A few days before Christmas, I received greetings from two audio buddies, J-Rob and Gary B., with the above caption taken from Part 2 of Shared Dreams article by another friend, Devon T. of OJAS published by MJ Audio Technology in Substack. Perhaps this glitch is one of the reasons why we are being cautioned about AI.😉
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| Delaware River Leica M4 + 50 'cron V3 Kodak TX400 in HC110E |
Nothing to worry about folks! I'm still alive and well, enjoying my LP collection and shooting pictures!😊
Speaking of pictures, during the latter part of last year, I became the beneficiary of a Leica M4, 50'cron V3, 50mm 'lux V2 and a 90mm Tele-Elmarit courtesy of a very generous friend who has retired from shooting film. Mouse over the camera + lenses for images taken by them, they are hyperlinked to my Flickr.
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| Princeton U Art Museum Leica M4 + 50 'lux Fuji Neopan 400 in Kodak HC110E |
Initially, the shutter curtain of the M4 wouldn't open at 1/500 and 1/1000. Thanks to nobbysparrow + Rick Oleson's TV shutter tester, I was able to revive the top two speeds and saved myself $$$s in CLA bills. For DIY repair tips, mouse over the relevant texts, they're also hyperlinked!😊
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| Sony A7II + close focus adapter + Voigtlander Nokton MC Classic 35mm f1.4 II |
Unfortunately, I couldn't resurrect the Leica meter MR that came with the M4.😔 Despite being a fairly competent Sunny 16 shooter, I'm getting lazy with age and wanted the MR-meter experience. I also love those little gadgets and have amassed a collection of shoe mounted light meters.
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| Keks Leica-meter + Leica M3 + 50'lux Sony A7II + close focus adapter + 50'cron V3 |
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| Leica M4 + VM Nokton Classic MC 35mm f1.4 II Fuji XE-3 + 50 'cron Fuji Acros film simulation |
It's been 17 years since I uploaded my first hifi related content on YouTube. That was when JE Labs was still in website form. Even then, I wanted to integrate as much visual imagery as possible. Alas, I was too busy to realize all of that between my performing and teaching schedule...
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| Astor Place NYC Leica M3 + 50 'lux |
Besides, even if contributions are most welcome and appreciated, this blog and my YouTube channel aren't money making ventures. They're about sharing my passions!
Spurned by the extinction of brick and mortar hifi stores and shift to online marketing supported by a cadre of social media influencers + opinions formed via consensus in various audio forums by enthusiasts armed with audio analyzers/simulation programs, there seems to be a resurgence of emphasis on audio specs. This is based on comments and questions I've been receiving. It has even infiltrated the DIY/SE-DHT/High Efficiency crowd, especially among the less experienced and/or younger generation who are most impressionable by the "latest is best" frame of mind.
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| amp project Leica M4 + VM Nokton Classic MC 35mm f1.4 II Kodak TX400 in HC110H |
I'm old enough to remember when mainstream glossy audio magazines like Audio, High Fidelity and Stereo Review concentrated mainly on the numbers game, which was great for advertising revenue. Fortunately, by the early 80s magazines focused on sound quality - Stereophile and The Absolute Sound - were gaining ground.
Being DIY-inclined and very curious as to how things work, I took the path less travelled and searched for alternative publications. I started hacking Dynakit preamps and amps in the mid 80s guided by The Audio Amateur and Tu-be or not tu-be tube audio modification manual by H. L. Eisenson.
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| IKEA Billy Bookcase Bowing 😊 Sony A7II + VM Nokton Classic MC 35mm f1.4 II |
Sound Practices opened my ears to the delights of SE-DHT amps + Western Electric derived Altec transducers in the early 90s. Even if I can't read Japanese, I supplemented this with Isamu Asano's two-volume tome + sporadic issues of MJ Audio Technology and Stereo Sound Tube Kingdom for the schematics and pictures! To maintain a wider perspective of the hobby, I monitored trends via the late Art Dudley's Listener, Glass Audio, Vacuum Tube Valley and VALVE.
