Marilyn Monroe on HiFi

Marilyn Monroe on HiFi

I was looking up Marilyn Monroe and chanced upon her quotes. With no editing, they apply to audiophiles!

On hifi advertisements, tall claims and swindlers:

"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together." (no edit)

On 90% of hifi:

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."

On why we should spend more money (aka 癡呆):

"We should all start to live before we get too old. Fear is stupid. So are regrets."

Her advice to audiophiles who believe in theories, rules and measurements:

"If I'd observed all the rules I'd never have got anywhere."

Audiophiles in Illness - Music as Therapy

Editor's Note: Audiophiles in Illness - Music as Therapy
Why do we listen to music?

For Robin

When I recently came back from NYC, I called my friend Robin the Scot. We chatted about audio for a while, when he said "...by the way, I am in Queen Mary Hospital..."

Robin was besieged by what has only now been confirmed to be a serious illness. I'd not expound too much on that, what I want to examine is his response on that day, so typical of him. First, chatting with me as we used to, on unfinished business (in audio), then letting me know about the news, as a gentleman would do.

Before all this happened, he and his wife had just bought a dream house on a hill in Taipei. They are now in Taipei, taking care of that matter. Robin is also receiving treatment in Taipei, so we would not be seeing him for a while here. What I do want to report here is one of the first things Robin did over there - putting together an audio system. Robin wrote me:

"...just yesterday I finally got a second system up and running here in our Taiwan house. It consists of Usher S520 speakers + matching 330 stands (all bought new the other day), an Usher AU7500 integrated amp (ditto), my Nakamichi 600 cassette deck, your Scott FM radio, a Sony S370 Blu-ray player (which can also play SACDs etc), an LG hi-def TV set, and complete internet TV package from 中华电信. It can't compare to our HK audio setup, of course, but it makes really quite nice sounds and it's a lot of fun to play with. And I love being able to watch the performance in full HD while listening to the music through a half-decent sound system..."

Robin's email got my thoughts shooting off in all directions. Central to all this is that a music lover cannot live without music. But then, are audiophiles always music lovers? Why do we listen to music? Is there anything that makes audiophiles different in illness? Using the 2 short phrases of the title of this article, plus a few others, I did some Google searches.

Audiophiles in Illness Google search: Audiophiles in Illness not surprisingly turns out many articles about how sick we are as audiophiles, but nothing on how we behave in physical illness. I can only tell you what I do. If I don't feel too well, or just feeling down, I do listen to music, which usually makes me feel better. But when really seriously ill, like in fever, I tend not to, as listening to music does take effort and concentration. I think Robin's illness is fortunately not making him too sick physically, and his ability to enjoy music is intact. As for music as therapy, I am sure we all think so, hence no need to search on that.

Why do we listen to music? Google search: Why do we listen to music? turns out quite a few side-tracking but interesting articles which you may want to peruse. Most pertinent to audiophilia is this article on Why Do So Many Smart People Listen to Such Terrible Music? I have to say I enjoyed it much.

I often ask people if they would choose to watch a comedy or a sad movie when they feel sad. Most people opt for comedies, but I know when I am sad I prefer the latter. Here is an article on Why do we listen to sad music when we are sad, which uses the siege of Leningrad as an illustration.

Who is your friend in audio?
Like in many hobbies, we make many acquaintances in audio, but few real friends, On the audio internet, we see marauding squads engaged in all manners of slander and fighting, in the name of friendship; we see people leaving a forum en mass under the pretext of bondage; we even see people getting close to others only to make money off them. All these behaviors all have nothing to do with friendship, far from it.

You may have read my Yumcha Diaries. Let me tell you, although we may do some home visits afterwards, during the lunch we almost never talked about audio. To me, friends talk about the awful political climate that is choking us, debate on government policies and consult on personal difficulties etc. We do sometimes talk about the CDs we like, for the love of music. But audio, not that much.

An audio friend is one who you can learn from and rely on in matters of music and audio. While I may have led Robin towards his Yamaha speakers, Robin has done far more for me by restoring my Garrard and opening my ears to reel-to-reel. And we can really talk, about politics or classical music or whatever. One doesn't meet many friends like that on the audiophile path. We all need more friends like him, so Robin, Get Well Soon!

