skonopa

I am running at 24/44 and using PureMusic. The CDs that I have ripped sound way better using PureMusic than being played direct on a high end CD player. I've been hearing a lot of good things about that PureMusic. Since I got a new MacBook Pro earlier this spring, I still have my old one, and it works perfectly fine. I think I may "repurpose" it as a music server and try out this PureMusic. Granted, at $129, it is not exactly "cheap", but not to terribly expensive either. At least they have a 15-day free trial, so I will have to go check it out, perhaps this weekend. Will be interesting to see how it works out and sounds through the asyc USB input on my Pioneer Elite N-50 unit.

It doesn't seem to help that much of what is passed as music on the mainstream these days seems to be geared to whatever actually will sell as a product and will make the most money for the label and maybe even the artist, as opposed to something that I would actually want to sit down to listen and appreciate as an actual artform. Thankfully, there are still plenty of bands/artists in the smaller, independent, underground scene that still seems to treat music as the artform that it actually is.

It's been my real world experience for a while now. My monthly budget for music has been $200 per month and I try to stretch it as far as possible. To me, the music is the most important thing, not the gear. I've not read the article, but if audiophile means listening to the gear, not the music, I don't fit that description. It's all about the music. If the only thing I had was an AM radio, I could be happy for a long time. Without the music, the AM radio is worthless to me! YMMV. Dennie I am in the same boat! I could easily afford to spend $200+ on audio, although I usually don't, but I wonder if it eventually averages out over the course of the year. There may be several months where I won't buy anything, other than using up my $20/month eMusic subscription, as well as the occasional CD. I would then get an itch and buy a bunch of CDs from either Amazon, Laser's Edge, or Nightmare Records to the tune of a couple hundred. But then comes ProgPower in September and the vendor area, where these labels are all there. Not unheard of me dropping a $1,000 or so on CDs and coming back with a stack of over 30+ titles. This often due to finding many albums that I just cannot find otherwise, such as older, rarer, classics, or getting brand-new albums months before they "street". Ultimately, I found that after the fun of aquiring a good audio system is over, it came down to the REAL reason why I wanted a good audio system in the first place. Discovering and listening to music! Over the years, I've probably nearly spent the cost of the system itself just in getting more music. I found that I am more into the music itself than getting into all the tweaking around of equipment. Maybe I also got lucky as well, as I really love how these RF-7s sound with that B&K amp. Admittedly, having a good system certainly does enhance my enjoyment of the music, though. BTW, I did read the article, and it certainly does have some good insight. Turned out that I am pretty much in agreement with the article. It certainly helps to do some research, buy the equipment in the budget you are comfortable with having, and enjoy it. With a bit of proper research, anybody can pretty much find something that will fit thier budgets and taste. Unfortunatly, there are those that will pretty much give-up and take the easy way out by just simply going to the Bose store.

Funny, because I also have an identical MacBook Pro as you described, although in my case, I just recently bought a newer MacBook Pro. Any, being in the same conundrum (although in addition to the MacBook Pro, I have a fileserver that I've setup in a spare bedroom where I host all my digital music files), I've went with option A, in my case a $700 Pioneer Elite N-50 DAC/network streamer. This thing allows me to stream directly from my music server, which is set up as DLNA, in addition to having "AirPlay" from my iTunes library. I did also add the bluetooth adaptor, so I could stream anything from bluetooth enabled devices, such as my android table (I also have an iPad and iPhone). It will also allow me to stream internet radio as well (and I found some really good "channels"). This thing is basically now my "tuner" as well, as I pretty much gave up on regular FM broad-cast radio. What I may have to try is that since I bought my new MacBook Pro, I may have to re-purpose my old one as a music server, get that Pure Music program that is being touted around here and try playing it through the Async USB input on that Pioneer unit and see how it sounds.

