I was Vice President of a HiFi chain called Tweeter Etc. We had the first CD players in America. We had Sony, I believe Model 701, players but there were no CDs here in the USA. Couldn't sell CD players if there are no CDs. We sent another VP to London with $25,000 in cash to buy CDs and bring them back to the USA for us to sell.......The 80s were fantastic times to be in the HiFi business!
I came to Boston in 1985 with a Philips CD player & 10 CDs. The only place to buy CDs was Borders on Washington St, Boston. I treated myself to 20 classical CDs that first Xmas!!
When I was growing up, I had 8-tracks, cassette tapes, and then bought my first CD in 1988 at a store called Alco. It was a Windham Hill CD. Although I still used cassette tapes to record Portraits In Sound off a local radio station, the sound of the CD was better than anything else I had ever heard. My first CD player was a Sony portable, although I bought a full size the next year. When high speed internet became more mainstream and digital audio MP3 files, and then later UA-cam, over the years I didn't even buy physical media anymore. The point is, digital surpasses analog and has many positives over anything else, even on paper. Thanks for the video gentleman! I love watching your channel Steve!
I love the way Japan interacts with this history. I'm absolutely transfixed with the way US and Japan cultures interoperate during these times just because of my age. (80s)
"... Last night I saw Lester Maddox on a TV show..." Man, your description of hearing Randy Newman RIGHT THERE in front of you while listening to "Good Ol' Boys" hit home with me. That record is so unremittingly brilliant that I sometimes almost forget just how well-recorded it is... because what I hear is the music, with all its nuances and textures. It's one of those records that creates a whole world. Thanks for the reminder. I'm putting it on the turntable now...
Glad to see more herb! Hope to see a lot more! It's great to hear his perspective. He has a good way of breaking down and talking about audio, gear, diy and life in general. He is able to relate to so many about this crazy nitch hobby in a way few can. And has a sense of humor and humility also. Tells it like it is. Thank you herb and Steve!
Always a pleasure to see Herb on the show with you, Steve. I love listening to you guys chat about audio, or anything for that matter. I’ve gone through the Herb playlist numerous times. Thanks guys!
Man, I really love Herb. Its wonderful to see the love and friendship between you two. Listening to experienced, wise audio heads exploring the occult cross-roads where technical and spiritual intersect is a true pleasure and enlightening. I really appreciate the "think piece" philosophical stuff, regarding the powers of sound and what lies at the heart of an audiophile. I think we (I) sometimes get too caught up in dreaming about products that we forget the simple joy of listening, hearing and feeling. Thanks for all that you fellows do, it brings us joy. -cK1
Great to see you & Herb together for another video. The Audiophile "Dynamic Duo, aka The "Hi-Fidelity-Super-Heroes" - maybe you should approach Marvel Comics...!! Thanks, Steve. Special edition, indeed.
Bought my ZU Omens on the weight of a review from Steve. Bought my Schiit Aegir after reading Herb’s review. These weren’t knee jerk purchases. I had done my research on comparable gear but these two characters sealed the deal for me. The pairing is magic to my ears. Thanks for all the insight you guys provide!
The two of you have the combined knowledge of music and equipment to answer any questions anyone could ask. What a great team you are! Thank you for collaborating.
Many thanks to Herb and Steve for answering one of my questions! You are the best duo on UA-cam! Just can’t wait for the livestream. Keep up the awesome work!
Herb : "I use nos tubes..."....................I only use nos tubes ! DIY ..................yes , it made me help to grow up with the audio journey , long ago it started with modifying ...........today it makes my day ! Going back to listen to analog after listening to HI-end digital..............who didn't have the ever repeatable shock hahaha...
Music = Analog LP, Digital CD, Streaming - maybe not equal but all are enjoyable and the differences can be minimal.....even UA-cam which I always use before buying an LP or CD which I prefer as a happy Audiophile. Herb and Steve commentary of the old and new is #1.
Always enjoy hanging with Herb. I believe DIY is the answer if you are up to the effort to learn and do. High end audio is very simple. Well designed simple circuits with great parts equals the best that boutique Japanese craftsmen can create. Digital can also be straight forward. I think the toughest part is great speakers. Everything else can be built for 10 cents on the dollar. With speakers, probably best with great flat pack kits or second hand great products.
