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| As the 86-87 school year was coming to a close, my family, as was our wont, went out to Daly City/Colma. As we pulled into the parking lot at the Colma Toys R Us, Heart’s brand-new song, “Alone,” came on the radio. It sounded like any other power ballad, especially Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home.” But what set it apart were Ann Wilson’s soaring female vocals. My dad, who notoriously hates music, loved “Alone,” and even waited for the song to end, before getting out of the car! During that little shopping trip, I must have heard “Alone” 4 or 5 times. After Toys R Us, we headed up Junipero Serra Boulevard, and went to 280 Metro Center. Back then, there was a Federated store, which was somehow related to or aligned with Macy’s. I went to Federated’s electronics department. Great mother of pearl, that is where I saw the Bose 101! The display was actually an aquarium. A Bose 101speaker was submerged in water. The speaker cable connection was sealed off. Signal was fed to the speaker. I don’t know if the speaker could actually play underwater, but it was certainly water-resistant! This demo was to prove that the 101 could withstand “marine influences.” Hell, since I loved my water-resistant Casio wristwatches, why not add the Bose 101 to that list? 
Yes, somewhere in the Federated store, Heart’s “Alone” was playing. The Bose 101 was available in both black (ugly) and white (cool). Because the 101 was rectangular, it was slightly larger than, say, the AR Powered Partners, which could be seen as competitors. Because of the grill and plastic housing, the 101 was probably a little bigger than minimonitors such as the ProAc Response One SC, Sonus Faber Toy, and Totem Model 1. IIRC, the 101 had a few mounting options: stands, goose-neck clamp, wall mount.
I begged my dad to buy the Bose 101. Damn it, this is the one time I wish my dad had said NO to me. When we brought the 101 home, it sounded terrible. The mids were smeared and not very resolving. The bass was indistinct and nondescript. The highs were buried in the mix. Even if I were to hook up the Bose 101 to a high-end audio system, it'd still suck. In hindsight, the 101s were probably better off tossed into the aquarium. I was so mad, I wanted to throw the 101s into the Bay. But that would be hazardous e-waste. I felt so stupid and suckered by that Federated demo. Furthermore, I felt guilty for wasting my dad’s money. Sorry, I never did take any pictures of the wretched POS Bose 101. Okay, its small size was a blessing and its white finish did look good. I do not recall what we did with the Bose 101. Did we give it to relatives? Did we donate it to Goodwill? While “Alone” truly is an outstanding example of a power ballad, it does, on occasion, remind me of my misadventures with the Bose 101.
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| 20 years ago, in late May 1992, I came home to S.F. for the weekend. My brother and I instantly snapped up the new Testament album, The Ritual. Concert-wise, it didn't matter if Testament headlined or not; heavy metal was dead. We'd go to shows, and wonder, "Where'd everyone go?"
Because of grunge and the recession, The Ritual didn't get its due. Well, guess what? Somebody must be a fan, because it is now available on premium SHM-CD, made not in China, but in Japan.
Wow, our regular-issue Redbook CD is now 20 years old. It's on top, with the "eight arrows" artwork. The SHM-CD is just a generic Atlantic Records printing.
Check out the photo in the insert. It was probably taken in L.A. But damn, it looks like it could be from here in Oakland. It reminds me of Shattuck & 48th, which was where The Omni nightclub used to be. My friends and I saw many shows at The Omni. Anyway, that band photo looks like it was taken during a foggy summer morning. What's eerie is that, during the summer of '92, I went one foggy morning to the East Bay. I had to suck it up, and take BART to Berkeley, and hoof it to dB Audio. Almost everything dB Audio carried was way out of my league (c'mon, I was a college kid). I was particularly drawn to a Creek stack. It consisted of a tuner and integrated amp [was there also a CD player?]. Damn, these compact black components were small and cute, kind of like the Asian girls guys were attracted to. The Creeks' lilliputian dimensions were perfect not just for our small Bay Area rooms, but for any college dorm or apartment. Alas, even these Creek pieces were too expensive for me. But, the Creek integrated amp [sorry, I'm not sure what its model number was] piqued my interest in integrated amps.
To the left of the Simaudio 600i integrated amp's display are 7 buttons. At the top is the Standby button. The main power switch is on the back. When you know you're not going to use the 600i for a while, kick it into standby. However, the 600i runs cool, and is meant to be left on all the time. The Mute button comes in handy, when you have to answer the phone, answer the doorbell, or listen for the car to pull into the garage.
The Display button controls the brightness. There are three brightness levels. I prefer the medium setting. N.B.: if you want to turn the display completely off, you need to hold down on the Display button for a couple seconds. When the display is off, and you make any changes, the display temporarily lights up, so you can see what happened.
Critics often complain about the lack of a balance control in preamps. Well, they'll be happy to know that the 600i does have one. It works by attenuating each channel in 100 steps. In real life, I know of no one who uses a balance control.
Sigh, the 600i does not have direct input selection. You have to scroll through the inputs. Lame.
SHM stands for Super High Material. Interestingly, the spine label has Tower Records' logo. We bought the original redbook The Ritual from the Stonestown Tower Records, I believe.
