The Sound Room

Brilliant British TV Auto Shows

by Mark Alt

I tend to blog about things I am passionate about.  Hockey is one.  Video gaming is another.  Cars are yet another.  Unfortunately, my taste in cars far outstrips my bank account and practicality.  I tend to gravitate towards driver's cars.  Cars that are fast, handle great, and are fun to drive.  These tend to be very expensive cars like M-class BMWs, AMG Mercedes, Astons, Ferraris, Lambos, and the like.  Seriously, how many of us actually see them (outside of car shows or Beverly Hills), let alone drive one.  I drive a Civic Hybrid.  As a driver's car, it's terrible.  I, unfortunately, didn't get it to drive.  I got it to commute to work and get my growing family around (try getting a 7-month old in and out of the back of a two-door sport coupe - if it even has seats in the back).  When I want to have fun on the road, I get on my Ducati and look for some twisties to carve up.  But it doesn't have a place for groceries or a baby's car seat.

That said, I tend to live vicariously through others who do have access the types of cars I like.  As a result, I love TV car programs.  However, not American car shows for the most part since they pretty much deal with everyday automobiles.  Too mundane for me.  I gravitate towards the two major British car shows - Top Gear and Fifth Gear.

Do I watch them too much?  Perhaps.  I guess the indication that I do manifests itself when I start using British slang - for example, when I see a police officer now, I tend to think "there goes a rozzer."  But they are fantastic (okay, there's another one).

Fifth Gear tends to be less entertainment and more nuts and bolts overall.  Top Gear is more entertainment.  But both are excellent shows in my opinion.

Top Gear just closed out its 13th Series last Sunday.  The final piece is fitting.  It's a beautiful piece by Jeremy Clarkson supposedly on Aston Martin's new V12 Vantage.  But really it's a commentary.  I'm not going to spoil it or taint it by giving you my opinion more than I already have.  But it was a very fitting end to their 13th Series.  I'm going to have to find something to occupy my time until Top Gear returns in November.

Of course, there is that little thing called hockey....

All Things Vinyl, June 18, 2009: Linn Sondek SE LP12 Upgrades.

by Oliver Amnuayphol

"Just like a fine wine" is how I'd describe the Linn Sondek LP12: it really does get better with age. Seems like just yesterday Linn Products Ltd. introduced the first round of SE upgrades for the venerable LP12, consisting of the stunning titanium Ekos SE tonearm and the beautifully machined-from-solid aluminum Keel subchassis. Now Ivor Tiefenbrun and company have unleashed two new LP12 SE  products, the Urika and Radikal. The Urika is an all new MC phono stage featuring dual-mono, balanced circuitry for either RCA or transformer-coupled XLR outputs; an all new Trampolin baseboard was designed to place the Urika directly inside the Sondek's plinth for the shortest, most direct signal path possible.

Urika phono stage

Perhaps most importantly, the Urika can only be powered by the Radikal--which may indeed be Linn's most, ahem, "radical" design evolution ever for the LP12 since it features a DC motor in addition to its motor control and power supply circuitry. Long noted for being staunch advocates of AC powered motors, the Radikal's brushed DC motor is further isolated in a low vibration/low resonance housing and uses Klimax DS-sourced on-board speed management for smooth, stable, noise-free operation.

Radikal power supply and motor control unit

All this cutting-edge tech doesn't come cheap however: The Urika will set you back about 2250 GBP (about $3700 us) and the Radikal either 2500 GBP (about $4000) or a much dearer 4500 GBP ($7400) if you spring for the machined from solid aluminum Klimax chassis. But hey, at least you can save some scrilla when you buy 'em both at once: The combo purchase will set you back either 4200 GBP ($6900, standard Radikal chassis) or 6200 GBP ($10,200, Klimax Radikal chassis). Both products available now.

Oppo's BDP-83 initial impressions

by Mark Alt

Well, it's been about two weeks since my Oppo BDP-83 has arrived and set up in my home, so I figured it's high time to give my initial impressions on the player.

First, let me say that I have an older Onkyo TX-SR703 which does not have HDMI.  So I connected the HDMI out from the Oppo to my Samsung DLP TV for video and I am using the multichannel analog audio inputs on the 703 for the audio portion.  Since the Oppo has an on-board decoder for both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD (and, obviously, my 703 does not), I can still enjoy the higher quality audio with my older 703 through the multichannel inputs.

