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The April 2010 meeting of the LA and Orange County Audio Society was held at Evolution Audio & Video, north of Los Angeles. The showroom was in an industrial park surrounded by the grassy golden slopes of Agoura Hills. As always we were greeted warmly by Bob Levi, the Society president, and as always the Eastwind Imports table out front was crowded with customers. Hajime-san even managed to sell something to the guy he had carpooled up from Orange County with, and he didn’t have to try very hard. These guys are die-hard fans of quality music.

Society President, Bob Levi

We found a side room with the usual selection of Quizno’s sandwiches and chips. There were more friendly greetings from several people wearing badges: the Lifetime Members and officers. We introduced ourselves to Laurie, the membership director. She pointed out “there aren’t many of us girls!”, but on this day there did seem to be more women around than usual. Laurie was selling raffle tickets for a range of prizes, including our contribution: a free download from HQM!

One of the day’s presenters was Jeff Dean with Meridian America, makers of the media server Sooloos. Previously when we asked Hajime Sato of Eastwind Imports about the level of interest in digital audio among society members, he had suggested that we talk with Jeff, so I parked myself in a cushy leather chair in the dark home theater room where Jeff had set up to demonstrate his system, and eavesdropped on the conversations he had with interested society members.

A silver-haired gentleman I’ll nickname Frosty seemed very interested in how Sooloos might contribute to his already well-equipped home audio system.
Frosty: I love vinyl, but it’s getting so you can’t even go out and buy a CD anymore. You have to order them. So I’m starting to look at a not-so-expensive way to get started with digital. Is the Sooloos system Apple computer compatible, or is it freestanding?
Jeff: You can use a PC or a Mac, but it doesn’t have to be hooked up to a computer. You can just run it through your audio system. You can rip all your CDs as FLAC files, but you want to be connected to the internet to pull all that meta-data. You don’t have to be online to play the recordings though.
Frosty: Can I put all my tapes and all my vinyl on there?
Jeff: There are a lot of applications for doing that. Then we find the meta-data for you. You’ll be able to find your collection by the various genres and categories that each has been flagged for: release dates and re-release dates, reviews. You can also edit the meta-data.
Frosty: How many hours did you spend learning the system?
Jeff: I’m actually a Sooloos novice. It’s easy to learn.
Another Society member: And once you get started, it’s an addiction.
Jeff: You can sort alphabetically by artist, by most recently imported into your system, by label, by release date, or by play count. Using the Focus section you can focus on certain parts of your collection. You can really go deep. The unique point of Sooloos among media servers is the Swim function that allows you to “swim” the current Focus. It’s like the Shuffle on steroids. Sooloos also works with the Rhapsody subscription music service. If you subscribe to Rhapsody, it can be incorporated into the Sooloos system. Let’s search John Hiatt. You can see his top albums, tracks, and related artists. With one touch, I can add the meta-data for all of John Hiatt’s recordings. They are streaming off Rhapsody, not actually being downloaded. It’s 128 kilobits per second.
Frosty: That was pretty quick. There was no delay after you pressed the button. Jeff: Right. It’s very fast. So an example of what you can do is you could read a great review of an album, listen to it on Rhapsody, then decide you want to buy it in high resolution. And you can listen to the hi-res version on here.
Frosty: So what about the DAC? A lot of us have DACs lying around.
Jeff: There is a DAC in this standalone unit. It has a 2400 album capacity, lossless. And you can get internet radio from around the world. The key features of this system are the depth of the meta-data, the independent touchscreens, the Focus and Swim functions, and the incorporation of Rhapsody.
Frosty: So how much are we talking?
Jeff: This ensemble, with multi-zones, is $4500. You can have an analog and a digital zone.
[And then, after all the talk of cutting-edge technology, Jeff waxes poetic]
I still have a love affair with vinyl. Even if you don’t listen very often, there’s still something magical about it.

HQM Download Prize is here!

