The time has finally come for me to jump on the Blu-Ray band wagon with my discovery of the Samsung BD-P2550 (finally a player that can decode all HD audio formats over its analog 7.1 outputs so I don’t have to invest in an HDMI capable HT receiver, plus HQV DVD upsampling all for $350).

Unfortunately, like every other middle class American, I cannot afford this new player without trying to sell my beloved Pioneer DV-47ai Universal Disc player. Boo. I guess I’ll have to settle for vinyl (heh) and uncompressed digital computer audio.

I’ve posted a classified ad for the Pioneer DV-47ai on Audiogon. Go check it out if you’re interested in great digital audio playback, I’ve sweetened the deal with a set of Black Diamond Racing Cones v3 and some SACDs and DVD-As. I have more pictures of the Pioneer at Flickr.

This Blu-Ray deal better be worth it. I spied the Samsung at the local Best Buy and was not impressed by its build quality: no heft, ports askew, fan, and a captive power cable. I’ll let you know how I like it after the holidays.

At only $20,000, TW-Acustic’s Raven AC four armed/motored monster of a turntable answers no one’s need to run and compare four different cartridge and tone arm combos on one turntable rig. I would not allow this thing in my house for fear that it would come alive at night and terrorize my children with its foreboding-quadruple-diamond-tipped-death-tubes. I can’t figure out if the tone arms and cartridges are included in the $20K price tag, maybe not.

Home Theater Hi-Fi’s comment from the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest:

Here’s a close-up of the turntable (TW Acustic - $20,000). Notice that there are four tone arms. I thought this might just be for demonstration purposes, but no, you can purchase it this way so that you can use different cartridges for various sound characteristics.

[via Secrets of Home Theater and Hi-Fi]

I picked up the M-Audio IE-10 In-Ear Headphones over the weekend. They headphones are replacing my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 which just stopped working a few weeks ago (ugh, just before I was traveling, so I had to borrow way too bassy Griffin in-ears from Fuzzy). I had to wait for a Guitar Center replacement check to show up in the mail before I could go pick up the new earphones. Though I’ve only had the EI-10s a few days, my first impressions are so good that I had to post a quick review.

Build Quality

Until last night I couldn’t figure out what killed my Super.fi 3s. One commute they were working the next nothing (at first I thought my iPod had finally failed, luckily the second gen beast is still hanging on). I inspected the ear phones again and found that the right cable had split at the flexible plastic ear-wrap tube. M-Audio’s IE-10 in-ears fixed this and other design weaknesses with a heavy jacketed twisted pair cable that integrates the ear wrap’s flexible wire inside the jacket. This a huge improvement over the Super.fi’s thin copper strand and jacket with separate flexible wire in a plastic tube. The original UE’s copper wire oxidized at the ear wrap connection and at random points along the lead (you can see all this through the clear jacket). The IE-10s wire is tinned copper to help prevent corrosion. I may buy a replacement cable ($19.95) for my old UEs to revive them.

Ergonomics

I flip-flopped the left and right leads between the ear pieces so I can insert them backwards for a better seal. This backwards hack improves the in-ears’ isolation and bass response. One problem: it hurts. I need to try different ear sleeves (the IE-10s come with three pairs single flange silicon, one pair double flange silicon and one pair disposable foam) for a better fit, I don’t think the pain is listening fatigue. I do have a cold right now so the pain may just be due to my craptacular sinuses. If the smaller sleeves don’t help I’ll flip the ear pieces back. The M-Audio manual’s instructional pictures actually show the ear pieces inserted backwards, oops. Go watch their video instead.

