@spiritofradio Jethro Tull, A Passion Play, is one of my favorite Tull albums. It never really got the attention it deserved, IMO. A warm and smooth recording, not bright at all, but still plenty of detail. I have an original copy from when it was first released. In perfect condition, plays and sounds great. |
John Mayall "Blues From Laurel Canyon"
The Beach Boys "Pet Sounds" QRP pressing, great reissue.
Buffalo Springfield "Last Time Around" I just love that new box set.
Manfred Mann "Watch" The song, 'Drowning On Dry Land' is awesome.
Steely Dan "Aja" MoFi issue, absolutely excellent.
Jennifer Warnes "Famous Blue Raincoat" The latest issue from Impex. Fabulous recording, mastering, plating & pressing. The analog tapes were from Jennifer personal collection. Over-the-top SQ...
Tomorrow I ship off several 3 meter Audioquest cables (signal and power) to be cut to new lengths and re-terminated. This is to accommodate a new system configuration going into a new equipment rack from Symposium Acoustics (shipping tomorrow) and a new Niagara 3000 to be connected to a new dedicated 20 amp line. I've been looking forward to this next step for my system. Unfortunately, I'll have about 10 days of downtime. I'll keep reading this thread and take notes on ideas for music to play once everything is all set up. Enjoy your time with vinyl and please be safe & healthy.
|
Yes indeed, that is the same Alpine car audio company. I worked as a sales rep for 5 years with a rep company that our biggest earning line was Alpine. From there I went to work directly for Alpine and climbed the corporate management ladder. It's a truly wonderful company that takes very good care of the employees. The big bucks is the OEM accounts but I worked in Aftermarket, which is the product you guys are familiar with. Much more fun that engaging with car manufacturers for the OEM business. A $2.4B global company and about $840M in North America. As you can imagine, I have had some truly great car audio systems over the years. Even better, I was able to use my Promotional Account to place great demo systems in my sales reps vehicles as well as my own. Oh boy, a grand Alpine system for free!!!
OK, on to my play list for the evening. End of the day, time to play. |
Toto IV, I have a perfect copy and pulled it out for listening later today.
Thanks for the good idea.
Bonnie Pointer, S/T
The Pointer Sisters, 'Energy' Really great vocals and a great recording.
Manfred Mann, 'Watch'
The Doobie Brothers, 'Livin' On The Fault Line' Awesome recording!
Good story here. I worked for Alpine Electronics from 1983 until retirement in 2018. Back in the 80s we threw around a lot of money, promoting and further building the brand. Note; back then Alpine was also the North American Distributor for Luxman. Building the brand included annual bad-ass National Business Meetings for our dealers and sales reps, were for 5 days, and included great business seminars and killer parties. Always at an extravagant location (Ixtapa, Hawaii, etc.). Total headcount was typically around 1,000 people. One of our big bashes was at the Opryland Hotel, Nashville TN. The final night party included a private concert featuring The Pointer Sisters. I was fortunate to be about 20 feet from the stage. I was thinking about that yesterday so I pulled out my albums of Bonnie Pointer S/T and the only Pointer Sisters album I have, Energy. Great memories... |
I have about 25 classical albums that I need to clean and listen to. I need to get more, as well. I also need to pay attention to Brian's listings and take notes. I need to expand my collection.
Nevertheless, over the past couple of days/evenings...
Dave Mason, 'Head Keeper' and 'Dave Mason & Cass Elliot' and 'Let It Flow'. Very nice albums.
Paul McCartney 'McCartney II'
Mark Almond 'To The Heart' I have all 3 of their albums. John Mark and Johnny Almond played with John Mayall and are on the album 'Turning Point'. I saw that concert at the Anaheim Convention Center, about 3 months after the album was released. John Mayall was the middle of 3 bands. The headliner of that concert was Spirit. Wonderful memories!
'It's A Beautiful Day' S/T My copy is an original pressing, in perfect condition! It really sounded quite good. Very Hippie-esque, and some bad-ass bass.
Yes 'The Yes Album' Also an original copy from right after it was released, in perfect condition.