If you wish to re-cap some of my time spent with Robin, just search for "Robin" in the right-hand column and those articles shall out.

W3H1: Where can you buy that connector?

W3H1: Where can you buy that connector?

In hifi we sometimes are frustrated by unusual connectors. RCA and XLR are common and adaptors are easy to get (if not always of best quality), but we sometimes have unusual connectors for subs, various mini-XLR's, professional connectors for umbilical cord links, not to say firewire etc. It is often difficult to source these.

Indeed most often we don't even know the name of these connectors. How do you go about asking or searching on the net?

My Elekit 8230 and 8300 power supply use this type of (I presume) computer connectors. The male is already fitted onto the power transformer, and you only need to solder the female onto the appropriate voltage slot on the circuit board. Once soldered, the 7 pins would be very difficult to DE-solder and remove. Hence I was faced with the difficulty when I decided to take my 8300 to the USA. I didn't want to de-solder the connector from the existing 220V slot, and thought it would be easier to solder a new one onto the 110V slot.

My search was futile. Apliu Street didn't have it. I thought I should be able to find it in 華強, but wrong! I didn't want to order from RS or Mouser for such a small thing. Finally I asked the Elekit dealer in HK, cnamusic. They didn't have it, but Mr Lau was nice enough to request it from Elekit Japan. How nice of them to send it quickly! Many thanks to both cnamusic and Elekit!

Here in NYC, I spent less than 15 minutes making the conversion. The amp is singing beautifully with my horns!

Editor's Note: Happy New Year!

Two Faces of Our Lovely World

Editor's Note: Happy New Year!

W3H1: Why I have installed the Flag Counter; What have I learned; Where are the Readers from; How many Countries?
The year 2010 left quietly. My hifi was not on. SZTV was showing the Buddhist Bell-Ringing Ceremony led by high monk 印顺大和尚, and I was falling asleep. How uneventful, but is that not a blessing, considering the millions in the world suffering from all manners of natural and, sorrowfully, man-made disasters?

Shortly before the year's end, I accidentally discovered and installed the Google Flag Counter gadget. I was delighted it allowed me, and you, to see where the unique visitors of this Blog come from. At the time of writing, It has now been barely 4 days, and there have been 652 Unique Visitors (meaning each visitor's repeated page loads count only as one) from 57 countries. Something touched my nerve: our heavily burdened world, like all aging beings (for it has life), undoubtedly is getting smaller. Predictably, the majority of my visitors come from Hong Kong and USA, but the latter's proportion still surprised me a little. And I struggled with the names of some of the small (and rather new) countries, like Moldova. Hello to you all!

The important thing is, after gleaming all this information, I am more determined than ever to strive for providing useful information for our hobby, particularly on older gears on which not much info on the net is available. Stay tuned.

弘法寺鸣钟１０８响迎新纳福 (video of same event last year)

Why 108 times?
Allow me to diverge a little. The aforementioned Buddhist ceremony usually takes place on Chinese New Year's (coming February 3rd), but Shenzhen, like HK, is a modern city that likes to embrace the world. For people like us, there are 2 new years per year! This tradition is also honored in Japan, but their new year is celebrated on the western calender.

In case you wonder why 108 times, here are English (relatively simplified) and Chinese (much more complicated) explanations I found on the net:

"...Buddhist belief has it that one rings a bell 108 times at midnight on New Year’s to ring away the 108 bonno (Earthly Desires) that shackle mankind and keep one from reaching inner peace. In a strict ceremony, the bell will be struck exactly 108 times in keeping with the Buddhist belief that each reverberation symbolically represents the purging of the 108 bonno or mortal desires, such as greed, jealousy and infidelity, that bedevil humankind. In this one, all comers may approach and ring the bell to help cleanse themselves on their path to Nirvana..." (from here)

"...对于鸣一Ｏ八声之原因，或谓是对应十二月、二十四气、七十二候之数。或谓可使百八烦恼清醒觉，故佛教称为“百八钟”，也叫“百八杵”。敲钟用的“钟椎”又称做“杵”。“钟”的敲击板眼，随着“门派”及“方域”的不同，佛教界没有统一的规定。就是常见的“百八钟”的义解，也是不尽一致的。

