michaelb

Responses from michaelb

Recommend CD Player with Volume Control
I agree with you Carl that there has to be some element of objectivity for any of this to make sense. I am sorry for the double submission of my post. It was an accident. I stand by my comments suggesting that we should refrain from antagonism in ... 
Recommend CD Player with Volume Control
Smarting as I am to the rebukes I received for my Take the Audiophile Quiz post, I am wondering if we can't reach some agreement to keep these discussions positive. We all have a strong interest and love for music. We all want to see others enjoy ... 
Take the audiophile quiz!
Tough crowd! Okay, let's try this. A duck walks into a bar ... 
Price/performance curve
Thanks for the response, Kthomas.I've noticed that as my system has improved, I've appreciated classical more. For one thing, classical, particularly orchestral, is much more dynamic than rock, and a system that will reproduce those dynamics is re... 
Price/performance curve
Kthomas, I think I followed, but I'm not sure. Where would you put the various dots of the curve? 
Price/performance curve
Here's what I've learned so far 1) performance is as much room-dependent as it is system-dependent, once you reach a certain part of the performance curve 2) the "percentage improvement" scale is valid only up to a certain level, which may be some... 
Best Male Singers of the 20th Century
Here's a name to illustrate a point about what it takes to be a great singer: Joe Cocker. No one is ever going to label him technically superior, and many might say they don't like the sound his vocal chords make. But talk about somebody who can g... 
Best Male Singers of the 20th Century
Glad for the reinforcement on bashing Connick. I had the misfortune of watching this guy on TV last New Year's Eve while trying to find any news about the Y2K potential meltdown. He did "Cry Me A River" and I'm here to tell you, I was shocked at h... 
Best Small Office Speakers
I'd recommend listening to the Paradigm line. The Atoms and Titans are both fine little speakers and very affordable. 
Best Male Singers of the 20th Century
Harry Connick Jr. is an example of somebody who I think REALLY shouldn't be discussed on this post. Talk about somebody who is completely derivative. A pale -- and obnoxious, in my view -- imitation of Sinatra. I also would take issue with saying ... 
Best Male Singers of the 20th Century
Can't argue with Sam Cooke and Otis Redding, but they have an advantage over Stewart -- they didn't live long enough to cut anything really atrocious, which seems to happen to even the best of 'em. Look at McCartney. And though I like Eric Burden ... 
Best Male Singers of the 20th Century
Good post, Bmpnyc. You get the point. I'd been thinking of Little Richard and Robert Plant, too. And I think we'd have to add Roy Orbison to the list as well as Rod Stewart. You might not love all their material, but they stand out from the field ... 
Best Male Singers of the 20th Century
I think if we're going to throw around superlatives such as "Best Male Singer of the 20th Century," we need to have some basic standards by which to say someone qualifies. So here's a starting point: 1) Technique -- the singer displays greater ove... 
Best Male Singers of the 20th Century
Gino Vanelli? Elton John? Bobby Darin? Michael Stipe? By what standards are any of these guys worthy of the honor of "Greatest Singers of the 20th Century?" Let's try to be a little more objective! Unless you want the category to be "Popular Singe... 
Guilty pleasure music?
This thread has, with the exception of a few responses, failed miserably. As its originator, I suggest we kill it. Let's get back to talking about the really important stuff, like active vs. passive pre-amps, line conditioners and the best CD play...