Kevin Bresnahan

Sorry, but I don't see clarke68's posting as "bad manners". If you are referring to his last sentence, it clearly reads as sarcasm. However, maybe clarke68 should have added a

Needs more cowbell!

jazz1, what cable manufacturer do you work for?

Well, considering that there have been many psycho-acoustic studies that demonstrated that human acoustic memory is only about 10 seconds, you would be a supreme human specimen to hold an acoustic memory for as long as 120 to 200 amp conversion would take.

I work in test laboratory. We measure microwave devices, many of which are used in your cell phones. A lot of these tests are done at or below the noise floor of the test device. We have to use the best equipment, tweaked and amplified with the best electronics or our measurements are incorrect. I have had to swap out AC power cords many times, whether it be switching benches or changing set-ups. Never in my 22 years of doing this has a power cord change made any difference in the noise floor and the resulting test data was the same. To put it bluntly, I think these AC cord manufacturers are ripping people off. Any amp or CD player or turntable that actually can be influenced by a minute change in resistance (maybe) or capacitance (maybe) or inductance (maybe - but at audio frequencies??) is VERY poorly designed. And let's be completely honest here - IF (and that's a big IF) an AC cord maker intentionally adds resistance or capacitance or inductance, why would you want that particular tuning network for every piece of gear in your system? Why would it improve the sound of every piece of gear? It also should be noted that many high-end equipment manufacturers charge exorbitant amounts of money for their products, selling them as "the best there is". If these AC cords did anything to improve the sound, these same high-end companies would be all over this. It would allow them to make even bigger claims of audio superiority. But they don't. Why is that? It's because they know there is nothing to it. The emperor has no clothes.

I cannot recommend www.vinyl.com because I have not used them. For titles like "Out To Lunch", if you already have the CD, stick to that, because the LP at vinyl.com is made from the digital master that was created for that CD. You are basically getting an LP copy of the CD. If you have the cash, Music Matters is coming out with a 45 rpm version of this sometime in the next year. While it will likely sound great, it will have one tune per LP side (about 10 minutes). I am not buying any of these. 33 rpm maybe, but not 45 rpm. Kevin

BTW, the ripping command that I use now (that does not produce timing errors) is: -V 2 --vbr-new --add-id3v2 --pad-id3v2 --ta "%a" --tt "%t" --tl "%g" --ty "%y" --tn "%n" %s %d --ignore-tag-errors That last one is a good one to know. If you stick in a CD and the pre-defined genre isn't recognized by the LAME encoder, it barfs. Using --ignore-tag-errors stops this. FWIW, a lot of the stuff we rip has "odd" genre tags, mainly because people don't have any idea how to classify it. Kevin

I had that happen when I used the wrong ID tag command in EAC while ripping a VBR mp3. VBRfix did not work either. I had to re-rip the files.

No such animal. There are a couple of SACD/CD changers (mostly, if not all, from Sony) but I would not consider them well built and I doubt they'll sound that great. For a quick and dirty fix, order an Oppo Digital DV-980H. It isn't a changer, but it can hold you over until you find one. About $180 delivered. Don't worry about the DSD>24/96 PCM conversion. I don't know anyone who can hear it.

Get "Relentless" next. It's a great record and (GASP) better than any Barney Kessel snoozefest.

I'm going to see Eddie Izzard tonight at the Orpheum Theater in Boston. I've wanted to see him for a while now, ever since someone gave me a few mp3 files of some of his stand-up routines. I've now heard all of his CDs and I just had to get tickets when they announced it. Should be good. Recently, I caught a couple of shows at Boston's Comedy Connection. The best was Maine's own Bob Marley. Wicked pissah. Tony V was hilarious too.

Dinner Jazz - Herbie Hancock "Takin' Off" (Blue Note/Cisco) Bummer that this is going out of print. Nice, solid pressing. Great-sounding LP.

Just cuing up Joe Thomas "Raw Meat" (Uptown). I'd never heard of the guy, but I figured Uptown knows their stuff and Mosaic/True Blue had it on sale for $6 so what the hey?

Michael Weiss - Presenting Michael Weiss (Criss Cross) Pretty good sounding for such flimsy vinyl. It's so thin, it feels like you'd wear it out in a few plays.

