The Ultimate in Audio Fidelity

[MylesBAstor]

deleted

 

[Steve williams]

Although I am not a Classical music lover I must admit that Hindemith VC/Bruch Scottish Fantasy Side A is a go-to demo track in my system

 

[mep]

deleted by the author

 

[cjfrbw]

I am a bit of a contrarian on "Waltz for Debby". Although hiqh quality tape is the ultimate analog format, I have preferred my Riverside version on vinyl on my home system. The tapes sound less integrated for some reason. Maybe it is just a tape aging problem vs. original vinyl.

 

[mep]

This message was deleted by its author

 

[John Brooks]

I have to vote for the Exotic Dances From the Opera tape, specifically the "Dance of the Tumblers" track. The reason is that I have the Reference Recordings CD and the Thorens 75th Anniversary LP (which has that track on it). So I get to compare the same music on CD, vinyl, and tape. This is a fantastic aid to assessing changes and tweaks to the system. BTW, Paul Stubbeline of the Tape Project mastered the Thorens LP.

 

[stellavox]

Hi,

This is my first response to this new website. Thanks to those who made it possible.

I chose to respond to this forum thread after reading it yesterday because more than one of the posts made derogatory comments about the Tape Project and its adherents. This is uncalled for; demands a response and a more importantly a call for BALANCE.

I'd doubt that this thread would exist if it wasn't for the vision of Doc B and the hard work of the TP staff. Sure this medium sounds great but the biggest hurdle is finding and obtaining enjoyable listening firmware. TP has succeeded in making quality music available with a sound, in many cases, limited only by your playback equipment. They have also made available about the only new "add on" hardware to experience it. Why shouldn't I and other adherents be somewhat "rabid" in their defense. And don't forget that no person / business / organization is perfect; free from warts or BO.

I think we tend to forget that this is a hobby and not a religion, so let's leave some of our dogma (catma?) at the (listening room) door - and derive whatever simple pleasure(s) we can from it.

Charles

 

[Steve williams]

Charles

Welcome and thank you for a meaningful first post

This is a hobby and should be for fun. I discussed the posts with the members and they agreed and voluntarily removed their posts.

We are still in our infancy stages and hopefully these things won't happen again.

I look forward to your contributions and learning more about the King/Cello head amp

 

[Bruce B]

Hi,

I chose to respond to this forum thread after reading it yesterday because more than one of the posts made derogatory comments about the Tape Project and its adherents. Charles

Yes Charles... you win. Let's move on.

 

[mep]

I need to clarify something here. I removed two of my posts on this thread, but not because I agreed with the reason for the request-I just agreed to remove them. I don't believe in sacred cows and nor do I think any company should receive a pass on everything they do that is questionable. Censorship is a slippery slope to start down on. My concern here is that if members aren't free to have rational discussions about audio related topics they believe in, then this forum will descend into blandness. Products and companies shouldn't be off limits to discuss because someone might get offended. I can see the day coming where a thread starts proclaiming tubes are better than transisitors and it will offend people who have invested lots of money in their SS gear and they will complain their feelings are hurt and want the offensive posts removed. Or we can flip the coin and say that SS people started the thread and said that SS stomps tubes and now tube lovers like me are crying in our beer at the insensitivity of our SS brethern. You get the point. Next thing you know, we will have to pass out Prozac and have group hugs because we damn sure can't tell the truth about what we believe. The best boss I ever worked for had a huge sign in his office that said "It's better to receive an ass chewing from a wise man than praise from a fool." My former boss couldn't work in today's workplace. He would be drummed out for being insensitive. I have to drink the koolaid all day at work, I just didn't plan on drinking it at home as well.

Mark

 

[RBFC]

This pursuit should provide pleasure to the only one who matters: the owner of said equipment. That is ultimately the reason we have this stuff; to slip away from the daily grind and relax. Spending too much energy attempting to defend our purchases to others, when we really will rarely change anyone's mind, is a futile undertaking and a waste of time better spent enjoying our hobby.

Take it from a guy who knows very well high-stakes ego battles and frustration with opposing viewpoints in arenas that have huge consequences.

Lee

 

[mep]

Lee-Sounds like you live in my world where you work. I feel like every day I have to tip-toe through a mine field wearing clown shoes.

Mark

 

[RBFC]

Lee-Sounds like you live in my world where you work. I feel like every day I have to tip-toe through a mine field wearing clown shoes.

Mark

Mark,

I have two jobs. I look to audio/video as "my happy place". Day job is as a cardiac perfusionist, operating the heart/lung machine for open heart surgery. I work on the tiny babies with congenital defects, keeping them alive while their heart and lungs are stopped to facilitate the surgical procedure. Second job is as a certified defensive tactics instructor for the state law enforcement agencies. Both fields are comprised of individuals with huge egos (I suppose I fit into that group as well....) and the debates about equipment, processes, etc. are far more vehement than what we see here. Lives are on the line in either case, and this at least provides some reason for the attitudes and actions of all involved.

That said, I am absolutely interested in hearing the opinions of others about audio and studying objective measurements of gear. This info assists me when it's time to upgrade/add a component. Although I occasionally feel a bit jealous of those who have "superior systems", I am also quite pleased with the results I obtain with my moderate system. I feel no need to participate in defending my purchases, nor in listening to others slam someone's choices. As objective as measurements of gear may be, and how audibly superior to everyone a certain component/medium may be, music remains a subjective experience. We don't knock others for enjoying types of music that we personally don't prefer. We should also temper our discussions of gear and media with the same realizations about the subjectivity involved.

