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    Michael Fremer podcast: Wow!!!!

    Not necessarily. In the 1990s, Sony was trying to move people into a ATRAC-related MiniDisc future, while Philips was trying to push people toward PASC in DCC. I remember sitting through endless dull Philips press conferences where they were bullish that pre-recorded DCC would replace both the...
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    Michael Fremer podcast: Wow!!!!

    I have no idea how we compete with this, but I suspect the answer lies with 'use it or lose it'. If we don't, we risk handing our musical future over to those who Shazam their music. Many big labels think CD has an 'uncertain' future in the West, and while the drive toward hi-res is growing...
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    Michael Fremer podcast: Wow!!!!

    Sorry, I should have made myself more clear. I believe we are increasingly being sold a lowest common denominator solution, because the last couple of generations bought that convenient solution. The stealth disappearance of CDs from the catalog is an interesting phenomenon (there's a benchmark...
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    Michael Fremer podcast: Wow!!!!

    Sadly, there are two significant commercial mitigating factors in the wider music-delivery space: 1. 'Veruca Salt' consumers 2. Content providers who hate dual inventory This means a lot of the music biz defines itself by the whim of a notional teenager armed with the Shazam app, who insists...
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    Michael Fremer podcast: Wow!!!!

    I agree, and I think people have been consistently and repeatedly sold a pup by being continually driven to lowest common denominator sound quality. Or more specifically, that music formats ideal for portable use are 'good enough' for home use, and if that's not the case, home use is...
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    Michael Fremer podcast: Wow!!!!

    I think cultural aspirations in general are on a downswing at this time. It's not an exclusively American thing. But I think we fail to pin the hopes and aspirations of the audio hobby on iTunes (and more importantly now, Spotify) at our peril. It's great that more people are taking up LP as...
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    Has anyone heard the Devialet D-Premier Integrated Amp/DAC

    Currently, you need iTunes to run Devialet AIR (although that's supposed to be expanded soon). Once you go to wired digital links (including USB and Ethernet) it's up to you what you send to the Devialet. At least in theory - my D-Premier has neither of those connections so it's hard to check...
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    Has anyone heard the Devialet D-Premier Integrated Amp/DAC

    Not any more! I held off answering this because I knew there was a change coming at Devialet, but wasn't sure of the change itself. Since Munich, that's all public domain. Basically, whatever's feeding your NDX can be used to feed the Ethernet port of the Devialet 110, 170 or 240. You...
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    Music Appreciation USA vs. Europe

    In some respects, the grass is always greener on the other side, but Alan's right in that some parts of Europe are far more accepting of a diverse musical culture than the relatively narrow furrow ploughed by the average British or American (we gave the world the English language. Unfortunately...
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    Alan Lomax Sound Archive online

    Thanks for that. There is a similar archive of folk recordings coming out of the British Library soon. That's Paul Simon's and Vaughan Williams' musical tradition... and a lot of sea shanties.
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    NY Audio Show 2013 - My impressions

    Most shows have a cover charge now, even if it's a token gesture (the Estoril show in Portugal appears to be on hiatus, but used to cost 1€ admission). AFAIK, it's only TopAudio in Milan that is free now, I believe (although solo dealer shows should be always free, wherever you go). Generally...
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    NY Audio Show 2013 - My impressions

    Agreed, but even 29 years after it was released, 'Relax' is a bit of an edgy record to play at a hi-fi show, because of the subject matter. Far better to stick with the perceived threat of global thermonuclear war and its aftermath. Oh yeah. Well 'ard!
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    NY Audio Show 2013 - My impressions

    What's with all the FGTH hating? The 'Annihilation' mix of 'Two Tribes' is one of the finest recordings ever made. And I'm not kidding around. The 45rpm 12" vinyl cut in particular has an exceptional dynamic range and a balance that responds well to a full-range loudspeaker system. I've heard...
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    NY Audio Show 2013 - My impressions

    People have very different musical tastes, and as a demonstrator, you have to be able (or willing) to play music that represents their needs. You should also play a broad selection of music to reflect the hopefully broad selection of listeners coming through the door. That has to include both...
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    The audio reviewer's workload.

