"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
news


If the original recording was purposely broken to begin with, nothing will
help unless the issuer remasters the album.

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/sto..._high_fidelity


That's another good article on the industry's *******izing of high quality
recordings.

It's all Bush's fault.

Eisboch

On Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:40:58 -0500, "Eisboch" wrote:


"hk" wrote in message
om...

Circuit City to liquidate, shutter stores
Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:08pm EST

By Karen Jacobs and Emily Chasan

ATLANTA/RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) - Bankrupt electronics retailer
Circuit City Stores said on Friday it will liquidate its assets and
shutter hundreds of U.S. stores after failing to reach a deal to sell the
company.


Good riddance. Circuit City was one of the worst retail stores for consumer
electronics (or anything for that matter) that I can think of. Sales
"associates" walking around with cell phones stuck in their ear, talking to
friends or congregating in groups yuking it up while customers wait at the
register to pay for purchases or need assistance. We had two in this area,
one was in business for several years, the other relatively new. Both
stores had the same cavalier culture when it came to the customers.

Plus, typically they didn't know anything about the products they sold. Most
were high school kids working after school. At least Best Buy has some
trained sales associates that know something about what they sell. For the
market it was supposed to serve, Circuit City was no better than a Target or
Wal-Mart.

I am surprised they stayed in business as long as they did, economic
slowdown or no economic slowdown.

Eisboch

I wish someone could explain the satisfaction Harry finds in the fact that
companies are going out of business.

Is this good for liberals somehow? Circuit City had employees who had jobs,
even if those folks did nothing. Is it in the best interest of liberals
that the unemployed numbers grow larger?

I'm missing something somewhere.

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"hk" wrote in message
m...
Eisboch wrote:
"hk" wrote in message
...
I sometimes play my ipod through my stereo...sounds just a hair below a
well-done CD. Nothing beats an ipod for portable entertainment.
I agree with the guy that wrote the article. Most sound like they were
recorded in a coffee can.
I occasionally use a mp3 for various purposes including burning cds or
downloading to Mrs.E's iPod.
But before I do, I use a program called "Audacity" to modify and enhance
the file to get rid of that coffee can sound.

I just cannot handle that overly compressed, airy and tinny sound.
Different strokes.

Eisboch

MP3's?

ipods can do better than that.


If the original recording was purposely broken to begin with, nothing will
help unless the issuer remasters the album.

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/sto..._high_fidelity



Yes, of course.

I've been really pleased with a CD of Mary Chapin Carpenter's...they're
holiday songs, sort of. The performances sound just as they do when she
performs live.

Come Darkness, Come Light is the album.

Eisboch wrote:

wrote in message
...
On Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:46:26 -0500, "Eisboch"
wrote:


"hk" wrote in message
...


I sometimes play my ipod through my stereo...sounds just a hair below a
well-done CD. Nothing beats an ipod for portable entertainment.

I agree with the guy that wrote the article. Most sound like they were
recorded in a coffee can.
I occasionally use a mp3 for various purposes including burning cds or
downloading to Mrs.E's iPod.
But before I do, I use a program called "Audacity" to modify and
enhance the
file to get rid of that coffee can sound.

I just cannot handle that overly compressed, airy and tinny sound.
Different strokes.

Eisboch


Mostly fixed with phase correction.

... and making your MP3's with a much higher sample rate than the
default. try 192k


High sample rates (320kbps) certainly makes them better but the files
get bigger. Wav files sound best because there's no compression, but
the files are huge. People aren't into quality, they are into quantity,
so they pack their iPods and mp3 players with low quality, low sample
rate files. I just can't get into that. Despite what some claim, I can
(and so can my wife) distinguish the difference of a high quality CD PCM
track and a high sample rate conversion of it to mp3.

You can't replace what isn't there. But, with Audacity you can add some
depth to get rid of the coffee can sound.
As discussed many times before, it all depends on what you are listening
to them on. An iPod plugged into a docking station or a non-revealing
audio system sounds ok for background music.

