Geek with Family

A friend tipped me off to this amazing music room built into a barn or guest house. Follow the link for loads of pics of five-figure turntables, loudspeakers, tube amps, CD players and cables. This guy has really bought into the “cables and isolation accessories make a difference” with interconnects and speaker cables that resemble vacuum cleaners, ceramic cable lifters (I guess DIY cable lifter kegger cups wouldn’t blend well with surrounding décor) and tank-like turntable isolation rack sitting on top of a granite tile (which I assume must be twice as thick as normal granite judging by the overbuilt quality of the rest of the room).

As impressive as the audio system components is the acoustic construction of the room, all built-in scalloped acoustic chambers on the walls and ceiling. I love the floor to high ceiling LP and CD storage that he needs those elementary school library rolling step stools to reach the highest shelf.

Too bad he’s not listening to phase and time coherent loudspeakers. All that money spent on massaging the perfect signal through four carat phono cartridges, preamps, amps and cables only to have the listening experience mangled by the loudspeaker. Heh, if you can hear the difference (I would hope this system to be punishingly revealing).

What a Fortress of Solitude (Auditude?). What’s this guy escaping from? (Not to judge, I’m just overcome with envy.)

Popularity: 5% [?]

Engadget is reporting that though Apple boasts a “widescreen” display for the iPhone, its screen is actually a non-standard aspect ratio:

Well, anyone who sat in Moscone Center to witness the holy unveiling surely noticed the screen cropping (letterboxing) that occurred when Steve played Pirates of the Carribean. That’s because the iPhone isn’t “widescreen” as the term is customarily understood outside of the reality distortion field — it is not a 1.78:1 (16×9) aspect ratio. Rather, the display utilizes a 1.5:1 aspect ratio.

via Engadget via Crave

Apple has a history of creating and then filling its own hardware niches. Large capacity video iPods for those that enjoy watching David Caruso wince on CSI: Miami, iPod Nanos for jewelry and compressed music lovers and the iPod Shuffle for random players who lost the bolo piece from their bolo tie. The iPod family members all have distinct hardware bonuses and shortcomings that complement each other. So the iPhone isn’t really widescreen, does this leave the possibility open that a new device will fill our widescreen video needs? Will iPhone customers become frustrated while they watch 300 in a thin strip of a 2.40:1 letterbox?

Could Apple’s strategy be to introduce the iPhone’s new on screen dual touch, storage and display technologies to refine them over time and once popular reduce their cost to meet a true widescreen video iPod? Imagine a 16×9 screen dominating the gadget’s full front face, all AV controls on the dual touch screen for the same price as today’s 80 GB iPod. Like a large storage Sony PSP without the D-Pad and buttons (oh, and games, have to remember the PSP plays games).

Maybe all the dual touch patent rumor mock ups were right, we just have to wait for the iPhone to become a commodity and piss off enough videophiles to introduce the true widescreen video iPod. Though I’m sure true videophiles would prefer a 2.35:1 aspect, constant height screen with little velvet curtains on the sides to aid contrast when windowboxing squarer ratios (as mocked up above). Introducing the cinePod (as in Cinescope). Heh.

Popularity: 6% [?]

0 dBFS+.

Ever heard of the above digital audio condition? No? Me neither until I was reading a review of my Panasonic S97 HDMI DVD player by Christine Tham on Audioholics. 0 dBFS+ is illegal (in digital audio). It is a distortion of an audio signal above the absolute digital audio amplification level ceiling of 0 dB. It can hide on your CDs from the original mastering (loudness wars), appear when your digital music files are “normalized” (like iTunes’ and your iPod’s “Sound Check”) and be introduced by an upsampling DAC while converting the signal to analog.

Continue reading im in ur dac, clippin ur t00nz

Popularity: 6% [?]

In my post “How to Camouflage Your Hi-Fi System for Higher WAF” I called for a modular, fine, antiqued wood paneling system that would make your high tech CD player look like a antique decoration instead of ugly kit. At least one audio component manufacturer agrees: DIY Paradise.

For the past week I’ve been obsessively searching for an affordable outboard DAC to improve the performance of my Airport Express (haven’t found anything that I can afford that will outperform my Onkyo TX-DS989’s DAC, but I’ll post a survey of what I’ve found). Along the way I found the Monica 2 DAC in a Jewelry Box at DIY paradise. You can buy the DAC as a bare bones DIY PCB up to a fully built model in a high grade aluminum case. Another option is to conceal the electronics in an antique jewelry box. The above pictures give you the idea. I have no idea if it’s a good idea to set a DAC PCB on velvet (probably not).

The Monica 2 is well regarded on forums (like head-fi.org where I first read about it). As an audiophile, you have to ask yourself if the wood enclosure gives the DAC a different sonic character than aluminum. Falsely transferring visual asthetics to sonic ones you could guess that the jewelry box sounds warmer, fuller with lots of treble “sparkle”; the normal aluminum case is cold and hard and analytical. Heh.

So now that we have a real world example of a camoflaged hi-fi component do think it’s a good idea or just a novelty. I wonder if DIY Paradise sells many of these compared to the fully assembled aluminums.

Popularity: 13% [?]

Could a clever engineer record a rock band with only two microphones like an audiophile jazz or classical recording set up? Has anyone ever tried?

The twenty-some members of Broken Social Scene got me through my morning commute. For an indie rock band that’s enough members to accommodate two full drum kits, a percussion station, a half dozen electric guitars and basses, a horn section, a string section and everybody singing, chanting and clapping. The supergroup has a big sound that isn’t always recorded all that well (the self-titled album from this morning sounded best). Could a band of this size’s sound improve with a different type of recording? Is multi-track, discrete recording always the answer for amplified rock? What if we recorded BSS in an acoustically controlled space with just two mikes?

