Joan Armatrading S/T, pp edition.
Paul Simon "One Trick Pony" pp edition.
John Lee Hooker "It Serve You Right To Suffer" Analogue Productions, QRP 45 rpm double disc set. It amazes me how much information, of the smallest minutia, was preserved in those old tapes and how AP was able to master such an excellent production.
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@j_husker I love that story.
Update; from the Dayglo reviews, yesterday I ordered the Yellowjackets album. Only $8.24 including shipping. It won't be just 1 day to receive it, but the price is more than fair. I look forward to it.
Also from Dayglow review, I ordered Paul Simon, One Trick Pony. That was about 12 days ago and it just arrived yesterday. Can't complain, it was a good deal and the vinyl quality is NM.
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Awesome stories here today.
Jim, wonderful news on your negative test. So sorry to hear about your aunt in AZ.
I think that we all know to be excessively cautious right now. COVID sucks!
Roxy Music "Avalon"
David Crosby "If I Could Only Remember My Name" 5oth Anniversary Edition
Al Green "Call Me" Speakers Corner reissue. Excellent! Done from original tapes.
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@sailmed
I am interested in the Ell and Loius album but see there are more than one that seems to have the same title. Can you please describe which one that you have.
Thank you.
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Tears For Fears had two really great albums. Holds well, to this day.
I saw Wendy O and the Plasmatics at Perkins Palace, in Pasadena. And yes, they blew up a car on stage (signature performance stunt). It was quite a sonic concussion. And yes, she was wearing electrical tape over her nipples, otherwise topless.
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I agree with the comments on 80s music. There is a lot of really good stuff from that era. I have quite a few in my collection and am very glad that I do.
I need to try the Yellowjackets. Thanks for the good information.
I love this thread😊👍
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Happy New Year to everyone!
May 2022 bring you good health and prosperity. Live and enjoy😊
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Heartbeat City is excellent, and I think that Panorama is, too. All of their albums are wonderful, but those two are my favorites. So glad I have them. They are surprisingly well done in all regards for SQ (mixing, mastering, Plating/pressing). I have Candy-O on Nautilus half-speed master as well. Pretty darn good!
Like some here I did get burned out on too much Cars played on the radio. Some years later, and played on a good high-fidelity system, they are now an entirely different level for me, both musically and sonically.
I accidentally hit Post without first checking the box that I'm Not a Robot. I think my computer may start to smoke or something...
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@dayglow Thank you very much for your effort. I made a purchase of that same variant on the Discogs site. I can buy a new copy, remastered from Sony Legacy (which does a very good job on their remasters) but for just a few dollars less (not that it matters) I got an original in NM condition. Thanks again.
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Brian, very nice to hear that your mother is out of the hospital.
I wish that I still had my mom. Covet the time that you still have with her. Memories forever.
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@dayglow Evan, is the Paul Simon album on any special reissue or is it the standard original issue, Warner Bros. Records, HS3472?
And can you see from which pressing plant. That should be indicated in the dead wax. For instance, maybe it shows "Sterling" and W or Winchester for the Winchester pressing plant, or "O" which is for the Jacksonville pressing plant, etc. Please advise. I would like to get a NM/M- copy and try to get the proper pressing based on your evaluation and which copy you have. I really love all that Paul Simon does and I don't have that record.
Thank you very much.
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Great music been spinning with all of you. Well, remember that issue I had with phono cartridge? It just keeps getting worse. To the point that playing records is not so good and with little enjoyment. The good news is that I am about to pull the trigger on a new turntable/tonearm/cartridge. However, there will be a wait as only the tonearm and cartridge are in stock and the turntable is at least 2 weeks out, possibly longer by the time I make the purchase. So, I'll play a few records and enjoy the best I can. Foolishly, I sold all of my old phono cartridges so I'm not able to make a swap.
Enjoy the music. I'll be back.
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Spirit mentioned Tumbleweed Connection. So...
Elton John "Tumbleweed Connection"
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@reubent Thanks for the words and I will take that into consideration. However, I am a Dave Mason fan so for the very fair price of the album I think I will indeed make the purchase. And, of course, will report on the performance as well as the SQ once I receive it (end of January, if it's on time for deliver date).
As for skiing, 4 days thus far this season. I'll be back up to Mammoth in early January, after all of the Holidays. Being retired there is no longer any reason to go skiing amongst the crowds. My target is to score a minimum of 30 ski days this season. And Happy Holidays to you, too. Be safe and healthy.