Eisboch




It sorta depends on *what* you are listening to, too.

hk wrote:
Circuit City to liquidate, shutter stores
Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:08pm EST

By Karen Jacobs and Emily Chasan

ATLANTA/RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) - Bankrupt electronics retailer
Circuit City Stores said on Friday it will liquidate its assets and
shutter hundreds of U.S. stores after failing to reach a deal to sell
the company.

Circuit City is one of the largest retail bankruptcies in the current
U.S. recession. Its demise paves the way for larger rival Best Buy Inc
to boost sales and gain clout with suppliers as the leading electronics
retailer.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Huennekens approved the plan to liquidate
Circuit City, and the No. 2 retail player in U.S. electronics said it
would begin closing stores on Saturday.

"Regrettably for the more than 30,000 employees of Circuit City and our
loyal customers, we were unable to reach an agreement with our creditors
and lenders to structure a going-concern transaction ... and so this is
the only possible path for our company," Vice Chairman James Marcum said.

This could have been avoided if it weren't for the arrogance and hubris
of the good old boys in Richmond. There were many offers, 4 or 5 years
ago, to purchase Circuit City from some investors up North a couple of
years ago but the Southern boys wouldn't sell to anybody up North.

"John H" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:40:58 -0500, "Eisboch" wrote:


"hk" wrote in message
news:tOKdnSJgIZhGpezUnZ2dnUVZ_jOdnZ2d@earthlink. com...

Circuit City to liquidate, shutter stores
Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:08pm EST

By Karen Jacobs and Emily Chasan

ATLANTA/RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) - Bankrupt electronics retailer
Circuit City Stores said on Friday it will liquidate its assets and
shutter hundreds of U.S. stores after failing to reach a deal to sell
the
company.


Good riddance. Circuit City was one of the worst retail stores for
consumer
electronics (or anything for that matter) that I can think of. Sales
"associates" walking around with cell phones stuck in their ear, talking
to
friends or congregating in groups yuking it up while customers wait at the
register to pay for purchases or need assistance. We had two in this
area,
one was in business for several years, the other relatively new. Both
stores had the same cavalier culture when it came to the customers.

Plus, typically they didn't know anything about the products they sold.
Most
were high school kids working after school. At least Best Buy has some
trained sales associates that know something about what they sell. For
the
market it was supposed to serve, Circuit City was no better than a Target
or
Wal-Mart.

I am surprised they stayed in business as long as they did, economic
slowdown or no economic slowdown.

Eisboch

I wish someone could explain the satisfaction Harry finds in the fact that
companies are going out of business.

Is this good for liberals somehow? Circuit City had employees who had
jobs,
even if those folks did nothing. Is it in the best interest of liberals
that the unemployed numbers grow larger?

I'm missing something somewhere.

Yes, you are missing something, and so is Harry. Circuit City was in bad
shape way before the economy went down the toilet. There are badly run
businesses and there are well run businesses. Capitalism is based on
competition - the survival of the fittest. Circuit City deserved to die. I
feel bad for their employees, but hopefully, a few of them will learn a
lesson from their experience. Probably not, though, because their managers
expected to make money for doing pretty much nothing special, so they were
lousy role models.

When I was in the audio business, we expected new employees to learn every
piece of equipment in the store. On slow days, we'd send them to the
upstairs office during lunch with a receiver or whatever, and told them to
learn it until they could work it blindfolded. If there were no customers,
we'd stick them in the sound room and tell them to listen hard to all the
speakers until they could describe the differences adequately. We made them
study, in other words. We all took home demo pieces overnight to learning
purposes.