Society members with badges started making their way to our demonstration room saying “Five minutes to the raffle drawing! Come on out front!” As the room cleared I finally had a chance to hand Jeff my HQM card, and explain that the reason I had been eavesdropping on his talk so intensely was that I was trying to learn about interest in high resolution downloads, especially among LAOCAS members. He explained a bit about the potential for vastly improved quality with digital, but also restated how much audiophiles continue to love their analog equipment and recordings. Asked how what percentage of society membership is likely to have the equipment to take full advantage of HQM’s high quality music data, he said probably just around 20% at this point, but that the interest is rapidly growing as people recognize not only the potential of digital, but also the inevitability of its taking over the market.

I went off the see the raffle drawing, and it was exciting to see our HQM entry there on the table. We gave the winner our contact information and asked him to let us know what he thinks. Bob thanked us for our participation and when we explained that HQM was intending to offer even more downloads at next month’s meeting he responded that it was excellent timing, as next month’s raffle is “The 6th Annual Greatest Software Raffle Ever and will be the biggest dollar value raffle since I’ve been president!”

(by Alice)
On Sunday, March 21, I headed for the monthly meeting of the LAOC Audio Society, http://www. laocaudiosociety.com/  I took a route to Upland–known as “the city of gracious living” 40 miles away from LA–with a Google Map printout on my lap. Unlike Tokyo where I am from, where trains and buses come every 3 minutes to transport people, here in California I drive myself everywhere I go. Google Maps and MapQuest give me driving routes and times in seconds just by inputting the addresses. It shocked me when I had just arrived from Tokyo 3 years ago, and is still convenient for a person like me whose car isn’t yet equipped with a navigation system. Anyway from looking at the map beforehand I had been kind of aware that Upscale Audio might be a private home, and on arrival I confirmed it. The Upscale Audio location, in a beautiful country residential area, is very different from the last two meeting locations which were shops in strip malls.

The house is beautiful, on a hill surrounded by trees. There was no big sign or crowd of people. I only recognized the place by the line of cars parked on the street and the Eastwind Import http://www.eastwindimport.com/ record display at the front porch of the house. The member reception desk was in an inside hallway. The living room, the pool room, and the bedrooms are all Upscale Audio showrooms with nicely displayed audio equipment. And the garage is the warehouse. I’ve heard that some audio consultants, especially the better known ones, do business from their homes by appointment only. I think it makes sense, as once I stepped inside the house it was hard to tell if it was a house converted to an audio showroom or a showroom designed to represent audio rooms in actual living space. The atmosphere is more real and spacious in a house setting.

Kevin Deal, Upscale Audio

Kevin Deal, the owner of Upscale Audio,http://www.upscaleaudio.com/, is known as the Tube Guy. He is a specialist in vacuum tubes.  He’s been interested in tube sound since the days he listened to Neil Young from tube amps and discussed with friends why the tubes sounded better. Yes, tubes sound even better than modern audio technology does, people here say. But in the real world now, tubes are hard to get without the efforts of special dealers like Kevin, not to mention tube amps.

In his bedroom-turned-monitor-room the tube amps lined up on the floor are very impressive. Many members bring their favorite CD to play. It must be a great

Tube decor. Cute!

experience to listen to the tube sound and feel the difference. Actually when asked if they have already own some type of tube audio, half of this meeting’sattendees raised their hands.

The meeting was very relaxing and homey just like the host dealer’s friendly attitude. There was a huge deck in the backyard set up with tables and chairs, sandwiches and drinks. Mrs. Deal’s wonderful homemade guacamole was served, and the tables were decorated with unique pieces made from vacuum tubes, which I guess were also made by Mrs. Deal.?  The attendees seemed to enjoy the event very much.

The next meeting is scheduled for April 18th.

Today Alice and I met with Hajime Sato, who is in charge of membership for the Audio Society and has his own business selling Japanese Import Jazz CDs at group events and online. It’s convenient for us that we all live in the same area of Orange County, and interesting that in addition to his audio interests Hajime is also an expert in our field of English-Japanese translation and interpretation .