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Check this out. "Alone Together" will be re-recorded and released in late January, 2022. Pre-orders being accepted at Elusive Disc, possibly on other sites as well. I cut & pasted the message from Dave Mason, which is on the Elusive Disc site. This sounds very interesting. I have a perfect original copy, marbled vinyl, that I bought back in 1973. My 1970 copy was played out on my parents console. Knowing that would be the case I bought a second copy fairly soon after buying the first one and kept it sealed until the time I was able to buy my first high fidelity system, in 1973. Playing this new release could be a lot of fun.
Alone Together was my first solo album. Like all firsts, they are special. The original tapes that burned in the 2008 Universal fires was heartbreaking. But it occurs to me, the Music never dies.
I've played these songs for the better part of 50 years because I love them. I re-recorded the whole album because I still feel inspired by the music. This makes Alone Together Again a true labor of love. Some things I know for sure; music is relationship and love is best when shared. That is the whole conceptual play of Alone Together.
We allowed ourselves to have some fun with the presentation of this LP, which is marbled and multicolored, just like the original vinyl. And true to the original album, it's a three part fold out. We tried to find the exact spot in Joshua Tree to reshoot the photo, but, well, it has been over fifty years ago and we couldn't be sure. But we think we recaptured the spirit, nonetheless.
I hope you'll enjoy listening to Alone Together Again as much as I had in making it. And I hope you'll feel the love when you have it in your hands, and when the music hits your heart.
- Dave Mason
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Bull Angus, the guy in the green jacket, almost identical to my hair around 1979. Oh well, the girls liked it. Worked often for me...😁
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@slaw Best to you Steve, you are doing the right thing in life.
Happy New Year, wishing you the best of health and prosperity for 2022.
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Brian, I strongly recommend "If I Could Only Remember My Name" 50th Anniversary Edition. Really good music, really well done remaster/reissue. My copy is exceptionally quiet vinyl. I hope that yours will be, too.
Got back from Mammoth Mountain. Awesome skiing! We skied the storm all day on Thursday, I love doing that. Got rear-ended Thursday evening. Nobody hurt, low speed collision. Now I have to deal with the insurance, body shop, etc. Cr&p happens...
My wife did not want my hi-fi on last night. Party pooper! I'll get back to spinning vinyl today or tomorrow.
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Tony Bennett - Snowfall Now that's a title I like!
Guys, please keep it spinning and enjoy the music. I'm heading north for Mammoth Mountain in the morning to ski for the rest of this week. 4 to 6 feet just fell over the past 2 days and the mountain is prime. The long-range forecast calls for many more feet over the next 3 weeks. I'll be back up right after New Years. And many more trips to follow this winter. Finally, we have a real winter for California. Man, do we need the water. And man, do I need the skiing. COVID put that to rest for me last year. I AM READY!
Enjoy the music...
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@spiritofradio
James, yes I do have that album of Dave Mason & Cass Elliot. The SQ is just OK, as you stated. The music is quite good and I am glad that I have it.
I can only imagine what Cass Elliot would have delivered had she not died so young. What a sad situation and a crying shame for such a loss.
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Al Green / Call Me
Speakers Corner, all analog production
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Jimi Hendrix Experience "Electric Ladyland"
Reissue from the Hendrix Family Edition
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The Alman Brothers Band "Eat A Peach"
Got to pick another one out now.
Man, you guys have some interesting music. So much that I have never heard of.
Right on!
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To answer Jim's question, the wood is quarter-sawn North American walnut and the inlays are of two woods, claro walnut and I can't remember the name of the other, but it's a gorgeous combo. These are the best choices so not to clash with the zebra wood I have in the room. It's really quite stunning, those woods for the speakers.
And if it makes you Northerners feel better, I am heading to the cold. I changed plans for travel to Mammoth, out 1 day, Wednesday to Friday. The major storm is forecasted to drop 6 to 8 feet from main lodge to the summit and about 3 to 4 feet in town. I-395 is expected to be closed from Bishop to Mammoth on Monday and possibly Tuesday. All this snow in the time frame of Sunday afternoon to Tuesday night. That's a serious storm.
Spinning vinyl tonight, after the basketball game.
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Hi guys, I’m back from my travels to Washington and visit with Daedalus Audio for speaker evaluation. By the way, some really great music selections on this page. I look forward to spinning vinyl again, tonight.
I stayed with a friend at Lake Stevens, WA. He is a better fisherman than I am and his freezer is stuffed with a big Summer catch of local caught halibut, ling cod, and salmon. Excellent meals for both nights. I promised to report back on my experience with the Daedalus Audio speakers so here goes.
