Delhi Meet - November 06

SDhawan schrieb:

But why are we debating? :?

dr saab there is a very big difference between an audiophile and a music lover..

more like a film photographer and a painter. on likes to capture facts exactly as he it is and the other tries to capture the emotion as he/she sees it.

many of us are digital photographers who want best of both worlds, capture the image but play with Photoshop in changing the pictiure to how we want it.

in short let us not redifine audiophile as it is a well defined term
-Not all audiophiles need be music lovers
-All music lovers are definitely not audiophiles
-some audiohile are music lovers and vice versa

Arj said :

-Not all audiophiles need be music lovers -All music lovers are definitely not audiophiles -some audiohile are music lovers and vice versa

Arj - I liked your quote so much that I have used it as my signature. Hope you dont mind....

-Not all audiophiles need be music lovers -All music lovers are definitely not audiophiles -some audiohile are music lovers and vice versa

It looks more like a "Data Sufficiency" Problem

Amp_Nut schrieb:

Arj said : -Not all audiophiles need be music lovers -All music lovers are definitely not audiophiles -some audiohile are music lovers and vice versa Arj - I liked your quote so much that I have used it as my signature. Hope you dont mind....

now you are embarassing me.. please feel to use the lines and please do remove my name from it i am trillions of neurons away from having a quote to my name ...yet

Hi Guys !

You missed the key phrase in my comment:

if he is passionate enough

I will go to the extent of saying that if a "Quack" is passionate enough about practising medicine, he will go to any extent to learn it to use it well enough to be a "Doctor" - which literally means one who treat patients. Unfortunately in this example you need liscensing which fortunately is not required to be an audiophile.

To quote Bhagwan's example the difference between him & his wife' listening to music is just "passion" - the "junoon".

Just remember they days when many of us did not have any hifi equipment or knowledge about it - we still loved sound and we were audiophiles - we were just in a different stage of development of the hobby or passion.

That's all my lord. Now you may pass your judgement

I specifically do not comment on Indian Classical Music, because it is never heard 'pure' i.e. without p.a

In Delhi we do have "baithaks"-e.g, In IHC, a sponsor arranges Hindustani Classic music concerts in a small hall-25-30 people, unamplfied.
These kind of small concerts do happen.

If you love music, great, listen to it [on what ever set up that you like - computer, boom box, i-pod etc.], but if you one says that he/she is an 'audiophile' [u]then the way in which that music is listened to will change[/u]

Yes Bhagwanji, but the prime focus on music will remain!
We will never forget music & become obssessed with only euipment!
Kamal

Kamal schrieb:

I specifically do not comment on Indian Classical Music, because it is never heard 'pure' i.e. without p.a In Delhi we do have "baithaks"-e.g, In IHC, a sponsor arranges Hindustani Classic music concerts in a small hall-25-30 people, unamplfied. These kind of small concerts do happen.

Sir, this is what I so miss in Bombay. I would love to attend some of these. If I am in ND & you do have access to any, I would love to be tagged along [ I will really appreciate it ]

All the 'baithaks' in Bombay are not 'un-plugged'
What ever I have heard, has unfortunately always been through a Shure SM 55 and the likes.

You equipment lovers have seduced us into forgetting the prime focus of this thread!
I know many people( & some forum members -Viren,Sanjay,Rahul,meself),who love music & possess HiFi setups.
Why is there such a great reluctance to term us Audiophiles?
MOREOVER-
This thread was started to focus on listening to & appreciating good music.
Why has it been hijacked by equipment lovers & the focus destroyed?
Surely there are enough threads where equipment lovers can keep discussing about their obssession!
I painfully , in a slow tuk, tuk fashion created a detailed post about our sunday meet.
Sadly , my mehnat has been ignored, swamped by equipment lovers, & seems to have gone totally to waste!
Please, please, let us try to keep the focus of the threads...
In sorrow,
Kamal

Kamal schrieb:

You equipment lovers have seduced us into forgetting the prime focus of this thread! I know many people( & some forum members -Viren,Sanjay,Rahul,meself),who love music & possess HiFi setups. Why is there such a great reluctance to term us Audiophiles? MOREOVER- This thread was started to focus on listening to & appreciating good music. Why has it been hijacked by equipment lovers & the focus destroyed? Surely there are enough threads where equipment lovers can keep discussing about their obssession! I painfully , in a slow tuk, tuk fashion created a detailed post about our sunday meet. Sadly , my mehnat has been ignored, swamped by equipment lovers, & seems to have gone totally to waste! Please, please, let us try to keep the focus of the threads... In sorrow, Kamal

I liked that "tuk tuk" word...
Dont worry, everything will be back to normal sir jee..