The Oppo is really easy to set up.  It has an initial setup that walks you through the basics.  And then a more extensive menu for tweaking the setup.  The menu is one of the best I've seen.  It has a really simple layout and very helpful menu tips that describe what each setting does.  In my case, since my DLP is 1080p capable, I am enjoying the best picture available.  And since I am using the on-board decoder, I needed to set up the speakers specifics on the Oppo as well (very similar if not the same as what you need to do on your A/V receiver to calibrate the speakers).  The multi-channel inputs on the receiver are essentially pass-throughs, the receiver does not do anything to the signal aside from controlling the volume.

Loading a Blu-ray disc to display on the screen is the fastest I've seen of any Blu-ray player.  I've seen first generations players take almost a minute (if not more) to start to display a picture from the disc - worse if it is a BD-live disc.  The Oppo takes mere seconds for a non-BD-live disc (virtually as fast as a standard DVD) and about 15 to 20 seconds for a BD-live disc - although I have not done any actual timing as of yet so those are estimates.

Picture and audio are top notch.  Even my wife is starting to come around when I did an A/B comparison with Disney's Cars first with a DVD version, then with the Blu-ray version.  The detail on the Blu-ray disc is amazing.  Maybe it was because it was my personal setup, but it seemed to me that the picture quality from the Oppo was even better than most of the players that I've seen.

Granted, I've had the player about two weeks now, but over that short time, I can say that I am extremely well pleased with the Oppo and am looking forward to incorporating it in my home theater system for years to come.

If anyone is curious about certain features or specs about the Oppo, let me know and I'll try to include them in future posts.

Phish Fan Webcasts Concert from His iPhone

by Jason Hicks

The concept of a webcast, a live broadcast of audio and/or video over the internet isn't a new one, the idea goes back to the late '80s and the first actual webcasts occurred in the late '90s.  These days there are tons of webcasts that you can watch, from BBC news programs to live concerts.  AT&T in particular has been broadcasting decent quality streams of major music festivals at their blue room website for a few years now. 

But two days ago a first occurred, an audience member webcast nearly an hour of a Phish concert live from New York to over 2000 viewers using only his iPhone and a streaming site called Ustream.  In contrast to a professional webcast using digital video cameras and huge amounts of bandwidth, the stream did break up a few times and the video was fairly blocky.  The audio wasn't great either but it was listen-able, and the stream came through uninterrupted for over 15 minutes at times. 

While there are major copyright issues and it's likely that Ustream will be receiving a cease and desist order any day now, it was indeed pretty incredible to be able to experience some semblance of the performance in real time merely due to the efforts of one audience member and his phone. 

Apparently the webcast made such a stir that spammers on twitter are now using the keywords "phishtube broadcast" to post links to pages with adware and fake antivirus products.  "Phistube" is the name of the Ustream account that was used to stream the webcast.  While that's an unfortunate consequence it doesn't diminish the precedent that was set, and I bet we will see a proliferation of one man (or woman) mobile broadcasts in the very near future.

Phish play their next show tonight at 8 PM EST, so check out phishtube's page to see if he can pull it off again. 

Oppo's new BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc player

by Mark Alt

For my first blog post, I figured I would write a teaser about the new Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc player which is currently being released to those lucky few who signed up for a pre-release.  That includes yours truly.  Mine is currently on its way to me and should be here tomorrow.

For those of you not in the loop, the BDP-83 is being touted as the first to be released "universal" Blu-ray player.  It isn't the first announced, Denon took those honors with their DVD-A1UD.  Unfortunately, that one has been delayed, so the Oppo gets the prize of "first one in the wild."

What's a universal Blu-ray player you ask? Well, it is a player that not only plays Blu-ray, DVD, and CD, but also plays SACD and DVD-Audio. Sorry, no HD-DVD support though.

The Oppo, which has undergone two rounds of "beta" testing, features some other impressive features such as on-board decoding of Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD with both HDMI and 7.1 analog outputs for those of us with older non-HDMI receivers such as myself, full 1080p upscaling via an Anchor Bay VRS processor, and the ability to play music or display pictures from USB drives via two USB ports (one conveniently located in the front).  Of course, it is BD-Live compatible with 1GB memory onboard and an Ethernet port on the back which also allows for easy firmware updates.  Oppo also has an optional add-on for a wireless adapter if necessary. Couple this with Oppo's impressive customer service and reputation for quality DVD players and it is shaping up to be a winner.

I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of my player and will follow up in the coming weeks with my thoughts on it after I get a chance to play with it.

