Circuit City Kaput
 

wrote in message
...


When the heads on my 8 track Tascam wore out, I saw the handwriting on
the wal. Replacing the heads was going to be VERY expensive, and the
last few years have seen 1/2 inch tape go in and out of production. l
took the plunge and went 100% digital. It's a whole new world, and
I'm loving it. I'm even enjoying re-learning recording, which has some
differences from tape. First rule: Saturation BAD with digital
recording. With tape, it could be used to advantage. No more. Minus
12db is your friend!

BTW - there's a guy making really good U-47 microphone replicas for
about 2k. I mean REALLY good. Once you get seriously into recording,
microphone collecting becomes a companion addiction...


I'd love to get my hands on an old, working reel to reel tape deck with
sound on sound and sound with sound. I used to have a Teac deck that was
fantastic, but it's long gone.

I bought a Boss 900CD last year with intentions of learning about digital
recording.
It's still around here somewhere but the learning curve is extensive. I
thought it was because I was just plain stupid, but apparently other users
of it have had the same experience.

http://www.bossus.com/gear/productde...?ProductId=718

The "easy to use" claim was written with a bit of poetic license.

Eisboch

Circuit City Kaput
 

Eisboch wrote:

"John H" wrote in message
...


I wish someone could explain the satisfaction Harry finds in the fact
that
companies are going out of business.

Is this good for liberals somehow? Circuit City had employees who had
jobs,
even if those folks did nothing. Is it in the best interest of liberals
that the unemployed numbers grow larger?

I'm missing something somewhere.


Some companies deserve to go out of business due to the lack of quality
of their service, products or internal culture.

In the case of Circuit City, it was on the edge anyway. The economic
crisis and retail downturn was simply the straw that broke the camel's
back.

Eisboch


Herring is correct: he is missing something somewhere.

Circuit City Kaput
 

Eisboch wrote:

wrote in message
...


When the heads on my 8 track Tascam wore out, I saw the handwriting on
the wal. Replacing the heads was going to be VERY expensive, and the
last few years have seen 1/2 inch tape go in and out of production. l
took the plunge and went 100% digital. It's a whole new world, and
I'm loving it. I'm even enjoying re-learning recording, which has some
differences from tape. First rule: Saturation BAD with digital
recording. With tape, it could be used to advantage. No more. Minus
12db is your friend!

BTW - there's a guy making really good U-47 microphone replicas for
about 2k. I mean REALLY good. Once you get seriously into recording,
microphone collecting becomes a companion addiction...


I'd love to get my hands on an old, working reel to reel tape deck with
sound on sound and sound with sound.

Pawn shops.

Circuit City Kaput
 

"hk" wrote in message
m...
Eisboch wrote:

wrote in message
...


When the heads on my 8 track Tascam wore out, I saw the handwriting on
the wal. Replacing the heads was going to be VERY expensive, and the
last few years have seen 1/2 inch tape go in and out of production. l
took the plunge and went 100% digital. It's a whole new world, and
I'm loving it. I'm even enjoying re-learning recording, which has some
differences from tape. First rule: Saturation BAD with digital
recording. With tape, it could be used to advantage. No more. Minus
12db is your friend!

BTW - there's a guy making really good U-47 microphone replicas for
about 2k. I mean REALLY good. Once you get seriously into recording,
microphone collecting becomes a companion addiction...


I'd love to get my hands on an old, working reel to reel tape deck with
sound on sound and sound with sound.

Pawn shops.


You know what? I don't know of a Pawn shop within a 30 mile radius of
here. I am sure they exist, but I sure don't know of any.

I've had good luck posting a "Wanted" listing in Craigslist. It's how I
got one of the Hammond B3s and Leslie, and at a good price. As salty
pointed out though, good quality tape is getting hard to find as well
although I am sure it exists.

Eisboch

Circuit City Kaput
 

"Don White" wrote in message
...

"Calif Bill" wrote in message
m...