Sonics

As I mentioned, with the tighter (and painful for now) fit the IE-10s sound great. Highlights:

• Bass: Ample and accurate. Just the right amount of puff from kick bass drums, clear bass lines, can ride electronica bass waves
• Mids: Snare a little looser than I like, could be due to bass harmonic overhang, clear male and female voices, guitars not shrill
• Highs: Individual cymbal taps can be heard, though a little too much sizzle, little sibilance on male voices
• Imaging: Widest spread I’ve heard over headphones, though earphones do not disappear (especially when the drivers produce a slight vibration on your outer ear), not sure if absolute phase is flipped with rewiring the leads: have to rip XLO/Reference Test & Burn In CD and check
• Isolation and Noise: Again, with the reverse insertion hack isolation is great, when music is playing I cannot hear the noisy trains and buses (and their passengers) that sonically pollute my commute (M-Audio claims 26 dB of isolation). The headphones do not pick up any EMI/RFI interference and background hiss is inaudible revealing delightful low level details for a very clean listening experience

Buying Advice

I was reluctant to replace my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3s with what I thought was just a simple re-brand by M-Audio. To my surprise the IE-10s vastly improved build and sonic quality over the UEs. I highly recommend the IE-10s for anyone interested in in-ear headphones at around the $100 price point. Through circumstance I have ascended the next step up my in-ear can ladder. I started with the Shure E2C, then Etymotic ER6i, then Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 and finally the M-Audio IE-10. I cannot wait for the day when I can justify spending more than $100 on a pair of headphones that are guaranteed to break in little over a year. I guess I’ll keep buying those extended repair warranties for $19.99 a pop.

paint does matter: “i just repainted my whole house. based of advice from wong tatt yew, i changed from ICI pearl-glo paint to pentalite, which is supposed to be better for the sonics.

lo and behold, when i switched on my system last night (with all the positionings and furnitures intact), it sounded vastly different and dare i say, slightly worse than be before. the midrange becomes brittle, hollow and slightly grainy and sibilance was high; it just doesn’t have the solidity and concentration of the previous sound.

i am no sure if that is caused by the new coat of paint not fully dried up but it certainly is an ear-opening experience for me. i suspect the moisture in the paint creates havoc in the sound reflection on the wall and maggie being a dipole, is one well of a sensitive speaker.

p/s i tried listening again tonight, it is much better now with the mids getting fuller and more bodied. amazing!

latest update: this is the 3rd day, and the sound has more or less come back in full force. i marvel the experience!”

I am painting my utility room this week and it is adjacent to my listening room, I can only hope that the new paint job doesn’t ruin my next listening experience (tongue firmly planted in cheek).

(Via Desirable Audio Boutique 欲望音响.)

This trip I couldn’t take it anymore so I looked up the Toshiba 50H81 RPTV on the internet. I found an old review on Ultimate AV that mentioned that SVM (scan velocity modulation) could be turned off by using the “Movies” picture preset. SVM! I’ve had it turned off and buried on my own displays for so long I forgot it existed. SVM was killing my in-law’s TV by obscuring the picture with an over sharpened, ringing layer of plastic wrap. I switched to the “Movies” preset and all that evil ringing disappeared.

With SVM defeated I could eyeball the rest of the calibration without distraction (final settings for other 50H81 owners: Start in “Movies”; Contrast: 44; Brightness: 62; Color: 48; Tint: 0; Sharpness: 28; DNR: Off; Fleshtone: Off; ALS: Off). Now every Comcast channel looked great, SD or HD. I could finally relax and enjoy my vacation.

So, remember, if your new HDTV is plagued by SVM halos, turn the function off by any means necessary. It may be hidden in a picture preset, have a toggle on/off, or you may have to venture into the TV’s service menu. SVM is just one of the “features” used by TV manufacturers to enhance a TV’s appearance on the showroom floor. As a consumer, if I see SVM on in the showroom, I leave.

When shopping for a TV make sure you have complete control over its picture. Be aware that you need to disable “features” like SVM, DNR (digital noise reduction also found in DVD players), Sharpness, ALS (automatic light sensor changes brightness and contrast depending on external room light, throws your carefully calibrated settings out). Also never use the “Vivid” or “Sports” presets, you should only pick “Movie” or “Pro.” Avoid these new HDTV gotchas and you will have a more pleasurable viewing experience even without a professional calibration.

Oddly enough, Steve Albini (of Electric Audio recording studio, the bands Shellac of North America, Rapeman and Big Black) has been answering questions on a poker forum as a “micro celebrity.” He answers any question about favorite bands, musicians and recording sessions.

