February 2005
New Articles Plus More Show Reports!
Article By Steven R. Rochlin
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  The recent CES show experienced a record attendance! Well over 130,000 people descended upon Sin City to see and hear all the new electronics. Of course there was also THE Show, an event specifically geared towards the high-end audio industry. Our virtually live coverage has now been augmented by additional coverage with more reports scheduled to appear shortly!

With your help, our magazine has been steadily growing. We truly appreciate everyone who has graciously supported our website. From worldwide discussion boards to word of mouth, we truly appreciate both the compliments and constructive criticisms, many of which can be found within our letters page. Color me very proud to be a member of this industry.  Enjoy the Music.com wholeheartedly supports the recent efforts of tsunami relief as Audiogon is providing a tsunami relief fund. Paul Marks of Thor Audio, who lost their Indonesian dealers in the tragedy, is donating all proceeds from their upcoming disc to the tsunami relief fund. Only days after the recent Las Vegas shows i personally visited Indonesia.

Indonesia, while receiving some bad press in the past due to various credit card scams, is a beautiful land filled with very gracious people. With deep roots in religion and the characteristic Temples, i truly sensed a people who are both following ancient ways and who respect modern times. Their appreciation towards the world with recent relief efforts was readily apparent. My trip to Indonesia was indeed memorable.

 

New Articles!
With so many music lovers tied to their computers many hours each workday, it is obvious that one would desire high quality music in the workplace. Apple's iPod and accompanying headphones is one solution, though there is an alternative. For many years i have enjoyed music with Linn's Classik mated to a pair of Reference 3a monitors. This system also allows me to use the included CD player, an iPod, or high resolution music files from an outboard source such as an external DAC fed by my computer. Within the past few years we audiophiles have been able to purchase various outboard hard drive storage devices both with and without DAC units. Some of these companies may be new to audiophiles; others such as Wavelength Audio have been offering audiophile equipment for many years.

Years ago the general argument (and rightly so) has been due to the electrically noisy environment within a computer. These naysayers were also correct in that cooling fans for computer processors can be quite loud. Well, the industry has matured and today Naysayers of such computer integrated systems have been slowly changing their mind as specially made system and/or outboard products insure a clean signal path with little EMI/RFI to get in the way plus vanishing low fan noise. In fact some systems may eliminate the need for a cooling fan to insure a quiet environment!

Bill Gaw has been single-handedly spearheading such devices within his Audiolics Anonymous articles. While it saddens me to inform readers that, due to Bill's busy work schedule, the Audiolics Anonymous articles will go from a monthly to a bi-monthly piece, Steven Stone is going to focus specifically on nearfield listening. This type of listening generally involves bookshelf loudspeakers placed on your computer desk to the right and left of the monitor. As such they are only a few feet from your ears. For many years i have personally employed such a system within my home and the clarity, imaging, and depth can be remarkable. Please feel free to learn more about how you can build such a system within Steven Stone's The Nearfiled Introductory and Defining The Desktop articles. 

 

Thanks Again My Friends

Again i wish to thank you, our loyal readers, for your support over the years. Sharing our website with your friends, your letters to us, and your suggestions are always appreciated. My deepest thanks also go out to audiophiles who are donating their efforts to the tsunami relief fund. There are many people in Indonesia who truly appreciate our help during these struggling times. Of course in the end what really matters is that we all....

Enjoy the Music (Dido "Thank You" right now),

Steven R. Rochlin

 

"I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life 
Oh just to be with you is giving me the best day of my life

Push the door, I'm home at last and I'm soaking through and through 
Then you handed me a towel and all I see is you 
And even if my house falls down now, I wouldn't have a clue 
Because you're near me and

I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life 
Oh just to be with you is giving the best day of my life."