I got an email about a week ago from a "Mark Waldrep", name rang a bell but I couldn't place it.
He's the founder of AIX Records (they did original recordings of bands, all live, no digital compression, reverb, overdubs or analog tape (although they were recorded digitally), and the resulting albums were released in 5.1 DVD-A or Bluray formats, just the most stunning-sounding recordings I have. He used to publish a daily email regarding audiophile subjects, and was a very vocal critic of things like fahncy speaker cables and "Hi-Resolution" audio that... wasn't. He disappeared about the time I retired, and I haven't even thought about him since.
His email stated he'd had some serious health issues, had his home flooded (CA), and was "separated from his wife & family" (not sure what that meant), but he was ready begin publishing again, finish a second book (I have his first one), and retired from his college audio teaching job. Sounds like AIX Records are now defunct, and he'd liquidated what was left of his inventory (there were a couple titles I still sorta wanted, Eye snoozd Eye loozd).
I'm sad, and puzzled, that music just never became Surround Sound mainstream. Tom Petty's last two albums were available in 5.1, a lot of classical titles came out in that format (do they, anymore?), Steven Wilson did some great remixes of old prog classics, but otherwise it appears to be dead (are there any other 5.1 disk companies that you know of? Surround streaming services?). And yet, movies come out in 5.1, 7.1, 11.4, Dolby Atmos, DTS, EIEIO, etc. Did straight-up music just funnel into earbuds only? Just some thoughts from a geezer (and get off my lawn).
EDIT: I forgot this part; he's posting his video/DVD-A/Bluray recordings on farcebook now. They downsample his pristine recordings, and only go stereo, so they're not worth much. I think he's trying to monetize what he has left, understandable but still sad.
He's the founder of AIX Records (they did original recordings of bands, all live, no digital compression, reverb, overdubs or analog tape (although they were recorded digitally), and the resulting albums were released in 5.1 DVD-A or Bluray formats, just the most stunning-sounding recordings I have. He used to publish a daily email regarding audiophile subjects, and was a very vocal critic of things like fahncy speaker cables and "Hi-Resolution" audio that... wasn't. He disappeared about the time I retired, and I haven't even thought about him since.
His email stated he'd had some serious health issues, had his home flooded (CA), and was "separated from his wife & family" (not sure what that meant), but he was ready begin publishing again, finish a second book (I have his first one), and retired from his college audio teaching job. Sounds like AIX Records are now defunct, and he'd liquidated what was left of his inventory (there were a couple titles I still sorta wanted, Eye snoozd Eye loozd).
I'm sad, and puzzled, that music just never became Surround Sound mainstream. Tom Petty's last two albums were available in 5.1, a lot of classical titles came out in that format (do they, anymore?), Steven Wilson did some great remixes of old prog classics, but otherwise it appears to be dead (are there any other 5.1 disk companies that you know of? Surround streaming services?). And yet, movies come out in 5.1, 7.1, 11.4, Dolby Atmos, DTS, EIEIO, etc. Did straight-up music just funnel into earbuds only? Just some thoughts from a geezer (and get off my lawn).
EDIT: I forgot this part; he's posting his video/DVD-A/Bluray recordings on farcebook now. They downsample his pristine recordings, and only go stereo, so they're not worth much. I think he's trying to monetize what he has left, understandable but still sad.
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