Kevin Bresnahan

I never read anything from Greg about a CD spray. Actually, I wouldn't read anything on any CD spray anyway... Placebo effect in my book. FWIW, the one of the leading CD sprays has a warning not to use it on SACDs. Apparently, if you use it on your Analogue Productions SACDs, it may render them un-playable. Later, Kevin

Greg over on the Audio Asylum: Christmas came early this year Posted by Jazz Inmate ® on November 22, 2004 at 15:21:56 Got my Verve JSACDs today...Now's the Time (Bird), Pres & Teddy, and Stan Getz Plays. Two more hours and then I get to go home and warm up the tubes and feast my ears on these babies. Must...resist...buying...more. These weren't cheap. >>> end of post <<< Greg is right. These are not cheap. Hiroshi says he can get me the Lester Young and Getz discs for $70 delivered. That's a lot of dough. I worry that I'll order these and Verve will reissue them here in the US. Verve seems to be continuing SACD at a slow & sure pace. I just picked up a couple of their latest for $12.02. I can get almost 6 of these for the price of 2 from Japan. Decisions decisions. Later, Kevin

Greg posts over at Jazz Corner and the Audio Asylum. He knows that SACD is still a niche market and I bet even he will admit that Sony looks like they're letting it rot on the vine. He's not happy about it. He still buys SACDs from Japan and he has me thinking about ordering a couple from Hiroshi (Lester Young's Verve with Teddy Wilson). The apparent demise of SACD is not a good thing in my opinion. Say what you will about Greg's methods but his only goal was to get more of us to buy SACD players to hear the sound for ourselves. Greg may have been extreme about it but it doesn't make the medium's failure a good thing. If people had simply tried to give this medium a try, maybe it would have been more successful. Actually, a lot of the people who put down SACD really are "the problem" with SACD. It's not the technology, it's the economics. It's too bad they didn't want to hear their favorite music in the best possible sound. Now, they most likely won't be able to. They'll just have to enjoy their downloaded mp3s. Later, Kevin

I can't wait to hear this myself. The funny thing is, I bought these discs because the store that had them was selling them cheap... $12.02 each. I couldn't pass that up. I can still buy almost all of the latest SACDs for $12.02 from Bull Moose. I may still go back and get the other 2 Clapton discs or maybe one or two of the Elton John discs.

Well, that's not quite right... after all, the original SACD push did not even include multi-channel. It was hastily added after multi-channel DVD-Audio discs made their appearance. The first two generations of Sony SACD players did not have multi-channel playback capability and all of their first generation releases were stereo only. They had to reissue a lot of them with a multi-channel mix afterward. Of course, this confused the heck out of the buyers, especially when they realized that many of the new discs had remastered stereo mixes that were better than the original "stereo only" SACDs. I sold my stereo SACD of "Kind of Blue" because the word on the web was that the multi-channel remaster had a much better stereo mix. I think it was over-stated (surprise! ) but it was different. All of the Sony ads I've seen have advertised SACD as a high fidelity medium. Too bad it looks like it's dying. They've even started reissuing CDs of stuff that was already out on SACD hybrids (like the Dylan catalog). I wish Sony had stuck with it. SACD has given me some great listening moments. I think SACD has the best audio fidelity of any medium I have ever heard to date. Better than vinyl, better than reel-to-reel, better than CD and even better than DVD-Audio... although DVD-Audio does sound great too. I just don't have many detailed DVD-Audio discs. The DVD-Audio discs I have are mostly old rock. It's hard to hear nuances in old rock. The SACD of Cannonball Adderley's "Know What I Mean?" makes it sound like Bill Evans is playing a piano in my living room. Later, Kevin

I'm looking forward to hearing this. Unfortunately, when I brought it home the other day from the store, my wife grabbed the bag and launched off on me about buying myself discs too close to Christmas. This disc, along with Joe Henderson's "Lush Life" and Derek & the Dominoes "Layla" are now all wrapped up in Christmas paper. Mono should be mono. Chances are that there aren't any mono DSD mastering benches and somehow the machine wasn't balanced. I'll check it out. Have you noticed a difference in any other mono discs? It could possibly be your player. Kevin

Ditto for me.