What an awesome evening last night! First, the dinner was very nice as usual there at that Black Market Bistro place. The performance itself was done really well. The seat that I was in turned out to be really nice. I was basically in the dead center of the orchestra level, with my seat just above stage level looking slightly down into the orchestra itself. I think I was pretty much sitting in the "sweet spot" as the acoustic was really incredible from my seat. About the music itself, the first piece, Schicksalslied ("Song of Destiny"), was a very beautiful piece. The second piece, Alto Rhapsody, I did not quite enjoy as much as the first piece, but that soprano, Denyce Graves, really did put in a very impressive performance, though. Followed by intermission, which was then in-turn, followed by the "main event" of the evening, which was ab absolutly incredible performance of Brahm's Symphony No. 4 in E Minor! That first movement just had me sitting there in awe! The second movement was a bit more mellow, almost "pastoral" for a lock of a better term. The third and especially the fourth movements both really fascinating to just listen to and take in as well. I really loved how that fourth movement was using variations of a theme. Overall, it really was exellent evening of dinner followed by music. I am already looking forward to the Wagner performances on the 1st of June. I've also went and booked a ticket for the Carmina Burana performance on the 6th. Bummer that is Thursday night, but still. I did manage to get a seat up in the promenade section. The seats directly above the stage were not available (either due to being sold out, or because of the chorus), but I did manage to get a seat in the section immediatly next to those, so will still be a neat view of the orchestra. It was not cheap at $95, but I have always wanted to see an actual performance of Carmina Burana, so I am excited about that. Before I forget, I want to say thanks to Larry for arranging this and putting it together. I think that Planets performance in November will be an excellent candidate for another such gathering. Gary already said he'd love to go to that as that is one of his most favorite of classical performances as well. If nobody else goes, I will most likely still get a ticket anyway and just go myself!

I am SO in on this!!! "Mars - The Bringer of War" is, by far, one of my most favorite orchestral/classical pieces. I just friggan LOVE that and would love to see another performance of this! Another thing that I saw in an e-mail that I just recently gotten is there is apperrently a performance of Carmina Burana on June 8th that I will more than likely also go up and see. I am really looking forward to this upcoming weekend. With a concert tommorow at Empire to see Pain of Salvation and Kingscrow, as well as the Brahms concert on Saturday, I'll be able to scratch two itches. Been a long time since I've got to go see a good heavy metal show as well as a while since I've gotten to see a good symphony performance as well.

Unfortunatly, there is not a single record store in this d[8o|]mn town! When I first moved here 20 years ago, there was no less than FOUR record stores in this town. Three of them in the same mall (Sam Goodys, Musicland, and Camelot), and an 'indy' one downtown (Blue Dog Records). Alas, they all eventually shut down. Heck, even the Best Buy, which used to have ISLES of CDs and records, seperated out in genres, i.e., Rock, Rap, Classical, Country, etc), now barely has a single isle with all the CDs jumbled together. I don't even know where the closest record store is anymore, but I imagine that I'd have to go into D.C. or down to Richmond to find one. There used to be one on D.C. that catered to the heavy metal crowd that I used to go to a lot, but it is also no more... [:'(]

