[DigitalJust]

Slate Vsx.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Slate Vsx.

Mind if I ask how you like the VSX? The concept is an interesting one, but how's the execution? Is the modeling well done?

I don't remember how these came to my attention, but I've never crossed paths with a user before so please excuse my curiosity.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Taking a break from the comparisons to take a late night walk with my dogs. I love walking at night when things are all calm and quiet. For the occasion, I grabbed the Yanyin Mahinas and my A&K Kann Alpha. Yanyin and HBB did a great job on the Mahinas.

On top of my late night walk queue is Young The Giant's 2014 album, Mind Over Matter (Studio Masters Edition). Sameer Gadhia is one of my favorite vocalists in the indie genre. He has a certain kind of delicate power that I really enjoy and find moving. YTG's songwriting is very lyrically driven and requires a frontman that can carry a song. Having seen them live a few times (they regularly play the LA area including short notice shows to try new material at smaller venues) I can also vouch for his ability to sing live without relying on auto tune. They're definitely one of those bands that are capable of sounding just as tight and refined on stage as in the studio. I can highly rec basically any of their material.

 

[rids57]

JRiver MC (PC) >> SMSL SU9 >> SMSL SH9 >> Denon AH-D7200

Hand Cannot Erase (2015) by Steven Wilson - Mr. Wilson had a hell of a team for this album (same as for Raven), Guthrie Govan on (impossible) guitar, Nick Beggs on bass and Chapman stick, Adam Holzman on keyboards and Marco Minnemann on drums. I also think his writing was at a peak for this and The Raven That Refused to Sing, they are certainly my two favourites and both are at the summit of neo-prog-rock. The Denons were already sitting there and I enjoy their sound so they were plonked on my head for the session.
I was prompted to play this album after seeing a 2015 animated official video for one of the tracks posted in the progressive rock Facebook group. The video is 10 minutes long and I sat there transfixed right to the end and is by the same people that did Drive Home off Raven. The video is haunting and rather depressing, much of his music is quite melancholy but at the 7min 5sec point a newspaper headline gives meaning to the video and it just about ripped my heart out...

 

[Singaravelan]

On Penon Fan2

https://songwhip.com/mournful-congregation/the-exuviae-of-gods-part-1

 

[Davidzak64]

There is some excellent guitar playing on this album. It's definitely very unique sounding, to say the least.
RS-1 + Ted =

RS-1 (buttons) < Schiit Lyr 3 (EH 6SN7 tube) < Loxjie D30 < Amazon Music HD.

 

[Luckyleo]

Roon/Qobuz => Yggy GS2 => V222 => DT 880 (600)

 

[JAnonymous5150]

I've moved on to probably my important test of the SMSL VMV P2 this morning with the Hifiman Susvaras. The GS-X Mini is a decent amp, but with the Susvaras it seems to add some brightness/stridency up top that takes away from them a bit and in softer, more delicate genres like jazz and acoustic material it definitely detracts from the listening experience. So I'm running the Susvaras off the P2 with the Soekris 2541 decoding the coax out from a Wiim Pro.

After listening to one of his albums yesterday and knowing that I needed to test the P2/Susvara chain with some jazz, I pulled up a 2023 collaboration between Enrico Pieranunzi, Bert Joris, and Frankfurt Radio Big Band entitled Chet Remembered. As the titles suggests, this album is the group performing their takes on Chet Baker tracks as a tribute to one of the greatest jazz trumpeters to ever play. With any cover or tribute album that goes over the material of a legendary artist, the main concern is whether or not justice is done to the original material. If you can't give it your own spin and execute at a high level don't bother because you'll just be ridiculed for it and with good reason.

Thankfully, Pieranunzi (one of the top current jazz pianists), Bert Joris (a master of contemporary jazz trumpet), and Co are, IMO, very successful in their treatment of Baker's legacy on this album performing the tracks in a very different, but very nicely executed, style to the man they're paying tribute to. Top off the tasteful musical arrangement with very high quality production (this album gets an A+ for mixing and mastering from me) and you're left with a thoroughly enjoyable work. With how often covers and tributes fall flat or even stray into disaster territory, an album like this deserves plenty of praise. I can't recommend this one enough to my jazz heads out there.

