Grados Must be Voiced for Vinyl...

[sunseeker888]

...because my sr-325i sounds superb with vinyl. Maybe it's just analog in general, although cassette is limited in dynamic range at least on my cheapo system. My sr-80 used to excel with vinyl too!

So yeah, what do you guys think? Are the upper-end Prestige series cans 'voiced' for certain types of music or even formats?

 

[Zanth]

Not voiced for per se, but in my opinion, there is simply something magical that happens when Grados are used while listening to vinyl. Make it even better? Use a grado cart.

 

[Uncle Erik]

And some vacuum tubes.

 

[BigTony]

By 'magical' do you mean hide the 'snap-crackle-pop' of vinyl?

 

[.coco]

The Grado's do well off the spinner. However, I do like my W5000's with most vinyl better. Then again, I dont own any high end Grados..

 

[Zanth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigTony /img/forum/go_quote.gif By 'magical' do you mean hide the 'snap-crackle-pop' of vinyl?

If you have snap-crackle-pop on ALL of your vinyl, you are doing it wrong.

 

[BigTony]

Actually whats been bugging me about my vinyl collection is that the worse offenders i can't usually track down on CD... its a plot/curse!

 

[Zanth]

Yes, that is a big issue for sure. I have some like that. There is one particular record that I used to listen to when I was about 5 (actually listened on cassette then found it later on vinyl). It is a CBS release of the Muppet's telling fairy tale bedtime stories. My copy is not too bad, I bought it used and it is in VG condition. Some pops that I can't seem to get rid of after cleaning, but well worth the money since I now have kids of my own that I want to share with. I would have LOVED this on CD, far more useful than an LP when having the kids listen, and I wouldn't have to bother with a needle drop.

Was it ever released on CD? Nope. Far too many albums never found their way to the little silver disc and at this point may never find their way to a digital format.

 

[sunseeker888]

No, they certainly don't mask source deficiencies! But luckily, my TT setup is aligned perfectly and even my used vinyl has been cleaned nicely and is relatively quiet. Of course, there is a crackle hear or there, just the nature of the beast!

What I meant, was that the music just totally envelopes me with vinyl. On CD, there are too many mastering/compression problems sadly.

And yeah, I have a lot of vinyl I cannot find on CD (ot that I'd even want to....hehe) New Wave stuff like Space Monkey, the Someloves, Mi-sex, etc

Now, onto the next hurdle----Instead of embracing the new Grado models, what would y'all think if this listener embraced K701's or DT-880s?

I'm tempted to try em. Sennheiser I'm done with. I cannot afford the HD-800 so forget them haha. I like TOTL.

You're making me regret selling my Little Dots!!!! Tubes were very awesome with the 325i.

 

[moogoob]

I agree with the OP concerning 325is and vinyl. Sure, my vinyl rig is an ancient/modern franken-Technics with an inexpensive plastic cart fed into a Pro-ject Phono Box 2, but some of the vinyl I inherited is fantastic, if scratchy someathatimes. Wish you Were Here and DSOTM are fantastically better than the CD releases, IMO.

However, I have yet to find a used record place with the type of selection I'd be interested in. If anyone knows of any in Toronto I'm all ears.

In particular, looking for PF's Atom Heart Mother.

I've been looking for that for a while...

 

[sunseeker888]

Hey there moogoob. You're right about DSOTM & other Floyd being absolutely killer in LP format. Meddle is a gem as well on vinyl. Big Floyd fan here! I'd try searching online for Atom Heart Mother. Sometimes you find great deals on the net.

How do you like the Phono Box? I have a Debut III with Ortofon 5E (soon to be upgraded to the OM-20 stylus) with the Speed Box which I play thru my Cambridge Audio 540P. Not the best rig but it does sound mighty nice.

 

[M0T0XGUY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, that is a big issue for sure. I have some like that. There is one particular record that I used to listen to when I was about 5 (actually listened on cassette then found it later on vinyl). It is a CBS release of the Muppet's telling fairy tale bedtime stories. My copy is not too bad, I bought it used and it is in VG condition. Some pops that I can't seem to get rid of after cleaning, but well worth the money since I now have kids of my own that I want to share with. I would have LOVED this on CD, far more useful than an LP when having the kids listen, and I wouldn't have to bother with a needle drop. Was it ever released on CD? Nope. Far too many albums never found their way to the little silver disc and at this point may never find their way to a digital format.

If you're serious about maintaing that album, I'd try recording it digitally using something like Audacity and your computer's line-in. From there you can easily break the album into sections, and burn each section as a WAV file on a CD. Just a suggestion.

 

[moogoob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunseeker888 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey there moogoob. You're right about DSOTM & other Floyd being absolutely killer in LP format. Meddle is a gem as well on vinyl. Big Floyd fan here! I'd try searching online for Atom Heart Mother. Sometimes you find great deals on the net. How do you like the Phono Box? I have a Debut III with Ortofon 5E (soon to be upgraded to the OM-20 stylus) with the Speed Box which I play thru my Cambridge Audio 540P. Not the best rig but it does sound mighty nice.

- In the same inheritance I also got my father's old copy of Meddle- unfortunately the "Echoes" side was so scratched I fear I'd risk stylus damage to play it.

- Phono box- if I ever get a better stylus and figure out how to properly lubricate my TT (rumble's a bit obvious right now) I'll let you know. It's a pretty nice little bit of equipment, fitting in nice below my Headroom Micros (which are a decent SS combo with Grados, believe it or not), but the stock AC adapter's really really flimsy and tiny, especially compared to the massive bricks that come with Headroom products. If it were a proper amp I'd be afraid of it being seriously underpowered. Perhaps if you want to use it seriously a power supply replacement's in order, or maybe I'm just being paranoid.

 

[Zanth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by M0T0XGUY /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you're serious about maintaing that album, I'd try recording it digitally using something like Audacity and your computer's line-in. From there you can easily break the album into sections, and burn each section as a WAV file on a CD. Just a suggestion.

I was going to do this because I was so frustrated with having it on LP alone, however, in the last week I was able to find it online as a high quality mp3. First track has a noticeable clip and pop which I can noise shape at some point, but overall, tracks are broken up and I will play it for my kids this way.

Still, it took a lot of searching etc. At some point, I will do the needle drop, and if you don't mind I may hit you up for some more detailed info as I've yet to do a needle drop, but of all my LP's, this is the top of my list to have in lossless.

 

[moogoob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was going to do this because I was so frustrated with having it on LP alone, however, in the last week I was able to find it online as a high quality mp3. First track has a noticeable clip and pop which I can noise shape at some point, but overall, tracks are broken up and I will play it for my kids this way. Still, it took a lot of searching etc. At some point, I will do the needle drop, and if you don't mind I may hit you up for some more detailed info as I've yet to do a needle drop, but of all my LP's, this is the top of my list to have in lossless.

A cousin of mine did this with all his old rock records using a Grado cart- they sound fantastic.