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| RCA UX210 Sony A7II + Leitz Tele-Elmarit 90mm f2.8 |
Keep in mind that audio is a very mature technology. AFAIK, a vacuum tube circuit can no longer be patented because it's fully exploited and obsolete. All the theory involving my beloved single ended directly heated triode amplification were documented in the Third Edition of the Radiotron Designer's Handbook published in 1940.
One not often discussed fact is that digital audio is based on the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem. Harry Nyquist laid out the groundwork in 1928 with further research presented by Claude Shannon at Bell Laboratories in 1948. As the old adage goes, nothing is new under the sun. This holds true with audio!
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| JE Labs test bench Sony A7II + VM Nokton Classic MC 35mm f1.4 II |
All the equipment on my test bench above are essential to facilitate my pursuit of the hobby. However, I use these tools merely as guides, while my ears serve as the ultimate arbiter of a component's merit.
Combining the knowledge I gained from audio DIY + my formal training in classical music, I'm keenly aware that the static nature of test tones and waveforms used for testing audio equipment are so far removed from the complex and dynamic nature of music.
Pink noise + RTA is a good example of static measurement. Compare (click here) the sound of pink noise vs. an MP3 of Astor Piazzolla's Oblivion. Are these two even remotely related?
So far the flattest RTA trace I got was from a pair of Snell J Type IIIs. But when it came to listening to music, as competent as the Snells were, I couldn't attain the same level of musical satisfaction from them compared to any of my classic Altecs.
If you're curious to hear other audio test tones used to test amplifiers and speakers, click here.
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| My concert violin and bow Bessa R + VM Nokton 50mm f1.4 Kodak TX400 in Diafine |
I firmly believe that audio hobbyists, whether DIYer or not, should listen to A LOT OF MUSIC, preferably live and un-amplified or at the very least, minimally amplified. Ultimately, a pair of musically seasoned ears renders glowing specs and computer generated waterfall graphs irrelevant!
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| The Guggenheim NYC Leica M3 + 50 'lux Kodak TX400 in HC110E |
This is where my audio and photography hobbies converge. It isn't unusual for modern lenses to measure (using two-dimensional MTF charts) near perfect optically but capture pictures appearing painfully sharp and/or sterile to the eye, while those that posses some minor distortion and/or spherical aberrations depict more natural and pleasant images.
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| Click image for info |
Last year I subscribed to the English version of MJ Audio Technology on Substack. Recently featured DIY amplifier articles include a WE131A/133A inspired PP EL84, Loftin-White 2A3, 300B & PX25, transformer coupled SE UX250 & DA60, a Li-ion powered hybrid amp using WE396A + SiC MOS-FETs, a recap of the late Susumu Sakuma's SE 801A amp with 3 x Tamura F475 OPTs connected in series, just to mention a few. Japanese audio enthusiasts' listening rooms utilizing high end, classic and/or DIY components, are visited and discussed in detail. Devon Turnbull has two ongoing topics in his column - the evolution of OJAS and a profile of the legendary jc morrison.
Watching the videos on MJ's YouTube channel makes me want to visit these places in Akihabara again before they're gone forever.
Despite some translation issues, like my aforementioned premature demise,😄 I highly recommend considering a subscription!👍
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| Partially Frozen Delaware River Leica M3 + 50 'lux Kodak TX400 in HC110E |
Through the years, I sensed that Japanese audio culture is more diverse and inclusive. In sharp contrast to the transitory recommended component list approach practiced here, they seem to support and encourage connoisseurship. Glossy audio publications catering to high end and vintage classics coexist. MJ Audio Tech often revisits classic Loftin-White and pentode-style WE91A schematics in some form or variation thereof, along with more adventurous and cutting edge topologies and concepts - a looking back to move forward vibe! Being a history buff, I live by this aphorism.
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| Before an Itzhak Perlman Recital with Rohan da Silva at Suntory Hall, November 2015 |
Having visited Tokyo, Japan, it's not wild speculation that their readership frequents concert halls and jazz cafés for live music knowing full well that this experience can never be recreated in their respective listening rooms. Thus, sampling tubes, transformers and other devices in various circuits and matching them to speakers is its own unique pursuit, analogous to curating a tasting menu and wine pairing. Very motivating and sonically delectable!
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