The Audiophile Thread

[Jubal]

After purchasing the Pioneer SA-7500, I went with a BIC 980 turntable (and a Empire 1000z cartridge).
This is not my video either.

[Jubal]

After the amp and turntable, I needed some way to listen. These were my first cans.
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/thread...s-help.333447/

[Jubal]

I rushed to get speakers. I went to a place called Thieves Warehouse (yes, that was their name!). I got a pair of Electro-Voice EVS-15B 3-way speakers (10" woofer) for 155.00. I should have held off for another month. I could have gotten a pair of Interface As. Nevertheless, the EVS-15B were very good sounding speakers and lasted for about 20 years.

[Jubal]

I rushed to get speakers. I went to a place called Thieves Warehouse (yes, that was their name!). I got a pair of Electro-Voice EVS-15B 3-way speakers (10" woofer) for 155.00. I should have held off for another month. I could have gotten a pair of Interface As. Nevertheless, the EVS-15B were very good sounding speakers and lasted for about 20 years.

[Jubal]

My next purchase was this cassette deck so I could make mixed tapes. No, this isn't my video either. My deck also didn't have the optional wood cabinet.

[LASERCD]

I think I mentioned the Whest PS.30RDT, to you at one time. It's not a tubed unit but from all the reviews I've read from some well know audio mags, it gets a thumbs up. A good price point since I've decided to get a good phono stage before a preamp. Maybe you could name a couple of companies that excel in phono stages. Since I listen to so much vinyl, maybe I should stick with tubes.

I don't use a tube phono stage. If you really want one I would look at Audio Research.

[Jubal]

After the cassette deck, I decided it was time for a tuner. I wanted to start recording some radio shows.
I owned a JVC TV3 for about 12 years, and used a Radio Shack indoor power antennae with it (The plastic silver one that looked a bit like the USS Enterprise) . Like any tuner, it can only be as good as the antennae that captures the signal. It was very quiet and allowed precise tweaking, I bought mine new for 99.00.

I recorded about 100 Music From The Hearts of Space shows using that tuner. I suspect it was just as good as most tuners costing 5 times as much.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/JVC-T-V3-Ste...item4d2f0f690f

[Firth]

You guys should read this article:
http://www.digido.com/articles-and-d...to-analog.html
The Virtues of Analog Recording
Listening to a first generation 30 IPS 1/2" tape is like watching a fresh print of Star Trek at the Astor Plaza in New York. I believe that a finely-tuned 30 IPS 1/2" tape recorder is more accurate, better resolved, has better space, depth, purity of tone and transparency than many digital systems available today. Empirical observations have shown that you need a nominal "24-bit" A/D to capture the low-level resolution of 1/2" 30 IPS (if truth be told, the best converters only approach about 19-20 bit resolution in practice). It can also be argued that 1/2" tape has a greater bandwidth than 44.1 KHz or 48 KHz digital audio, requiring even higher sample rates to properly convert to digital. Listening tests corroborate this. 30 IPS analog tape has useable frequency response to beyond 30 KHz and a gentle (gradual) filter rolls off the frequency response. This translates to more open, transparent sound than any 44.1 kHz/16 bit digital recording I've heard. 1/2" 30 IPS analog tape has lots of information, like high resolution 35 mm film. 16-bit 44.1 KHz digital is like low-resolution video. As higher resolution (e.g. 96 Khz/24 bit) digital formats become the standard, maybe then we'll be able to say that digital recording is better than analog. But don't be fooled by the numbers; there's still some "magic" in the coloration of analog tape that we have not yet been able to reproduce in an all-digital recording, especially for popular music forms that often crave the sound of tape saturation. Analog tape has its own problems, but when operated within its linear range, unlike digital recording, it has never been accused of making sound "colder." However, digital recording has finally gotten good enough so that in acoustic music formats like classical and folk, some engineers are preferring digital recording's transparency over analog's warmth.

[Staun]

I have a 10in reel to reel and to these eas, it sounds amazing.

[Staun]

I've read that article before and it says there is some good and some bad in everything. Analog or digital, it can be a struggle for sure. Take your pick is the short version.

[Pr33t]

Staun, I will defer to others here to speak to your questions/musings about tubes. I subscribe to the no-muss no-fuss school of life and it seems to me that tubes are for people who don't mind fiddling with things (biasing, rolling, etc.). There are some who think that introducing tubes in one component is sufficient to getting the sound they're after. So going with a tubed preamp and a SS power amp might be a good approach. I've also heard of others who have bought a tubed CD player and used SS amps.

I follow the former approach - tube pre-amp into SS amp. Staun, based on previous discussions, and your Dynavector, I'd suggest researching in this direction (I have an integrated pre-amp, so I'm of no help with stand-alone phono stage recommendations). We all know how subjective it is, but this pairing has brought me the 'warmth' that I was really looking for, as I am 95% vinyl playback when using my stereo at home. Tube rolling can be pretty fun, but it is just as easy to find a pairing you like and ride with it, teh no-muss no-fuss Stan way. I have a buddy with the same pre-amp as I do who has gotten obsessive about tube rolling, so I get my enjoyment out of going to his place and letting him play around with combos that I can then decided whether or not to pursue at home.

