I've just settled in in SF and finally I get a chance to recount one hectic but awesome day in NYC. It took about 20 hours but finally I flew into NY late Thursday night, I attended a wedding Friday, and got buried under the missus' jam packed itinerary. Saturday started with us having brunch with some college buddies after which I escaped and visited an old audio friend. We went for drinks with the commander's cousins (my really cool in-laws) after which I again disengaged to meet a supplier to thresh out some details for business( non-audio) and again met up with the wife and her cousins. That day ended pretty deep into the wee hours of the morning and had pretty much my Sunday trashed. Fortunately in all of this there was 4 hours of genuine peace.
A clue as to who I visited is that, like myself, he is deeeeeep into analog. Let me qualify that. He's way deeper into analog than I am given his head start but I think the passion here and now would have him ahead by a smaller margin. As far as the collection of goodies go however I am but an amateur and he is probably a hall of fame'r. Imagine my surprise when this greeted me at the doorway.
No friggin way! Well perhaps I shouldn't have been that shocked because upon closer inspection.........
Hilarious!
I've always gotten along very well online with this fellow. In fact we agree on most things. If ever there is a difference it is probably that he's got less patience for nonsense than I. Still, I have learned a ton from him and always wondered what he hears. Well, there is only one way to find out and that is to put both sets of ears in the same room. I got to their apartment building a couple of minutes before they got home and he and his lovely wife greeted me outside. With the set up dead cold and the warm welcome and thanks passed, we started to listen. There are quite a few things experienced audio folk do, certain behaviours if you will (why is my spell check on UK English?????) . It's stuff often missed but obvious to the more hardcore. The first thing I noticed was that he was selecting tracks that were easing the system into thermal equilibrium. Midrange-centric selections which actually draws more current than boisterous things like percussions. Track after great track was cued up on both vinyl and tape and actually few words were exchanged except for (I hope I wasn't too irritating) requests on my part to see the jackets which I promptly snapped pictures of. Yet another mark of the serious listener is that each track seemed to me to be played back at the perfect listening levels at once showing the familiarity with the material and great sense of judgement. Music was being played for it's optimum enjoyment and not hindered by any impetus to try and impress. Needless to say, the system as a whole was set up to serve that very purpose. A system set up with balance in mind, set up to get out of the way to use a tired cliche.
With the system now fully warmed up I gleaned from the selections some of the things that pushed the right buttons for my host. Many of the tracks were great examples of dynamic contrasts. Not so much big swings which were indeed present on many but on the contrary, nuance. These are tracks that demand system transparency. I should say that by transparency I don't mean the usual "transparency to the source" but rather a systems ability to convey the equivalent of visibility. Think of going diving. Are you in a muddy lake or are you in crystal clear water where it seems you can see forever. That or looking out your window into the outmost distances, how far and how clearly can you see through the fog or haze until everything turns into a blue or gray blur? Again, to me this is telling of the owner's efforts to deal with the noise, the detritus, the pollutants. Things that almost always detract from listening pleasure, at least for me.
At the same time these tracks were great examples of timbre and texture, of rhythm but more importantly of time. I was thankful for the occasional history lesson on who was playing and at what stage of their careers the musicians were at at the time. The lack of sonic distractions had me appreciate musicianship and virtuosity. In fact the selection of tracks was so good that even when the system was cold, I did not even bother to try and pick what I was hearing apart. That lasted all the way to the time we had to go. Being unfamiliar with anything in the system individually, I can only judge it as a whole. I give it 5 stars easy. I give the record collection another bonus star. Leave me in your will buddy albeit by the looks of it you'll outlive me.
When we were out for drinks with my in-laws, one of them a newly married banker in Manhattan was asking us for recommendations. Here my buddy and I came to realise what an uphill battle we have in getting more people into the hobby. Here was someone with his own place, the means but most importantly the interest but we found ourselves mired by what I think are too many considerations. This however is topic for another thread.
