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1: Vinyl Asylum, Try Uncle Electrovice's Special Dolphin-Safe Recipe... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2020-08-22, 09:58:30 (69.254.139.9)
I mixed up some Home Brew Jungle Juice Record Cleaner, Uncle Electrovice's Special Dolphin-Safe Recipe: 1 Quart = 3 cups highly deionoized/filtered water from the local health food store machine + 1 c .......
2: Vinyl Asylum, Rekkids are your best entertainment value! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2020-08-22, 09:45:28 (69.254.139.9)
Still spinnin' .......
3: Cable Asylum, RE: BNC to BNC cable (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2020-06-08, 19:49:33 (69.254.139.9)
75-Ohm RG59/U spec coax is correct for S/PDIF digital audio. It then becomes the standard questions of good cable / connectors. I have a Blue Jeans BNC/BNC and it's construction is fine-- Belden 1505F .......
4: Cable Asylum, RE: Any recc's for good quality Y-connectors? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2020-06-05, 09:39:49 (69.254.139.9)
I have these in my system now and, as far as I can tell, they have no "sound" of their own (within the limits of resolution of my system). This may be the best one can hope for from a unit like this a .......
5: Cable Asylum, RE: Any recc's for good quality Y-connectors? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2020-05-25, 18:57:20 (69.254.139.9)
Thanks again, Duster. I hate adding extra RCA interconnections to the system, but it's necessary in this case. I have had many cheap reliable Monoprice cables through the years, but none quite so 'de .......
6: Cable Asylum, Any recc's for good quality Y-connectors? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2020-05-23, 12:48:01 (69.254.139.9)
Specifically a pair comprised of 1 MALE RCA to 2 FEMALE RCA's. I'd rather have cables than the little machined brass solid connectors. When you put 2 heavy ICs into the brass units, the weight and th .......
7: Cable Asylum, RE: DIY V-Twist/V-Quad USB Cable Project (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2020-05-23, 12:05:30 (69.254.139.9)
D- that's a brilliant design. I am assuming the 'linear' power supply alternate would seriously benefit devices that had been powered solely via the source's USB 5v. Since my DAC (Schiit Bofrost Multi .......
8: Vinyl Asylum, just have "Fantastic Voyage" (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2020-05-18, 20:28:44 (69.254.139.9)
nt .......
9: Vinyl Asylum, Just spinnin' some Keb Mo yesterday (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2020-04-30, 21:11:12 (69.254.139.9)
Fine natural sound on so of his stuff. .......
10: Cable Asylum, RE: Optical cable for Streamer and DAC? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2020-03-15, 22:59:22 (69.254.139.9)
I think the performance pf TOSLINK is vastly more dependent on the quality of the optical transmitter and receiver modules. There are a few good ones and a zillion cheap rotten-sounding versions. That .......
11: Vinyl Asylum, Here's the best 50 cents I ever spent... Bruno Walter (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2019-11-12, 10:53:02 (69.254.139.9)
According to the Columbia jacket notes, I'm "build[ing] a library of great stereo albums at a fraction of their original cost." Not the vaunted 6-Eye but a decent pressing and a stellar performance .......
12: Cable Asylum, Thanks all! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2019-08-02, 21:42:16 (69.254.139.9)
Appreciate your advice - I decided to go with the Mogami 2549. That Mogami W3159 looks awwwwful skinny and I am suspicious of drain-wire configurations. .......
13: Cable Asylum, Know any mic cable superior to Mogami W2549? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2019-07-29, 16:32:38 (69.254.139.9)
...for a few XLR cables around 2m long. Relocating my power amp so it's the last IC in the signal chain- should be at least halfway decent! .......
14: Cable Asylum, RE: Current thoughts on surge protectors? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2019-07-14, 10:08:24 (69.254.139.9)
Thanks for the tip, budget is right. I live these days in northern New Mexico; monsoon season with a daily thunderstorm begins about now... The A-V-P is only there for converting my "legacy" LaserDisc .......
15: Cable Asylum, RE: Red Rose (ML) silver 1 interconnect wiring? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2019-07-12, 14:52:48 (69.254.139.9)
I can't see the reason to have THREE conductors inside the shield... Any ordinary balanced connection I've ever seen uses a pair and the shield. It's the way the AES standard works. There's a diagram .......
16: Cable Asylum, Current thoughts on surge protectors? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2019-07-11, 22:28:23 (69.254.139.9)
I just need one at a single plug for my Rotel A-V Preamp, 80W. Everything else runs out of an older "Monster" Power Center that I've been pretty satisfied with- it seemed not to degrade the sound dete .......
17: Cable Asylum, RE: Question about subwoofer vs. full-range audio cable. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2019-07-11, 22:13:10 (69.254.139.9)
Do exactly as Duster said. It will be an OK cable. I'm the wrong guy to ask, since I just finished purging my entire system of shielded twisted-pair cable and replacing everything with high quality co .......
18: Cable Asylum, RE: TOSLINK or HDMI to RCA converter? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2019-07-11, 21:46:09 (69.254.139.9)
I can't say enough good stuff about Lifatech TOSLINK cables. Say the TV is a lower-line model a few years old (the cheap kind I'm used to), the E/O optical interfaces and particularly the connector co .......
19: Vinyl Asylum, Carlos Gardel With Orchestra and Audrey Hepburn (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2019-04-11, 13:54:25 (69.254.139.9)
The 10" EP in her hand is "Recuerdos De Carlos Gardel." .......
