Haven't heard his latest but the last album was sort of a "meh" for my tastes…however, I recently listened to my (I think) original LP of his first solo album and was impressed with how good it sounded.
What in the world is going on.....
My system cost about 75000 dollars or so. I got the rave review LP of the new Paul Simon album.....sounded pretty lousy. I listened to the included M3P download using AirPlay through my Denon receiver and Senheisser wireless earphones, and it sounded wonderful...... What in the world is that all about....
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If I have to tell you why you should buy these then you don't get it any
way! Here are a couple of links for you people that don't know who they
are? I have seen Todd over two hundred times and have never wanted my
money back! Only missed a couple from the list below in the last 40
years!!! Todd Rundgren https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgNSwUmio_s Buddy Guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaFMC8ODHf0 |
Ok you find Bob Dylan and the Beatles boring? So you didn't Traveling Wilburys or you never heard of them right? (sometimes shortened to the Wilburys) were a British-American supergroup consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty. The band recorded two albums, the first in 1988 and the second in 1990, though Orbison died before the second was recorded. I can list a bunch of people that probably have Grammy's and are in the Rock hall of fame that suck! But you probably like Bon-Jovi and Kiss, Michael Jackson right? ( PUKE! ) and others that people love for what I have no fricking idea? To each his own I guess , well I'll listen to Buddy Guy,Todd Rundgren Luther Allison, John McLaughlin, Jeff Beck ( who your probably saying ?) These are real musicians that if that was your reaction maybe you should look them up on YouTube! Or just be happy with the commercial crap like everyone else - the record companies will be happy to give you all you want along with their lame awards! This has been going on Forever! God I suppose you don't think Eric Clapton, or Santana have any talent either? Where do you people come from please go back to your pathetic music and life where ever you come from! |
I'll take some extra badness if there is much more goodness along with it. Good music is often not recorded very well, this doesn't mean that we all have to listen to it on boomboxes. And if a 'high resolution' system makes the overall experience worse than lower resolution one, this means that either that 'high resolution' system is in fact junk or that the listener cannot tolerate the increased resolution. If I fixated on negative I couldn't listen to any recording I like. There is a lot of garbage and distortion there. |
"Well, bad recording will of course sound bad on anything but it will still sound better with better equipment. You are talking nonsense." Inna, I honestly feel differently. My current high resolution system unveils the badness of the bad recording more than the ordinary stereo I had before. It's very annoying for me to keep listening to bad sounding recording with my high resolution system, even I love them. Now I listen to them only with Bose in my car. My friend said that high resolution system is rather selective, and I didn't disagree. |
Well, bad recording will of course sound bad on anything but it will still sound better with better equipment. You are talking nonsense. Maybe I didn't say that correctly then,,IMO if you take a poorly mastered cd and play it through a very expensive,very detailed system it will sound horrible..same cd played through a less revealing(more often a more musical one) system and to me the music presents itself better..Ive heard modest setups that blow away these high dollar, state of the art,no compromise ones...my modest setup to me is way more enjoyable than the big dollar one I had ...plus I have more money to buy music and that's always a good thing in my book. |
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czarivey 3,041 posts 08-01-2016 9:26am infection329 posts07-29-2016 8:13pmIt’s Paul Simon, of course it’s going to sound crap. That’s the best answer of discussion. Even if he’s perfectly recorded and mastered, he would still sound crap. Whaaaaat? If that true what’s up with all those Grammy nominations for album of the year? "Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Daniel Lanois (as record producer) and Bob Ludwig (as mastering engineer) are the biggest winners in this category with three victories each. Ludwig is the only person to win the award three consecutive years (2013–2015). Paul McCartney leads all performers with nine nominations: five as a member of The Beatles, three for solo albums, and one as a member of Wings. Sinatra leads solo performers with eight nominations, seven for solo albums and one for a duet album. McCartney and Simon are the only artists with nominations in every decade from the 1960s to the 2000s." |
infection329 posts07-29-2016 8:13pmIt's Paul Simon, of course it's going to sound crap. That's the best answer of discussion. Even if he's perfectly recorded and mastered, he would still sound crap. |
I think my posting is irrelevant here but I too had a system close if not more in dollars to yours..I found the more I spent the less I enjoyed listening.Only a small fraction of my music library sounded "worth listening to"..Finially I figured out this was ridiculous, I dumped everything except my source,bought a modest system and listen to music a lot..The bad recorded/produced stuff sounds good to great as does the well recorded..maybe try getting back to basics,lol |
this indeed a common problem. We invest a lot in our systems and it is disappointing when our some of our favorite music doesn’t sound so good on our high end systems. Heck, the music coming from my cable box music channels sounds consistently good compared to my media player /highend DAC. I don’t know if the stuff on the music channel is equalized a certain way or what, but it consistently sounds warm, spacious, alive, and extended. Whereas some of the recordings through my expensive media player/DAC is inconsistent, some recordings are just bright/hard. Just the way it is. |
