analogsurviver
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2012
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I still can't figure this out, Analogsurviver...
What is tax acne? Or is it drive zits?
To be honest about recording quality, I think most releases are on average better than 30y ago. It's just that the highlights from the analog era were just that good. But there was also a lot of rubbish, especially pressings. I remember the cheap Spanish (or Mexican?) pressings that had cheap recycled vinyl (reggea!) on masterplates that had been used for too long. Not to mention the awful, flat 'digital recording', 'digitally remastered' ( .../messed up) lp's from the 80's. But on the other hand, there's the loudnesswar that hasn't completely passed by vinyl.
Ok, and then I read/saw this:
That's no crazyness, that's genius! He's standing there just like a little kid in a candystore but when he speaks he doesn't just talk but actually says something not everyone is aware of.
But those are not the easiest features to incorporate. I mean; how do do cut 2 grooves that merge just at the right time without having the needle jump out of the groove? You need some pretty nifty modern age servo technology for that.
And all that technology on a 180g record I would expect a real pricepremium... but it's just $20!
Edit: only shipping is $16.75 to NL. Rather expensive. As always.Fortunately it's €27 all in which I can afford as an impulse purchase. I just hope first class package doesn't get the DHL treatment.
OK, consider yourself lucky as you were obviously blessed with whatever Dual Steuerpimpel you were stuck with, it was still working as it should have. Just Google this "pimpel" - it governs the overall performance od the Dual automatics and without its PRECISE action one is basically stuck where the sun never shines...
Regarding the sound quality of the recordings themselves, and vinyl mastering ( VERY different thing than mastering as we know it in the digital age ), I agree with you on the level of quality on the average. There were craptastic LPs even in the golden age of analog - but there were absolute stunning examples that still have not been surpassed. To be blunt : I started doing my own recordings because during early stages of my development of Technics linear trackers it became painfully obvious the weakest link are - recordings themselves. Decca/Philips/EMI/Mercury Living Presence/RCA /etc - a scant fraction of a percent have not been subjected to compression, limitting in the bass, manipulations I find inexcusable ( you can count 99,99% of operas recorded with SINGERS as GIANTS, overpowering the orchestra all the time - NOTHING of this when listening to a live performance ; or RUBINSTEIN and orchestra .), count then vinyl mastering
in-a-less-than-stellar-way, shoddy off center pressing on dubious quality vinyl, shrink wrap leading to warped LPs, etc.
Regarding this "geniously crazy" LP: I agree it is a fun, bold idea, but I sincerely do hope so it is safe for stylus. Doing all these unnecessary stunt stuff
( it IS hard to make records as they should have been made in the first place, kind of like requiring your waiter to bring you the whole meal on two tight ropes strung between two skyscrapers oscilating with unharmonius beat - and he/she has to jump from one to another at a precise given spot - without the strawberry off the cake ending in your soup -
or worse, everything ending up as a fleck - so and so many metres below ... .
My opinion it is a gimmick to draw attention/publicity for the author in the first place - and in that he succeded with flying colours. But I would approach such a record with a necessary caution - with a scouting , expendable stylus, not something rare/irreplaceable ( forget the $ for the moment ) . It is a testament what can be done by someone in a candy store who really has something to say - but inherently, the way he chose to deliver his massage can not be of high quality. It is the same thing as the question why mount a XY? horsepower JET engine on a car at the Discovery channel years ago:
Because WE CAN.
Whether that fills any real world needs is another matter.
With the quality of test LP records today ( and you can be 101 % sure music records are NOT being made better either ), I would try to at least approach the quality once issued in the golden age. Trouble is, it has no fanfares a la "geniously crazy" record to grab the attention of the public at large
- an it co$t$ like hell ...
![]eep](https://cdn.head-fi.org/avatars/m/139/139747.jpg?1273084439){kind=avatar}
Don't ask, it was closing time. Turned out I already had 1 of the missing disks as a seperate issue. Anyway, I need to pay better attention rummaging through that thrift