Hajime was very helpful in giving us a brief history of the LAOC Audio Society, telling how the dynamic leadership of the current president, Bob Levi, has been instrumental in growing the group from a dozen or so members to several hundred in just the last few years. Large numbers of old and new members and guests show up for the monthly meetings, which are hosted by audio dealers, and even more for the big holiday party in December.

Alice and Hajime discussed how to best go about offering sample downloads at the meetings to introduce The HQM Store’s catalog to LAOC Audio Society members at events, and to dealers who would be most interested in high resolution downloads. Hajime also has a number of contacts in audio-related media as well as to artists and producers whose input could enhance the selection of downloads that can eventually be made available. We realize that research, observation, and developing relationships toward these projects will take time, something none of us has in abundance, but we are excited about watching the developments in the industry, and about hopefully being part of the changes.

(by Alice)

The HQM Store http://www.hqm-store.com/ released 1 album in studio master quality in March.

SHUBERT: SYMPHONY No. 5/WIENER MOZARTISTEN & Ochsenhofer

The second album by the esteemed Wiener Mozartisten orchestra, with elite players from the Vienna Philharmonic. Recording of pieces by the Vienna-associated composers J. Haydn, Mozart and Schubert. True to the spirit of the Viennese art of music and fostering the ‘Austrian Dialect of musicianship’, this superb execution by the distinguished group creates lively performances as if the pieces had just been borne, bringing us fresh inspiration.

Alice and I once again made the hour-long drive on a Sunday afternoon to a monthly meeting of the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society. This month the meeting was held at Visual Sound in La Habra, described in the meeting notice as “a slice of audiophile heaven!”

Though more than 30 miles away from Redondo Beach, the setting looked very much like the last meeting: a nondescript strip mall with a flower shop and a chiropractor closed for the weekend, and a huge crowd of mostly white-haired gentlemen flowing out into the parking lot of the audio store. It was again hard to find parking nearby though we arrived right at the 2:00 start time, a testament to what a popular gathering this is for audiophiles in the area.

Despite the crowds and excitement, society president Bob Levi spotted us as we walked up, and again helped us feel welcome by directing us to the tables full of complimentary food and tubs of soft drinks on ice. We found a spot a bit out of the way to enjoy our sandwiches and watch other attendees. Despite the appearance of most of the men– like physicians or senior management on holiday–I couldn’t help but sense a youthful kind of energy as they checked out the equipment on display and the music available for purchase.

One of the men, in jeans and a plaid shirt and wearing a fedora, leaned over the boxes of CDs set up by Hajime Sato, of Eastwind Import. When Hajime noted his interest and said “Let me know if you have a question about anything”, the customer smiled sheepishly and responded “I don’t have any questions. I’m just trying to figure out how NOT to spend my entire paycheck here.”

The scene inside Visual Audio was also similar to what we’d seen at the January society meeting, though the overall store size was smaller. In a space about the size of a 2-bedroom apartment there were four listening rooms. The largest and most impressive room was in the back, and featured a pair of floor standing speakers taller and wider than most of the people gathered to listen to them. The sound was, needless to say, impressive.

Some time before 3:00, Bob Levi took to the microphone in the front room to greet everyone. He introduced a new “Lifetime Member” and also pointed out a celebrity in the crowd. Bob simply said “Commander Barclay” and that seemed to be enough for many people to know who he was talking about. I had to look up the name after I got home to find that Barclay is a Star Trek character played by actor Dwight Schultz. (I would have caught on more quickly if he had said “the crazy guy from the 80s TV show ‘The A Team’”, but this is when I realized that there might be some overlap between audiophiles and Trekkies.)

Bob then introduced the speakers for the day: John Bayloff, a representative from Visual Audio, and guest speaker Andre Kissinger, Regional Sales Manager from the Irvine-based cable maker AudioQuest. John’s brief statements were easy for even a beginner to grasp: “We believe speaker placement makes or breaks a system.” and “There’s no substitute for sweat.” Andrew had a lot of technical things to say about “skin effect”, “solid versus stranded” and the importance of the perfect metal surface to capture the upper nuances of sound in high range. Naturally most of this sailed right over my head, but the statement I found most interesting was his admission that “all cables are bad and all they’re going to do is make your system worse” to make the point that AudioQuest recognizes the critical nature of cables as a potential source of interference in the quest for the ideal realistic sound experience.

