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    Spatial music: a new genre?

    Thought provoking article in TAS by composer and performer Laurie Anderson on a new genre of music enabled by technological advancements. Rather than summarizing the article, I’ll leave you to read it in its entirety. https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/going-spatial/ I’ve felt that the...
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    ChatGPT and the future of the music industry

    As I indicated previously on WBF, generative AI is coming to the music industry. As someone who has worked in AI for 40 years, the change that is coming will be so transformative that it will change every aspect of the music industry, from creation to consumption to technology. Be forewarned if...
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    Mercury Living Presence: the greatest recordings ever to appear on digital

    I have yet to find on any digital format at whatever resolution you want any recording that comes anywhere close to the sheer dynamics of a Mercury Living Presence recording. Most modern albums streamed on Roon put me to sleep. Two minutes into a high res album, I start to yawn. Five minutes...
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    Oh, Boy, does Roon suck big time! The high-end audio world needs a better solution!

    I’ve been a loyal Roon user ever since they got off the ground, and have a lifetime subscription. I have used it for countless hours, and generally love the product, except they have never never even been reliable. Every time I make the mistake of clicking the blue “Update me now!” link...
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    Apple Vision Pro and the Future of High End Audio

    I just received my Apple Vision Pro VR headset (excuse me, spatial computer in Apple’s parlance). My review is short: in the last 40 years I have used many type of computers, starting with punched card IBM mainframes to the latest generation AI supercomputers. But this device blows everything...
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    Are you an audiophile or a music lover?

    As we begin a new year (Happy 2024, WBF!), it might be an opportune moment to refresh ourselves and ask ourselves some really important and basic questions. Think of this as a New Year’s resolution for WBF members. So, the question is: are you an audiophile or a music lover? Perhaps a bit of...
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    Can 60-year old speakers and electronics sound state-of-the-art: the Quad 33/303 with the ESL 57s

    We often forget how wonderful antique hi fi can sound, as we follow with bated breath each little wrinkle of progress in the high end audio industry. Yet, with the possible exception of streaming and high resolution digital recording, very little actual progress has been made in the past 40-50...
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    Netflix docudrama “Playlist” on the invention of the streaming music industry through Spotify

    I recently watched this Swedish Netflix-produced docudrama ”Playlist”, which focuses on Daniel Ek’s long road to the creation of the music streaming industry through his startup Spotify. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11564258/ If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it for a detailed look...
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    Hi fi junk vs great art and musical instruments

    Why are the great hifi components from yesteryear just junk today? Here’s a picture of hifi junk that I’m throwing out today. Martin Logan CLS stats from 30 years ago is just junk today. Add non-working solid state components from Primare and Tact. All are consigned to the dustbin of history...
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    Legendary Supex 900 Super: Koetsu before Koetsu

    Just installed the legendary Supex 900 Super designed by Sugano himself, before he went on to found Koetsu. What a beautiful sounding cartridge! Here is a picture of the cartridge on a Technics SP-10 Mk2 with the ruby bearing EPA-100 tone arm with variable damping. Here are the specifications...
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    Drops of God series on Apple TV+ and audiophiles

    Just finished watching Drops of God on Apple TV. I won’t discuss the whole story so no spoiler alert. But it’s all about the intricacies of wine tasting, set in lovely vineyards in France, Italy and the city of Tokyo. At the heart is the competition to win 87,000 bottles of wine — the world’s...
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    The Greatest Hi-Fi Product of All Time

    Some years ago, Hi Fi News and Record Review nominated the legendary Quad ESL 57 as the greatest hifi product of all time. Many others have expressed similar opinions. Gary Krakow wrote on NBC News that the 57s made for the best possible stereo system...
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    Wine tasting and music

    I’m lucky enough to live in gorgeous wine country in the San Francisco Bay Area. I went to a local winery this afternoon about a mile and a half from my house, which is nicely landscaped on a lovely hill (see attached pic). The owner is also an opera singer! During the wine tasting, she...
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    David Crosby: my favorite albums

    I was saddened to hear of David Crosby’s demise. Ever since I was an undergrad in the late 1970s, his music has provided solace to me on many a night, listening to his wonderful bluesy harmonies. Here are a few of his albums that have long been on my playlist on vinyl, CD and streaming...
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    Bob Dylan Says Streaming Has Made Music ‘Too Smooth and Painless’

    Bob Dylan Says Streaming Has Made Music ‘Too Smooth and Painless’ - The Wall Street Journal https://apple.news/AEVZbxNbOQnGFJKHEzeWOdQ I recall in the mid 1980s when I started assembling a serious music collection, it would take considerable effort. As a struggling grad student, I would seek...
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    The world’s largest record collection — over 3 million and counting

    This story appeared in The NY Times a few years back. Anyone have more up to date info on this Brazilian magnate who’s buying up all the world’s vinyl...
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    One billion youth suffer permanent hearing loss from excessively loud headphone listening

    Will the next generation of high end audio consumers — today‘s youth — be around if most of them suffer from permanent hearing loss due to excessively loud headphone listening? A new study reveals a billion youth are already affected and that number may be fast rising...
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    What’s the world’s best 2 watt amplifier?

    I’ve recently started exploring the fascinating world of extreme low power amplifiers, think under 2-3 watts. No megabuck amplifier that requires a forklift to move (I once owned one of those behemoths, a Krell 750 MCx!). Since my current reference speaker is a pair of Klipsch La Scalas, 200...
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    Color me puzzled. The Klipsch La Scalas sound bloody marvelous!

    For 30+ years, I stayed away from horn loudspeakers, no small part due to the biased opinions of many reviewers in Stereophile, TAS, etc. I largely stuck to Quad electrostatic, Harbeth, Spendor and similar loudspeakers with an occasional foray into dynamic speakers like the B&W 800Ds. I am now...
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    Altec 755C: The world’s best high efficiency single driver antique bookshelf speaker?

    Just received my first Altec 755-C based single-driver high-efficiency bookshelf speaker. Cost me a relatively paltry $1200. This pair, beautifully finished in original bamboo wood, was owned originally by Gordon Rankin, founder of Wavelength. God bless your heart, Gordon, if you’re reading...
    • godofwealth
    • Thread
    • altec high efficiency set single-driver
    • Replies: 32
    • Forum: Speakers

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  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

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