Post Your Needledrops, Pt. 2

Ahhh, you poor Windows guys...

 

Thanks for the compliment, FT! I'm definitely hearing the qualities I found in the Denon in your sample as well. Full, rounded bass, realistic mids and with a nice MC extension on top. That clean and (even more so) quiet tracking is really something, isn't it? Just music, no distractions.

Even though there doesn't seem to be that artificially wide soundstage (which I didn't like initially with mine) in your clip, I'd still be curious to hear what you think about a 1k Ohm load vs the standard 47k. I found it further tightened up the sound, put it more in focus if you will.

Oh, and I've taken Stefan's advice to heart and made a very small azimuth adjustment yet, to try and clean up those Sade cymbals a bit more. That tip is so small it's very hard to judge its orientation, even with the help of a magnifying glass.

Enjoy the new and improved setup!

 

Ah you poor Mac snobs...

 

Oh, everything works fine for me. It has nothing to do with Windows, it's about the software.

 

Now, now, no name calling (as I sneer down my nose at you).

You know I'm just messin' with you guys. I keep my feet planted in both worlds, just not for music.

 

Ok - I'll play. Here's a bit of Dr. Robert from my 1st pressing New Zealand mono copy of Revolver. It's pressed from UK supplied stampers (2/3 iirc).

Phillips 312 with an Ortofon 2M Red> ancient Technics receiver for the preamp> M Audio 24/96 soundcard and a slight bit of Click Repair (I think it was set around 8 or 9 in reverse mode with 2X wavelet setting. I also used Click Repair to fold both channels.

https://download.yousendit.com/ZW9CZFhyTERsUitGa1E9PQ

Bobby Sutliff

 

Here is a clip from the the recent Rhino reissue of David Crosby's If Only I Could Remember My Name... mastered by Bernie Grundman and pressed at Pallas.

The packaging on this is beautiful and totally authentic. It looks just like my original pressing with its textured cover (minus a bit of ring wear). Curiously, the reissue also does not stink of pot and patchouli as does my original (residue from the previous owner). Another bit of residue from the original owner is inner groove distortion. The last couple songs on each side of my original have a lot of distortion around the edges of the notes that I suspect is a result of a poorly calibrated cartridge. So I'm glad to have a nice, clean, new copy of this. It sounds beautiful. The pressing is outstanding. No Click Repair used here:

"Tamalpais High (At About 3)"
https://rcpt.yousendit.com/782837708/5d43c809f21d73c22caa7d1bf46380c9

 

I think your second sample is a real stunner. NR be d@mned! (laughing)

 

Yes, sounds great. I picked up the CSN reissue a few days ago and it sounds very similar (same "routing": Bernie Grundman mastering then pressed as Pallas). Huge bass, warm but detailed, silent, flawless pressing. I wish all reissues could be this good!

 

A/B test for two phono preamps

I'm planning on doing a needledrop today, but wanted to get some opinions. I have two preamps to choose from for the needledrop. They're both pretty low budget (as is my whole needledrop set-up). If anyone has feedback, here are two samples using the same recording set-up but switching out the two phono preamps. The track I used for the sample is "I Am A Child" off of my Buffalo Springfield Retrospective: The Best of. It's a yellow label Atco pressing::

http://audiosamples.wikispaces.com/...04175/I Am A Child (A-B) 25 sec. samples.aiff

Let me know if you prefer the first part of the clip or the second (or hate both).

 

Hi Paul,

After a quick listen they both sound fairly similar to me on the mids and highs although the second seems to have a bit more solid bass and perhaps a slight bit more transparency on the mids, but that's very close and might just be my imagination. I would choose the second.

For what it's worth, neither sounds bad. Perhaps a bit of declicking might help if you have access to any declicking software. Otherwise, just go ahead and have fun!

 

Thanks for your input.

I was hearing the same thing, but wanted to get a second opinion. I couldn't hear a huge difference between the two, but the second one seems slightly more tonally balanced to my ears.

I usually de-click any major pops, but for that clip only used some normalizing for volume.

 

what is the point of nd's ??

the worst of both worlds...

imho

happy new year geezzers.

