The Muse Newsletter
A monthly celebration of music, gear and events for the audiophile community
| By Leslie Lundin
We are pleased to announce the kickoff of our Audiophile Foundation rebranding campaign. The rollout of the new Audiophile Foundation logo is the beginning of our transformation from local audiophile group to national audiophile community. We hope that our new logo and the new look and feel of our website, The Muse and all of our communications and events will rise to the level befitting an organization that serves the highly discerning audiophile community.
Our goal is to enhance the user experience and create a presence that reflects the audio perfection we all seek. In the months ahead we will be rolling out the new look, starting with the new Muse newsletter header, then the new website header with redesigned and improved organization and functionality (thank you John Doumani and Larry Gee).
We are excited about how it’s turning out so far and hope you will be as well. Pardon us in advance as we do our website transition. Just like setting up a new system, it takes a bit of time to integrate and fine tune components to identify and eliminate that annoying buzz. Hopefully we can keep our buzz to a minimum and the beauty will shine through. | "Improve The Sound of Your Music Without Changing Your Playback Equipment!"
By David Hicks
Part 1: The Buy
“Improve The Sound of Your Music Without Changing Your Playback Equipment!”
When I first read that I thought it must relate to directions on how to set up your stereo within your room. Sure, the room and how your gear is placed can have the biggest impact on how your stereo will sound, it's just that I was a bit perplexed about why this was printed on the back of a plain brown paper wrapper covering a vinyl record by an alternative music group.
But, let me back up a bit here…
|  | Our 2024 DIY Class Survey Results Are Complete
Our 2024 DIY Class Survey results are now available. We thank Ori Mizrahi-Shalom for his help in creating this survey and advancing our educational initiative. We are also grateful to all 46 members who participated in our survey.
Your input has provided valuable insight to help us develop classes that align with your interests and needs. Popular courses include building tube amps, Raspberry Pi-based streamers, and DIY cables. The vast majority of respondents, 89.1%, are interested in classes that cover theory and building skills.
We welcome all readers, even those with only a passing interest in DIY, to review our survey results.
|  | Announcement!
New Monthly Newsletter Feature
Member System of The Month
We are kicking off what we plan will be a new monthly feature in our newsletter, namely, a Member System of The Month. After all, this is your monthly newsletter!
We will start this month with Member Robert Brook’s System. Check It Out!
All YOU need to do to get your system featured is create a post on our Member's System Forum Page. Include a list of the components in your system and as much detail as you would like, room dimensions, cables, tweaks, etc.. And at least one picture. Invitations for other members to come and listen to your system in person receive 500 Bonus Points! Robert's invitation to have you visit his home to hear his system earns him those points now!
We'd love to share your systems, please let us know if you would like your system to be included in the Muse by emailing us at: contact@audiophilefoundation.org
And don't miss Robert Brook's tale of his own audio development journey - below. |  |
How ANALOG TRANSFORMED My Relationship to AUDIO and MUSIC
By Robert Brook
For as long as I can remember I've been drawn to recorded music and its reproduction. My father brought home a Japanese receiver, turntable, reel to reel and a pair of speakers from his military service in Taiwan. Thanks to him, we had music with reasonably good sound in our home throughout my childhood.
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Upcoming Foundation Events
| Announcing Monthly Wednesday Evening Virtual Events
Scheduled Topics include:
- April 3rd: How to Navigate the Audiophile Foundation website
- May 8th: How to buy used equipment
- June 12th: The Future of HiFi
- July 10th: Favorite Tweaks
Here's more information for the first meeting:
When: April 3, 2024 at 6:00 PM PST(going forward generally the 2nd Wednesday of each month)
Where: Zoom Meeting
We're kicking off this new format with one of the topics identified in the February members' meeting Navigating the Audiophile Foundation website where we'll cover some of the following and answer any questions you have to the best of our ability.
