Cami in 2014 I bought my Toyota Camry XLE brand new off the lot at San Francisco Toyota in August 2014. Cami, as I soon named her, was top of the Camry line for the time. She had advanced features that were to become standard in many cars but were then considered quite high end, including blind-spot monitoring and a door lock-unlock system that operated just by grasping the door handle (unlock) or running a finger along the edge of the door handle (lock). She had all the bell

There are two ways to create a good hi-fi system for the home. The first is to buy a one-piece (or very nearly) system that guarantees a good fit between the various components that make up a sound system—digital front end including streamer, preamplifier, amplifier, and perhaps even speakers. I went that route with a system for my living room. Unusually for an audiophile, I sought something that would look good in the room, an eclectic blend of Chinese and traditional decor

As time has gone slinking by, I realize that I can't keep on working indefinitely. Not that I'm thinking about packing it in just yet; I have plenty of spunk and there's no point in losing income until I just can't hack it any more. And no matter whether I keep up my long-term teaching job, I will continue to write program notes and give public lectures on music. I have no intention whatsoever of putting myself out to pasture before my time. My health is excellent for my age

No, the title doesn't refer to my birthday. That one is coming up in June, and will be for age 72, egads. Nope. The Last Mile to Year 50 refers to my long service as a professor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Next year I reach year 50 on the faculty. Double egads and mon Dieu. I'm satisfied with my performance as an SFCM college professor for the most part. I teach some of the more unglamorous subjects at the school: the three-year Musicianship (eartraining) unde

Living an ethical life can be challenging when one is surrounded by an unethical society. The sheer corruption and mendacity that radiates from the current administration in Washington DC permeates American culture in ways both obvious and subtle. Yet, one has to question whether the corruption is a matter of degree or of kind, and I would quickly answer that it's the former. A nonchalant attitude towards unethical behavior runs deep in American society. We're more a society

I'm an utterly meticulous housekeeper. My home never gets dirty because I won't let it happen. My simple, aspirational mantra is: if it looks like it needs cleaning, I've waited too long . While I might be almost obnoxiously disciplined about maintaining a well-ordered and immaculate house, I haven't been quite so good about my own self. Not the external part, mind you. I always wear clean clothes, of course—that's part of the housekeeping, after all. I'm also a daily-shower

From time to time I prove myself wrong about something. For years I have been a firm devotée of the "bits is bits" approach to digital audio. The thinking goes along the lines that any audio component that passes the ones and zeros along unmolested is going to sound just like any other audio component that does the same thing. Other differences elsewhere in the chain might make a difference, but if the bits are the bits, then that's all she wrote. Which means that you can use

My digital subscription to Gramophone includes the full text of their entire archive. Every issue of the magazine back to its beginnings way back in the Compton Mackenzie days, before the advent of microphones and long-play discs, back when to play a record was to position a voice box with a screw-on stylus onto the surface of a rapidly spinning disc, no doubt after having given the hand cranks enough turns to ensure that the spring-loaded motor would do its thing. The sound

I've generally tried to follow the dictats of the most influential decorating types, the grand panjandrums, the esteemed poo-bahs, in regards to furniture placement. Not that I really have all that much to worry about. My house is nice sized and all that, but in most situations there is really only one practical place to put a specific item. Headboards go against the wall, for example, and in all of my bedrooms there is only one or two walls that would work. However, sofas c

Welcome Back! I had a standard 5.1 surround-sound system in my media room, with its nice big 65" flat-screen TV, for some time. Powered by a Marantz AV receiver, the thing sounded just fine for TV and movies, but its performance for pure audio left a great deal to be desired. It was bad enough when streaming from a Bluesound Node through the Bryston BDA-3 that handles the digital-to-analog duties, but when trying to play records on my (very fine) turntable with its Grado Sona

As Fall 2025 semester approaches its end, I'm curious as to how much time I've spent teaching and writing over these past many years. So I ran some numbers, all rough estimates, but enlightening nonetheless. At the San Francisco Conservatory of Music I estimate that over 97 semesters I have spent about 19,000 hours teaching in classrooms. Between the Fromm Institute at USF and the University of California, Berkeley I have spent about 2950 hours teaching in classrooms. So m

Some audiophiles go all in on a single, hyper-sophisticated sound system. Listening becomes something of a ritual, prepared and planned and carried out in a dedicated room with precisely-positioned chairs and acoustic wall treatment. And that's just fine and dandy for those who want it, but that just isn't me. I love a good listening session, but I don't have to build a cathedral in my house to do it. That's because I prefer to have listening opportunities all over the house,

Deep down inside I'm convinced that I'm an utter fool about money. I'm also convinced that I'm actually quite a lot better about it than a lot of folks. Certainly better than most musicians. We're a bunch of nincompoops about money on the whole. That's partly because we don't make very much of it, but it's also for the wonderful and compelling reason that we have other fish to fry. We aren't in it for the money, after all. If we were, we wouldn't be in it. My suspicions as to

That's about the only phrase that applies to the latest issue of a major audiophile magazine. In this time of people worrying about money, of families doing without, of inflated grocery prices and all the rest, I almost can't stand to look at this particular magazine without a feeling of near-disgust creep over me. It has gone far beyond any notion of good sound or better sound or any kind of sound. It's all about conspicuous consumption at this point. They've been criticized

Today I remembered a cute cartoon from some years ago, of a stick-figure young woman going about a happy day on her own. She played with her dog, had her lunch, read books, went for walks and bicycle rides, and tended her garden. It made for a fine counter to those folks who just can't seem to understand how people can be happy living on their own, without a lot of social contact. Introverts, in other words. People who like to be on their own, people who actually become stres

Retirement is in the air, at least from my main teaching job. It’s not coming really soon, but it is definitely coming. I’ve been...

I started getting bit by the record-collecting bug when I was in what we used to call Junior High school, nowadays Middle School. I had...

Over the course of my lifetime as a low-key audiophile I have bought a fair amount of audio equipment. Most of it is well-made, reliable,...

Here I go again on the subject of a ridiculously overpriced audio component. In this case it's an integrated amplifier – meaning it...

Summer of 2015, shortly before me Summer of 2025, after 10 years of me I have been wondering why I let such a momentous 10th anniversary...