Enjoyin' The Music?
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  Sometimes the world puzzles me. While most cultures feels music, art and the human body are beautiful, others seem to want it hidden. The Taliban, for instance, does not allow for music enjoyment; let alone women to show any part of their flesh (or have medical treatment and other basic human rights). On a different level we have places such as Russia where music has been long celebrated while on TV a female newscaster slowly undresses until she is totally nude by the end of the news broadcast! Some TV stations late at night in Milan Italy are much like the Playboy channel here in America! So what does this have to do with music reproduction? Absolutely nothing...

Or Absolutely Everything

Since before human-kind  became "civilized", male artists have expressed their love for women in many ways. We have statues, poetry, and of course music. The Beatles, for instance, have so many songs about love that you might presume it was "all you need". Marketing gurus proclaim that "sex sells", yet many of us must admit it is an integral part of humanity. Fortunately we here at Enjoy the Music.com™ have an educated, professional, and worldly audience. Sure there may be a minority of people who may dislike the picture that appears at the top of this article because of their beliefs, though it should also get these same people to do some self searching as to why their beliefs have arrived to the way they are today.

The same can be said for arguments concerning tubes versus solid-state... or analog versus digital. Many audiophiles seem to feel that analog sounds more natural than digital. Could this be due to such long-term conditioning and their belief system against digital that new formats such as DVD-Audio and SACD stand no chance in their mind? Have these digiphobe's belief against the small silver digital disc closed their heart and minds concerning new "high resolution" digital formats? Only through some honest and hard soul searching might these digiphobes take an honest look at themselves and their beliefs.

No one is here to say that analog is 100% right or 100% wrong. There is plenty of room for both formats. The same can be said concerning the beauty of the human body. When employed artistically, it conveys a message. Art, like music, can be a personal experience. Some prefer men sexually, others women. Still, others choose to reframe from contact either way. To demand someone else to follow your belief system is fairly narrow-minded. While we all surely agree and defend human rights, where do we go from there?

What if i were to demand everyone buy a DVD-Audio or SACD player... or vinyl record player just because i feel this is what every audiophile should do? Would you follow like the proverbial sheep to slaughter? Of course not! And just because someone feels an audio component is great does not mean you must buy it... even if it falls into some very narrow and limited Class/Recommended rating system. An open-minded audiophile usually chooses to carefully audition and experiment accordingly. One man's strong belief for might be another man's belief against. Neither is right or wrong.

So why am i bringing this subject to the forefront? Because we each have our own opinions and personal experience, yet should also allow others to share their beliefs as well. Neither should limit the other's expressions accordingly. While Rec.Audio.Opinion may be what some consider the above gone horribly awry, eventually human kind seems to find a way of balance. Alas, balance may take months, years... or decades. At some point we all agree that one man's heaven may be another's hell. Fair enough.

There's A New Kid In Town... or Two!

It seems each and every month we announce a new, professional reviewer joining our staff. Last month it was Srajan Ebaen and this month it is none other than Wayne Donnelly and A. Colin Flood. Wayne's audiophile gigs included The Absolute Sound, FI, Ultimate Audio and Listener. Please feel free to read his entire Bio by clicking here. His first review to appear within the  Enjoy the Music.com™ is the highly prized Albert Von Schweilket DB-100 highly efficient loudspeaker. Those who attended the VSAC 2001 show only weeks ago have reported many good things concerning these loudspeakers. Was it luck of the room and setup... or something more? Wayne tells all in his review.

Another new writer is A. Colin Flood. Colin is the type of guy who is always on the lookout for that biggest "bang" for the audio dollar. As an aquarium hobbyist, Colin is also the Contributing Editor to the leading US aquarium magazine Freshwater And Marine Aquarium. We look forward to his writings within our magazine. Of course in the end what really matters is that you...

Enjoy the Music ("A Taste Of Honey" by The Beatles),

Steven R. Rochlin

 

"A taste of honey... tasting much sweeter than wine.
I dream of your first kiss, and then,
I feel upon my lips again,
A taste of honey... tasting much sweeter than wine.
I will return, yes I will return,
I'll come back for the honey and you.
Yours was the kiss that awoke my heart,
There lingers still, 'though we're far apart,
That taste of honey... tasting much sweeter than wine.
I will return, yes I will return,
I'll come back (he'll come back) for the honey (for the honey) and you."