jond
I get to think of my uncle whenever I reference his system, and of course each time I listen to my speakers which are new enclosures with the ElectroVoice Drivers from 1958. The woofer is 15W weighs 37 lbs, the big corner Klipschorn used the 15B version. They face forward now, they faced down when in the President, it was on 8" high bronze legs.
I’ve re-coned the woofers a few times and have a full set of replacement drivers and crossover, new 16 ohm L-Pads. The horns drivers are impregnated linen and the crossover components are buried in tar in the grey metal can, seemingly indestructible.
The tweeters are T350’s, originals were the smaller T35’s, I burnt a T35 coil blasting Iron Maiden’s "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida". On my Reel to Reel version, you can hear him drunkenly say "In the Garden of Eden".
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@dwette
Yep, Australia. About right given the exchange rate!
Decca's ffrr even made it into Flanders and Swann's Song of Reproduction which shows how little the hobby has changed since 1957
Song of Reproduction
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@elliottbnewcombjr Thanks for posting that President super cool and awesome looking piece of vintage gear!
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@richardbrand I don't know where you are (I guess A$ is Australia), but Boulder is an American product, and that's where I am. The retail price here for the 1108 is $21,000.
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@dwette
Thanks, the Boulder 1108 gives me something to aspire to. The local dealer website shows two prices - A$0 crossed out and A$37,000 or thereabouts! Alas I can only afford the first!
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@lewm
I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of "Duke Ellington Presents ... " from Bethlehem. Sounds as if it could have been recorded yesterday except for the lack of soundstage. In the sleeve notes, Bethlehem lists 24 records as BCP-nn where nn goes from 41 to 64. Another list is the BCP-6000 series, with 7 records, plus a lone EXLP series.
I am struck by the wide variety of the tracks - much more to my taste than Miles Davis' Kind of Blue.
I remember the passionate debates you used to have on analog versus digital equalisation!
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What cleeds said. Seems like the 2022 re-issue is simply recreating the language that was on the original 1956 cover. By the way, the Bethlehem mono LPs I own are typically fantastic, mostly Japanese reissues earlier than 2022. Same goes for stereo LPs from Bethlehem.
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…,Some phono stages even offer infinitely variable equalization…
Very satisfied with my VDH current phono. Maybe someday I’ll check out variable RIAA phonos, but other audio components tugging my limited budget.
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I’m certain they’re telling you to specifically use RIAA phono equalization - which is of course the defaut for virtually all phono stages, now. But I agree the choice of wording was poor. If they were using ANY other curve to cut that record, they would have mentioned it by name.
Even with the correct EQ, older records can sometimes tend towards sharp / bright treble. The playback components of those days weren’t treble / HF assault-cannons like a lot of hifi gear is now - they were usually mixing for softer, much more laid back speakers (e.g. paper cone tweeters).
Hagerman makes a reaonably priced "Achiver" phono stage, with widely adjustable Turnover & Cut knobs for totally custom phono EQ dialing. Not sure I’ll ever have enough records that would need it, though. The other alternative would be something like a Schiit Loki, for a fully adjustable analog EQ - it’s not a phono EQ, but might be better for overall fine tuning (e.g. softening sharp treble). Or (god forbid) digital EQ :)
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I am not one to fiddle with adjustments and options, but, I've played with phono stages that had different equalization curves. Even with modern records that were mastered with RIAA equalization, sometimes a different equalization sounds better. Some phono stages even offer infinitely variable equalization--you can change both the crossover point on a continuously variable scale, and the slope of curve, also on a continuously variable scale (FM Acoustics offers this). I would probably go nuts if I had that kind of choices.
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My Uncle Johnny’s Fisher ’President II’ console (which I inherited), made in 1958 while standards were being resolved, had a few options. Live Binaural Radio existed for a very brief period. You tuned CBS FM, then tuned CBS AM, then snapped to ’Stereo Radio’
https://www.audiogon.com/systems/11420
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Thanks everyone! If the notice had said something like "This record was recorded using the RIAA curve" or even "... compensate by using the RIAA curve" I would have understood.
This was a bit of an accidental purchase for me, as I try to broaden my very limited exposure to jazz and vinyl.
@dwette and @secretguy: What gear do you have that allows you to change the curve applied during playback? The closest I could get is with an old Quad 34 pre-amp I am trying to mend! The last time I auditioned a turntable, my dealer used a Musical Fidelity M8X pre-amplifier feeding a McIntosh amplifier which seems like an odd combination?
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It how it was mastered in the day.Great when you can adjust the sound some what to your liking.If possible.
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I have a lot of mono reissues of albums from the 50s. Many have facsimile jackets with the same instruction to use the RIAA playback curve. It's true that just about anything cut since that period use RIAA equalization by default. The guidance to use RIAA for playback is just a relic of the era, when other equalization curves were also used. My phono-stage has RIAA playback by default, but it also has switches for EMI, Columbia and Decca (FFRR) curves, for those who have original records from the period mastered/cut with them.
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I can choose from a bunch of curves other than RIAA. It's interesting to hear the differences.
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When competing solutions exist, prior to 'standardization', i.e. RIAA was the as yet undetermined but eventual standard, the specifics of which solution was used, they are telling you it was recorded using the RIAA eq, and you should therefore use RIAA Playback curve.
LP means Long Play. Bass had to be cut during recording to minimize the width needed for bass notes, to get more grooves closer together, to get more music on each side, i.e. Long Play.
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The warning was probably on the original pressing as well, a notice to distinguish the disc from competing compensation curves, such as from Decca or Columbia.
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