Awesome music!
|
@jbmac75 welcome to this thread. Easy doesn't mean best. Yes indeed, do get a turntable, again. And be sure to get a very good one and a very good phono cartridge. The sonic rewards are immense. You will quickly understand (or maybe remember) the virtues of analog and the vinyl format. There really isn't anything quite like it. And really, it's cultural in all of the preparation, cleaning, etc. And the12" X 12", hold it in your hand and read the information throughout the record jacket, is the best! Enjoy! |
By the way, my copy of "It's A Beautiful Day" is also Columbia Records, Original Pressing. I remember that it is a stunning sound, but that was on a system of years ago. My present system is significantly more resolving. Let's see how this stands up. Looking forward to it. |
@j_damon Thanks for mentioning "It's A Beautiful Day". I have a perfect copy of that album and haven't listened to it in many years. I will do so tomorrow.
Warmed up the tubes & electronics with disc one of Joe Bonamassa "Live From New York" It's a 3-disc album. I listened to disc two a few days ago. Great sound, for a live album. Killer music!
John Mayall "Blues From Laurel Canyon". Just got this from a Discogs seller. It's a NM/M- condition. What a great album. I love John Mayall.
@spiritofradio Reporting back to you on Jackson Brown "For Everyman". Fortunately for me I have a very nice copy. I bought it new when it first released. Guitars and vocals are really great. The snare drum and cymbals could use a little more sparkle, but overall a rather good quality recording and pressing. It was a pleasure to hear that album again.
|
@spiritofradio I have not listened to "For Everyman" in many years. I'll clean it and listen to it today. I'll let you know about it's SQ. I have to say, though, I have plenty of albums from that era, the early-to-mid 70s, that are excellent SQ. For many albums in general, I find that some pressing runs can be very poor compared to others, of the very same album. Vinyl sounds so wonderful, but production can be an issue in SQ due to a lack of consistency.
Darn it all, why can't they all sound as good as my great ones! |
Good idea on Jackson Browne. That's why I like to read this post every day. I find good choices to cue up. I'll play these later today.
I have just two JB albums. "For Everyman" and "Hold Out". |
Donovan "Sunshine Superman"
Tim Curry "Fearless" (We watched Rocky Horror Picture Show, first)
Return To Forever "Romantic Warrior"
Stanley Clarke "School Days"
Dire Straits "Love Over Gold"
Then I had to go to bed. What a great night of music!
|
Great musical listening session.
Talking Heads, 'Remain In Light'
Steely Dan, 'Gaucho' Fantastic recording and SQ
Manfred Mann's Earth Band, 'The Roaring Silence'
John Mayall's Blues Breakers, 'Crusade' That album brings back a lot of memories. I just got this from a Discogs seller and it was rated NM/M- It certainly is clean & shiny and no visible scratches, but still plenty of surface noise. My Nitty Gritty just doesn't get records clean to the level that a good ultra sonic cleaning system does. I need to get one. Should be by early 2021. |
Looks to be more of Talking Heads today.
My remaining 3 albums to clean and listen to are...
Talking Heads 77
Talking Heads Remain in Light
Talking Heads Little Creatures
I'm first going to warm up the tubes with some Joe Bonamassa, 'Live From New York, Beacon Theater' What a great triple-LP, live concert album it is. And that's my plan for the later afternoon today. |
I have a few Talking Heads albums. Just checked and my collection does include 'More Songs About Buildings and Food'. I'll join in the fun here by cleaning and listening to it today.
Last night...
Buffalo Springfield, 'Again'. It's still in my rotation since getting the box.
Queen, 'A Night At The Opera' Original pressing, perfect condition.
Police, 'Ghost In The Machine' Original pressing, perfect condition.
Donald Fagen, 'The Nightfly' Original pressing, perfect condition.
Jeff Beck, 'Blow By Blow' New copy of 45 RPM from QRP. Fantastic!!!
Roxy Music, 'Avalon" Original pressing, perfect condition. That album just blows me away. Talk about depth and imaging, wow, it's awesome.
