Ages And Ages-
Something To Ruin
As I spun this...I couldn't quite place my finger, on who/what it reminded me of.I thought E6; and while it does have its Pop whimsy, I don't think that was quite it. Arcade Fire!? Umm, yeah; some of that too.At times...it's sardonic, like Pavement; and while it's not typical of the whole album...tell me As It Is, couldn't be on a Polyphonic Spree album.Any one of these...is a positive, for me; mention all 4 in the same breath. Yeah; I like this.
This is a brief blog outlining my journey through various audio management & playback apps which took me to where I am today.
Dial the clock back to around 1997. I had gotten into minidisc as a way of making my own compilations and recordings of music - a definite step up from cassette. Also in the mix were CD-Rs which would allow music to be burnt to a CD and played in a regular CD player. Though as time went on, the step of copying the music to some form of physical media became incr
The below was written in June 2015; I've just opened a blog here so decided to move it over to the blog.
Here is a report detailing my experiences of building a customised CAPS. Hopefully this will benefit others who are thinking of also building a machine for themselves - or at least provide some entertainment Before I start I would like to thank all those that helped me on these forums, especially Hifidelit and also Larry from HDPLEX; and of course Chris for blazing the way.
Since I could't find any information on this online, here is some information for anyone else who might be attempting to replace their Vivid Audio B1 tweeter.
The Vivid Audio B1's use the D26 tweeters; these are tweeters made by Vivid themselves and used in a range of their speakers. Information can be found here:
https://www.vividaudio.com/drive-units/drive-units/d26-tweeter.html
I consider it a design flaw of the Vivid B1s that the speaker grille attachment
11,000 Virgins: Chants for the Feast of St. Ursula was both my introduction to the works of Hildegard von Bingen, as well as to Anonymous 4. What an introduction it was! The recording surrounds pieces written for the Feast of St. Ursula, who, according to legend, was massacred by the Huns together with her 11,000 virgin handmaidens. While Hildegard von Bingen wrote only 7 of the 18 pieces, the imprint is clear. Having the four voices of Anonymous 4 then sing the pieces is amazing. Chants sung by
This was probably one of Kate Bush's most mainstream offerings, and yet, Hounds Of Love is far from that. For the second half of the album is titled, The Ninth Wave, and is a conceptual masterpiece. Yes, everyone knows the stunning Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God), and even the other singles on the album. However, it is The Ninth Wave that really shines, with glimpses of ice-skating gone wrong, to vignettes of the Salem witch-hunts. Yes, they are not the most immediate, but you can slowly
I was rather curious about Latin American baroque music, and how it would be different. So I leapt at the opportunity to buy a copy of Fire Burning In Snow by Ex Cathedra, conducted by Jeffrey Skidmore. It mainly features the works of Juan de Araujo, although it is interspersed with verses of Hanacpachap Cussincuinin, which lends a different flavour. Juan de Araujo's compositions truly shine in polyphonic glory: the vesper psalm Dixit Dominus is set for triple choir and in eleven parts! Indeed i
I remember watching the music video of Sister Drum/阿姐鼓 back in 1996. The landscapes were stunning, and captured all the air of mysticism of Tibet. The music was haunting and beautiful. Ethereal!
Through the years, Sister Drum is still amongst the tracks I use when I want to audition a new audio set-up. Even if you do not understand Mandarin and what is being sung, you owe it to yourself to at least listen to it once.
Sister Drum on amazon.com
I still remember the first time I heard this recording. I was strolling into the branch of Tower Records in 1990, and walked into the Classical Music section, and they were playing this disc. I was totally enthralled by the recording, and this started by journey with early music.
Originally released under the Hyperion label, the price has now been reduced under the budget Helios label.
Link to the Album at Hyperion Records
I was a bit shocked when I heard that Arcam had been sold to Harman International. This led me to think about the days of my nascent interest in high fidelity. It also made me realise that none of the brands that I bought from, to build my first audio set-up, remain in their original form. I had a Cambridge Audio CD3 compact disc player, which was one of the best sounding players at that time (Cambridge Audio is now owned by Audio Partnership), the Audiolab 8000C/P pre-amplifer/power amplifier c
I am a big Raidohead fan.
They use quirky percussion tracks.
They do not resolve chords in a traditional way.
They give concerts in Israel despite the outrage of people who should know better.
They are a counter argument to those who say there has not been any good (or at least interesting) music produced since 1969.
Apple hates audiophiles. They have made Billions off of iTunes, but deep down inside their cold, code driven hearts they hate us. They are bloodless, they don't enjoy music except as an entry on their accounts receivable ledger. They don't enjoy sex because it can't be monetized in a family-friendly environment. Every update that is spewed from Cupertino is just an excuse to damage the free flow of music through our assorted DACs. One update kills W4S DAC-2, the next update is unwittingly ta
I was just reminded of a Gene Pitney Greatest Hits CD I have, which was purchased for almost nothing at a flea market - one of those 'no name' European efforts that, ummm, are really legit ... . And it's a shocker - from needle drops, and the gorilla who did it decided that it needed noise reduction to "improve it" - the latter was done in such a clumsy and obvious way that normally it renders many of the songs almost unlistenable - the massive level and noise pumping artifacts from the crudenes
Source material matters. Why spend extra money to hear something that was poorly recorded?
Point being - if it is a good or outstanding recording, then it will sound wonderful without hocus pocus.
If the recording is substandard, then why bother with additional processing? I have six copies of "Exile on Mainstreet" : Vinyl, CD, SACD, Japanese flat transfer, whatever.
It all sounds like it was recorded in a basement somewhere in Southern France. In short, all copies, all media
I just got back from a long(ish) sea voyage. Los Angles to Hawaii and back. Very enjoyable.
When I got home, I turned on the music system. I was struck by how good the music sounded.
I am guessing that a break from my normal listening habits gave my ears a rest.
If you find yourself not enjoying your music as much as you know you should.
Take a break
I mentioned that I'm not alone in pursuing a certain quality in the reproduction, and I was just inspired to point to posts and other material that echo what I have to say ... here is the first:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/120101-problem-hi-fidelity-2.html#post1466335
Right, into the meat ...
First of all, there is a blog at http://artofaudioconjuring.blogspot.com.au/, same name, which largely documents the optimising of my current audio project - and other random thoughts. That is intended to be developed over time, but for various reasons my activity there has lapsed - to be continued!
Here, in this blog, I will expound some more on my philosophy and viewpoints, to counterbalance what may be discussed in threads on this forum.
