Music Matters
Last week I participated in Music Matters IV, the latest in a series of evening events at <A HREF="http://www.definitive.com/">Definitive Audio</A> in Seattle. It was my first time, so I didn't know what to expect.
LATEST ADDITIONS
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Music to Relax By
Excuse me while I slip into something a little more comfortable.
The Best Tonic
The last outstanding editorial piece of our April 2009 issue is now being magically teleported to our pre-press peeps. JA says that means it's "beer o'clock" for me and "Chardonnay accompanied by Jello Shots o'clock" for Pip.
Lived In Bars
Me, too, Chan. I've lived in bars, too!
Worry Stones
These are my MIMOBOT flash drives. In theory, these cute little guys would go back and forth, delivering InDesign and image files, between me and our graphic designer, Pip. That's how we make the magazine, you see: We pass files back and forth and <i>voila!</i>
Marantz SA-11S2 Reference SACD/CD Player
Unless you've already acquired a large collection of SACDs, buying a player in 2009 necessitates an act of faith similar to the one turntable buyers faced back in 1992. As with the LP back then, the major labels today have all but abandoned the SACD to such niche players as Chesky, Proprius, Harmonia Mundi, Pentatone, Channel Classics, 2L, Telarc, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, Groove Note, and Acoustic Sounds.
Bryston BCD-1 CD player
Bryston's first CD player, the $2695 BCD-1, is a drawer-loading player with a front panel of polished aluminum. The slim disc drawer, engraved with the Bryston logo, sits in the panel's center. To the drawer's left are an infrared sensor and Open/Close button, then a two-line, 16-character alphanumeric display. To the drawer's right are the usual transport controls and a power On/Off button. All of these functions are also accessible via the BCD-1's remote control, as well as two more: Back and Forward. Hold down either and the player moves through the selected track at several times normal speed until the button is released.
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What I've Been Up To
Oh, just making a magazine. That's all.
Recording of February 2009: Cardinology
<B>RYAN ADAMS: <I>Cardinology</I></B><BR>
Lost Highway B0012195-02 (CD, LP, 7" EP). 2008. Tom Schick, prod., eng.; Noah Goldstein, asst. eng. AAD?, AAA. TT: 40:29<BR>
Performance ****<BR>
Sonics ****
Are You a Sharpener or a Leveler?
A psychological theory (footnote 1) that I've always been fond of is the one that proposes the perceptual/personality dimension of Sharpening vs Leveling. As defined by the early Gestalt psychologists, Sharpening is an exaggeration of differences, Leveling a minimization of differences. In visual-perception research on this topic, when test subjects were presented with an asymmetrical figure, some later recalled it in ways that exaggerated the figure's asymmetry (Sharpeners), while others minimized or eliminated it (Levelers).
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