depressing.

Interesting article Chris. I would tend to agree that things are moving in that direction. I won't be moving with them. I do have a subscription, to the Music Matters Jazz Blue Note series on vinyl. Count me firmly in the ownership camp. I have no desire whatsoever to have access to music solely as long as my subscription is current. There is no way I will be storing my music in the cloud, and I'm not ok with my ISP knowing everything I do online, never mind anyone else. I realize I may be in the minority, and that minority may be growing smaller every day, but I *like* my physical LP's and CD's. I much prefer reading a physical book to an electronic facsimile. I have bought downloads, and have many that sound fantastic. For me though, even when it does sound good, there is something missing. I just don't find it as satisfying to have my music as a file stored away either on a local hard drive or in the cloud. Music, for me, is more than just the actual music. It's the music, it is the artwork and liner notes that go with it. It's the LP that has been around for 40 years or more, with someone's name written on the back of the album cover that still somehow manages to sound fantastic. There is a history to a physical object that is part of it for me. I also really value buying used music, whether CD or vinyl, and also being able to sell those albums which I no longer value enough to keep. I'll be damned if I'm going to allow Amazon, music publishers, or whomever to decide what I can do with my music. I fully recognize this goes hand in hand with the ownership model, and not the subscription model. What is interesting to me, is that I initially got into computer audio as I got sick and tired of racks of CD's being in my living room and wanted at least to move them somewhere else while still being able to listen to them conveniently. Over time, I've come around full circle (or mostly I suppose) on this idea. I'm not complaining though. I have no doubt there will be no shortage of LP's and CD's, both used and new for me to buy and more music available than I will listen to in my lifetime. Who knows, it's certainly possible I'll come full circle again and someday get rid of all my physical music and jump on the streaming bandwagon. Time will tell I suppose.

Same exact thing here Greg, very much an emotional experience. Tim

And based on his behavior it wouldn't surprise me.

You mean you weren't aware of the fact the New York City actually created classical music?

You are more than welcome Paul. I have no patience for those kind of myopic views. I'm glad that I also know some wonderful people from New York City and so know that RealAudio doesn't represent the city all that well.

Thanks for the clarification Eloise. I hope the folks there are as cool as those whom I know from Austin.