Kamal schrieb:

Hi guys, sorry for the delay in posting details re our music session on 12th Nov at Sanjays’ place; my comp was creating “pangas”. I would, before anything else, like to place on record our thanks to Mrs Sanjay for her hospitality, including parting possession of her husband on a Sunday;we were certainly not expecting the great lunch, apart from the Kiwi juice, dry fruit, coffee& the McVities Hob Nods Cookies( try them, guys, they’re great !). The session was certainly not on empty stomachs! Sanjay had organized the session very methodically, printing out copies of the tracks he proposed to play giving artist/ track/album/media/manufacturer & details of his eqpt-being an eye surgeon I guess such a meticulous attention to detail comes naturally to him. We decide to evaluate the tracks on a 5 Pt scale on parameters like –E=emotional appeal, I= instrumentation/orchestration quality, V= quality of vocalization ,R=recording quality, M= overall musicality. I shall list each item in the foll order-Artist/track/Album/media/Manufacturer, folld by a brief description and then the rating of each parameter on a 5 pt scale. We started the session, appropriately enough, with a religious track- 1,Uma Mohan, Gayatri Devi/Mangalacharan/Sacred Hindu Chants Vol 3/CD/Kosmic,Chennai.-A very melodious track, beautifully sung, it instantly set the mood! Combined singing of the Almighty with the divinity of music. This Album fuses traditional lyrics & melody with modern orchestration using western instruments also and makes for an album which would appeal to all age group .I have possessed the first two album of this series & fully intend adding this one .Highly recommended-E5,I4,V5,R3,M4. 2.Artist-various/Om Mani Padme Hum/Tibetan Incantations/CD/Cding International,Nepal. A very nice Album-as expected, vocals were top class as also the mood the track evoked,traditionally minimal orchestration-focus is primarily on the quality& appeal of the chanting .We all fell under the spell of the track even tho Viren & I had heard it before while audioning the Lyrita setup.There are 3 tracks in this Album & all are hypnotic in their appeal.Would be an excellent addition to a music collection ;great for, e.g.listening in the morning at the start of your day.E5,I5(given a 5 since ,being minimalistic,it was fully appropriate & not intrusive to the vocals),V5,R3,M4. 3.Mani Sharma,Amit Heri/Mahaganpathi/Morning Raga(Movie)/CD/Music today. This was a pleasant surprise since , because the movie had sunk without a trace, the music was also not noticed by the DJs.A v. nice listen,V proficient vocalization,great music, evocative of the religious mood when we are all reminded of our sins & go easy on the booze at least for the day.E3,I5,V5,R3,M3. 4.Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan/Allah Hoo/Parchaiyaan/CD/RPG. A track that fully brought the genius of Nusrat-not a sonorous/melodious voice(cf Jagjit) but what control, what an ability to convey emotions-this, acc to me, is the foremost quality in a singer-the ability to portray the emotion of the lyrics,the melody. One of the best compilations of Nusrat that we had heard, we all agreed.E4,I4.V5,R3,M4. 5.Jagjit Singh/Mana Ke/Echoes/CD/RPG. This one’s for you Kamal, said Sanjay when he spun this disc, knowing that I’m a long time fan of the great JS. And all the magic came flowing out of the KEF’s! I would vote for a Bharat Ratna for Jagjit, would’nt you? Truly a national treasure. I would cheerfully trade half the cabinet for him!E4,I3,V5,R3,M4. 6.Sunidhi Chauhan/bhaage re man/Chameli/CD/T Series. Sunil’s eyes widened & his eyebrows bounced off the ceiling when I requested Sanjay to spin this one ! I guess he expected me to stick to Bhajans, eh, Sanjay? Guys, this is one great album/standout track-for once the recording engineers have done a great job-you hear a wealth of detail thru a high resolution systemmwhich makes the music come alive. Sunidhi(watchout for this singer) has done an astonishing job with the lyrics & the melody, the romance in the song comes across so forcefully! E4,I5,V5,R5,M4. 7.Ghulam Ali/Dil Me Ek Lehar/Best Of Ghulam Ali/CD/RPG. Another old ,well known ghazal of the master from across the CFL. This was an above avg recording from HMV and showed the importance of the sound engineers art in recreating the magic at home.Most of our recordings are below the international level & hence we lose the full impact of the music/artists’ virtuosity. This one was a standout and cast a spell with its melody, impact of the poetry brilliantly vocalized by Ghulam Ali , all the tonal nuances of the performance coming thru. E4,I3,V5,R4,M4. 