20: Cable Asylum, There is some point to it all, however (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-04-05, 00:56:49 (47.150.224.49)
...you may not have the same budget-type setup forever, and a fine cable like that Lifatech will serve you well for many years. I looked at the KableDirekt units on Amazon and they appear decent but .......
21: Cable Asylum, They are a US local for a German home company (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-04-05, 00:34:05 (47.150.224.49)
Call them and ask if they can whip up an audio cable in Germany at the home office. My guess is "jawohl!" Hurry before they tax the hell out of you when GB exits the EU, seriously. .......
22: Cable Asylum, RE: Toslink Digital Cables (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-04-03, 11:52:54 (47.150.224.49)
I've had a number of different optical cables and, considering ordinary plastic fiber that represents 99% of all cables in the market, there seems to be little or no difference between plastic optical .......
23: Cable Asylum, Pretty nice headphone extension cable (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-04-02, 21:16:11 (47.150.224.49)
I built this cable using Duster's recipe, above, with the shield grounded at the source (headphone amp) only. The covering is a soft nylon sleeve, 1/4" nominal size from my local electronic jobber- th .......
24: Cable Asylum, RE: I'll build one, too. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-03-31, 00:38:37 (47.150.224.49)
That Mogami is really nice TINY wire. The jacket strips cleanly with a sharp stripper in the 12GA slot and the drain wire makes life easy. All this for 29 cents/ft! Went with a Neutrik plug (1/4") and .......
25: Cable Asylum, RE: Canare 4s11 (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-03-25, 00:21:41 (47.150.224.49)
Read up on the long-simmering debate re. bi-wiring. I gave it up because Jim Thiel told me to run a single, fatter cable, and I'm just a Bear. If you bi-wire, in any case, I would consider making the .......
26: Cable Asylum, RE: Thanks Duster (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-03-20, 00:30:25 (47.150.224.49)
...good advice for DIY, as always. I have the Neutrik in-line socket and Mogami on the way. Redco sure does have the right prices. .......
27: Cable Asylum, RE: Yes, but... if this isn't just a troll (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-03-18, 12:55:47 (47.150.224.49)
...a more informative response might be to say that the gage of the wire isn't the whole story. A flexible cord with plugs at each end is very different from a hunk of 12- or 14-gage solid copper in t .......
28: Cable Asylum, Any suggestions for headphone extension cable? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-03-18, 01:43:34 (47.150.224.49)
I've been thinking of re-using some left-over Belden 1508A miniature mic cable I have lying around. It's shielded twisted-pair 2 x 24 ga. + 1 x 24ga. drain wire. There's a nice little Oyiade 3.5mm fe .......
29: Video Asylum, There's arguments for each... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-02-25, 12:14:47 (47.150.224.49)
Soundbars versus "real" speakers, are kind of fish versus fowl, I guess. I have recently set up my daughter, wife, and her best friend with older, used soundbars. (Energy Soundbar Elite, JBL Cinema SB .......
30: Cable Asylum, RE: ICs for FM Tuner (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-02-22, 10:16:35 (47.150.224.49)
I've been pleased with a pair of basic, older DH Labs "Theater Select Interconnects." Nothing fancy: coax, copper, foam PE dielectric, braided shield, nice low capacitance ~25 pf per foot, pretty good .......
31: Cable Asylum, Updates on Cat 6/7 cables? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-02-13, 20:14:58 (47.150.224.49)
Looking through the archives on the question of audio impacts from data cable / RJ-45 cable setups, there isn't much in the way of comparison or clear recommendations. Did I miss it? The effects of th .......
32: Cable Asylum, RE: Interconnect Cable 'Failed' ?? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-02-11, 12:48:16 (47.150.224.49)
Be sure to clip your ohmmeter to the cable and bend it (gently - near the connectors most likely) to see if you have an intermittent. Solder fails- even just sitting there. .......
33: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Vinyl Asylum and Mr. Bear on Steve Hoffman June 2004. What's the future of vinyl? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-02-09, 12:13:43 (47.150.224.49)
I gotta say it's a little hurtful to have your words from almost 15 years ago barfed up like that. This graph says it all, though. In 2004, Bear figured vinyl would dwindle to almost zero, a few bo .......
34: Vinyl Asylum, RE: What is the best way to store a stylus (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-02-06, 10:09:32 (47.150.224.49)
Just kidding... I store mine in a sturdy, tightly sealed box built for that purpose, made by Shure and others for the D-J crowd. It seems critical to keep the polluted air of the Los Angeles basin .......
35: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Concert for George on vinyl preorder at Amazon (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-02-06, 09:52:49 (47.150.224.49)
It' a beautiful thing. If, say, you had money coming out the wazoo. I'm gonna squander that $112 on food and rent and stuff... .......
36: Vinyl Asylum, RE: AT-MONO3/LP cartridge+long phono interconnects (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-02-04, 20:17:23 (47.150.224.49)
Read this art from the VA archives- parts of it make sense! The question, digging down a little, isn't simple. No audiophile thing is ever simple... right? People tend to think that the only signif .......
37: Cable Asylum, RE: adding a subwoofer (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-31, 22:03:38 (47.150.224.49)
You have a design approach for your speaker cables that seems sound - if you have 2 strands of 18 Ga. in parallel to each speaker terminal that's about equivalent to 15 Ga. That's a good gage for mode .......
