Video Interview of Gary :)

carolkoh · Jul 22, 2014

Where Gary states... "MP3s are the baby food for a new generation of audiophiles."

I agree with him. When we have listening / bon-voyage parties for our "big boys" before they leave the factory, I invite my friends and most of them are from the games industry here in town. Many are gamers I met playing games. They all love music. Through our association, we learn about each others music. MP3s allow us to sample that music and if we like it, then we demand better and will go out to obtain better.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

Video courtesy of Scott Hull, the Part-Time Audiophile

P.S. Gary calls it an "embarrassing" video of him blathering away, I think it shows his passion for the subject.

jazdoc · Jul 22, 2014

Gary,

Thank you for perfectly articulating one of my concerns about high end audio -- too many audiophiles have a maddeningly small circle of musical interest. Your inference is correct: many audiophiles come off as musical snobs. Too often, the shiny (and increasingly expensive) toys are not simply the means to the end of a more enjoyable musical experience; rather the toys are the end all and be all.

Bravo for playing what you like and not simply the small coterie of approved audiophile music. If the industry wants to survive, it will have to appeal to a broader range of music consumers.

Garth · Jul 22, 2014

carolkoh said:
Where Gary states... "MP3s are the baby food for a new generation of audiophiles."

I agree with him. When we have listening / bon-voyage parties for our "big boys" before they leave the factory, I invite my friends and most of them are from the games industry here in town. Many are gamers I met playing games. They all love music. Through our association, we learn about each others music. MP3s allow us to sample that music and if we like it, then we demand better and will go out to obtain better.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

Video courtesy of Scott Hull, the Part-Time Audiophile

P.S. Gary calls it an "embarrassing" video of him blathering away, I think it shows his passion for the subject.

Good job, doing interviews is not a easy thing to do.

Barry2013 · Jul 22, 2014

carolkoh said:
Where Gary states... "MP3s are the baby food for a new generation of audiophiles."

I agree with him. When we have listening / bon-voyage parties for our "big boys" before they leave the factory, I invite my friends and most of them are from the games industry here in town. Many are gamers I met playing games. They all love music. Through our association, we learn about each others music. MP3s allow us to sample that music and if we like it, then we demand better and will go out to obtain better.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

Video courtesy of Scott Hull, the Part-Time Audiophile

P.S. Gary calls it an "embarrassing" video of him blathering away, I think it shows his passion for the subject.

His analysis is spot on.
Too many manufacturers are concentrating too much on the small minority of mega rich audiophiles. I can understand the attractions of that but it is incredibly short sighted. Low volume equals high cost products and small markets.

DonH50 · Jul 22, 2014

That... is an awesome interview! Much truth straight from the heart, and a lot of very well-reasoned thoughts.

To attract a new generation, we have to play their music, not try to force them to like ours. Anybody here with a teenager that was able to force your music tastes on them, raise your hand. Anybody? No?

I have a few outstanding CDs, and many that sound like crap, and it has NOTHING to do with "digital" this or that. It is simply a horrible re-mix/master job. In some cases it sounds like they "improved" it so it works great in your car at 80 mph with the windows down. In my media room, not so much. In others it sounds like, in their effort to "preserve" the original, they didn't bother to compensate for 30 - 50 year old master tapes that do actually degrade with time. Maybe the sound engineers are trainees, were told to target a particular sound/audience/environment, or simply didn't care as they churned out my favorite CD between cramming 50 hits form the 50's, 60's, and 70's onto one three-CD set for the next late-night advertisement. Bah!

Great job, Gary! - Don

garylkoh · Jul 22, 2014

Thanks, guys.

Unfortunately, it is not cheap to make speakers that can do it all. Especially because I try to make my designs family friendly - which means that many times they have to be called on to play quietly but with dynamics and resolution. The servo-controlled woofer is not easy or cheap to do - and it is that key feature which makes the speakers small enough to be accepted in a living room, and yet have the resolution and accuracy to reproduce both Ray Brown and Snoop Dogg (not at the same time though).

Andre Marc · Jul 22, 2014

garylkoh said:
Thanks, guys.

Unfortunately, it is not cheap to make speakers that can do it all. Especially because I try to make my designs family friendly - which means that many times they have to be called on to play quietly but with dynamics and resolution. The servo-controlled woofer is not easy or cheap to do - and it is that key feature which makes the speakers small enough to be accepted in a living room, and yet have the resolution and accuracy to reproduce both Ray Brown and Snoop Dogg (not at the same time though).

Gary, really enjoyed it!!!

