Over the last few years I’ve ripped my considerable CD collection to lossless digital audio. It took a long time but it was worth the immense bidirectional joy when I gave away—um, long-term loaned—my CDs to a good friend. Ever since I’ve been wondering how best to get my music through a decent set of speakers.
You see, back in 2000, the first thing I did when I was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease was buy a great stereo for my office. A Denon D-M10 paired with a set of Mission 731is. It’s interesting that my male friends understand the impulse immediately; females not so much. But my dear wife was ever-tolerant, and this period was certainly no exception. After all, I was convinced I was going to die.
After I finished converting the atoms of my CDs into bits on our server, I’ve been continually looking for a set of powered speakers for my desk. I had pretty much settled on a pair of M-Audio Studiophile BX8a deluxe studio reference monitors. 260 watts of biamplification seemed to be just the ticket; the Denon only puts out 80 watts and has never been pushed more than about 30% or so. But it bothered me that I had a perfectly good set of speakers that produced sound I adored. No way, I thought, were these M-Audios going to be as good as my beloved Missions.
I’d also thought of getting an Apple Airport Express, connecting the Denon to it and pushing the music bits across the wireless network. I’m not a Monster cable nutjob, but it seemed vaguely gimmicky, so that phase passed quickly.
I was approaching this in the manner of a typical consumer. And I like to think I’m anything but. I had been focused on taking the output of my MacBook Pro and inputting it into powered speakers, something I didn’t have. This morning I had one of those ah-ha moments for which we all live. Okay, it was a small one, maybe an ah moment, not a full-blown ah-ha. But it’s been a while since I’ve managed anything more powerful than a brain fart, so give me a break. Instead, I should be focusing on connecting the MacBook Pro’s audio output to the Denon’s input. So I did, and now I’m happy as my dog.
The first thing I listened to with the new setup? Lowell George’s Thanks I’ll Eat It Here. Ah, ecstasy. What’s up next? The Grateful Dead’s February 1970 run at the Fillmore East: “Hey Bear, turn on Mickey’s microphone.”
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