Scott Dolan

This entire conversation has crossed over into the surreal. I guess we're all using "USB" in very different ways. A USB cable carries a digital signal. It doesn't change the signal to analog. If you connect a USB cable to a Mac, or any other computer for that matter, it carries that digital signal to the end. It only gets converted by whatever DAC source it is plugged into. Color me extremely confused by everything you and psu are stating here. Does a TOSlink cable also convert the signal it is carrying to analog?! If so, that's the most magical cable on the face of the planet...

OK, I admit I'm completely confused. But, I'll bite. What is the difference between the zeroes and ones transmitted via USB vs the zeroes and ones transmitted via HDMI? :?

BTW, did any of you figure out who was playing bass during the Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End sequence? Had to be someone offstage. Unless Wix was doing it on his keyboard.

That was outstanding! And I think it was the second encore where he said, "sounds like you guys want to keep rocking! Well, you asked for it!" And then they launched into Helter Skelter. I don't use the term "magical" very often, but that qualified. Yes, their sign "God Hates the UK", was outstanding in its ridiculousness, even by Westboro standards. Just checked my phone, that sign is actually in the pic I took!!!! Fucking hilarious!

Allen, you know I love you brother, but what the hell are you talking about? How does it get any easier than a USB outlet? USB to DAC. After that, the world is your oyster... We're only talking about zeroes and ones here...

BTW, can't recall if I mentioned it before, but the version they did of Something on this tour was nearly worth the price of admission all by itself.

Did you cats catch the Westboro loons picketing across the street before the show? I thought that was pretty hilarious! Even snapped a pic.

Trust me, it wasn't cheap here either.

BTW, where did you watch the show from? We were in F4 towards the right rear corner of the floor. Cool experience, but not always a great view. Had to do a lot of visual bobbing and weaving throughout the show. We did learn to never buy floor tickets again. At least ones that far back.

I doubt anyone left there that night thinking anything less, HP. Glad to hear your takeaway is pretty much the same as mine. I guess the only downside was the fact that it started 40 minutes late. But, you could tell at 8:00 that it wouldn't be starting on time. Crowd flow and control isn't a strong suit of the Sprint Center and it's staff.

Actually, you'd be using a USB out to either a DAC or preamp. Or, as in my case, I'm streaming it wirelessly to my Apple TV from which I run a digital optical out to my DAC which then feeds the analog signal to my preamp. I suppose if I didn't cherish laziness I could walk to the computer room on the other side of the house and grab a CD. But, since there is no difference in sound quality, AND I can control my entire library with my iPad, wireless streaming it is!

We're speaking the same language, xybert. Just had to make sure.

So the wife and I saw Paul for the second time in 25 years last Wednesday, and it was quite possibly one of the greatest shows of my life time. If not the greatest. Just for background, I started listening to The Beatles around 1978, at the ripe old age of 8. Had a cat in my class whose older brother was a big Beatles fan and he would bring albums in to class that we would listen to, and I was instantly hooked. By the time I was 10 or 11, I had a Beatles collection that would make the modern day collector weep. American and European pressings, oddball rarities and one-off albums, the whole nine yards. So, in 1989 Kelly and I saw him on his Get Back tour in Tampa Stadium. It was like a revelation, but that was due in large part to nostalgia. I felt like I was going to watch God perform. Melodramatic, but that was how I felt at the time. It was a very good show, and one I'll never forget. Fast-forward to last Wednesday night. In '89 we were in the nosebleeds, but this time we sprang for floor "seats". I say "seats" because when you're on the floor the seat is only in use before McCartney takes the stage. After that you're on your feet for two hours and forty five minutes. When we first got to our seats they had some kind of DJ on the stage playing some really wild remixes of Beatles/McCartney tunes. Some of them were quite fascinating, to be perfectly honest. Shortly after, he left the stage and the "movies" started playing on the huge screens on both sides of the stage. Naturally, they were all set to Beatles/McCartney tunes, and any time you see images of Maggie Thatcher and Frank Zappa on the same screen, well, that's kinda both very cool and incredibly bizarre. The show started with he and his band belting out Eight Days A Week, and it just got better and better as the night went on. Several years ago a buddy of mine had seen him at Fenway and described his current band as "industrial strength". I'm not sure there is a better way of describing them. Very powerful. Methodic, but not formulaic. Visually the show was far more outstanding than when we had seen him in '89, but more importantly it was much better musically. About the time this "industrial strength" band launched into Let Me Roll It, I knew this was something really special. That song seemed custom-made for this particular band. Of course, Live And Let Die was the visual feast of the evening, no big surprise there. Two hours forty five minutes and 39 songs later it was over, but there were some surprising takeaways. When we first purchased the tickets Kelly asked me why, at the age of 72, he was still undertaking these grueling tours. Well, he answered her question that night. He was thoroughly engaging, and quite humorous, between tunes. He had obviously taken time to learn quite a few things about Kansas City, and cajoled the audience several times about things only locals would truly "get". I was amazed by that and asked Kelly if she remembered him being that engaging when we had seen him in '89. She didn't even stop to think about it before she quickly said, "no". And at his ripe old age, he was running around, dancing, balancing his Hofner bass upside down in his hand, and essentially looked like a kid that was just out having fun. I'm only 44 and wish I had the kind of spunk and energy he exuded that night. One of the coolest things he did was during the second or third encore when he quickly ran down a shout out to his sound and lighting guys, riggers, etc. I'm not sure I've ever seen any artist do that before. And he politely paused after each one for applause. Didn't take long, but I found it to be a very classy show of appreciation. Final analysis: while I was quite the McCartney "homer" when I saw him in '89 (at that point he could have come out and played solo on a milk crate and I would have been enthralled), what I saw last Wednesday night was a master entertainer who still thoroughly loves what he does, and goes out of his way to make sure you love the experience as well. Based on what I saw, I can't imagine this to be his last tour, but it may be. Either way, if he's coming to a town near you in the next couple of months, I highly encourage you to go see him. Ten thumbs up!