8.Lata/Paani Paani Re/Maachis/CD/BMG Crescendo. Another well known, well loved track, this one played by Sanjay exemplified what I had said earlier abt the necessity of hi rec Qlty-The impact was hair raising, the so realistic sound of flowing water(Shut your eyes & you would swear that you were sitting by a river stream!),the opening bars of the melody and then the magic of Lata’s voice singing the soulful lyrics of Gulzar-Magic at high noon!E5,I5,V5,R5,M5. 9.SP balasubrmaniam/Sach mere yaar hai/Sagar/CD/Universal. A pretty swinging song!I had’nt heard this one before so there was the additional joy of discovering a new song.Foot tapping stuff by one of th e south’s maestro-It’s a wonder what virtuosity can do to “filmy” lyrics. Good rec Qlty again.E3,I3,V4,R4,M3. 10. Diana Krall/’s wonderful/The Look Of Love/SACD/Verve. A standout performance by the high priestess of blues/jazz.When we remarked on the extreme transparency of the number,Sanjay informed us that it was an SACD that we were listening to.Pity ther aint many recordings av in this medium-wonder if it will survive.Great “mood “number, great vocalization, great recording.E4,I4,V5,R5,M4. 11.Miles Davis/Time after time/Essential Jazz/CD/Sony. A swinging performance by the master!Clearly shows why he’s one of the greats. When this was played we all sat back, stopped discussing, and savoured the performance.Viren had a piquant smile on his face (Like Mona Lisa!) ,he’s such a jazz aficionado. E4,I5,R4,M5. 12.Norah Jones/Come Away with Me/Come Away With Me/CD/EMI. One of the tracks from the great album that got her the multiple grammys. I think we Indians have a soft corner for Norah-she’s half Indian courtesy Panditji’s international swordmanship! A very magical, soft number, beautifully sung in her unique husky voice ,evoking so nicely the air of yearning in the song. At the end we all felt like coming-(away with her of course, what were you thinking?!). 13.Celine Dion&Pavarotti/I hate then I love you/Let’s talk About Love/CD/Columbia. Sanjay then played this track featuring apart from celine who’s well known.Luciano Pavrotti, one of the greatest Tenors of our era. Wooo, the power in his voice,he made celine sound tinny in comparison.Guys, you have to admit that classical artists are in a category of their own-when you hear a track like this one, their sheer mastery comes thru so dramatically! Old lyrics,familiar to everyone, but when heard thru Pavrottis’ voice ,the impact gathers additional dimensions!The Agony & Ecstacy of love comes through so powerfully!E5,I4,V5,R4,M4 14.Mr Big/Going where the wind blows/Big Bigger Biggest/CD/Warner. An astonishing track! I had not heard this one at all so the pleasure was doubled.. I must say Sanjay has built up quite a collection and is well on his way to becoming a musicophile-Arun , at one stage. earnestly advised him to sell of his KEF’s & go in for another more advanced ones ( not surprising, seeing how he’s a close pal of bhagwan), But I don’t think Sanjay seemed too interested-his focus , now that he has a well balanced system, is to discover more & more music-an attitude I heartily agree with. E3,I4,V4,R4,M4. 15.Nat King Cole/Unforgettable/20 Golden Greats/CD/EMI Barring Viren& Sanjay, others had not even heard of Nat! Not surprising since he belongs to a bygone era. But my God ,what a voice! He never loses his pitch, impeccable timing( not surprising since he was also an accomplished pianist) & the feeling he embues to a song! In those days ,the music arrangement& virtuosity of the accompanists was of an astonishing order.Do hear Nat King Cole-I guarantee you’ll be entranced!E4,I5,V5,R4,M5. A Break for lunch & then we girded our loins ( at least those who had loins left after the ravages of time & wear and tear) for some rock stuff-- 16.Eric Clapton/Tears in Heaven/MTV Unplugged/CD/New Age, Nepal. This “natural” version had even Viren, who is not much of a rock fan, smiling and tapping his foot.An Unplugged is he best way to listen, methinks. the magic of Claptons guitar playing each note so resonatingly clear, his singing-Jaadu indeed! The mood now changed and we were all ready for more.E4,I4,V4,R3,M4 . 