Fantastic evening of music! |
@nicks25 Great to hear that your surgery went well. Stick to the PT and all will be good. Based on my multiple injuries, surgeries and PT, I highly recommend doing 24 PT sessions. Three time per week, for 8 weeks.
Best to you!
Jefferson Airplane, 'Surrealistic Pillow' 45 RPM MoFi, Mono. Excellent!
Jethro Tull, 'Aqualung' Turns out that my Steven Wilson remix/remaster sounds great on the new speakers. I cancelled my backorder of the UHQR.
Robert Plant, 'Shakin N Stirred' sounded great. Really good music, very well recorded and pressed, bad-ass bass.
Poco, 'Legend' Very good music. MoFi provided great quiet vinyl but they EQd the top end too bright, especially on guitar strings and also a bump on the vocals. And my new speakers are very neutral on the top end, it's not my system, it's MoFi. MoFi does that too often, darn it all... |
I so often get ideas from this thread about what to play next (providing it is in my collection). So for today I just pulled out Poco "Legend" and Robert Plant "Shakin N Stirred". My Poco copy is a MFSL that I have owned since it was first released and is in perfect condition. My Robert Plant copy I bought when it was first released back in 1985 and is also in perfect condition. I'll clean them today and listen to both.
Thanks for the great suggestions. Should be a nice listening session. |
@ctwith3 I also have a Chinook. It's really an excellent phono stage. I can't imagine a better phono stage without having to spend double the price.
Maybe I should listen to my copy of Aqualung (Steve Wilson remix) on my new speakers. Maybe I'll find it better than what I felt from playing it on my old speakers (with titanium dome tweeters). It was a bit harsh for me. If that harshness disappears on the new speakers I will cancel my order of the UHQR. My order has not yet been filled. Thanks for the "heads up". |
Yes, the Steven Wilson remaster of Aqualung is great, too. Looking for even greater, though, I recently placed on order the forthcoming UHQR 45 RPM on 200 gr vinyl, remaster of Aqualung from Acoustic Sound and QRP. It's supposed to ship this week. Stand Up and Aqualung bring back some awesome memories of those growing-up years in high school.
With this thread, therefore, I had to pull out my "Stand Up" and play it.
Next up, Joan Armatrading, "To The Limit". Very good music, excellent voice, fantastic recording and SQ.
|
James, is your Tull - Stand Up an original or the reissue?
Just wondering.
In January I bought the reissue, remixed and mastered by Steven Wilson in 2016 on Parlophone Records. It's quite good. Very quiet vinyl and a really good remix. And the "stand-up" inner jacket is exactly like the original (which I had in high-school but got trashed from party use). |
I know that you guys have moved well past the comments on James Taylor, Flag. I just got to it last night. Wonderful album of music. Fantastic SQ. I'll be playing that one again fairly soon. Great find in my collection, and for free, too!
Ambrosian, S/T their first album. Fantastic vocals!
Paul Simon, Graceland. 25th Anniversary Issue. Awesome!!!
Pink Floyd, The Wall. All 4 sides. What an event it is to listen to it in it's entirety.
The new speakers are breaking in nicely. I'm still playing mostly those albums that I have listened to more recently. That makes for a good reference compared to memory of my most recent time of listening to them. The speakers sure are sounding awesome. Another 70 hours of run-in time ought to do it for them. A fun process, for sure. |
You guys talking about James Taylor got me looking for a long forgotten JT record I have. I got it in 1979, a "Promo Only - Ownership Reserved by CBS" that I got from the Columbia Records sales rep back when I was in hi-fi retail. I don't think I have ever played it. The album title is "Flag". I'll have to clean it and cue it up. May be a great album, I have no idea. If you are familiar with it please reply with comment. |
Coincidentally, just this past Monday I placed on backorder the Allman Bros Live at the Fillmore East. This one is the Mercury, QRP pressing, 200 gram, 4-record set. I have never had this album in my collection so I figured the best choice would be to get the edition with the extra cuts (thus, the 4-record set). And I have had excellent results with every QRP pressing. Very quiet and very flat vinyl. I look forward to receiving this and hope the backorder isn't too long to fulfill.
Before dinner yesterday...
