Mallette

Well, if you are anywhere near here's your chance for a double barreled dose of music and music history. Aside from the Regional Music Heritage Center, I also serve on the Arkansas Municipal Auditorium Commission which is working towards a complete restoration of this building. It is considered a temple of music in Europe and I've had European visitors break into tears in Elvis dressing room and such. Elvis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many others played this stage regularly in the early 50s before they became well known. Elvis loved it here and spent many weekends here dating local girls, several of whom are still around. Many other greats outside rock, like Louis Armstrong, played here as well. Great acoustics. The Texarkanon complete performance will use 8 channel sound in a circle, plus subwoofer. There will be both projected imagery synced to the music, gobos of various types, and possibly laser as well. It's going to be quite a multimedia experience. Folk will come and go, of course, given the 17 hour duration. Did this in Sketchup, VRay Renderer, and Photoshop. Might as well throw in a plug for our other interesting event much sooner...next week, in fact. First public access to this railway car which once ran through here and will open as a diner and trainspotting place next week. As always, Klipsch Forum members are welcome in my home for any of these events, space available. Just PM me. Dave

Sing, Sing, Sing is a double sided 11" disc, so perhaps 12 minutes, but Muskrat ramble only a single sided 10" disk. Didn't do anything to make them loop but I suppose it's possible. You might check your player settings as well. I didn't do anything but spot check the mp3 versions. Dave

You went to a lot more trouble with this post than I. I ignored it. However, agree with your thoughts. Having done this for a very long time now I have come to realize that only those who get to know this team really understand how different we are, and yet how closely we work together and never confuse disagreement with disrespect. Dave

Stanton 500AL with 78 stylus will work well. Also Shure M44 with correct stylus. Audio-Technica VM670SP is a good one at 150.00. Shure M78S at about the same price. Ortofon 2M 78 is excellent at 125.00. Grado 78C is another excellent one. Lots of debate over whether the cartridge should be "true mono" or not. I've not heard a great deal of difference. However, the BIG difference comes with the addition of the RekOKut Re-equalizer at a bit over 300.00. It provides over 50 different curves and goes in line with the RIAA phono preamp you have already. For that, Technolink TC-778 is a fine choice at less than 70.00 or so. Actually, it may be the biggest bargain in outboard phono preamps as I find the sound of it to be quite excellent for modern LPs as well. It means you can use a TT with interchangeable head shells to switch back and forth for either use. Same is sold under the RekOKut brand for a little more money. So, turntable not included, your at about 500.00 to get to the upper tier of hearing 78s in ways you probably never experienced. The best of them are "hard to believe" good. If you prefer to save money you can play them with the correct stylus in RIAA mode and then use digital means to apply EQ to get the best sound. I learned what I have by gradually doing it, the RekOKut being the last and largest expenditure as I like to play them directly...though I also record the best ones. As to turntable, as long as it is in decent shape most will do as the speed of 78s produces much less rumble and the high tracking forces mean much less compliance as well in other areas. Any old quality table in good condition will do. Acoustically recorded disks have NO eq applied. Every electrical record producer had a different EQ to start...hence the need for the RekOKut or other means to correct. As you get into the 40s they get closer and closer together. Some of the earliest LPs were recorded with NAB EQ, which the RekOKut has a setting for. Yeah, like all things audio, it's a rabbit hole...but one with a finite bottom unless you really get crazy. I think the 500.00 I mentioned would satisfy all but the most equipment crazed music lover. 150.00 or so if you are good with the EQ correct by other means method. Later 78s sound often sound excellent with nothing but RIAA and the right cartridge, so you might just start with than and expand if you find you want to play a wider variety of these old relics. I can guarantee you this: You will hear recordings that sound better than anyone ever heard them at the time as the recording technology greatly exceeded the available playback technology at the time. I love both "time traveling" with these records as well as wowing people who've never heard them played properly. How good? Well, try the Kid Ory "Muskrat Ramble" from 1926...90 years old! Also perhaps the finest drumming I've ever heard with Gene Krupa/Benny Goodman doing "Sing, Sing, Sing." Both are minimum compression mp3 files but I think you'll get the idea. Muskrat_RambleOry.mp3 SingSingSing.mp3

You probably know this, but some don't. Angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence. And it is the same with all waves.

