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The End of High End Audio.....


crd97086

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I am reading a paper by a fellow that is analyzing the 'Loudness' wars and the loss of dynamics, lack of contrast. That combined with what was talked about here, ie. poor care taken in actually miking strategy, it makes me at first blush never want to purchase a remastered album again. I know that is going to extremes, but I will look into feedback on albums more before purchasing in the future in hopes of finding comments that pertain to the actual sound qualtiy. I know that is tough to obtain in general as I have tried in the past, but I will be more thorough in the future. My audio components are just fine, it is the source that I need to concentrate on. Thanks for everyone's comments.

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I am always blown away at how my best recordings, 50s & 60s Jazz, sound fantastic

Amen to that! And even apart from jazz (and classical), where we expect good sound, listen to the early 60's recordings of Peter, Paul and Mary, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Roy Orbison, The Platters (50's?). Some stunning sound there!

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Listened to an interview with Keith Jarrett on NPR yesterday, talking about his new solo album 'Rio'. He said there were some things aboutthe piano that weren't quite right, but the recoding and performance is really nice. Recorded in Rio... You can hear some portions here:

http://player.ecmrecords.com/jarrett-rio/artist

Or listen to the interview on NPR:

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/14/142311136/keith-jarrett-alone-in-rio-and-ready-to-fail

Bruce

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Miles Davis's 'Kind of Blue' was, like alot of people, the first 'serious' jazz album I bought. This was back when my speakers were okay, but the electronics really sucked. Even then I could sense the quality of the recording. Now that I have good electronics, I truly appreciate that recording, and the music. In the paper I said I was reading, the author was trying to assess how much have terrible source material would affect album sales. Now that I am 'too picky', it certainly alters my buying habits. He also wondered how a generation brought up on poor source material would be effected in their future approach to recorded music. Interesting, but I am only concerned with the here and now:). I would have loved it if the recording industry has just done it correctly across the board. Oh well, I am glad that my Pop music days are well in the past.

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I'm not much into folk or whatever is...but I have a Columbia six-eye copy of "Rally Round" by the Brothers Four. It always amazes me of the recording quality when I listen to it.

Some of the "Space Age" albums of the early sixties exploiting the new medium of stereo, always seem to be well recorded. Or they just seem to sound really good.

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O.K., new definition of High End audio recording: Selected recordings made from about 1955 to 1975.

I have looked in vain for well recorded versions of the music on my lost Westminster Classical Sampler, c 1956. Those recordings were very dynamic, clear and full sounding. The Lp sounded great even on my first cartridge, and even better on a series of Ortofon moving coil cartridges later on. In this case, when I say "dynamic," I mean that the dynamic contrasts were very dramatic even though they were contained within a relatively narrow S/N ratio (I think really good Lps then had about a 60 dB unweighted S/N, not counting pops and clicks).

While we're at it, the following are better than all, or almost all, modern recordings:

Crystal Clear Records direct to disk recordings.

Some real time duplicated reel to reel tapes

Some of RCA's Living Stereo and Mercury Living Presense disks.

Believe it or not, the Reader's Digest version of Beethoven's Nine symphonies --- this set has been transfered by Chesky to CDs, and it doesn't sound as good!

Almost any 6 track recording for the 70 mm movies released in the '50s & '60s. There were a few clunkers, but most were terrific in the theater played on speakers that many High End people today would reject (Altec and JBL, especially the system packaged by Ampex for Todd-AO, using JBLs)

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Actually, there are a LOT more very HQ LPs than one can list. I have some rather oddball ones, such as a rebuilt band organ from the 1890s, that are really stunning. Another is a recording of Victorian music boxes that is so real it's hard to believe.

Many more. That's why LP junking missions are so awesome. Lonelobo and I went to a downtown San Antonio place today where we wound up looking wistfully through a chained door at over 90,000 discs we couldn't get at because the guy was off buying even more.

We were both a little relieved given the mass was completely intimidating!

We'll be back, or somewhere else, pawing through the stacks of well worn shellacs looking for sonic gold.

Regardless of the charms of CDs and other modern media, you don't get that thrill of discovery from it or the sudden "OMG" when the needles hits the groove and those SOUNDS are born again.

Dave

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Is the Victorian music box one on the Cook label? I have the Cook one, and it is so good!

Do you think it would be possible to capture virtually all of the quality of these old Lps in transfers to SACD or some other current HD medium?

I would say yes, I am no expert but have transfered many Casettes from the 80´s into Digital (Thanks Mallet for tips and tricks in many threads, it has helped). One which sticks in my mind is Leo Kottke - A Shout Toward Noon, recorded on Metal with my then Nakamichi RX-505 from LP and I cannot tell the cassett and the Digital appart.

If we can send a sonder to the Mars I think it would be possible to capture all the magic of Old Lps.

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Ya' know....too much thinking has really killed my recording's value......... I just put on Pink Floyd's the Wall........It is just so bland on CD. Strangely enough, I had a dream last night about how much better Vinyl is .......I am going to buy a phono preamp for my TT.........It has to be more dynamic........or I hope. Thanks much for the insight.

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Is the Victorian music box one on the Cook label? I have the Cook one, and it is so good!

Do you think it would be possible to capture virtually all of the quality of these old Lps in transfers to SACD or some other current HD medium?

No. Either Saydisc or Sydisc, can't recall for sure. My LPs are disarrayed at the moment due to moving my music room. It was a British specialy label, though. And, yes, you can transfer very well. Of course, the Powers won't let you make a SACD disc at reasonable price but you can use the same DSD 1 bit, 2.8 mhz rate if you get a Korg recorder. They give you Audiogate software you can use to either play it back or transcode to PCM. Even the rack mount units are within audiophile budget and recording doesn't get much better. I did an A/B with some pretty good ears present of the Virgil Fox direct to disc LPs which are about as good as it gets and no one could tell which was which. 24/88.2 is also a good choice if you don't want to spring for the Korg and assuming a good DAC you get a near perfect copy as well as the ability to downsample to 16/44.1 for CD with no loss other than inherent to the medium.

Dave

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You know......As have been illuciated by Sheltie Dave, he would be the knower of all wise things......et al........he is just the bomb in my audio mind....check him out in his previous posts! He so loves to be Self Righteous.........he would be the next thing to Christ ...........were he not!...........plllllllllllll....but I go on like the god fearin' christin woman I am...........

Really all I ask what is your ideal situation gentlemen..............what makes you happy..........do wonder why I get snappy........yes, bunch of women???? just get to the friggen point..............what makes ................YOU Haooyvyl,.....................or does it...................this would be a simple request..............................this would be how I would put it were I ......a real man...........by ya' lllllll.

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Kind Sir, you ask for honest oppinions and are a "straight up guy". Well, I gave you my honest oppinion to the post above mine.

I had no idea WHAT you were trying to say, thus my post. You are switching back and fourth between genders and are using words (Haooyvyl) which have absolutely no meaning at all.

Normally I do not post when things go neuclear but you Sir are a train wreck in person, just my humble oppinion be known. Rant away and in the future I will only read (just for the comic relief) your posts but will not answer them.

With 53 you have had a long (and I hope enjoyable) life and I wish you many more years.

Now take a chill pill and get back to the scheduled program.

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