[Staun]

I follow the former approach - tube pre-amp into SS amp. Staun, based on previous discussions, and your Dynavector, I'd suggest researching in this direction (I have an integrated pre-amp, so I'm of no help with stand-alone phono stage recommendations). We all know how subjective it is, but this pairing has brought me the 'warmth' that I was really looking for, as I am 95% vinyl playback when using my stereo at home. Tube rolling can be pretty fun, but it is just as easy to find a pairing you like and ride with it, teh no-muss no-fuss Stan way. I have a buddy with the same pre-amp as I do who has gotten obsessive about tube rolling, so I get my enjoyment out of going to his place and letting him play around with combos that I can then decided whether or not to pursue at home.

After weighing everything that Laser, Bob and others have said on the subject, this may be the best compromise, one that I can live with. The sticking point is the phono stage. Tube or not to tube.

[BobM]

My vote will always be tubes, even with a LOMC cartridge you can get a step up transformer to get that added gain you might need.

[Staun]

Again, my Sumiko BP2 is a very nice cart, but the soundstage and channel separation of the Dynavector 10x5 is superior IMO. Laser has suggested Audio Research as a good place to look at tubed stages.

[LASERCD]

Audio Research is a solid company that has been around forever. Not the alpha or the omega (well actually they were the alpha of the hi-end) but reliably great products. Lots of other good tube phono manufacturers out there at all price points.

[LASERCD]

I follow the former approach - tube pre-amp into SS amp. Staun, based on previous discussions, and your Dynavector, I'd suggest researching in this direction (I have an integrated pre-amp, so I'm of no help with stand-alone phono stage recommendations). We all know how subjective it is, but this pairing has brought me the 'warmth' that I was really looking for, as I am 95% vinyl playback when using my stereo at home. Tube rolling can be pretty fun, but it is just as easy to find a pairing you like and ride with it, teh no-muss no-fuss Stan way. I have a buddy with the same pre-amp as I do who has gotten obsessive about tube rolling, so I get my enjoyment out of going to his place and letting him play around with combos that I can then decided whether or not to pursue at home.

Lets see what you say after Sunday.

[Staun]

Lets see what you say after Sunday.

Ooooh, I want to hear the results of this.

[Pr33t]

Lets see what you say after Sunday.

I think I'm just going to have to give up after Sunday.

[Pr33t]

I think I'm just going to have to give up after Sunday.

Well, I haven't fully given up yet, but my mind is still blown from having heard Ken's system yesterday (I'm listening to opening day baseball on the radio instead of my own stereo ). I had no doubts that it would sound amazing, but experiencing it was an entirely different thing.

Clarity, transparency, sound stage, three-dimensionality - all these somewhat abstract and subjective things we discuss when we're talking about sound quality were tangible. The things I've understood in theory were finally there for me to actually understand. The real killer in the beginning was the smoking Japanese Bitches Brew fusion. This was an object lesson in sound stage - I could see exactly where each player would have been if they were playing live in the room, just feet in front of me. Moving on to things I'm intimately familiar, Genesis "Cinema Show" - cliche, but a lot of it was like hearing it for the first time. When it segued into "Aisle of Plenty" at the end, the hairs stood up on my arms when Gabriel comes in. You could actually feel, rather than just hear.

We played some digital hi-res at the end to get a different taste of things. It took me well over a minute to recognize something I've heard a hundred times before - "Welcome to the Machine." Not only was it incredibly detailed, it was completely and utterly enveloping; truly three dimensional.

I cursed Ken many times yesterday for ruining my future ability to appreciate the kind of system I can afford

[Jerjo]

And what beer was served?

[Staun]

Lets see what you say after Sunday.

Why don't you just box up your system, send it to me, I'll say thank you, and everyone will be happy.

[Staun]

Well, I haven't fully given up yet, but my mind is still blown from having heard Ken's system yesterday (I'm listening to opening day baseball on the radio instead of my own stereo ). I had no doubts that it would sound amazing, but experiencing it was an entirely different thing.

Clarity, transparency, sound stage, three-dimensionality - all these somewhat abstract and subjective things we discuss when we're talking about sound quality were tangible. The things I've understood in theory were finally there for me to actually understand. The real killer in the beginning was the smoking Japanese Bitches Brew fusion. This was an object lesson in sound stage - I could see exactly where each player would have been if they were playing live in the room, just feet in front of me. Moving on to things I'm intimately familiar, Genesis "Cinema Show" - cliche, but a lot of it was like hearing it for the first time. When it segued into "Aisle of Plenty" at the end, the hairs stood up on my arms when Gabriel comes in. You could actually feel, rather than just hear.

We played some digital hi-res at the end to get a different taste of things. It took me well over a minute to recognize something I've heard a hundred times before - "Welcome to the Machine." Not only was it incredibly detailed, it was completely and utterly enveloping; truly three dimensional.

I cursed Ken many times yesterday for ruining my future ability to appreciate the kind of system I can afford

Maybe Laser could sell tickets so we audio challenged can come by for a listen. Great review.

[LASERCD]

And what beer was served?

Dominion Candi tripel

[Pr33t]

Dominion Candi tripel

This was quite nice as well, but somewhat forgotten after the music started.

[BobM]

It is clear he has ruined you, probably inadvertently killed your marriage and your future credit rating, will put you in debt up to your eyeballs, and make you a member of the "Carlberg knows nothing" club!