Category: Audio, Music and Hi-Fi

Convenience vs. Quality

I just received in the mail 2 x new stylus needles for my old LP player. The old stylus broke, so I had to order them online from the UK and then wait for a couple of weeks for delivery. When they finally arrived, i found the mechanism on my LP player broken and in need of service. Still no high quality vinyl sounds for my discerning chimp ears.

All the while, I have been streaming Google Play Music through my phone and computer and Ipad to get music whenever and wherever i want it.

The convenient solutions will spread like wildfire and then iteratively be improved until they are both convenient and of a high quality.

Meanwhile vinyl is the same as it ever was. Fantastic when it works, but a lot more involved and higher maintenance than the digital age.

Convenience vs. Quality – Convenience is kicking ass at the moment in my household.

 

Disrupting the audiophile world

The studio model for media creation is clearly taking a hit from various online companies (See this link for nice details), and I love to imagine what will be the real disrupting force in audiophile land. I wrote recently on the merits of MQA and hardware disruption by software all over the world. I also think we are going to experience a more discrete form of hardware in the near future. Again this will be replicated easily, but there is still a need that I can see.

Specifically, i think there will be delivery of perfect sound direct to your ears wherever you are, whenever you want it, all in a non-intrusive fashion. (Let’s face it, headphones are a pain in the rear still). I’m picturing some sort of microchip for the ear or brain which transmits high-res files to the inner ear, all while on the move. Something like this, but for entertainment purposes only.

Planned obsolescence

I already have a Marantz receiver. It decodes, amplifies and networks more audio signals than I will ever need. And yet…

http://www.whathifi.com/news/marantz-unveils-2016-home-cinema-line

…And yet i want another one this year with the slight upgrades all around.

The marketing machine in Audiophile-land, and in tech in general, means there is always something better about to be released. It’s easy to burn through money because of the stream of upgrades. Planned obsolescence.

Key then is to understand your needs versus your wants. I don’t need another receiver. I just want one. And so the marketing machine loses its potency.

The right system for the right room

I have different environments in my house which let me unleash my obsessive, audiophile twitch to different degrees. Much depends on who is sharing the room with me. My wife and young daughter are busy, and have little enthusiasm for beautiful speakers, separate amps and pre-amps, and careful consideration of source. Instead they want instant sound to a somewhat gratifying level (mostly from the TV). So it is a soundbar and sub, and/or bluetooth speakers all the way in rooms that we share.

My office is a different story, and requires a computer based digital sound system largely driven by a DAC and a headphone amp. In this room I am the chimp with cans on my head. Nobody else is listening and I can geek out on settings to my heart’s content. I can listen to obscure stuff too. All on the cans.

My final space which allows for a different setup, is the listening room, where i can set up the more fragile and complex equipment such as LP players, stereo speakers and preamps. This is a hard sell in a busy household because space is at a premium. But for now I am winning the battle.

Life being as busy as it is, most of my serious listening happens at my computer nowadays. No complaints, distractions, or interruptions. At the computer i am just a chimp, with some cans on and a big old smile on my face.

On Seth’s words – Chimpwithcans as an audio project

Seth Godin is a huge inspiration for this blog. One of his most enduring messages is the project vs. job idea.

I love the idea of accountable projects vs. jobs that encourage deniability. Seth just riffed on this in his latest post: Your job vs. your project — Seth Godin’s Blog on marketing, tribes and respect

For Chimpswithcans, I have chosen to write my own blog and to deal with material that I love (audiophilia, music….and occasionally chimps perhaps). It means that there are no rules other than the ones I create for myself. No boss. A whole new world.

This blog is about audiophile culture, music, and technology surrounding this. It is my project and it will get better and better, day by day. There is a growing audiophile community in my hometown (Cape Town) that I hope to serve.

I will give reviews, opinions, thoughts, desires, facts, beliefs on audio and I look forward to it every day.

Audio Hardware vs. Audio Software

I believe that of all the innovations this year in hifi and audio, MQA will have the biggest impact on the music industry this year. Not a new speaker design, or a new material or even a new motherboard. Those things are hardware, easy to replicate and almost perfected.

Software is eating the world and MQA software could be a way to add scarcity to music once again.

Interesting times.