Listener_Letters

FROM A FORMER SKEPTIC

I have turned a corner on my rejection of PC-based audio systems. An indication of how far
would be the sale of my beloved Marantz SA11 SACD player. The Burwen Bobcat gave me better
sound on Redbook and was slightly better than SACD with a little more focus and form to images
and sound. It had more of an ethereal sound all the way around. I have not regretted selling
the Marantz.

I have just recently received some headphones I had on special order. I plugged them into the
Burwen Bobcat and had sound that was spectacular.

While I was listening, I turned on the tubed-output CD player to warm it up. I was looking
forward to the heavenly sound that this player provides on headphones. I was listening to a
Mapleshade CD, and when I was done, placed it into the CD player. I adjusted the output near to
what I thought was close to the Burwen Bobcat and that was CRANKED. At first, the sound was
sterile so I gave it a little more volume and when the song's refrain was played, I pulled off the
headphones because it was so distressing. It almost hurt. What the hell? I tried it again and
gave up. It wasn't worth the pain. Hearing conventional digital after the Burwen Bobcat conjurs
up a comparison of how sheer torque and horsepower in a car without a properly tuned chassis
set-up is worthless and just plain scary. You can't do anything with it. I like my music loud and I
have been able to accomplish that using the Burwen Bobcat without any discomfort at all.

I compared a CD player sync'd to the laptop running the Burwen Bobcat. After hearing the
comparison, it leaves a feeling of having been tricked all these years. My friend and I were both
shocked.

John Mazur

Eugene Lemay

I am writing this letter in recognition of the outstanding job that has been done in creating the
Bobcat software and that I could not be more pleased with the quality and resonance that this
software has relayed!

I am extremely impressed with the enormous effort in creating this high fidelity audio product.
The resonance that this software produces makes not only today's but even historic recording
sound fresh, humane and open. The sound that this application emits is of an extremely high
quality and it takes the art of music appreciation to a completely new level.

Everyone who cares about sound needs and good tones should try this software. It takes audio
recording to new height. For the perfectionist who wants to accurately match the original sound
this is the perfect application.

It would be an understatement to simply say that I am pleased with the Bobcat software. I highly
recommend Bobcat for an outstanding sound experience.

Laurence Curtis Ward

It is my pleasure to be part of the Beta testing group for the new software program Burwen
Bobcat. For the past month, I used the program for my listening (approximately one hour per
day). As I will detail below, my experience has been overwhelmingly positive.

Mark Levinson introduced me to Burwen Bobcat in December 2004 and installed it on a
Hewlett-Packard laptop PC in early January. At the time, I was intrigued by the concept of using
a small PC as a music library of MP3 files instead of the laborious process of setting up a CD
jukebox or changing CDs individually. I remained, however, somewhat pessimistic about the
quality of the reproduction. While CD sound is not ideal, it is the best readily available and
affordable media today.

When I first played music using ripped CD files (MP3) from my laptop, I was unimpressed with the
quality. I used the Windows Media Player (WMP) and iTunes (by Apple for my IPod). Both lacked
the vivaciousness I expect from my amplifier and speakers. The music had little depth in the
vocals or the bass tracks. The sounds lacked the crisp, clean sound I love.

I then employed the Burwen Bobcat program on the laptop PC as a plug-in file for WMP. At once
(on the most basic setting) the speakers sprung to life. Snare drums emerged from what was
before a murky abyss of sounds bleeding across each other. Distinct voices could be heard in
duet. The difference was remarkable to both my ear and the untrained ear (my fiance).

But was what I heard merely outstanding in comparison to the WMP or iTunes, or was it truly
outstanding in its own right? To test I pulled the same CD that I had ripped to MP3 earlier (Enya
Paint the Sky with Stars) and used my best CD player. I expected to find that the MP3 copy (even
with Burwen Bobcat) was lacking in comparison to the original. Once again, I was struck by the
unexpected. At first, I thought I had the inputs on the amplifier wrong! I was awestruck that an
MP3 file actually sounded better, than the original source. Burwen Bobcat added a dynamic that
my CD player (Denon SACD player) could not.