Continue reading Recording Rock Like Classical

Popularity: 4% [?]

Slim Device’s self-proclaimed audiophile grade network music player, the Transporter ($1999), is highly recommended by Soundstage AV’s Doug Schneider. After going over its easy set up and sonic qualities (on par with similarly priced DACs, this is encouraging to hear as the Transporter’s quality to value ratio has been questioned by other reviews and random forum posts), he proclaims the Transporter the death of the stand alone CD transport as a high end digital source:

The Slim Devices Transporter marks a shift in the way we audiophiles play music, and I believe it signals the death of the CD transport. In fact, I think someone would be foolish to spend much money on a CD transport today. Have one, yes, but start thinking about other ways to store and stream your music — such as Slim Devices’ Transporter-SlimServer solution. It’s that good — and it’s the way of the future. It just happens to be here today.

Awesome. I can stop my search for a new CD player, ignore MSNBC’s bad advice to buy an old Playstation as an “audiophile” CD player (I looked into this a few months ago and the PS1’s are hard to source and it takes way too much work to get the game machine to sound nice (and not even “audiophile” nice, just better than many DVD players and cheap CD players), this site has info on all the mods) and be satisfied with my computer music over a network player like the Transport (or my more humble Airport Express and Sony PSP set up which I still need to find a batter DAC for than my Onkyo TX-DS989 AV Receiver).

Popularity: 3% [?]

The Oyaide Carbon Fiber Wall Plate, available through Music Direct, has me scratching my head. I cannot figure out how an aluminum and carbon fiber AC receptacle wall plate can have any effect on the sound of your hi-fi.

Music Direct’s copy:

OYAIDE/CARBON FIBER WALL PLATE (Without Outlet)

Not only the coolest looking wall plate ever designed, this one has technology to back it up! The Oyaide Wall Plate Mounting Frame is milled from 13mm thick, solid aluminum, machined from a single block. Check out the picture of the rear, this is not an outer frame, but an essential part of the rigidity and resonance damping properties of the wall plate! The Carbon Fiber front panel is fully shielded, non-resonant and non-magnetic. This is the first link in your entire audio system, so don’t skimp on the A/C connection! 100% Money Back Guarantee!

Note: Although the picture shows an Oyaide XXX inserted into the wall plate, the Wall Plate does not in fact come with an outlet.

Continue reading Oyaide Carbon Fiber Wall Plate - The $200 Tin Foil Hat of Audiophile Tweaks

Popularity: 7% [?]

Thank goodness this is art and not an actual turntable. The 2.5 cc Turntable’s combustion engine would at least hop the cartridge’s needle out of the groove, if not shatter your favorite vinyl LP.

The designer’s explanation (the site is in Flash and I didn’t feel like retyping, so this is a screen shot, sorry):

So, I guess my new title should be “Best Ironic Turntable Design Ever that Fulfills Your Secret Desires.”

(Via Boing Boing and Ektopia)

Popularity: 3% [?]

Back on October 12 (before I had two kids) I headed up to Quintessence Audio to hear Richard Vandersteen give a talk on his version of high-end audio (hint: it involves time coherence and waveform preservation in loudspeaker design). Find below some product news, high-end audio industry health opinions, fellow audiophile observations and jokes.

Freaks [emphasis mine] and geeks

Because of the sacred sweet spot, audiophilia is a solo pursuit. The audiophiles that attended Richard Vandersteen’s talk on October 12 confirm that we (audiophiles) are all alone. These guys don’t get out much (not you, dear reader, I’m sure your social skills are top notch, like a Theta amplifier).

While discussing the devil’s audio player, Richard suggested an audience member borrow an iPod from one of his kids. By the deer-in-headlights expression on the guy’s face, you could tell he’d never done anything that would result in the production of children.

The audience mix was definitely tilted toward the winter of life. I really hope some of the audience members pushing eighty or ninety could still hear. Best of luck.

The oddest person to show up was an old lady that would lock herself in one of the listening rooms for twenty minutes at a time. She would then poke her head out and shuffle over to the next room as if Richard Vandersteen wasn’t up in front of us trying to convince an audience member that musicians are terrible judges of high-end audio equipment. At the end of the night I was sitting in the Model 5A demo sweet spot and she crept up behind me and said over the vocal jazz, “Isn’t it amazing how he [the dealer] connects all the wires?” WTF?

Continue reading Richard Vandersteen Talk at Quintessence Audio

Popularity: 6% [?]

I have to hide all my audio and video gear. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on custom built-in cabinetry, a crown moulding valance to hide the top of my projection screen, a 400 pound armoire entertainment center and in-wall and on-wall wire and cable channels. All of these architectural and furniture investments have come at the request of my wife. Her request is simple: hide it.

Audio and video components are ugly (to my wife and probably your spouse too). Their case designs are beholden to function first (vibration and heat protection), classic science fiction second (how great would a Clear Audio and Krell system look on a Syd Mead designed star cruiser?), and branding third. All three of these design ideals appeal highly to male sensibilities (which I’m sure females can have too, I just haven’t met any). We love to see steam punk tubes, galactic empire heat sinks, and american psycho brushed aluminum knobs and buttons. A blue LED above a pre-amp’s flush power button sparkles like a diamond engagement ring. My wife doesn’t want to see any of it, all of my components are hidden away behind a blank, black wood door.

Continue reading How to Camouflage Your Hi-Fi System for Higher WAF

Popularity: 21% [?]