@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac Well I would say to Steve that comparing Audio systems like mine (don't know about his) but there is a problem because they sound best when the speaker voice coils have warmed up and if you switch one pair off to listen to the other, you know the coils cool down and every time you start listening again, you have to warm the coils back up and it takes a while for them to sound best.
I really like the presentation. Listening to a conversation regarding audio is really interesting!!! Other UA-cam channels do conversational type reviews and it's so cool to hear perspectives from multiple views.
Good tubes and quality parts are 80 % of it. So true. I replaced the basic Wima capacitors in my Schiit Freya with the V-Cap ODAM capacitors. Totally transformed the sound! Upgrading to high quality parts that manufacturers would never consider using combines DIY and consumer electronics and yields amazing results.
Great video, Steve! You and Herb are such a good complement to each other with these videos. Every time, I completely enjoy the content you to create together.
Speaking of DIY, now that I’m retired, it’s time I’ve begun to build more of my own speakers and tube amps. Just did a pair of Fostex FE-206 Sigma, and two kit amps from Chinese parts. One of the amps is a single ended triode running FU-50 tubes and a pair of One Electron UBT-3 output irons. Man! This amp is so good with my JBL 4320. Satisfying indeed!
1-An older and a newer way to hear THE same music; heavenly if you listen good , without picking a side...?. Agree!. D'accord! 2-But my dear philiacs, Fidelity on HI techinical geeks and otherwise like yourselves, no offense meant though, having those same ''technical difficulties'' makes me a little UNeasy, that not ever abandon you though, for my heart is all tuned in to your sound. 3- Love your T shirts for sale , specially for they are printed in these still great USA...With those colors they are for sure keepers, whether to be worn in Madrid, New York , Miami or Jerusalem. Amen . Let it be so. 4-Great video this was. Happy that you are back. 5-...Shema!!!.
Fantastic episode!!! I was born in 1970, so I've come full circle and back to Analog stereo with my Turntable and 33 1/3 LP Records. CD'S in my truck and a occasional old zune mp3 play list . None in my house.
Great conversation. I agree with Herb in that I replaced the cheap capacitors and resistors in my Schiit Freya + tube stage and found that it was well worth the $700 and the adventure. Running NOS Tubes, too.The adventure was the best part…it made me a much more appreciative audiophile!!! 👍🏼😀
There was an ad on AudioMart this past Saturday with a two month old Lline Magnetic 845 Premium amplifier being sold at what I consider a very good price. The damn thing weighs close to 260 pounds and it's designed with two separate chassis in a very ingenious way. The seller is a really cool guy and he sent a video of this amplifier driving Maggie 20.7's beautifully. This is an incredible amplifier top of the line for Line Magnetic. Hope someone buys it right away.
I really enjoyed this conversation! Thank you both. DACs have gotten *much* better - at least in the lower price range. I had an Enlightened Audio Designs CD player - a Rotel CD player with the EAD DAC section added in. But a plastic part of the spinning part of the player wore out - and I had to chuck it. Now I have a Geshelli Labs J2 AKM DAC that runs circles around the EAD - and I can use the J2 for streaming. My current speakers, that I designed and built - they are mass loaded transmission lines I named MLTL-6 - are in that subtle shading/dynamics/timbre zone. They play essentially flat to 32Hz in my room, and they acoustically disappear better than anything I have heard in my 45+ years of listening.
Sony Playstation1 SCPH-5501 as a CD player made me realize that the potential of digital audio was unrealized. Lasers and discs imo is the summit of formats however the translation technology was never fully realized. The phono cartridge is a mechanical device that translates the record groove topography into a voltage signal. Why was this tried and trued mechanical electrical signal method of translation not incorporated into CD players? The phono cartridge is its own power supply and as Herb points out the electrical transformers are the heart of the magic. Just saying the audio signal within a CD player could be designed with a mechanical to electrical signal output idk if that makes any sense. Audio is fundamentally a mechanical to electrical phenomenon, your ear drum mechanically creates an electrical nerve signal, so a mechanical origin sounds true. The absence of motion causing the loss of a emotional nuance factor that can’t be measured electrically in digital playback device? P.S. nice air guitar you got there Herb ❤
Steve said something that sets him apart from other reviewers. He comments (was another vid) that he looks for the character of a speaker that picks him up, makes fun, has something special. I appreciate that, it’s not graphs 📈 and diagrams or price, or optics or technology. This is of course very subjective, BUT the way he characterizes and explains the virtues of those products and I believe him I can understand what he is explaining plus the addictive enthusiasm! I must say like probably most of us we can’t hear so many comparisons. Great!
