Mark
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I heard some mention of this somewhere on the forums here (don't recall where), and I'd like to add a few things:
As a long-term musician I have either been blessed or cursed with a good aural (auditory) memory... And that, of course, includes both live music, and recorded mediums in whatever format...
Ex: In 1975, I lived and worked in NYC in audio sales, and we were setting up a new store uptown called Audio Salon... To shorten the story, Bud Fried (IMF, Fried) comes in with his new Model H system with the transmission line bass commodes... We hooked the things up to some Audio Research gear in our best soundroom, using a Thorens TT with London Decca MC cartridge... One thing I remember is that the cartridge didn't even have a cantilever!... Just some kind of solid mounting arrangement...
Anyway, the sound was so good, it literally ruined my ear almost to this day... My ear 'remembered' what I heard, and it tainted all that came afterwards... Truth was, I could never afford the gear I listened to that day, and it pained me greatly...
Click to the present: I've since learned to train my ear to accept lesser sources than that system, and it took a good amount of doing, I can tell you that much... One thing that really surprised me was how close low power SET amps came to that nirvana moment...
Note: Irving 'Bud' Fried has since passed away, rest his soul... He was a great guy, and was always available for a talk about audio stuff... I visited him at his home in Phila. a few times, and he had all manner of prototypes to hear in his living room... All based on that wonderful T-line bass system. The best unfettered low freq. extension I've ever heard... He was a real pioneer in high quality audio...
Anyway, back to the subect-at-hand: Right, aural memory... As I said, it can either serve you, or put you in the dumper... I made a rule for myself to not listen to systems way out of my dollar rage for that reason... I know it sounds a bit severe, but given the chance to hear that system again, I would likely decline today...
I now like to tune my aural senses to what is generally available to myself in practical terms... Now, here's where Decware just may cut in in a favorable way: The stuff's actually affordable!... And I think I just may be able to eat rice and beans long enough to put together a system that retrieves at least most of that original experience... At any rate, I look forward to at least trying... (m.)
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