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...


iPods are having an effect, but the bigger issue, I think, is lack of
imagination and just plain balls in retailing. That's why this retailer
keeps growing every year:

http://www.rowephoto.com/index.html

Mid to high quality audio, full service, well-trained staff with
outrageous product knowledge. Began as a photo store 110 years ago.
Added audio & video in the mid-1980s. The stores are always busy. In a
sense, the owner built the business by responding to the big
discounters with "So what?" Wegmans (grocery chain) does the same
thing.


Hopefully they will stay around because they are diversified. There
used to be a couple of decent high-end audio shops around my area but
they have all folded. The demand (or lack of) for quality equipment
just doesn't pay the rent anymore. Even manufacturers of decent
speakers are introducing lower performance, lower priced models of their
equipment to be carried by places like Best Buy. It's too bad because
people still spend a considerable amount of money for Best Buy's
versions of Klipsch or Martin Logan thinking they are getting high end
speakers. For a small amount more they could get the real thing.

Eisboch



Agree on Circuit City being crap. As to high end stores, some are
probably better than others. We have one in Livermore. When I was going
to put in a decent home theater system, went to them for a bid. They
listened to what I wanted, and then just ignored it. The first bid was
$10,000. About $8k above what I said my budget was. This did not
include a TV, just the speakers and amp/ receiver. Do not know if they
are around anymore either. Just a more expensive Circuit City. No one
listening.

Wow...your *bugdet* of $2K *demnded* a tv also?
Big spender!

Yikes... Sunday morning...
should be *budget* and *demanded*

Circuit City Kaput
 

On Sat, 17 Jan 2009 08:56:23 -0500, "Eisboch"
wrote:


wrote in message
.. .


When the heads on my 8 track Tascam wore out, I saw the handwriting on
the wal. Replacing the heads was going to be VERY expensive, and the
last few years have seen 1/2 inch tape go in and out of production. l
took the plunge and went 100% digital. It's a whole new world, and
I'm loving it. I'm even enjoying re-learning recording, which has some
differences from tape. First rule: Saturation BAD with digital
recording. With tape, it could be used to advantage. No more. Minus
12db is your friend!

BTW - there's a guy making really good U-47 microphone replicas for
about 2k. I mean REALLY good. Once you get seriously into recording,
microphone collecting becomes a companion addiction...


I'd love to get my hands on an old, working reel to reel tape deck with
sound on sound and sound with sound. I used to have a Teac deck that was
fantastic, but it's long gone.

I bought a Boss 900CD last year with intentions of learning about digital
recording.
It's still around here somewhere but the learning curve is extensive. I
thought it was because I was just plain stupid, but apparently other users
of it have had the same experience.

http://www.bossus.com/gear/productde...?ProductId=718

The "easy to use" claim was written with a bit of poetic license.

Eisboch

Yeah, before the 8 track Tascam, I had the 4 track for many years. I
wore that out, too. The 4 track also had a few weaknesses that needed
repair periodically. The reel tables, especially were noted for not
holding up under heavy use.

With availability of 1/2 inch tape becoming an issue, I decided it was
time to make the change. I had already seen what digital could do in
the hands of others, and I finally succumbed. I don't regret it. It
sure was an adjustment, though. A lot of previously good habits and
techniques are now bad habits and techniques.

Adobe Audition 3 certainly has a steep learning curve. It's too much
fun, though, to let that stop me. I'm enjoying having something new to
learn.

The change over really re-invigorated my interest in composing,
playing and recording music, which had atrophied the past few years.
Buying new stuff is always fun, too. I'm currently looking for a drop
dead deal on this:

http://www.roland.com/products/en/TD-9KX/index.html

check out the demo video!

Circuit City Kaput
 

"Don White" wrote in message
...


Yikes... Sunday morning...
should be *budget* and *demanded*


Check your watch.

It's Saturday.

Eisboch

Circuit City Kaput
 

On Sat, 17 Jan 2009 08:31:19 -0500, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

"John H" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:40:58 -0500, "Eisboch" wrote:


"hk" wrote in message
news:tOKdnSJgIZhGpezUnZ2dnUVZ_jOdnZ2d@earthlink .com...