Wow, six years! Congratulations Steve! I’ve learned much from your channel. After decades of no changes in equipment, as I’ve been watching I’ve made very modest changes to my system which now includes a Fluance RT85N, a set of KEF Q150s, and a pleasant Yamaha A-S301 amp. I’m torn between a good CD deck or a streamer.
@@bobadkins7377 I love the WiiM. It's a WiiM Pro. Frankly, the WiiM makes me question the wisdom of buying CDs. It's streaming @ 24 bits when listening to a HiRes file via Amazon Music. Prior to getting the WiiM, I compared CD vs. standard definition files via Amazon. No question. CD was better. I cannot say that about the WiiM + HiRes. Currently, my signal chain is source -> Aiyima T10 preamp -> Carver m-0.5t power amp -> Vandersteen Model 2Ce Signature series speakers. The Aiyima/Carver combo is my backup. I have a Pioneer SX-1250 in the shop. I am looking forward to doing another comparison once I have the Pioneer back. Honestly, given that CDs were designed to exceed the limitations of human hearing, I would be surprised if CD vs WiiM makes me think one of those sources is better than the other. I am also approaching 60. I do have tinnitus. At my age I am also sure that I have some degree of frequency loss in my hearing, so YMMV.
I totally agree with Herb. For me, it seems that PRAT brings me closer to something that seems real. I'm vain/ hopeful enough that I would know that if I heard it.
I still have and use a CAL and a Meridian CD player. I remember in the mid to late 80s going to HiFi stores and there was hardly a turntable or phon preamp in sight
I remember Herb and his philosophy on stereo from Joe Roberts’ Sound Practices and has really hasn’t changed that much IMHO but has matured and gotten deeper in his thinking
Just got to the California Audio Labs section and haven't heard that in a while. The best system that I have heard to date was California Audio Labs Cd player to Conrad Johnson tube Pre and Amplifiers to Martin Logan Monolith XXXX in a large room listening to Jennifer Warren/Cohen CD. Ghost-like images floating in space.
Steve and Herb talking…soothing to listen to these audiophile legends 👍🏽👍🏽. Steve, I just found my original Meadowlark Audio speaker shipping boxes, with the label still on them, they were shipped to Sound By singer around 1994-1995’
I was an early adopter of CDs and bought a Sony CDP-101 to supplement my Sony PSX-600 turntable. Ironically I traded the CD player for a Linn LP-12 about a year later although sadly I had to let go of my audio system a few years later when I moved. Nowadays I listen to pretty much every medium but my serious listening consists mainly of digital rips of vinyl as well as my small vinyl collection. I stream mostly to find new music & artists and for more casual listening.
CAL LABS,….just sold mine a few months ago and miss it dearly even though I’m streaming these days. Owned it since 1991 and never failed! Don’t get me started on the Audio Alchemy early dacs!!!
To understand how to make a CDP work well, review the old Lampizator blogs. I started there and realized you could vastly improve any CDP by leaning up it's power supplies and replace the op amp output with triodes. From there I continued to improve digital with over the top power supplies, SOTA clocks and triode output with extremely good power and copper output caps. The power supplies need big transformers, good heavy chokes. The sound will be natural and engaging like analogue but have detail and dynamics that only digital can deliver.
Great session. I bought my first CD player Sony) for about $550; saw a presentation where the reviewer Frisbees a CD across the room, retrieved it and put it in the player, to demonstrate the indestructible new medium. Thinking about it now, I’d probably be more impressed by him scratching a key across the disc instead.
I regularly tell first time listeners to my system that I will have Willie Nelsen standing in front of them singing to them personally shortly. Close their eyes and listen for facial features! Red headed Stranger! Even if not a Country or Willie fan it does it! I have people that still talk about it years after. That no other system has ever done it since for them! Analog into Maggies!
A great conversation. I think Herb and Steve are right in that if I can place myself right next to the musician in my hearing experience, then I know that the gear and the recording engineer are on the same page. Does it sound like real, flesh and blood musicians in a real space and does my gear do that for me? Does my gear bring me as close as possible. This is why I think I am drawn to headphone listening not that I am 76 and I understand my hearing loss and try to work around it.
Did all the early digital ... including California Audio Labs. I stopped at Oppo. It's worth noting that material on CD was hard to get early on. Big classic successful releases came out little by little ... but it was tough early on.