Paul Simon recordings "sound crap"? Really, go listen to the "Graceland" CD or vinyl, and tell me it sounds "crap." You may need a hearing check. And for the comment about the new album being recorded "loud," makes me think about a car that is too fast. Your preamp has a volume control for the same reason a car has an accelerator. I’m not a rabid Paul Simon fan but his works are some of the favorites in my collection, all the way back to his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. Lighten up! |
Stringreen, can you be more specific as to the term lousy as compared to the mp3... Was it distorted, less dynamic, lacked clarity, poor imaging - get my drift? My guess is it is a poor pressing and you should probably return it. I've had pressings from supposedly good labels that had metal shavings in the grooves and other similar cutting related defects. Vinyl should not sound worse than digital Regards |
This has been one of my complaints that as your system evolves (improves) some poor recordings sound worse but the good ones sound even better. That was the case for half the posters on one thread and the other half claim that all recordings improve even the poor ones as they climbed the ladder of higher end components. But higher resolution may be a double edged sword. Stringreen, congradulations on your investment, sounds like you have assembled a top notch system. |
Thecablepro.....thanks for your interest and suggestions.. I am using a VPI Superscoutmaster with rim drive, Classic platter, with BearPaws (large brass cones) which replaced the original feet. The arm is the VPI 3D plastic arm into which I have an Ortofon Winfield installed and loaded at 1000 ohms from the Ayre preamp. I set up the arm using a MINT protracter, and adjusted the azimuth with a Fozgometer...I have an electronic scale to weigh the vtf, and have adjusted it heavier/lighter to get the best performance from the cartridge. The arm is adjusted slightly high at the rear. The arm is wired with the new Discovery wire and is terminated using a balanced (xlr) connection to the preamp (actually, the entire system is fully balanced). Thanks again for the interest. |
I haven't heard this recording but it's all who masters the music because the record companies don't care. I have bought imports for around 40 years and get extra tracks not included on US vinyl. Better quality vinyl from the research I've done over the years of buying music. I have bought many new styluses in my day and they two make a big differences along with a good output on a your Pre-Amp for analog . I also believe with a Digital transmission interface and a DAC with High Current Vintage Amp and great speakers will blow away MP3's any day. Digital is getting closer to vinyl because they first started making CD's from the vinyl mixes. They were absolutely horrible!! 80's Cd were sad! The Japanese and Mobile Fidelity Companies both have made both vinyl and Cd's sound like they should. The are some other companies like Sony and Cherry Red Records that are stepping up and making some really nice recordings as well. I just wish Sony would make up there minds on a format as usual ! SACD ,DVD, Blue Spec CD's come on how many times can you sell us the same music? We are just hoping to get the great recording we deserved in the first place! First the record companies screwed the music artists then why not the consumers to ?? I wont even get started on this subject but another greedy bunch of big corporations at work. Need we say more? |
I would have to agree with the post that recommends checking the cartridge alignment. If you've spent time with a turntable that has all the adjustments you'll discover that they are critical. There is definitely something amiss here. Perhaps you would like to share the exact models of the items you are using for vinyl playback and who/how the cartridge was aligned. Until you get this right you really can't expect your vinyl to perform at a high level. You can try yourself, but I can tell you, as a 61 year old music lover who has been in the audio business for over 40 years, it took me a decade to be able to setup a turntable properly and understand what I was actually doing. I've setup thousands of turntables and I have yet to hear an MP3 through any system that rivals the performance of a mediocre turntable that is setup properly. I'm not a vinyl fanatic, but I will continue to use LPs as my reference until something comes along that is in the same realm of performance and more convenient to boot. I'm happy to say that I've built a music computer that is getting very close with good source material. Last but not least, Paul Simon recordings although musically excellent in almost all cases, are all over the map. This is something that is easily perceived when all is good. |
"Songs from the Capeman", is the last great album by Paul, however, it was and one that flopped as a Broadway show. The song writing is excellent, the album has a fantastic flow to it and the sound is very good. I'm also a very big fan of "One Trick Pony". One problem with his recent album is that it was recorded too hot, which can cause all kind of issues with the cutter head. |
I've got a couple of early press Simon LP's. One Trick Pony, and I believe S/T. The latter has Me and Julio....by the Schoolyard. These are really great sounding records, particularly OTP. I believe BOTH are Sterling Sound mastered. First of all, I will admit to being a Michael Fremer fan. What he's doing for the vinyl revolution is great. He is not afraid to tell you how he feels, for better or worse. Another album he gave a 10 for sound was The Band: Music from the Big Pink. I bought that one, with medium-high expectation, and was let down. This may be a case of what was never a good recording, made as good as it can be. Besides that, I'm not so sure what to think. We all have our days, and of course our systems can have a bad or good day, depending on power quality or what have you.... That said, Mr. Fremer has certainly hit some home runs. |