首先，佛教认为，人生无常，祸福相依，一年之中有108种烦恼。唐代怀海禅师所制《百丈清规》称：寺院“晓二时鸣大钟一百零八声，以觉醒百八烦恼之迷梦”。钟声有108响，代表人的108种烦恼，“见惑有88使，修惑有10使，合称为九十八随眠，再加上无惭、无愧、嫉、悭、悔、睡眠、掉举、昏沉、瞋忿、覆等十种，便成108。”佛教的基本教义就是“四谛十二因缘”，而其中核心就是“苦谛”。佛教认为人生多苦多磨难多烦恼。有所谓生苦、老苦、病苦、死苦、怨憎苦、爱别离苦、求不得苦、五取蕴苦等八苦。人有六根（眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意），每根有六种烦恼，六根就有36种烦恼，三世就有108种烦恼。又是苦，又是烦恼，这么多磨难何以消除？据《增一阿含经》说，钟声可以“降伏魔力怨”，钟声被誉为“妙响音”，所以百八钟声可以“醒108个烦恼之睡”，即人们所说“钟声响，烦恼尽”。这一习俗在唐代十分盛行。后来，随着中日文化交流，唐代鉴真大师将此习俗带入日本，此风俗在日本流传至今。

其次，民间盛传：一种说法，一个人在一年中至少有108个烦恼，登寒山寺钟楼撞钟，或聆听钟声，便能消除一年的烦恼，逢凶化吉。再有一种说法，人一生中有108种烦恼，听了佛寺108下钟声就能去掉所有烦恼，年年吉祥如意。又有一种说法，钟声取108这个数，是为108种神佛陀歌功颂德。还有一种说法，108是9的倍数，按照源于《周易》的说法，9数含有吉祥之意，9又是一个最大位的阳数，有极高、极大的含意，9的12倍就是108，这108就意味着至高无上的吉祥。

更有一种说法是：“钟声晨昏叩一百八声者，一岁之义也。盖年有十二月，有二十四气，又有七十二候，正得此数。”一年12个月，24个节气，72个候。古代称五天为一候，按农历360天计，一年分为72候，把12、24、72相加，得108，既可代表一年，又符合108种烦恼之数。因此，若迎新年听钟声108声，既能解除新的一年中烦恼，又能消除人生108种烦恼，真是大吉大利。“鸣钟一百零八下，以醒一百八烦恼之睡也。”尽管此说也不见经传，这个说法乃世俗所杜撰，与佛教无关，但是作为人民的祈愿幸福平安，也是能够增添108这个数字的神奇魅力，存此丰富多彩的传说，也映照出人们对钟声的关注程度。

敲钟时默偈、闻钟时诵偈也富有鲜明的特色。早钟部份的叩钟偈，在钟声偈三遍默诵完后，接诵大方广佛华严经名及佛菩萨圣号，晚钟部份则接妙法莲华经名及佛菩萨圣号，配合击钟一句一叩，摄心叩诵全偈三遍，共得108下。“一百零八”，代表众生繁多的无明烦恼和习气，叩钟的目的即是在提醒修行人，要以精进用功的击槌，破除自己无始以来的贪瞋痴烦恼，同时应以深切的慈悲愿心，让这份沉稳悠扬的钟声与愿力，上彻天堂，下通地府，使听闻到钟鸣的无边众生，都能得到心灵的安定、启发了自性的智慧光明。

敲钟也是有规矩的，《百丈清规·法器》章说“引杵宜缓，扬声欲长。凡三通，各三十六下，总一百零八下。起止三下稍紧。”尽管寺院敲钟都是一百零八下，但是各个寺院敲钟的方法不尽想同。杭州灵隐寺敲钟的方法——前击七，后击八，中间十八徐徐发，更兼临后击三个，三度共成一零八。讲究的是轻重分明，缓急有序。苏州寒山寺却是每10秒均匀敲击一次，也是有自己的特色。 ..." (from soso)

Addendum: Breakup of Readership at the Time of Writing:

HiFi Letter from NYC 2010 (7): My New Didicated Audio Room I

HiFi Letter from NYC 2010 (7): My New Dedicated Audio Room I

A Room with A Sound
Today marks the eighth day in NYC but, unusually for me, only the second time I am on the computer (via the free WiFi in the public library).