I subscribed to a video 'zine called The Perfect Vision in the '80's. I recall reading Harry Pearson's movie reviews & seeing lines like "The harsh digital sound made me want to run screaming from the theatre!"
I have a question, price point not withstanding, which amplifier would be better for listening to 1940s Calypso music,A constellation Argo integrated amp or an NAD C316 BEE?
Hi All, inspired by the talk I went to the Lisson Gallery in London and sitting in the exhibition at this time listening to the system. The room is full of people that are glued to their seats. Everyone is fascinated. I wish I could post pics or a video. But the show is curious to say the least, a guy plays one record after the other, but the sound, oh my god, it’s such a let down, it sounds like filtered marmalade, the bass is thick, far too much bass, just simply booming, no spark, just a flat sauce. Honestly I am shocked. I understand that it is meant to be old school vintage, but a well fed Altec is 100 times clearer, more defined. People love it, but to me it is unclear why we have to bath in mediocracy and proclaim art. Good it’s boomy, I start to feel seasick, this huge middle woofer looks fantastic but it’s soft and wobbly like a 60 year old air mattress, it just has nothing more than mega deep booming. Now a jazzy LP plays (no program) and the drum set sounds like behind thick velvety theatre curtain, this can just not be it. Sort of sad, or I have to admit not being able to appreciate fogged and saucy sound reproduction. Check out the show and please post your reflections.
Hi Steve, I have a great idea for your next Q&A.. Have it with Micheal Fremer..Vinyl Versus streaming pro, cons..Diminishing returns ect..What do you really have to spend on TT, Cartridge ect to reach the pinnacle of sound perfection?
Herb’s thoughts on audio are so deep, and spiritual. It’s very refreshing to hear.
Genuflect when you say that. 🙏
Reggae, Funk & Brass 🔈🔉🔊
Also where do you both go for pizza in Brooklyn thanks!!
Herb is the interesting Uncle that comes over for Thanksgiving that everyone wants to listen and speak with.
Audio System of the Day ... a crummy Sugden A21. How about that?
Spiritual
I was Vice President of a HiFi chain called Tweeter Etc. We had the first CD players in America. We had Sony, I believe Model 701, players but there were no CDs here in the USA. Couldn't sell CD players if there are no CDs. We sent another VP to London with $25,000 in cash to buy CDs and bring them back to the USA for us to sell.......The 80s were fantastic times to be in the HiFi business!
I loved that store.
Thank You! It was a great run!@@jerrypowers7671
I used to frequent Tweeter in Framingham, MA just down Rte 9 from Natural Sound, which is still there!
I came to Boston in 1985 with a Philips CD player & 10 CDs. The only place to buy CDs was Borders on Washington St, Boston. I treated myself to 20 classical CDs that first Xmas!!
My wife and I love your channel and the collaboration with Herb is the icing on the cake. More please.
When I was growing up, I had 8-tracks, cassette tapes, and then bought my first CD in 1988 at a store called Alco. It was a Windham Hill CD. Although I still used cassette tapes to record Portraits In Sound off a local radio station, the sound of the CD was better than anything else I had ever heard. My first CD player was a Sony portable, although I bought a full size the next year. When high speed internet became more mainstream and digital audio MP3 files, and then later UA-cam, over the years I didn't even buy physical media anymore. The point is, digital surpasses analog and has many positives over anything else, even on paper. Thanks for the video gentleman! I love watching your channel Steve!
TWO LEGENDS. Something magical when you two come together.
I love the way Japan interacts with this history. I'm absolutely transfixed with the way US and Japan cultures interoperate during these times just because of my age. (80s)
"... Last night I saw Lester Maddox on a TV show..." Man, your description of hearing Randy Newman RIGHT THERE in front of you while listening to "Good Ol' Boys" hit home with me. That record is so unremittingly brilliant that I sometimes almost forget just how well-recorded it is... because what I hear is the music, with all its nuances and textures. It's one of those records that creates a whole world. Thanks for the reminder. I'm putting it on the turntable now...
All your videos with Herb are great. Very thoughtful, interesting and entertaining. Thanks for sharing this Steve.
Glad to see more herb! Hope to see a lot more! It's great to hear his perspective. He has a good way of breaking down and talking about audio, gear, diy and life in general. He is able to relate to so many about this crazy nitch hobby in a way few can. And has a sense of humor and humility also. Tells it like it is. Thank you herb and Steve!
It's like Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Steve needs a sidekick and you know...
