M U S I C R A T I N G S :
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What my ratings mean:

***** Masterpiece - Ive never heard a perfect album. So these are essentially my favorite 4.5* albums.
****1/2 Great - Here and above, the music takes on a spiritual quality and can no longer be measured by words.
**** Very Good - Very even and likable all the way through.
***1/2 Good - Overall, a winner. But a little uneven. Have to pick through them a bit to find the stronger tracks.
*** Fairly Good - Mildly likeable. Usually 2-3 tracks of note.
**1/2 Fair - Mixed - Usually this rating implies mediocrity overall, or a album I mildly dont like that has a standout track or two. These and below are those that virtually never get replayed.
** Poor - Mild Dislike. Here and below its a question of degree of dislike.
*1/2 No Thanks - Moderate Dislike.
* CD frisby - Major Dislike
1/2 Christmas tree ornament - Hate



My Conformity Ratings



In addition to the above, it should be noted that there is only one criteria to how I rate.

How much do I like it.

This may seem straightforward and obvious, but many augment their ratings taking into account its popularity or how well its done or executed. I do not.

How much I like something is usually attributed most to how much it touches me. How much it provokes an emotional response. After that, melody and expression I value the most. I often ask myself a day or two later whether I can remember it. A song that sounds good while listening, but has no discernible feature to remember is likely to only get a moderate rating. Sound quality, the mix, atmosphere and musicianship play some role, but secondary to the aforementioned attributes. Lyrical message only occasionally has merit for me because most of the time I listen to vocals as an artistic expression, rather than a defining message. In other words, I pay little attention to what they are singing about.



A U D I O P H I L E :
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If you like warmer and more analog sounding music, I have found high quality vinyl rips as well as many CD and Hi-Res re-issues by MFSL, DCC, Analogue Productions and Audio Fidelity to sound favorable when compared to their standard CD and remastered CD counterparts. The following represent only those that I have heard and evaluated.

Vinyl Rips
Gold CD's
Hi-Res

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I have also discovered that some very early CD releases not only have a bit of value, but are some of the best sounding.

Visit http://www.keithhirsch.com/ and discover what "Target" and "Non Target" CD's exist. What the terms mean. And perhaps find if you own any.

I only have a very few due to a unfortunate and necessary fire sale back in 1995 where I sold most of my older CD collection. Despite this, I have tagged those I still have.

Target CD's
Non Target CD's

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Continuing on the subject of home fidelity, I want to emphasize that no other improvement will make a bigger difference than acoustically treating your listening room. I rather recently finally finished my own DIY room treatment and am amazed. No equipment upgrade (and ive made many) comes close to the improvement realized from this. NONE.

Here is a link that documents a portion of this process with Frequency Responses, ETC and Waterfalls
http://www.gearslutz.com/b...ning-room.html


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