Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
The Nashville Sound
2017 Southeastern Records
The Nashville Sound
2017 Southeastern Records
Showing 45 responses by spiritofradio
@big_greg re: your new 1200 this is from the guy I was telling you about: johnnyb533,491 posts 11-24-2015 11:18am The Technics brings some outstanding performance parameters at low cost, such as s/n ratio (78dB weighted) and speed accuracy (wow & flutter 0.01 to 0.025%). The shortcomings, often erroneously attributed to the direct drive mechanism, are vibration damping issues and easily and cheaply fixed. Headshell: Get an LpGear ZuPreme headshell. You can't begin to hear what the Technics can do without upgrading the headshell to a Sumiko for ZuPreme. The ZuPreme costs a lot less and is easier for mounting cartridges. Both enable you to adjust azimuth alignment. Mat: Get a better mat, whether a Herbie's Way Excellent or a cowhide one or whatever. With the right mat, the platter won't ring when you flick it with your fingernail. I use an Oracle Groove Isolator. Long out of production, but if you come across one, snatch it up. Get KAB's fluid damper. Don't fill the trough more than 1/3. This settles down the tonearm and enables it to track even hideously warped records. Record Grip: Get a low cost record grip such as the one from KAB or the Clearaudio Clever Clamp. I have an earlier version of the KAB. It lowers spindle and surface noise and makes a 70g Dynaflex LP sound almost as full-bodied as a 180-200g thick one. Oil the motor spindle. Get the tonearm rewired with something good. I have the M5G which comes from the factory with OFC tonearm wire so I let it be. KAB's low-friction Litz wire is crazy cheap. Wrap the tonearm with Teflon pipe thread tape. The tonearm is a hollow aluminum arm with no damping. It rings in the upper midrange and is the source of that edgy glare. Wrap it (including the knurled collar) and that upper midrange glare disappears. The stock feet look impressive but they suck. Unscrew 'em and place the threaded sockets on the ball bearings of Vibrapod Cones. Set the Cones on #2 Vibrapod Isolators. If you want to lower the noise floor a bit more, set your turntable on a thick maple butcher block cutting board. Place silicon gel computer keyboard wrist pads underneath. I have had my M5G for 8-1/2 years. I gradually added these tweaks over the first few years until I got it where I like it. I routinely visit high end shops and listen to records. Although I was impressed by the Carbon DC, esp. for the money, the high torque and higher speed accuracy of the Technics DD trumps it and the vibration control tweaks mentioned above make the Technics competitive with more expensive TTs for not a lot of tweak money. Each of the above tweaks will lower the noise floor, increase dynamics, frequency extension, and especially inner detail to compete with significantly more expensive turntables. Many cartridges work well on the fluid-damped tonearm. I've been using an Audio Technica AT150MLX to good effect for 7-1/2 years. The wood-bodied Grados get good reviews as does the Denond DL-103, especially the Zu-103 version. |
Robert Palmer Sneakin’ Sally Through The Alley Island 1974 Taking a lunch break. Man why can’t the world still be like this.... forgotten about richard tee playing on this album. Did you ever hear his bridge over troubled water. I mean, Larry Knechtel’s original is music for the ages but did you ever hear richard tee play it. Jaw dropping knee buckling. Anyway, forgot he was on this first robert palmer record. (I know i know, i shouldn't brag about my faults - my mother in law often had to remind me...). I have a couple of his solo records but i dont think they really have it. But when he was backing Simon or Gabriel, et. al. He could be unbelievably great. |
Son Volt Union Transmit Sound Records 2019 Pre-show flash of steel guitars and antique microphones. .... I like the Aladdin where they’re playing tonight. Tired from two long days of laying rebar but getting up for the show. This album is pretty spiffy. Nothing of the lately stuff though beats Honky Tonk: Hoping he plays some of those tunes. |
@wayne Jimmy Webb is one of my true american music heros. I mean, he writes this pop and sort of country stuff with so much feeling and appealing musicality, genres and styles I normally shun but his stuff is just so good. Do you have his El Mirage album? It has his own version of it (along with p.f.sloan and christian no - also both great tunes). I think it might be strange that I prefer his own weak voice on it over Glen Campbell’s as well as all the others. He did a couple of later recordings of it including a duet with Joe Cocker but i like the 1977 version of it best. This may be in large part due to me being completely susceptible to nostalgia - a thing Mr Webb excels at evoking. |
I just knew we were in for some Can. Far out Boxer. nice. @tomic601 i don’t have the 180 gm Later model houses of the holy but i think i read a long time ago in a thread on another forum site about the record in question that the boys on there don’t like it as much as they like certain older pressings or repressings but i cant remember the details. I have it ripped from my first gen CD. I honestly don’t know if CDs vary much.... but i still prefer it on vinyl at home. Even with the wear. Its late and i am undoubtedly rambling obvious nonsense. Thats funny though, your copy is like boxed wine.... |
More about servers - my wife likes pop country (i know, i know....) and I’m just never going to buy much of that. So she can hear whatever. The other great thing about my server/streamer is that it plays this one really excellent local jazz station here in a quite listenable manner, which is certainly not the case listening to their student budget broadcast on a tuner. |
Argent: now that is a great record. I love the sound of the leads on that album. @tomic601 I think servers are cool. You can run the music in them out through a nice sounding tube dac. And then, when you hear something good from it (maybe something somebody on here told you about playing that you’d forgotten about (like the amazingly great postings on here by 16f4 that take me back to school days when i wanted so many of those records but couldn’t get them all) or maybe even something you’ve never heard of, you can order the album and then really listen to the music. That is how I feel about it anyway. |
@tomic601 I had Warren Hile studio make a record cabinet for me. http://missionconceptsinc.com/ It turned out great. You’ve probably already thought of this but for me as I get older even the most wonderful records become less fun stored on lower shelves down near the floor. Also, records are very heavy: I think overbuilt is better. |
I think this is October..... +1 on Caroline Spence, Son Volt, et. al. Such a cool story about having Heart’s lead guitarist as a neighbor. I love my SL 1200 and don’t really accept or agree with the many criticisms of it. I think its solid and sounds better than digital. Right now I’m using a LO MC Hana SL with it on my good records and keep a mounted up Ortofon handy by for when I have to put it in 4 wheel drive. One thing to maybe keep in mind is that to be able to use its most excellent VTA dial you must use either a relatively tall cartridge (normal range) or wind up having to shim a short one (like the Hana). I suppose you could also get a thicker mat to make such an adjustment....). Anyway, some really nice results with Audio Technica carts can be achieved. (I’ll probably go back to an AT next). Much is written about these great machines on here and elsewhere. There is a really helpful guy named John on here that has great well proven ideas. I wont list them since you probably have already seen/known them. Also i was going to say that that extra bass you’re experiencing might be the 1200 in relationship to your particular phono stage. I have noticed that phenomenon. Hope you wind up liking it. |