This is the best audiophile you tube channel bar none. Steve and Herb, I love you both. Thank you for this amazing content.
Thanks for the kind words!
As always such a pleasure to listen in and be part of the conversation
Always a pleasure to see Herb on the show with you, Steve. I love listening to you guys chat about audio, or anything for that matter. I’ve gone through the Herb playlist numerous times. Thanks guys!
Man, I really love Herb. Its wonderful to see the love and friendship between you two. Listening to experienced, wise audio heads exploring the occult cross-roads where technical and spiritual intersect is a true pleasure and enlightening. I really appreciate the "think piece" philosophical stuff, regarding the powers of sound and what lies at the heart of an audiophile. I think we (I) sometimes get too caught up in dreaming about products that we forget the simple joy of listening, hearing and feeling. Thanks for all that you fellows do, it brings us joy. -cK1
Great to see you & Herb together for another video. The Audiophile "Dynamic Duo, aka The "Hi-Fidelity-Super-Heroes" - maybe you should approach Marvel Comics...!! Thanks, Steve. Special edition, indeed.
I recall it was Steve and Herb’s review ( Nov 2014 and March 2015) of Pioneer PLX 1000 that made me finally decide to buy my first Record player.
Bought my ZU Omens on the weight of a review from Steve. Bought my Schiit Aegir after reading Herb’s review. These weren’t knee jerk purchases. I had done my research on comparable gear but these two characters sealed the deal for me. The pairing is magic to my ears. Thanks for all the insight you guys provide!
Well you appear to prefer the sound of a good bargain. Not everybody like bargains. Don't forget about SONY.
Here’s Herrrrrrrrb! ❤😂❤ And, our host with the most, the one, the only, Steeeeve Guttenberg! 🎉🎉🎉
The two of you have the combined knowledge of music and equipment to answer any questions anyone could ask. What a great team you are! Thank you for collaborating.
Many thanks to Herb and Steve for answering one of my questions! You are the best duo on UA-cam! Just can’t wait for the livestream. Keep up the awesome work!
I so enjoy listening to folks who have always been involved with hifi. Thanks for this channel.
Herb : "I use nos tubes..."....................I only use nos tubes !
DIY ..................yes , it made me help to grow up with the audio journey , long ago it started with modifying ...........today it makes my day !
Going back to listen to analog after listening to HI-end digital..............who didn't have the ever repeatable shock hahaha...
Music = Analog LP, Digital CD, Streaming - maybe not equal but all are enjoyable and the differences can be minimal.....even UA-cam which I always use before buying an LP or CD which I prefer as a happy Audiophile. Herb and Steve commentary of the old and new is #1.
Always enjoy hanging with Herb.
I believe DIY is the answer if you are up to the effort to learn and do.
High end audio is very simple. Well designed simple circuits with great parts equals the best that boutique Japanese craftsmen can create. Digital can also be straight forward.
I think the toughest part is great speakers. Everything else can be built for 10 cents on the dollar. With speakers, probably best with great flat pack kits or second hand great products.
I LOVE this episode! I was glued to every word. Thank you!
Herb is my favorite reviewer! Enjoy reading his writings in stereophile and elsewhere. He seems like a kind human being.
He is!
@@SteveGuttenbergAudiophiliac Well I would say to Steve that comparing Audio systems like mine (don't know about his) but there is a problem because they sound best when the speaker voice coils have warmed up and if you switch one pair off to listen to the other, you know the coils cool down and every time you start listening again, you have to warm the coils back up and it takes a while for them to sound best.
Love these discussions. The way Herb makes Steve laugh is just the best.
Thank gentlemen, it’s always a joy to hear your thoughts and opinions.
Thanks for the playlist tip!
I really like the presentation. Listening to a conversation regarding audio is really interesting!!! Other UA-cam channels do conversational type reviews and it's so cool to hear perspectives from multiple views.
The “Audiophiliac Duo” is terrific. Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to the live stream. “...at least while I’m still awake”. 😎. Cheers!
Good tubes and quality parts are 80 % of it. So true. I replaced the basic Wima capacitors in my Schiit Freya with the V-Cap ODAM capacitors. Totally transformed the sound! Upgrading to high quality parts that manufacturers would never consider using combines DIY and consumer electronics and yields amazing results.
Great video, Steve! You and Herb are such a good complement to each other with these videos. Every time, I completely enjoy the content you to create together.
