Van Halen - S/T
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Heatwave-Central Heating Side 2 BTO-Best Of BTO(So Far) Side 2 Van Morrison-Beautiful Vision Side 2 Stevie Ray Vaughan-Couldn't Stand The Weather Side 2 Michael Hedges-Watching My Life Go By Side 1 Mendelssohn-Octet(RCA Red Seal ARL1-2532) Side 1 John Coltrane-Coltrane Plays The Blues(70's pressing) Side 1 Noel Pointer-Phantazia Side 1 |
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. |
Eric - sorry, I should have stated I am back in Seattle and playing LP, Server RIPs, Cassettes ( long live the Nak you sold me ) , etc.... Traveller is a RIP from the CD and sounds great :-) I caught him live in Asheville right after it came out and man can he play... you are right not available on LP ( sadly ) |
Pulled out one of my two mysterious South Korean box sets. This LP : Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 by Salvatore Accardo. Kurt Masur conducting the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig & Saint-Saens Violin Concerto No. 3 by Arthur Grumiaux. Manuel Rosenthal conducting Orchestre des Concerts Lamoureux. Originally released by Philips and Philips Label. Fantastic pressing. |
Hey @tomic601, was the Alone Together reissue done with the "splatter" vinyl of the original? I have the copy I bought when it was first released, along with a 180g pressing (still sealed) done as part of MCA's Heavy Vinyl series (in the late-90's, iirc), A great, great album. Four drummers are listed in the credits (Jim Capaldi, Jim Gordon, Jim Keltner---Jim, Jim, Jim!, and John Barbata), all greats. |
@slaw, I have the MCA Heavy Vinyl Buddy Holly, and the Analogue Productions version of that same album will be here tomorrow. On the front of the MCA cover the hype sticker has this quote from Fremer: "Music erupts out of total silence from these thick, 180 gram virgin vinyl discs with a velvety smoothness, spaciousness and ultra-high resolution that stuns even the most committed CD diehard." The back cover provides these technical details: "Digitally transferred from original Coral monaural masters by Paul Elmore at MCA Studios, Glendale, CA." At the time of that transfer, digital technology was still rather primitive. The Analogue Productions version is pure analogue, so a comparison of the two will be interesting. |
Speaking of Analogue Productions (as I did above), their retail arm Acoustic Sounds is now my favorite source for new "audiophile" LP’s. Great stock, reasonable prices, free shipping with a $49.99 purchase (a coupla LP’s), and the best shipping cartons I’ve seen, with 12" cardboard fillers and bubble wrap inside. Amazon is great for mass-produced titles, and free shipping with a $25 purchase. Their packaging is very good, though not equal to that of AS. Their prices fluctuate day-to-day, sometimes apparently according to the number of copies in stock. That the Bear Family Buddy Miller LP’s are available through Amazon surprises me, for some reason. There is a German fella posting videos on YouTube, under the moniker 45RPM Analogue. He reviews LP's from all the audiophile companies, commenting on the recorded sound quality, the mastering and pressing, the cover and label, and of course the music. He must have a fair amount of disposable income, 'cause he spends a LOT on records! He's a charming, likeable guy, and I really like his videos. I found him through another YouTube poster, Norman Maslov, another interesting record collector. He covers audiophile pressings, but only marginally, his focus being on the music itself. He has done a lot of videos, all very entertaining. Two guys worth checking out. |
@ bdp24, Ever ordered from www.elusivedisc.com The do all that then DBL box lps. Got the Buddy Holly in the Vibrato. |
Yep @slaw, Elusive Disc is good too. They’ve been my first stop for a few years now, especially for MoFi’s. They have some OOP titles too, but a little overpriced imo. I’ve found a great little record shop locally, a husband/wife team who sell LP’s only. What makes them great is that all their LP’s are in what I consider VG+ or better condition, many M-. I don’t buy anything but M or M- myself, being patient enough to wait for them. My musical taste being what it is, the titles I look for aren’t that much in demand, so are usually under $10, even for Mint copies. I’m still wary of ebay, buying sealed LP’s only. |
@bdp24 I’m still wary of ebay It depends. If you find a good reputable seller on eBay, it isn’t a bad way to go. I just bought a batch of classical LP’s from a seller on eBay, whom I’ve bought from before, they are always in very very good shape, and also good pricing. He also play grades all his LP’s, not just a visual. If there is ever an issue, he seems very open to listening. Finding these smaller volume sellers on eBay is nice to find. In general, I’ve had pretty good luck on eBay. On the other hand, I’ve usually purchased through Discogs, but my last three or four purchases have all had issues. Poor grading, a strange ‘film’ on one of the ‘M-‘ albums I bought, that was probably a pressing issue, and unplayable, and the last, a nice deep knife cut though one of the LP’s, probably done during packaging, and probably a utility knife. I sent the seller pics, and he blamed me (in a very unprofessional way) for doing the damage opening the box and trying to rip him off. Seriously. Strange thing was, all the others were fine, and some of the best graded LP’s I’ve bought. Not sure what is going on on Discogs, either I have ran into a batch of bad luck, or perhaps the overall quality of sellers are not up to par, and I’ve just been more lucky prior. I still have a couple other batches coming from Discogs sellers I’m trying out, and hoping I can find a good reputable dealer I can do repeat business with......or, as you, get out there and find good local shops. We do have a few in the Cleveland area, but many seem over-priced for used vinyl. |
More often than not, I’ve had poor experiences on Discogs Any of you tried www.audiophileusa.com I've been using them for years but quite a lot in the last year. They have a good ongoing/always changing selection. Somewhat on the high side but when you factor in the disappointment that you get from places like Discogs that you don't get here and not having to get out in the Covid, it's a good value. |
@slaw Any of you tried www.audiophileusa.com Thanks Steve, I’ve bookmarked it. Yea, a bit higher in price, but may be worth it. I’ve been checking out Presto Classical for new classical stuff, and they usually run specials. There comes to a point where buying from sources like these may be worth it over the long haul. I just love getting 6-12 albums in great shape for $25, or less 😉 |