An interesting excerpt about digital and analog home audio listening:

Q: For your own listening pleasure, digital music (CDs) or analogue (vinyl)?
A: If I’m going to put on a record for pleasure, it will be a vinyl record, unless I’m at work. Understand though that I listen to original masters all day every day, and so I’m less likely than most people to want to throw on an album when I knock-off at midnight or whatever.
Q: Any thoughts on the new higher sample rate/bitrate SACD or DVDA releases?
A: Doesn’t matter, since both formats are now dead, but I think a greater bit depth (24 bits is plenty) grants a bigger quality improvement than increasing the sample rate. The downloadable version of the new album from my band (Shellac of North America) is available in compressed formats, but also 16-bit or 24-bit 44.1kHz versions [ED: these are 24-bit WAV files, I’ll have to research if these will work over my Airtunes setup (or I could maybe burn to a DVD with Roxio Toast). We did it as an experiment to see if anybody appreciates having it available.
Q:I thought the Bob Dylan and Rolling Stones remasters sound great on regular systems. Maybe SACD would be better.
A: No, I’m pretty sure they’re still going to have Dylan and the Stones on them.

I haven’t bought the new album yet as I haven’t made it out to an indie record store lately. I’m very excited about these 24 bit downloads in addition to the vinyl.

Then he lists his current home audio system:

Not all put together at the moment, but here’s what I got:

VPI record cleaner (incredible, I recommend it)
Studer linear-tracking TT (to be replaced by a VPI JR)
Ortofon cartridge (to be replaced by a pair of bayonet headshells, one with a Shure VR15X and one with a Sumiko Blue Point “nude” special)
Hagerman Bugle phono preamp
Marantz integrated amp (to be replaced by a home-made tube amp once I get off my ass and finish it)
Custom Linnaeum-tweeter speakers with reflex bass cabinets. No model number, but made by Linnaeum with Focal drivers.

It is so awesome to know that he is into clean vinyl, separates and DIY (I remember reading about his tube amp project on the Electric Audio Forums a while back).

You’ll also find some insane poker speak:

Folded Queens to a big four-bet when 200+BB deep (but covered by a guy who could squeeze) full ring the other day and got into a beef with Pavaveda about it. He was all “how do you magically put him on KK+” and I was all “dude shut up you play limit HE shorthanded” and he was all “you have 34 percent equity against their ranges” and I was all “dude shut up I have two outs that aren’t the nuts and I’m not playing for my stack with two outs and you’re wrong about those ranges” and he was all “I disagree” and I was all “dude shut up.”

The whole thread is a great read and still growing. Go ask your questions.

I scored a Nintendo Wii a few weekends ago. Between Wii Sports Boxing sessions with Paige, my 3 year old (we each won a match), and throwing out my neck driving and putting in Super Swing Golf, I realized that I could use the Wii to send my digital music collection to the living room stereo. We’d been missing music upstairs in the kitchen/dining/living room area. I had even been considering getting a second Airport Express, especially since their price reduction, to handle music in the living room.

To my surprise the Wii can stream music through its Internet Channel. A buddy at my day job recommended Wii Transfer by Riverfold Software to handle this task. Wii Transfer gives you access to both your iTunes music library and iPhoto albums through the Wii’s Opera browser. It can also transcode video files to a format the Wii can understand when copied onto an SD card and viewed through the Photo Channel, and backs up game saves.

Wii Transfer works as advertised though it has some annoying limitations (though some may be the Wii’s limitations):

