Announcements
It’s (Almost) Time…for Burning Amp 2011!
One of the true audiophile highlights of the year will be held on October 1st at Fort Mason in SF – Burning Amp.
Virtually mandatory for do-it-yourself (DIY) folks, I also recommend it for “general” audiophiles.
This year will feature a veritable “DIY God” – Douglas Self. I’m sure that I’m far from the only builder who got major acceleration from Mr. Self’s teachings.
Edit: The BA organizers are looking for help, especially in providing high-end digital and/or analog sources for the event. Contact info is on their site.
See you there,
Bob
Be a Better Audiophile (Or Maybe Reviewer?)
This just in from member Bob S.:
Click here for Ear Training software from Harmon Intl. Really cool, and it's free!Some bugs are discussed here.Finally, Figure 3 (here) shows the poor performance of a group of audio reviewers (how chosen?) compared to listeners trained by Harmon's method.Bob S.
Thanks, Bob!
DIY Tube Phonostage Class at the Randall Museum by Ed Yang
Some of you may know that once a year I teach a DIY tube gear class. This time I’m offering a phonostage / phono preamps class. You will lean about RIAA equalization circuits and build one of my designs known as The Randall Phono.
I have subjected Randall Phono to a number of shootouts / comparison and it has always come out on top. It has a big tone with superb midrange, sparkling treble and solid extended bass. The sound stage is big without being bloated. Imaging is spot on where you can easily pin point the location of performers and instruments in space. At $196.00 for the class, around $350.00 in parts and 8 class sessions you take home a phonostage that is truly high end.
The phonostage you will build is the “passive” type based on the 6SL7 family of tubes, 5V4 rectifier with selectable cartridge loading. This is a medium gain phonostage so you can use it straight with 2mv and greater cartridge. If you use a low output moving coil cartridge (LOMC) you will need to use a step-up transformer (SUT). With a good SUT this phonostage have enough gain to accommodate LOMC as low as 0.14mv. The output impedance is around 30K so it should be able to drive most preamps or integrated amps.
This class is recommended for intermediate or advanced students. If you have taken any of the previous Randall Tube Audio DIY classes or have experience soldering, you are good to go. Even if you have never soldered but have good dexterity, then this class could be ok for you but contact me first. The class is limited to 10 students. This will be the only time I’ll offer the class so don’t wait till the last minute to register.
Class Announcement / Info:
http://www.randallmuseum.org/Flyers/Winter2011FlyerWeb.pdf
Go to page 12 class #18824
Winter Class registration:
http://sfrecpark.org/Rec-ClassActivities.aspx
I think you can enter the class number on the search function. The class may not show up on the reg site until 12/18 but do check.
Museum Member registration:
December 11, 10 a.m.
General registration:
December 18, 10 a.m.
First meeting 12:30 PM Jan 8th 2011 in the Randall Room at the Randall Museum
If you have any questions email me Ed Yang at:
Randallphono@yahoo.com
Blue Coast Records Hosts Invite-only Holiday Gig
On Saturday, December 11th, Blue Coast Records will host their annual, invitation-only “Blue Coast Artists
Holiday Party with the World” event in their Belmont, CA studio.
The gig will feature Keith Greeninger, Dayan Kai, Jane Selkye, Chris Kee, and a few other new artists performing live in the studio…and uploading the music to the internet in DSD and High Resolution PCM formats.
And BAAS has received a block of tickets! I’ll be there with a score of other BAAS members and special guests.
Sign-up emails have been sent. It should be great!
Bob
For Macintosh: Play is now AyreWave!
Stephen F. Booth, the prolific work-in-his-spare-time Mac audio coder, has publicly released beta code for the successor to Play – AyreWave.
Taking the same lean-and-mean approach as Play, AyreWave keeps the interface simple and adds ‘hog mode’ and ‘memory playback.’ The results are impressive. (I have been beta-testing the product for the last few weeks.)
I doubt if AyreWave is specifically targeted at Pure Audio and Amarra (it’s free after all), but this release closes the gap with those two products.
Stephen has agreed to do a future BAAS event.
Free Bax/Mahler/Barber Concerts in Sonoma in October
IMMEDIATE RELEASE – SONOMA COUNTY, CA – SEPTEMBER 11, 2010
2010 Sonoma Classical Performance Schedule
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 17, 2010 Media Contact: Wallace Breitman
707-939-3683
CYPRESS STRING QUARTET INAUGURATES SEVENTH SEASON OF CLASSICAL MUSIC IN SONOMA ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21
The Sonoma Classical Music Society inaugurates its seventh season of bringing great classical music to Sonoma and the Sonoma Valley when it presents the acclaimed San Francisco based Cypress String Quartet on Sunday, November 21, 2010, at 3:00 pm in Burlingame Hall, 252 West Spain Street, Sonoma. Formed in 1996, the Cypress String Quartet, comprised of Cecily Ward, violin, Tom Stone, violin, Ethan Filner, viola, and Jennifer Kloetzel, cello, is noted for its elegant performances and its sound has been called “beautifully proportioned and powerful. Tickets are $20 for members of the Society, $25 for adults, and $10 for students. They will be available from the Society’s website, www.sonomaclassical.org, Reader’s Books, Pharmaca, and at the door
At the November 21 concert, the Cypress String Quartet will perform Mozart’s String Quartet in C major, K. 465, nicknamed “Dissonant,” the last of the set of six quartets which Mozart dedicated to his friend Franz Joseph Haydn and one of his most famous works; Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff’s Five Pieces for String Quartet, a set of delightful dances which integrates modernist vocabulary, neoclassical elements, jazz and dance rhythms from a variety of sources and cultures; and Debussy’s String Quartet in G minor, op. 10, premiered in December 1893, influenced by Javanese gamelan music, and based solely on four tones and their relation to one another.
