Friday, June 29, 2018

Let's Go Crazy

Sometimes The Audiophile tries to guide the direction of this blog by talking extra loudly to someone about something silly like using copper shielding in a cable of some sort.

I could not care less about copper shielding, but I Googled it anyway. Holy buckets. Don't do that unless you want to test your tolerance for the boring and mundane.

Also, here's a PSA: If you ever Google anything related to high-fidelity audio, the subsequent ads that will clutter your browser for the rest of your life will include things you will never buy and can only hope your audiophile will never buy.

Case in point, the fine folks at a company I will not name seem to think I just might be interested in a cable that costs more than my first house. Apparently my browsing history has led them to believe I am A) an audiophile, or B) completely unbalanced.

I guess the only way to run that A/B test is to order the cable and see if The Audiophile A) applauds me, or B) has me committed to a mental institution.

TAW

Friday, June 22, 2018

Walking on Sunshine

A small, blue box arrived from Denmark this week thanks to the worldwide postal people. I don't know how many planes, trains, and automobiles were required to get the item from point A to point B, but I can assure you that point B was ecstatic with the timely delivery.

The box contained a new USB something something, that can apparently be "blown out" if one makes a wee little mistake doing something that I'm not allowed to talk about in order to protect the reputation of The Someone who made the mistake.

The important thing is The Audiophile is back in business, and by "business" I mean sitting in the sweet spot swaying to the music, which is the highest denomination of currency I know of to keep his sanity in check.

Is it a coincidence that this box came from the land of "hygge" where the happiest people on the planet spend ridiculous amounts of time curled up by the fire, in hand-knitted socks, drinking mulled wine? I don't think so.

TAW

It doesn't come pre-mulled, but Click Here if you want to kick me AND you fifty bucks toward a case of delicious. 

Friday, June 15, 2018

So Quiet in Here

First things first: The Audiophile's stereo is still broken.

Second things second: The Turcom TS-450 ain't cuttin' it.

I believe the requisite part to fix the broken stereo is on its way from somewhere, maybe Denmark. I'm told it will cost less than a tonsillectomy. I assume it will arrive in the near future and hopefully before a certain someone develops Tourette syndrome or something far worse.

Now that I think about it, that certain someone has been remarkably calm about the situation. So calm, in fact, that I should probably look around the house to see if he has filled an entire ream of paper with "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

Perhaps by next week, I'll be able to write a love story about the joyful reunion between a man and his music. If not that, I'll likely have some material for Stephen King to work into his next psychological audio thriller should he care to reach out to me for my subject matter expertise.

TAW

Friday, June 8, 2018

Fade to Black

Yesterday I was wondering if there was anything worth reporting as it relates to The Audiophile and his heroics when I honest-to-goodness heard him say this:

I. Broke. My. Stereo.

He may have included some other choice statements with the above, but I've taken the liberty of editing out the nonessential interjections.

You know how you can be driving down a backroad just after the sun has gently set on the horizon, and everything is swell? Swell, that is, until you see a deer in your headlights? In case you've always wondered, I now know precisely what that deer is thinking:

What thaaa? What do I do next? Should I move to the side of the road? Get the license plate number on that rapidly-approaching SUV? Pretend I'm invisible? Yeah, that's what I'll do, I'll pretend I'm invisible.

Bad strategy, deer, what you want to do hightail your carcass over to a coffee shop for a while until the rapidly-approaching SUV runs out of gas and lets you and your chicken friend cross the road without insult or injury.

The wound on The Audiophile's situation is still raw, so I have not asked for details, but I can report that we will be using the handy Turcom TS-450 mentioned in last week's post as our primary system for a while.

TAW

Friday, June 1, 2018

Days Like This

Over the glorious three-day weekend, The Audiophile and I were sitting outside enjoying nature's musical offerings with a glass of crispy white wine when I had an idea. Somewhere, in the back of a drawer, I remembered seeing a small amplification device that would allow us to sling the music from our phones through the magic of Bluetooth for our personal listening pleasure in the great outdoors.

I asked The Audiophile if he could stream Tidal on his phone. You would have thought I had suggested we carve out our superfluous organs with a soup spoon and list them on eBay by the look on his face, but he cautiously gave me a slow, affirmative nod.

Fifteen minutes later, Van Morrison was chirping along with the birds and the bees through the mighty impressive 5 watt, 45 mm driver.

Yes, I violated every audiophile law in the handbook with this low-budget maneuver, but I felt like a super genius. Furthermore, The Audiophile, although he will never admit it, thoroughly enjoyed letting his soul and spirit fly into the mystic as evidenced by his traitorous bobbing head and tapping toe.

TAW