38: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Anyone KNow Of A High Quality Selector Box? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-30, 12:17:59 (47.150.224.49)
The Schiit you mention has an unneeded volume control; it would be a 5-minute job to solder tiny jumpers from the wiper to the high end of the pot however. There's an underlying cost/performance ques .......
39: Vinyl Asylum, RE: A simple "mod" you can try (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-29, 12:44:01 (47.150.224.49)
...if you were interested in improving this little guy. The Rega is powered by 24VAC from a tiny wall-wart. I recently replaced a "wart" with an humongous 80-watt capacity AC transformer on my little .......
40: Vinyl Asylum, RE: NRBQ "At Yankee Stadium" (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-29, 12:28:32 (47.150.224.49)
I found NRBQ to be a bit of a problem in New England in the early 70's. They were the opening act for J Geils (may he rest in peace) and got booed off the stage by a crowd that included a lot of biker .......
41: Vinyl Asylum, That was a mainstay in my hippy days...(nt) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-29, 12:19:52 (47.150.224.49)
;-) .......
42: Vinyl Asylum, RE:13.8 gm - Bueno! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-29, 12:18:34 (47.150.224.49)
The armtube must be made from lighterthanairium! Kidding! Going with 13.5gm, he best guess for resonance is a comfortable 11Hz. On the site, i think that effective mass is for the 9" Jelco though. May .......
43: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Please help with matching cartridge to tonearm. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-28, 22:17:44 (47.150.224.49)
There is no precise way to guarantee performance of a given cart in your arm, vis-a-vis resonance. What I found about the Jelco SA-750-12 arm is that it's a high-mass unit, somewhere in the range of 3 .......
44: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Delaney and Bonnie filled me with hope... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-28, 18:37:23 (47.150.224.49)
but it was 1970, and there was a lot of drugs around... I could be misremembering. .......
45: Vinyl Asylum, Being disappointed by first 15 years of Eric Clapton solo LP's (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-28, 12:04:37 (47.150.224.49)
Skipping through "461 Ocean," "Eric Clapton," and "Slowhand," there is a lot of stuff he did just to pay the bills. Occasionally a good tune comes out but, man, it was only occasionally that he rose a .......
46: Radio Road, Sony ST-S555ES FM Stereo Tuner review (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-27, 21:46:10 (47.150.224.49)
The first ES tuner from around 1985, principal claimed specifications: Sensitivity: 1.8uV (FM) Signal to Noise Ratio: 80dB (FM) Distortion: 0.15% Selectivity: 60dB Frequency response: 30Hz to 15kHz .......
47: Cable Asylum, Has anybody seen counterfeit cables?! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-24, 16:32:27 (47.150.224.49)
I am shocked, and find it almost hard to believe but I suppose it could happen. It would take a lot of work to copy the plugs and the cable jacket though, and by the time you did all that you'd have s .......
48: Cable Asylum, RE: Gotham GAC-1 UltraPro (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-24, 16:20:43 (47.150.224.49)
May I ask who built that for you? Gotham? I'm happy you are liking the sound but I also wanted to ask-- was it GAC-1, their musical instrument coax? I had looked at this cable previously for use on so .......
49: Cable Asylum, RE: 10-4 (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-24, 15:54:33 (47.150.224.49)
That was my analysis too. Thanks for your response. The connector shell is grounded at the source end, via a connection the the metal chassis. I just added a ground lead running to a "star" ground te .......
50: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Manufacturing process (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-22, 23:41:50 (47.150.224.49)
CD's you love and respect, I agree- no surface treatments. I clean with the same cleaner I use in my LP's (homemade distilled water/ isopropyl/ Triton blend --an trusted family recipe from my Uncle El .......
51: Vinyl Asylum, RE: It's not wear, but dust and contamination (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-22, 11:03:28 (47.150.224.49)
I feel that the vinyl recovers easily from the contact pressure from the stylus, as already noted, so multiple plays are not at all damaging. -- BUT WAIT-- there's more! (always is, in audiophile-land .......
52: Vinyl Asylum, RE: good call (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-21, 21:55:21 (47.150.224.49)
Maybe one pin on the cart body got a little twisted and broke a wire inside the cart, which you of course can't see. Happened to me once on an older Nagaoka- found it on a regrettably destructive post .......
53: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Weather Report (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-20, 22:33:25 (47.150.224.49)
I think I have the complete WR discography... "Black Market" in heavy rotation, as they say, these days! .......
54: Cable Asylum, S-Video cable jack wiring- Anybody ever DIY these? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-19, 18:26:12 (47.150.224.49)
I've managed to get good connections in the microscopic pins on the connection side of these tiny buggers, but I was wondering if it's appropriate to ground the shell (of the jack). The shells of the .......
55: Cable Asylum, RE: HDMI connectors are bad deign, and that offends Bears (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-19, 13:18:18 (47.150.224.49)
I feel the Monoprice HDMI cables- the heavyweight industrial grades anyway- are excellently constructed, indestructible, and carry a fine video image. Their only problem is their massive weight and in .......
56: Vinyl Asylum, Bearette will love Aretha... possibly... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-19, 11:50:03 (47.150.224.49)
Thanks for the tip. $12 bucks is about what I'm getting used to for "greeting card" these days... When coffee was $.25, a card was maybe $.75, so it seems about right, with coffee at $4/cup. No. Wait. .......
