| People need to hear snaps and pops in that shit. |
[Apr. 22nd, 2009|06:12 am] |
| [ | music |
| | F. F. Chopin -- Sonata No. 1 in C minor | ] |
An old, but interesting read she be.
I have a few gripes with the article, despite the writer's considerable experience and knowledge. One is in regard to the age-old and eyeroll-inducing argument of analog vs. digital sound. The writer does make the concession that on the recording side of things, everything else equal, analog is superior. But he sort of glances over that bit to immediately jump on those idiots who require vinyl on playback to satisfy their aural cravings. Here's the thing: anybody who took pre-calculus can tell you why analog is superior to digital. By definition digital audio is a binary representation of a perfect sound wave. Shit is approximate. Shit ain't ree-yall. Granted, the semester immediately afterward, you'll figure out that "approximate" can be real enough. Regardless, I'm one of those who subscribes to the notion that the mind can perceive frequencies that the human ear does not "hear." Terms like "warmth" describe this process. I do agree with the writer in that tubes are bullshit, though. You can simulate that sound well enough with a decent solid-state transistor without the hassle that tubes inevitably bring.
Another gripe I should mention is the immediate dismissal of high-end speaker wire. I'm pretty sure the writer is referencing much more ridiculously-priced wire than what you're going to find in most retail places, but still it's irresponsible. Most consumers will read that and think getting a crap cable is sufficient for powering decently-sized speakers. This is not the case. I had some cheapo 18 gauge, shit-shielded wire powering a large center channel speaker for a long time. After an upgrade, the difference between the thin wire and a better-shielded, 16-gauge jobby was astonishing. Moreover, I didn't have to drive my receiver nearly as hard to get the response I wanted. If you're wondering where you should dump your money for cabling, forget the HDMI or anything digital. Throw it all at your speaker wire.
The last issue with the article I had was his point against the validity of power conditioners. Just to get this out of the way, let's iron out the cons immediately: 1) Paying retail for a power conditioner is fucking retarded. They're all overpriced for what you're getting. 2) Just about everything a power conditioner can do for you can be solved with separate, cheaper components on the electrical end and better, more expensive components on the audio/video end. What they can do is provide an all-in-one solution to just about any sort of interference without having to consider things like ground loops. Moreover, if you're not into having a battery back-up in your home theater, power conditioners are absolute goliaths in surge suppression. Does any of that justify the price? Fuck no, unless you're in recording. That doesn't mean they aren't doing anything, though.
Bear in mind that I sell this kind of snake oil for a living, and if you're my customer, I do -- at least at some level -- hate you. That isn't saying I don't have a conscience, though. Sometime this week I'll take our power sniffer and use it on a mid-line receiver just to show our management why I have an aversion to selling a $500 power conditioner to an ancient audiophile. |
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| God, I love the internet. |
[Apr. 11th, 2009|01:45 am] |
Found this in a forum thread regarding deepest secrets:
"I have a ritual called 'terminator'. I crouch in the shower in the 'naked terminator' pose. With eyes closed I crouch for a minute and visualize either Arnie or the guy from the 2nd movie. I then start to hum the T2 theme. Slowly I rise to a standing position and open my eyes. It helps me get through my day. The only problem is if the shower curtain sticks to my terminator leg. It sorta ruins the fantasy." |
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| Consumer coundrum |
[Mar. 23rd, 2009|01:59 am] |
I'm soon to be in the market for a relatively inexpensive "gaming"/media center desktop. I put gaming in quotes because, although I'm a stalwart defender of the genre in my own domicile, I really couldn't give a shit about a first person shooter that wasn't made 10 years ago. The one exception is possibly -- possibly -- the new AvP game which may or may not be released in my lifetime. This is will essentially be a Blizzard console, with some simple music and video production interests in mind.
Your input is desired! Here are my wants, most are malleable:
- Small footprint. This is more of a need. Aesthetics are a major plus.
- nVidia graphics processing, integrated or non.
- 4gb RAM (DDR2 or 3, couldn't care less)
- Enamored with Apple OS X, but I'd be willing to try Vista 64. Also fine with waiting for Snow Leopard or Windows 7. Your advice is especially appreciated here.
- Willing to run Bootcamp, not willing to assemble a dual-boot Hackintosh. Fuck Linux.
- Intel processor -- Core2duo or Quad, i7 if the price meets qualifications.
- If I go PC, the harddrive must have at least 750gb worth of space
- DirectX 10 is a plus, but is not a must-have.
- System stability is an absolute must.
- I'd like to be able to push 1920x1080 resolution without causing a house fire.
- Blu-ray is a strong want, but I'd be willing to sacrifice it if any of you have had an extremely great experience out of iTunes HD or some other legal HD media download service.
- Every time I price PC components, I cannot allow myself to get anything less than an nVidia 260GTX core 216. Maybe you can talk me out of this. Here, I'll get you started: point 1 -- Small footprint.
- I'm stuck on the future ability to have twin video cards running in SLI, but can't think of a need for that shit at all right now.
- Strong wireless G/N network adapter, internal is a plus.
- Bluetooth, again internal
- As I mentioned before, this will be a Blizzard console. The ability to run Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2 at upper settings is a definite plus. Since no offical requirements have been released yet, I'm up for considering pure conjecture on this point.
- IR functionality.
- Though outside of Apple I don't like the idea of buying a complete system from a manufacturer, all components must be from a single, reputable source (Newegg, Tiger, etc.)
- Absolutely willing to build this system, and the ability to upgrade is a plus if the system can run competently now. Will sacrifice expandability for a Mac in a heartbeat.
- Total system around a grand excluding tax, shipping. Under a grand preferred.
To make things simple, I want a Mac Mini with a Blu-ray drive, and just a smidgen more graphics power. Since that will never happen, maybe I can be swayed one way or the other. Please share your thoughts with me! |
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