John Mayall "The Turning Point"
Grover Washington Jr. "Limelight"
The new speakers are breaking in nicely. Grover's saxophone really sounds like a saxophone. Just as it should be! |
Blind Faith The super-group that made just one album. I have the original, with the 12 year old girl, nude top half of her body, on the front cover. It's a classic cover. Not the best recording quality, but the music is excellent.
The Motels "All Four One" Martha Davis has such an excellent voice. |
Slaw, how is the SQ of that Mo-Fi 45 RPM Cheap Thrills album? Is it worth the cost and record flipping, or is it really no better than the reissue from Simply Vinyl? The original recording wasn't spectacular but maybe Mo-Fi did a great job on this one. I need to replace my non-playable, totally thrashed original copy.
Please let me know. Much appreciated. |
You guys retired for the evening rather early. I watched a movie (Edge of Tomorrow; Live, Die, Repeat. A great sci-fi thriller) and then played a few albums until about 1:15 AM. I got the new Dynaudio Contour 60i speakers on Thursday. Played them only an hour on Friday and then about 5 hours last night (including the movie). Even with such little run-in time they are sounding absolutely amazing. They should only get better over the next 60 to 80 hours. Best sounding midrange I have ever owned. So natural in timbre. I played some recently listened-to albums that I am familiar with in order to better understand the speakers.
Chicago, "CTA" sides 1 & 2
Buffalo Springfield, "Again" from the new box set. Man, that is wonderful!
Carol King, "Tapestry" Mo-Fi reissue, phenomenal mastering.
Jennifer Warnes, "Famous Blue Raincoat" recent reissue from Impex.
Dire Straits, S/T Mo-Fi reissue @ 45 RPM, phenomenal mastering.
All in all, that was one of the best sounding listening sessions I have had in a long time. Everything is coming together so nicely. I have been working on this system for nearly 2 years now. It will be lots of fun to go through these hours of run-in with the speakers. Listening for the slight changes that bring it all together. Next in store is a new Symposium Acoustics Foundation Rack Ultra, Rollerblock Jr HDSE, Audioquest Niagara 3000 and the newly installed 20 amp dedicated line. Then I think I will be wiped out on spending for a while. |
@nicks25 best to you and an excellent rehab outcome. You will get out of it (the rehab) by what you put into it. Be diligent and follow the direction of your physical therapist. You can get back to 100% if you do so. I have had my unfair share of injuries (always caused by others) and can speak first hand that diligent work in PT pays off. Over the past 12 years I have gone through 3 broken back bones, damaged cervical discs, two knee surgeries on my left and one knee surgery on my right, and a total hip replacement. I am still able to ski all day, and very fast. I can hike 11 miles round-trip in a day, with 3,000 feet of vertical gain. All because of working very diligently through a ton of PT.
Keep your chin up, attitude also plays a role.
I wish you the best! |
To answer the question, I ordered the Dynaudio Contour 60i in Piano Gloss Black. Though I wanted the Gray Oak High Gloss, that would have clashed with the Zebra Wood I have in my listening room. High Gloss Black works well with other appointments in the room.
Yes indeed, RIP Eddie. Here's a short story. My wife grew up with the Van Halen family, in Pasadena, from about 10 years of age and throughout high school. I mean, really grew up with them, as in good friends. When I was in management with Pacific Stereo in the late 70s (at the time dating the woman who became my wife) and Van Halen were becoming super-stars, my future wife brought Eddie to my store for me to outfit him with a car audio system for his Jeep and a new turntable/cartridge setup. I had to close the store because crowds (mostly girls) began to scream and then more showed up making for quite an interesting day. I'll never forget that day. Anyway, that's my short story for today. |
Been out of it for a while, other stuff going on.
Yesterday I found time to play something I have not listened to in many years. Chicago, first album, 'CTA'. I had an original in high school that got trashed on my parents Magnavox console. A year out of high school and I got my first real high fidelity system. CTA was one of the first replacement albums I got. That was in 1973 so it's still an early press, and very original, in perfect condition. I was pleasantly surprised how well it was recorded and engineered. The bass and kick drums are really good. Even the brass is quite good. Very well done on staging and imaging. And the music, I almost forgot how wonderful an album that is. A short one, but really a great and enjoyable listening session.