First off, WOW, those speakers are spectacular! The owner, Lou Hinkley, is such a pleasant and wonderful human being and I had a great time at his facility. I was there for nearly 5 hours. During that time I received a thorough tour of his shop and the various machinery for woodworking, finishing, etc. It was wonderful to see the different build stages of speakers that were currently under construction. The bracing alone is a work of art. I was very impressed with just how thick the cabinet walls are and how such a structure is all joined together. No mass production here, none whatsoever. And the choices/selections of wood that Lou makes are absolutely as good as it gets. Stunningly beautiful.
On to listening, the music selections were choices that demonstrate vocals, string instruments, wind instruments (of course that included a trombone😁), bass guitars, drums & kick drums, some synthetics (such as Pink Floyd), but mostly natural instruments. Using the same front-end electronics of an LTA preamp and a Lampizator DAC we first used solid state amplifiers that were PS Audio, the BHK series, dual mono amps (big ones, huge power). Everything sounded very good and, frankly, very impressive. All the descriptive you would expect of a great sounding system (without having to list and repeat that here). Yet, I still had a slight reservation. There was something not exactly what I was looking for. OK, let’s change over to the tube amp and I’ll study for the difference. We connected the LTA (Linear Tube Audio) top model. I don’t recall the model number but it is there best amp and is only 20 watts per channel. Now remember, the BHK mono amps are 450 watts each. So now we are going from big-iron horsepower to a very modest powered tube amp. I listened to a few songs and that’s all it took. Holy cow, that is what I have been seeking. That’s the sound I have been wanting and was very hopeful for experiencing. Indeed, those speakers being a very consistent impedance curve (read that as a very flat impedance curve), along with being highly sensitive at 96 db, are driven to very satisfying SPL with that 20 watt/channel tube amp. But the sound quality was light years better than the solid state amps. I mean, it was night and day difference. At least, to my ears and also to my friends’ ears (he chose to travel with me for this adventure). Just amazing how those speakers can deliver all of the impact you would think only a higher powered amp would be able to do, yet, with only a small tube amp doing the job.
The Daedalus Audio speakers are everything I had hoped for, and maybe even just a little more. They are just flat-out awesome! We concluded my choice of wood, inlay design, and inlay choices of wood. Lou drew up the paperwork and I placed my deposit for order on a new set of the Apollo 11 speakers. These are the latest generation with the newest driver updates/designs for 2022. My timing is very fortunate for that. And now the long waiting time for delivery. That’s the tough part because it’s 4 1/2 to 6 months lead time for this highly bespoke speaker build. I’ll survive but I sure am anxious. The ski days ahead for this season will keep my attention divided well enough, though. We are heading to Mammoth Mountain on Tuesday for a couple of quality ski days. Big storms are under way now, should be a good time.
Thanks for taking your time to read my story.
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Then again, Jim's thought makes even more sense. The untouched groove area is a nice surface for a deeper tracking stylus.
Oh, this hobby...er, rabbit hole!
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Thanks guys. I hope for good things.
I agree with Brian, the mono cartridge with a conical stylus would better serve mono records. At the most, an elliptical stylus. I could be wrong, of course.
My longer-term plan is for a second tonearm, one with a removable headshell. By that I can easily change between a mono cartridge and some other MC or MM cartridge. The main tonearm would remain as the premier choice and with the premium cartridge. But first, I need to get the turntable that supports two tonearms. That along with speakers are the big plans for early 2022. Fun hobby and I love great music and excellent high fidelity. But man, this can get expensive!
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My postponed trip from last week to Washington state is on for tomorrow. I am staying with a friend in Lake Stevens and will be at Daedalus Audio on Thursday. I sure hope those speakers live up to everything I anticipate for them. If so I will be placing my order.
Drum roll........
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Steve, I have a 40+ year relationship with the owner of Upscale Audio. He provides me with very substantial discounts so I really try to stick with the brands that he carries. I believe that Feickert Analog is the best of his turntable assortment, at least, for me it is. Speakers, however, are just a bit more personal. Focal at a substantial discount from Upscale or seek out what most pleases me. That's why I am flying to Daedalus Audio this week. I think they will meet my expectations. If so, I will place my order. They are build-to-order and have a lead time of about 4 months. Plus the new turntable setup and I am broke for all of 2022😂
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Steve, no, my Aretha's Gold is not the MFSL. It's an Atlantic reissue. I would have bought the MFSL issue if I could have found it.