A friend from those days is now an independent sales trainer. He said "no"
to working for CC after one disturbing experience. He played customer &
called our local store, asking if they had a certain Harmon Kardon receiver
in stock. The employee told him they didn't carry Harmon Kardon. My friend
knew, of course, that they carried HK, and several HK items had been
featured in their Sunday newspaper ad that same week. When he told their
regional manager about his experience, the guy pretty much yawned and said
"That's why we want you to do training for us." My friend said no thanks,
figuring that if the employees didn't care enough to walk around their own
store and see what brands they carried, sales training was the least of
their problems. Even worse was that the manager didn't have clue about the
real problem.

The only advantage CC offered me was the ability to order online and pick up
an item at the store. That's pretty expensive real estate for what amounts
to nothing but a warehouse.

Meanwhile, we have the perfect model of capitalism here. Maybe Rochester
customers have high expectations because of this company:

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3795
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2003/1124/166_print.html
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortu...4048/index.htm

On Sat, 17 Jan 2009 08:02:23 -0500, "Eisboch"
wrote:


wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:46:26 -0500, "Eisboch"
wrote:


"hk" wrote in message
...


I sometimes play my ipod through my stereo...sounds just a hair below a
well-done CD. Nothing beats an ipod for portable entertainment.

I agree with the guy that wrote the article. Most sound like they were
recorded in a coffee can.
I occasionally use a mp3 for various purposes including burning cds or
downloading to Mrs.E's iPod.
But before I do, I use a program called "Audacity" to modify and enhance
the
file to get rid of that coffee can sound.

I just cannot handle that overly compressed, airy and tinny sound.
Different strokes.

Eisboch


Mostly fixed with phase correction.

... and making your MP3's with a much higher sample rate than the
default. try 192k


High sample rates (320kbps) certainly makes them better but the files get
bigger. Wav files sound best because there's no compression, but the files
are huge. People aren't into quality, they are into quantity, so they pack
their iPods and mp3 players with low quality, low sample rate files. I just
can't get into that. Despite what some claim, I can (and so can my wife)
distinguish the difference of a high quality CD PCM track and a high sample
rate conversion of it to mp3.

You can't replace what isn't there. But, with Audacity you can add some
depth to get rid of the coffee can sound.
As discussed many times before, it all depends on what you are listening to
them on. An iPod plugged into a docking station or a non-revealing audio
system sounds ok for background music.

Eisboch


I think we mostly agree on this. I was just pointing out that not all
MP3's are created equal. I don't know how much time you like to spend
on your music hobby, but you sound like someone who could probably
enjoy Adobe Audition 3. It's about $350, and worth every penny. I
prefer it greatly to Pro-Tools, and it's much cheaper to buy.

When the heads on my 8 track Tascam wore out, I saw the handwriting on
the wal. Replacing the heads was going to be VERY expensive, and the
last few years have seen 1/2 inch tape go in and out of production. l
took the plunge and went 100% digital. It's a whole new world, and
I'm loving it. I'm even enjoying re-learning recording, which has some
differences from tape. First rule: Saturation BAD with digital
recording. With tape, it could be used to advantage. No more. Minus
12db is your friend!

BTW - there's a guy making really good U-47 microphone replicas for
about 2k. I mean REALLY good. Once you get seriously into recording,
microphone collecting becomes a companion addiction...

"John H" wrote in message
...


I wish someone could explain the satisfaction Harry finds in the fact that
companies are going out of business.

Is this good for liberals somehow? Circuit City had employees who had
jobs,
even if those folks did nothing. Is it in the best interest of liberals
that the unemployed numbers grow larger?

I'm missing something somewhere.


Some companies deserve to go out of business due to the lack of quality of
their service, products or internal culture.

In the case of Circuit City, it was on the edge anyway. The economic crisis
and retail downturn was simply the straw that broke the camel's back.

Eisboch

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
m...

