• iTrax News

    Eric Lowen (1951 - 2012) 

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    Published on 03-24-2012 12:52 PM  Number of Views: 101 
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    Eric Lowen, half of the folk duo Lowen and Navarro, passed away on March 23, 2012 after an 8-year battle with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) with his family and close friends gathered around. Eric's amazing talents, passion for music and his continuous positive outlook on life were an inspiration to all of us who were fortunate to know him. He will be missed.

    I first met Eric in March of 2005 as we began planning for the production of our "Carry On Together" project. Capturing Eric and Dan singing and performing together was a great experience. There was a special bond between them as can only happen between people that complement one another so perfectly. However, it was the opportunity to develop the bonus materials (video interviews, house concerts recordings etc), wading through their archive of photos and VHS tapes and spending time with Eric and Dan that opened their world to me. And what a rich world it was.
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    3 Universal Truths... 

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    Published on 01-22-2012 08:55 AM  Number of Views: 301 
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    I went to the RMAF last fall. In years past I have been involved in a couple of demo rooms (including my own), participated in the seminars and visited the numerous rooms decked out with the latest audio gadgets. This year was different. I was only an observer and thus had more time to explore the halls of the Marriott Hotal at the Denver Tech Center. I visited lots of rooms featuring expensive music servers and content management systems, others with the elaborate $20K turntables playing $30 200 gram vinyl discs in stereo, rooms with speakers and amplifiers driven by highly refined (and expensive) CD transports and even a few rooms extolling the virtues of analog tape.
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    Analog Tape Can Never Be HD: Here's Why - Part I 

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    Published on 05-15-2011 12:22 PM  Number of Views: 3035 
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    First, let me state that I'm not against analog recording. I have been using analog tape machines for over 30 years and still have my NAGRA IV-S machine and QGB 10 1/2" reel adapter in my studio (I just noticed a QGB went for over $5K on eBay...but I cannot part with my machine). However, I continue to read on other forums that analog recording is the "brass ring" or ultimate standard which all other recordings should be compared… including HD PCM digital.

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    Multichannel Music vs. 2-Channel Stereo 

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    Published on 06-02-2011 05:58 PM  Number of Views: 4081 
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    A couple of recent emails and discussions regarding the relative merits of multichannel music vs. 2-channel stereo prompts me to open up the topic once again. I'll state my preference right out front...I absolutely love multichannel music! Of course, AIX Records (my record company) has been recording in high definition and delivering music albums with both multichannel (2-mch mixes "audience" and "stage") and 2-channel mixes since our very first DVD-Audio/Video release back in 2000. For me there's no going back. In fact, I purchased a new 2005 Acura TL automobile partly because it has a great 5.1 DVD-Audio playback system in it.
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    Dave Brubeck Calling 

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    Published on 12-21-2011 12:04 PM  Number of Views: 270 
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    Recently, I was reminded of the many wonderful musicians/artists that I've met or had the chance to work with over the years. My wife and I were sitting at dinner and somehow we drifted onto the topic. She recalled the time she picked up the phone and John Adams, the northern California-based contemporary composer of "Nixon in China" and numerous other terrific pieces was on the other end of the line. ...
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    Why Not Record at 192 kHz/24-bits? 

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    Published on 11-28-2011 09:37 AM  Number of Views: 1554 

    I received an email recently from a customer asking why didn't AIX Records/iTrax.com use 192 kHz instead of our current top sampling rate of 96 kHz. I offered the following straightforward response.

    AIX Records was one of the very first record labels to capture, mix and release new HD tracks using equipment that was capable of the faster sampling rates and longer word lengths necessary to enter the world of high definition audio...namely 96 kHz/24-bits. ...
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    Audiophile Snake Oil Still Thrives 

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    Published on 11-19-2011 12:04 PM  Number of Views: 535 
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    You all know the product category that I'm talking about. Audiophiles are dedicated to their tweaks and fine tuning in the search for the "absolute sound" as Harry Pearson put it so eloquently all those years ago, but there are lot of snake oil salesman out there trying to convince you that purchasing their magic elixir [for $60 a bottle] will result in "a significant increase in soundstage size, seemingly unlimited dynamics, and a much smoother tonality" [a real quote from a customer after placing his CD player on a rubber mat]. Does the customer know that the dynamics of a CD, any compact disc, are limited by the number of bits used to encode the analog at the conversion stage of the machine?
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    High Resolution CDs? Really? 

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    Published on 10-20-2011 03:22 AM  Number of Views: 464 
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    There are lots of audiophile labels producing a wide variety of new recordings these days. Some chose to distribute these new productions on 180 gram vinyl LPs, analog tapes, high resolution downloads, blu-ray audio discs, SACDs and compact discs. But what seems to be missing is a recognition that not all of these formats are capable of producing the same level of audio fidelity. The reason is the electrical and mechanical differences between these formats. I would like to start a series of brief articles that focus on the merits and limitations of each of these formats. The first will be CD-Audio discs.
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    If Something Sounds Better...Is It? 

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    Published on 06-02-2011 03:45 PM  Number of Views: 997 
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    Last weekend, I received an email from an online audio reviewer asking about whether I could help him understand how to establish the fidelity of a particular piece of music. He is aware of the issues associated with a number of HD digital music download sites and wanted to ensure that he advises his readers accurately about sound quality. ...
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    Discs vs. Downloads 

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    Published on 05-23-2011 11:40 AM  Number of Views: 1371 
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    Discs vs. Downloads

         In my last newsletter, I lauded the capabilities of the Blu-ray format as a platform for HD Music (with or without video accompaniment. I also mentioned that I believe the Blu-ray is the final spinning disc that consumers will ever have to put into a player. The reason is simple: the cloud. If you haven't yet heard of cloud computing, here's a quick explanation. ...
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