Circuit City to liquidate, shutter stores
Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:08pm EST

By Karen Jacobs and Emily Chasan

ATLANTA/RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) - Bankrupt electronics retailer
Circuit City Stores said on Friday it will liquidate its assets and
shutter hundreds of U.S. stores after failing to reach a deal to sell
the
company.


Good riddance. Circuit City was one of the worst retail stores for
consumer
electronics (or anything for that matter) that I can think of. Sales
"associates" walking around with cell phones stuck in their ear, talking
to
friends or congregating in groups yuking it up while customers wait at the
register to pay for purchases or need assistance. We had two in this
area,
one was in business for several years, the other relatively new. Both
stores had the same cavalier culture when it came to the customers.

Plus, typically they didn't know anything about the products they sold.
Most
were high school kids working after school. At least Best Buy has some
trained sales associates that know something about what they sell. For
the
market it was supposed to serve, Circuit City was no better than a Target
or
Wal-Mart.

I am surprised they stayed in business as long as they did, economic
slowdown or no economic slowdown.

Eisboch

I wish someone could explain the satisfaction Harry finds in the fact that
companies are going out of business.

Is this good for liberals somehow? Circuit City had employees who had
jobs,
even if those folks did nothing. Is it in the best interest of liberals
that the unemployed numbers grow larger?

I'm missing something somewhere.

Yes, you are missing something, and so is Harry. Circuit City was in bad
shape way before the economy went down the toilet. There are badly run
businesses and there are well run businesses. Capitalism is based on
competition - the survival of the fittest. Circuit City deserved to die. I
feel bad for their employees, but hopefully, a few of them will learn a
lesson from their experience. Probably not, though, because their managers
expected to make money for doing pretty much nothing special, so they were
lousy role models.

When I was in the audio business, we expected new employees to learn every
piece of equipment in the store. On slow days, we'd send them to the
upstairs office during lunch with a receiver or whatever, and told them to
learn it until they could work it blindfolded. If there were no customers,
we'd stick them in the sound room and tell them to listen hard to all the
speakers until they could describe the differences adequately. We made them
study, in other words. We all took home demo pieces overnight to learning
purposes.

A friend from those days is now an independent sales trainer. He said "no"
to working for CC after one disturbing experience. He played customer &
called our local store, asking if they had a certain Harmon Kardon receiver
in stock. The employee told him they didn't carry Harmon Kardon. My friend
knew, of course, that they carried HK, and several HK items had been
featured in their Sunday newspaper ad that same week. When he told their
regional manager about his experience, the guy pretty much yawned and said
"That's why we want you to do training for us." My friend said no thanks,
figuring that if the employees didn't care enough to walk around their own
store and see what brands they carried, sales training was the least of
their problems. Even worse was that the manager didn't have clue about the
real problem.

The only advantage CC offered me was the ability to order online and pick up
an item at the store. That's pretty expensive real estate for what amounts
to nothing but a warehouse.

Meanwhile, we have the perfect model of capitalism here. Maybe Rochester
customers have high expectations because of this company:

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3795
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2003/1124/166_print.html
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortu...4048/index.htm


Doug, it's not the focus on CC that prompted my question. It's the posting
of any article which discusses the problems companies are having, and the
gloating that occurs therewith.

*That's* what I don't understand. Why take pleasure in the fact that
companies (any company) is going out of business?

Circuit City Kaput
 

"John H" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 17 Jan 2009 08:31:19 -0500, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:

"John H" wrote in message
. ..
On Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:40:58 -0500, "Eisboch" wrote:


"hk" wrote in message
news:tOKdnSJgIZhGpezUnZ2dnUVZ_jOdnZ2d@earthlin k.com...

Circuit City to liquidate, shutter stores
Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:08pm EST

By Karen Jacobs and Emily Chasan

ATLANTA/RICHMOND, Virginia (Reuters) - Bankrupt electronics retailer
Circuit City Stores said on Friday it will liquidate its assets and
shutter hundreds of U.S. stores after failing to reach a deal to sell
the
company.


Good riddance. Circuit City was one of the worst retail stores for
consumer
electronics (or anything for that matter) that I can think of. Sales
"associates" walking around with cell phones stuck in their ear, talking
to
friends or congregating in groups yuking it up while customers wait at
the
register to pay for purchases or need assistance. We had two in this
area,
one was in business for several years, the other relatively new. Both
stores had the same cavalier culture when it came to the customers.

