High Fidelity

My new CD player - Opera consonance cd120 linear cd player

New CD player - Opera consonance cd120 linear cd player, originally uploaded by yongtze.

My old marantz cd6000 OSE LE broke down recently and I can't fix it no matter how hard I tried. Having listened to a decent CD player like it, sadly I can't go back to the play-everything cheap LG DVD player. There is simply no comparison. Listening cd with the LG DVD player, the sound is harsh and blur, and has some annoying sharp digital tone. You tend to switch it off after 5 minutes.

This Opera consonance cd120 linear cd player is from Beijing, China. Unlike other cd players, it has no oversampling and no digital filter. After run-in for a few days, it started to sound very musical. The timing is very precise, unlike my old Marantz which sometimes lags a bit on some notes. The sound? Very musical, clean and natural and involving. I need to listen to all my cds again :)

Burson Audio

Burson audio was established in Melbourne by a group of audio enthusiasts which do lots of audio DIY and tweaking. Now, after more than 10 years of work, they have come out with their own solid state integrated amplifier and pre-amplifier.

The integrated amplifier which they claimed to have power, speed, transparency, neutrality and most importantly, that natural intonation that is lacking in most solid state power amps, namely; continuousness, body and dimensionality in mid and high, has received good reviews. I can't wait to try it. And the Burson audio buffer too.

I like the sound of valve amplifier but the cost of replacing valves means on-going maintenance cost which is not cheap at all. So I might get the Burson integrated amplifier.

9 Crimes

Somehow the melody of this song touched me immediately when I first heard it. The melody is beautiful, mellow, sad. Piano and cello is a good combination for this kind of song/music. The lyrics, however, is a bit creepy.

Lisa:    Leave me out with the waste
          This is not what I do
          It's the wrong kind of place
          To be thinking of you
          It's the wrong time
          For somebody new
          It's a small crime
          And I've got no excuse

Lisa:     Is that alright with you?
          Give my gun away when it's loaded
          Is that alright with you?
          If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it
          Is that alright with you?
          Give my gun away when it's loaded
          Is that alright with you?
          With you...

Damien:   Leave me out with the waste
          This is not what I do
          It's the wrong kind of place
          To be cheating on you
          It's the wrong time
          She's pulling me through
          It's a small crime
          And I've got no excuse

Damien:   Is that alright with you?
          Give my gun away (Lisa: Is that alright? Yeah.)when it's loaded

          Is that alright with you?
          If you don't shoot it how (Lisa: Is that alright? Yeah. ) am I supposed to hold it
          Is that alright with you?
          Give my gun away (Lisa: Is that alright? Yeah. ) when it's loaded
          Is that alright
          Is that alright with you?

Damien:   Is that alright, yeah?
          Give my gun away (Lisa: Is that alright? Yeah. ) when it's loaded
          Is that alright with you? 
          If you don't shoot it how (Lisa: Is that alright? Yeah. ) am I supposed to hold it
          Is that alright with you?
          Give my gun away (Lisa: Is that alright? Yeah. ) when it's loaded
          Is that alright
          Is that alright with you?

   (Slight Overlap..)      
Damien:   Is that alright, yeah?
Lisa:     Give my gun away when it's loaded
Damien:   Is that alright, yeah?
Lisa:     If you don't shoot it how am I supposed to hold it
Damien:   Is that alright, yeah?
Lisa:     Give my gun away when it's loaded
Damien:   Is that alright, is that alright?

D & L:    Is that alright with you?

Damien:   No...

A random shot, a random song

Me self 21st May 2007, originally uploaded by yongtze.

I'm listening to Million Faces by Paolo Nutini repeatedly. I'm a more of a music type of a person; lyrics is less important to me. But I guess they have to blend well to make a song special, magical.

Do I want to settle down? Am I trying to settle down? Shall I settle down? Have I already settled down? I wonder why I wonder. I wonder why I wonder why... Who understand what I am feeling now, do I understand what I am feeling now.. I don't, do you?

Million Faces

Oh the phone you know it never stops, it's the last thing I hear at night
And the first thing in the morning.
And as I let it start to burn my head, you slowly creep into bed
And i'm done with all the talking
You say you know how i'm feeling, I just need to try to settle down

Oh a million faces pass my way
Oh they're all the same, nothing seems to change anytime I look around
Oh who knows just what the future holds
All I want to know is if it's with you

Tired as hell and falling up the stairs, filled with a thousand cares as you walk out from the bedroom
Though it feels like all my fire has gone, girl you just turn me on
Can't believe how much I want you
You say you know how i'm feeling, I just need to try to settle down

Oh a million faces pass my way
Oh they're all the same, nothing seems to change anytime I look around
Oh who knows just what the future holds

All I want to know is if it's with you

We're distracted by the hard times, and the troubles that we make
Let us throw them in the ocean, let it wash our cares away
Oh the phone you know it never stops, it's the last thing I hear at night
And the first thing in the morning

Oh a million faces pass my way
Oh they're all the same, nothing seems to change anytime I look around
Oh who knows just what the future holds
All I want to know is if it's with you

We're distracted by the hard times, and the troubles that we make
Let us throw them in the ocean, let it wash our cares away
Oh the phone you know it never stops, it's the last thing I hear at night
And the first thing in the morning

Let it wash our cares away, let it wash our cares away...

In the still of the night

In the still of the night
As I gaze from my window
At the moon in its flight
My thoughts all stray to you

In the still of the night
All the world is in slumber
All the times without number
Darling when I say to you

Do you love me, as I love you
Are you my life to be, my dream come true
Or will this dream of mine fade out of sight
Like the moon growing dim, on the rim of the hill
In the chill, still, of the night

Like the moon growing dim, on the rim of the hill
In the chill, still, of the night

This is a song beautifully written by Cole Porter renowned for his lyrics, clever rhymes, and complex forms.

I woke up at 1:50am. it is amazing how little sleep people actually need to recharge themselves.

All of a sudden Kevin Kline's whispering voice of this song (from the movie De-lovely) arose in my mind. I don't like waking up in the middle of the night. Not that I detest its stillness and tranquility. It is just sometimes at the moment I wake up, for maybe about 5 seconds, I have no idea where i am, what time it is, no clue of everything.

just blank.

And I don't really like that feeling.

In the still of the night, nothing much can distract you, no noise, no people talking, no TV, no nothing, except your own wandering thoughts. It never stops. It brings back memories, it reminds you of the possibilities in life. And all the emotions and feelings seem to be amplified and start to overwhelm you... until you can't take it anymore and long to seek refuge back in slumber.