About Lugnut -- Patrick Malone

I have been a Chiropractic Doctor for over 35 years and have had great suscess adjusting patients diagnosed with cancer. They continue live long and productive lives if they have their spine vertebra adjusted twice per month. I would not recommend this if I did not believein it so strongly. Chiropractically yours, D.C.

Pat, one of the the LPs I mentioned yesterday was by a gentleman named David Romaine. I'm at work so I don't have it right in front of me, but the title has something to do with gypsy violin something or other. There is a lovely gypsy looking woman on the front cover holding a violin.

I hope his name is enough to get you started. It was released onthe Mercury label.

Patrick, start your engines, you're off to the races! Now find that LP.

Thanks Nate!

Friday evening a friend who is on the board of directors for the Boise Philharmonic called and offered tickets for Barb and I to attend a performance last night. Barb adjusted her plans (Her mom and sis are here) so we could go together. What a thrill it was as it was our first time!

The program began with Malcolm Arnold's "English Dances" and moved to Max Bruch's "Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26" with Janet Sung at violin. Man, can this gal play the fiddle!!! After intermission we listened to Brahams' "Serenade No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11". I personally enjoyed the first half of the concert most, especially the Bruch piece. Forgive me for having an opinion here but I think Brahams would have better served the listener with a shorter composition.

Watching the musicians closely was interesting. I honestly believe they enjoyed playing the Brahams most, being more animated with their resulting body language.

Now that I've dusted off my tweed jacket and English driving hat I can load up my pipe and be hoity toity too. This Nebraska boy found his culture in Idaho. Seriously, I understand the strength of live classical music now much better than before. I have no way to honestly judge the overall preformance since I've never listened to any of the best known orchestras except through recordings. To my ears though Boise is blessed with a conductor, James Ogle, capable of bringing the best out of this fine group of musicians.

Many thanks to Glen for thinking of me. Like the post above from Nrchy recommending solo violin work Glen had likewise been asked about such recordings a few months ago. I guess it seemed the right fit for me to attend this particular concert because of the solo violin work. Certainly, if my situation were different I'd be purchasing tickets to every Boise Philharmonic concert this season. I enjoyed it that much.

On the system front I think I've done about everything I can to maximize its preformance. The dedicated lines have created a blacker background and after lifting the grounds on my amps the circuit/tube noise is almost non-existant. It is as quiet as any solid state system I've ever heard. I'm clearly hearing the weak links in my system now but they are not annoying in the least. I'll probably upgrade the power cords starting with the amps first as I think they (the amps) are the weakest link in the system. Nate has kindly agreed to bring some of his cast offs to RMAF and maybe we can come to terms on them. Then I'll be trying another power cord on my preamp if funds allow. FWIW, and sadly too, for the first time I'm hearing the deficiencies of my LP 12. I won't be changing out my turntable but I think I'll try the Trampolin suspension base. It is somewhat controvertial among Linnies. Reading between the lines I think it might bring some of the speed into playback that seems to be lacking now that I can hear it. Of course, opinions are always welcome. Please don't tell me to buy another table since it's clearly not in the budget even though I wish it were.

On the health front I've been really concerned all last week as to whether I'd be up to attending RMAF. Maybe my body is getting tired of the chemo schedule. I just don't know. Yesterday I felt better than I have for a week and this morning I seem to be feeling better yet. I am very motivated to go so I'll be there come hell or high water.

It's impossible to thank everyone that follows up with me through personal contact. I'd need to keep a log on the incoming phone calls and emails just to get started and I'm not nearly that organized by nature. I'd like to mention again the thoughtfulness of Gary who calls regularly and helps with issues I don't understand or forgot to cover with my oncologist. He also provides me with my most expensive monthly prescription free of charge. We've never met face to face but here he is, a surgeon with an obviously full life of his own taking the time to help me in any way he can. I've said this before but it needs to be burned into the consciousness of everyone that reads this. Lugnut cannot repay these kindnesses. I trust that through this thread there will live a spirit of passing it on. Caring about each other is powerful medicine for the soul.