In all, I just want to thank my gracious hosts again not just for the great music, the great company and the great lobster salad but for the opportunity to get to know each other all the better.
If you want to know what tracks were played, I left that out on purpose. Perhaps you should ask him. Maybe we can trick him into posting here again. That's called the Manila Hustle Myles. I miss you already brother. Now don't make me look bad!
A clue as to who I visited is that, like myself, he is deeeeeep into analog. Let me qualify that. He's way deeper into analog than I am given his head start but I think the passion here and now would have him ahead by a smaller margin. As far as the collection of goodies go however I am but an amateur and he is probably a hall of fame'r. Imagine my surprise when this greeted me at the doorway.
No friggin way! Well perhaps I shouldn't have been that shocked because upon closer inspection.........
Hilarious!
I've always gotten along very well online with this fellow. In fact we agree on most things. If ever there is a difference it is probably that he's got less patience for nonsense than I. Still, I have learned a ton from him and always wondered what he hears. Well, there is only one way to find out and that is to put both sets of ears in the same room. I got to their apartment building a couple of minutes before they got home and he and his lovely wife greeted me outside. With the set up dead cold and the warm welcome and thanks passed, we started to listen. There are quite a few things experienced audio folk do, certain behaviours if you will (why is my spell check on UK English?????) . It's stuff often missed but obvious to the more hardcore. The first thing I noticed was that he was selecting tracks that were easing the system into thermal equilibrium. Midrange-centric selections which actually draws more current than boisterous things like percussions. Track after great track was cued up on both vinyl and tape and actually few words were exchanged except for (I hope I wasn't too irritating) requests on my part to see the jackets which I promptly snapped pictures of. Yet another mark of the serious listener is that each track seemed to me to be played back at the perfect listening levels at once showing the familiarity with the material and great sense of judgement. Music was being played for it's optimum enjoyment and not hindered by any impetus to try and impress. Needless to say, the system as a whole was set up to serve that very purpose. A system set up with balance in mind, set up to get out of the way to use a tired cliche.
With the system now fully warmed up I gleaned from the selections some of the things that pushed the right buttons for my host. Many of the tracks were great examples of dynamic contrasts. Not so much big swings which were indeed present on many but on the contrary, nuance. These are tracks that demand system transparency. I should say that by transparency I don't mean the usual "transparency to the source" but rather a systems ability to convey the equivalent of visibility. Think of going diving. Are you in a muddy lake or are you in crystal clear water where it seems you can see forever. That or looking out your window into the outmost distances, how far and how clearly can you see through the fog or haze until everything turns into a blue or gray blur? Again, to me this is telling of the owner's efforts to deal with the noise, the detritus, the pollutants. Things that almost always detract from listening pleasure, at least for me.
At the same time these tracks were great examples of timbre and texture, of rhythm but more importantly of time. I was thankful for the occasional history lesson on who was playing and at what stage of their careers the musicians were at at the time. The lack of sonic distractions had me appreciate musicianship and virtuosity. In fact the selection of tracks was so good that even when the system was cold, I did not even bother to try and pick what I was hearing apart. That lasted all the way to the time we had to go. Being unfamiliar with anything in the system individually, I can only judge it as a whole. I give it 5 stars easy. I give the record collection another bonus star. Leave me in your will buddy albeit by the looks of it you'll outlive me.
When we were out for drinks with my in-laws, one of them a newly married banker in Manhattan was asking us for recommendations. Here my buddy and I came to realise what an uphill battle we have in getting more people into the hobby. Here was someone with his own place, the means but most importantly the interest but we found ourselves mired by what I think are too many considerations. This however is topic for another thread.
In all, I just want to thank my gracious hosts again not just for the great music, the great company and the great lobster salad but for the opportunity to get to know each other all the better.
If you want to know what tracks were played, I left that out on purpose. Perhaps you should ask him. Maybe we can trick him into posting here again. That's called the Manila Hustle Myles. I miss you already brother. Now don't make me look bad!