If my response had been addressed to you, I guess you'd have some kind of point (though I have no idea what it would be). But, it wasn't, I was addressing xybert's comments.

We are at the point now where it's totally a non-issue for the general populace. You just don't pay for music. It's as natural as breathing. You are not any less of a man if you don't pay for music. I don't even know anymore (as in, with regards to this topic, not in a throwing my hands up at humanity thing). All i'll say is that i like CDs and i'll keep buying them as long as they keep making them. I like having a hard copy and the convenience to rip it as i please. I also like using Spotify to check stuff out, and i can see myself using it more down the line for the convenience of it, but there's just something hardwired in me that i need to own the CD. If/when it gets to the point where the artists that i follow offer download/streaming only then i'll adjust, as there will be no other option. As long as there is a CD then i need the CD. If/when it does get to the point where everything is in the cloud and it's all a big stream, i think i will only stream new stuff, it seems pointless to pay for downloads. My listening/collecting life will be divided into a CD and post-CD era. I guess that's kind of redundant to say, but it kind of helps me to be at peace with it. I'm the opposite, I haven't bought a CD in years. I see no sense buying a CD I'm simply going to rip and put on my already bursting CD rack and never touch again. But, I also don't use a streaming service. I will preview the odd album on Spotify, but then I either buy it, or never listen to it again. In the last year (since I was first turned on to Spotify), I've probably logged less than ten hours on the service. And BTW, before we start shaking our heads and muttering about "goddamn kids these days", we all grew up listening to the radio. Far as I recall, we didn't pay for that either. So let's not act as though listening to music for free is some strange, new phenomenon.

Oh yeah! I forgot all about those Polaroid commercials he did with Marriette Hartley back in the 70's and early 80's.

Wow, that kind of shocked me to read. I saw tons of Rockford Files when I was younger.

To be fair I've only auditioned them in store, so they were still tight and new. That may have been where the slight brightness came from. Good speakers, though. They have a bad wrap amongst some in the community, but I have absolutely no idea why. Perhaps it's because Best Buy sells them? I dunno...

I use iTune for samples. AllMusic gives you 30 second samples, whereas iTunes gives you minute and a half samples. Makes a huge difference.

Thanks, Leeway! I've been wondering when they'd release a mobile app. Gonna check it out!

When they changed the software last year it was an absolute mess. IMO, it's actually gotten better.

It's been a while since I've shopped for a sub but back when I did, there were typically stereo line level inputs and a mono RCA input. I see now that many subs offer stereo RCA inputs as well. Cool. Ah, OK. My experience has been different as I've never seen a powered sub with a mono RCA input. Odd. Either way, I still don't get the stereo input as subs are essentially only dealing with non-directional frequencies. Guess they're in cahoots with cable companies who make Y splitters. B&W tend to be a bit on the bright side, so it doesn't surprise me that you don't care for them. You would likely prefer something from Polk Audio in that particular price range. That said, IN that price range it's nearly impossible to go wrong with anything as it is such a dominant and competitive market, with the Canadian companies really leading the way.

Hold on, having just re-read the last few comments, Kevin why would he need a Y adapter? If he's running L and R pre amp out, he could just plug the L and R cables into the subwoofer inputs. It has always stumped me to this day why all sub pre outs on almost all amps and receivers are a mono out, when almost all powered subwoofers have stereo ins. Doesn't make any sense at all.

This is true, but you would have to pick up a Y adapter to sum the left & right channel for the sub. Also, make sure your sub has a built-in crossover because the tape out jacks output the full frequency spectrum. Do they even make powered subs without crossovers? I've personally never run across one.