2020 in Review

2020 in Review

This has been a tough year for most people, and it almost seems frivolous to write about audio. Nonetheless, this is a tradition for this blog and me. In past years, I basically re-capped the audio adventures of the year, but this year is quite different, for good as well as unfortunate reasons. mrgoodsound's brilliant expose (the previous article) also renders many things moot.

People of the Year I completely agree with those critical of Time magazine, which chose Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as People of the Year. I completely agree that Health Care Workers are People of the Year. The heroics, particularly during the initial phase of the pandemic, are just staggering. Being in NYC, I was really moved to tears by the health professionals who rallied from all over America to aid NYC. Indeed, all over this earth, including China, many did the same for their countries. The altruism and bravery represents the best of America, and of humanity. Incidentally, one of my classmates, a neurosurgeon at Mount Sinai, died, and one of my relatives (a hospital sanitation worker) in the UK is convalescing from an infection. Such are their sacrifices. In contrast, ugly politics and the election maneuvers represent the worst. And a chance to promote health consciousness was lost. Shame.

Thanks to Our Writers When it comes to audio, the greatest joy this year has nothing to do with any piece of equipment, but everything to do with human beings. I cannot thank our writers enough for contributing - the blog is the better for it. Diversity, isn't that a key word? BUT, while diverse, we have many things in common - as mrgoodsound put forth so eloquently in his latest article, a love for music, a healthy distrust of the "high end", a return to basics, all holistic. Mind you, this blog shuns ads, almost never receives solicitation for reviews, and no one is paid. We all do it out of our own pocket, for fun, and perhaps some release. I actually would like to reward our writers with small gifts, be they cables or tubes, which I have in abundance, should they have need. I have noticed readers' participation and comments have increased quite significantly since my fellow authors joined in. It is encouraging. mrgoodosund joined at the very end of last year, and Eric L and Dexler Poppe followed suit (I still regret the passing of audiopro). Many thanks - we are all the richer for it. And then you, the readers, when you voice out, it is a pleasure. I actually think our highly individualistic (even cantankerous, but not without humor) Russian friend, omnipresent here and instantly identifiable, should not be anonymous in 2021 and have a name. Maybe Sputnik?? Incidentally, if you generally agree with our generally less-is-more philosophy, have commented before and feel you can contribute an article or two, email me to discuss.

Streaming and Bluetooth Streaming, by which I mean using simple means, not the ridiculously complicated paths advocated by so many mags, forums, and headless-fi's, is immensely pleasurable and opens one to new musical vista (as it does for me here). When simply done, it decouples one from chasing "the holy grail" and focuses one on the music. I think all our writers stream using rather direct methods and enjoy the music. You should too.

New Lease on Life For someone like me, in an extreme state of flux for the last 2 years, there are 2 sides to this. I am happy that some of my treasured gears, like the Tannoy Canterbury and TAD 3401, are living new lives in my friends' homes. I plan to write about them in due time. Also, during these 2 months in HK, I have been firing up my "remnants", like the B and W Matrix 801, Ruark Crusader III, various Micromega's and 16-bit players and Sun Audio SET amps, etc, to great and surprising results. Shall write about these too. There are many paths to audio and, importantly, musical, nirvana. No need to fret about.

Most Awesome Sound I heard Early on, before the Fourth Wave here, thanks to WSS' arrangement, I managed to hear Mr Chevalier Blanc's crazy and awesome WE setup in a cavernous space. I have enlisted my friend icefox's help to write this up:

I guess I have to mention some equipment. I am glad to have acquired a Yamamoto CA-04 (here) and a Micromega Stage 2 and a 71A amp. Bargains of the year go to various Bluetooth devices, FX Audio TUBE-01 (here) and Arcam rPhono (here).

And, yes, my Album of the Year is this one.

Have a good 2021. Stay safe.