All Things Vinyl, May 6, 2009: Vinyl LP Records at Best Buy; Teac Esoteric E-03 Phono Pre; Mosaic Records Thelonius Monk Set.

by Oliver Amnuayphol

The vinyl resurgence keeps on a truckin' my friends: Best Buy recently announced they're a few steps closer to stocking 8 square feet of retail space with vinyl LPs in all of their stores (over 1000!). Considering the fact that Best Buy currently devotes anywhere from 16-20 square feet of floor space to music, 8 square feet is a considerable chunk of real estate indeed. Prompted by a continual 20% decrease in CD sales year over year and an 89% increase(!) in vinyl sales over last year, Best Buy believes the move will prove profitable due to their large scale purchasing power (resulting in slightly healthier margins) and ever-increasing sales on licorice pizzas. Only the shadow knows if Best Buy will go ahead with vinyl, so email the big dogs at Best Buy to make this a reality, and vote with your pocketbooks!

We've written before about the importance of a quality phono stage for your vinyls: If you're wanting to coax maximum sonic goodness from your LP playback chain, a good phono pre is an absolute must. Now there's another premium phono stage to consider: the Teac Esoteric E-03 (circa $5500, available now). Long known for their state of the art CD/SACD spinners, Esoteric's gone all out with the E-03: discrete, identical dual mono signal paths; dual R core transformers; and selectable cartridge impedance for two inputs. If you've got a top-flight LP rig, you owe it to yourself to check out the Esoteric E-03. 

Looks like Mosaic Records is once again diggin' on the vinyls: Mosaic has just released The Complete Thelonious Monk at the It Club as a 4 lp set on high quality, 180-gram pressings ($100). Consisting of six live sets recorded over two nights and featuring long time tenor sax sideman Charlie Rouse, Mosaic has gone back to the original It Club three-track master tapes and properly mixed them down stereo analog masters for a spectacular sounding release. The Complete IT Club is available now, but act fast if you're interested: only 5000 total copies will be pressed, and once they're gone, they're gone for good.

Home Theater Week in Review, April 27 - May 1, 2009: Audyssey DSX; GE Holographic Storage Disc.

by Oliver Amnuayphol

5.1 channels not enough for you? Think 7.1 is already too antiquated? If Dolby's recent announcement of Pro Logic IIz and its required height channels didn't set your heart a pitter-patter, then Audyssey's new DSX matrix surround tech surely will: their new extrapolation format adds front width channels (placed at an ideal +/- 60 degrees from the viewer) for a total of 9.1 surround channels, providing a more realistic front soundstage and improved surround envelopment. With some folks already having a tough time finding room for a 7.1 system, it'll be interesting to see how many HT enthusiasts can practically implement PLIIz and Audyssey DSX.

Get ready for the wave of the future in physical media storage: GE recently announced a breakthrough disc technology utilizing holographic storage that's capable of storing up to 500 gigabytes of data. You read that right folks: nearly half a terrabyte of quality audio/video goodness, or ten times more than Blu ray's 50GB. Sure, GE's holographic discs won't be a cost effective reality for quite some time (current playback/recording machines are estimated at 18 G's a piece!), but with 4K HD resolutions and 3D home video being future entertainment possibilities, who knows how far down the hi-res rabbit hole we can go? You can read all about GE's mad scientist tech here.

Movie Releases for Next Week.

DVD: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Enchanted April; Last Chance Harvey; Incendiary.

Blu-ray: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Twilight; Grease; Dexter: The Complete Second Season; Last Chance Harvey; Ferris Bueller's Day Off; Incendiary; It Could Happen to You; Ip Man; The English Patient; The Illusionist.

All Things Vinyl, March 11, 2009: Cinenow.tv

by Oliver Amnuayphol

If you wanna get more in depth looks at hi fi and analog gear instead of just static words and pics, be sure to   check out Cinenow.tv for videos of some serious A/V va-va voom. Among other videos, Cinenow's got this great clip of the absolutely lustworthy Naim Superline phono preamp I wrote about in the Sept. 24 installment of "ATV." Great shots of the inner workings of this fine sounding phono pre, and lots of informative technical bits as well; check it out here.

 

When it comes to value, practically nothing beats Pro-ject's lineup of turntables and associated gear, and here's another Cinenow clip of Lawrence Armstrong overviewing Pro-ject's line of 'tables. Check out the great shot of the RPM10 'table towards the end of vid; sure looks mighty purrty! With Pro-ject's latest magnetic bearing, carbon fiber tonearm, heavy acrylic platter and Ground It isolation base, the RPM10 should be quite the contender in its price class.

