Vinyl Records and Turntables Are Gaining Sales.

^^^

Please tell me ur eqip in detail. Ta.

Originally Posted by LabelKing

Click to expand...

They were a Japanese company from the '70s and '80s that was started by the man who now makes the Ikeda cartridges.

Mobile Fidelity used to use the FR-1 MK3F as their reference cartridge.

I had figured you would be a Koetsu man.

You have to respect these small boutique makers in Asia. Shindo, Koetsu, etc. Truly deserving of the artisan fan.

^^^

I figured LK for Audio Note Gaku-On.

Hell yeah!

Originally Posted by A Y

Click to expand...

Putting aside our disagreement on this, my argument had more to do with telling the provenance of an analog signal. There is nothing inherent in the digitally-sourced analog signal that gives away its origin as a digital signal. For example, to remove any consideration of resolution, if I output a sine wave from a digital source, and it's done correctly (no obvious looping artifacts, good reconstruction filters, dithered properly, etc.), you can't tell that it was digitally generated.

--Andre

Originally Posted by Artisan Fan

Click to expand...

I don't disagree with that although I know people who can readily tell digital sources vs. analog sources on a quality stereo system even with very quiet LPs.

I think where we disagree is how we much we each believe the digital source is sonically transparent to the analog source. In my opinion and a fair bit of experience, digital conversions, even very good ones, are not sonically transparent. I do see the gap narrowing every year, however.

You people must be like dogs with high frequency-- hearing things the rest of humanity cannot!

Originally Posted by eg1

Click to expand...

You people must be like dogs with high frequency-- hearing things the rest of humanity cannot!

Most people (men, especially) can't hear ****! That's why the numbers are so very, very important.

Originally Posted by audiophilia

Click to expand...

Most people (men, especially) can't hear ****! That's why the numbers are so very, very important.

I'll buy that -- sort of like:

Whose car is fastest?
Whose cellphone is smallest?
Who can pee higher on that tree?

And so on ...

Originally Posted by eg1

Click to expand...

I'll buy that -- sort of like: Whose car is fastest? Whose cellphone is smallest? Who can pee higher on that tree? And so on ...

It's like most things high-end. A timex tells the time as well as a patek, but for people that are really in to audio, it's worth spending extra money beyond functional improvements to get the intangibles that come with the ownership of finely crafted objects. I, for instance, had certain positive experiences with a brand I've mentioned altogether too many times at a young age that has created an affinity for their products that is unlikely to be surpassed by any other criteria. That said, there are definitely audible improvements in higher end equipment vs. the mass market stuff. The only relevant question is how much are you willing to pay for diminishing returns, and for most people that aren't completely obsessive, where is the point that spending more stops yielding major improvements? And there is also some total bullshit in the audiophile world, fancy cables being the #1 culprit imo. I'm sorry, but that $1000 power cord isn't doing **** for you. If you think it looks pretty, and the money is no big deal to you, that's cool, but please don't tell me it lifts a veil off the music.

Originally Posted by eg1

Click to expand...

I'll buy that -- sort of like:

Whose car is fastest?
Whose cellphone is smallest?
Who can pee higher on that tree?

And so on ...

As I have mentioned here in the past, among some audiophiles it really becomes a dick measuring contest. I think that gives the hobby a bad reputation.

For me, I just got into the hobby to hear more into the great jazz, classic rock, and classical recordings. I have a nice system but I built it up over thirty years, slowly piece by piece and I auditioned most of my components in my own listening room, one at a time, to make sure the synergy was there.

Over time I realized the most neutral sounding pieces allow one to build a great system much easier. I also came to understand the following:

1. The amp to speaker connection is the most critical factor in obtaining good sound. Get that right and you will be happy.

2. In terms of where to spend the money, the speaker is most important. That seems to be the typical limiting factor.

3. Room acoustics are incredibly important. Size and shape of the room and how it is furnished is really the other great determinant of sound in addition to the amp-speaker combination.

4. Good cables matter and, if you do vinyl, cleaning records matters. AC power conditioning also can make a difference but these tweaks are good to focus on when everything else is right.

5. There are some "giant killers" out there. The Jolida JD-9 is a superb phono stage for beer money; the Sony 5400 ES at $1,500 sounds almost as good as a $20,000 Meitner rig or the $5K Wadia. Cambridge Audio is unbelievable value for dollar as is the new V-series from Musical Fidelity. Perhaps the greatest deal right now in digital sources is the Oppo Blu-Ray machine. Fantastic. Good cheap cables are the Kimber Hero interconnect and 8TC speaker cable.

6. The Ikea Poang chair is a great inexpensive, good looking listening chair.

7. Don't take any of it too seriously; it's just a hobby. I think many get a little crazy with gear and are never satisfied with the sound. That is the path to mental illness. Buy good stuff but enjoy the music!

Originally Posted by Artisan Fan

Click to expand...

2. In terms of where to spend the money, the speaker is most important. That seems to be the typical limiting factor.
Years ago I knew Harold Beveridge, and occasionally he'd invite my friends and I to Santa Barbara to audition his speakers as they were being developed. He always used vinyl, at least when we were there, and his speaker designs allowed you to close your eyes and place each section of an orchestra. both left/right and front/back. I've heard this with other systems but not with this degree of accuracy.

Originally Posted by Artisan Fan

Click to expand...

5. Perhaps the greatest deal right now in digital sources is the Oppo Blu-Ray machine. Fantastic.

How does the Oppo perform with standard red book CDs? My Naim CDX has broken and I´m looking for a cost-effective universal player that will handle both CD and Blu-Ray.

Originally Posted by pinchi22

Click to expand...

How does the Oppo perform with standard red book CDs? My Naim CDX has broken and I´m looking for a cost-effective universal player that will handle both CD and Blu-Ray.

Decent but a better choice there if you like SACD is the Sony 5400 ES at $1,500 which is amazing all around. You would just give up DVD-Audio.

Originally Posted by Artisan Fan

Click to expand...

Decent but a better choice there if you like SACD is the Sony 5400 ES at $1,500 which is amazing all around. You would just give up DVD-Audio.


The Sony SACD players are excellent. Giving up on DVD-A? Not necessarily a bad thing!

Originally Posted by audiophilia

Click to expand...

The Sony SACD players are excellent. Giving up on DVD-A? Not necessarily a bad thing!

I have a friend who makes needledrops on DVD-Audio discs that are actually better than most of the commercial releases. Having an Avid Sequel helps a lot. 24/192 can sound just like listening to a reference system.

Please do a review on the Lyra Delos cartridge for your blog if you get a chance.

While we're on the subject of analog rebound, the ultimate analog playback is 15 IPS half track RTR . There's a company called The Tape Project releasing 1.5 generation original analog master tape dubs recorded in real time. They also due mods on great old prosumer machines like the Technics RS1500, as well as build tube tape head preamps.

Apparently, your $10k vinyl rig is firmly relegated to second fiddle status.

Originally Posted by freshcutgrass

Click to expand...

While we're on the subject of analog rebound, the ultimate analog playback is 15 IPS half track RTR . There's a company called The Tape Project releasing 1.5 generation original analog master tape dubs recorded in real time. They also due mods on great old prosumer machines like the Technics RS1500, as well as build tube tape head preamps.

Apparently, your $10k vinyl rig is firmly relegated to second fiddle status.

I hear the Tape Project tapes all the time and they are tremendously fine. They use them for demos in the Luxman room at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest and my friend Nick has two of them.

Very pricey though since they raised prices.