Road Trip: Summer 2018

I’m in Elko, Nevada as I write this post. My wife, Charlie (the family border collie), and I left California last Tuesday headed for the mountains of Colorado for a family reunion. I apologize for not being able to respond to comments and get books sent out as quickly as usual but it’s hard to do when you’re sitting on a boat cruising along the shore of Lake Tahoe or tossing a Frisbee for Charlie after 300 plus miles of driving. I will be heading to the post office this morning to get a couple of books out (Music and Audio: A User Guide to Better Audio).

I’m still checking email and reading some of comments related to my last post regarding the nonsense at the AudioCOn event. The post has popped up all over the web. If I had a lot of time this morning, I would write extensively about this episode. But the road calls and I’m technically on vacation.

Bob continues to vigorously deny that the vendor in question did anything to alter the measured results of the power cord presentation. In spite of the fact that another LAOCAS member used his cell phone and an app to get roughly the same results as I did, the vendor’s assurance was good enough for Bob. Therefore I must be making this up. I’m not. I recorded the entire presentation using an iRig microphone preamp connected to my iPhone. Yes, I did use my cellphone to capture the event but I used a high end, phantom powered, professional microphone, and preamp and not the on board iPhone mic. Bob would like everyone to believe that a cellphone couldn’t detect the subtle differences that an expensive power cord produces. They can.

The point of the article and the whole exchange was NOT to focus on “designer” power cords or digital interconnects. I posted Bob’s emails and my responses to illustrate the closed nature of the society and the one-sided nature of their presentations. If power cords are so important then why doesn’t the society allow other knowledgeable individuals or companies challenge them? A well run organization would include subjective and objective analysis of devices, software etc. That would benefit the members far more than pushing expensive accessories.

One member did write to me about his communication with Bob. He expressed his desire to leave the LAOCAS but the President refused to accept it! Since when are members of the group not allowed to cancel their membership? Curious.