- General navigation of the website
- How to check and adjust your privacy settings
- User profile update and settings
- How to find other members
- Getting started with forums
- Help menus
- Q&A from attendees
This event is open to members and the public; it is a free event, but registration is required to attend. You will receive the Zoom meeting link in your registration confirmation email.
| New Foundation Events Planned
Keep an eye out for upcoming Foundation event announcements - some great events we're planning for the new year are listed below:
- Some basic DIY projects supported via the Educational Initiative
- May 2nd -Cookie Marenco with Blue Coast records will talk about mastering with DSD at her studio
- June 8th - Vince Galbo of MSB and Tony Probst of AV Integration will discuss approaches to digital in San Rafael
- July, date TBD - discussion and listening with Step Up Transformers and associated cables - Alameda
- John Johnson to host an in-home event
- Next Members' Meeting August 28, 2024
- Magico will host a live event in Hayward in Q4
- September 14th Michael Fremer in person in Alameda
| March Vinyl Garage Sale Success!
By Jim Bird
On March 16th the Audiophile Foundation held its Vinyl Garage Sale. This was a shared event with the California Historical Radio Society (CHRS) at their facility in Alameda California. About 20 sellers showed up bringing with them their duplicates, underplayed and unloved records to sell to Audiophile Foundation and CHRS members. Prices seemed very fair and a lot of great deals were made.
| Lory Hawley Wraps Her Ears Around the Stax SR-L500MK2 Headphones
By Lory Hawley
When I attended CanJam SoCal 2023, I had a couple of specific goals in mind beyond the “I want to listen to every headphone I’ve ever read about”. One goal was to learn more about IEMs (in-ear monitors) and portable DAC/amps (digital-to-analog converters), and another was to experience electrostatic STAX ”Earspeakers”, as STAX calls them...
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Information Obscura
By David Hicks
Please file this under, "Do NOT Try This at Home".
In 1790, Alessandro Volta (For whom the Volt was named) stuck one end of a electrical circuit into each ear and experienced "a boom within the head," followed by a sound similar to that of boiling thick soup." Given this shocking experience, he never repeated the experiment, but his observations provided the first evidence that our perception of sound is mediated, in part, by electrical events in our head.
From the book, Coming To Our Senses, by Susan R. Barry
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Audiophile Foundation
Website Highlights
| We have The Muse!
Are you looking for past issues of The Muse? You've come to the right place. We've archived most issues of The Muse by year dating back to January 2015, with fully interactive editions available beginning in 2023. Prior to January 2023, we have static PDF copies of The Muse. Learn how to access the archives in our Members Help Blog.
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Buy and Sell Locally Forum
Check out these tasty listings that have been added over the past few months:
And don't forget to set your favorite forums to notify you of new content by clicking on the "My Forum Preferences" button.
| Discogs Makes History with 750 Million Records In Global Collection
By David Hicks
Have you ever wondered what one million records would look like? Now multiply that by 750.
The Discogs Collector Community just surpassed a new milestone in music collecting. Across a variety of formats, genres, and countries, the global Discogs community, utilizing the Discogs Collection Tool, hit 750 million releases cataloged. In 2021, the global Discogs community reached 500 million records in their collection, equating to 50% growth in just three years.
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Audio Expo North America
April 12 – 14, 2024
Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center
Schaumburg, IL
SHOW HOURS:
Friday, April 12, 2024: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Saturday, April 13, 2024: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Sunday, April 14, 2024: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
NEW FOR 2024: The Audiophile Foundation Heads to AXPONA!
Discover amazing new ways to bring the music you love to life at AXPONA, taking place April 12-14, 2024 at the Schaumburg Convention Center in Chicago, IL. Be a part of the largest annual gathering of audiophiles, music lovers, audio dealers and manufacturers in North America. Enjoy three days of superb sound, 200 listening rooms, educational sessions, live music, networking and more. Plus, the Audiophile Foundation will have a table at the show and a special get-together for AF members that attend the show.
Please email Jeff Kalina if you are planning to attend so we can make you part of our group texts to coordinate the get-together.
Audiophile Foundation members get 10% off their Three Day pass with promo code AUDFOUND24.* Buy your ticket now: Purchase Tickets
*Promo code is only valid to new registrations and may not be applied to existing registrations.
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North America's longest running HiFi audio trade show, T.H.E. Show, now in its 28th year, this coming June 7-9, 2024 in Costa Mesa, CA!