Always my favorite episodes with you and Herb!! Love it! Thank you!
Speaking of DIY, now that I’m retired, it’s time I’ve begun to build more of my own speakers and tube amps. Just did a pair of Fostex FE-206 Sigma, and two kit amps from Chinese parts. One of the amps is a single ended triode running FU-50 tubes and a pair of One Electron UBT-3 output irons. Man! This amp is so good with my JBL 4320. Satisfying indeed!
Another great video! Always a pleasure to see you do videos with Herb or any of your guests.
1-An older and a newer way to hear THE same music; heavenly if you listen good , without picking a side...?. Agree!. D'accord!
2-But my dear philiacs, Fidelity on HI techinical geeks and otherwise like yourselves, no offense meant though, having those same ''technical difficulties'' makes me a little UNeasy, that not ever abandon you though, for my heart is all tuned in to your sound.
3- Love your T shirts for sale , specially for they are printed in these still great USA...With those colors they are for sure keepers, whether to be worn in Madrid, New York , Miami or Jerusalem. Amen . Let it be so.
4-Great video this was. Happy that you are back.
5-...Shema!!!.
Love these! Steve and Herb conversations just have regular videos. I dare to say: you take on the best from each other :)
Excellent chat. The mood set was wonderful, relaxed. Just needed the fireplace crackling in the background. Hi Herb!
The only show better than Steve himself, is Steve & Herb. Such good people!!!
These videos with the two of you together are the best! Looking forward to more, and the live broadcast on August 14
Always glad to here your comments I use electro voice large horn theater speakers and get that live sound and love it !!
Fantastic episode!!! I was born in 1970, so I've come full circle and back to Analog stereo with my Turntable and 33 1/3 LP Records. CD'S in my truck and a occasional old zune mp3 play list . None in my house.
What a fantastic show Gentlemen.
Great show Steve! - Thanks! - Cheers!
Great conversation. I agree with Herb in that I replaced the cheap capacitors and resistors in my Schiit Freya + tube stage and found that it was well worth the $700 and the adventure. Running NOS Tubes, too.The adventure was the best part…it made me a much more appreciative audiophile!!! 👍🏼😀
There was an ad on AudioMart this past Saturday with a two month old Lline Magnetic 845 Premium amplifier being sold at what I consider a very good price. The damn thing weighs close to 260 pounds and it's designed with two separate chassis in a very ingenious way. The seller is a really cool guy and he sent a video of this amplifier driving Maggie 20.7's beautifully. This is an incredible amplifier top of the line for Line Magnetic. Hope someone buys it right away.
I’d love to hear the history and background of how Herb designed symmetrical 300b, comparisons and what he would change now.
Great discussion, excellent questions from two brilliant, knowledgeable and spirited legends of audio.
Beautiful stuff guys!👏👏👏
Both great guys! Thanks for sharing thoughts on audio!
thank you for sharing your perspectives
I really enjoyed this conversation! Thank you both.
DACs have gotten *much* better - at least in the lower price range. I had an Enlightened Audio Designs CD player - a Rotel CD player with the EAD DAC section added in. But a plastic part of the spinning part of the player wore out - and I had to chuck it.
Now I have a Geshelli Labs J2 AKM DAC that runs circles around the EAD - and I can use the J2 for streaming.
My current speakers, that I designed and built - they are mass loaded transmission lines I named MLTL-6 - are in that subtle shading/dynamics/timbre zone. They play essentially flat to 32Hz in my room, and they acoustically disappear better than anything I have heard in my 45+ years of listening.
Great stuff, guys! Thank you.
Sony Playstation1 SCPH-5501 as a CD player made me realize that the potential of digital audio was unrealized. Lasers and discs imo is the summit of formats however the translation technology was never fully realized. The phono cartridge is a mechanical device that translates the record groove topography into a voltage signal. Why was this tried and trued mechanical electrical signal method of translation not incorporated into CD players? The phono cartridge is its own power supply and as Herb points out the electrical transformers are the heart of the magic. Just saying the audio signal within a CD player could be designed with a mechanical to electrical signal output idk if that makes any sense. Audio is fundamentally a mechanical to electrical phenomenon, your ear drum mechanically creates an electrical nerve signal, so a mechanical origin sounds true. The absence of motion causing the loss of a emotional nuance factor that can’t be measured electrically in digital playback device? P.S. nice air guitar you got there Herb ❤
You guys are great !!! I’ve been reading your reviews for a long time, keep it going !!!
