Beatles Mono Box set: Interview With Michael Fremer video

So true, that is how it is with any of us. Sometimes we are more wrong than right, sometimes it´s the other way around.

 

Some of those old AF records sound incredible!

 

Agree with most of what you say. I really like his excitement and fun with the hobby, but feel he is trying to "Sale everyone" on vinyl, simply cause he likes it. Some of what he says is true for sure, but a lot sounds like a young used car sales man.

Just say you "LOVE VINYL", cause you love it. No need to try to concoct reasons and scientific stuff, that is half baked, or try try to convince others it is noise free, and all of us are delusional, and rumble does not even exist.

I get his excitement level and all, but tone down the pseudo science, and exaggerations. Otherwise those of us that are either into records or such as me formerly were quite a bit, find it a tad laughable.

It should speak for itself, if it is truly that good!

Does not need a campaign spokesman or messiah.

A needledrop of one of my favorite bands and songs.....sums it all up.

 

Hope we will have sound samples before release.

 

I was at a hifi demo last Tuesday, Fredrik Lejonklou was there showing his new amps. We listened to the 45rpm Classic Records reissue of "St. James Infirmary" from that old AF Louis Armstrong album. Everybody's jaws dropped, as usual when that recording is played. Close your eyes, and the performers are literally right there, in the most uncanny way.

The room was filled with comments of how recording quality has not appreciably progressed since 1959.

 

I'm not a big fan of 45 rpm reissues mostly because I'm lazy and hate to get up every 10-12 minutes although I certainly have a load of them, I just don't play them. Except for St. James Infirmary that is one amazing record.

 

I thought it was the perfect analogy. You may recall he was also talking about this in relation to having a fine meal and being finished. Just like actually sitting down and attentively listening to a fine record. As Pete Townshend once said, "a little is enough". Of course this is only true when it comes to fine things. I for one do not enjoy consistently grazing on food or music. I do so at times, certainly. But it is solely a function of not being satisfied.

I also immensely enjoyed his rejection of science. Science is very useful, but it is only a tool. Not that I gave much thought about it before, but I think I was at one time convinced because science told me I can't hear anything above 20k. But in my heart I always knew different. There are intangibles at play here. Science is great at observing things, but explaining how things came into existence, not so much.

I am also an amateur photographer. Film or digital media cannot record all the stops that the human eye can see. That is why there is an art to taking a good photograph. There is clipping and blowing out of highlights in that medium as well. Smart Phone snapshots might look good, but high fidelity or art they are not. Same with having 10,000 mp4s on your iPod in my opinion. Always seemed to me to be a bad habit because it amounts to mass consumption rather than true appreciation.

I like Michael from hearing his conversation today. We certainly think alike in what was discussed today on that program. It was most enjoyable.

Oh and your food does stay with you. Yes you have to take more, but it doesn't all go to waste. Good food affects your mood in a good way and junk food affects your mood and physical well being in a negative way.

Fidelity means truth. All our senses receive truth or something less than truth. A lot of that is measurable. But like he said about the tiger behind you, there is something more going on here. He, or others, may view it as being a part of the nature and evolution of man. He and others may also see in this unexplainable phenomena the hand of God at work.

Whatever it is, some performances and recordings have the spook and some do not. What is sad is when they had the spook at the performance but they were lost in bad records, silver coasters, never heard on decent gear, or not given the attention due to great art by the ears of the receiver.

Either way, I could be wrong. But a quality like warmth is not measurable. Just like love can not be measurable. Yet we know it exists. We just can't see it. The entire world can be viewed in terms of high fidelity or low fidelity. For instance, most of the conversations I have with people have a tendency to be low fidelity. Folks just don't have time. That's why forums like this are enjoyable for us. We have a keen interest in the same thing and consequently have a better chance of engaging in high fidelity conversations.

 

But the assumption is that an all-you-can-eat buffet, by its very nature, is inferior to a fine cuisine. Like many things in life, that depends on lot of factors. You could be at an expensive restaurant and have a bad experience, and a buffet and have a very good and enjoyable meal. I've also been to very expensive buffets as well. And buffets don't automatically = junk food, either (I'm surprised Mr. Fremer doesn't know this as he lives even closer to NYC than I do, currently).

I don't agree with him on this one, and I suppose that means we don't agree as well. Streaming services have come a long way in a decade and outside of sampling (which he seems to agree wtih) it can serve other purposes. I still purchase the CD's / LP's I want, but I wouldn't call streaming services the equivalent of diarrhea, to use his term.

 

I find him very wishy washy, and making up a lot of stuff to simply serve his purpose and further his views.

He wants everyone to like what he likes, and is mostly making up reasons why he "thinks" what he likes, should be liked by all.

Just how he said he never hears "Rumble" or how that sample is "Dead quiet" yet the host mentioned hearing noise......Mr Fremer side stepped the comment very conveniently.

He has good intentions I assume, but simply thinks that the world needs to come around to realizing he is right about everything.