In my experimentation, I moved to classic rock (Led Zepplin), classical (Segovia and Holst), and
Pop music (U2, The Police, and Metallica). For more classic rock and Jazz I found myself straying
to the Jazz 1 and 3 settings, preferring 1 at louder volumes). For the modern Pop, the Pop
setting number 3 emerged as my favorite. For classical I mainly employed Classical setting
number 3. For the Enya and Opera, I preferred the Vocal settings.

My primary listening took place on a high-end stereo that many potential customers will not
have in their homes. But I also experimented briefly using the laptop built in 'speakers' with
Burwen Bobcat. Even using the cheap speakers installed by the factory on a laptop PC, it is
easy to discern the difference.

I tried to create a controlled environment where the variables were few in order to lend
credibility to the findings. The result was undeniable. Burwen Bobcat made my music sound
better.

L.C. Ward works as a successful trader in the NY financial markets, is a music lover and enjoys
audio, video, and computers.

Geoffrey Fushi

After hearing what a good improvement Burwen Bobcat makes to old recordings, I am really
impressed! It makes the quality so much more beautiful. This will be a wonderful enhancement
to historic recordings that people will enjoy so much more as a result of your work. We are so
delighted with what you have accomplished with this marvelous new program. We hope that it
will be broadly available to the public very soon.

Geoffrey Fushi is a partner in the firm Bein & Fushi, the worlds largest dealer in rare violins
by makes such as Stradivari and Guarneri del Jesu. He has extensive experience recording
in analog, PCM digital, and DSD digital, and is associated with Dr. Yamasaki, inventor of
DSD (the format of SACD). He founded the Stradivari Society to enable young artists to
receive valuable instruments on loan, and has helped Midori, Sarah Chang, and many others
build their careers.

Simon Mulligan

To my ears, MP3-formatted music sounds condensed, digital, limited, compressed, cramped, and
clamouring to break out of the box!

Burwen Bobcat has created a software program that somehow manages to convert this same
format (with no addition to the file size on your computer) into a new sound that is instantly
preferable. The music now breathes, the music is warmer, rounded, fresher. There is now
'space' around the sound, whether you are listening to a digitally-recorded 21st Century
symphony orchestra or a primitively recorded blues pianist from the 1920s.

I listened to recordings of Beethoven string quartets, Miles Davis, Tower of Power, Meade Lux
Lewis and my own recent disc for Sony, that I had converted from compact disc to mp3 on my
computer. Regardless of the quality of the original compact disc recording, the Burwen Bobcat
software gave each piece an incredible new lease on life; although the format is still digital, the
sound is very natural and, most important of all, very comfortable to the ears.

I truly believe that this software is nothing short of revolutionary in the way we should now be
listening to recorded music.

Simon Mulligan is a highly regarded concert pianist, accompanist for violin virtuoso
Joshua Bell (who played the sound track for the film, The Red Violin), recording artist,
composer and arranger.

Marvin Roberson

Please accept my apologies for the delay in reviewing the Burwen Bobcat. I'll be honest, in
addition to my busy schedule, I was skeptical that a software program could overcome the
deficiencies of the CD format.

I had an extended listening session today. My system consisted of Red Rose Affirmation
amplification and Red Rose Nocturne speakers for all sessions. I compared SACDs played
though a Sony SCD-1 SACD player to the Burwen Bobcat on a Dell laptop playing redbook CDs.
I was astonished by the Bobcat.

On Bob Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks", the vocals were incredibly realistic. Many "Audiophile"
magazines describe vocals as being "forward" as positive. On this CD, Mr Dylan was actually
presented by the Bobcat as a ways away, just as he would be live. The guitar voice was
resonant in a manner rarely heard.