The thing is that Klipsch DOES inform the public of the inherent dangers! I just pulled up the manual for the new Image A5i sport headphones, for example and on the very first page there is a big warning showing the OSHA safe hearing guidlines, complete with a table showing the amount of exposure at the various dB levels, i.e. at 90 dB, limit the amount of exposure to 8 hours maximum per day. Also, I went and pulled up the user's manual for the Apple iPod Nano (just to pick one, something that I commonly see at the gym), they have a WHOLE CHAPTER (granted, it is near the end at chapter 14), that deals with safety and handling, including a large paragraph about the dangers of listening to the music at to loud of levels. Hell, I even went to the Bose site and pulled up the manual for one of thier SIE2 sports headphones, and again, there on the first page was a warning about potential hearing damage from listening to music to loudly. I would imagine that any other of the reputable manufactures of both headphones and the players themselve also have warnings about listening to loudly. I recall seeing the same warning in the manual for my Nintendo 3DS as well and even with regards to using the headphone port on my Wii U "gamepad" device. So just how much more do we need here? Signs plastered all over the buses and subway trains? TV ads? (And I do remember seeing such ads back in the 80s, especially when the new Sony Walkman players were coming out and becoming popular). The point is that there are ALREADY warnings in the manuals. Now, granted, if not already there, they probably should include a warning on the actual product packaging itself (after all, who actually reads the manuals these days?). For example, I found the box my iPod came in and there was no such warning there, although there is one in the manual itself, but alas, I don't have the original packaging my Klipsch headphones came so, I don't recall if there was any warnings printed there either. They could plaster all the warnings they want and there are still going to be a few dunderheads out there that is going to crank it up. So do we punish an entire industry by putting some ridiculous mandated limits in the products because of a few idiots, that despite all the warnings saying otherwise, will still go and blast thier ears out?

I have to agree with this. I found I much prefer a GOOD pair or earbuds or "in-ear monitors". For example, numerous times at the airport or on the plane (and for that matter, even at the gym), I see people using the stock white "iBuds" that comes with the iPhone/iPod, and they have the volume cranked all the way up on thier device to compensate for the noise, where as I am using even a relatively humble pair of Klipsch S3s and I only need to turn it up about halfway to get good sound. Of course, on the plane, I much prefer to use my Klipsch Custom-3s, which are still going strong after all these years. I am also in the camp of vehemently disagreeing/opposing any kind of law or legislation of forcing people/device makers/earphone makers of putting large limitations on the SPL. I do agree that the device makers should add that as a OPTION that can be turned on under the "parental controls" settings. In addition, there are special SPL-limited earphones available that are marketed towards children. For me, being a full-grown adult, I am fully well aware of what high SPLs can do, so that is why I am careful with my own volume controls, but still want to be able to use high-sensitivity equipment, so I can maximum sound quality out of my gear. Along the same lines, should car manufactuters be required to speed-limit thier vehicles to say, 85 mph, or only offer vehicles with a maximum HP of say 200? I am all for them being able to implement the OPTION of speed limiting vehicles, say before letting the teen driver use it, but don't make it a REQUIREMENT. As for all the ranting about MP3s that I've seen on here. Granted, I am not a format snob and actually found that with the right equipment, the MP3s can actually sound pretty good. Granted, it is no "tubes-n-vinyl", but for relatively space-limited protable gear, it sure is a hell of a lot more convenient. I would rather have my 320kps MP3s tunes on an iPod than go completely without. Given my preferences, I would rather go with lossless or the actual CD on my main rig, but in the car or at the gym, could anybody really tell the difference if given a lossless or 320 kbps MP3 in such circumstances? If anything needs to be SPL-limited, it those jackasses running around thumping thier rap crap at loud levels through my neighborhood! For those, to bad I could not simply apply a little RPG-7 or AT-4 type of noise abatement measures. [6]

My truck is my primary vehicle, but I also wanted a good, front-wheel drive sedan with good tires and space my skis and luggage for when I need to travel anywhere, such as up to the ski area where I ski patrol (which is pretty much done after this next weekend, despite the 22 inches of snow that fell up there in the mountains just this past Wednesday. In that regard, it is kinda like a 'toy'. A actual toy would be if I got something like that Saturn SKY that I nearly bought off some guy. I was out in the driveway playing with the thing trying to figure out how to work the numerous controls and features. This thing has the full navigation system and that 'SYNC' thing. Also, it has the premium Sony sound system, which actually sounds quite good. I was searching the net for some info the car as well as I found the manual that comes with the third-party Eclipse headunit that is in my truck. I was trying to figure out how to get that stupid thing out of "Demo" mode all winter as well as how to set the clock (although it at least still plays my music like it supposed to).

