What interested me in the discography of the Liddypool boys was the compilation done by George and Giles Martin for the Cirque du Soleil show LOVE (0946 379 1 1), which is also available in an incredible surround SACD that takes full advantage of the medium (My 10 Favourite Pop/Rock Surround SACDs are coming soon to this space). Here we have 4 superb stereo sides that reshape and reinvigorate many Beatles tunes…”

My decade-old Grado SR-125 headphones don’t owe me anything after all these years of monitoring recordings in progress, or offering wee-small-hours solace for insomnia. I had never liked the stock ear cushions, however, and had bought a pair of larger, deeper foam cushions from Strategic Audio Developments called upgradables that were much more comfortable (Attempts to Google this company were unsuccessful).

“After a couple of weeks with the “noo Radio Tiew”, I must say that I’ve never seen such a complete sabotage of a great radio service in my 45-year career as broadcaster and writer. Just about all the core values have been thrown away, starting with professionalism. Listening to these groping amateurs on the air takes me back to my days of running the Queen’s University radio station, CFRC, in the late 60s and early 70s…”

“I have to confess that in 2008 I’ve been very remiss in my music reviewing, and not for want of available recordings. There have just seemed to be too many other distractions, such as tuner and projector projects (the former in its final phase, and the latter just getting lit up, so to speak, with two reviews already posted), recording projects (two organ CDs with Ian Sadler), and numerous other activities, including grandchildren and the day-to-day running of AIG…”

“Hearing old favourites, now, on my Aurum Acoustics system is a very special experience.‭ ‬The excellence of the sound couples directly with the matter of artistic worth.‭ ‬I’m not saying the New Philharmonia was in my listening room,‭ ‬but,‭ ‬you get the idea.‭ ‬Neither had I realized how well recorded are both performances.‭ ‬The Mahler was recorded in Watford Town Hall in‭ ‬1969.‭ It’s simply stunning in its detail and transparency…”

In the past year I’ve gone through an experience I never expected, the process of moving from the best head amp I’d ever used to a series of transformers in my phono system. It all started with the final fate of my twice-retipped Ortofon MC-3000 MK II, which was to become mono, the left-channel coil failing. And the thing about this wonderfully civilized and detailed cartridge was its very low output, a nominal 30 microvolts, which dictated the active MC stage, the legendary McIntosh MCP-1…”

“One of the hazards of being an audiophile is being honest about the sound of your own system. Some times it is hard to assess and, often, we make up things. The way we feel about our systems is almost always relative to what else we have heard. I am satisfied until I have the chance to hear something better. It’s not easy, and you have no idea where it’s going to end…”

“I was contemplating how to continue to address the ongoing events at the CBC with respect to changes to Radio 2, when an email arrived that summed up events so far so well, that I decided to quote from it at length. The release comes from Peter McGilllivray, radio2@petermcgillivray.com, as he says, “representing a group of people that were ticked off enough at the Changes at CBC to join a Facebook group to try and organize some action to stop it all…”

“My system (see OxBox 2) is sounding better than ever. There are three reasons of which two make sense. Number one continues to be the op-amp modification (see OxBox 1) of the Aurum Integris CDP which is my CD player, preamp and phono section all in one…”

“2007 has been an eventful year for all of us at AIG. The transition from print publication to expanded online presence has occupied quite a bit of it, and I am both delighted and relieved that it has been accomplished with only the expected growing pains, for the most part. Aaron called upon some more expert help than himself to get it all done, and you may have read about it in our earlier post on the subject, so I won’t go into specifics about it here…”

“I want to tell you about my system. I have to, so that you will have some frame of reference as you read what I say in my “OxBoxes” about hardware, software, and listening to both. Let’s start with the weak link, my turntable. Please brace yourself: I spin my vinyl on an ancient Kenwood KD-500, a slotting, cogging, direct drive. All I can say is, it has survived a period when I thought I would never again listen to anything but CD (and heaped scorn on Stereophile’s Michael Fremer as he kept the vinyl flame alight), to the time when I came to realize there is gold in them thar grooves…”

“At my daughter’s wedding in May 07, after polite greetings, the first thing one of the other principal parents said to me, “My God, what’s gone wrong with CBC Radio Two all-of-a-sudden?” Of course, having worked there for a number of years in the 70s, I was thought to be something of an expert. I have kept in touch with friends inside, but quite a few of those folks have retired, or fled, like I did, in disgust….”

This is my first collection of ideas and observations about our obsessively engrossing avocation on the newly re-launched Audio Ideas Guide on the web. During AIG’s print life I was a regular contributor, mostly writing record reviews. The greater flexibility of the web will let me talk about many things to do with both sound and music. I will still be writing formal disc reviews and the very occasional equipment review. I am excited.

More than a redesign, AIG online has been upgraded from the world of traditional, static HTML pages to what is known as a Content Management System (CMS). Don’t worry, we’ll spare you all the gory technical details. What this means in real terms, besides a great deal of work for Webmaster Aaron Marshall over the past several months, is that the site now runs off a database, and is capable of a great many more things than it was before. Some of these capabilities are already being tapped, and many more will be deployed in the future….

Ray Montford’s long awaited concert album, Live Imagery, delivers the promise of his wonderful, intuitively creative and experimental guitar mastery. Literally writing with his fingers, as he plays in an improvisatory folk and world, jazz and pop, and ultimately brilliant and uncategorizable style, Ray performs for over an hour with percussion virtuoso Rob Greenway, and amazing all-over-the-neck bassist Ian de Souza, LIVE! There are also guest performances by Monica Federigo, cello, and Mary Hanson on keyboards.

“While most autobiographies concentrate on the highlight reel, Chronicles is spent almost entirely on the practice field. And it makes sense-that’s where Dylan feels safest, away from prying eyes, labels, and questions. Notorious for ignoring the press and the extroversive demands of his fans, Dylan maintains this stance by concentrating on internal, personal moments rather than the infamous events that the public (via the press) cling to…”

“It was all but inevitable that later ninetheenth-century French composers would become interested in the Symbolist poets. The Symbolists sought to duplicate in literature the effects of music by using vague images, elusive syntax, and fleeting ideas”, says Jonathan D. Kramer in liner notes for this recording. The famous Prelude was written as a musical equivalent of Mallarme’s poem, Afternoon of a Faun, while Nocturnes evolved from a violin concerto written for virtuoso and composer Eugene Ysaye that was never played…”

“The piano is quite prominent in this 1974 recording, but what playing! I think I can forgive the Philips engineers for putting Stephen up front and miking the piano to be quite wide. The orchestra is well heard, with a big soundstage and good depth, typical Philips of the period. The string sound is excellent, with a nice texture on violins, violas, and cellos…”

“This hybrid SACD features lovely playing, with quite brisk tempi throughout, and a lack of the kind of rubato and general tempo variety offered by my favourite interpreters of this music, the Chamber Orchestra of the Saare under Karl Ristenpart. It just seems a little preoccupied with momentum rather than musicality. But if you don’t know these Suites well, you�ll probably enjoy this recording with its excellent sound quality. The Ristenpart recordings may have been rereleased on CD, but mine are from LP…”

“Some of us thought that HDTV sets would come ready to make the best of all images, and I assumed this when I acquired my 64″ Pioneer Elite PRO-710HD rear-projection TV a year or more ago. It has been superseded by newer, less expensive models in the same size, as HD prices have rapidly come down. The buzz these days is around the larger plasma sets (up to 60″), which can be hung on a wall…”