• Delay between songs: Wii Transfer has to transcode AAC music tracks into MP3s that the Wii can play through its Opera browser. The process causes a longish (5-10 seconds) delay between songs. On the upside songs start playing before they are fully streamed to the Wii.
• Can’t listen and navigate at the same time: If you want to browse to another album, artist, playlist or track the current song stops playing (because you’ve left page, maybe the player could live in an iframe with a library sidebar, though this will crowd the Wii’s limited screen real estate).
• Low Sound Quality: This, unfortunately, is just the nature of the beast. As mentioned Wii Transfer transcodes (and re-compresses) my already lossy AAC music files into 128 kbit MP3s (this may be improved in future versions with a quality slider) (MP3 files are sent as is, damn my 90% AAC iTunes library!). To compound the low quality of the source tracks, I have the Wii routed through my TV’s audio then to a cheap Onkyo stereo receiver hooked up to old Mirage Omnipolar surround speakers on the shelf above the TV with only ten inches between them. It is not a hi-fi setup with any stereo separation or frequency extension. This is a case of 99.9% convenience and 0.1% quality (I mean audio hardware quality here, I don’t blame Wii Transfer for my lame secondary system). At least we have background “music” upstairs.
• Wii Transfer stops working after long periods of inactivity: The app is light enough that I thought I could just leave it running on my Mac Mini but the next time I rev up the Wii it can’t find the Wii Transfer bookmark. I have to quit and launch the app to get it going.

• I like Wii Transfer. For $14 it is a great tool to add limited media center capabilities to Nintendo’s Wii. This review only tackles the system’s audio features and performance which are good enough for casual, background listening. I have not tried converting movies yet (no SD card for the Wii). The shareware app definitely beats out MyTunes RSS which has a terrible interface on the Wii (even with a custom CSS file)

I went through the frustration last night of trying to play a video off my MacBook Pro with a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack. By default the Quicktime Player down-mixes the soundtrack to stereo and sends this out over the MacBook’s optical audio connection (it’s the same output as the headphone jack, just connect a Toslink cable with a mini-plug adapter, just like digitally connecting an Airport Express). I had a hard enough of a time getting Dolby Digital to output that I thought I would share the steps you need to follow to output Dolby Digital from Quicktime Player.

1. Connect Up to Your AV Receiver

• As mentioned above you must first connect an optical Toslink cable from your Mac’s headphone jack with a mini-plug adapter to a free Toslink input on your AV Receiver.
• With the cable connected power up your receiver and navigate to to right input (I borrowed my Xbox’s connection so I chose the “XBOX” input on my Onkyo TX-DS989 AV Receiver)

2. Install and Configure Perian 1.0 Quicktime Plug-in

• Download and install the Perian 1.0 PrefPane and Quicktime plug-in
• Launch System Preferences, click on the Perian swiss army knife icon. Select “Multi-Channel Output” from the Audio Output drop down.

3. Configure Audio MIDI Setup

• Launch /Applications/Utilities/Audio MIDI Setup. Under the Audio Devices tab select Properties For: Built-in Output. Under Audio Output your source should read “Digital Output” change the Format to 48000.0 Hz.
• Quit Audio MIDI Setup

4. Edit the Dolby Digital plist file

• Open ~/Library/Preferences/com.cod3r.a52codec.plist in Property List Editor
• Expand the Root Dictionary
• Click the New Sibling Button
• Fill out the new sibling as in the screenshot (key: attemptPassthrough, Class: Number, Value: 1) [hack via: Cocoa|Forge]

• Save the altered plist file.

5. Watch Your Video with Dolby Digital Soundtrack in Quicktime Player

• Open your video file in Quicktime Player
• With your MacBook Pro optimally connected over DVI to digital front projector and Toslink to your AV receiver you should enjoy full screen and full digital surround sound.
• Your AV Receiver should display that it is receiving a Dolby Digital signal as opposed to stereo or Dolby Pro Logic II

That’s it, enjoy your movie.

Bonus Tip: When you connect a MacBook Pro to a digital projector you may notice that the image on the screen is very dark. The video signal is getting double gamma-ed by the Mac’s built in color management. To fix: Launch System Preferences:Displays:Color Tab, click the Calibrate button for the projector display (assuming you are not mirroring), check “Expert Mode,” advance through the wizard until you get to the Gamma step, check “Use Native Gamma,” finish the wizard and save the new profile (eg, “Sanyo PLV-Z3 Calibrated”). Now the Mac is sending a raw video signal to the projector with the proper gamma and brightness.

Following up on my earlier Blade Runner Final Cut post, I found this unofficial product mock up and disc set feature details and that we’ll get the official announcement at the San Diego Comic Con.

Here’s the feature list courtesy of Binary Bonsai:

Disc 1 - The Final Cut (2007):

• Ridley Scott’s definitive new version of his science-fiction masterpiece includes added & extended scenes, added lines and new and cleaner special effects.