Here is my new toy. My trusty ol' 2005 Saturn ION finally gaveth up the ghost last sunday on the way back from the ski area. So I found this nice little beauty at the local CarMax just the other night. A 2011 Ford Fusion SEL, and this thing comes LOADED!

THE RAVENS TAKE THE SUPERBOWL!!!!!!!!!! Holy crap, that was quite the game. Even with the Ravens taking a safety just to run the time off the clock!

Wonder if this power outage/delay have changed the momentum of the game. The 49-ers scoring two TDs within two minutes! Now, this is getting interesting....

That was what I was wondering! It looked light the lights just went out and there was no commentary from the press booth! Really weird!

Uh-oh - not looking good for the 'Niners at the half. We'll see how this second half, but I honostly think Baltimore is going to take this (as I figure they would even before the game started).

Having served myself, I can only say "Amen" to this as well. I've fortunatly never had to take fire or return fire as well. At the same time, I was truly blessed to have got to spend time with both my parents and my younger brother and his family for this Christmas. Thank you and hoping you have/had a wonder Christmas yourself.

Also want to wish every one a very Merry Christmas. As for something that will make me feel good, you should see this beautiful hand-made quilt that my own mother made, that she has given me for Christmas. Also, just having to come up here in PA to visit and spend time with my younger brother and family is more than worth any gifts that I may get. I had a absolutely wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas with them, as well as having to get to spend Sunday on the way up here with my Parents. Again, I wish each and everyone of you on here a very Merry Christmas. [G]

I know exactly which performance you are speaking about here as I was with you that day. That worked out very well. They used just enough amplification to bring the guitar out better so it would not get drowned out by the much more powerful orchestra. That really was a very nice performance - I sure was impressed. As far as rock performances go, I've sat through some pretty dreadful ones myself. However, I will admit that of the recent perfomances that I've seen, this last ProgPower USA just this past September sounded INCREDIBLE. In addition, the TSO show that I just saw right after Thanksgiving this past month was also very well done (and I did not even need earplugs for that one!). And speaking of earplugs, I will not use anything less than Etymotic Ety-Plug ER-20s. They do work as advertised. Takes the harshe edge off of very loud, over-amplified performances and actually make them quite listenable, not to mention the basic fact of simply protecting my hearing. I can still very clearly hear the vocals and the instruments. One time I forgot mine at a show and had to bum a pair of the cheapy foam ones off a friend. I could immediatly tell as those foam ones just sucked. Yeah, it protected my hearing, but pretty much killed any hint of fidelity I may have gotten out of the sound.

Thank both of you and 'jhoak' for very reasonable responses. You both are indeed correct and fully agree that it may very well lie in dealing with the mental health and better support and care needs to be made, instead of just "locking them up in institutions" and labelling them as "retards". As was pointed out, this horrible tragedy could've easily been done via a truck loaded with fertilizer (Oklahoma City anyone?), but just so happens that firearms were more convenient. Look at past history. The Columbine was due to kids with mental issues (but blamed on violent games and easy access to guns). Virigina Tech was the same thing. Aurora, CO as well. Hell, just a day prior to this happening, there was that shooting at a mall in Oregon in which three totally innocent bystanders that was doing nothing more than going Christmas shopping where gunned down. Anyway, I am afraid that this is all just going to devolve into another big political finger-pointing circus or another pointless "gun control" debate, in which nothing is actually done to figure out just what the REAL root cause of something like this. LIke you said, dialogue of substance needs to be engaged and hopefully some reasonable solution can be found that does not just simply result in more government beuracracy or more pointless, unenforcable laws end up getting passed, but in the end, does nothing to really prevent a future tragedy like this. It is a shame that it took the loss of 20 children and 7 adults that were doing nothing more than going to school to really start waking people up here.

I've never put my credit card on the PS network. Good thing I never did. I still kept my PS/3 as I do use it and still enjoy it. And yes, I also have arcade cabinet with a boat-load of "MAME ROMs" on it.

