Tell us about your stereo!
- Thread starter Hepcat
- Start date
Craig in Indy
Your cool Uncle
In general I think you're right, but only if the LPs are decent to begin with. I may differ from others here in my thinking about this, but IMO the average, garden-variety pop/rock LP, particularly those produced in the '70s when vinyl (the actual vinyl, I mean) was almost universally crappy, are far from audiophile-quality. They may still be better than the first or second run of CDs that replaced them initially, but in my own collection they're now replaced by my own CD copies of the LPs and not by a record company's misguided "remastering." There are a few exceptional LPs here and there, especially with imports, but I'd say 90%+ of my collection has no real audiophile value. Those records that do, I'm planning to keep, as well any otherwise collectible discs.
Don't get me wrong - I'm firmly in the camp that believes the best analog setups beat the pants off the best digital setups. It's just that IMO most of the available analog software isn't up to snuff.
Are you saying they have more layers than stereo and 5.1? Would they have a 3.1 layer for example?
SACDs will usually have multiple layers, but it depends on the disc and how its makers intended to market it. Some are SACD-playable only (Sony/Columbia was the main culprit in producing these), and they may have only a 2-channel layer, or they may have a 2-channel layer and a 5.1-channel layer. Hybrids have one or more of the aforementioned SACD layers, plus a 2-channel redbook CD layer.
Craig in Indy
Your cool Uncle
I have a small handful of direct-disc LPs that are exceptionally nice sounding. I've got a couple of Sheffield classicals (Prokofiev and Wagner) and a stringband trio bluegrass-ish album, all of which are terrific. The Prokofiev especially is stunning. It's one of the suites from his Romeo and Juliet.
Craig in Indy
Your cool Uncle
I like your combination Craig, and I am sure it would fit nicely in my listening room.
I like your sentiment, LG. It's a real shame we can't hear one another's setup and a good old time listening to the music.
Hepcat
retired
I agree. Direct to disc sounds awesome but in effect the recordings must be cut "live" in the studio.
I have only one at this time by Wild Child Butler:
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Craig in Indy
Your cool Uncle
Other Stuff
Rounding out the system as it is now is this tank of an old Denon analog tuner that I got in a trade with a high-end shop in Milwaukee about 30 years ago. It doesn't see much use, mainly because of the crappy nature of over-the-air radio broadcasts in the US, but I'm hanging onto it anyway:
And for really critical listening I have a pair of Sennheiser HD-600 cans:
And in the miscellaneous category I have a couple of semi-retired Denon disc players and a Denon 3-head cassette deck that I can't quite part with. And a few cheapo Sennheiser and Audio-Technica headphones and some IEMs for other uses like iPod listening, and guitar and digital piano output. Probably some other stuff I'm forgetting, too, considering how long I've been collecting all this stuff.
Rounding out the system as it is now is this tank of an old Denon analog tuner that I got in a trade with a high-end shop in Milwaukee about 30 years ago. It doesn't see much use, mainly because of the crappy nature of over-the-air radio broadcasts in the US, but I'm hanging onto it anyway:
And for really critical listening I have a pair of Sennheiser HD-600 cans:
And in the miscellaneous category I have a couple of semi-retired Denon disc players and a Denon 3-head cassette deck that I can't quite part with. And a few cheapo Sennheiser and Audio-Technica headphones and some IEMs for other uses like iPod listening, and guitar and digital piano output. Probably some other stuff I'm forgetting, too, considering how long I've been collecting all this stuff.
Keep your Denon Cassette deck...I almost bought an Akai deck off e-bay two years ago...it's not that I needed it but once I was involved in bidding I came so close to ending up with it...
I still use my Yamaha deck, it is not that old and with my Maxell-S tape it is so close to CD quality it's hard to tell the difference. I have been recording some of the albums I have "Found" laying around that I am not sure I want on CD, so I convert them to WAV tape them and then archive them in FLAC with CUE sheets in case I ever want to make a CD later. Plus I love playing around with this stuff, analog or digital doesn't matter to me it's all fun.
I still use my Yamaha deck, it is not that old and with my Maxell-S tape it is so close to CD quality it's hard to tell the difference. I have been recording some of the albums I have "Found" laying around that I am not sure I want on CD, so I convert them to WAV tape them and then archive them in FLAC with CUE sheets in case I ever want to make a CD later. Plus I love playing around with this stuff, analog or digital doesn't matter to me it's all fun.
Hepcat
retired
Craig in Indy said:
I lean toward the belief that "imaging/soundstage" is a much overrated concept, at least for rock music. After all, a home sound system is supposed to replicate as much as possible the concert experience. But in a concert the instruments and vocals are not heard from any point on stage; they're heard from massive speakers off to the side and above the performers.
I disagree a little Hepcat, a CD or vinyl album is designed to reproduce the best possible version of the songs as they were recorded in the studio, and when I listen to a studio recording I am trying to get as close to being in the room with them as possible, live albums I agree with you, they are trying to recreate the feeling of "Being There" at the concert.
It's when they get on stage and do a sound check that they fiddle around with their set-up to get as close to the sound of their albums as possible or in some bands cases the opposite to provide a more raw/spontaneous sound on stage not resembling the CD's at all. I have experienced many versions of both, some bands want to be as faithful to the studio sound as possible and others do not. Now that they have DSP's they can place any instrument where they want it, Jethro Tull used one years ago and Ian Anderson was chatting to us about it between songs, how it has allowed them to really get the best of both the studio sound and the live ambiance as well.
It's when they get on stage and do a sound check that they fiddle around with their set-up to get as close to the sound of their albums as possible or in some bands cases the opposite to provide a more raw/spontaneous sound on stage not resembling the CD's at all. I have experienced many versions of both, some bands want to be as faithful to the studio sound as possible and others do not. Now that they have DSP's they can place any instrument where they want it, Jethro Tull used one years ago and Ian Anderson was chatting to us about it between songs, how it has allowed them to really get the best of both the studio sound and the live ambiance as well.
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Keep your Denon Cassette deck...I almost bought an Akai deck off e-bay two years ago...it's not that I needed it but once I was involved in bidding I came so close to ending up with it...
I still use my Yamaha deck, it is not that old and with my Maxell-S tape it is so close to CD quality it's hard to tell the difference.Get a Bx125 Nac and use some maxell udxl 2's ... frgn awesome