Congrats!! And no matter what anyone tells you, having two children doesn't double the workload. It TRIPLES it!

I just got off the phone and confirmed with Michael Cuscuna that Analogue Productions will be issuing 25 Blue Note titles on hybrid SACDs. No idea of the timetable, but I do know that the DSD masters are already done. They were made as they played back the masters during the 45 rpm LP mastering. The 25 titles are: Jackie McLean - Capuchin Swing John Patton - Along Came John Ike Quebec - It Might As Well Be Spring Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Moanin' Hank Mobley - A Caddy For Daddy Jackie McLean - Jackie's Bag Dexter Gordon - Go Lou Donaldson - Blues Walk Dexter Gordon - Dexter Calling Fred Jackson - Hootin' 'N Tootin' Grant Green - Idle Moments Grant Green - Green Street Art Taylor - A.T.'s Delight Lee Morgan - Lee-way Paul Chambers - Whims of Chambers Joe Henderson - Page One Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else Ike Quebec - Soul Samba Bossa Nova Lou Donaldson - Here 'Tis Horace Silver - The Tokyo Blues John Coltrane - Blue Train Kenny Burrell - Midnight Blue The Three Sounds - Bottom's Up Kenny Dorham - Whistle Stop Sonny Rollins - Vol. 2

Ah - I'd assumed that it had. Maybe I'll pass then. It doesn't have one, but it would be extremely simple to add one if you want. Your local hardware store will have a very thin sheet of plywood that would do the trick. Maybe a piece of luan?

Can someone verify the dimensions of this Ikea Expedit bookshelf? The website says it's 58 5/8" wide by 15 3/8" deep by 31 1/8" high. It looks like they switched the width & height. Kevin

I sold my rainbow LP many years ago when I heard the Conn CD. I remembered it sounding lousy. As I sit here listening to my newly acquired second copy of this Mobley classic ($5 at Stereo Jack's! ), I have to wonder what people are hearing when they play this LP, particularly side 2 with 'A Touch Of Blue'. I hear some nasty stuff on the highs. It's really bad on the cymbals. They don't sound "normal". I remember why I sold this the first time. It'll be good to have around when I want to spin some vinyl, but the Conn CD will get first play. I have to find a Conn LP to see if that is any better.

Last night, I spun the new Cisco LP of Herbie Hancock's "Takin' Off". I have to say, given that Cisco Music went out of business and these platters should start drying up, you owe it to yourself to get a copy of this. Incredibly good-sounding LP. They claim they allowed the full spread stereo to come through. It sounds "different" because of it. The horns are more isolated and you hear the horns distinctly.

The mono tape for these Impulse! releases was created by summing the left & right of the stereo tape. RVG had stopped making a dedicated mono mix by the late 50's. If you can't afford one these pricy monos, just play the stereo version and use a Y cord to combine the two channels.

After you get in there, it may be worthwhile to check out the E-mail accounts. You may find stuff there that can be used in court to get some money back from the other guys. Kevin

Snap, crackle, pop! I just spun a very beat-up copy of Elton John's "Goodbye Yellowbrick Road". I really like "Funeral For A Friend". Next up is The Who's "Amazing Journey". Not a bad sounding hunk of plastic, even if it is digitally sourced. It's worth picking up if only for the artwork.

I believe you approached the situation backwards. You should have contacted the retailer first and if they don't address the problem, go to the manufacturer. That's the way it works in retail for small items. It's not like you're talking about a refrigerator here. If I bought a CD from Best Buy and it was messed up, the last place I would contact would be the manufacturer. Also, I bet if you contacted CD Universe first and they told you to buzz off, Concord would have helped. BTW, some manufacturers of large items like TVs don't have any corporate-level customer support. They require you to use the retailer and/or a local service provider for all repairs. I dread having to get my Mitsubishi LCD TV fixed when/if it breaks. Their "customer support" is non-existent. You have to use a local service company if you want it fixed.

Best Buy issued a vinyl version of a compilation by The Who called "Amazing Journey". I picked up a copy yesterday for $11.99. Unfortunately, Best Buy seems to have misjudged the demand. eBay already has one that went for $71.