June 7th - 9th 2024
Hilton Orange County, Costa Mesa
Early Bird Tickets are selling so quickly they are starting to run out so don't wait. Get yours now for June 7-9, 2024 at the Hilton Orange County Costa Mesa, CA while they are still deeply discounted. Make sure to check out the brand new VIP tickets as well as our traditional single-day, two-day, and three-day passes.
With a VIP ticket, you will receive:
- A single person three-day pass
- Special VIP check-in line (faster check-in!)
- Special VIP swag
- A welcome beverage upon entry
- Special VIP early access to T.H.E. Show on Friday, June 7th from 10am
| | Small System on a Budget – the DIY Way #3
By Ori K Mizrahi-Shalom
I recently bought a used Chinese amplifier that was advertised on the local Craigslist. It features a single-ended EL34 per channel with a 6SN7 front-end tube and a common 5U4 rectifier tube. The front of the chassis says “Nobsound EL34-b” and the going price on ebay is around $400. I paid half that, with upgraded tubes.
You’ll find similar amps under GEMTUNE, OLDCHEN and other generic Chinese manufacturers. The basic chassis is the same, but the amps may have a slightly different front-end circuit. For example, the GEMTUNE uses a 6SL7 instead of a 6SN7 and the internal circuit is definitely different, although the sound is surprisingly similar. So where do these products cut corners?
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Here's a little humor for all you April "fools" out there.
WARNING: Perhaps NSFW... you've been warned.
| The Neuroscience of Loving Music
Sent by David Hicks
Humans are musical animals four million years in the making, explained by music expert Michael Spitzer.
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Music Picks
Our monthly feature where our members can share their favorite old or new music selections.
"One who knows the secret of sound, knows the secret of the whole universe".
- Hazrat Inayat Khan
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Grant's Guitar Corner Music Pick
Triumph, Just A Game
By Grant Stoner
My album pick for this month is Triumph " Just A Game" RCA records 1979 vinyl.
The other Canadian power trio ( other than Rush of course) , was Triumph. Featuring Mike Levine on bass/ keyboards, Gil Moore drums and vocals, and Rik Emmett on guitar and vocals, they made quite a sound for 3 guys.
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By David Hicks
There has been a lot of audio industry press surrounding this 2023 release that was executively produced by “The Pied Piper of Vinyl” himself, Michael Fremer, mastered by Bob Ludwig, and pressed at Quality Records on 180-gram vinyl, so I won’t repeat what has already been covered by Michael himself on his Tracking Angle website or in the interview with PS Audio’s Frank Doris, and elsewhere. But, despite the widespread news about this record, in a recent conversation with a couple of other AF members I became aware of the fact that they had not heard of this album. So, if you don’t already own this record you can say you heard about it here first.
|  | Rust Belt Roots: Randy Napoleon Plays Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, & Kenny Burrell by Randy Napoleon
By jazzfan
Do you like jazz guitar? Check. Do you like Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, & Kenny Burrell? Check, check, and check. Then Randy Napoleon's Rust Belt Roots: Randy Napoleon Plays Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, & Kenny Burrell should be right up your alley. I recently discovered this album streaming on my favorite Jazz station KCSM.org and on 91.1 FM. This album includes songs written by the aforementioned greats and a selection of original tunes, all of which are thoroughly enjoyable.
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The Foundation Needs Your Help
We need volunteers to help with the running of this awesome organization. Your help can be in the form of becoming a board member or helping with specific tasks. Some key areas where we need help include getting out our newsletter every month as well as:
- Website support - content input, site maintenance, membership management, etc.
- Newsletter and communications support - content development and input
- Board Positions - are you interested in becoming a Foundation Board Member?
- Other support - let us know where your interests lie and we can find a niche for you
If you can spare a few hours, or even a few days a month as a volunteer, your time will have an impact. If you would like more information about any of the volunteer opportunities available, click the button below to send a note to Volunteer Services to discuss joining our team.
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Suggestions or Submissions?
Our Leadership Team wants to hear from you! If you have something written up about some music you'd like to share, or piece of equipment you're fond of, or an idea for a presenter or event, just send it to contact@audiophilefoundation.org.
The Muse Publication Team
Editor-in-Chief: Leslie Lundin
Editor: Larry Deniston
Editor: David Hicks
Editor: Larry Gee
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