57: Vinyl Asylum, RE:+1 (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-19, 11:40:47 (47.150.224.49)
It seems just right. Not noisy. Enjoy! .......
58: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Turntables on Pinterest (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-19, 10:06:42 (47.150.224.49)
This one is pretty, and not un-build-able if you had a bandsaw and mad skills thereat! Otherwise you maybe could 3D print the single-color version, laminate it together, fiberglass it, and spray pa .......
59: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Intersting Find in my Own Collection! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-16, 10:43:37 (47.150.224.49)
Was he living in the US by that date? .......
60: Cable Asylum, RE: Of course, there's hope! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-14, 10:42:54 (47.150.224.49)
What you're suggesting has arisen from time to time in the past, for example at the fine HiFi manufacturer Meridian, who offered high-end active speakers with amplifiers and crossovers on-board as far .......
61: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Funky phono connection (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-12, 14:41:51 (47.150.224.49)
If you only need one phono, no problem, just 'abandon in place' the faulty RCA jack pair. There's nothing different sonically Ph 1 vs. Ph 2, yes? Have you gotten some Caig contact cleaner and canne .......
62: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Kenwood KD550 with broken Shure V15xmr stylus (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-11, 23:26:35 (47.150.224.49)
The mighty restroom-floor-finish KD550 is a nice DD table. I feel however that your limiting "link in the chain" (of vinyl playback) is the arm. It is decent but not at the level of the rest of the ta .......
63: Cable Asylum, RE: Scientist response about silver tarnish,plating material. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-10, 10:38:12 (47.150.224.49)
"There is a widespread misconception that silver oxidizes. This is incorrect. Silver does not oxidize at room temperatures. There also is an equally big misconception that silver oxide is a good condu .......
64: Cable Asylum, Excellent Graphic re. Conductivity of Various Metals (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-09, 01:18:31 (47.150.224.49)
I've been noodling on the design of connectors. While not the sole considertion, some degree of performance depends on the conductivity of the metal surfaces. The IACS rating describes conductivity .......
65: Vinyl Asylum, Musicians with smiles that big... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-08, 20:35:01 (47.150.224.49)
...probably had access to marijuana in the 1950's. Check the dangerous maraca-weilding women backing him! .......
66: Vinyl Asylum, No question: 'Star Cycle' from "There and Back" Jeff Beck (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-08, 20:31:42 (47.150.224.49)
;-) .......
67: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Cartridge repair...or not? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-08, 20:29:34 (47.150.224.49)
This is getting a bit old; read it for your amusement. It points up some potential pitfalls, then segues to a happy ending... .......
68: Vinyl Asylum, RE: It looks like you have good gear... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-08, 20:21:35 (47.150.224.49)
I agree on re-verifying the adjustments on your table- things move around, loosen up, get bumped... Clean all the cartridge contacts and the removable headshell contacts with Deoxit. Make sure noth .......
69: Cable Asylum, RE:Lifatech! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-07, 15:07:47 (47.150.224.49)
Good cable, beautifully made. .......
70: Cable Asylum, RE: digital cable length (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-07, 15:05:07 (47.150.224.49)
I read years ago a post from a guy who installed high-capacity optical cabling for SONET type data links etc. that the cable length had ZERO effect, but the connectors were the whole show. First, app .......
71: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Fleetwood Mac Rumors - yuck. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-03, 10:57:38 (47.150.224.49)
In my thinning-the-herd activity I jettisoned all FM after "Bare Trees." The Buckingham-Nicks years seem to me to represent a load of pop Bear-poop, all grossly overproduced as you note. I actually co .......
72: Vinyl Asylum, RE: the one record in any genre that I play more than any other (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-03, 10:41:49 (47.150.224.49)
Maybe tied with Herbie Hancock "Headhunters," Crusaders "Rural Renewal" and Little Feat "Waiting For Columbus" It varies from year to year, in some inscrutable Bear fashion... .......
73: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Hana SL cartridge for my TT? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-03, 10:36:01 (47.150.224.49)
I have two "vintage" preamps both of which have wonderful phono sound (IMHO): a Threshold/Forte 2 and a B&K MC-10 Sonata. I will live with these till my final day! Both have MM and MC capability. The .......
74: Cable Asylum, RE: EIZZ EZ-203 rca connector (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-02, 15:01:36 (47.150.224.49)
Have you heard these sing yet? I am concerned that the monsterous 9mm exit hole is waaay larger than any of the cable I have on hand, OD ~ 6mm. .......
75: Cable Asylum, Spoken like an engineer... Fair question! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-02, 14:52:38 (47.150.224.49)
I've operated in both paradigms and find that there is no single answer to your question-- it's all very system dependent. Powered loudspeakers rarely work out for an audio-hobbyist's system, that's w .......
76: Cable Asylum, RE: Are audio or video signals more difficult to move from one place to another? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-02, 14:39:26 (47.150.224.49)
Seems when a better cable is swapped in, you may hear nothing at all in the first few minutes, or hours... there may be tiny effects on treble roll-off or absolute level, say, but the real deal is coh .......
77: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Yea- there's "eBay" albums and "Good" albums.. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-02, 13:27:44 (47.150.224.49)
eBay under $10, because I can take a little loss once in a while and I can listen **through** the slight rice krispies -- it's a habit acquired over a lifetime. ...but the best way is to go down to yo .......
