Kevin Bresnahan

I might try a couple for fun.

It should be noted that these titles are being issued on a type of disc that is being called an "SHM-CD". Supposedly, the plastic used for the CD is a special, low-loss plastic like the plastic used for LCD displays. The claim is that this material will allow the laser to track better and cause less jitter. Sounds far-fetched to me, but some people may want to give one a try.

Based on a decent review at CNET.com plus the fact that the damn things looked cool, I bought a set of Harman Kardon SoundSticks II. They look cool and sound very good. I would give them two thumbs up. I got mine from buy.com for under $150, including shipping.

I still have this thing sitting in my office at work where someone said they were going to buy it and backed out at the last minute. Anyone interested? How about if I offer to pay half off the shipping? $50 plus half of actual shipping?

If you do get it done, see if they can re-do the surround in another material like butyl rubber as opposed to foam. DIY is tricky, especially for a sub, since it has a long throw. The trick is locking the cone about halfway through its full extension. Too far out and the surround is pulled in at rest. Too far in and it will stretch the surround at peaks.

Thanks to this thread, I ordered this from oldies.com. After the comments here, I'm looking forward to hearing it.

Is the cabinet able to be taken apart? If so, why not just re-cone the driver? If it's rattling, it's almost certainly just a rotted foam surround. It'll probably cost you around $40 to re-cone it and you'll get another 15 years.

That reminds me of a funny story. I worked with a guy at Raytheon back in the late 80's who splurged on a Mustang Cobra GT (or was it a Saleen?). He babied this thing. One of the seats got a little tear, so he brought it into the shop to get it fixed. As his father was driving him to work down the highway, his Mustang passed him. His father tried catching up, with his speedo topping out around 110 mph and they never even saw the car again. They turned around, went back to the dealership and told them to expect a call from their lawyer. I think the guy got a new car out of them. FWIW, the fastest I ever drove was 110 mph in my parents' 1972 Pontiac Catalina with a 402 V8. Scary as hell. Since that day, I've traveled (never driven) on the German autobahn at ~160 mph. Scarier than 110! The craziest was when a young rep was driving me around Germany, doing maybe 130-150 mph in the rain with the temperature near freezing! Kevin

It's out of print and hard to find--you better make Unk an offer he can't refuse. The seller is StereoJack, a member of this forum. I can surely vouch for him. It's where I make a vast majority of my new CD purchases. Kevin

When you highlight the file and press the right mouse button, does "Properties" show up? If it does, click that and check that the file is not read-only or protected. You could also try copying the file to a different folder to see if that works. If that doesn't work it may be a stack error which could be anything. Check your virus software's log to see if it found a virus in that file. Quarantined files can't be renamed. Also, the file may be corrupted. You can run a scan of your hard drive to see if it can be repaired.

I just learned that one of my favorite authors, Robert Jordan (James Oliver Rigney Jr), has succumbed to Amyloidosis Sunday afternoon. This news, though not unexpected, saddens as much as if it were someone in my own family. His Wheel of Time books filled many of my most enjoyable nights, particularly when I was traveling. His books were so engrossing, I never even felt that turbulence. RIP Dragon, you were one of a kind. Later, A very bummed-out, Kevin

I just got into this very thing with Steve Hoffman on a thread about the Analogue Productions SACDs. I mentioned that some people dislike RVG's Blue Note CDs because he made them sound very different than the original LPs. His response was: "Dude, A trumpet should sound like a real trumpet, a sax like a real sax. Anything else is just wasting your time. If you want something to sound like an old LP from 1958 well, you are gypping yourself of the real deal. Go play your CD on a 1958 Zenith if you crave nostalgia but don't build that sound right on to your disc; that's silly." So if anyone is expecting these new records to sound like first pressings, they are probably in for a surprise. I'd also like to add that while Hoffman respects RVGs place in history, he has also complained a lot about working with his masters. According to Hoffman, there is an oscillatory tone on the tape that has required him to develop a special "De-RVG box". I am sure that these new LPs will have this used on them. It should be noted that Hoffman has expressed little love for reverb, a topic on which we agree. These new LPs should sound pretty weird to anyone who's listened to originals for any amount of time. I am curious how "Soul Station" done by Steve Hoffman will sound with the spring reverb minimized and having this "De-RVG" circuit applied. But is it worth $50 to find out? That is the question. Kevin

