Jazdoc,

thanks for the kind comments.

i just sent you an e-mail with contact info.

at the moment i am without any digital player in my system as Playback Designs have not yet started shipping. it might be best to wait for that but as always the vinyl is much better.

i look forward to meeting you.

mikelavigne May 03, 2008 23:36

Mike,

Glad to see you're back posting. Your insights and enthusiasm have been missed. I live on the Eastside I would love to audition your newest tweak. Let me know if there is a date and time that work for you.

Regards

jazdoc May 03, 2008 21:23

Shadome,

thanks for the understanding....and the link.

our small cars are selling well.....but overall increased competition and slowdown of small trucks and business in general has put lots of pressure on every auto dealership, Honda included. when you work harder for a reduced result it is more challenging to maintain that positive vibe....which as General Manager is my main focus.

mikelavigne May 02, 2008 15:45

Rugyboogie,

thanks.

if you are in the neighborhood please stop by and i'll demo the tweak for you. i won't be able to explain it......

a Gentleman from Vancover B.C. was down last weekend who also happens to be an engineer. although i don't want to speak for him he was quite impressed with the tweak but did not fully understand the process. what he liked was how easy and quick it was.....about 45--50 seconds per disc. he commented that while he likes to clean and treat his CD's and SACD's he doesn't all the time due to how long it takes. he felt that with 'this' tweak he would do it every time.

mikelavigne May 02, 2008 15:31

Mike,

Clearly you face some tough challenges and demands on your time. Good luck navigating this tough period. While you were away there were several threads on the impacts of the slowdown and potential recession.

I found this today...
Buyers Flock to Small Cars

shadorne May 02, 2008 14:52

Hi Mike
It is good to see you post once again. Hope to hear how good the "tweak" sounds. This is what it all about, people sharing new discoveries in the hope that we can all improve our music listening experience. Hope to see you soon and again welcome back.
Take care,

rugyboogie May 02, 2008 13:18

Yea, I am excited. It will probably happen after June. Then I will have all my ducks in a row. Also, I should be able to make it up to Barry's place and check out his system. But I will let you know my thoughts on the Grand Prix when I get it. Then, the next step is room treatments. Damn, does the madness ever end? :).

mikeduke May 02, 2008 12:08

Mike,

thanks. when you hear the Playback Designs player i would enjoy hearing your opinion. btw; enjoy your new racks and tell us about how they sound when you get them.

mikelavigne May 02, 2008 05:56

Henry,

it's great to be back and i always appreciate your encouraging words.

the Playback Design should be outstanding based on what of it i did hear and it's pedigree. if you travel out to my part of the country you would be most welcome to listen to it here.

mikelavigne May 02, 2008 05:47

Fred,

always a pleasure.....whether we agree or agree to disagree.

i need to catch up on the progress of your assault on the ultimate.

thanks for the kind words.

mikelavigne May 02, 2008 05:34

Larry,

as always; thanks. you are as cutting edge as anyone when it comes to analog gear; particularly arms and cartridges. you will be stunned by what this tweak can do for an Lp. i really look forward to hearing how you and your group of vinyl fanatics react to this tweak.

honestly; i was hopeing my frothing at the mouth might precipitate a loosening of my muzzel.....alas....not yet.

in any case as soon as i can describe it fully i will do so. my frustration is that every day this information is held back is a day where music lovers have less than the full performance and enjoyment possible.....and that's not a good thing.

mikelavigne May 02, 2008 05:28

Stereotaipei,

its good to be back. glad you are still enjoying the MM3's. if i get a chance i will try to listen to the NWO3.0GO.....if you think it's that good i must investigate. i will have jtinn's new digital player soon and it could be quite amazing too. if i can i'll try to listen to the new APL amp too.....and await your personal comparison with interest.

if your travels bring you this way again you are always welcome to visit.

mikelavigne May 02, 2008 05:13

Good to see you again Mike :). Barry mentioned the Playback system to me. It sounds like it should be a great player.

mikeduke May 01, 2008 15:14

Welcome back Mike! As always its a pleasure to see your posts filled with interesting info, opinion, new products, and testing new stuff. I agree with your life-work balance sentiments, very important to have a good equilibrium, which means making choices about where you spend your time & energy.