Hey, in September 1992, when I returned to UC Santa Cruz for my senior year, I brought along The Ritual. When we were listening to "Return To Serenity," my roommate remarked, "Sounds like he's singing into a toilet."
Here's where the 600i starts to distance itself from the pack. Using the Setup button accesses the powerful software. Here are some things you can control/adjust:
- Name the inputs
- Set max volume
- Adjust each input's gain by up to +/- 10dB (YES!)
- Assign an input as a home theater pass-through
- Switch RCA out from tape monitor to line out
- Change IR remote code
The SHM-CD comes with a Japanese translation.
But how does the SHM-CD compare to the original redbook CD? First of all, there is a reduction in grain and haze. So the album doesn't sound as murky and unfocused. With the fog removed, you can hear more details in the playing, instrumentation, and reverb. You can "see" between the images. The Simaudio 600i's lack of distortion and coloration remind me of the SHM-CD of The Ritual. The 600i makes other integrated amps sound like the old redbook CD, or worse, like crappy vinyl. But I'll have to get to the 600i's sonics later. For now, how'd you like all the Testament t-shirts? We actually had several more, but never took pictures of them.
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| 15 years ago, I was lucky to have a temporary work assignment near San Francisco's Jackson Square. It was actually just a few blocks from KJ's house. It was also just a few blocks from Audio Excellence, then located on Washington Street, across the street from the Transamerica Pyramid. Audio Excellent did not place any emphasis on cables. That is partially why they went out of business. Cables were an easy sell, yet, Audio Excellence stubbornly concentrated on gear, which sold much slower than cables. Audio Excellence were listed as a Yamamura dealer. Yamamura were expensive, exclusive, "analog" sounding cables from Japan. But Audio Excellence never carried or displayed any Yamamura product. Thus, it never sold. Audio Excellence's main cable brand was Wireworld, but again, they didn't push it.
I did purchase my Theta Digital and Classe' gear from Audio Excellence. But when it came to cables, I preferred the Kimber, MIT, and XLO sold at downtown's Ultimate Sound. The brick buildings and square blocks around Jackson Square reminded me of XLO's original Signature series, which had a magenta-&-black color scheme. After work, I would swing by Audio Excellence, peer into the window, and stare longingly at the Thiel CS2.2 and Martin Logan Aerius i. But as I walked away, and crossed Sydney Walton Square at Golden Gate Commons (above), the cables I thought about most were XLO Signature.
I would then head out to Columbus, and eat dinner at Clown Alley. I would then walk out to Columbus, keep going, until a bus came. I'd end up at the Tower Records at Columbus and Jones. Yes, in 1997, we had the internet. But that was mainly for home or work PCs. Once at Tower Records, I had no means of accessing the internet, and looking up music. So I took a chance, and bought Forbidden's Distortion. Sadly, the iconic Tower Records on Columbus and Jones is now a Walgreen's.
I brought it home, and well, I have to admit that I initially didn't listen to it. I left it on infinite repeat, and let it "burn in" my equipment and cables. Just as I used Distortion to give the original XLO Signature interconnects playing time, I used it again to give the XLO S3-2 (above, on the Cambridge Audio 840C) some playing time.
Most of us know Forbidden for their generally very good Twisted Into Form, which came out around May 1990. Alas, their window of opportunity was slim. The next year, metal died, and grunge wiped out everything except rap. Sadly, Forbidden never got the attention, credit, or popularity they deserved. By 1997, metal was even deader than it was in the early 90s. But if, like I did, you took a chance on Distortion, you would have found that it took Twisted Into Form, and expanded upon it.
I can expand the XLO S3-2's repertoire, by introducing more sources, such as the Primare CD31. While the S3-2 is neutral enough, that it easily differentiates the 840C and CD31, there's a pervasive "dry warmth." It's not the gross coloration of, say, the Simaudio P-8. Rather, it's more like San Francisco's weather being slightly drier and a few degrees warmer than normal. Accordingly, you start to miss and long for the cool, breezy, foggy weather of norm. In absolute terms, the S3-2 dries up some low-level ambiance and placement cues. Just because the sound is slightly warm, don't think for a moment that the images are bloated. Rather, they are focused, and actually a little smaller than what's on record.
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| It was about this time, 25 years ago, in mid-to-late May, that I saw the video for Motley Crue's "Girls, Girls, Girls." First of all, I thought this was an absolute killer song. And I'm not alone. It was this song, which got legions of people hooked on heavy metal. Second, it taught us audiophiles that the most important element of PRAT (Pace, Rhythm, Acceleration, Timing) was getting the pop or snap of the snare drum right. And hardly anyone better exemplifies this than The Crue's drummer, Tommy Lee. Third, I thought the video showing scenes from strip clubs was both entertaining and educational. I loved the scene of that middle-aged bald guy getting his head rubbed.