By end of this week my new speakers arrive. They were shipped last Thursday from Dynaudio USA. I have had them on order for over 3 months, the new model Contour 60i. It's a big floor standing speaker, but I have the room for it. Should be good out of the crates, but 60 to 80 hours of run-in ought to provide a much smoother bass and mid-range warmth. I'll comment on that at some point. Have a very healthy day! |
Well, my mistake after all. The Bob Dylan album is a brand new copy and it was a gift back in early 70s. However, it is not from the first press as I had thought. It's a 1975 press, and is from Columbia Records. It's very quiet vinyl and the recording quality is rather good. Nice discovery!
Speaking of "Tommy", that makes me want to play it later today. I have a new copy from Geffen Records. It's quite good, but not as good as the original master tapes pressings. However, better than my bashed up copy from the old Magnavox console that had a finishing nail for the stylus.
I saw The Who do the North American Tour of Tommy in the Summer of 1969. That is the same concert series from which "Live At Leeds" was recorded. Then, I saw the North American Tour of "Who's Next" in 1971. Then, I saw the North American Tour of "Quadrophenia" in 1972.
Man, what memories!!! |
Yesterday, end of day...
Emerson Lake & Palmer S/T, their first album. I got that new while in high school and played it probably 50 times on my parents Magnavox console stereo. Cleaned it up and, surprisingly, not too bad. And the music is fabulous.
Thompson Twins, 'Here's To Future Days' fun album and I saw them perform back in the 80s. Fun concert.
David Bowie, 'Let's Dance' A very well recorded album and surprisingly nice piece of vinyl, very quiet. Great album!
Check this out. Searching through some of my collection I found a copy of Bob Dylan S/T, his first album from the early 1960s. I remember receiving it as a gift, placing it away, and never played it. This is brand new and is not a reissue. I'm going to clean it and play in the next day or two. Columbia, stereo (it states on the jacket also available in monaural, but this is the stereo edition). I am hoping they did a good job in mastering, plating, pressing. |
I only use a clamp when the LP is significantly less than flat. That seems to help matters. Otherwise, I find that no clamp does sound the most "open". I chose the Record Doctor clamp because it is light and places no real downward force (via mass/weight and gravity) on the bearing system. Clamp verses heavy weight makes the most sense to me. |
I almost forgot... Abbey Road, original copy in NM/M- condition, MoFi Abbey Road (Excellent), and the latest released, Anniversary Edition of Abbey Road. Yeah, I like that album! |
You're a good group of guys. James (tomic601) is only about 1 1/2 hour drive for me and he invited me over to take a listen and have a few sips. I'll be sure to take him up on that fairly soon.
FYI, I have an original copy of Revolver that is in fairly good condition (VG+), original copy of Yellow Submarine (but the recording is not so good), original Srgt. Peppers (VG), Japanese pressing of Srgt. Peppers (Excellent), original copy of Magical Mystery Tour (VG+), MoFi of Magical Mystery Tour (Excellent), and MoFi White Album (Excellent). Not bad, but I really want those early years albums, and preferably in Excellent condition.
Be safe and healthy. |
@bkeske I am envious of your Beatles collection. I wish that I still had my original copies of Meet The Beatles, Beatles 65, etc. They became thrashed as I was too young to understand how to take care of them. I have replaced many with reissues, but I still need several others to be more complete.
And yes, the transformation from beginning to end was at light speed. I remember it very well and reminisce still. The Beatles truly achieve what is "classic" in music and bring with it a mentality and philosophy that has become part of life. |
I understand your feelings about the owner. But heck, the vinyl production is superb. I don't know the guy and likely never will. Maybe for the better? Either way, Analogue Productions and QRP make outstanding vinyl and I do my best to purchase LPs from that pressing plant. They are always top notch.
