It is 5 AM, Do you Know where Mikey Fremer is?

I haven't watched my own DVD in quite some time but I don't recall the chapters all ending in freeze frames! It's easy enough to do a fade-out and it certainly doesn't cost any more.

I agree that the footage shot in my listening room wasn't as well lit as it was on the first DVD. I used the same crew and they let me down somewhat but since the first one came out so well, I trusted the director to get it right the second time. When we went to edit, I saw what you're talking about.

However, there was one other issue: I went to the added expense of shooting in high definition. There are various HD formats and fortunately the ones used for both pressing plant shoots looked extremely good while the one used for the home shoot was less so.

As far as the cost of the DVD, please remember it required a trip to Germany, hiring a film crew, a trip to RTI in California and hiring another crew and then a third crew to shoot at home.

Then all of it had to be edited, which took a great deal of time, and then the graphics had to be created, including all of the chapters, along with the opening animated sequence.

Music had to be written and edited to picture and then the DVD had to be authored (similar to CD mastering).

Add a bunch of etceteras to this and believe me, it adds up to a great deal of money...

I hope at least you found it interesting. I found the plant tours really fascinating and the visit to AcousTech really fun.

Also, the unscripted, ad-libbed 47 minute record collecting rant came out pretty good, I thought...

But that's just me! Plus there's a great deal of good info on the DVD-ROM section....

This has been an unpaid advertisement....

I have only heard the Ref 2 at CES this past week. I found the bottom end a bit fat and out of control, which is what I found on the PH7 too. I know because we brought the admittedly far more expensive Ypsilon VPS100 into the room (it was the Continuum room) to audition for the CEO of Atlantic Records and the difference was enormous--and the Ypsilon is also tubes. I liked much of what the ARC Ref 2 did, but if you have a full range system and a turntable that has deep, solid bass, i believe the Ref 2 will not provide you with all that your system and/or turntable can offer you. Just my opinion...