There are 3 very reliable places that carry these SACDs. I've used all of them myself but today, I special order them at a local shop in Salem NH called Bull Moose Music. The 3 good ones are: Music Direct Red Trumpet and Acoustic Sounds All of them ask $25 per disc but Red Trumpet always seems to have specials. I get them from Bull Moose for ~$19. BTW, I think the Evans/Adderley SACD, "You Know What I Mean" is one of the best sounding SACDs in my collection. If you're into Evans and don't have this one, I'd recommend it over either of the Vanguard dates... well, I'm a huge Cannonball fan. Besides, the Vanguard dates, being live, can never match the sonics of the studio date. Edit: I almost forgot http://www.cduniverse.com. Clunky to search this place but you can save a couple of bucks. They ship slow as molasses but most users seem to get what they order... eventually. Myself, I'd pay the extra couple of bucks and go with one of the others. Kevin

I still don't like it. I've tried and tried but it still puts me to sleep. Nothing like "Blue Hour" in my book. I can listen to "Blue Hour" over & over. "Am I Blue" just can't keep my interest. FWIW, it can't seem to keep the buying public's interest either. I bet this will be one of the first Grant Green dates deleted by BN in a long time. Later, Kevin

Both are on SACD from Analogue Productions (ironic label for this, eh?). They sound phenomenal. In fact, all of Analogue Productions SACDs sound phenomenal. Unfortunately, OJC got their hands on a DSD remastering bench so they no longer license out their masters to AP. I doubt they'll be any more. FWIW, Mobile Fidelity is also doing great work in the SACD medium. Fantasy's work has been good but a few of their remasters show little improvement over the K2 CDs. Later, Kevin

Stereophile is rag, plain & simple. They have long equated $$$ with "the best sound" and they go out of thier way to back this mantra up with bogus product reviews. I only own one SACD "dud" and that's Peter Gabriel's "Shaking the Tree". It is not that bad either, just not as good as it should be. Considering it's a greatest hits compilation, you would think the individual SACDs that also contain these tracks would sound the same but they don't. They sound great. I would guess that the remastering engineer screwed up... sound familiar?

Do they allow programming your CDs from different sources or rearranging the tracks, or do they make only 1 to 1 copies? Neither has a hard drive so they cannot re-arrange the audio on the fly. However, any standalone CD burner can make a compilation or re-arrange the tracks using the program function. Tedious. The only easy way to re-arrange tracks is to use your PC. As I've said before on other threads, I only use CD-RW discs on my standalone audio burner to record LPs. I take this CD-RW over to my PC, extract the .wav files to my hard drive, manipulate the audio (only if necessary) and then burn onto CD-Rs on my PC. The blanks are cheaper and the burn is much faster. Later, Kevin

I imagine the artist gets set # XXXXX like everyone else who gets comp copies. I always thought that Mosaic kept #1 in house for posterity? I know they have a copy of every set they ever made. That's something I'll have to ask next time I call. Later, Kevin

Well, I'm not Lon but I can answer from my perspective. I've never had any "silence" added to my CD-Rs by pressing the Index button during recording. All the index button does is add a flag to the bitstream indicating a new track and resets the timing info. Other than that, it's a seamless transition. I've ripped a couple of live LPs onto CD and added track breaks and the music plays back just like any other live CD. Kevin

If I had to buy one today, I'd get either a Tascam CD-RW750 or a Denon CDR-W1500. The Denon is a rock-solid machine and can even play back HDCD encoded CDs, which is a nice addition. Tascam's units are basically bulletproof. They have a transport that just won't fail. I believe Chris D bought a Tascam and he's still digging it. Later, Kevin

The website for this card looks pretty good. A few unanswered quaestions remain. They mention "premium digital audio converters" but then don't identify them. What are they? Burr Brown? Analog Devices? They also mention "SCMS copy protection control". What does that mean for PC audio? I wouldn't want SCMS on my PC so I hope it's not included. Kevin

The line out on a PC does not have any amplification. If you attach un-amplified PC speakers, they are simply loads and the sound level will be very low. You're much better off using either amplified speakers or an amp with speakers... which are technically the same thing. Kevin

The green one is a "line out" and it's the one you should use. Head to your nearby Radio Shack and buy an adaptor cable to adapt from the sub-mini jack to "RCA phono jacks" and you'll be ready to roll. Use any open line input on your amp except for the phono input, which has a pre-amp and it should work. You may have to fiddle with the "volume" level on your PC but it's probably easier to simply start at mid-volume. Kevin

