MeloManiac

In the mean time, you can read this very inspiring Steve Huff review, with the H4 in the centre piece! https://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2020/12/23/hifi-the-willsenton-r8-integrated-tube-amplifier-is-a-no-brainer-buy/

I want to honor the late Carl Sagan. Around the beginning of the 1980s, he created a hugely popular tv series about the cosmos, science and humanity. It introduced me to the world of science. And the series also introduced me to the world of music. I watched it on Belgian national television together with my dad, and we even visited a local astronomy club together, inspired by what we saw on television. I still have fond memories of my night out with my dad, who sadly passed away in 2015. Dr. Sagan also took great care in selecting the music for the series: classical music, traditional folk, blues (Roy Buchanan), Japanese synthesizer music (Osao Tomita), Vangelis... His taste was extremely varied and eclectic at the same time. In a way, he has profoundly influenced my taste and love for all genres of music!

Welcome to the forum! A good tube integrated amp, a streamer and a turntable are really all you need!

I've read this before, here on the forum and elsewhere, so - being technically challenged - I thought the time had come to do some more research about this to finally get a grip on this. I found this place, where it is explained in a pretty good way, with an nice table to conclude: https://www.quora.com/Are-sensitivity-and-efficiency-in-speakers-the-same-thing#:~:text=Sensitivity is the sound pressure,power applied to the speaker. Sensitivity is the output sound pressure level that is measured at 1m when 1 Watt of power is being consumed. It is expressed in dB. Efficiency is the ratio of acoustical output power to electrical input power, measured in watts, expressed as a percentage. The acoustical measurement is taken at 1m from the loudspeaker. This table helps me better understand things now. For instance, why my Klipsch RP160M (95dB) speakers are easily driven by my 12 W Leben amp, while that same amp struggles with the KEF LS50 Meta (83dB). The klipsch are 10x more efficient. Now I also understand how it is possible to drive monster size speakers like the Klipschorns and La Scalas with a measly 3 watt amplifier: these speakers have a 105dB sensitivity, so a lot of the 3 watt you put in, comes out as accoustic energy. I guess most speakers companies will use the first column to 'brag' about their speaker. "Hey, this is our $20,000 speaker set with 83dB sensitivity" sounds much better than "Hey, this is our $20,000 speaker set with 0.125% efficiency."🤣

About the Columbia Logo, at least part of the mystery solved... https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/Columbia_Records#:~:text=The logo was originally supposed,unaware of its original meaning.

Does anybody know what is meant by "MONO' and '360 Sound' on this Bob Dylan album? Wikipedia only confuses me even more: "The term "Stereo 360 Sound" was originally used in the labelling of "LP" records released by Columbia Records in the early thru mid 1960s...As mono and stereo LPs were released during this time, the "Stereo 360 Sound" logo was situated in a rectangular box with two arrows pointing in opposite directions which appeared on the top of the LP cover (only on stereo releases) adjacent to the "walking eye" logo. This practice ended roughly in 1968 when compatible stereo albums were released, thus mono LPs were phased out of production." So they used the '360 Sound' slogan both for mono and stereo albums? Why speak of the 'walking eye' logo? To me, the logo represents speakers on stands with sound waves visualised. Another rather bizarre claim is 'Nonbreakable'. What's going on here?

This video is about the lie concerning sensitivity and efficiency of speakers. Although I'm technically challenged, I understood enough of it to cherish even more my 1972 Heresy speakers (8 ohm) and my 12 Watt Leben CS300. This is the first time I watched a John DeVore video and I think he is a great guy, and he surely chooses the same side as the Klipsch speaker design!

I wonder if Spotify can sell that info to third parties. They can easily derive your political preferences, left, right, Democrat, republican from your Playlist etc. Now they can determine even your mood and sell that info as well. Scary big brother stuff if you come to think of it...

Source: https://www.stereophile.com/content/analog-corner-289-ortofon-anna-diamond-mc-phono-cartridge An amazing picture from a Michael Fremer, of a high end Ortofon mc needle. It is disheartening to see how dust is sticking to the stylus. This surely must affect the sound, unless they calculate it into it. This is a picture from the Ortofon website, showing the same needle, dust free https://www.ortofon.com/mc-anna-diamond-p-898

x1600??? These things are amazing. I have seen ads on FB about them. Please post pictures here once you have some of them.

I looked at it and it is a very interesting product. I live in Europe, Belgium. When I click on 'buy international' I immediately am diverted to the PayPal site. There is no information on postage and taxes/import duties. I contacted them for information about that. I don't want any unpleasant surprises afterwards.

