I get no compensation for what I say about the Etymotic ER4 earphones. I was turned on to these by a motorcycle rider (thanks Ed). They are not so much “earbuds” as they are in-ear monitors. All I can say is that after more than four years with these, I have never thought once about replacing them. They are *that* close to perfection. I’ve used them on airplanes, in convertibles rushing down the highway, and in noisy hotels, venues, and airports. They have never let me down, always giving me stunning, emotionally rich music, and blocking out the haste and waist of the real world.

If you want to make an investment in your music; making your iPhone or iPod or even your XYZZY an audiofile source; these are they way to go. Cheap ? no. Affordable ? depends ? Worth a year’s worth of latti-dah coffee ? definitely.

Relishing in the brass section accompanying Nat King Coles’ L-O-V-E … followed closely by the double bass of Eliane Elias’ Segrados …. ahhhhh

When Brian Williams of the NBC Nightly News says it, the words have a little more impact – that’s why I had to hit rewind a few times at the end of the news segment where he explained the Bruce Springsteen was now sixty and is the head of a huge organization that he calls “the heart stopping, pants-dropping, house-rocking, earth-quaking, booty-shaking, Viagra-taking, lovemaking, sexifying, electrifying  E Street Band.”

The living room has 4 in-ceiling speakers and I discovered a single Sonos ZonePlayer can safely drive all four speakers. Here is what Sonos Support says on the topic …

The Sonos ZonePlayers can support any speaker impedance between 4 and 16 Ohms so it is possible to wire two 8 Ohm speakers in parallel (resulting in a total impedance of 4 Ohm’s). Sonos does not recommend wiring speakers in series as it will result in poor sound quality. *This applies to the amplified ZP120 and ZP100 only. DO NOT attempt to wire 4 Ohm speakers in parallel to the ZonePlayer

The sound is quite good. I have a mix of the new ZonePlayer 120 amplified modules as well as the older ZonePlayer 100 modules. Given the improved amplifier technology and slightly greater power, I am using the ZP120 for the living room.

In case you were curious what’s currently playing, it’s last.fm streaming "Michael Buble’ Similar Artists" …

The farmhouse is coming alive with music. The Sonos system is expanding one room at a time. The livingroom is live as is the bedroom and the shop. Currently it’s all wireless but once the networking switch is installed all of the units will be wired in.

The real surprise is the sound from the in-ceiling speakers. It is far beyond my hope and expectations. My acoustic engineering guru buddy in Pheonix said “it will all depend”. Well, it seems I got lucky. The 5/8″ Sheetrock material is enough mass to give music – like “my stations” from last.fm – an amazing rich sound.

(BTW – this was written completely from the iPod including the screen shot)

So, what do all of these have in common ?

AC/DC, Alice in Chains, Allman Brothers Band, APM, Asia, Bach, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Bad Company, Barry White, Big Bill Broonzy/Little Walter, Billy Squier, Black Sabbath, Black Toast Music, Blind Faith, Blue Oyster Cult, Bob Dylan, Bob Seger System, Bon Jovi, Booker T and the MG’s, Boston, Brian Tichy, Brimstone Howl, Captain & Tennille, Cheap Trick, Chris De Burgh, Classic, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Daniel May, Def Leppard, Fall Out Boy, Filter, Focus, Foreigner, Frank Sinatra, Free, Goodnight City, Grand Funk Railroad, Herb Alpert, Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseBreakers, Huey Lewis and the News, Iron Butterfly, James Gang, Jamie Dunlap, Jason Manns, Jefferson Airplane, Joe Walsh, Joey Ramone, Johnny Cash, Journey, Junk Food, Kansas, Kenny Smith & The Loveliters, Kid Gloves Music, Kip Winger, Les Paul & Mary Ford, Leslie Gore, Little Charlie and the Nightcats, Living Daylights, Low Five, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Martyn Laight, Mother Superior, Muse, Nazareth, Nichion Sounds Library, Night, Nine Days, Ozzy Osbourne, Paul Richards, Poison, Queensryche, Quiet Riot, Ratt, REO Speedwagon, Robert Johnson, Rosemary Clooney, Rush, Sam and Dean, Sasquatch, Scorpions, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Screaming Trees, Son House, Soundgarden, Spinal Tap, Split Habit, Steve Carlson, Steve Ray Vaughan, Styx, Survivor, Ted Nuggent, The Allman Brothers Band, The Animals, The Chambers Brothers, The Doobie Brothers, The Doors, The Eagles of Death Metal, The Mamas and the Papas, The Republic Tigers, The Rolling Stones, The Stooges, Three Dog Night, Tito and Tarantula, Triumph, UFO, Vue, and White Zombie

Consider this an unrelated "What’s It"