November 2005

Pet Peeve Plus
Reviewer Spotlight Plus
We Welcome A New Reviewer
Article By Steven R. Rochlin
Click here to e-mail reviewer

  As i write this it is snowing outside! Seems like only yesterday live music was being enjoyed outside in the warmth of the sun. Where did those crazy lazy days of summer go? Since summer Enjoy the Music.com has launched the audiophile industry's largest contest, now reaching well over $75,000! We have also updated our Manufacturer Links page so each alpha has a dedicated page. Since we update our Industry News page nearly every weekday, plus other content including our partnered magazines The Absolute Sound, The $ensible Sound, and The Audiophile Voice, it may be hard for you to keep up with it all. As such we have begun offering an RSS feed!

Wikipedia describes an RSS feed as "...allowing Internet users to subscribe to websites that have provided RSS feeds; these are typically sites that change or add content regularly... [and] presents new articles in a list, giving a line or two of each article and a link to the full article or post. Unlike subscriptions to pulp-based newspapers and magazines, most RSS subscriptions are free." Virtually all computer operating systems have free RSS feed software so you may enjoy our nearly daily Web site updates. As a bonus to our RSS community, we will also make available reviews and articles available days, or perhaps weeks, before normal access.

Have debated placing a link on the main homepage with said updates, yet Enjoy the Music.com now stands at over 3,500 Web pages and my hopes are for you to not just look at the newest content, but also view some of our writings that span well over a decade. Our RSS feed will feature some of our past content from time to time. Unlike some other audio interests, our Web site is very easy to navigate and our Search Engine simple to use. As an example, our Classic section contains writing that is nearly a decade old, yet still very much worth your attention today. Some of this content includes:

Our longstanding nature, dedication to this hobby, and enthusiasm for the enjoyment of music has provided you with a staggering amount of information available under one simple Web address. Music first!

Pet Peeves
In September 2005 my pet peeve was about manufacturers using less than competent loudspeaker binding posts. This month my peeve is around the high-end audio industry using the ill-designed and lackluster RCA interface. There is good reason why the professional audio industry employs XLR or other type of jacks. First off, the RCA generally connects the electrical positive terminal before ground. This is insane! Any electrical engineer will tell you that connecting a signal's ground first is proper. But it gets worse as the overall RCA design is not gas tight, and therefore lends itself to airborne contaminants. How dare we call ourselves "high-end" yet use such rubbish to connect our equipment!

Many DIY guys have wisely directly soldered their connectors, both RCA and loudspeaker, within their system. This eliminates many things including, but not limited to, insertion loss, the resistance of various metals and plating within an interface degrading the purity of the signal, impedance variances, and the electrical contact greatly degrading in a relatively short time do to environmental conditions.

Am sure the above may upset some, yet those with a scrap of knowledge on the subject at hand must agree there needs to be a better way. So what is the solution?

Since most audiophiles have never touched a soldering iron, let alone know the difference between a cold solder joint and one that is correct, we could migrate to better connectors. The avionics and military industry use such solutions including Fischer, N series, BNC, TNC... and all are easily accessible from such companies as AMP, Amphenol, Bendix, Deutsch, Cannon, Pyle and Veam. Perhaps it is time the high-end audio industry live up to their name and move forward in doing away with the legacy and lackluster RCA and embrace more proper solutions.

Welcome Jules L. Coleman To Our Staff
Jules L. Coleman is indeed an avid music lover and guitarist that also extends to his son actively pursuing success as a musician. He earned a B.A. from Brooklyn College and a PhD in Philosophy from Rockefeller University. Eventually Jules received his M.S.L. from the prestigious Yale Law School where he currently is a member of their teaching staff. His love of music led to an interest in high-end audio that has continued for the past 30 years.

Jules is a blues musician, though he readily admits to having "considerably more enthusiasm than talent." His favorite guitars include a 1972 Fender Thinline, a 1967 Gibson 330 and a 1960 Strat, but has his sight squarely set on a 1952 Telecaster. As for audiophile gear, his preferences are tubes and turntables while European journalist Jean Hiraga has inspired him. You can learn more about Jules L. Coleman by reading his bio. We are truly happy to have Jules writing within Enjoy the Music.com™ and you can look forward to benefit from his many decades of wisdom within his articles that will begin in December.

About Dick Olsher
Enjoy the Music.com's Senior Editor
While last month our Reviewer Spotlight focused on Yours Truly, this month it brings me joy to focus on our Senior Editor Dick Olsher. Like Jules, Dick Olsher holds an impressive education. Dick obtained his degrees (BS and M.) in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Florida (Go Gators!). For decades he has been employed as a radiation physicist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory while also holding two United States patents in the area of neutron radiation instrumentation.

Dick's parallel life as a journalist began in 1980 with none other than the great J. Gordon Holt inviting him to write for Stereophile Magazine. For the next 15 years he participated in the magazine's growth, ultimately being recognized as its first Senior Contributing Editor. In 1996, Dick joined Fi Magazine as a Senior Contributing Editor and remained on the staff until the magazine was dissolved in 1999. It brings me joy to have Dick Olsher as our Senior Editor since 2000.

Dick loves tube amplification and as an engineer has also designed what he calls the "First Watt" concept (first formulated in the early 90s). And if amplification was not enough, he also has decades of experience designing loudspeakers, with several DIY designs being published. Enjoy the Music.com^® readers benefit greatly from his deep knowledge of both electrical and physical design prowess. Naturally music comes first and foremost and Dick has produced two albums on the Black Dahlia Music Label. Being in the recording studio has provided Dick the opportunity to follow the recording chain all the way from the microphone feed to the end product. As Senior Editor he naturally focuses on the needs of the musical lover. He wants to emphasize affordable gear and meet the needs of the DIY crowd, yet enjoys the cost-no-object territory too.

The Sum Being Greater Than The Parts
Now that you have 'met' our Senior Editor Dick Olsher, new kid on the block Jules L. Coleman, and myself, hopefully it becomes clear concerning our staff's love of music. We also benefit from their education and experience as a musician in the case of Jules L. Coleman and Steven R. Rochlin, or recording engineer and equipment designer in the case of Dick Olsher. This is only three examples of the over thirty people who make up our cast of characters. In the coming months we will highlight many other members of our staff.  Enjoy the Music.com's sum is indeed greater than our parts. Of course in the end what really matters to me is that we all....

Enjoy the Music (as the snow falls outside... Frank Zappa  "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow" right now),

Steven R. Rochlin

 

"And my mama cried
And my mama cried
Nanook, a-no-no
Nanook, a-no-no
Don't be a naughty Eskimo
Save your money, don't go to the show

Well I turned around and I said "Oh, oh" Oh
Well I turned around and I said "Oh, oh" Oh
Well I turned around and I said "Ho, Ho"
And the northern lights commenced to glow
And she said, with a tear in her eye
"Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow"
"Watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat that yellow snow"