I want this forum, and my involvement in audio/video in general, to be held to higher standards of conduct than previous venues we have deserted. I ask all to help us to achieve this goal.

Lee

 

[Steve williams]

I need to clarify something here. I removed two of my posts on this thread, but not because I agreed with the reason for the request-I just agreed to remove them. I don't believe in sacred cows and nor do I think any company should receive a pass on everything they do that is questionable. Censorship is a slippery slope to start down on. My concern here is that if members aren't free to have rational discussions about audio related topics they believe in, then this forum will descend into blandness. Products and companies shouldn't be off limits to discuss because someone might get offended. I can see the day coming where a thread starts proclaiming tubes are better than transisitors and it will offend people who have invested lots of money in their SS gear and they will complain their feelings are hurt and want the offensive posts removed. Or we can flip the coin and say that SS people started the thread and said that SS stomps tubes and now tube lovers like me are crying in our beer at the insensitivity of our SS brethern. You get the point. Next thing you know, we will have to pass out Prozac and have group hugs because we damn sure can't tell the truth about what we believe. The best boss I ever worked for had a huge sign in his office that said "It's better to receive an ass chewing from a wise man than praise from a fool." My former boss couldn't work in today's workplace. He would be drummed out for being insensitive. I have to drink the koolaid all day at work, I just didn't plan on drinking it at home as well.

Mark

To Mark and all members

First off I need to thank everyone for being such loyal supporters of our site and making it such a huge success

Mark you know that I have the most respect for you because I have always admired that you can call a spade a spade. You always say what you mean and mean what you say and your posts are always ripe with wisdom. To that extent I want to reassure you as well as everyone else here that censorship does not and will not ever exist here. This, unfortunately was a special situation for which special discussion was required between Amir and I. I can say without equivocation that this will not happen again. If everyone reads "The Goals" of What's Best Forum, above everything our goal is to remain honest and to allow debate as long as it is polite. Going forward this will remain our intent.

 

[stellavox]

Thanks for your post(s) Mark,

To me, it's not what you (or anyone) says - it's how one says it; i.e. the words one uses.

As exemplified in the ever-widening gulf in the political landscape, "words" get hurled like Molotov cocktails - is this the writers actual intent, or the result of a bad day at work???

This forum is and should be a place for the good, the bad and the ugly. When expressing a reply to a particularly "opposite" (asshole?) opinion - I either don't or wait a few days.

Cheers - and have a GOOD day

Charles

 

[mep]

Charles-good advice with regards to either ignoring someone who angers you or waiting until you cool off to reply back. I have been guilty of not doing either at times. I do feel that everyone here is well-intentioned and people don't pick fights on purpose. Sometimes when people hold things near and dear to their heart and someone says something that is less than complimentary about their baby, they tend to get riled up about it. Or if something is said that just totally violates their belief system it can cause heads to spin. I understand that. We all just need to be rational in our thoughts as much as that is possible. And one thing we have to remember that our audiophile hobby is always fertile ground for disagreements because of how many camps we are broken into (digital vs. analog, CD vs. LP, tubes vs. transistors, SET vs. PP, horns vs. all speakers, planars/electrostats vs. dynamic speakers, etc., etc.). I also realize that sometimes truth is not popular and sometimes there is no polite way to state it that someone isn't going to take offense at what you said.

Mark

 

[mep]

Myles-I think you and I have had that conversation before. By the way, because of your recommendation for the ORG reissues, I signed up and the first four LPs arrived at my house tonight. I am looking forward to hearing them. And by the way, I love the new Telefunken CCa tubes I received on Saturday from Germany. They really are the bomb.

Mark

 

[mep]

Here are the LPs delivered so far:
I just dropped by to Say Hello-Johnny Hartman
Crescent-John Coltrane Quartet
Ballads-John Coltrane Quartet
Coltrane Live at the Village Vanguard

I like all of the Coltrane stuff. I am not too happy with the Johnny Hartman. I couldn't make it past the first song. It sounded kind of distorted.

Mark

 

[mep]

Myles-you nailed the voice problem. As soon as he started singing on the first cut on the first side, I knew something was wrong. It was one of those discs that makes you think something is wrong with your stereo and makes you rush to put on another LP to make sure all is right in your world-and it was.

Mark

 

[John Brooks]

. . . I also realize that sometimes truth is not popular and sometimes there is no polite way to state it that someone isn't going to take offense at what you said.

Mark

Re: "The truth is not popular at times", let us acknowledge that at least in high end audio (and perhaps in life) there is no Absolute Truth that can be expressed by mere human beings. While the language someone uses may make it sound like the author is proclaiming The Truth, it is wiser to read all such proclamations as statements of relative truth.

IMO, it is perfectly OK to allow something to be true for the writer and not true for the reader. There is always a polite way to reply: one simply says "I hear what you say, but it is not like that for me. For me it is like this." These are basic principles of civilized dialogue.

I appreciate everyone's commitment to using this forum to enhance our mutual knowledge and appreciation.

- John