I'd be interesting in your opinion about the Playback System player and particularly how it compares to the Emm. The technology in that player seems to be phenominal, and has the capability to go way beyond the Emm ... which is already a mindbogglingly good CDP. I may fly out to the states this summer to hear it.

mtkhl567 May 01, 2008 14:52

just to set the record straight regarding the tweak i spoke of above.....

i have never personally met the person who's idea this was. i learned about it from a local friend and have spoken once on the phone with the idea's originator.

my agenda was not to 'tout' any product as this tweak is more a concept than any final product (although there will likely be a product one can buy i suppose.....but quite inexpensive). it will probably be mostly a DIY kinda thing.

i will not in any way be involved with any product (and never have been involved with any product for that matter).

my intention was to get back on the horse here and have some fun.....not to stir up any controversy. sorry to anyone who i may have been 'tweaked' (pun intended) the wrong way with my 'tease'.

my 8 month absense here was due to a number of things that i know about.....and maybe some things i can't exactly put my finger on.

i work in retail and the last year to 18 months has been much more demanding on my time and energy.......more effort for less results (i'm sure this affects many of us). i come home quite 'spent' and there is less focus left for audio.....i sit down and try to answer e-mails or post and i have a hard time focusing. 6 days and 55 hours a week at work......at 56 years old i need to choose my battles wisely.

i probably needed some time out from my pace of posting and maybe felt i didn't have much to say......

my listening has continued pretty much as before and i have been lurking and very occasionally posting.....

i did get involved in reel to reel tapes.....and continue to be.....but everything involved in that takes quite a bit of time. and my learning curve has been steep on the path i've chosen. i felt like i did not know enough to intellegently post about that.

last year i added multi-channel hirez to my system......and enjoyed it. recently i realized i did not really listen to multi-channel very often and did not like the clutter the additional gear created in my room (comfort zones and all that stuff). so i have sold off my multichannel gear and do like the simpler, less confused environment. the proceeds from selling my multi-channel gear have helped fund my RTR gear.

i'm glad i tried multi-channel and maybe will go back to it in the future.

i do have a few new things i'm working on (besides the tweak).

a friend lent me a panel with a pair of RPG Skylines installed vertically. in the past i had been a bit closed minded to adding any 'add-on' acoustical products to my room. anyway; we listened without the Skylines and then with the Skyline panels leaned against my front rounded diffusor panel......it was easy to hear an immediate improvment in the center imageing and sense of focus. so i'm going to buy some Skyline panels. my plan is to purchase (6) 2' x 2' panels and have three of them cut in half. i will experiment with three vertically mounted, and then another half added horizontally and then two full horizontally......in other words i want to experiment to find the ideal width for the Skylines for my room. 2' seems to narrow but 4' seems to wide.

another thing i'm doing is upgrading my Transparent Opus to MK II status. it pisses me off that after all the $$$'s i spent that there is an upgrade......but i can't help myself.

and lastly; i sold my EMM Labs CDSD SE and DAC6 SE. yesterday i shipped it to it's new owner in Spain. after deciding to sell off my multi-channel it became a consideration. I have purchased but not yet recieved the new product from my friend Jonathan Tinn.....the one box 'Playback Designs' digital player. at CES this year i did hear a prototype which i liked.....i cannot say how it compares to my now departed EMM Labs SE combo.

i do want to say thanks to those who have encouraged me to get back into posting here; i have missed it and all the great people here.

mikelavigne May 01, 2008 13:45

Nice to hear from you again. For every one detractor, there are a multitude of others who enjoy your posts but never get around to posting a comment. Although I may not always agree with your comments, I always find them well thought out and thought provoking. Please continue posting as you have time.

fcrowder May 01, 2008 13:15

.
Mike,
.
Welcome back and thanks for sharing a bit of the future. I am looking forward to hearing all about it when it's time.
.
I certainly appreciate your enthusiasm for something that comes along that is so system changing for the better. Please keep us updated as you go forward.
.
OBGYN.........Huh....? I am hoping you were not serious with your posts.
.
Rgds,
Larry
.

cello May 01, 2008 12:03

Hi Mike,
Nice to see you back...

I am still enjoying a lot my MM3... thanks for the listening session one year ago!
Given your perpetual quest for perfection, I think you should give a listening to the APL NWO3.0GO. I upgraded 3 months ago my CD player from 2.5 to 3.0: I have to say this is a completely different animal! never heard something so close to analog sources.... so natural, so dynamic and so detailed at the same time. You can listen to it for hours w/o fatigue... and you are hearing things you never heard before on your favorite records... For me at least it is a real breakthrough product. I strongly encourage you to go for a listening session... on your system (you may change your opinion on CD players with tube output, who knows!). If you do the test, it has to be the 3.0. Previous version are completely different.