    Don't forget the photography. I did some of that too! Editing the magazine and reviewing for the magazine are my full-time job. The odd thing about the UK hi-fi magazines is we relied mostly on full-time reviewers until very recently, and some of the full-timers are still full-timers, but in...
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    Could a scam artist make a quick buck in audio

    I haven't met all the so-far-left-field-they-are-on-the-right tweak-meisters, but many of those I've met are deeply sincere in their beliefs about whatever it is they dreamt up. Sometimes literally dreamt up - I've had more than one person tell me with an entirely straight face that their...
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    Could a scam artist make a quick buck in audio

    That puts the audio industry on a par with the second best one-legged quarterback in all of Wyoming. I'd have to say that if I were going to set myself up as a scam artist, I'd choose a better 'patch' than audio. OK, so there is the unfortunate instance that no matter how far from the...
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    Is it "whats best forum" , or what's more expensive

    Not totally, but that's how it is at the moment. There's some crossover (people who buy expensive things, who are interested in audio), but there are a lot of products being bought on aspirational demands alone, especially among the new middle classes of Asia. But I wouldn't say 'snobs'. Just...
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    Is it "whats best forum" , or what's more expensive

    Increasingly, I find myself agreeing with Ken Kessler on this. Albeit with some modification. I think there are two separate, and conflicting, 'shapes' to audio. The first is the traditional high-end, which is all enthusiast-on-enthusiast action. Enthusiast manufacturers make products for...
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    Do you agree or disagree with this statement

    Now that's odd. My wife didn't go to RMAF, and I don't remember calling Rent-A-Wife. Are you sure I was me?
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    Do you agree or disagree with this statement

    Oh, come on. Ignoring a gift like that. They'd take away my comedy licence.
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    Do you agree or disagree with this statement

    For most of my married life, I've been trying to get my wife to play a tune on my reproductive system twice a month, but so far... not a squeak. Perhaps she's not blowing properly.
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    Do you agree or disagree with this statement

    The last unamplified concert I went to, I lowered the average age of the audience by 50 years, and I'm 49. Plus, there was so much coughing going on, it sounded like an emphysema clinic during influenza week. TBH, I couldn't judge anything significant from this concert in relation to audio...
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    Is it "whats best forum" , or what's more expensive

    Dealer margins for wire have always been high, because cables used to be a sweetener in closing the system sale: "Look, my boss is going to kill me, but [WHISPERS] I can let you have the $1,000 cable for $750, if you buy the system today... sound good? No, how about $500?" "I'll tell you...
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    how to Pay for a Dream System?

    How to pay for a dream system? In the old days it was simple... just rob a bank. Now, it's even easier... just own a bank.
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    Do reviewers and "golden ears" with a recording background have an advantage?

    Not an easy question. Again, an understanding from the position of a musician and/or a studio engineer is useful, but more as 'related' interest rather than directly useful to the task in hand. There's a good argument to say a music review should be akin to a write up of the experience of a...
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    Do reviewers and "golden ears" with a recording background have an advantage?

    I don't subscribe to the 'golden ears' concept. A listener is a listener is a listener. With a lot of experience in critical listening, the skill set becomes more attuned and nuanced, in the same way that a wine taster's nose and palette become more attuned and nuanced over time. This does not...
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    hp soundings

    I'm not saying the treatments are ineffective (quite the reverse in fact), and we're slowly seeing the concept being taken seriously in the community at last. What I'm saying is there's a transition process toward the adoption of room treatment (among other things). It's taken several years for...
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    hp soundings

    Except that it doesn't happen all the time because, until very recently and still only in small numbers, the loudspeaker never gets sold to someone with an acoustically treated room, as there is a deep-seated reluctance within much of the audiophile community to countenance such things. In...
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    I have a question.

    No... I think you'll find that's "guilty feet"

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