78: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Hana SL cartridge for my TT? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-02, 13:21:37 (47.150.224.49)
Nice looking cartridge- I'd give it a try. The LO versions are spec'd at .5mV output so should be happy with a modest 20 dB of headamp gain, do you have that? Its a relatively easy load 400 ohms. Or y .......
79: Vinyl Asylum, Do not disparage unusual musical taste! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-01, 15:10:51 (47.150.224.49)
or the Taste Ploicce will come for you, next! .......
80: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Kenwood 770 D Turntable? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-01, 14:16:46 (47.150.224.49)
You don't want to overkill with the cartridge-- it should be one that the turntable and your phono stage can handle well but whose performance potential is more-or-less matched, if you see what I mean .......
81: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Do you have some pictures? /nt\ (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-01, 13:26:08 (47.150.224.49)
Sony PS-X50 with Dynavector XX. Pretty happy with this rig. .......
82: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Do you have some pictures? /nt\ (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-01, 13:06:42 (47.150.224.49)
The little box has my SUT inside- its cables are salvaged from some high-zoot silver plated video coax, silver plated RCA's too. Been experimenting with this obsolete video cabling for a while and .......
83: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Kenwood 770 D Turntable? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-01, 09:37:00 (47.150.224.49)
I believe that your Kenwood would perform well with the Sumiko- going by the numbers. It's a lower complince (15CU) unit and the 3.5mV output should be fine with your vintage Yamaha. I believe the Ken .......
84: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Kenwood 770 D Turntable? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2018-01-01, 09:30:43 (47.150.224.49)
Nice looking setup. That Clearaudio looks like it was made for that arm! .......
85: Vinyl Asylum, RE: it's a headamp not a phono stage. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-31, 16:03:59 (47.150.224.49)
I tried a couple Denon units, 1 headamp and 1 SUT. Disappointingly, neither had great sound. It's hard to find a good transformer- the compatability issue dominates, I think... I had a very expensive .......
86: Vinyl Asylum, RE: LOMC...don't really know... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-31, 15:56:28 (47.150.224.49)
You put your finger on it- a great deal of the sound of cartridges has to do with compatability with the preamp. I was on a 15 year-long love affair with the DL103 series, tried many step-up, tranform .......
87: Vinyl Asylum, RE: I just keep coming back to this cartridge. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-31, 14:19:25 (47.150.224.49)
Not a moving-coil man, eh? What tip-shape in that one- anything exotic? I've long felt those Shures could deliver deeply musical and emotional performance if they were adjusted perfectly- it seemed hi .......
88: Vinyl Asylum, RE: It's co-oold outside. Hot coffee here and Gary Burton. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-31, 10:10:56 (47.150.224.49)
Think I have his whole vinyl discography- there's quite a few! .......
89: Vinyl Asylum, A Small MM vs. MC A/B Today- Pickering/Dynavector (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-30, 15:48:54 (47.150.224.49)
Just finished repairing and setting up a sweet old Sony PS-X50 turntable, building a DIY MC step-up, and mounting my Dynavector XX (retipped by Benz in Switzerland a couple hundred hours ago). The Dyn .......
90: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Needle Clinic (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-30, 13:49:31 (47.150.224.49)
Excellent! Pleaser let us know how it sounds. It should likely need no break-in. .......
91: Vinyl Asylum, Not showing this photo to the Bearette.... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-30, 12:48:57 (47.150.224.49)
BAR TOO HIGH! .......
92: Cable Asylum, Any experience with Royce RCA's - SCXT7 -? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-29, 15:08:18 (47.150.224.49)
I found a set of 8 of these little dudes I got from the original Old Colony Sound folks circa 1984-ish. They are made beautifully and look and feel nice; I recall OCS touting them as decent connectors .......
93: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Shure 1000E Cartridge Replacement stylus?? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-26, 23:41:28 (47.150.224.49)
User manual - link below. Sign into VinylEngine- its cool. Nothing wrong with the Shure 1000E, a new stylus looks around $15 bux on eBay for an aftermarket elliptical P-Mount (also called a "TP4" = sa .......
94: Cable Asylum, RE: Thanx )nt( (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-26, 12:01:42 (47.150.224.49)
;-) .......
95: Cable Asylum, RE:Agree- It doesn't carry any signal (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-24, 18:03:09 (47.150.224.49)
Noise from your TT comes from coupling between the metal "chassis" and the phono leads-- the phono cable shields not usually being connected to the chassis. We want to allow the entire grounding syste .......
96: Cable Asylum, Soldering coax braided shield- advice for DIY (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-24, 13:42:30 (47.150.224.49)
I am recycling some nice, older Audioquest video coax cable and see that they collected, twisted, and soldered only about 1/3 of the braid, trimming the rest off. I have always tried to solder the ent .......
97: Vinyl Asylum, RE: New cart... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-24, 00:32:46 (47.150.224.49)
...if you really want to hear some difference for your $500. Just my 2-cents. Sell the 200-hour DL-103 for $150, say, and that gives you the $650 for a Goldring 1042 MM cart with a Gyger "S" stylus. I .......
98: Cable Asylum, RE: Do I want to ground the chassis anyway? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-17, 23:06:08 (47.150.224.49)
I am aware of the potential for ground loops- having no problems at this time with the old (grounded) AVP. I could temporarily ground it to my AC power filter chassis with a jumper and see what happe .......
99: Cable Asylum, Ypiu're exactly right. Whoda Thunkit! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-17, 22:59:30 (47.150.224.49)
I never noticed that symbol before. I guess if it's safe for my floor-polisher, it's good for my AVP. .......
