Monday, November 2, 2015

Anti-Audiophile Guy, you are wrong!

A friend of mine visited last month, and ironically expressed MUCH enjoyment from a Maraschino demo, then said something like "Nobody has a high end audio system anymore.".

I asked him to elaborate and he responded with the following (he called these facts!):
1. People are too busy to listen to music.
2. Everyone listens to crappy quality audio on speaker phones and earbuds and likes it.
3. Audiophiles are dying off!
4. It's a waste of money, and usually LOTS of money.

I was insulted, but let him go on and on.  He was insulting all audiophiles, and I felt compelled to defend our great hobby.  I call it a hobby, but for some it's much more.

This conversation led to a multi-week debate....  In the end, he backed down quite a bit.  Still, not all the way.  I was confident that my argument was convincing.

I said the bottom line is listening.  Listening to music on a great system is extremely enjoyable.  Having a source of enjoyment is important, but it seems fewer and fewer people realize just how important it is.  Yes, this goes into psychology and even philosophy.

I'll post more about this later, including what really made him back down and admit he was WRONG.

-Tommy O

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Dissing DSD?

The subject of PCM vs DSD is huge one, but to summarize, I've havent heard compelling evidence that DSD sounds any better than high rate PCM, plus I was impressed with tracks converted from DSD to PCM.  I also have some technical background here ---- having written algorithms and simulated them to see what happens spectrally with BDM (bit density modulation, a.k.a. pulse density modulation) vs PCM.  Theoretically, there is more information in PCM.  So, if PCM isn't "broken", why fix it?  The BW issue is addressed by high sample rates, especially above 100kHz Fs.  Please, no throwing things, DSD fans!  Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of one-bit, but mostly in the world of A/D and D/A conversion "guts" (nowadays, what happens "inside the chip")....

Friday, October 16, 2015

Audio Enthusiasts and Audiophiles ---- Meetup Group

Well, friends, I've concluded that someone else needs to take over this group:
http://www.meetup.com/Audio-Enthusiasts-and-Audiophiles/

Just not enough time in the day lately to do it justice.

Looking for a volunteer to take over as leader.  The group has 25 members, and could easily be grown with proper advertising.

Thanks.

-Tommy O

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Revitalization !

Welcome back, bloggers!

We're getting ready to post about "sticky topics" in audio....  You may have seen our "TRUTH in Audio" thread, one of the most popular threads ever on Audio Circle.  Well, that's what we're talking about!

Stay tuned.

For offers/info on Cherry Amplifiers and other great audio hardware, sign up HERE:


Thanks.

-Tommy O