Plus, typically they didn't know anything about the products they sold.
Most
were high school kids working after school. At least Best Buy has some
trained sales associates that know something about what they sell. For
the
market it was supposed to serve, Circuit City was no better than a
Target
or
Wal-Mart.

I am surprised they stayed in business as long as they did, economic
slowdown or no economic slowdown.

Eisboch

I wish someone could explain the satisfaction Harry finds in the fact
that
companies are going out of business.

Is this good for liberals somehow? Circuit City had employees who had
jobs,
even if those folks did nothing. Is it in the best interest of liberals
that the unemployed numbers grow larger?

I'm missing something somewhere.

Yes, you are missing something, and so is Harry. Circuit City was in bad
shape way before the economy went down the toilet. There are badly run
businesses and there are well run businesses. Capitalism is based on
competition - the survival of the fittest. Circuit City deserved to die. I
feel bad for their employees, but hopefully, a few of them will learn a
lesson from their experience. Probably not, though, because their managers
expected to make money for doing pretty much nothing special, so they were
lousy role models.

When I was in the audio business, we expected new employees to learn every
piece of equipment in the store. On slow days, we'd send them to the
upstairs office during lunch with a receiver or whatever, and told them to
learn it until they could work it blindfolded. If there were no customers,
we'd stick them in the sound room and tell them to listen hard to all the
speakers until they could describe the differences adequately. We made
them
study, in other words. We all took home demo pieces overnight to learning
purposes.

A friend from those days is now an independent sales trainer. He said "no"
to working for CC after one disturbing experience. He played customer &
called our local store, asking if they had a certain Harmon Kardon
receiver
in stock. The employee told him they didn't carry Harmon Kardon. My friend
knew, of course, that they carried HK, and several HK items had been
featured in their Sunday newspaper ad that same week. When he told their
regional manager about his experience, the guy pretty much yawned and said
"That's why we want you to do training for us." My friend said no thanks,
figuring that if the employees didn't care enough to walk around their own
store and see what brands they carried, sales training was the least of
their problems. Even worse was that the manager didn't have clue about the
real problem.

The only advantage CC offered me was the ability to order online and pick
up
an item at the store. That's pretty expensive real estate for what amounts
to nothing but a warehouse.

Meanwhile, we have the perfect model of capitalism here. Maybe Rochester
customers have high expectations because of this company:

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3795
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2003/1124/166_print.html
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortu...4048/index.htm


Doug, it's not the focus on CC that prompted my question. It's the posting
of any article which discusses the problems companies are having, and the
gloating that occurs therewith.

*That's* what I don't understand. Why take pleasure in the fact that
companies (any company) is going out of business?


Because it represents the potential for an improvement in the industry. But,
I realize that's idealistic at best. We get what we deserve, so as long as
there are customers who think a $3.99 bottle of detergent is cheaper at one
store than the exact same $3.99 bottle at another store, because the first
store yells "We're cheaper!" all the time, then we will always have bad
retailers around.

Circuit City Kaput
 

On Sat, 17 Jan 2009 08:40:10 -0500, "Eisboch" wrote:


"John H" wrote in message
.. .


I wish someone could explain the satisfaction Harry finds in the fact that
companies are going out of business.

Is this good for liberals somehow? Circuit City had employees who had
jobs,
even if those folks did nothing. Is it in the best interest of liberals
that the unemployed numbers grow larger?

I'm missing something somewhere.


Some companies deserve to go out of business due to the lack of quality of
their service, products or internal culture.

In the case of Circuit City, it was on the edge anyway. The economic crisis
and retail downturn was simply the straw that broke the camel's back.

Eisboch

Agreed. Circuit City just happened to be the company 'du jour'. Harry, or
other liberals, continuously post articles of companies losing money or
going out of business. And then make gleeful 'I told you so' comments.
That's what I can't understand.

What is there about companies going out of business that brings joy to the
heart of a liberal?

Is it just simply 'anti-corporation'?