Edit: I should add for anyone who doesn't know and is interested that Pieranunzi composed quite a few songs for Baker, including much of his 1979 album Soft Journey so his putting out a tribute album is entirely fitting and I wouldn't have expected it to be anything less than great.

 

[theintention]

1001 Albums
The Chemical Brothers - Exit Planet Dust
Szalayi / RU7 / iPhone 15 Pro Max / Qobuz


I only recently got into the Chemical Brothers, so I think I have only heard this one other time so this is very welcome… love them so much, their big beat sound is so iconic, not only in music but film as well. Some of their recordings are pretty harsh in the upper treble, so the Sza was an easy pick for this session.

 

[mrjayviper]

A-T AD2K

 

[JAnonymous5150]

I switched the headphones over to the DCA E3s, but I'm still running them off the VMV P2, Soekris 2541, and Wiim Pro signal chain. Not only am I deciding which closed back planar(s) to take with me, but there's a decent chance I'll be selling at least one of my DCA closed backs in the near future. Based on the fact that I pretty much find the Stealths and the E3s good for the same music, I'll probably decide whether the advantages I find in the Stealths are worth keeping them over the E3s and, depending on the answer, one of those two will hit the chopping block.

Continuing my own 1001 albums journey, I've got David Bowie s 2016 comeback release, Blackstar. I remember before this album came out there was a lot of speculation going around that Bowie had a terminal illness, had scrapped material he had been working on for an album, and had said he wouldn't be releasing anymore new material. He and his publicists kept saying that none of it was true aside from that he scrapped some tracks he wasn't happy with, but the rumors persisted as no album materialized. Then there was an announcement of a new album followed fairly quickly by the release and people were surprised. I was totally stoked and excited to see what Bowie put out. It's gonna be cool to revisit this album.

 

[YtseJamer]

Just loving my new Grado PS500x, they're killer with Progressive Rock. Today, I've got Anima Mundi on repeat.

 

[tutetibiimperes]

I switched the headphones over to the DCA E3s, but I'm still running them off the VMV P2, Soekris 2541, and Wiim Pro signal chain. Not only am I deciding which closed back planar(s) to take with me, but there's a decent chance I'll be selling at least one of my DCA closed backs in the near future. Based on the fact that I pretty much find the Stealths and the E3s good for the same music, I'll probably decide whether the advantages I find in the Stealths are work keeping them over the E3s and, depending on the answer one of those two will hit the chopping block.

Continuing my own 1001 albums journey, I've got David Bowie s 2016 comeback release, Blackstar. I remember before this album came out there was a lot of speculation going around that Bowie had a terminal illness, had scrapped material he has been working on for an album, and had said he wouldn't be releasing anymore new material. He and his publicists kept saying that none of it was true aside from that he scrapped some tracks he wasn't happy with, but the rumors persisted as no album materialized. Then there was an announcement of a new album followed fairly quickly by the release and people were surprised. I was totally stoked and excited to see what Bowie put out. It's gonna be cool to revisit this album.

David Bowie and Leonard Cohen both passing shortly after releasing what are, IMO, arguably their greatest albums was a great loss for the music world but at the same time amazing that they both went out with such powerful releases showing they were relevant up until the end.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

David Bowie and Leonard Cohen both passing shortly after releasing what are, IMO, arguably their greatest albums was a great loss for the music world but at the same time amazing that they both went out with such powerful releases showing they were relevant up until the end.

I don't think I agree that Blackstar was Bowie's greatest album, but it was very good and when I heard he passed I was pretty stunned.

When Columbia Records released Thanks for the Dance right after Cohen passed, as sad as it was, I thought it was kinda fitting. I mean, as a musician I think it would be pretty cool to go out on such a high note. His death wasn't as stunning as Bowie's for me because he was older and he had been having health issues for a while. That said, it didn't make it any less sad.

You just can't replace legends like Bowie and Cohen. Losing those two giants while they seemingly still had plenty left in the tank to contribute to music was a heavy blow. RIP to them both.

 

[drummerman1]

58X