SRV "In Step" by Analogue Productions and QRP pressing is phenomenal. I highly recommend getting that one, if you don't already have a copy. |
Slaw, I played the first two, both in mono. The first album is OK for SQ but not what I was hoping for. The music, however, is wonderful as it always has been. I will certainly be playing it many more times. The second album, "Again", is excellent in SQ. I was very impressed with that, enveloping me deeper with each song. It sounds wonderful and it really made my night. I love the music on that album and now I have the best sounding copy ever. I look forward to many more times with it on the turntable. I will play the third album this weekend.
I haven't played too much music this week. I had a dedicated 20 amp line drawn in to my electronics room on Tuesday. That required opening up plenty of wallboard. That means plenty of wallboard patch, knockdown to match, and paint. Fortunately, I am pretty good at wallboard patch and knockdown match. I'm just about to roll the last coat of paint. Back to normal for the weekend.
By the way, Acoustic Sounds is now taking preorders on the forthcoming reissue of Aqualung. This is the latest and best of all reissues. It's a UHQR (remember those, from MoFi, back in the early 80s?) utilizing pure audiophile grade vinyl that is uncolored, 200 gram, 45 RPM, mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering, pressed at QRP in a limited edition of only 5,000 copies and packaged in a stunning box. Not cheap, $125. This album is part of my life so yes, I ordered one. Shipping in about 3 weeks. They have a great 3 minute video on the album page that shows the entire UHQR process. Very cool!
I only learned recently they did the same with Jimi Hendrix, 'Axis Bold As Love', a year ago. Sold out and no longer available. I wish I had known then, I certainly would have bought a copy. It too, is part of my life. If you feel deeply about Aqualung then hurry and grab a copy. When they are gone, they are gone for good. |
You guys made me think to look for Leonard Cohen in my collection. I thought that I have one, and I do. Haven't played it in years so I'll play it this weekend.
"Songs From A Room" Original pressing, Columbia, perfect condition.
This is the album with 'Bird On A Wire' which inspired Jennifer Warnes to connect with Leonard and create her excellent album "Famous Blue Raincoat". I recently got that reissue from Impex, limited edition to just 1,000 copies, mastered from Jennifer's personal original master tape. It's fabulous! |
@bkeske try the 25th Anniversary Edition release of Graceland. The SQ is incredible, way over the top. Sit in the sweet spot and your jaw will be on the floor. Mine was the first time I played it a few months ago. Awesome addition to my collection, I can't recommend it enough. |
Got to hang up the system for the night so I can plastic cover everything in the electronics room. I am having a dedicated 20 amp line pulled into the electronics room tomorrow. That and a new Audioquest Niagara 3000 ought to help my system sing even better. Yeah!
Just played...
Motels, "Little Robbers"
Motels, "All Four One" This particular Motels album is exceptionally well recorded. Really nice stuff. Martha Davis has a beautiful voice.
|
@bkeske,The Nightfly is one of my go-to "now check out how my system sounds" albums. I also have the same issue as you, WB 1982. Original owner, perfect condition. Great music, fantastic SQ. You have a great new cartridge, please do enjoy your rig this weekend.
By the way, several of you guys got me turned on to Buffalo Springfield, 'What's That Sound', box set. I didn't know about it until this thread. My original copy of 'Again' sounds crappy. I bought one of the remaining box sets from Elusive Disc and it arrived today. Really nice packaging for the box. I look forward to comparing the mono Vs stereo editions. Should be nice for the weekend. Can't wait! |
Uberwaltz,
Yes indeed, I saw The Tubes 3 times and I have all of their records, still in perfect condition. In my college days, living in the dorms, we had Tubes Night parties in my room. Back then I had a Marantz 2270 receiver, a Philips 212 turntable with Audio Technica AT-15SA, a Soundcraftsmen dual 10-band EQ, and a pair of Altec 12" 3-ways. Bad-a** system for a 21 year old guy. The Tubes lit up the room, and we all lit up something else...😁 |
@uberwaltz , great story about Alice Cooper. They really got you on that one. Oh, I do remember the guillotine, and also dragging around the Cold Ethyl manican on stage, the dentist drill, the rolling-out bed for Only Women Bleed. Etc... What great shows. Alice coined the term "Rock Theater" for his shows. It makes perfect sense! |
Steve Winwood, that's a good one, especially way back with the Spencer Davis Group. I saw Traffic perform in the earlier days, 1971. Wonderful concert.
