[artur9]

Kinda makes you miss the cats, doesn't it?

JC

Nothing will get me to miss the cats. On the other hand, a properly working pair of eyes and neck would allow me to overlook their presence.

Continuing the discussion about CDs, does anyone else remember the TV news reports and magazine articles from the early 80’s telling us that CDs were cheaper and easier to produce than records and that if we (the masses) adopted the new format the prices would quickly drop below the cost of records?

I remember that. IIRC, CDs entered the market at something like $20 and I couldn't afford that so I bought used LPs for up to $10. I kept waiting for CD prices to drop but they never did. Greedy record execs - immolations too good for them...

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

The ring cycle begins on Wednesday! Dress rehearsal at 3pm.

EDIT: the first ring cycle.

 

[US Blues]

The ring cycle begins on Wednesday! Dress rehearsal at 3pm.

EDIT: the first ring cycle.

 

[fianbarr]

I found a Solti Ring (not sure if there's more than one) on Spotify, but I just skipped to the beginning of act 3 of die Walkure.

I never really got into classical or opera, so a 14 hour ring cycle is perhaps not the best place to start.

 

[rkw]

Continuing the discussion about CDs, does anyone else remember the TV news reports and magazine articles from the early 80’s telling us that CDs were cheaper and easier to produce than records and that if we (the masses) adopted the new format the prices would quickly drop below the cost of records? I have a weirdly specific memory of Peter Jennings saying this on the news which caused me to start buying CDs for new albums and/or when my cassette tapes wore out - even before I owned a CD player. Records at the time were $9 and CDs launched at $12 but pretty rapidly kept going up in price to an average of $14 with top new releases hitting as much as $17. I think prices have corrected with most new releases especially if you factor in the value of today's dollar versus 1980 dollars. Most of my recent new CD purchases from Amazon have been in the $9 - 12 range. I guess they didn't lie about prices, it just took 30 years to reap the benefits of this new format.

When CDs first came out, cost of manufacturing was $3-$4 per disc, and quickly dropped to pennies. The sales price of CDs has little to do with manufacturing cost. Prices are set by record labels based on demand, profit margin, marketing and licensing costs, artist fees etc. The reports you saw were seriously ignorant about the music industry.

Here's an article from 1995 (23 years ago!): Pennies That Add Up to $16.98: Why CD's Cost So Much

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

I have his 1983 Bayreuth ring. Not as good singers or sound quality.

 

[rkw]

I found a Solti Ring (not sure if there's more than one) on Spotify, but I just skipped to the beginning of act 3 of die Walkure.

I never really got into classical or opera, so a 14 hour ring cycle is perhaps not the best place to start.

Nor is Spotify (by itself) the best place to start with opera. It helps if you can follow along with a libretto translation so you can understand what is happening. Watching subtitled videos is a good way to start.

 

[yonson]

Continuing the discussion about CDs, does anyone else remember the TV news reports and magazine articles from the early 80’s telling us that CDs were cheaper and easier to produce than records and that if we (the masses) adopted the new format the prices would quickly drop below the cost of records? I have a weirdly specific memory of Peter Jennings saying this on the news which caused me to start buying CDs for new albums and/or when my cassette tapes wore out - even before I owned a CD player. Records at the time were $9 and CDs launched at $12 but pretty rapidly kept going up in price to an average of $14 with top new releases hitting as much as $17. I think prices have corrected with most new releases especially if you factor in the value of today's dollar versus 1980 dollars. Most of my recent new CD purchases from Amazon have been in the $9 - 12 range. I guess they didn't lie about prices, it just took 30 years to reap the benefits of this new format.

And now most records start at $20...

 

[fianbarr]

And now most records start at $20...

We call that "hipster inflation".

Honestly I have skipped a few records that I would like to have, mainly because the price is not right.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

I just bought my second LP from amazon.de, it's waiting for me in Berlin. I will take it to LA and play it in the Schiitr. @Baldr, if you want to hear Max Lorenz's Tannhäuser, I can leave it there for you—I can't play it here in SF.

 

[Ableza]

I can't play it here in SF.

Why not? Will the SF Opera Police show up and drag you off in chains?

 

[slefty]

...It helps if you can follow along with a libretto translation so you can understand what is happening. Watching subtitled videos is a good way to start.

Or you could listen to the Goodall Ring cycle sung in English. I have the original LPs and they are quite well done. Have the Solti Ring on LP too. Like them both, though it's been a while since I've listened to them.

 

[FLTWS]

Why not? Will the SF Opera Police show up and drag you off in chains?

No TT?

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

No TT?

Correct. And no space for the TT. And even if there were, the space would immediately go to a second coffee grinder. Dialing the grind out for pour over and in for espresso is quickly becoming a headache. I just paid host to my parents, who are picky about their coffee but with tastes that I disagree with. My mother needs 1/8 cup of sugar in her milkshake I mean latte, and my father, who always takes his coffee black and claims he likes it strong, isn't hardcore enough for espresso.

I wonder if I could Jil my LP into my MacBook Pro at the Schiitr, or whether that would be disruptive to normal business operations. It occurs to me, with all the discussion of a multibit Jil, whether it might be possible to build such a prototype (in the extremely unlikely event that one doesn't already exist) and to allow people to pay hourly for its use at the Schiitr. It seems like it would be yet another draw to a site somewhat out of the way, particularly if there is little market demand for such an ADC's production in volume.

 

[Ableza]

Correct. And no space for the TT. And even if there were, the space would immediately go to a second coffee grinder..

Ah, you must live in one of those 300 sqft at $5000/month San Francisco "apartments."