I grew up turning up the bass and turning down the treble on the stereo, which evolved into pushing up all the levers on the graphic equalizers on the stereo. As the home computer age favored digital over analog recording, I came to miss that warm, natural, 3-dimensional vinyl-y sound where you didn't have to increase volume to increase audio quality.

About five months ago I had to cough up twenty dollars for new computer speakers, and last week I had to replace my monitor. I had used a DVI-to-HDMI cable on my old monitor, while my new monitor has HDMI and VGA sockets. I decided to get a HDMI cable instead of a VGA-to-HDMI cable or VGA adapter simply because their prices was about the same, and besides, how much of a difference would it make? Such a difference, it turned out, I was compelled to do some research on the subject -- apparently, HDMI enhances the audio as well video signal!

While my new monitor's sky-high graphic and video resolution is indeed dazzling, it's no match for what I'm hearing: My natural 3-D analog vibe has returned, and my speakers now sound like they cost five times as much! No more "cranking it to crank it" -- so I get to appreciate the DU Music Appreciation Group all over again!


rocktivity