Loved this episode!
Steve said something that sets him apart from other reviewers. He comments (was another vid) that he looks for the character of a speaker that picks him up, makes fun, has something special. I appreciate that, it’s not graphs 📈 and diagrams or price, or optics or technology. This is of course very subjective, BUT the way he characterizes and explains the virtues of those products and I believe him I can understand what he is explaining plus the addictive enthusiasm!
I must say like probably most of us we can’t hear so many comparisons.
Great!
Thank you! As I pointed out from time to time consumers are also very subjective in their opinions and choices of the products they buy.
Wow, six years! Congratulations Steve! I’ve learned much from your channel. After decades of no changes in equipment, as I’ve been watching I’ve made very modest changes to my system which now includes a Fluance RT85N, a set of KEF Q150s, and a pleasant Yamaha A-S301 amp. I’m torn between a good CD deck or a streamer.
Why not both? I have a Sony DVD player and a WiiM streamer.
😀I forgot to mention that I use a Sony DVD player for CDs. How well does the WIIM streamer work for you?
@@bobadkins7377 I love the WiiM. It's a WiiM Pro. Frankly, the WiiM makes me question the wisdom of buying CDs. It's streaming @ 24 bits when listening to a HiRes file via Amazon Music.
Prior to getting the WiiM, I compared CD vs. standard definition files via Amazon. No question. CD was better.
I cannot say that about the WiiM + HiRes.
Currently, my signal chain is source -> Aiyima T10 preamp -> Carver m-0.5t power amp -> Vandersteen Model 2Ce Signature series speakers. The Aiyima/Carver combo is my backup. I have a Pioneer SX-1250 in the shop. I am looking forward to doing another comparison once I have the Pioneer back. Honestly, given that CDs were designed to exceed the limitations of human hearing, I would be surprised if CD vs WiiM makes me think one of those sources is better than the other.
I am also approaching 60. I do have tinnitus. At my age I am also sure that I have some degree of frequency loss in my hearing, so YMMV.
Wadia 22 CD Transport!!! The most beautiful work of art !!! Beautiful sound!!!
I totally agree with Herb. For me, it seems that PRAT brings me closer to something that seems real. I'm vain/ hopeful enough that I would know that if I heard it.
I still have and use a CAL and a Meridian CD player. I remember in the mid to late 80s going to HiFi stores and there was hardly a turntable or phon preamp in sight
The Meridian 206 CD player was also my 1st CD player.
love when Steve rocks the Larry David shirt lol
I remember Herb and his philosophy on stereo from Joe Roberts’ Sound Practices and has really hasn’t changed that much IMHO but has matured and gotten deeper in his thinking
Just got to the California Audio Labs section and haven't heard that in a while. The best system that I have heard to date was California Audio Labs Cd player to Conrad Johnson tube Pre and Amplifiers to Martin Logan Monolith XXXX in a large room listening to Jennifer Warren/Cohen CD. Ghost-like images floating in space.
Funny you mentioned California Audio Labs. I still have a CL-20 in storage. I was so proud in the days….
totally dude CAL was highly regarded
I love them both digital and analog
Steve and Herb talking…soothing to listen to these audiophile legends 👍🏽👍🏽.
Steve, I just found my original Meadowlark Audio speaker shipping boxes, with the label still on them, they were shipped to Sound By singer around 1994-1995’
Wow!
I was an early adopter of CDs and bought a Sony CDP-101 to supplement my Sony PSX-600 turntable. Ironically I traded the CD player for a Linn LP-12 about a year later although sadly I had to let go of my audio system a few years later when I moved. Nowadays I listen to pretty much every medium but my serious listening consists mainly of digital rips of vinyl as well as my small vinyl collection. I stream mostly to find new music & artists and for more casual listening.
I bought my first CD player from Radio Shack in 1985
CAL LABS,….just sold mine a few months ago and miss it dearly even though I’m streaming these days. Owned it since 1991 and never failed!
Don’t get me started on the Audio Alchemy early dacs!!!
To understand how to make a CDP work well, review the old Lampizator blogs. I started there and realized you could vastly improve any CDP by leaning up it's power supplies and replace the op amp output with triodes. From there I continued to improve digital with over the top power supplies, SOTA clocks and triode output with extremely good power and copper output caps. The power supplies need big transformers, good heavy chokes. The sound will be natural and engaging like analogue but have detail and dynamics that only digital can deliver.