25 years ago, where was he?

 

I couldn’t bring myself to watch a MF interview but if he had anything to do with cutting these from the analogue masters I thank him for it. It seems like when they dump this kind of stuff in a DAW something is always lost.

I have great confidence that these will be given the proper treatment and I hope I'm able to pick these up.

 

I really had a hard time about his review of the Norah Jones box set. He raves about every album except Little Broken Hearts. The one produced by Danger Mouse.

Now I'm cool with peoples tastes and if he dislikes the music then ok . But he pretty much trashed it because of its different sound style and compression. I feel he misses the point sometimes when an artist and producer makes a pointed effort to try something different.

I love all of Jones' albums and love when an artist experiments rather then always re do the exact same sound. I thought it great she reached out and not just to be trendy

I get he's all about great mastered vinyl, but IMHO he sometimes misses and dismissed the creative decision an artist sometimes makes.

Kind of like those who trash Radiohead's Electronic series of albums

 

1988 he is credited for voice on Felix The Cat movie. In 1993 you can see him at the 58 second mark of the youtube link.

His earliest Stereophile review I can find was 1995

 

He is also credited as Soundtrack Supervisor for the original TRON. Okay, so that was 32 years ago. My bad.

More recently, he oversaw the Kevin Gray mastering of the new Audio Fidelity TRON soundtrack release. http://www.audiofidelity.net/content/tron-wendy-carlos

Perhaps certain forum members should tell us where they were 25 years ago.

 

I was working at the recently Harmanized UREI as a bench tech.

Anybody else?

 

I wasn't quite thinking of you or I. However...

Well, nothing audio related here...I was a software engineer working at Link Flight Simulation. Specifically I was developing Ground Mapping Radar simulation and Air-to-Air Targeting Radar simulation software for installation in the flight simulators we were building for the U.S. Air Force.

But it might be more to the point of this thread if any who wondered about Michael Fremer's whereabouts 25 years ago stepped up.

 

Prior to Stereophile Fremer wrote for the Absolute Sound. Regardless of how you feel about him he has the credentials.

 

I don´t feel anything about him, I just think what he says is not really scrutinized enough. One good thing though is that he has recently uploaded files of different cartridges, arms, phono stages and other components to be tested blind. That is a really good initiative I like.

 

That is an amazing record . I wish I had it . I first had that jaw dropping experience as well hearing it at a high fi show with Manley amps and Joseph Audio Pearl speakers. Absolutely stunning,

 

As to me, worked at a failed speaker company ( small and long forgotten ),for a while, then went into United States Air Force, Doing missions in Europe etc> After the war, went to Westinghouse Tech center, where I helped develop, test and prototype, various switching devices etc. Boring stuff for the most part!

 

While I admire his writing talents, and think he is a good guy, and has some great ideas, I really "Feel" nothing about him per se.

Find him to be interesting cause he talks about stuff I am into also, but think that a lot of his ideas and thoughts are really no more than any of us would have, they are simply opinions.

Someone having an opinion, and an interest in a hobby, does not make them above question.

When I read or hear things, that do not make total sense, I think some scrutiny is in order.

 

Like any reviewer, its interesting to read the thoughts but it never has a bearing on what my conclusions are

 

I returned to NYC after staying at a party too long in Virgina (about 6 months) and went to NYU. Woodstock was 20 years old and I remember attending many protests in Tompkins Square Park. Attended an orgy (but left because most of the folks were grotesque). Slept with a girl named Flipper. Sadly became friends with a group of folks who went on a murder rampage (Tompkins Sq Park Butcher). Made friends with other folks (at NYU) who I'm still close friends. Saw the restoration of "Lawrence of Arbia" with my father at the Ziegfield. Learned how to play guitar. Hung out with David Peel, jammed (getting better with some tips from him about chords), smoked jazz cigarettes. Was younger then......

 

Here is what I really don't understand, you are not a vinyl guy, you don't buy records or even have a turntable, so why do you even bother to read his column or care?
The subjective audio press came about as an alternative to the "if it tests good, it is good" magazines that were prevalent at the time. They are based on opinion, therefore there is nothing to scrutinize. The only opinion that matters is mine and it's only matters to me.

 

Things are never that black and white. I read about all kind of stuff I will never own, have no intentions of owning, and simply read to get more ideas, or to see what is going on in our hobby. I read about everything audio in general.

I never planned on having computer sound or MP3, but fairly recently finally made the jump. I read about it for years though.

Vinyl is not another world, it is simply a thing to get music on. I used to own over a thousand records, several tables, still have some vinyl and one table, but now all in storage after selling off a lot of stuff after getting divorced and moving a few times.

My interest does not just Vanish, simply cause I currently do not play vinyl. I played it literally for 30 years, so not just something you forget about.

As to subjective stuff, I see some..."If I say I do not hear this or that" it must be true. What anyone hears is true, but what they say, can be at odds. Hard thing to pin down when one is trying to convince others of something they love.

 

There is nothing to understand about crazy.