RDK

The thing is, I actually have a fair number of Marsalis' albums, the result of finding bunches of them in the dollar or $2.99 bins. I'll buy just about any jazz CD for a buck or two. Also, Hot House Flowers was one of my first CDs so many years ago. But while I find many of them interesting for various reasons, I'm hard pressed to label any of them "favorites." Heck, few if any of them are truly memorable. I dig the Monk album 'cause of its sorta weird interpretations of Monk, who's one of my favorite composers. I like Big Train because it's Ellingtonian in style and spirit. I like Village Vanguard because it was cheap. Seriously, VV is a pretty good set, though I don't revisit it often. For the others, I mostly just play them once and set them aside or give them to my father-in-law. I'm not at all impressed by Marsalis' compositions, though his playing doesn't really bother me. The problem is that there's just so much other good stuff out there. If I feel like listening to some trumpet jazz, I'm more inclined to reach for a Lee Morgan disc... Ray

J, I'll second Lon's recommendation of the Zen. I have one as well (though i didn't build it as a kit). If you have any experience at all it should be easy enough to construct. The Bottleheads (especially the Foreplay preamp - is it still only $150?) is designed for the beginner. I've also heard it matches well with a Zen. Ray

I agree with Lon (that is, if he's referring to the Turrentine). The first two (of the five) discs are the worst - they are noticably more trebly than the final three. Not unlistenable by any means, and I'm not sure i would have noticed if it wasn't pointed out to me, but the difference is clear. Ray

Wow, how could i have missed such a touching moment?

While i have no doubt that audio gear might sound better after being on and "stabilized," I can't bring myself to leave the stuff on for long periods of time - unless of course i'm listening to it over the course of the day. I almost always shut everything down at night (except the Tivo ), and I'm paranoid so i'll turn off the tubes if i leave the house for more than a few minutes. Personally, it's rare that i can listen to music with so few distactions around me that I'd even notice the possibly slight change in sound quality that the on/off issue imparts. Also, as Claude said, computer gear and even audio gear can drain a lot of power and you can see this on your bill. Ray

Haven't heard this yet. Thanks for the heads up - it sounds good.

I love the KFC Original recipe, but its quality really depends on the specific establishment. The KFC nearest to me is only fair, but there's one a short distance away that is so much better (and I've been to some that are horrible). I don't know what it is since they presumably use the same suppliers, ingredients, whatever. I think it may be a matter of having the pressure cooker set just a couple of degrees off to making the chicken delicious or dreadful.

Me three. The problem, Jimmy, is that you came to this board and posted with what appeared to be the sole intent to (as B-3 put it originally) bait another board member into a spat. Your post was hardly satirical (at least by my definition) but it was mean-spirited and unnecessary. It has nothing to do with Chris being for or against censorship - or being the hypocrite about it as you claim him to be - but about B-3 trying to keep the board civil against pointless personal attacks by third parties not already involved in the conversation.

Check out the Bottleheads for a supposedly very easy (and very good) tube kit. You can link to their site from Audio Asylum...

I'll pile on with the J.J. Great set, plus it'll be the first of the bunch to sell out.

Hey guys, just got back. I was away for a few days... what I miss?

Can anyone say "Divx?"

I have to admit to downloading a few of the discs to sample this set, but it's just not a period of Miles that i really dig. I might buy a single live set just 'cause I love "Jean Pierre" so much, but otherwise i'd pass on this one.

Only if your definition of "neck and neck" means that one has a lot more votes than the other.

I just chose three random letters that coincidentally form my initials. It should be easy enough for anyone to figure out my full name. Especially when I tell you that my middle name is Daniel. Ray

I just got everything that i had ordered except for the Tatum solo box, which was sold out. It's back in stock, so i just ordered it (three copies actually, for friends) along with the Bill Evans Fantasy box and a few other things, including several of those dirt cheap Past Perfect boxes - $5 for 5 discs! How can you go wrong? Ray

Wasn't there a rabid Star Trek fan who had his ears bobbed like Spock's?

We are talking about forked tongues, aren't we? I hope...

While I think it's pretty stupid, I certainly have no problem with it being legal for adults to get their tongues forked (it's a different story for anyone under 18). Heck, if someone wants to cut off their arm if it will make them feel better (or improve oral sex ) more power to 'em. BUT, don't let these kids start screaming about discrimination when they can't find an employer who will hire them because it might freak out the vast majority of their customers....

Two words: "Portnoy's Complaint" by Philip Roth. A novel about masturbation...

Maybe because yours (at least I think it was yours) didn't have a photo? It shouldn't matter in this case, but who knows. Personally, I think the crazy part of this thread is that anyone would pay so much for a friggin' George Duke album!

Yeah, but did you see that among the "smooth jazz" asrtists that he mentions are Pat Metheny, Miles Davis, and herbie Hancock?! Funny, but i think this auction will end without any bids...

Am very glad to hear that they're improving their MP3s. It wasn't so much that 128Kb is itself too low for reasonable quality MP3s, but that they used the worst encoder possible. VBR should help considerably. I subscribed to Emusic nearly two years ago for a while, and though they had a lot of great jazz available I was never really happy with the sound quality. The upgrade comes at a great time for me since I was planning on subscribing again next week. Ray

Hey, cool, I'm now an official "groover!"

I voted for "Two-Headed Freep" as well. This is another one of those pleasant surprises as i hadn't heard anything by Ronnie Foster previous to this, but it sure is damn funky. "Easy Walker" and "Love Bug" are also favorites. Ray