More good news about sound quality!

Bit of an epic day this Friday. Not only have I found a new way to get better sound at home from CD but while George from Linn was demonstrating the DS units we were chatting about the new turntable from Linn. Well not exactly a new turntable but a variation on the legendary Sondek LP12.

The Linn Sondek LP12 turntable was the vinyl spinner I lusted after when I was knee high to a grasshopper (sadly a long time ago) and was the product that revolutionized the UK hifi industry. Until Ivor Teifenbrun (the Linn Grand Fromage) took the LP12 to UK dealers and forced them to listen (often with threats and beatings if the tales are to be believed), then the perceived wisdom was that all turntables sounded the same. After Ivor did his stuff only someone with a whole bar of soap stuffed in each ear could fail to appreciate the difference between turntables.

Over 25 years later the LP12 has gone through many changes, upgrades, and improvements all in the search for better and better sound quality, until today in its latest incarnation with the Keel sub chassis, Ekos SE tonearm and Arkive cartridge it can lay claim to "The Best in the world". However, all this precision engineering comes at a price, and a fully loaded LP12 with power supply and phono stage costs about the same as a small car (Gives more pleasure, costs less to run, and is better for the environment) which can take it out of the reach of all but the most well healed or most dedicated vinyl enthusiast. Even the entry level table with the "budget" arm and starter cartridge was costing significant amount and this must have been preventing people from enjoying the delights of Linn LP12 ownership.

Clearly the chaps at Linn were thinking along the same lines and being smart fellows they have done something about it. Enter stage right the new LP12. A lower cost power supply, pick up arm, and the entry level cartridge have taken the cost of LP12 ownership to just under £2000. Clearly not cheap but quality never is. But the best part is that this turntable is upgradeable in stages to the full top of the range specification. BRILLIANT!

You can start with this unit and with birthdays and Xmas presents soon get up to the top model. Never again will your other half be stuck for what to get you. Never again will you have to do the insincere "darling it’s lovely" when opening the present. You know it makes sense.

jeff

Music downloads to increase music quality - whatever next?

I have just had an ear opening experience which has made me happier about the possibilities for music in the home than I have been in a long time. Before I explain all about this let me give you a bit of background.

I have been worrying lately about where the trend for music downloads and MP3 players is taking us in the longer term. I know there are more important things to worry about like third world debt, economic recession, famine, plague, and who will win master-chef, but for as long as I can remember I have loved music, so consequently I worry about quality.

Let’s face it the I-pod and its derivatives are great for listening to music on the go, shutting out the noise of fellow passengers on public transport, or for learning a foreign language in the odd spare moment. BUT THEY ARE NOT HIFI. Let me try and explain.

U cn prbly rd ths prtcly wth mob tels getg us usd to chopped words and abbreviations but I suspect that you would not find it particularly relaxing or enjoyable if your favorite newspaper decided to adopt this form of communication to save space; worse still imagine trying to read a whole book written like this. This is what MP3 compression is doing to the music, it chops bits out. I am not saying that it looses notes or turns a B flat into an A, but it certainly looses a lot of the ambiance and delicate musical clues that allow the emotion in a performance to be communicated. And this is not just classical music, this applies as much to rock, pop, jazz etc in fact any type of music where the performer is trying to communicate with the listener.

So to summarize, combine an MP3 download with the lo-fi speaker systems attached to most computer systems and the sound is enough to bring tears (of pain) to the eyes of any music lover.

But the mistake would be to look at the trend for downloaded music and assume this means the death of quality, or HiFi as it used to be known. And a big mistake this would be. Let’s think this through together: Downloaded music means.

1. Instant access to the music you want to listen to.
2. The availability of music from artists who do not have record deals.
3. The ability to listen to music that is not constrained by the quality limits of the CD format.

Yes, you spotted it, number three is the key to this somewhat rambling blog. Download quality does not have to be worse than CD it can be better!!!!! Hurrah, hooray, yippee etc etc etc.

CDs are recorded in 16 bit resolution at a sample rate of 44.1k/second Studios will usually record in a minimum standard of 24 bit resolution and a sample rate of 96k or 192k/second. This results in a sound quality sooooooo much better than CD, which unfortunately most people would have never got to hear, unless someone is playing music from a master tape at a hifi show for example.

But now we can in theory download music at these higher resolutions for playback at home as long as the record companies, artists et al publish them on the web for download. Suddenly downloads can are better than CD, better than hifi, they are true-fi, just as it came off the mixing desk. Which brings me neatly back to my ear opening experience today.

Those brilliant chaps at Linn products have obviously been giving the matter some thought and rather than try either to keep improving the sound of their CD players (which they do as a matter of course anyway) or accept that downloads will inevitably downgrade music quality, they came up with a product (well 2 actually, the Ackurate DS and the Klimax DS) that are designed to get the very best from downloaded material. What is really intriguing is that in doing this they have changed the way that I will listen to CD at home. I am going to record the CD on to a hard drive and not only do I get the benefits of convenience (I can find the album I want to listen to immediately) but I get better sound quality.

If you really want to change the way you listen to music for the better then have a look at the Linn web site ( http://www.linn.co.uk/ ) for details of these two products rather than me clutter up this blog any more. I've got music to rip and listening to do! Long live downloads!


Jeff

The Nottingham Eye - 8 Feb 2008

Looking out of my window on Maid Marian Way I can see some (the section from about 12 o'clock to 4 oclock) of the Nottingham Eye in the Old Market Square. It looks great in the bit of sunshine we are getting this afternoon - can't wait to see it at night. A works outing is planned for next week so we can all go for an aerial view of Nottingham. May have to go for refreshment afterwards!

One slightly worrying thought - I notice there is lots of publicity for the city council all over the eye. I hope the structure is self financing and we (the taxpayers) have not ended up footing the bill for another bit of city council self aggrandisment!


Jeff

Remote controls

Have you ever wanted to watch a DVD and found your self picking up every remote except the one for your DVD player? I know I Have! However, as technology in the home becomes more centralised, the need for multiple remote controls could become a thing of the past.

Undoubtedly, houses of the future will become more integrated with the technology contained within them and the home owner will not want to be hunting around for one remote that shuts the blinds and another that controls the TV. It makes much more sense to combine the control for these devices into one solution.

Just recently I attended a course all about a little device called a NevoSL. It is essentially an infrared remote control with a handy touch screen and can be seen as a cost effective but practical replacement for a lounge-full of remotes. With the ability to learn IR codes and a fully customisable screen, the NevoSL is the perfect lounge companion for your audio & video needs.

Joe