 

If you're addicted to the vinyls, need info on how to best maintain your record collection and prefer to watch n' learn, check out analog diehard Michael Fremer's new DVD, It's a Vinyl World After All. Feast your eyes on the why's and how to's of record cleaning, care and maintenance, collecting and even manufacturing; a great follow up to his first DVD, 21st Century Vinyl. Both discs are informative, educational and entertaining and highly recommended for vinyl enthusiasts of every stripe.

Home Theater Week in Review, February 2-6, 2009: Free Vizio LCD, DTV Transition

by Oliver Amnuayphol

Flash! Vizio wants you to get your mitts on a new flat panel TV for free! That's right--we're talking exactly 0 ducats for some HDTV luvin. Turns out Vizio ain't really feelin' the recessionary pinch like the rest of us Plebes and have decided to share the wealth by giving away 500 55" LCD TVs worth a million bucks. Each week, one lucky home theater nut will be drawn at random for said prize from Feb 23 until Aug 31 '09. And word on the street is the new Vizios are mighty boss indeed: Ultimate AV recently reviewed the 50" Vizio LCD, pretty much proclaiming it the best value flat panel ever! You can enter for your chance to win here.

 

Looks like some of you loyal Week in Review readers heeded my words last week concerning the DTV bill by calling your congressional reps: On Wednesday both chambers of Congress voted 264-158 in favor of delaying the DTV transition until June 12 '09. So hooray! Chalk one up for the procrastinators--even if there's only 8 in 10 of yooze: According to research conducted by the National Association of Broadcasters, 82% of you analog boob tube diehards out there are already on board with the whole digital thang. Regardless, any chance to make sure everyone gets on board before legacy broadcasting goes dark can only be a good thing. Oh--and don't forget to pick your DTV set top box n' coupon if you haven't already; you can get a coupon here.

DVD: Nights in Rodanthe; W; Miracle at St. Anna; The Paradine Case; The Inauguration of Barack Obama on CNN; Frozen River; The Lodger; The Guitar.

Blu-ray: Nights in Rodanthe; W.; Miracle at St. Anna; Raging Bull; Pretty Woman; Amadeus; The Boondock Saints; Donnie Darko; The Pelican Brief; A Time to Kill; Soulmen; The Rundown.

 

All Things Vinyl, October 8, 2008

by Oliver Amnuayphol

This week, a little of this, a little of that: For starters, how about some most excellent LP news? One of the premier vinyl re-issue labels in existence, Classic Records, has cooked up an all new, clear vinyl LP formulation appropriately dubbed Clarity SV-P II. Known to have some of the best vinyl profiles around, Classic Records will debut Clarity in four initial, 200-gram, single-sided, 12"-45 rpm releases: John Coltrane, Blue Train; Cannonball Adderly, Somethin' Else; Leo Kottke, 6 & 12 String Guitar; And Cannonball Adderly, Autumn Leaves and Alison's Uncle. Classic claims their clear vinyl formulation isn't just for show; word is Clarity SV-P II sounds much better than black licorice pizzas for reasons that definitely make sense to this vinyl junkie (see the Clarity link for a detailed explanation). Blue Train and Somethin' Else are available now; second two titles are shipping very, very soon.

If you were spinning the vinyls during the 80's, you probably remember British electronics manufacturer Revolver, maker of the low cost but fine sounding Rebel turntable. Revolver has been quietly making speakers ever since those dark days of vinyl replay, but now with the analog revival in full swing, they've decided to debut a new turntable, the Replay ($3500, available now). Featuring a marble split-plinth design, 1.5" thick polyester resin platter, single-point bearing and unipivot tonearm, the Replay promises to build on the Rebel's excellent reputation with modern day machining tolerances and cutting edge build quality.

If you're like me, chances are you've found yourself thinking, "Hey--wouldn't it be great if there were some sort of website dedicated to, ahem, all things vinyl?" Well high praise to the vinyl-luvin' web gods at Big Black Disk  (http://www.bigblackdisk.com/) for their vinyl-junkie repository. Full of LP reviews, vinyl news, a forum, and lots of other LP goodness, you can bet this analog lover will be visiting Big Black Disk with a fierceness.

New and recent vinyl Releases.

Jennifer Warnes - Famous Blue Raincoat: 20th Anniversary Edition (45-rpm 2 lp set); Bob Dylan - Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8; Wee - You Can Fly on My Aeroplane; Jack's Mannequin - The Glass Passenger; Hayden - In Field & Town; Billie Holiday - Music for Torching; Jolie Holland - The Living and the Dead; Broken Social Scene Presents: Brendan Canning - Something for All of Us...