The Cypress is recording the Beethoven late quartets, having released the first of three discs in August 2009 to great acclaim (Gramophone praised it as “revealing artistry of uncommon insight and cohesion.”), with the second disc released in August 2010 and the third scheduled for a 2011 release. The quartet members trained individually at institutions including the Juilliard School, Interlochen Arts Academy, Cleveland Institute of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Royal Academy of Music.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear a superb ensemble perform great classical music live in Sonoma!
The next concert in the Sonoma Classical Music Society’s 2010 – 2011 season will be in January 2011.
About the Sonoma Classical Music Society
The Sonoma Classical Music Society was formed in 2004 with the mission of sponsoring a series of classical music concerts in Sonoma of the highest professional quality. An application for membership in the Sonoma Classical Music Society may be obtained at the website: www.sonomaclassical.org.
BAASnotes tops Google Blog Search Results
Search Google Blogs for “audiophile.” What comes up first?
Don’t ask me how this happens…or how long it”ll last…but I like it! 
Bob
More on the Beethoven Sonata Series
New DIY class next January
San Francisco audio designer, Edwin Yang, will be once again teaching a class starting in January, 2011 at the Randall Museum. For the last few years, Edwin has been teaching students how to build a tube linestage, myself included. The linestage, although not expensive, is a terrific piece of gear – I sold my other 2 tube linestages after building it.
The next project is a tube phono stage. This class will be more challenging than the linestage class, but still possible for the student that has confidence and some dexterity. It is not necessary to have built anything before but that it desirable.
The class will be for several Saturdays starting in January. Some will finish quickly while others, like myself, will take the total of 10 Saturdays to finish. The class is always entertaining and educational and I highly recommend it. Cost will be around $600 – $700.
Phono stage comparison at the Randall Museum October 9th
The Bay Area Tube Users Group will be hosting a phono stage comparison at 1pm on Saturday October 9th. I will be bringing my Nighthawk and Prism Orpheus to compare to Edwin’s phono stageIf you have a favorite phono stage you want to compare, please bring it along. So if you are on the fence as to whether it is worth the effort to build one, attend the event and decide for yourselves.
Peter Truce
Sumiko to Hold Open House in Berkeley
See the flyer below for details of Sumiko’s Open House (9/15/2010):
Silverman to Return to Beethoven Sonatas
Audio High will bring pianist Robert Silverman back to the Bay Area, this time for an eight-concert series of the entire cycle of Beethoven piano sonatas (32 in all). 
These events will be open to the public and all proceeds will benefit the Elf Foundation. Dates are Sept 9th & 16th and Nov 11th & 18th, 2010; Feb 3rd & 10th and Apr 7th & 14th, 2011.
Audio High will be recording and producing a CD set of all 32 sonatas with Mr. Silverman that will also contribute to the Elf Foundation’s Rooms of Magic program. The recordings will also likely be offered in a high-resolution format. (Yah!)
BAAS was treated to Silverman’s masterful playing in a private session last year.
More information will be available at www.audiohigh.org (note the .org).
Blue Coast “BAAS Session III” Coming June 26th!
Matt & Jenna at Blue Coast BAAS Event II
Great news: BAAS members and their guests have been invited to another “insider” recording session at Blue Coast Records.
The recording artists include Jane Selkye and Chris Kee (think “Blue Coast Collection”). Yeah!
In addition to the recording session itself, two other special events will be featured:
- An “engineer-in-training” session where a BAAS member can “ride the levels” and do other cool studio things.
- A BBQ feast, cooked by a “Special Chef” – a great time to mingle with Cookie and the artists
Invitations are being sent today.
Bob
New Audiophile Web Site Launches
There’s yet-another-audiophile-website up and running – the e-zine HIFI ZINE.
And the first issue looks good: an interview with the colorful Albert Von Schweickert, a DSP article, DIY stuff, reviews, and more.
A pretty impressive debut IMO…enjoy!
Music@Menlo to Kick Off 2010 Summer Festival
If you love chamber music, let me recommend a local festival put on by Music@Menlo in – where else – Atherton (near Menlo Park!). This Merc article provides a nice preview.
Great music, performed well. And sometimes much better than “well.”
If you don’t believe me, try a couple of their well-produced CD’s (available on the web site).
Good listening!
California Audio Show (CAS) Exhibitors List
The list is up – and it’s growing.
I think the show is already at critical mass – and worthy of a visit.
July 30 – August 1 in Emeryville.
Bob
New audiophile show coming to the Bay Area!
This summer, we will once again be blessed by a local audio show. And attendance will be free to registered guests!
So save the dates: July 30 – August 1
The event will be in Emeryville and comes courtesy the good folks at Dagogo.
Organization is still in its early stages. In speaking with Constantine Soo, Dagogo founder, last week, I learned that several key exhibitors had signed and invitations had gone out to many more.
Given that at least twenty high-end vendors call NorCal home, I’d expect a very nice event. Of course, many non-local folks will also exhibit.
I will later send out an email containing a registration link…
THE Event for DIY Audio
See how the DIY crowd lives, meet accomplished designers (e.g., Nelson Pass, John Curl, S. Linkwitz) have fun!
Bob
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