If this quote didn't have "pompous audiophile" in there, I'd agree that he seems like a very nice guy. However, in many audio discussions, particularly when it comes to a product he uses, he's comes across as pompous as can be. There was that one thread many years ago where he was raving about his Shakti Hallograph Room Optimizers, these coat hangers that sold for $1500 a pair. Anyone who disagreed with his pronouncement had their comments erased and was summarily booted off the forum. It was hard for me to not say something when he started up about the Shakti Stones, but I just let him blab away about them. He can be just as much the pompous audiophile as I am.

There's a close up of the guy on the patsfans.com forum, but I can't seem to link it here. It shows what looks like a Jets logo on his shirt and he is on the Jets sideline. He's clearly not outside media because they are required to wear orange vests. The funny thing is, this guy's photo was floating all over the web yesterday, including touchdown.org, with everyone thinking it was a "smoking gun" picture of the Patriots cameraman. That shot had him filming the Jets coaches when the Jets offense was on the field. It turns out that in looking at the film, the guy filmed the Patriots sideline when their D were on the field and the Jets sideline the other times.

There are pictures circulating on Patriots discussion forums of a New York Jets cameraman filming the Patriots sideline while their defense is on the field. Once this gets further up the chain of command, I expect more punishment will follow... for the Jets. See him? Right around the 25 yard line? or here right around the 18?

Unfortunately, on that website, you say anything bad about Steve and you're *gone*. They call it getting "gorted". They just don't allow anything negative about the guy. You want to say anything bad about him, you better do it here. It's his website so he can do what he wants, but sometimes it gets tough when he makes a pronouncement you don't agree with. A couple of times, I've considered staying away because of this, but there really is no better place to talk rock and roll CD pressings. Kevin

There's only one Fitzy and I doubt his humor is Michael Fitzgerald's style. On the other hand, I think he's funny as hell.

By deleting this account, doesn't that allow for someone else to waltz in and become "Chaney"? That's what it looks like. That could be weird.

Caiman never stocks anything. You'll place the order, they'll charge your credit card and put an order in with their supplier then leave you with nothing for 6-9 months. Next, you'll have to start e-mailing them mercilessly to get them to credit your account. Do yourself a favor and avoid them.

He's talking about "Cleopatra's Needle", not "Boom-Jackie-Boom-Chick". It's listed as "In stock" for $33. I don't know. I just can't bring myself to spend $36 for a CD today. I was hesitant to go to $32. BTW, the amazon.com listing for "Boom-Jackie-Boom-Chick" says "Delivery in 6 to 8 weeks". Ain't happening.

Oh crap - now Hiroshi just informed that his order for Ronnie Ross's "Cleopatra's Needle" got cancelled. I knew I should have ordered that from Dusty Groove last week. Hiroshi said it was available, so I believed him. I'm a bit disappointed that he said he could get it and then didn't. This is the first time he did this to me. I wonder if I should pre-order those Miles Davis SACDs?

I actually consider myself a bit of a PC geek, but I don't get what a "blogger burn" is. What's that about, Chuck? I'd rather not get a burn. I want the real CD. I guess that makes me old fashioned. Kevin

It went for $33. I'm not that worried. It's not that I think this will be some kind of kick-ass date, but I just dig Gonsalves. He didn't make a lot dates under his own name so I try to get the ones that are out there. I wish UMG (Japan) had said that they were only pressing 10 copies.

I am looking to buy a copy of the CD of Paul Gonsalves's "Boom-Jackie-Boom-Chick" (Universal UCCM-9242). This just came in late July and I'm already having some difficulty finding it. I will pay $30, including shipping for a new or gently-used copy of this CD. Kevin

And when you look in a mirror you see what.... an old man with bags under his eyes and a double chin maybe?