This page is in part supported by the sponsors whose banners are displayed below
So how good was the sound at the Mill? In a nutshell, the entire experience was fairly fucking amazing. I'm not talking about a particular component (how could I?) or anything to do with typical audiophilia. I'm talking about an experience. To be perfectly upfront, I'm beginning to grow very very weary of the number of reviewers (and I include forum posters) who insist that their particular vantage point somehow always offers them the ability to hear what's best (or not) no matter the circumstance, no matter the length of time spent listening, no matter how familiar or unfamiliar the stuff is they're listening to. As if we need to get there within every single review or show report, as if there is really any such thing as a best in audio to begin with. The reviewer's Categorical Imperative condensed to a 'best' stamp of approval (or not) simultaneously stamps out the ability to enjoy outside one's comfort zone."

So if you want to know what I thought of the systems I sampled at The Oswald's Mill 2008 Tube and Speaker tasting in audiophile terms, you'll have to buy me a beer. Most likely more than one. And the reason you'll need to buy me a beer to find out what I thought about the sound at Oswald's Mill is because I don't have an opinion to put down in writing. And there any number of reasons for this: the all-to-brief time I spent actually listening; the fact that in the time I was there we heard two different sets of speakers with three different amplifiers, three turntables and an open reel deck. Not to mention the pleasant distraction of the over-whelming beauty and filled to the rafters with interesting artifacts space that is Oswald's Mill, the wonderful company and conversation to be had. And last but certainly not least, I don't know nearly enough about the stuff I was listening to to have formed an informed opinion. And therein lays the importance of beer – the more I drink the less important this becomes. The only downside I can see to this scenario is, I rarely want to talk about audiophile stuff when I drink.

But wait you say, I doth protest. I want a refund! You mean I've read all this way for a trailer? Well you see, I've come to the point where I'm fairly certain that listening to music on a hifi is something to be experienced to be experienced (and no, I did not repeat myself). Listening to decades of accumulated knowledge and thousands of hours of work poured into hand-crafted and caressed equipment, presented in a centuries-old Mill (itself a wonder of hand-craft albeit toward different ends) is something you just have to experience for yourself. For me, sticking audiophile descriptors onto the sound would be like wrapping Oswald's Mill in DuPont's Tyvek™. Not even Christo could pull that one off.

The Wrap
If you want to know what it's like living in a city, a suburb or the country, live there. If you want to understand why people live where they do, you'll have to get at some history. Some of the reasons lay scattered throughout time, sometimes a lifetime that lead people to where they end up. My experience says given the opportunity, most people's stories have deeper meaning than whether or not they pay a toll going to or from home.


If you want to know what some piece of audio gear sounds like, seek it out and listen to it. Experience it. Listen to some of your favorite music through it. And if that gear you listen through makes you want to explore your music further -- the wonder that lies in the art of music-making -- or better yet, your listening makes you want to explore music you don't know much about, you've got yourself a healthy slice of hifi.

On the other hand, if you find yourself troubled by all the gear that lies outside your easy aural grasp, wondering about all the stuff that's out there that may be better than the gear you own (and please, please don't say it's better and cheaper) to the point where you can't enjoy what you have, I'd suggest taking a closer look at your own hifi's history and see why it's taken you where you've ended up. Does the gear you own have some personal history attached? Does it have some system sense? Or are we talking bests from category A and B - SETs and Electrostatic Loudspeakers? The AudiogoN. dating game? As listeners, as consumers, we can still appreciate a hifi as being more than a collection of recommended audiophile-grade bits. Right?

We can delight in its history, its lineage (and never believe anyone who says their equipment has none), its art and craft. Where does this amplifier, speaker or turntable stake its claim within hifi's living history? If you find your collection of gear to be just a bunch of boxes with no story, no meaningful history for you, no system sense and most importantly no musical sense that speaks beyond your ears and intellect, I'd say start over. Sell everything and go on a listening spree. And stop reading reviews in search of the best. Instead think of reviews as little flags on Google maps. But if you absolutely must have the very best (for less), head straight to WalMart.

Grist
As someone who never wants to disappoint, I'll leave you with a few critical comments on the day: High sensitivity field coil compression drivers with conical horns driven by tube amplification can fill a 2,500 square foot space with highly dynamic effortless ease; I never would have figured, never would have imagined that Walt Disney would be directly responsible for an amazing tube amplifier I'd have the pleasure of hearing in a centuries old mill house in Pennsylvania. And finally, if you enjoy listening to prerecorded music, vinyl can make you feel like you're listening to the real thing. But if you were beaten by vinyl as a child or abused by the Rice Krispies characters, analog tape sounds amazingly musical as well. And with the efforts of people like The Tape Project and the infinite bazaar that is eBay, there's new life in analog tape source material.

If you are left wanting, interested in knowing more about the sounds and products coming in and out of Oswald's Mill, I don't blame you. So am I. If the Tasting at Oswald's Mill appears to be unlike anything you've experienced before, you'd be correct. It is. It's a unique and solitary example of itself. In other words, it's an endangered species in a culture of endlessly copy-able convenience. But that doesn't mean we all can't get there in spirit. After all, between you and me, I think we are working toward the same end. So let's do something radical. Something inspired. Let's just enjoy. Let's enjoy our gear for its ability to let us enjoy our music. And let's appreciate the time we get to spend just listening. Let's accept where we are and forget about where we want to be. Just for a day, maybe more. And most importantly, let's share that enjoyment. Spread it around. You'll be doing yourself a favor, heading in a good direction. And this is one trip that's toll free..