And yes, I am still listening to the "possibly still defective Delos". I have numerous SQ issues from my analog front end and I believe it's the Delos. Though, it could be the Chinook phono stage. I tend to believe it's the Delos. I'm just living with it until I make a change. I am likely to be replacing my turntable and cartridge so it's then that I will learn the answer. My shortest of short list is a Feickert Analog Blackbird table with a Kuzma 4-Point 11 tonearm and a Soundsmith Sussurro Mkii ES or possibly the Paua Mkii ES. It's a big budget change for me so I must plan very carefully. Decision within about 2 weeks.
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Aretha Franklin "Aretha's Gold" Excellent music, but rather poor SQ on this album. Too bad...
The Allman Brothers Band "Brothers and Sisters" From my newly acquired treasure trove. Cleaned up very well, sounds rather good. Killer album!
David Crosby "If I Could Only Remember My Name" As stated earlier, a bit tilted up in the SQ, but a very deep and wide overall quality. Quite enjoyable.
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Steve, no not a "test pressing" as you figured out. But certainly one of the early pressings off of the master as this is the first group of discs available, before pressings available to dealers after April 13, 1983.
Note; that was at my very first CES. In total I attended 43 CES. Unfortunately, they were nearly always all work and little time to roam the show. Only those in Chicago (back then there were 2 CES per year, Las Vegas for Winter and Chicago for Summer) was I able to roam the show because very few of my dealers attended the Chicago show. CES soon became just one show per year, Winter show at Las Vegas. At the Las Vegas show I was swamped, typically with 2 business meetings simultaneously, bouncing between tables, from morning to end of day. It's nice to be retired now😊 I've been building my present system since leaving the workforce.
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I believe that I told this story some months ago. I worked in the CE industry for 42 years until retiring 3 years ago. I met a ton of people along the way and one of them was the General Manager/Sales Director of Shefield Lab at the time, Mr. Andrew Teton. During a CES he gave me a "Special CES Preview Edition" of James Newton Howard Quintet. It's a fabulous album, musically and sonically. The Preview Edition is in a plain white jacket with a Shefield Lab sticker on it that also has the album title, the list of musicians, PProduced & Engineered by Bill Schnee" and "available to dealers April 13". I have taped to the front of this plain jacket, the business card that Andrew gave me at the time. I have always kept it in pristine condition and it sounds today as good as it did the first time I played it. Good memories, and killer music!
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@bslon I had a similar experience. Having purchased my first hi-fi system in 1973, then in 1976 I went to a small HiFi retailer in Claremont, CA (Omega High Fidelity Music Systems) and they put on that album for me. I upgraded my turntable setup by purchasing from them a new B&O turntable and paid extra for the top-end B&O cartridge. It made a tremendous improvement to my system. I also bought the album. A few systems later, and still here doing it and loving it. Ain't this fun!!!
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Awesome! I have the Sheffield-Lab 2 issue. Have owned it since first released. In perfect condition, of course. I'll just have to play it this weekend.
Thanks guys.
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@nicks25 Congrats on the cartridge and enjoy it in good health. I see that you have an Accuphase amp. My biggest system, back in the late '70s and into the late '80s was a stack of Accuphase. I had a T-100 tuner, a C-200 preamp, and two of the P-300 power amps. Bi-amped with active crossover into Infinity RS-2.5 speakers. That system was awesome. I dig your system!
I agree, the new issue of David Crosby album is quite good. I really enjoy it.
Al Green "Call Me" Speakers Corner issue, pressed at Pallas, all analogue production. Sounds great, as great as the music is.
Joan Armatrading "S/T" Just arrived today from a Discogs purchase, NM/M- condition. I love Joan and this is a great addition to my collection of her albums.
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Just returned from the airport. I received an email from Lou (owner of Daedalus) that he came down with the flu. He had a test for COVID and that was negative, fortunately. Just the flu. So, we postponed my visit for 1 week.
I guess that I'll be working on the bathroom now. Wallpaper removal completed but before painting my wife decided that we need to strip, sand, and refinish the cabinetry. Get out the power sander...
I'll spin some vinyl later today in order to provide some sanity.
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Thanks Brian. Yes, I am somewhat convinced but still need to hear them. My present Dynaudio speakers (bought them about 15 months ago) I bought without auditioning them. I got them for dealer cost, brand new model, but they just didn't float my boat. So, this time I am going to audition the speakers, and after I have done a ton of research on them. I need to make sure, this time. Fortunately, I can sell my Dynaudio speakers for very close to what I paid for them. The model is Contour 60i, if anyone knows someone who may be interested in them.
And yeah, what's this cr$p about authentication with "I'm Not a Robot"
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Wallpaper stripping completed! Just finished patching all of the wallboard issues. Applied the knockdown texture. Begin painting soon. Whew!