"Forgive me for having an opinion here but I think Brahams would have better served the listener with a shorter composition. "

Pat,

Your opinion is my opinion!

Tchaikovsky once said of one of Brahm's works, "He spent an hour building the perfect pedestal. Too bad he forgot to put a statue on top." ;-)

Glad to hear you're feeling a bit better as RMAF approaches. I'm sorry we won't be coming out. It looks like lots of friends from this thread will be there.

Don't feel like you need to thank everyone. Staying with this thread and sharing your time so generously and honestly is all the thanks any of us could ask for.

Doug

Doug,

I hesitated to post my criticism of Brahm's since I know so very little about this genre. It's good to know that someone agrees with me.

Well all, RMAF was very enjoyable even though it was much more of a challenge to this diseased and chemically ravaged body than I expected. I returned home completely spend. Having Barb there with me, being in charge without appearing so, proved her value as my life partner. Honestly, without her I would have made a spectacle of myself somewhere. Several times I felt the world slipping away and would have dropped like a ton of bricks if not for her anticipating my need to sit down and rest. At times like that I didn't have enough presence of mind to find my own chair and am I ever glad she was there. My primary goal was to attend this event. My secondary goal of doing so without appearing compromised was pulled off to my satisfaction. At least I think I pulled that one off with her help.

About the only criticism I have of the whole event was the constant use of source material that attempted to showcase something that had little to do with music. There also seemed to be a fear of playing full range music. In fairness to the exhibitors though the majority of rooms must have been difficult to set up properly. Still, many rooms sounded very good indeed. Some of the larger rooms sounded about as good as I could imagine.

Two products that would fall in my price range stood head and shoulders above the rest. The Star Sound Caravelles and Audio Machina Ultimate Monitors were so very, very good. I never thought I would hear a monitor speaker that offered performance like this. It would be difficult to choose between these two if not for the superior appearance of the Caravelles. These speakers and their dedicated stands simply convey the no compromise philosophy of the company. I would have bought a pair on the spot if circumstances weren't what they are in the Lugnut household.

The Caravelles were showcased in two rooms. One of the rooms was very small and used the near field approach with the Star Sound amplifiers and a CDP hooked up direct. The other, larger room used Thor electronics with an analog source. Surprisingly I preferred the sound of the smaller room. Don't get me wrong. Some of my favorite rooms used Thor gear. This may speak volumes about the Star Sound amps though which I don't think are in production.

I saw most of the Audiogon folks I knew and enjoyed group dinners both Friday and Saturday night. One particular joy was finally getting to meet Tom Lyons (Twl) face to face after several years of having a great online friendship. He's absolutely brilliant and it's a shame he no longer participates in these forums. I was hoping to meet Cornfedboy. I was not farsighted enough to write and ask him how we should meet but hoped to find a message on our room phone. Sorry Kelly.

It was difficult saying goodbye to Cello, AlbertPorter, Berlin and Nrchy knowing that I most likely will not be seeing them face to face again in this life. I just can't convey the feelings I had in doing so. It hurts a lot realizing that this situation is bringing them pain and there is nothing I can do to stop it no matter how much I want to. I think I successfully fought back the tears but it was very hard to do.

I heartily recommend you guys plan to attend this event someday. I found all of the industry heavyweights to be very approachable and pleasant. Some of the more secretive things we wonder about in these threads were revealed through casual conversation. And once I was treated to unwarranted arrogance and bs that isn't seen in a product adverstisement. These gems alone were worth the price of admission.

The entire weekend was well planned by the event staff and the volunteers were most helpful. It may have been possible to attend all the interesting seminars, visit all the rooms, take in the live music and check out all the music for sale but I doubt it. The Marriott Tech Center is a great place to stay not to mention a great place to hold this event and fine dining for the duration of the visit was convenient.

I'll keep you guys posted on whatever happens with the doc this week. I expect just about anything to unfold. Speculation doesn't do much good so I'll just get the facts and serve them up later.

I'd like to thank my local friend Ron Ralls for going along with us and for my old time college buddy and music loving partner Jeff McCabe for coming out to see me. It might have been a taxing time on this weary body but worth every effort.

Pat