Check out The Asteroid Galaxy Tour., the 2012 remaster of Massive Attack's Blue Lines, and Mark Lanegan's Blues Funeral.

Btw, I actually think Lana Del Rey's Born To Die is a more complex and dazzling album than Lorde's.

I have Lorde's recent appearance on KCRW in FLAC if you want it.

Andre Marc · Jul 22, 2014

Sorry Gary, a few more!

Soul Savers
Lissie
Maggie Bjorkland
The Last Shadow Puppets
Polica
Christine Owman

garylkoh · Jul 22, 2014

Many thanks, Andre.

Will you be at the California Audio Show? Bring me some music to play

I'll also be bringing some more new music to introduce.

JackD201 · Jul 22, 2014

Why Gary! Never thought of you as an on cam talent before today!

Good job! How was the steak?

Part-Time Audiophile · Jul 23, 2014

JackD201 said:
Why Gary! Never thought of you as an on cam talent before today!

Good job! How was the steak?

Gary is great on camera, and most happily, is prone to say just about anything.

I, on the other hand, need more practice with the camera. FWIW, I'm getting a much better handle on the lighting. Sorry about that, Gary.

And as for the steak, well, it was okay. Next time, we're going to Family Meal.

DonH50 · Jul 23, 2014

A step up from Village Inn?

Gary, you can do better than that...

JackD201 · Jul 23, 2014

I thought you were very good as well Scott. Quite funny too! It's always better for me when you can see that the interviewer and his subject are enjoying themselves. You do need some editing lessons though

Just having some fun with you man

treitz3 · Jul 24, 2014

Hello, Gary. You and I are much alike in the fact that I have not designed my system to play "certain" audiophile songs extremely well. Not many folks I have personally met in this hobby seem to think this way, unfortunately. They seem to want RP and the SH to show every single nuance available to them and will go through GREAT lengths to get there. I don't want that. I want the same thing you want and that has been my goal for many years. That being a system to play whatever you put on, on whatever medium, with whatever type of recording (I know there are limits to this) you throw at it to play well.......and when I mean well? I mean with the same criteria that some put into RP and her song SH. I can only listen to her for so long before I move on.

There is way too much great music out there to enjoy, to simply design a system geared mostly toward audiophile recordings.

No matter the genre.

Tom

garylkoh · Jul 25, 2014

This, I am very glad to hear. There seem to be at least a few of us here on WBF posting about great music

play whatever you put on, on whatever medium, with whatever type of recording (I know there are limits to this) you throw at it to play well

ca1ore · Aug 21, 2014

Very old debate about how a system designed for music couldn't do HT and vice versa. Poppycock! Get a good system that does proud by music (any music) and HT is a breeze. Only concession I've ever made solely to HT is to install a shaker under my couch. As one reviewer once said, 'biggest bag for the butt in all of audio'.

garylkoh · Aug 21, 2014

How about posting a picture of your music system that also does HT wonderfully?

Barry2013 · Aug 21, 2014

garylkoh said:
How about posting a picture of your music system that also does HT wonderfully?

i second that

ca1ore · Aug 22, 2014

My Genesis HT

I'm always a bit reluctant to post pictures because my photographic skills (and camera) stink. Regardless, here is my 'dual purpose' system .....

Main speakers are a pair of 200/201 (panels have the upgraded BG midrange, but woofer columns are still the older 'brown' woofers; I keep a spare of the amp around just in case), center channel is unique, essentially a repurposed 501 surrounded by a style matched cabinet shell with the midrange driver replaced with a now-discontinued BG 24" ribbon driver (never did anything to the 501 cross-over, which horrified Gary). Trio of VTL tube amps drive the LRC panels. I use a 4/8 sub to augment the base of the center.

Sides and rears are a quintet of BG Radia speakers; a good match for the Genesis ribbons and a concession to my room being somewhat space limited. Dual Genesis subs in the back are actually connected to the main LR channels and are another concession to the weird bass response in my room. Left rear corner is a DiY sub. Well worn appearance of the couch attests to many hours of listening pleasure

Source equipment is mostly Meridian, with a Krell amp driving all the surround channels. Video is a Sony SXRD projector with an anamorphic lens.

Main limitation is the room. Ideally main speakers would be spread out a bit more and the ceiling a tad higher. But after 17 years, I've pretty much dialed things in to be as good as they can be, and I do find the 200/201 to be a pretty room-friendly set of speakers (just like the Infinity RS1b I had previously).

Barry2013 · Aug 22, 2014

Thank you.
It looks tremendous.
Enjoy!

Video Interview of Gary :)

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