Columns Retired Columns & Blogs |
May 20, 2006 - 5:13pm
#1
Hi-Fi cred is earned, not demanded.
Loudspeakers Amplification | Digital Sources Analog Sources Featured | Accessories Music |
Columns Retired Columns & Blogs |
Loudspeakers Amplification Digital Sources | Analog Sources Accessories Featured | Music Columns Retired Columns | Show Reports | Features Latest News Community | Resources Subscriptions |
How about a certificate department? They are easy to print and send off the internet. Then, those who need it can feel completed.
Of coursse, some could just print their own and immediately hang in on the wall. There is nothing like instant gratification...self inflicted or not. It is easeir that trying to pat ones self on the back.
Just like in the Wizard of Oz, the ScareCrow just needed the validation of a diploma. Just like the Rollexx I bought last week. The guy had so many in his raincoat.
I think I'll make myself a BS Degree of Audioology from Havvvard and Devry. That will impress them. I'll bet if we asked The University of Phoenix would offer one on line. They would have to grade on the Honor System. Or not!
In a DSL world...I am dial-up.
I had the 1st Hon. Doctorate of Audiology (2 ch. only) conferred upon me this past week.
If yer gonna start gving out diplomas...sign me up! Will these allow us to have special parking at the Stereophile shows? (More audiophile than handicap!) Discount rates at the hotels? The privilege to iron Michael Frem's underware? Man, what will be the perks? Will there be varying disciplines: "I got my Doctorate in Audiophile at Cal Tech with a Minor in Hip-Hop!"? Will the diploma be engraved on an old Living Stereo Debussy LP? Of course those poor students with "tin ears" (Bose and Legacy speaker owners ha ha!) will probably have to take some junior college courses first. Will we develop an insane and historic rivalry with Gallaudet University? Why this is limitless!
Well, I gotta admit that column did help me.
Last night I stood not 10 feet from a Ferrari Daytona, and when I got back to my Dodge Intrepid, I realized it was only running on 6 cylinders.
Then we went to a concert. I hate it when I go to get some beverages and then have to try and find my spouse by visually trying to tell all the women in the crowd apart.
Saved by the column again!
It dawned on me. I'd call out to Katy and then find her by using Antarctic penguin techniques. I used echo-location to follow her distinctive call! Right to her!
Then, I stood about 12 feet from Jamie Cullum playing an acoustic Steinway. He sounded much more "open" in person, and he imaged right in the center of my listening field when I looked straight on. The sound was full bodied.
At home, he has been sounding like he only plays on half the keyboard, and the imaging is hard left.
When I got home and listened again, it hit me...my entire right channel was out!
Nobody, I mean nobody, who listens only to their high end system could have ever figured something like that out. No way.
A real "ear opener." It was like moving from row L to row F!
Sometimes, I guess it takes a finely tuned ear with thousands of hours of live listening to tell that your amp is broken.
OK, one thing I will admit..."I've stood right next to a fine cello, a Guarneri violin, numerous concert grands, and Joan Baez..."
That must have been a Hell of a show!
Buddha,
Thanks for taking this one on. I
I had to go back and reread the articles to see if I had missed something.
Neither article struck me as insulting or condescending. They both came across as I think was intended by JVS...at least to me they did. I got the impression that he was saying that not everybody recognizes or appreciates many of the more subtle aspects of reproduction while others that do recognize them have a greater appreciation for the ability to capture and reproduce those aspects. Stating his 'bonafides' didn't strike me as anything other than an attempt to demonstrate where his perspective is coming from.
I dunno.
Thanks, Monty. I regret that my frequent use of "I" has led some to presume that I consider my hearing ability inherently superior to others'. That is not a belief I either subscribe to or wish to promulgate in the pages of Stereophile.
My product reviews, CD reviews, and artist interviews are posted at http://www.hometheaterhifi.com. Recent reviews of the McIntosh transport/DAC combo and the Aurum Acoustics CD player should be available in the archives. Forthcoming are an update on the Monarchy SE-250 monoblocks and an interview with Jordi Savall. I will also be reporting on HE 2006 for Stereophile.
jason victor serinus
Couldn't agree with you more, Buddha. I generally read "As We See It" first, and usually enjoy it, but Mr. Serinus' self serving ramblings really take the cake. I actually considered a word count on first person singular references. Such arrogance. Given that "What's Real" got by JA, I guess Sam should stop worrying about whether some of his asides will be edited out.
Come now, Mr. Serinus, no one could write even the concluding paragraph of "What's Real" without a firm belief in his personal superiority. Your piece leaves no choice for the reader. One must conclude either that you believe yourself to be among the best of all listeners, or that you can't convey what you mean in written form. Arrogance is real, and it is boring.
This is weird. Since, over the past 30 years, I have spent considerably more money on live concerts than I have on the artificial elves that pipe their residue into my living room I most generally agree with Mr. Serinus. Yet, Cheapskate, you are absolutely correct. Guilty of arrogance. Get a new persona, Mr. Serinus. I don't give a wonker's weenie about how the tubes on your Jadis blink on and off. But you just gotta write a better story. You sound strangely like a fellow named Greene. The substance is there, but, please remember, we can only know you by your style. Stilted, stiff, self-righteous, and oblique. Say, did you ever think about applying to TAS? Just kidding. Keep flogging "live" -- we all love that. But loosen up a bit and tell us what you REALLY think, without all this froth. Peace, love, and best wishes. Clifton
Hi, Buddha,
Yes. This is better than any critique I could have written in a hundred years. I would have just spluttered. Justin, just write about how you react to music, piped or real. You don't have to contrive a "situation" and then BELIEVE it.
"Harumph! I was just testing the the blatherfart mods on my Crapcorker 8's when I noticed something was amiss -- by the way, live is better than recorded."
This is a stylistic failure, even if it is true. ESPECIALLY if it's true. D-, from a payin' customer.
The imaginary gardens are okay, but the real toads are essential or it all goes poof.