Well, that is definitely ultrasonic for earthlings... Dave

80hz? Never knew the frequencies involved, but since it it referred to as "ultrasonic" presumed them to be 20khz or more. 80hz is anything but ultrasonic and I'd think that even when transmitted to liquid vibrations loud enough to do anything would be clearly audible. Dave

Yes, that's it. Couldn't recall if I'd put it up or not but apparently didn't. I have decided to hunt down copies of the other 11 volumes of the RCA Jazz Encyclopedia. The one I posted is really great stuff well transcribed from 78s. Dave

It was, quite literally, my pleasure, Dave. Your picture didn't make it, at least to my computer. Dave

Okies, here's the other two. Louis Armstrong and the All Stars, Decca DL5279 from 1950 and RCA LEJ2, Volume 2 of the RCA Victor Encyclopedia of Recorded Jazz from 1956. Both are 10' LPs, the Armstrong being NAB equalized and the other RIAA. I recorded them at 24/88.2 but the files here are maximum quality MP3 (320kbps constant bit rate) to save Klipsch server space. I found the RCA one of the best 78 transfers I've ever heard. The Beiderbecke recording that is first is from 1930 and is REALLY quiet and clean. The piano from the 40s by Barbara Carroll is the best piano of that age I've ever heard and better than a lot of modern recordings. I have the bug to hunt down some Beiderbecke records to see if any of the originals sound as good as this transfer. As Louis Armstrong said "All de cats done tried, but ain't nobody blowed like him yet!" And he meant even himself. Nobody played with the effortless grace of Bix and he invented almost all the jazz licks used by Louis and jazz trumpeters ever since. Incredible composer and pianist as well, with "In a Mist" being one of his best. Dave DL5279.mp3 LEJ2.mp3

Got the other two transferred. Will need to edit (not the sound, just breaks and such as I did it all as one file) before converting to mp3 for upload. The 24/88.2 sounds great. I got to thinking how exciting it was in the early years of the growth of audiophiles as improvements in quality were coming out every few years. RIAA and FFR recordings in the late 40s, microgroove LPs in the early 50s, Westrex stereo in the mid-50s, and then reel to reel tape. And, of course, the cassette in the late 60s and a lot of abortive related technology like Elcassette and LP surround sound. New speakers, new turntables, new, new new!. It was so exciting. These disks were certainly exciting to those who invested in their first 33.33 RPM turntable and cartridge. And, they still are when in good shape and played properly. More when I post them. Dave

Great idea and I am sure these work well. OTOH, wouldn't have helped my first project as it had a chemical buildup on it from something I never figured out. As it was adhered, this wouldn't have helped. And, of course, you still don't have the permanent static protection. Dave

The Louis Armstrong record sounds marvy. I'll get an mp3 of it up as well in the next few days. Dave

Okies, here's the whole Artie Shaw and his Gramercy 5 album. It's beyond copyright. Thought about uploading it as 24/88.2, but figured some might not be able to handle that, plus file size, and this is a 320, constant bit rate, mp3. It sounds pretty close to the high res version. The Columbia image is a record of about the same vintage from the same batch that hasn't been cleaned. Some of that is mold, particularly nasty stuff. 001 is the Shaw album cover, 004 is the record itself after cleaning, and 003 is the album notes. Let me know what you think. If you want the high res I can upload it to my ftp site and tell you how to get it. Dave Gramercy.mp3

While I wait, I'll mention one other thing I consider essential to the best listening of old recordings, the RekOKut Re-equalizer. Easily installed, it goes after your phono preamp and at line level. I have it in my processor loop and set up so that either my LP or 78 TT can be sent through it. Actually, I leave it in the loop all the time along with the other essential, DBX expander, but bypassed when not needed. From the first electrical recordings (acoustic recordings used no EQ since there was no way to reverse it in an all mechanical system) curves were used. These varied wildly by label but gradually converged into the RIAA standard in the mid-50s. The newer the recording, the more acceptable it is with RIAA...but the older ones improve a LOT when properly matched. This can be done by ear, and I find that best, though the RekoKut comes with the curves for the majority of labels by year. The difference can be downright amazing and I have some recordings that are 80 years old that sound better than some current ones when it comes to impact and presence. NOTHING like hearing a great 40s Benny Goodman/Gene Krupa when it's "in your face" real. Not a great photo, but enough to give you an idea of what the RekoKut does.