Ushering in the New Year ... with tubes and more!

Happy New Year to all you music lovers and audiophiles out there!  It's been a while since we've posted on the blog, partly because we wanted Miles' hard work in putting together the online London/Decca reference guide to lead the web site for a while and partly because things have been busy for both of us.  That doesn't mean that we haven't been listening to vinyl.  On the contrary.  The biggest news for me (music-wise at least) since October has been a complete overhaul of my audio system.  After months of Miles' convincing, I decided it was prime time to give tubes a try.  Only problem was that once I got a taste of tubes, I got hooked.  So out went all the solid-state equipment to be replaced by all-tube gear.  In the process, I was able to shed a line stage, so that my phono stage directly drives my two monoblock power amps, eliminating an unnecessary gain stage as well as an interconnect.  Did I have upgraditis?  Audio nervosa?  Unfortunately, yes, but I have to admit that I am now content with my changes and will settle down for the long haul.

That being said, what can we expect in the coming weeks to months on the blog?  Well, I have some plans, but like New Year's resolutions, some may materialize and some may not.  Those that don't will not happen on account of my work schedule, but I will do my very best to try to keep posting.  Some of my plans:

1. Continue my ongoing survey of the Columbia SAX recordings.

2. Continue a "bargain bin" series of more affordable LPs that are no slouch in terms of quality.

3. Delve more into the world of jazz, which was my initial intention with the blog, but classical seemed to have predominated.  This includes some of my thoughts on Blue Notes, Prestige, Riverside, Columbia, and Verve recordings and their more recent audiophile reissues.

4. Comparisons between audiophile reissues of the famous golden age recordings, including but not limited to Classic Records, Speakers Corner, Original Recording Group, Testament Records, Cisco Records, and Analogue Productions pressings and more.

There's more on my mind, but we'll see how things go for now.  As always, we value our readers' thoughts and opinions and welcome your discourse!