I also saw Alice Cooper 3 times. The reason I bring up Alice is because I am about to put one on the platter now; 'Welcome To My Nightmare' Original copy, perfect condition! |
At least I've salvaged something out of 2020.......
I hear you about salvaging 2020. I'm not a bike rider but I do some serious mountain hiking. Typically my day hikes range from 8 to 11 miles and with around 2,500 to 3,000 vertical feet of elevation gain. I hiked to the summit of Mt Baldy 10 days ago. That's about the only activity I can do. I gave up offshore fishing this year. I just can't see going on an 85 foot fishing boat, with around 30 people, for 3 nights/days. Too risky! I live in Southern California and now with the fires the air is too dangerous even to go hiking. Not even safe to do yardwork. I'm locked up in the house. More hi-fi, I guess. But I do need to move my body. Can't wait for this to be over. I look forward to a great ski season. Sure hope so.
OK, I'll get off of my soapbox. Back to music now. |
Grover Washington Jr., "Winelight"
Wonderful saxophone and a marvelous way to end the day. |
Queen, 'A Night At The Opera' Original copy, perfect condition. I forgot how many great songs are on that album. SQ is wonderful!
The Police, 'Zenyatta Mondatta' Original copy, perfect condition. It could use a little more bass-slam but the detailed musical information is wonderful. |
Slaw, I'm not certain how to go about a DIY. That does mean Do It Yourself, correct? I figured that a Kirmus US process, followed with a distilled rinse and vacuum dry or air dry, would be a good regimen. However, that's just my own thoughts and welcome further advice and/or direction.
Enlighten me!
Thanks man.
@unreceivedogma, I am 66 years of age. And proud to say that most people take me for my mid-50s. Good genes and some luck, I guess.
Maybe it's all the hiking, skiing, and fishing that I do. Or, maybe most of them have a vision problem. Haha... Enough of the jokes. I went to many, many concerts during the 70s, I saw them all, including Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix. Wonderful memories and I have collected the vinyl all along the way. I play CD in the car, but vinyl has always been my passion for home audio high-fidelity. I got my first real hi-fi system in 1973. Let us know your feelings about the Led Zeppelin reissues. |
Super Session; Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper, and Steve Stills made one hell of a serious album in that "session". I have an original copy and also bought a reissue from Speakers Corner.
Regarding Led Zeppelin, I have most of their albums on vinyl, all original. I recently bought Houses of the Holy, remastered, trusting that Jimmy Page involvement would bring quality to market. What a disappointment! It sounded so digital and strained. I returned it for a refund. I put my original copy through two more rounds of Nitty Gritty vacuum cleaning and that seemed to help reduce more of the noise I was trying to get past by purchasing the reissue. The original sounds so much more pleasing than the reissue, even still with some vinyl noise. I really need to get a US cleaning machine and upgrade my entire cleaning process.
By the way, I am glad to take some suggestions and advice on that subject. I am looking at purchasing the Kirmus US machine. That system includes (but I don't think absolutely requires) that you clean your vinyl using their chemical system that removes all mold release compounds and other cleaning liquids you may have used. If I were to use that cleaning chemical first, in the Kirmus US machine, do you guys suggest to then use a final rinse with distilled water and vacuum dry with the Nitty Gritty? Etc... I welcome advice on a better regimen than the Nitty Gritty vacuum system I have. I strongly believe I need to advance to a US machine but I also believe there is probably a total regimen that will do wonders. Please let me know your thoughts.
In advance, thank you for your help. |
You guys got me thinking about playing The Cars. I have a pristine copy of The Cars S/T (first album) on Nautilus half-speed mastered. I'll put it through the cleaning system and cue it up, later today.
Let the good times roll... |
Spirit, S/T Ode Records, original copy.
This is the very first album from Spirit. I saw them perform 3 times, back in the day. Fantastic concerts! I'll probably break out their famous release, '12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus' later today. I have an original copy and a reissue from Music On Vinyl. |