I had the SONY CDP-101 and a LUXMAN tangent tracking turntable with a DENON moving coil cartridge. I liked the vinyl more than the CD.
I love both of you guys. ....
Herb is the best! More Herb please!
August 14!
Great session. I bought my first CD player Sony) for about $550; saw a presentation where the reviewer Frisbees a CD across the room, retrieved it and put it in the player, to demonstrate the indestructible new medium. Thinking about it now, I’d probably be more impressed by him scratching a key across the disc instead.
Excellent session gent's 👋👋👋
I regularly tell first time listeners to my system that I will have Willie Nelsen standing in front of them singing to them personally shortly. Close their eyes and listen for facial features! Red headed Stranger! Even if not a Country or Willie fan it does it! I have people that still talk about it years after. That no other system has ever done it since for them! Analog into Maggies!
I wish Herb was the Audiophiliac with a daily show.
That was a great one!
A great conversation. I think Herb and Steve are right in that if I can place myself right next to the musician in my hearing experience, then I know that the gear and the recording engineer are on the same page. Does it sound like real, flesh and blood musicians in a real space and does my gear do that for me? Does my gear bring me as close as possible. This is why I think I am drawn to headphone listening not that I am 76 and I understand my hearing loss and try to work around it.
Steve, on the Viewer System you said JC 3+ Jr., no such thing - in the rack was a JC 3 Jr.
Thank you both. Now I have to figure out if that amp will work with my Dynaudio Confidence 5 speakers
I work with the Revox cd player .
Did all the early digital ... including California Audio Labs.
I stopped at Oppo.
It's worth noting that material on CD was hard to get early on.
Big classic successful releases came out little by little ... but it was tough early on.
I subscribed to a video 'zine called The Perfect Vision in the '80's. I recall reading Harry Pearson's movie reviews & seeing lines like "The harsh digital sound made me want to run screaming from the theatre!"
I think I could hang out with you guys. Maybe you should have a “Lunch With a Viewer Day” contest. 🙂
Thank you!
I have a question, price point not withstanding, which amplifier would be better for listening to 1940s Calypso music,A constellation Argo integrated amp or an NAD C316 BEE?
Love Herb
Hmm 🤔 I share that opinion about the coexistence of digital/analoge . It’s also the way I see the coexistence of Bauhaus and Jugendstil.
the big chill:
"don't you have any music from this century?"
"there is no other music."
Just a fantastic show.
Aun tengo el California Audiolab y suena dulce! No se cómo está hecho pero es un equipo que en mi Luxman l10 suena aún muy bien. Saludos!
Do you think your hearing changes depending on the degree of congestion you are experiencing,ie when you have a cold ?
I didn't dig. Was Herb a Lou Reed companion or smbody's else?
Thanks for your video Steve. Greetings from St Petersburg-RF!🎉
Hi All, inspired by the talk I went to the Lisson Gallery in London and sitting in the exhibition at this time listening to the system. The room is full of people that are glued to their seats. Everyone is fascinated. I wish I could post pics or a video. But the show is curious to say the least, a guy plays one record after the other, but the sound, oh my god, it’s such a let down, it sounds like filtered marmalade, the bass is thick, far too much bass, just simply booming, no spark, just a flat sauce. Honestly I am shocked. I understand that it is meant to be old school vintage, but a well fed Altec is 100 times clearer, more defined. People love it, but to me it is unclear why we have to bath in mediocracy and proclaim art. Good it’s boomy, I start to feel seasick, this huge middle woofer looks fantastic but it’s soft and wobbly like a 60 year old air mattress, it just has nothing more than mega deep booming. Now a jazzy LP plays (no program) and the drum set sounds like behind thick velvety theatre curtain, this can just not be it. Sort of sad, or I have to admit not being able to appreciate fogged and saucy sound reproduction. Check out the show and please post your reflections.
I sensed a disturbance in the force
Hi Steve, I have a great idea for your next Q&A.. Have it with Micheal Fremer..Vinyl Versus streaming pro, cons..Diminishing returns ect..What do you really have to spend on TT, Cartridge ect to reach the pinnacle of sound perfection?
i have always wondered what manufacturer or model are those good looking white sound panels what steve has?
Hello Steve
What are those acoustic panel behind you? I really like the binary like pattern. Thanks!
GIK Acoustics difusor
A Herbathon would be fantastic so, is that last August or next August? Asking for my neighbor in law..