That's that magic of the Vega. I like hearing about that.
I just got into Goldfrapp this year after purchasing Silver Eye. I was checking out tales of us after you mentioned it and Jo's melody has been in my head all week cuz of it.
I think I am going to have to bite the bullet on that album sometime in the future cuz I can hear the emotion that I know the Vega is going to immerse me with once I hook it up to my Rig. That's what I love about it. It brings out the essence of the music so well and when you have an artist like Goldfrapp who knows how to evoke emotion just right it's so fluid and effortless.
And you have the Mojo... Must be dreamy
I was borrowing the Mojo, so it was a short-lived dream. Will have one, one of these days.
Yes, Tales of Us will be a very worthy purchase. It is the album that I'll save & spend as much money as necessary in order to experience more fully than I already do. Thankfully, Vega will be with me the entire way. Yeah, Jo's melody is completely captivating. Here are a few of my gumdrop moments from different songs. Am curious to see if you hear them and/or if they resonate for you like they do me.
Jo - The melody of the first and every other line. The way it climbs upward just makes me want to go back and hear it over and over.
Annabel - Aside from the intense clarity of Goldfrapp's voice, there's a slight sound that comes in behind the clear guitar notes. Slightly metallic and somewhat springy in nature. Definitely requires good equipment to hear it.
Drew - What's not to like about this song? As the song builds to its climax, around 3:10, the guitarist starts strumming. On the 2nd measure of 8 counts, he fans his fingers and you can hear each string plucked distinctly. It repeats every 4 measures for the rest of the song. I didn't hear that bit until about 3 months in on that album... listening to it in its entirety at least once each day.
Ulla - At about 1:00, the cello starts a very long, beautiful, and slowly descending passage. It ends with a few notes so deep and long that I can almost feel the vibration of the cello's body.
Alvar - So much to love about this one. The soft percussion really does me in. It's spacious and the drummer isn't hitting the same part of the drum over and over, so the hits feel as if they're moving around. Very noticeable as the song builds for its finale at 3:35.
Thea - The flourishes alone make me happy. At 1:28, just before the drum machines kick in, the flourishes have a quality that sounds so 3 dimensional. It's only in that one small bit for me, and I only hear its magic on certain occasions.
Simone - Aside from "Daylight trickles in, on your tremulous skin" (I mean... who uses "tremulous" these days? LOL), at 2:50 a single string pluck enters the fray and the entire song lingers on its notes through to the very end. And they give that final note its proper attention all the way through. It's like they let each track go on so long as to capture the last possible bit of sound.
Sranger & Laurel - I like them, but they don't really have gumdrops for me... yet.
Clay - Just sonic perfection. Its progressive nature, but in classical sounds. Trying to find the moment where the synth kicks in behind the strings. The flourish of strings, amongst all the layers, as the final chorus starts. The lyrics in general. The story behind the lyrics. The love letter behind the story. This song moves me like none other.
Lee (from the deluxe version) - at 0:58 there's a synth sound that comes in and "lands" right into her next lyric. I don't think it appears anywhere else in the song and it's just so perfect where it is.
What I find funny about an album that doesn't have a single superfluous note is how much of their musical detail there is to be explored. And, it can only be done on great equipment. Hearing nails as they hit guitar strings. The tambourine (or equivalent) having slightly different hit noises. All kinds of crazy little details, and so many more to explore. Vega is a perfect compliment to this album. Looking forward to not struggling so much financially, one of these days, so I can get a sexy DAC and tube amp to really emphasize the lush, warmth of those IEMs.
HDtracks has a 24/96 version, and I highly recommend that resolution for this album. So much velvet in her voice. I'm sure you'll appreciate their entire body of work. I just recently found the joy that is Black Cherry. Got some real nice tracks on it. I'm a particular fan of Hairy Trees.
A few days ago, I finally started listening to Shpongle. Yet again, the Vega impresses. Two straight days of listening to those albums and I'll spend many more feeling out all the different details.
Anyway, my apologies for hijacking a hardware thread to wax emotional about an album/artist. It's hard to find like minded audiophiles re: Goldrapp. Feel free to send me a PM if you want to discuss them and/or sound some more.
hey Jackpot I believe I read your reviews on these IEMs too
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