100: Cable Asylum, RE: I would not worry about it unless your AV rig is a tube based design (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-17, 22:57:05 (47.150.224.49)
I worry about the cat though- last year he managed to chew through Bearette's AC power cable to her Apple laptop- There was a sickening screech, simultaneously with the power flickering, followed by t .......
101: Cable Asylum, Why does my big AV Pre-Pro have a 2-wire power cord? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-16, 22:23:40 (47.150.224.49)
It's a new (to me) Rotel RSP-1069, US model, vintage 2008-ish, equipped with an IEC male socket on the rear panel that accepts the standard IEC 320 3-wire grounded female plug, but is absent the groun .......
102: Cable Asylum, RE: good sounding DC umbilical with shield (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-16, 22:09:37 (47.150.224.49)
The VH wire is beautiful looking stuff, but since it's 24AWG better be pretty short runs. .......
103: Vinyl Asylum, RE: I'll go with my complete set of original Firesign Theater LP (nt) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-15, 16:29:28 (47.150.224.49)
;-) .......
104: Cable Asylum, RE: Canare RCAP for sub cable (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-11, 23:41:49 (47.150.224.49)
An older set IC's made of Canare LV61S coax was in for a while for my pre- to power-amp. Those had the Canare crimp-on RCAP connectors (older version- I don't know if they've changed, look the same) a .......
105: Vinyl Asylum, +1 on the vintage DD (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-08, 12:21:29 (47.150.224.49)
I really love my Sony fully-automatic PS-X55S DD -- with the right high compliance MM cart suited to its very low mass arm. I got nice results with an ADX XLMii Improved for example. It's silent, b .......
106: Cable Asylum, So what were your thoughts? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-06, 23:20:40 (47.150.224.49)
Planning to replace my preamp power cord (Forte-2, Pass design). The original is an unshielded 18/3 and I've had no noise/EMI issues- it's just ratty. The power supply is in a separate box. I suppose .......
107: Vinyl Asylum, RE: "Louie, Louie" is some sort of a national anthem... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-02, 11:03:58 (47.150.224.49)
...around Western Washington. I looked it up: "Seattle TV station KING, spearheaded a comedic effort to have "Louie Louie" replace "Washington, My Home" as Washington's official state song. Picking up .......
108: Vinyl Asylum, Good one... ~NT~ (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-12-02, 10:55:55 (47.150.224.49)
;-) .......
109: Vinyl Asylum, RE: A little Strauss (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-29, 16:58:58 (47.150.224.49)
Canadian Broadcasting LPSM5015. A nice rendering of "Till Eulenspiegel"- a Bear fave! (My classical tastes don't run super-deep, except on rare occasions...) Starting around 1980, Canadian Broadcas .......
110: Vinyl Asylum, RE: A separate SUT or a phono preamp with MM and MC inputs (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-29, 09:14:47 (47.150.224.49)
It isn't easy to get the right step-up IMO; they all have a voice of some kind. I tried expensive units like the Quicksilver transformer-- it never sounded quite 'right' (DL-103D). Plus all kinds of s .......
111: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Yup- Thanks vinyl-hating folks! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-29, 08:52:56 (47.150.224.49)
They're standing on the Titanic as it pulls out of Queenstown, jeering at us because we "missed the boat!" .......
112: Vinyl Asylum, RE: I like records; they're a painful itch kinda thing... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-29, 08:50:22 (47.150.224.49)
;-) .......
113: Vinyl Asylum, They've made "vinyl" the same sort of issue as "climate change..." )NT( (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-29, 08:47:41 (47.150.224.49)
;-) .......
114: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Dropped repeatedly on the head as a child,apparently (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-29, 08:45:56 (47.150.224.49)
"When I was a kid we listened to vinyl because there was nothing else and I remember not liking the experience." Too bad... .......
115: Vinyl Asylum, Z-Scale? )NT( (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-27, 16:19:10 (47.150.224.49)
;-) .......
116: Vinyl Asylum, Gotta watch out for them-there counterfeiters! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-26, 15:21:26 (47.150.224.49)
...you'd feel silly if you paid $75 and got the record home to find it was "Corporal Pepper" by the Beaters! .......
117: Vinyl Asylum, There's a grain of truth in the load of ore... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-26, 15:17:42 (47.150.224.49)
For a couple years now I've been "thinning the herd" and have sold off a thousand or so LP's. Most have gone to my local EllPeeHut here in Southern California who consistently offer me fair prices-- w .......
118: Vinyl Asylum, Crow's at least a nice break from leftover turkey... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-26, 14:40:11 (47.150.224.49)
I'm spinnin' Paul Butterfield while I make more turkey soup. Somehow, the damn "brined" turkey made like 3 gallons of strong broth... .......
119: Vinyl Asylum, El mejor espectáculo de rock and roll (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-26, 14:35:33 (47.150.224.49)
Joe Walsh was at his absolute peak as a guitarist, before he got all his edges smoothed off-- if you see what I mean. It was an enchanted age, or at least it always seemed palpably glowing (It looks t .......
120: Vinyl Asylum, I got one record from "Discogs" so far (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-24, 19:46:56 (47.150.224.49)
and it turned out to be quite fine. It came from a brick-n'-mortar rekkid shop. A tatty jacket but minty vinyl. My local EllPeeHut likewise sells off their dupes and less-desirable LP's but my experie .......
