Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2010

Transparent Audio, Inc. will be at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest on October 15,16, and 17.

Rooms 2030 features VTL, dCS, Basis Turntable, Wilson Audio, and of course Transparent cables and power products. This is a showcase of amazing recordings in several formats. The famous dCS Paganini digital products will spin CDs in both standard and higher definition formats. The Basis Inspiration Turntable will feature the best vinyl collected over 40 plus years of searching. A wonderful music addition for this room is Wilson Audio’s own Peter McGrath. He is a world known recording engineer, and always has masters in the latest high-resolution digital format to share with true classical music aficionados.

Come and enjoy Transparent’s new series MM2 power products and talk with Brad O’Toole about how they can improve your own system at home. Brad has been in the high end audio world for over 20 years and is a wealth of information about connecting your system properly and making sure no music is lost in the linking of your system’s components. He also loves talking about proper system setup to maximize results from your existing equipment.

Marriott Tower - Level 9 – 9026 features products from Doshi Audio, Wadia, Wilson Audio, and Transparent Audio’s Reference XL series of speaker cables and interconnects. The room is sponsored by Paragon Sight and Sound. Why not come and hear the tapes on the Studer reel to reel?

Transparent’s own David Schultz – Director of Sales for Transparent will be on hand to answer questions about Transparent’s products. David is also happy to talk about your system and making sure it is at its best. He has been into Audio since infancy which is a while ago, and probably has owned or tried your products in his own system.

Carl Smith's Account of Paul Vermel's Visit

Carl Smith and Paul Vermel

An earlier blog entry contains the story of my reclaiming the tape archives of the Portland Symphony resulting in an 85th Anniversary 2 CD set of selections from each of the five permanent Music Directors since the early 1960s. All the restored tapes are now being stored at Transparent Audio on behalf of the Symphony and are available for listening sessions for those who have a special interest in the Symphony's work from 1960 to 2000.

Yesterday [August 31, 2010] I had the pleasure of hosting a two hour "concert" in our sound room for Paul Vermel, who led the orchestra from 1967 to 1974, and his wife Carolyn Paulin, a producer for the WFMT radio network in Chicago. Paul came to the Portland Symphony from Paris where he attended the Paris Conservatoire. He is credited with achieving a major advance in the professionalism and performance quality of the orchestra.

The concert consisted of master tapes from radio broadcasts played on a restored professional tape deck that can be seen in the background of the photo. Paul confessed to having some concern about the quality of the performances before the concert started but he was extremely pleased to discover that the orchestra played with great skill and enthusiasm and the audiences gave long and vigorous applause. The selections included a Verdi overture, a Richard Strauss tone poem, and portions of works by Mozart, Wagner, Ibert and Stravinsky. As a conductor Paul made it clear that he would like the volume level to approximate what it would be from his position on the podium and we did not disappoint him. Because the microphones were right above the front of the stage Paul could even hear the sounds of his adjusting the podium, shifting his feet, and occasional coughs from the audience as the orchestra prepared to play. We were transported 40 years back in time.