I've realized why the opening few moments of Tom Abbs & Frequency Response's "Lost" make me want to just stop and cry. I find those moments so painfully beautiful because they remind me of my grandmother (my mother's mother) singing to me when I was a child. At first, I thought it was "You Are My Sunshine," but now I realize that it's "All the Pretty Horses." Listening again, I wish now I had someone to sing it to, someone to play it for.

HDMI is the invention of the Devil. I grant that the Devil is very smart&#151;he has put on a single cable both hi-rez audio and video, and paid tribute to the gods of industry by incorporating obligatory content protection. However, he has confounded the rest of us by using a connector that, while it relies on friction to maintain physical contact, has so <I>little</I> friction that the cable connector can be easily displaced from or misaligned with the chassis connector. The traditional audiophile predilection for heavy cables is, in this case, actually counterproductive&#151;exerting just a bit of torque on a stiff HDMI cable can be enough to break the connection.

HDMI is the invention of the Devil. I grant that the Devil is very smart&#151;he has put on a single cable both hi-rez audio and video, and paid tribute to the gods of industry by incorporating obligatory content protection. However, he has confounded the rest of us by using a connector that, while it relies on friction to maintain physical contact, has so <I>little</I> friction that the cable connector can be easily displaced from or misaligned with the chassis connector. The traditional audiophile predilection for heavy cables is, in this case, actually counterproductive&#151;exerting just a bit of torque on a stiff HDMI cable can be enough to break the connection.

HDMI is the invention of the Devil. I grant that the Devil is very smart&#151;he has put on a single cable both hi-rez audio and video, and paid tribute to the gods of industry by incorporating obligatory content protection. However, he has confounded the rest of us by using a connector that, while it relies on friction to maintain physical contact, has so <I>little</I> friction that the cable connector can be easily displaced from or misaligned with the chassis connector. The traditional audiophile predilection for heavy cables is, in this case, actually counterproductive&#151;exerting just a bit of torque on a stiff HDMI cable can be enough to break the connection.

HDMI is the invention of the Devil. I grant that the Devil is very smart&#151;he has put on a single cable both hi-rez audio and video, and paid tribute to the gods of industry by incorporating obligatory content protection. However, he has confounded the rest of us by using a connector that, while it relies on friction to maintain physical contact, has so <I>little</I> friction that the cable connector can be easily displaced from or misaligned with the chassis connector. The traditional audiophile predilection for heavy cables is, in this case, actually counterproductive&#151;exerting just a bit of torque on a stiff HDMI cable can be enough to break the connection.

HDMI is the invention of the Devil. I grant that the Devil is very smart&#151;he has put on a single cable both hi-rez audio and video, and paid tribute to the gods of industry by incorporating obligatory content protection. However, he has confounded the rest of us by using a connector that, while it relies on friction to maintain physical contact, has so <I>little</I> friction that the cable connector can be easily displaced from or misaligned with the chassis connector. The traditional audiophile predilection for heavy cables is, in this case, actually counterproductive&#151;exerting just a bit of torque on a stiff HDMI cable can be enough to break the connection.

<B><I>Get Better Sound</I></B><BR>
By Jim Smith. Quarter Note Press (Cumming, GA), 2008. Paperback, 293 pages. ISBN 978-0-9820807-0-2. $44.50. <BR>Web: <A HREF="http://www.getbettersound.com">www.getbettersound.com</A&gt;.

<B><I>Get Better Sound</I></B><BR>
By Jim Smith. Quarter Note Press (Cumming, GA), 2008. Paperback, 293 pages. ISBN 978-0-9820807-0-2. $44.50. <BR>Web: <A HREF="http://www.getbettersound.com">www.getbettersound.com</A&gt;.