121: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Are you crazy? Are you high?... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-24, 14:20:57 (47.150.224.49)
...or just an ordinary guy. .......
122: Vinyl Asylum, Katy Lied - Excellent choice... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-24, 10:20:21 (47.150.224.49)
I played it to accompany turkey dinner here! The other day I was excoriating my roughly-same-age female friends on Facebook for mourning David Casssidy when, at his peak around 1975, there was "Katy L .......
123: Vinyl Asylum, I'm thankful for early Grateful Dead studio LP's! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-24, 10:15:33 (47.150.224.49)
Aoxomoxoa 1968-ish. Listening to studio 'Saint Stephen' and 'Dupree's Diamond Blues' -so excellent- recorded with minimal production- preserving that great loose, ramblin' stage presence they had i .......
124: Vinyl Asylum, TNX! ~nt (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-21, 20:49:41 (47.150.224.49)
;-) .......
125: Vinyl Asylum, Busy listening to my new FM tuner! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-21, 00:17:36 (47.150.224.49)
"Sony ST-S555ES Direct Comparator FM Stereo Tuner" - a mouthful! Vintage 1978-ish IIRC. A little scuffed up but what great sound. Very quiet, preserves musical detail beautifully, excellent octave- .......
126: Vinyl Asylum, print review of the A-T VM540ML (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-20, 23:59:17 (47.150.224.49)
Link to an exhaustive review of this cart- better read-up on it because it will likely be around for years. This cart is the TOTL of the new 500 series MM's. At the MSRP of $250 bux, it seems to repla .......
127: Cable Asylum, Here's a little diagram I've used (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-19, 20:28:33 (47.150.224.49)
I've used this in my son's system to connect his Behringer X-O. It worked well and was quiet but we should ask Duster if it looks alright to him. Please note that I follow the convention of groundi .......
128: Vinyl Asylum, Dancin around the Bearcave to "Argent" (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-17, 12:59:06 (47.150.224.49)
[Epic BN2625, 1970] Jeez, I love a great hook! 'Be Free' with the soul-strum and the B3 entering on the downbeat in the second measure-- it's what classic rock is all for. The Zombies just refused .......
129: Vinyl Asylum, The Blues Project - Spinnin' and gluing (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-17, 12:37:42 (47.150.224.49)
I loved this band for their one, real studio album "Projections" that was a minor splash in 1966 (maybe only on the US east coast...). The subsequent albums are weak. The album titled "The Blues P .......
130: Vinyl Asylum, I try to keep an "open mind"... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-14, 17:38:09 (47.150.224.49)
...trouble is, it collects lint. .......
131: Vinyl Asylum, My reaction to a digital de-clicker box is kinda' philosophical (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-14, 11:03:24 (47.150.224.49)
You want some gibboni messing with yo' rekkids? I would not let him touch my turntable until our second date, at the earliest- I don't care if he was John McLaughlin's roadie or whatever the hell w .......
132: Vinyl Asylum, It's all in the exotic metal names (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-06, 09:52:52 (47.150.224.49)
Mercury rectifiers! Gives the sound a very, ...uh,... slick and mercurial quality I bet. A classic example of enginerds with a solution looking for a problem. I have a Hg tube here in my antique disp .......
133: Tube DIY Asylum, RE: New big trafo for little headphone amp (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-06, 09:37:45 (47.150.224.49)
Interesting idea. Next round. .......
134: Vinyl Asylum, A Bridge Too Far? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-05, 22:18:33 (47.150.224.49)
Audio MusiKraft Denon DL-103 tunable phonograph cartridge... The first word describing this design that hit me was "overkill." But the phrase "A Bridge Too Far" is just right: an act or plan whose .......
135: Tube DIY Asylum, 52 years! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-04, 21:04:17 (47.150.224.49)
...and still working just as good as ever. .......
136: Vinyl Asylum, Spinnin' Some 'British Invasion' Compilations (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-04, 13:47:51 (47.150.224.49)
"The Greatest Hits From England," Parrot PAS 71010 US 1967 -- The unfortunately *Electronically rechanneled to simulate hell* "Greatest Hits From England" I acquired it in about 1967 and it' .......
137: Vinyl Asylum, RE: I held a Record LP sale this morning- (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-04, 12:45:17 (47.150.224.49)
Congrats! I had much the same response when I moved onto my boat and sold all my CD's. (Kept all the rekkids though, in a sealed metal storage pod out in Rancho Cucamonga!) A serious collector asked t .......
138: Tube DIY Asylum, New big trafo for little headphone amp (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-03, 15:14:09 (47.150.224.49)
Thanks for all your interesting insights on the subject of transformer and PS tweaks and upgrades. Chopping into my little Schiit "Magni" and running a new DC supply into it seemed overkill but I w .......
139: Tweakers' Asylum, McMaster-Carr (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-02, 22:00:12 (47.150.224.49)
Excellent quality materials and quick service, including small orders. Buy a 12" bar and find a local waterjet-cutter shop to give you, say 11 square pieces 1"x 1" (allows for jet cutter kerf). The .......
140: Tweakers' Asylum, About USB... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-02, 13:01:32 (47.150.224.49)
Preface this with the thought that we're likely dealing with very small differences in the sonic signature between competing USB cables that meet the USB "Implementers Forum" published spec. But there .......
