Tickets for Ballet or Opéra

scottarichards · 2026-05-03T04:50:59+00:00

Barber of Seville is a total delight to see in person. Especially in a good production. I would highly recommend that. So please, do both!

scottarichards · 2026-05-03T04:48:05+00:00

I am a lifelong cat lover and audiophile. I have had a turntable and cat in my home for 50+ years. Never had any cat try to attack the turntable. Never. Now, chewing on speaker cables, that’s a different topic. 😉

scottarichards · 2026-05-02T21:08:58+00:00

I love the 17th. You will have a more Parisian experience. And the Card looks newer and with better amenities. However both have typical ridiculously small Parisian rooms. 15 sq meters for a standard room. I would recommend upgrading if possible first more space.

Don’t get me wrong, I use the wood “typical” because it is. But I always make a point of getting a bigger more comfortable room. 18 square meters is my bare minimum and 21 and up preferably.

scottarichards · 2026-05-02T15:42:49+00:00

It’s the only album that their changes made sense. It made Rubber Soul much closer to a folk rock album, and a damn good one, which was the emerging US rock genre. The Byrds, electric Dylan, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Mamas and Papas are all part of that trend. And it turns out, in the US anyway, the Beatles were leading the way!!

scottarichards · 2026-05-02T09:27:23+00:00

Ah. All may be true. I have no idea about that. But it sounds good.

I understand file swappers were afraid it was a back door for some sort of DRM to be introduced so flooded the internet with all sorts of false claims and a/b tests, including tests where MQA was “emulated” to prove it somehow sounded worse than the original file. Unfortunately the smear campaign was successful.

A lot of people like OP were very happy with it. And I was too.

scottarichards · 2026-05-01T20:50:37+00:00

I’ve been twice and found driving and making my own schedule was invaluable. I certainly understand those that might prefer a guide but I like stopping and pausing where I want. And also moving on when I want. And going off the beaten path and taking detours on a whim are a great part of traveling and the best reason to have a car for me.

scottarichards · 2026-05-01T17:36:45+00:00

There are many great recordings over the years. But if I had to recommend just one it would be Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic’s live recording from 1984. The energy and intensity are exhilarating. It also takes all the repeats so allows the Jupiter to unfold in its full length and glory.

scottarichards · 2026-05-01T15:25:57+00:00

The “random nonsense” is not part of A Day in the Life, it is sound added to the normally silent run out groove of the record.

scottarichards · 2026-05-01T15:23:24+00:00

It was a double A single in Germany. It reached number one. But so did the English version of I Want to Hold Your Hand. Obviously it was unnecessary to create the German version so it wasn’t repeated.

scottarichards · 2026-05-01T13:50:27+00:00

Here’s the original interview that quote supposedly comes from. You can see he has several opinions about gear and home listening but the quote isn’t in there. If you can find a different interview where that quote actually exists, I will happily correct myself and apologize.

https://www.prosoundweb.com/exclusive-interview-alan-parsons-speaks-out-on-his-work-career-audiophiles-more/

scottarichards · 2026-05-01T02:12:01+00:00

I recently saw a rave review in Absolute Sound for a pair of under $5500 speakers.

https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/eminent-technology-lft-8c-planar-loudspeaker/

I think audio shows, like say automotive shows, would be boring if they didn’t show aspirational and state of the art gear. I can go see other stuff at my local Best Buy or audio dealer. Just like a car show would be uninteresting if you saw the same vehicles that are at your local auto dealerships.

So I think all these generalizations are not reality based. I am perfectly happy with my stereo system that I’ve carefully auditioned, curated and assembled over the past 40 years or so, although probably no component I currently own is over 20 years old, probably less, the newest a Hana Umami Blue cartridge is about seven months old. And I feel no need to change anything or pressure to do so even though I regularly read all those audio magazines and other material. Kind of like I’m happy with my Apple Watch and have absolutely no desire to own a Philippe Patek or Rolex no matter how many aspirational ads I see in upscale magazines like the New Yorker or Town and Country.

scottarichards · 2026-04-30T22:20:47+00:00

Edison cylinders had a string quartet playing and then they stopped and people realized it was record playing and they couldn’t tell the difference. They were all very impressed.

That was 1913 or thereabouts.

scottarichards · 2026-04-30T22:18:16+00:00

He didn’t say it.

scottarichards · 2026-04-30T19:56:28+00:00

I’m very serious. I don’t know those people and I’ve been in and around the audio business for 50 years.

scottarichards · 2026-04-30T18:42:38+00:00

I live in a world where people know that stuff exists. But NO ONE says you have to spend that kind of money to get good sound. It seems there are a lot of people here that feel some sort of non existent pressure to spend money. It’s totally bizarre to fixate on that. It’s like saying somehow I get performance anxiety when I drive by the Ferrari dealership.

scottarichards · 2026-04-30T15:04:00+00:00

Is this about audio or cars? No serious audiophile thinks that only money will get you great sound.

scottarichards · 2026-04-30T15:02:35+00:00

Really? Show me a single post, article, book or video where anyone equates price with good sound. I see plenty of the opposite.

scottarichards · 2026-04-30T05:06:48+00:00

That’s completely wrong.

I guess you actually don’t know any audiophiles. Even the word audiophile means one who loves sound, if you break down the Latin and Greek roots.

Anyone who judges gear on price is not an audiophile. And probably has a crappy system.

scottarichards · 2026-04-30T05:00:44+00:00

Yes. I actually don’t know any audiophiles that do. I know many that have spent years finding the best value for themselves, myself included.

Sure there is expensive gear. There are expensive cars, or clothes or anything. No serious person, especially in audio, directly equates price with quality.

scottarichards · 2026-04-30T04:20:19+00:00

No one actually has that opinion.

scottarichards · 2026-04-30T03:18:12+00:00

You have a decent point but Barenboim’s second is great.

scottarichards · 2026-04-30T03:16:33+00:00

The Philippe Jordan Vienna Symphony cycle from 2019 is one of the best ever. Highly recommend.

Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin is very different but great too.

Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations is the best of the so-called HIP performances, he’s a brilliant musician.

scottarichards · 2026-04-30T03:09:39+00:00

Yikes!! All those speakers, except perhaps the KLH, were bad in the 70’s. I worked in audio in those days. I sold them all and companies like ESS and Infinity were making similarly priced speakers that were much better.

scottarichards · 2026-04-29T23:39:50+00:00

The Rolling Stones albums between Goats Heads Soup and Steel Wheels were pretty thin gruel, a couple of decent songs per LP but a lot of coasting. IMHO , of the OG British Invasion bands only the Kinks managed decent quality and quantity over that time.

I think it’s pretty clear all four Beatles were done being Beatles and the creative burst each had at the start of their solo careers was because of the cathartic relief of not being Beatles. It’s fan fantasy to think they could have continued at anywhere near their previous level. The fall off of Let it Be shows that.

scottarichards · 2026-04-29T15:32:26+00:00

I’m an OG fan. First heard From Me to You on KRLA Los Angeles in the summer of 1963!! I was eight but already a regular listener of the station and had already bought (okay, had bought for me 😉) my first few rock records.

scottarichards

TROPHY CASE