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...


iPods are having an effect, but the bigger issue, I think, is lack of
imagination and just plain balls in retailing. That's why this retailer
keeps growing every year:

http://www.rowephoto.com/index.html

Mid to high quality audio, full service, well-trained staff with
outrageous product knowledge. Began as a photo store 110 years ago.
Added audio & video in the mid-1980s. The stores are always busy. In a
sense, the owner built the business by responding to the big discounters
with "So what?" Wegmans (grocery chain) does the same thing.


Hopefully they will stay around because they are diversified. There used
to be a couple of decent high-end audio shops around my area but they
have all folded. The demand (or lack of) for quality equipment just
doesn't pay the rent anymore. Even manufacturers of decent speakers are
introducing lower performance, lower priced models of their equipment to
be carried by places like Best Buy. It's too bad because people still
spend a considerable amount of money for Best Buy's versions of Klipsch
or Martin Logan thinking they are getting high end speakers. For a small
amount more they could get the real thing.

Eisboch



Agree on Circuit City being crap. As to high end stores, some are
probably better than others. We have one in Livermore. When I was going
to put in a decent home theater system, went to them for a bid. They
listened to what I wanted, and then just ignored it. The first bid was
$10,000. About $8k above what I said my budget was. This did not include
a TV, just the speakers and amp/ receiver. Do not know if they are around
anymore either. Just a more expensive Circuit City. No one listening.

Wow...your bugdet of $2K demnded a tv also?
Big spender!

JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
"John H" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:40:58 -0500, "Eisboch" wrote:

"hk" wrote in message
m...

Circuit City to liquidate, shutter stores
Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:08pm EST

By Karen Jacobs and Emily Chasan

ATLANTA/RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) - Bankrupt electronics retailer
Circuit City Stores said on Friday it will liquidate its assets and
shutter hundreds of U.S. stores after failing to reach a deal to sell
the
company.

Good riddance. Circuit City was one of the worst retail stores for
consumer
electronics (or anything for that matter) that I can think of. Sales
"associates" walking around with cell phones stuck in their ear, talking
to
friends or congregating in groups yuking it up while customers wait at the
register to pay for purchases or need assistance. We had two in this
area,
one was in business for several years, the other relatively new. Both
stores had the same cavalier culture when it came to the customers.

Plus, typically they didn't know anything about the products they sold.
Most
were high school kids working after school. At least Best Buy has some
trained sales associates that know something about what they sell. For
the
market it was supposed to serve, Circuit City was no better than a Target
or
Wal-Mart.

I am surprised they stayed in business as long as they did, economic
slowdown or no economic slowdown.

Eisboch
I wish someone could explain the satisfaction Harry finds in the fact that
companies are going out of business.

Is this good for liberals somehow? Circuit City had employees who had
jobs,
even if those folks did nothing. Is it in the best interest of liberals
that the unemployed numbers grow larger?

I'm missing something somewhere.

Yes, you are missing something, and so is Harry.



I'm not missing a thing in circuit city, nor was my comment in any
way intended to express "glee" over the closing of circuit city and the
loss of its jobs. The few times I shopped at circuit city were
uneventful. My comments simply served to point out yet another large
business failing at least partially as a result of the failed Bush
Administration.

We're going to have more of these as President Obama and his team
attempt to dig us out of the hole blasted to the core by the Bush
administration and its enablers.

As for Best Buy, the only times I have found anyone there who knows
anything is on the days the manufacturers or distributors have "reps"
around for a special event or sale. I don't fault the regular sales
staff for this; there are too many products at the store, the employees
aren't paid well, and the margins are tight.

We internet-shop a lot, although the Annapolis Mall has gotten a lot
more attractive the last year or so with its major league expansion. All
that's missing there now is an L.L. Bean and a Restoration Hardware,
which I frequented at the Tysons Corner Mall in Virginia. The only other
store in Virginia where I shop is the big MicroCenter computer store,
but they now have one in Rockville, MD. We have a nice Apple computer
store at Annapolis, where I bought my laptop and will soon be buying my
new desktop.

We're big fans here of Amazon.