Tomorrow I am flying to Washington (state) to spend a day at Daedalus Audio. Owner, Lou Hinkley, is giving me a tour of the facility and manufacturing process. I will be auditioning a couple models of speakers. If they sound as I anticipate them to, I will be placing my order. About a 4 month build-to-order process. Check it out at Daedalus Audio website, model Apollo 11 is the likely choice for me but am also considering the Poseidon. Very stable impedance curve and very friendly to tube amplifiers. 96db efficiency. Owners reviews describe exactly what I am l looking for.
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Steve Miller Band "Number 5" I forgot how good this album is. Been probably 32 years since I last played it.
David Crosby "If I Could Only Remember My Name" Second time to play this since receiving it last week. Really a great album and very well done reissue.
Plant/Krauss "Raise The Roof" Just received (yes, Postal service has been busy). I didn't realize it was a 2-disc set. I played just disc one, so far. It's good, but I wouldn't call it great. Let's see how disc 2 goes and if it all grows on me.
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Last night, after a movie...
Doobie Brothers "Minute By Minute" from the new treasure trove. M- condition!
Procol Harum "Broken Barricades" Great music!
Mingus "Ah Um' There is a lot going on in this album. Kept my attention.
Jethro Tull "This Was" Steven Wilson remix. Love this album.
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Chris Isaak is wonderful!
I recently received a copy of Mingus "Ah Um" that is the Move On Vinyl 180 gr reissue. It's in my stack for tonight.
Now this is a bonus. My wife remembered a box we had stuffed away that is full of records she had from when we were dating. Mostly played on a medium grade turntable (probably conical stylus) but my cartridge/stylus should dig deeper and retrieve the good stuff. Most I have viewed over are VG++. About 60 or 70 albums; Allman Brothers, Yes, Doobie Brothers, Zappa, Jethro Tull, Streisand, Petty, a bunch of others. This will keep me busy for some time to come. SCORE!!!
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Happy Thanksgiving to all on this thread. You are such a wonderful group of people. Very kind, to say the least.
A day of thanks and reflection to be grateful for what we have. There should be more days like this, everywhere in this world.
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Iron Butterfly "Heavy" A very early pressing, just had to listen to it once more before filing it. Not such good SQ, but what a fun filled time of the memory banks.
David Crosby "If I could Only Remember My Name" I never bought this when it was first on the market, though I wanted it. But reading about the newly released Anniversary Edition on this thread, I bought it. Arrived yesterday, just played it. Fantastic! Great album, great SQ, and a very good piece of vinyl, both flat and quiet. It sure is nice getting information and ideas from this thread. Thanks guys!
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James, enjoy that new phono cartridge. I am very interested in Soundsmith and will likely be getting one fairly soon. Bravo to you, enjoy it immensely.
And yes, the Stevie Ray Vaughan albums from AP/QRP at 45rpm are just awesome. I should get another one of those. Very good music here tonight.
I have to que up some good stuff tomorrow. Have a Clippers game tomorrow night.
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For contact cleaning I use a cleaning cloth supplied from Audioquest. They have one specifically for silver contacts and one for all other metals (typically, copper or gold). Zero residue as there is no solution. I prefer not using a solution.
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Stevie Ray Vaughan "The Sky Is Falling"
Stevie Ray Vaughan "In Step"
Both are Analogue Productions / QRP. Outstanding!
Joan Armatrading "Show Some Emotion" Played this the other day, had to listen to it again. Just such a wonderful album, and great SQ.
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Steve, it looks like the special version at Acoustic Sounds is that it's the same version but for $31.98 verses from Amazon at $22.49. I can't see any other difference, both are Atlantic Records and the description of being the 50th Anniversary Edition from 2021 are the same. Thanks for the good tip.
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Steve, are you referring to the newly released 50th Anniversary edition of the David Crosby album? It's available at Acousti Sounds and I was considering buying it, now with the 10% discount they have going on for Black Friday. Please advise. Thank you.
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Back from Mammoth Mountain, had a great early season ski trip. Can't wait for more of that, but we really do need more snow. Come on Winter!
Joan Armatrading "To The Limit"
Joan Armatrading "Show Some Emotion"
Both are excellent albums. I just ordered her first album, self titled, in NM/M- condition on Discogs. I look forward to that one, probably a week from now. It's movie night with my wife, the recently released "Respect". Then I'll spin some vinyl. I have some Stevie Ray Vaughan in the front of my rotation stack for tonight. Who knows what else...
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