No it doesn't. Better? Yes, but not "blows it away" better. Not from my experience. I guess we can agree to disagree on that point.

Oh! If Bud Kennedy says it,,,then it must be right....No more discussion needed. People are going to politicize this. Another pointless "gun control" debate is going to erupt out of this. And in the end, what does it accomplish? More than likely ABSOLUTLY NOTHING!!!! In a few months, this will end up being another sad footnote in history. All that still not change the fact that we have SCHOOL CHILDREN that were doing nothing more than going to school and trying to get an education, who have been robbed of thier short lives. No more Christmases, no more Birthdays, no high-school sweet hearts, no proms, no college, no marriage, no children of thier own and so forth. We have parents who have been robbed of thier children at such a young age. We have children that are probably now scarred for the rest of thier lives from this. We have children who have been robbed of thier teachers. We have families who have been robbed of thier love one. We have a rural community that has been devestated by all this... And we have somebody on here bitching about somebody that might say "Oh guns don't kill, people kill"??!!?? Seriously, cry me a friggan river here! I personally don't give two $#!+s nor a d[6]mn about all these stupid politics and gun control [bs]. The only thing I care is that I hope as hell that these people can get through this and that perhaps SOMETHING can be done so that those kids deaths are not in vain. Also I do care that hopefully some sense can be made of this and perhaps REASONABLE measures can be put in place to prevent any more tragedies like this from happening again. Unfortunatly, this will more than likely result in even more draconian gun control laws as well as schools being locked down so tight that they might as well be prisons. Also lets not forget that a day before this happened, there was shooting at a mall in Oregon where three innocent bystanders where needlessly killed as well. May God bless and my prayers are definitly to those people there in Newtown/Sandy Hook in Connecticut.

I have a PS/3, but I do game. I have one of the "fat" models, the one with the four ports on front that is also SACD capable. In fact, that is primarily what I use it for is for playing games. However, it also serves as my primary Blu-Ray player as well, since I don't watch very many BDs. With that said, I did just recently pick up the complete Star Gate Atlantis series on Blue-Ray, as well as the Lord of the Rings Extended edition. Also picked up Dr. Who seriese 5 and 6 on Blue-Ray as well, so looks like I got some Blue-Ray watching to catch up on. I also have a Toshiba HD-DVD player in my rig as well, with a small collection of HD-DVDs that I still watch. At the very least, it makes for a really good upcoverting DVD player. With that said, if you don't plan on gaming or use the media server capabilites of the PS/3, you may be better served with a decent stand-alone Blue-Ray player. Now, as nice as the Oppo players are, I would not go so far as to say that it "blows away" the PS/3. Yeah, for something that costs that much, I would hope I would get better performance than a stock PS/3 unit, but I don't see it "blowing it away" as some seem to enthusiastically claim, though. But, still, if I am looking to get a stand-alone player, the Oppo units are on my short list, but for now the PS/3 serves me very nicely for my occasional Blue-Ray playback needs.

Yes, I have an iPad as well. I use it to control my Pioneer Elite N-50 network streamer, which also serves as an outboard DAC and a DLNA renderer as well as being able to stream things via AirPlay. I also got the Bluetooth dongle for it as well, so it also has Bluetooth capabilities. It also works perfectly with my ASUS Transformer Prime Android tablet. It works quite nicely plus that Pioneer Elite unit really does sound excellent.

Ahh yes, an end of an era...... After all these years, I am still rocking with my trusty ol' 55-inch Mitsubishi Diamond Series WS-55813 CRT rear projection TV! Yeah, it may not have as sharp of a picture as these fancy new LCD/Plasma displays, but that thing still produces an incredible picture and still works plenty good enough for me. Yeah, I'll eventually replace it with something newer, but for now, I am quite happy with it and don't see any need to replace it anytime soon. I'll probably hang onto the thing until it ends up dying, then I'll get something newer to replace it.