After the speeches attendees continued to listen, mingle, and enthuse. Raffle winners were called, and more refreshments enjoyed. Alice and I had a question for the Visual Sound staff, but they were so swamped with record purchases and listening room questions that we could barely get a word in. Finally we got a chance to slip into the back office, quickly introduce ourselves as representatives of The HQM Store for high quality music downloads, and pose our question about Digital Analog Converter use. The staffer quickly suggested that we check a company called Goodwin’s Audio, before dashing off to change a CD in the listening room.

Alice and I are looking forward to a lunch later this week with Hajime Sato, who is in charge of membership for the Audio Society and also sells Japanese Import Jazz CDs at group events and online.

Jan. 31, 2010

My translation partner (nickname “Alice”) and I have been asked to write a blog as we explore the world of high end audio for our client, The HQM Store. Alice will record her experiences in Japanese on the “A Side” blog, and I, Beth, will record my experiences in English here, on the “B Side”.

I will start by pointing out that I am the rawest of raw beginners in this field. I have two school-age kids who are more audio savvy than I am. Some of my favorite musical experiences have been listening to garage bands in dive clubs sticky with spilled beer, or beach concerts where the sound of the waves overpowers the mediocre Beatles covers. I guess I prefer the imperfect. But I do enjoy learning about new things from people who are following their passion. In my short experience with the field of high end audio the one statement I can make with confidence is that there are some incredibly passionate people out there, investing huge amounts of time, money and, we will find, space to their pursuit of the purest and highest quality sound equipment and music data.

Our first adventure as representatives for The HQM Store in North America was to attend a meeting of the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society, held at Definition Audio and Video in Redondo Beach on January 31st. The LAOCAS is described by one expert member on their website as being “by far the largest and most diverse group of audio enthusiasts I’ve ever encountered”. As we pulled into a nondescript strip mall in a somewhat industrial area of Los Angeles on a Sunday afternoon, we were amazed to see how large the crowd was, spilling out of Definition onto the sidewalk and even into the parking lot. I’d estimate there were at least 100 people there. I’m not sure what the writer was referring to when he described the LAOCAS as “most diverse”. I guess in the larger scheme of things you could say that, but I only spotted one woman in the crowd for the first 20 minutes or so, and most of the men seemed to fall within the 20-year age span that you would expect to be able to afford the expensive equipment, and to have already worked hard enough to now be taking the time to enjoy it.

We made our way through the crowd on the sidewalk and approached the one woman there, instantly tripling the female demographic. Turns out she was a supportive audiophile spouse, who has taken up her husband’s hobby with enthusiasm. She told how they have finally come up with the perfect placement for their equipment so that she too can enjoy the quality sound from other parts of the house, and how their garage is overflowing with boxes of vinyl records that they love but can barely get into, much less find the time to listen to.

Inside Definition Audio the listening rooms were nicely arranged to show how the equipment might fit into a real life living room or home theater. Yet I felt very much not at home among the large and small groups of enthusiasts talking and nodding in brow-furrowed concentration behind the glass enclosures. My partner, Alice, looked around and made connections to some of the technical knowledge she had picked up while translating Kripton’s high end speaker catalog and visiting their design studios in Tokyo. I kept myself occupied eavesdropping on conversations, though it was mostly, as they say, “Greek to me”.

Bob Levi, the president of the group, was deep in conversation with a guest speaker, but he made time to grab me a beer from the sticky-with-spilled-drinks fridge in the model kitchen. A friendly gesture to help me feel at home, and a bit of imperfection for me to enjoy.

The Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society has meetings every
month, with demonstrations, raffles and special guest speakers. The next one is at Visual Sound in La Habra on Sunday, February 28th, from 2-5pm. Alice and I will be there to record our experiences.