17.Bryan Adams/I’ll Always be there for you/MTV Unplugged/CD/AM Another unplugged number & Viren started saying “not bad, Quite good actually, I must get this Album”! He does not like electronic processing of music much,inevitable in huge rock concerts, and this really got thru to him as did the next one by Nirvana. A truly great track, Adams Unique husky/raspy voice floated out in all his glory-Guys, get this Album!E4,I4,V4,R4,M4. 18.Cat Stevens/Moonshadow&My Lady D’Arbanville/The Ultimate Collection/CD/Universal Island. Bet you have’nt heard of this great exponent of classic/soft rock either-only Viren& Sanjay had-Not surprising, soft rock is preferred by people whose valves have become soft! Two great numbers by a master, we all heard with rapturous looks on our faces, esp the ballad like “My Lady..’, with is resouning acoustic guitar accompaniment. Do hear this Album, its available in India. E4,I5,V5,R4,M5. 19. Nirvana/All Apologies/MTV Unplugged/CD/Music World. This was a revelation to me! I had always associated Nivana with rock of the kind that makes you run for the aspirin, but this was a slow, softish number-I wont go into details since its doubtless familiar to all, but all of us enjoyed the number.E3,I4,V4,R3,M4. 20.Queen/The show must go on & Bohemian Rhapsody/Best Of Queen, Vol 2/CD/Parlophone. Some great classic rock from a bygone era! Why is it that Queen sound so good even now? Time less stuff.Two great numbers esp the astonishing vocal harmonizing & changes of tempo & intensity in the bohemian .A real treat & a must listen-do check this out if you haven’t heard Queen.E4,I5,V5,R4,M5. 21.Dire Straits/Sultans of Swing/Sultans of Swing/CD/New Age, Nepal Does any one need any introduction to this classic group/Album? Sanjay says he picked up this & the Clapton Cd for INR 100 apiece in Nepal so you know what to look for if you hit Nepal. Here, Arun asked Sanjay to deconnect the subwoofer section of the KEF codas,& after listening to the number played thru the resulting two way system ,declared that he preferred the sound now better. When the number was played after reconnecting the woofer, at leas Viren & me felt that the sound had improved, it had more “body” To each his own…..E4,I5,V4,R4,M4. 22.Eagles/Hotel California/best of Eagles Vol 2/CD/Asylum(Tips)&Eagles/Hotel California(new version)/Hell freezes over/CD/Geffen. Heard this classic ,alltime great number ;the new version was the live one and was more peasant to hear-reaffirms the fact that theres no substitute to hearing music live-the excitement of the live version even in recorded albums sounds better than the studio version.E4,I5,V4,R4,M4. 23.Ravel/Bolero/Ravel Bolero, Orch Paris/DVD Audio/EMI Classics. We then heard one of the only two DVD Audio’s that Sanjay had managed to hunt down-wonder why the studios are not taking more advantage of this high resolution technology .the difference was apparent –more lush, warm, open; methinks this approaches analogue sound. Great music, great recording.E4,I5,R5,M5. 24.Uljana Levit/Fruhlingsstimmenwalzer/Weiner Hofburg Orchestra/CD/Frankie Damage. “This ones for you . Sunil”, said Sanjay, and our Sunilyo jumped up as if someone had stuck a dagger in his backside ,but he let the KEF’s sing! This was classic opera at its best and Uljana’s voice did amazing things! I had never had much of a brief for opera but this was captivating stuff! For Sunil it was nirvana and we all smiled at seeing him have musical orgasms! On HiFi systems, music sounds so great, that even genres that you are not familiar with hold you spellbound-I guess to that extent its worthwhile to be an audiophile.E4,I5,V5,R5,M5.(E4 since we could’nt understand what the heck she was singing, but all the same it sounded good) . At this we all got up return Sanjay to his family, it had been a long but so pleasant an afternoon, but he put on- 25.Shravan/Akdam bakdam/Hanuman tapas Relia/CD/Music Today A number from India’s first animated film, Hanuman ! We stopped in our tracks, grinning while Sanjay’s two adorable kids started dancing! A great way to round of the audition , the sight of two kids happily enjoying their music…… Regards, Kamal.

And the OSCAR for the 'BEST REVIEW FOR A MEET' goes to Sir Kamal.

Doc wrote :

We are all at the same frequency, the harmonics may differ a little

Ya but Abhi differs a little bit , high in disstortion.

Bhagwan wrote :

I do not smoke nor do I chew on any tobacco / pan [un-healthy].

Ya but good whisky or beer or wine elevates rainy evening listening sessions to a diffrent level.

kamal you take the cake for penning such huge posts.. and SUNILYO here's a yo for you to declare him the best,

did you read the whole post?