The Mani was on my shortlist too, but here in Europe, retail price is 189 euro ($200), which is a bit steep compared to the competition. Also, I 've read some negative experiences with after sales support. The Vincent was used by the previous owner of the Leben CS300. I'll definitely look into that.

I now remember 'Owner of a Lonely Heart', which has this incredible, orchestral chord sample in it. Don't even know how to describe it! Neither does Wikipedia: " For the "whizz, bangs and gags" sound effects, Horn used the Fairlight (programmed by J. J. Jeczalik). According to musician Questlove, "Owner of a Lonely Heart" contained the first use of a sample as a breakbeat, as opposed to a sound effect.[23]" The three exisiting music videos are quite bizarre, I must say...

I thought I could get away with it, but you're right, of course. So here it is, my only YES-related track in my vinyl collection. Jon Anderson sings 'So long ago, so clear'. This is actually on one of the very first albums I bought myself, back in the 1980s. Its pricetag says 450 Belgian Franks, which is something like 11 euros nowadays. A 'best of' Vangelis double LP. I was all into Cosmos at the time (documentary made by Carl Sagan).

That's an amazing turntable, Sir! https://www.tonepublications.com/old-school/denon-dp-62l-direct-drive-turntable/

For me, YES has been one of the 'black holes' in my musical journey, up to now. I only know Jon Anderson from his collaborations with Vangelis. So I thought I would start with Fragile, which I like a lot, and it sounds fantastic! Rick Wakeman, btw, must be some alien coming from space... According to Wikipedia, he has made 93 (!) solo albums between 1971 and 2012... Where do you even start?

On a more serious note, when I first got my RP160M speakers, I found the rubber around the woofer and the material around the tweeter to be 'sticky', literally. Using a dry cloth, I was unable to remove the dust. I remember asking people here on this forum if it was a good idea to use damp cloth. Which I do now, of course, but I never use detergents.

Ok, stupid question, perhaps, but you never know. You don't happen to have a household pet like a cat or a dog licking those copper cones, from time to time, do you? Or worse, a perfectionist cleaning lady or partner who, behind your back, thinks she's (or he) helping you by applying a good dose of Dettol to your speakers? When I used to have a cleaning lady, I specifically told her that my audio corner was a no-go zone, ever. This was after she had 'attacked' my tube amp with a mean looking Swiffer thingy almost destroying my delicate EL84 tubes...

No alcohol! See the manual!

Yes, there are only three feet. But on the Carbon, you can turn them to ajust the height.

The eponymous Prince album on a funky Sunday afternoon

@AndreG. I bought my special edition essential III new for a very low price (180 euro), and for that price it is a fine sounding turntable. I have been using it quite intensively for two years now, and in my opinion, it does have some shortcomings: I miss the auto return function (when the end of side A is reached, it continues to turn until I manually bring back the arm and turn it off) A while ago, the volume in the right channel would drop, or be silent completely. I first thought it was a problem with the amplifer, but then I opened the connection box on the underside of the turntable (where the audio out is). It was very flimsily built so I poked my finger against the thin cables a couple of times (... I'm technically challenged...) and closed it again. The problem was solved just by doing that. I wish the feet could be adjusted I wish the tone arm was not plastic, but carbon I considered upgrading the Ortofon OM10 to the OM20, but haven't done that. They can still be found, but the Ortofon OM series of needles is obsolete, I found out. If I take all the above into account, I think that that other Pro-Ject turntable, the Debut Carbon, would be a better investment: https://www.project-audio.com/en/category/turntables/debut-line/

Prince's debut... On which he played all the instruments and did all the voices. When he was 17 or so...

My Made-in-China "I am Nobody' phone stage is going to move to my den to accompany my TubeCube 7. I need phonostage to meet the quality of my Leben CS300 better, to connect it with my Pro-ject Essential 3 (Ortophon OM10 stylus). I have two or three well-reviewed candidates that fit my budget, but I cannot make up my mind: The iFi Zen Phono: https://ifi-audio.com/products/zen-phono/ 149 euro The Rega Fono Mini A2D: https://www.rega.co.uk/products/fono-mini-a2d 129 euro And then there are the various Pro-ject phono preamps, Phono Box 'whatever' in the same price range. The Zen Phono is for both MM and MC needles, but most reviewers say you need something much better if you ever buy an MC needle.The Rega comes with a usb port for digitizing albums, which I will never use. Help and insight would be greatly appreciated.

And even if you turn it off, you never know if you *really* turned it off...