Another interesting development is I just bought an APL UA-S1 hybrid amp (completely blind). $5000 but it may end up replacing my Dartzeel... Nothing I have to complain about the Dart, but I was curious!... and if I still prefer the Dart I will use the APL in my second system. I am now traveling abroad so didn't have time to do the comparison yet, will keep you posted if you are interested. Only thing I can say in the meantime is that I know one guy who sold his Dart when he bought the APL... and another one who replaced his $35k Edge monoblocks... intriguing enough to try it myself!
cheers

stereotaipei May 01, 2008 11:03

I'm finished Mike...no stone left unturned. Feel free to trash my thread. When you put it out here Mike it is public domain and free for comment. I am sure that what you are posting about is absolutely wonderful. Just premature IMO to put out on public forum.

oneobgyn May 01, 2008 04:54

thanks OB.....are you sure you are finished? maybe you could expand on that a bit? must be a stone left unturned someplace?

....and i'll come over and trash you on your thread on the first post you make on your thread after an 8 month absence.

now i remember why i didn't post for 8 months....how silly of me to forget.

mikelavigne May 01, 2008 04:51

Things are great Mike

Just seems a little unreasonable to post in such a fashion about something that isn't available yet but according to you is something that is a must in all of your systems. Tantamount to something like insider trading. IMo it would be more appropriate to post about a tweak which is commercially available,one that you have used and one that you would recommend. Seems to me that everything but the initial premise is practised. I do disagree that you post about something that you are using and are now claiming to be something that we should all be using. I just would have expected better Mike. I know you to be zealous in this hobby but I just disagree with the manner of your post. Sorry Mike...perhaps many will agree with you but to post in a solicitous fashion is nothing that I condone.

oneobgyn May 01, 2008 04:43

OB....sorry....i guess i can see how you might feel that way.

i'm not the only guy out there testing this tweak. i've kept (relatively) quiet for almost 2 months. i'm excited.....damn excited and i just wanted to share in anticipation of this going public. when you do read about this in the quite near future rest assured that this is the real deal and will make all our software better.

anyway....i hope all is well with you too......

mikelavigne May 01, 2008 04:30

OK Mike...I'll bite

seems like you are trying to dangle a carrot in front of we donkeys.

Somewhat unreasonable I would suggest to make claims with a "stay tuned" follow-up. Just my $0.02

oneobgyn May 01, 2008 04:06

i'm listening to Nat King Cole on the DCC Lp reissue of 'The Very Thought of You'......Nat is soooo real i just had to share......this seemed as good a moment as any to get back into my system page.

My vinyl front end is the same as last year (for now) but i have been playing with a wonderful tweak which is applied to CD's, SACD's, Lp's and even DVD's......any spinning disc you can put in your hand. I have been beta-testing this tweak for about 6 weeks now and i think it will be a game-changing benefit to all us music lovers. it takes less than a minute to treat any disc and then you will get very significant sonic benefits; consistently lowered noise floor and increase in naturalness; significantly increased bass dynamics and texture; and expansion of the ambient information. the degree of effect does vary from significant to staggering from disc to disc.....and the effect is temporary.....sometimes not holding for the entire disc. the methodology has evolved since my initial beta test to my current process. the evolution mostly involved efforts to increase the effect and sustain it longer.

i only know how it affects things in my system so it could have less or more effect in other systems.....but i suspect the only varible is that the greater the system resolution and refinement the better the payoff.

i have had a few trusted friends over to hear this tweak and 'all' have percieved the same effect that i did.

the bad news is that i'm not permitted 'yet' to speak about how this works......as i have given my promise. the good news is that it is not expensive, complicated or difficult to use. i think a product or two are being developed for this.

i have always been a 'tweak' guy......i have lots of products and machines that clean, polish, de-mag, and a myriad of other things to my over 12,000 pieces of software. these all have some (mostly) positive affect on the sound.....but.....never enough of a effect to cause me to religiously use them. in fact; i almost never use the 'cabinet full of' tweaks.

I USE THIS NEW TWEAK EVERY DAMN TIME.....and you will too i suspect.

be prepared to have your world rocked.....no matter digital or analog.....tubes or solid state.....horns, ribbons or cones.

anyway; getting back to Nat.....he is more than a voice.....he has a body and presence that's spooky. the strings are real too.....not shrill or bright.....but rich and vibrant.

mikelavigne May 01, 2008 03:46

Hello,

Fantastic system, I'm surprised no one has written in about it since OCT???
what happened?
G

grandizer33 March 07, 2008 16:11