February 15, 2012

  • XLO Reference Type 4, Part 4

    In the summer of 1991, Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves spawned the massive Bryan Adams hit, "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)."  So when Adams started working on an album proper, Waking Up The Neighbours, he decided to throw in "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)."  It's kind of interesting that, in the height of grunge, Adams chose a mixture of arena rockers and power ballads.  Sweet.

    20 years ago, when Margaret visited me at UCSC, we were in the kitchen, when we heard Adams' "Do I Have To Say The Words?," my favorite song on the album.  Sweet.

    No, I don't recall what we cooked.  I do know that, having recently broken up with KJ, I was on the rebound.  While I thought about KJ and girls, I also, as always, daydreamed about high-end audio.  I thumbed through my Stereophile magazines, and saw those "No Coloration" XLO ads.  Back at home in S.F., I had the Muse Model One Hundred.  While I auditioned that amp at Sounds Alive, the interconnects used were XLO's original Reference Type 1.  Front end was from Audio Alchemy.  At home, I had the NAD 5000 CD player.  And that allowed me to bring to Santa Cruz my old Sony CDP-520ESII.  But what I really wanted were digital separates.  In college or out, separate DAC and transport would have been sweet.

    Digital separates or no, what we really needed back then, during the grunge cable explosion, was the Cable Cooker.  The XLO Reference Type 4 above is probably close to 20 years old.  Do I have to say the words?  Let's get this old goat of a cable onto the Cooker.  Sweet.

    In the mean time, let's finish dinner, and treat ourselves to dessert.  Gelato, anyone?  Sweet!