The Music Thread

In 2005 (or thereabouts) the wife and I picked up our Toyota Yaris rental at Keflavik for our 10 day ring road farm stay in Iceland. When we tried to play some cheesy tour guide CD we had picked up somewhere we realized that the last person who'd rented the car had left disc 2 of Iron Maiden's Death On The Road on the CD player. That disc is etched in my memory as the soundtrack to that epic 10 day trip.


EDIT: Must have been 2006. Death on the Road wasn't released till the fall of 2005.
 
Love me some Doug Sahm whether it's Sir Douglas Quintet, Texas Tornados, Doug Sahm and Band or what. Not many people played with both Hank Williams and Bob Dylan.



 
God, first heard of the Blasters when they were opening for Clapton on the Money and Cigarettes tour. Kept up through the fight, his time with X, the Knitters, the Pleasure Barons, (what a hoot) and his solo career. One of my favorites from a fine album of his.



 
My 12-year-old granddaughter called me last night and I could hear music playing in the background so I asked her what she was listening to. "I'm really getting into Pink Floyd," she said. "You told me they're great and you're right. The guitar player gives me goosebumps."
 
nashcounty said:
My 12-year-old granddaughter called me last night and I could hear music playing in the background so I asked her what she was listening to. "I'm really getting into Pink Floyd," she said. "You told me they're great and you're right. The guitar player gives me goosebumps."
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Good job.
 
A little story tonight.

When I was 16, I had my first audiophile moment. I walked into the Now Audio/Video on Stratford Road, across the street from Hanes Mall. I went in looking for a CD player for my first car in HS and it happened. I'll never forget it.

I heard Ella Fitzgerald. Like she was right in front of me. She was singing in the listening room to the right of the entrance. Coming off of a CD being played on a Rega Apollo CD player, driven by some amplifier I was never told, but she was coming of these strange speakers. It was like I was smacked upside my head. I sat down on the stairs leading down, my elbows on my knees, like a child watching his first live sporting event. One of the salesman left me be for about five minutes, probably smiling at what the epiphany he just unexpectedly gave me as I walked in the door. And then we started talking. And he introduced me to Martin Logan speakers for the first time.

There were no cones, I told him. How could these things make music? He explained to me how electrostatic speakers worked. That they're powered speakers, and the sound comes from both the front and the back of them, reflecting off the back wall, to create the sound I was hearing. And he told me that they didn't work in every room, because of their dipole nature. Being a teen without a job, there was no way I could buy those, and he knew, but I got my first audiophile education that day. An hour later, I bought a CD player from him. But I'll never forget the sound of those speakers. As a audio equipment reviewer on Youtube said correctly, once you get a taste of the Martin Logan sound, it's hard to live without. I have wanted that experience in my home from that moment on. And I never forgot the sound. The emotion. The feeling they gave.

About 10 days ago, I was having a bad day at work, and decided that looking at audiophile equipment would cheer me up some. Make me forget the day. Make me think of better places going into the weekend. I happened to look on my phone at a local store, and noticed they were closing. Screw it, I told myself. I'll go over there and see what they have and see if they have any deals. I had no expectation of spending any money or any desire to. But eff it, it's Friday. Gonna go have some fun and look at the high end stuff before going home and crashing for the weekend.

And as I walked in, I saw them.....the electrostatic panels clearly visible. I talked to the owner for a moment. Found out he's closing because he's retiring. I wished him well, and played it coy as I walked around the room, looking at the beautiful musical goodies he had around. After a minute or two, I walked over to the ML's. They looked clean, and in good condition. Cherry red finish on the back. I asked him about them--demo speakers, maybe 20 hours on them. Asked the model? ESL9's--the model I told myself I'd get if I could find a decent pair at a decent price since the Masterpiece Series was introduced. Not their highest end stuff, but better than their lower end electrostats. I knew how much they were brand new. I asked him what he was looking for for them.

He told me his number--it was less than half of a brand new pair.

It took everything for me to not just pull my credit card out immediately. But I wanted to hear them, see if they still had the same sound as I remember. The owner had a wedding to attend that weekend, so he was closing early, but I asked if I could listen to them next week. He said to call him beforehand, and he'd set them up.

So I did. The next week, I came back, and he hooked them up to a new Yamaha amp. Now...I won't get too technical, but there was no way that amp had enough power to make those things sing. And ML's need POWER!!!! But I listened to them. They sounded good. Not great. Him and I talked. He reminded me that they're very room dependent. So he turned them around, and hooked to a slightly beefier amp, on the exact opposite side wall, right into two diffusers. And WHAMO! There was the power. The sound. The effortlessness of the speakers I remember. I told him I would think about it, and call him next week.

I kept my word.

I'm now the owner of MartinLogan ESL 9's.

I have dreamed of owning speakers like this for the last 29 years of my life. I've been listening all afternoon and evening since I got home with them and set them up. I kid you not--I'm hearing things in recordings I know like the back of my hand that I never heard before. Are they a little overkill for the room? Yep. But at the price I got them for, I would have hated myself for not buying them.
I have reached end game with speakers.
 
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