The Quartetto Italiano doing Hayden String Quartets was more as they are live than I've ever
heard over CD.

On the Rolling Stones' "Get Yer Ya' Ya's Out", the band was more raw and *there* than I have
ever heard.

The Skatellites' best captured the old-style recordings in a way that current CD's never do.
Overall, CDs played with the Burwen Bobcat were phenomenal. They also exceeded my
expectations in a manner hardly describable. As a lifelong vinyl (and lately SACD) fan, I never
expected to approve of a PC-based CD format. I stand corrected. CDs through the Bobcat are
the closest thing to LPs I have heard. Ever.

In short, having owned systems with components from Linn, Krell, Wilson, and a host of other
high-end manufacturers, I can confidently say that the Burwen Bobcat is the most cost-effective
and best performance upgrade an audiophile could try.

Please feel free to use any or all of this letter as you feel fit.

Ali Rashid, ACCA

I have now used your software for 2 days and listened very carefully to it. For those reading
this, I am not employed by Dick, I work for an investment bank in the city of London. I have spent
a lot of money trying to get digital music to sound like ... music. The last time I enjoyed music
was at live concerts and hearing LP's. No matter which equipment I listened to, I just wasn't
satisfied. One CD player came somewhat close, but it cost as much as a brand new BMW. Now
when I purchased this software, this is without exageration the most satisfying source I have
heard, and it comes as close to Vinyl as I have ever heard. How does it do it? It improves and
processes the signal. No voodoo or trickery. It adds musical information. Ah but that is not
high-fidelity you say. Well advances in chipsets like Pentium 4 do make this possible. 20 years
ago there was no internet, and now there is. And so this invention is in that league. I work in
the investment banking sector so I wouldn't say this lightly. If kids heard music processed
through this software, they just might be too busy enjoying the music to try other crazy stunts. It
makes digital sound like analog by processing it.

When music which is an analog waveform gets converted to PCM digital for CD - it loses its
vitality and emotion in the process. What the Burwen software does it process this altered and
inferior digital waveform to put back what it lost in the first place i.e. vitality, air, emotion. You
don't exactly get the original analog waveform back with the software but a waveform that
contains most of the elements of analog music, emotion being the main one. And it is this
emotion which makes you enjoy music for hours and hours - this magic which you get listening
to vinyl and live concerts"

Try it, you won't regret it. I didn't. Now I must get back to rock and roll.

Thank you Dick, you are a true Musical Albert Einstein.

Ali Rashid, ACCA

I have started buying CD's again today - (gave up CD's) and using digital to cure digital is a
achievement.

If kids started listening to music again, not just noise that PCM makes, then the world would be a
safer place. When I grew up on Bon Jovi, Richard Marx, Frankie goes to hollywood, Bruce
springsteen, Def leppard, Billy Idol, Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna, I was way too busy in
my free time enjoying music (after doing all my homework). Kids today haven't even heard what
Vinyl/analog sounds like !!! I have compared vinyl and CD versions of the same album and Cd
sounds so inferior. But with your software it's back to that familiar analog/vinyl sound. What a
miracle ! Using digital to cure digital !

Dick, you really need to get this in the hands of kids - this is one thing your software and genius
will do to make the world a better place.

Keep up the good work

Kurt White

I decided to install Bobcat on my Macbook (using bootcamp). No problems. Its running great
and I have to say that I am enjoying the new software.

99% of my music collection are MP3's mainly for convenience. With some regret I converted
everything (except vinyl) a couple of years ago. I've done some tests A/B-ing with the Bobcat
software on some reference CD's I saved as original WAV files, lossless WMA files, and
processed MP3's. I have to say I cannot tell the difference listening to Burwen MP3's and
Burwen WAV files. The Burwen MP3's sound better than the original unprocessed files.

Nice Job. Finally music that sounds great on my Martin Logans.