Since my account is "linked" to my bank account, I would think that to have two Paypal accounts, I'd need two bank accounts? I thought I read that Paypal requires a linked bank account now just to avoid someone having two accounts? I'll have to look into this. Kevin

I just ran into this with a Mosaic deal... why doesn't Paypal give EU members the option to link up a bank account? Money? It could be. When I want to buy something with Paypal, I simply request a transfer of the amount I need and 3 days later, it's there. It's pretty simple. On the EU Paypal site, they refer to this and list a form you have to fill out. It should be possible. BTW, the way we got around not having this option was to have the money wired into my account. I wouldn't recommend this. The bank on that end charged around 5% and my bank on this end charged $10. What a pain. Are international money orders had to get and/or expensive over there? In the US, we can get them at US post offices. I've never thought of the US as an "easy" place to bank but it does appear that we have some conveniences that we take for granted. All this Paypal stuff drives me nuts. Every time someone sends me a credit card payment, I get asked to "convert" my account. I'd do it if it meant that credit card payments would then be charged 3%. Unfortunately, when you convert ALL charges from then on are charged 3%... that's just not right. Later, Kevin

With Dodge Ram pickups, make sure you check under the dash on the passenger's side after a heavy rainstorm. These trucks are notorious for leaking in the corner of their wrap-around windshields. If left unchecked, it wreaks havoc on the electrical system. 1,600 lbs is a lot and I'd be a lot more worried about how safely the truck will drive rather than damage to the suspension. With that much weigth, turning at speeds above 30 will be tough and plan well in advance for stopping. The brakes will fail if you jump on them... expect major brake fade. Be careful. The worst thing about getting into an accident with that much weight is that it's all right behind you. Slabs of ceramic tile being thrown at you at 65 mph is likely to cause a very painful death. Later, Kevin

Outlaw receivers: 1070 (AV): and RR-2150 (Stereo only): Later, Kevin

Dmitry, I agree the RR-2150 is very goofy looking (the 'R' supposedly stands for "retro), but the 1070 looked pretty good to me... at least the mock-up pictures I've seen from the CES show. Also, the RR-2150 is stereo-only and Impossible is looking for HT. The 1070 will probably be a good choice. I only wish I could've waited for it. I even put my name in to be a Beta tester but I never moved ahead on it once I got my Rotel. Later, Kevin

A good place to do some research is at the AVS Forums. I found this thread started just yesterday that seems to show that there are still some people having problems. In looking around the forums, I see that the Cambridge Audio 540R is getting good reviews so the heat may not be an issue. BTW, I saw the CA 540R for less than Spearit's price. In fact, I believe it was around $550 when I looked at it. Another place to look into HT receivers is the Home Theater Spot or the HT Guide forums. The Audioholics are pretty good for generic audio advice. If you decide used is OK, make sure you visit AudiogoN often. I have bought most of gear from this place and not had a problem yet (knock on wood). I think Outlaw Audio will be coming out with the 1070 by year's end. They have been working on it for many months and they planned to announce pricing/availability at the CE show in San Fran... too bad the show just got cancelled because of a labor dispute. BTW, I eventually bought a used Rotel RSX-1055 for $800 from someone who advertised on AudiogoN. It waswas a lot more than I wanted to spend but so far, it's been great. The only difference between the RSX-1055 and this year's RSX-1056 is Dolby IIx, which isn't a big loss in my book. I use the thing in Dolby Digital or Stereo/Multi-channel audio (SACD/CD music) almost exclusively. I've seen RXS-1055's for as low as $700 on ebay (there's one at $650 right now). It is well worth that! Later, Kevin

I did a lot of research on NAD's receivers about a year ago and I got scared by what appeared to be a lot of quality issues with them. Apprently, there have been quite a few that are DOA. There's also supposed to be a very loud cooling fan. I was worried that this fan, which someone described as sounding like "airplane in the room" would drown out quite scenes on movies. I eventually bought a Denon but I didn't like the user interface so I sold it and bought a used Rotel. However, if I was in the market and I didn't want to look used, I would look closely at the Cambridge Audio 540R. The only negative I've read about this model is that it gets very, very hot during use. If time is not important, wait a few months until Outlaw Audio, an "Internet-only" company, comes out with their new HT receiver. Outlaw has a very good rep as the best "bang for the buck" in audio amplification. As an added bonus, their receiver is reportedly going to have a built in DVI switch... a nice feature for next gen video sources. Later, Kevin