I saw the video one more time...and then never again! I kept waiting and waiting and waiting for MTV to play it. I stayed up, watched, and even recorded Headbanger's Ball. Nope, "Girls, Girls, Girls" never came on. When we returned to school for the Fall 1987 semester, MTV did play a Crue video, but it was for "Wild Side." That video was noted for showing Tommy Lee in the drum cage, which spun somersaults.
I grew tired of waiting for "Girls, Girls, Girls" to come on [if MTV didn't play it, neither did radio stations]. So one Saturday in September, my friends and I played ball a Laurel Hill Playground. After we were done, I walked over to the Sears, which used to be up on Masonic and Geary. I had a coupon, and used it to buy the CD of the album. And yes, I had other Motley Crue paraphernalia, including keychains, patches, posters, and t-shirts. But I'm still kicking myself for not going to the October '87 Day On The Green at the Oakland Coliseum stadium. That blockbuster bill featured Poison, Motley Crue, and Whitesnake.
Here is the front of the Simaudio 600i. A few years ago, when I blogged about the Andromeda and P-8, some readers commented on the red dot-matrix display on black background. Those are the colors of Girls, Girls, Girls. Anyway, my cameras can't accurately capture that display. Said display is available in three brightness levels. I prefer the medium setting. In order to shut the display completely off hold down the "Display" button for 2-3 seconds. Even in standby mode, the 600i's bright blue LED stays on. So if you like listening in total darkness, you'll have to cover the LED.
When Aiden was just a few months old, he discovered the Simaudio FRM-2 remote. Don't fling it around, like Tommy Lee flings his drumsticks! At least in my medium-sized room, the FRM-2 can only operate the 600i, by pointing directly at the sensor, which is located within the display.
Motley Crue's bassist, Nikki Sixx, claims that one of his girlfriends cheated on him with Jack Wagner. Yes, that Jack Wagner, the one on General Hospital and Melrose Place, who had a 1985 hit, "All I Need." So, in a bit of rage and anger, Nikki Sixx penned the lyrics of Tommy Lee's ballad, "You're All I Need."
"Dancing On Glass" is about snorting drugs off a mirror. Well, we audiophiles are no longer into those kinds of drugs. Alas, we're still hooked on electronics. We have glass end tables and coffee tables. Please do NOT drop the heavy metal FRM-2 remote on those glass tables! Seriously though, to operate the 600i via the FRM-2, make sure you first select the "PREAMP" button. Then, you can command the 600i.
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| 20 years ago, in May 1992, my classmate Gwen and I walked back from class. It was a bright and sunny Friday afternoon, and finals were rapidly approaching. Still, the weekend was upon us. As we approached her dorm, we overheard the new Cure single, "Friday I'm In Love."
Normally, heavy metal acts are subjected to cries of "Sellout!" So it was hilarious, when Gwen and I overheard the dormies talking about The Cure. One girl gasped, "They're still around?"
Indeed, with the grunge explosion, even a "mainstream" alternative at like The Cure seemed like yesteryear, so 80s. Upon hearing the upbeat "Friday I'm In Love," one short guy muttered, "Sellout."
Actually, if you ever go to a Cure concert, and they perform "Friday I'm In Love," they do it as a slow song.
In those days, getting photos was a slow process. You first had to use up a roll of film. Then you had to take the film to a photo developer. Most of us used stores like Longs Drugs (now CVS), Merrill's, Rite Aid, or Walgreens.
Last month, you read about that night I spent with Gwen, where she ran out of panties, and thus did laundry while not wearing any pants or panties. Gwen then used her 35mm camera to snap pictures of my, um, midsection. She also lent the camera to me, so that I snapped maybe half a dozen shots of her not wearing panties.
So, that Friday afternoon, Gwen and I went into town, to pick up the developed photos from the Longs on River and Ocean, right off of the Pacific Avenue Mall. By the time we got back to campus, it was dinner time. So I joined her in the Crown dining hall. After dinner, we went back to her dorm room, where I had left my school stuff. It was then we opened the photo packet. "Eeeeeeew!" Gwen exclaimed, and she flipped through the photos.
I don't remember her exact words, but she shoved this photo into my sternum, and complained that it distorted her butt, made it look fat, flat, squishy, rippled, and wide.
Since you're staring at Gwen's backside, please also study carefully the rear of the Simaudio 600i. the 600i being a balanced, duo-mono design, Simaudio chose a mirror-image, left/right layout of the connectors. The top row has the 4 single-ended inputs. The bottom row has the single-ended line out. You can configure this to be fixed (tape output) or variable (preamp output). Sorry, there are no balanced line outs. The 600i has one balanced input. Please note that it is configured with pin-2 positive.
Though the RCA jacks are of high quality, they are tightly-packed. I'm not sure if there's enough space for fat RCAs, such as those found on Shunyata interconnects. And good luck trying to cram wide-as-a-belt Pranawire interconnects, or large inline boxes from MIT's Oracle series.
Even with skinny interconnects, the 600i doesn't provide much space for users to connect and disconnect interconnects. And do you notice the balanced interconnect? Good luck trying to insert your finger, to unlock the latch. The 600i's inputs are more crowded, tightly-packed, and crammed than two college kids sleeping on those twin XL beds!
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