Listening #40

Listening #40

Not only is it possible for a thinking person to now and then drastically change his point of view, if for no other reason than the sake of change—if one wishes to prevent self-seriousness and various other forms of mental decay, it's probably an outright must. So it was that I recently began to wonder if everything I know about record players might be wrong.

The Fifth Element #35 JA Measures the Concert Grands

The Fifth Element #35 JA Measures the Concert Grands

The relationship between many audiophiles and well-sung, well-recorded female vocal tracks is like the relationship between alcoholics and alcohol—or between, apparently, quite a few congresspersons and unworked-for money. The sentence, "Thank you, but I really have had enough already," is seldom heard. In defense of our hobby, buying and setting up stereo equipment so that gorgeous singing can enthrall you does no one any harm, and arguably does much good. "Beauty is truth," and all that.

The Fifth Element #35 2.5 Cheers For Sealed Boxes!

The Fifth Element #35 2.5 Cheers For Sealed Boxes!

The relationship between many audiophiles and well-sung, well-recorded female vocal tracks is like the relationship between alcoholics and alcohol—or between, apparently, quite a few congresspersons and unworked-for money. The sentence, "Thank you, but I really have had enough already," is seldom heard. In defense of our hobby, buying and setting up stereo equipment so that gorgeous singing can enthrall you does no one any harm, and arguably does much good. "Beauty is truth," and all that.

The Fifth Element #35 Page 2

The Fifth Element #35 Page 2

The relationship between many audiophiles and well-sung, well-recorded female vocal tracks is like the relationship between alcoholics and alcohol—or between, apparently, quite a few congresspersons and unworked-for money. The sentence, "Thank you, but I really have had enough already," is seldom heard. In defense of our hobby, buying and setting up stereo equipment so that gorgeous singing can enthrall you does no one any harm, and arguably does much good. "Beauty is truth," and all that.

The Fifth Element #35

The Fifth Element #35

The relationship between many audiophiles and well-sung, well-recorded female vocal tracks is like the relationship between alcoholics and alcohol—or between, apparently, quite a few congresspersons and unworked-for money. The sentence, "Thank you, but I really have had enough already," is seldom heard. In defense of our hobby, buying and setting up stereo equipment so that gorgeous singing can enthrall you does no one any harm, and arguably does much good. "Beauty is truth," and all that.

Industry Update

Industry Update

Rotel's newest: <A HREF="http://www.rotel.com/">Rotel</A&gt; is venturing into the power conditioner market with two new components developed in conjunction with APC (American Power Conversion), a company with a long history in power-protection: the $1599 RLC-1080, which offers internal battery backup, and the $499 RLC-140. Both models offer system protection against spikes, brownouts, over-voltages, and RFI noise. Both also offer protection for coaxial, telephone, and Ethernet hook ups, as well as audible warnings and text displays.

Allman Brothers Band and Cheap Trick Sue Sony

Allman Brothers Band and Cheap Trick Sue Sony

On Friday, April 29, AP <A HREF="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060428/ap_en_mu/music_downloads_royalties;…; that Cheap Trick and the Allman Brothers Band were suing Sony Music over the record label's payment for music downloads through Napster and the iTunes Music Service.

Why a Preamp or integrated?

Forums

I don't understand the role of the preamp and integrated amplifiers. Why don't we use a multiple input power amplifier with variable gain? I know it is possible because I have seen (but not heard) one or two examples. I don't understand the need to have a seperate component to destroy sound quality.

I know previously preamplifiers were primarily for the phono input, but long after this role has passed we were still using preamps. Of course, stand alone phono preamps were always available that could have been used to directly drive a power amplifier. Confused!

Live or Wired?

I got to thinking about beginnings when I read JA's "As We See It" last January. It seemed to me at the time that his concern over the future of the high-end audio industry centered on an issue that didn't get fully exposed. JA noted that "...younger people are not finding their way to what the high-end audio industry has to offer (my italics)in anything like enough numbers to replace those who leave." My personal hypothesis concerning this trend goes back to how I came to this pursuit in my younger days.

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