 

I usually do it for mixes that aren't officially available on cd. For instance, I plan on doing a needledrop today of my quad Bridge Over Troubled Water lp. If I could play the LP in my car I would gladly do that instead of bothering with the transferring and all of the time involved.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Your z key is sticking.

Seriously, until I rediscovered vinyl, my interest in music was waining to the point I thought I was just getting old and outgrowing that phase of my life. Although there are various reasons for needledropping, in my case, about 80-90% of the sound of vinyl can be transferred to digital, so that says a lot about the sorry state of mastering in the music industry. Needledropping gives me the chance to have an MFSL, Bernie Grundman or Hoffman/Gray sounding "remaster" from just about any album I can get my hands on.

 

i know dropping is a hobby
and fun for those concerned

however there are 3 key issues if you are serious about it

1. lack of standardisation in cutting levels
peak level must be established for transfer symetry

2.enormous low frequency level signals produced by record imperfections,warp etc which can overload AD's

3.high tracking ability needed to track some records
moving magnet the only answer,at max tracking in a low mass arm

all the above take time and money and cannot be packaged in a complete solution for high quality results imho

on turntables dual 506/606 good
thorens good, arms not so good
direct drive technics,hideous rumble sidebands

that is from my colleague who is a professer of optical electronics UCL

 

Why stop at three (though I disagree with some of your conclusions).

What about:

4. Worn vinyl - hard to find high quality source for some items eg mono Blonde on Blonde original.

5. Dust! especially when it gathers on the stylus during a drop.

6. Interference from external vibration - most of my problems disappeared when I went to wall mounting; I still have to be careful losing the lid, and prefer to mute the audio output.

However, I'm not clear why this makes the exercise pointless when good results are possible.

Tim

 

My sound card has adjustable input levels, and I can further tweak things in software.

They aren't that enormous, well below peak signal levels even in the worst of cases, and a 20Hz software filter eliminates the rest.

Yes, I love my AT150MLX

Doing anything right takes time.

Wrong, so very wrong.

 

So why not start a thread on why vinyl playback is inferior. This thread is intended for those who enjoy the hobby of needledropping to exchange tips, samples, and discuss our hobby. Do you also walk around your neighborhood going into pubs and telling folks drinking is bad for them?

 

But he talked to a Professor (of optical electronics no less). He must know what he's talking about. If he says there's no point, he must be right.

 

They sound different enough to me. I'd take the second sample.

 

This is an example of songs that sound good on the Grado Red cartridge, and a demonstration of great music. I have most of these on CD, but choose to listen to the digitized vinyl instead. All of the vinyl below is bought brand new.


setup:
turntable: kab sl1200mkii strobe disabler
tonearm: Origin Live OL1
mats: SDS Isoplat + Funk Firm Achromat
phono: Hagerman Cornet2 Silver (Mullard 12AX7, GE Canada 8414A triple mica)
cartridge: Grado Red1
ADC: Edirol FA66 firewire
Power: Monarchy AC power regenerator
Driver interface: ASIO
Software: Wavelab Studio 6
Format: 24/192khz


3:07 mix of 7 samples, each less than 30 seconds long.

The Shins - Oh Inverted World - New Slang
-The CD version is good, but on this album, the vinyl is the definitive experience.

Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism - Title And Registration
-This is supposedly analog production straight through.

Spoon - Transference - Out Go The Lights
-All of Spoon's vinyl albums have outstanding quality; this is their latest and a demonstration of its beautiful cityscape sound.

Roy Orbison - The All Time Greatest Hits Of (MFSL) - Blue Angel
-This is on here to demonstrate how a MFSL sounds on this setup.

She & Him - Volume One - I Thought I Saw Your Face Today
-One of my favorite albums, and looking forward to Volume Two soon.

God Help The Girl - Come Monday Night
-A beautiful project with some Belle & Sebastian songs, except in female vocals.

Weezer - Only In Dreams
-Weezer's blue album does fairly well on the Grado Red, unlike some other 90's alternative.


Two sampling rates available:

192khz flac, recommended, 119MB

downsampled 96khz flac, Wavelab internal dither noise off, 63MB