mike@brl-tgr.ARPA (Michael John Muuss <mike>) (10/16/84)
Trip Report: Tower Records, Broadway & 4th, NYC. 14-Oct-84.
PRICES: CD Prices were 13.99 to 19.99, with some classical labels
on sale for 12.99; this compares favorably with prices in Baltimore,
which are typically 14.99 to 25.99 (same titles). Previous visit to
Tower, all the popular CDs were 12.99, obviously some kind of all-label
sale.
SELECTION: The selection of CDs has become so substantial that I
no longer stand a chance of owning all of the really worthwhile
discs; no mortal can afford that many. I no longer purchase records
(except in special circumstances); the vast majority of new releases
that I want to own now come out on CD.
SNOBISH? While browsing through the Jazz CDs at Tower, I noticed two sets
of discs for the Pat Metheny Group's album "OFFRAMP". Both were
manufactured for EMI in Japan, but one cost $13.99, and the other cost
$19.99. (The packaging was also different: cardboard box around the $13.99
CD box, celophane only for the more expensive). When I asked the shopkeeper
what the difference was, he smuggly responded that the $19.99 was IMPORTED,
whereas the other one was DOMESTIC. I purchased the cheaper one, muttering
back "...as long as the bits are the same, I DON'T CARE". Snobbery is alive
and well, sigh.
--------- Clip here
As this is my first posting of substance to net.audio, and it seems
to have become a bit of a tradition to detail one's system when contributing,
I'll follow suit, and then end with a question.
Speakers: Infinity Quantum-2 (not the newer RS stuff).
Amp/Preamp: Kenwood KA-903. 150w/ch, "flat" 20 - 150Khz.
CD Player: NEC 803. Unlike nearly all of the other players (save the
one or two), this player has no high-end harshness, which I have verified
on at least two systems substantially better than my own. I'm convinced
that the digital hypersampling, digital sliding-window filtering,
running the DACs at 176.4 K samples/sec, and doing almost no analog
filtering is the explanation for this. This technique is so totally
superior that you should avoid anything less. Let your ears judge.
Turntable: Technics SP-10 Mark II in 70 lb carved obsidian
base with "optical bench" isolation. ADC LMF-2 carbon monofilament
tonearm. Ortofon MC-20 moving coil cartridge.
Tuner & cassette deck not worthy of special mention.
Room: Alas, I live an an apt., so the room has parallel walls, and
a rather non-optimal layout, but not dreadful.
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While the system is not ultra-high-end, it is the result of many
years of component replacement (as soon as I could hear the difference
and afford to upgrade). Obviously, the weak link is the amplifier.
Defects in it's sound quality which have bugged me for some time
clobbered me over the head when I drove a friends Acoustat 2+2
using this amp: (a) not enough power, and (b) all the defects
that have nagged me for so long became so clearly audible that I
was forced to face them. Now I can't stop hearing them. (Funny
thing about education: you can never un-learn, except by drinking too
much for a long long time).
And now for the question: Who can make some recommendations for
power amplifiers with substantial power output (~250 w/ch)
which can be purchased for < $2,000 ? I'm ready to start looking
(auditioning), and your comments will be helpful.
---------
Mini-review:
While typing this message, I've been sitting in our Graphics & Computer
Music Lab, listening to the stereo, playing some of the new CDs I just
brought back from Tower records. Yesterday evening, while sitting in a
Sushi bar in The Village, I heard this incredibly neat modern Japanese
music: KITARO. This prompted the trip to Tower records, where I proceeded
to purchase three CD's: TUNHUANG, Silk Road I, and Silk Road II.
The last composition on Silk Road II is absolutely captivating. If you are
a big fan of Mannheim Steamroller ("Fresh Aire"), Tangerine Dream, Synergy,
or (early) Vangelis, this music is definitely worth listening to.
--------
For completeness, the stereo at work (multiple lenders):
Speakers: Infinity 1001.
Amp: Kenwood SX-780, 75 w/ch.
CD player: Technics SL-P7.
Turntable: Dual 1225, with Stanton 681EEE.
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-Mike Muussterryl@tekchips.UUCP () (10/25/84)
Re: Apparently same CD's for different prices. Look a little more closely: one may be digitally mastered, and the cheaper one an analog master. Here at Tower Records in good `ol Beavertown, OR(gasp!!! Tower Records in such an out of the way place??? (-:) I've seen about three or four CD's priced as such. It was hard to tell the difference between the two because they were packaged IDENTICALLY, but closer inspection revealed the more expensive to be DIGITALLY mastered (or so they claim; I didn't buy either). Terry Laskodi of Tektronix