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Scrubbed clean
Squeaky clean. Yup, that's how we like our dishes, hands, cars, and floors. Not so much our music. The idea of sterile sound—scrubbed clean—is not something I would look forward...
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Setup and rooms
We all pay at least lip service to the importance of rooms and setup though I suspect in our heart of hearts we believe the components are really the key...
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Dynamic surprise
The first time I listened to a Sheffield Labs direct to disc recording I experienced a dynamic surprise. A kick drum that seemed to come out of nowhere to pound...
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Inspiration
Sometimes circumstances generate inspiration. Such is the case with the work we've been immersed in with Octave Records. For example, working now with microphones and ADCs has made me aware...
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Pros vs. amatuers
If you need surgery you're probably not going to hire an amateur. You're going to want the best, the pro that's successfully operated on thousands. Technically, the difference between a...
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Differing approaches
If two people are trying to get to the same destination but take differing routes, does it matter how they got there? I suppose the answer has to include some...
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Unprecedented control
I've been having a blast learning and working with musicians, producers, and engineers at Octave Records. It's fast paced: quick learning steps leading up the ladder to new understandings of...
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Time for a laugh?
Copper Magazine's cover artist, Bob D'Amico sent me this list of tongue-in-cheek quips that made me laugh. Yes, the pandemic is horrible but maybe we have a moment to poke...
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Joy
I was deeply saddened when the wife of a longtime reader let me know of her husband's passing. With family by his side, his beloved high-end rig playing, he passed...
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We're only human
We like to imagine ourselves as perfect machines—epitomes of perception possessing amazing abilities to grasp complex patterns: analyzing, comparing, and passing judgment that holds water. Perhaps it's a disappointment to...
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Flying blind
The next Octave Record's release is one of my all-time favorites, Jessica Carson and Clandestine Amigo's Temporary Circumstances. We'll post the sample cuts shortly. I bring this to your attention...
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New normal
Everything seems normal, right, until we hear something different. Then it all changes. We don’t notice things until what we have come to accept as right is changed. We don’t...
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The remote control
In 1898 Nikola Tesla remotely controlled a boat by wireless means to the amazement of onlookers at Madison Square Garden. Tesla called his boat a "teleautomaton", one of the first...
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Detachment
How attached are you to your stereo rig? So attached that you take everything on a very personal level? Detached enough to objectively work on improving its performance? I find...
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Death of the movies
The grandkids came last night for pizza, corn on the cob, mushrooms, and shishito peppers out of our wood-fired oven. It was great fun and a good meal—though the evening...
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Skepticism
It is human nature that causes most of us to be a skeptic. After all, no one wants to be fooled or taken down a crooked path. What fascinates me...
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It seems intuitive…
As we delve deeper into making recordings for Octave Records some interesting observations have surfaced. For one thing, achieving a great room sound doesn't always involve perfectly capturing the room...
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Pride
After watching yesterday's video I was reminded of how much pride we can muster when showing off our systems to people that care. And, let's face it, most people that...
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Why HiFi?
When I first watched this wonderful video, Why HiFi, I hesitated to share it with my readers for fear of pushing our products. As you know, I am mostly interested...
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See through sound
Audiophile terminology helps the initiated communicate what they're hearing: a means of describing with words sounds that we hear. One of my favorites is transparency—see through sound. I love this...
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