Almost from the moment I arrived I got busy with mother's new apartment in the same building, moving and packing things and never got out much. It is one more bedroom, but the significance of that is that I get to have a room for hifi only, a first for me in NYC, and of course I took the master bedroom!

This room does not really need refreshing, and the size is 10.5 x 16-18 ft. It is wall-to-wall carpeted. After some strenuous work in positioning things I was greatly relieved when my rudimentary setup proved great sounding beyond my greatest hopes. This room has a "blackness" I have seldom encountered anywhere in HK except perhaps at ML's place, and I attribute it to the thick wall-to-wall carpet. I shall report more on the sound later.

Writing is Life
One persistent feeling I had when computerless is an agitation to get back to my Blog. I must not be absent for too long! Some articles wait to be finished, while others are in the pipeline. And there were 2 readers' mail (one from the US and one from Canada) I haven't addressed.

People who don't write much, or write only to attack and criticize others, don't know what it's like to write on a more coherent, and larger, scale. There is a non-hifi reason why TAS and Stereophile, or HiFi News, are widely read; their writers are undoubtedly talented writers who imbue their articles with humor, little observations of life (sometimes surprisingly touching and candid). I may not like the preferences of some of the critics, but I can never doubt their passion. It takes a certain mindset, and a take on life, to bring an article to life.

Music is Transcendence
I get so tired everyday moving my equipment and storage units. But the hardest work, moving my >20,000 LP's, is paradoxically also the most rewarding. Browsing records after records, admiring the cover art and taking the opportunity to re-file comprise a journey of re-discovery. I would gladly file away for days! I am now about half done.

I don't actually listen that much right now, but when I do, starting with happy hour, I am so relieved that there is music in life. All the hard work is worth it.

W3H1: WHAT is vintage tube sound?

W3H1: WHAT is vintage tube sound?

Editor's Note: This is the start of a new feature. Rest assured, W3H1 is not the newest virus, it's about the Why's, What's, Where's and How's of HiFi. Each capsule is short and addresses one specific issue. Stay tuned, and I hope you enjoy it.

Stereophile and Me
Although I have had this idea for a long time, the impetus for implementation came today when I read a post in R33 by our gentle-soul-poet pilotrol. In his invaluable Fisher and Pilot 古董同好會 ~ Vintage Amplifier thread, he cited a Stereophile article on the Fisher 500-C, in which the critics examined the vintage integrated amp with modern critical eyes and gave it a high mark. Make sure you read also the follow-ups, especially In Modern Dress, where it was used to drive the inefficient Sonus Faber Cremona! In case you are interested, there are TONS more of informative articles on the Fisher receivers (a good one in 6moons).

I shall relate a personal experience to you. Some years ago, we paid a visit to our friend Gary aka "Kondo san", who was at the time using a ML6 (something like that) preamp + FM professional amp to drive his JBL K2-9800. We happened to have my Fisher X-101-C (above right) integrated amp with me. We asked to hook it up, and all of us (except maybe the host) thought it completely trounced the modern ss setup. This integrated amp is quite similar to the 500-C, also using 7591. My sample is in excellent shape. It's superbly quiet even through my highly efficient Tannoy Canterbury and many friends have marveled at its performance.

All this to say, as has been said before by many others, a piece of good vintage tube gear in good electrical condition sounds surprisingly up to date and has a heart of gold. Unfortunately, we hear too may out-of-spec samples and, even more unfortunately, many "vintage lovers" like that kind of sound. The common term 古墓派 is aptly used to refer to them. Many tube "experts" belong to this type.

I am not sure Stereophile still does this kind of thing with regularity, but vintage gears still feature in the magazine often enough through writers like the excellent Art Dudley. In this aspect, Stereophile is not alone:

HiFi News has a regular feature that examines a piece of properly restored vintage gear in each issue.

HiFi World has always been eclectic and possessed a heavy vintage bend, long before the others. Its Second-Hand Buying Tips deals with vintage. The Features section also has some interesting overviews on old gears, like Garrad.

The HiFi World Buying Guide (less so HiFi News Hot 100), unlike many other Recommended Components list, contains many old gears, but not as old as what we term vintage. A fun read though.