April 6, 2012

  • XLO Reference Type 1, Part 8

    In the 80s, the Eurhythmics' Annie Lennox was at the vanguard of New Wave.  So in the spring of 1992, 20 years ago, Lennox somewhat surprised us, by going all soulful and adult contemporary.  Also surprising was the lesbian-looking Lennox calling her album Diva.

    Oh no, don't let Tessa get any ideas about going from a princess to a diva!  If Lennox made the crossover from new wave to AC, then audio stores made the crossover from whatever crap they had to Diva.  San Francisco's Ultimate Sound frequently tuned to KOIT (lite rock) and K101 (AC), both of which played Lennox's "Why."  As a result, I associate "Why" more with downtown S.F., than I do with rural Santa Cruz [I originally heard "Why" while a student at UCSC]. 

    In the summer of 1992, while all of us were out of school, I enjoyed hearing Lennox's "Walking On Broken Glass," especially while heading for Ultimate Sound and the Financial District's Audio Excellence.  In the mid-90s, Audio Excellence would have Diva on CD.  While doing back-to-school shopping, especially with friends who were on the semester system, I heard "Walking On Broken Glass."

    Many of my readers think that my first nude beach experience was with Margaret at San Francisco's Baker Beach.  Not so.  Let's go back to that Spring '92 quarter.  My housemate Dave gathered some of his friends.  Before leaving, he commanded us to use the bathroom.  He warned us that, once we got to the beach, there weren't any restrooms. 

    Never mind not having restrooms.  20 years ago, we didn't have the internet.  I didn't know anything about our destination, Bonny Doon Beach.  So I couldn't do any research about it.  Since we went on a beautiful day, it was sunny and fog-free.  The bay's beauty stunned me.

    See the rock at the beach?  That rock separates Bonny Doon Beach into two sections.  The smaller north section is clothing-optional.  When Dave & co. took me there, I did not know that.  It's actually a cove, which provides seclusion and a little bit of shelter.  I didn't know any of Dave's friends, but after we lay down the towels, some of them started to disrobe.  Now, on account of sports, I had been around naked guys.  And you know that stereotype about nudists being round, middle-aged dudes?  Yep, they were the majority.  Oh damn, now I'm a middle-aged dude.  Sigh...

    Anyway, when the females started going topless or completely nude, I stared.  I was nervous and self-conscientious, but so were several others.  I assumed that this was also some of their first-time experiences.  So I said to myself, "F-- it," and took off my trunks. 

    The original XLO Reference Type 1 interconnect was unshielded, relying on the geometry to block out interference.  When XLO came out with the Reference 2 series, it too was unshielded.  Both could, at a higher price, be ordered in a shielded version. I have to admit that I've never seen these shielded versions.

    So how do the original and Ref2 versions compare?  No contest.  If you've followed my writings, you know that the Ref2-1A was one of the most sonically disappointing follow-ups.  Consequently, it totally flopped in the marketplace.  You know that stereotype of nudists being warm, round, middle-aged guys?  The Ref2-1A is kind of like that.  It's warm, round, dulled, and lacking in start-stop ability. 

    The original Reference Type 1 has better image specificity, soundstage layering, portrayal of textures, and control of the notes.  Two of Dave's female friends were completely naked, while bumping a volleyball back and forth.  When the ball would get away and land on the sand, one would bend over, to pick up the ball.  You could say that the original Ref Type 1 is the equivalent of sitting on your towel, while watching those two naked coeds playing with the volleyball.  An even better interconnect would be like getting off your towel, and joining those two naked coeds in bumping the volleyball amongst yourselves.