Disc 2 - 3 Complete Film Versions:

• ‘82 U.S. Theatrical version
• ‘82 International Theatrical version
• ‘92 Director’s Cut

Disc 3 - ‘Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner’ Documentary

• Newly created documentary: Through interviews with the cast and crew, critics and colleagues, this feature-length documentary provides a mainstream-friendly yet meaningful in-depth look at Blade Runner’s literary genesis, its challenging production and controversial legacy. When all is said and done, this will be the definitive documentary on the film.

Disc 4 – Enhanced Content Bonus: (TBC)

• INCEPTION - Featurettes and galleries devoted to Philip K. Dick, the birth of Cyberpunk and adapting the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.
• PRE-PRODUCTION - Featurettes and galleries devoted to script development, conceptual design and abandoned sequences.
• PRODUCTION - Featurettes and galleries devoted to principal photography and locations.
• POST-PRODUCTION - Featurettes and galleries devoted to deleted scenes, music and visual effects.
• RELEASE - Featurettes and galleries devoted to marketing and reaction including Trailers, TV Spots and Promotional Featurettes
• LEGACY - Featurettes and galleries devoted to the film’s resurrection and impact.

Disc 5 - Work Print Version & Enhanced Content:

• Including the rarely seen Work Print version and potentially the 52 min. Channel Four (UK) documentary which was the first serious documentary created for the film.

Additionally, the set will come packaged in a limited ‘Blade Runner’ briefcase holding the five-disc digipack with foil-enhanced and embossed slipcase. The goodies inside will include a lenticular motion image from the original feature, a collectible model spinner, an origami unicorn, a collection of photographs and a letter from Ridley Scott.

When I mentioned that the “Voight-Kampf” brief-cased collector set to Beth over dinner last night, she responded, “Nerd alert, nerd alert… Why the hell does it come with an origami unicorn?” I took her question seriously, “Because the Miami Vice police chief guy [we don't watch Battlestar Galactica] would leave little origami sculptures for Harrison Ford and it somehow meant he was a replicant, though I don’t agree with this interpretation.” Paige concluded the conversation with, “Oooh, unicorns!”

(Via Cyberpunk Review.)

Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible was finally released on vinyl (Merge copy: “LP is double 180-gram audiophile quality with three sides of music and an etching on the fourth side.”). I picked up my copy yesterday after work. On the way home I noticed a red sticker on the shrink wrap promising a coupon for digital downloads (pictured above).

I’m super glad that Merge is accommodating their customers’ portable audio reality (Saddle Creek does the same). The downloads are the free prize inside (at least I hope it’s free and not built into the price, the double album set me back $21.99 ($3 more than at an indie record store I visited the next day, damn!). I had a little trouble at first downloading the zipped album: I had to dig the price tag and its bar code number out of the trash (the album jacket doesn’t have any bar code I could find), enter the serial number and bar code number (after many erred bar code number entries I figured out I needed to drop a leading zero) and then download the zip file. The download page warned me that I only have 3 downloads left. The files are DRM free.

The MP3s were ripped using iTunes at 192 kbps. This is perfect for iPod casual listening, but I want more. You’d think that for serious home listening I would be satisfied listening to the vinyl album. But with the chaos of my children, the ritual of removing the disc from its jacket, giving a few anti-static Milty zaps, placing the record on the turntable, dry cleaning it with a carbon fiber brush and finally dropping the needle on side A is near impossible. You think I’ll ever get to sides B, C, D?

So, Merge (and any other record labels that want to care about their customers), why not offer a secondary download in a lossless format? I would sing your praises if with the purchase of the vinyl album, I could download a zip file full of FLAC or Apple Lossless files in addition to the low-res MP3s. The lossless album would be a larger download: maybe 300–400 MB compared to the MP3s’ 65 MB, but bandwidth is cheap these days.

The lossless files would not make me feel so bad about spending around $20 an album (I have this mid-80s figure of $8 stuck in my head as the “right” price for a record). Any digital downloads at all is a great first step, though.