141: Digital Drive, There's a "SOUND" idea (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-02, 10:37:34 (47.150.224.49)
I swear, if I went into my speakers and re-soldered the XO connections and cleaned and tightened everything that turns or plugs, it would have a more salutary effect than buying $500 cables or new amp .......
142: Digital Drive, Doctor, this Inmate has money coming out the wazoo... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-02, 09:03:36 (47.150.224.49)
You should sell! At around $1k, it's worth it to just slap it (ahem ..."gently place it") on the counter at UPS and have the kids there pack it for you- they do all the work! You only need to take a c .......
143: Headphone Heights, Thanks for the useful mini-review. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-02, 08:52:42 (47.150.224.49)
At the recent LA audio show I found there was quite a wide range of 'tastes' apparent in high-end headphones. (I'd come prepared to buy, but decided to stick with my trusty ol' Senn 650's). The 1/2-d .......
144: Tube DIY Asylum, Is this a good ripple spec for a lab style power supply? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-11-01, 21:42:39 (47.150.224.49)
It's an older Lambda, 0-40VDC with about 2A capacity. A quaint typewritten spec claims .015 regulation and 500 microvolts RMS ripple. I want to use this baby to power an SMSL DP-1 in lieu of the wimpy .......
145: Vinyl Asylum, RE: About tracking distortion, wearing stylii and prices of cartridges (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-31, 21:00:06 (47.150.224.49)
One way to look at this question is to match the level of performance of the turntable and cartridge. You don't want to spend too much OR too little on it, being thrifty Hollander, eh (?). That being .......
146: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Where In The Signal Path (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-30, 20:58:01 (47.150.224.49)
It has happened to me, and I traced the "source" to the littlest thing- somehow the plinth of my big Denon DD had gotten shoved over and was making contact with my equipment rack. Shoved it back 1/16" .......
147: Vinyl Asylum, Bootsy Comic Book! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-29, 22:28:46 (47.150.224.49)
Pretty cool .......
148: Vinyl Asylum, Old Graham Central Station, New Bootsy Collins Double LP (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-29, 13:56:41 (47.150.224.49)
The new Bootsy Collins double LP (yellow, psychedelic splatter vinyl!) just arrived and it is very good. No new ground has been broken compared to say "Fresh Outta P University"- the composition, p .......
149: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Goodwill find.... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-29, 13:42:13 (47.150.224.49)
You've got a winner there, if the speed's stable. Let it run overnight and see how it is when you wake up. That tonearm is pretty nice but might not make an ADC XLM-ii the best choice, since they sing .......
150: Vinyl Asylum, Love your Stressless... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-29, 13:22:02 (47.150.224.49)
...what a fine mancave you have! But you must be running speaker cables quite a long way across the room, eh? I suppose why I haven't done this is to keep speaker cables short. If you follow prevailin .......
151: Vinyl Asylum, That's a good one...from a more enlightened, bygone era (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-29, 12:52:43 (47.150.224.49)
...when informed folks knew what a cartridge was. Google just the word "cartridge" today and the first zillion entries relate to: 1) printer ink/toner, 2) firearms or 3) computer games. You have to s .......
152: Digital Drive, Got the recommended cleaning procedure (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-28, 09:19:44 (47.150.224.49)
The thoughtful folks at Lifatec provided this recommendation in response to my query: "We would recommend cleaning with a tissue soaked with 91% alcohol, and blowing it off with compressed air. That's .......
153: Digital Drive, RE: SACD player (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-26, 22:06:39 (47.150.224.49)
I recall Kal Rubinson in Stereophilev a few year back saying he thought the Oppo 105 sounded better than the Sony 5400ES. The new Oppo 'audiophile' model (205) might be fun, if the future ever were t .......
154: Digital Drive, INSPECT AND CLEAN YOUR TOSLINKS -- TODAY! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-26, 12:15:17 (47.150.224.49)
I inadvertently left an Audioquest Toslink cable out on my shelf for a while so I figured I'd better clean it before plugging it in (we live in the heart of the city with some really dirty air). I ble .......
155: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Step up - can someone recommend one of these three (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-25, 23:23:10 (47.150.224.49)
It isn't easy to get the right step-up IMO; they all have a voice of some kind. I tried expensive units like the Quicksilver transformer-- it never sounded quite 'right' with my DL-103D. Plus all kind .......
156: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Record weight recommendation (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-25, 22:58:59 (47.150.224.49)
The optimum weight for a record clamping device is zero. I agree 100% that clamping an LP is useful and effective, but as an engineer, I disagree with the notion of using a large mass as a record clam .......
157: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Ed, that was deeeeeep... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-24, 10:49:07 (47.150.224.49)
I agree wholeheartedly. There's a quite large overall chain of masses, acoustical impedances, internal damping, and "springs" (of varying sorts) superimposed with lossy couplings, electromechanical da .......
158: Vinyl Asylum, RE:Standard M5x0.8mm screw lengths (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-22, 21:51:22 (47.150.224.49)
Here's a page from the redoubtable McMaster-Carr catalog showing the standard in-stock lengths of some nice, ordinary-grade, stainless metric screws. Both 30 and 35 mm lengths are standard. They ha .......
159: Headphone Heights, This smells of a scam... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-20, 22:56:01 (174.56.108.223)
"Sonarworks Tru-Fi" downloads preselected equalization curves applied to specific headphone models. They seem to assert that a near-flat frequency response (where? inside the ear-headphone interface?) .......
160: Vinyl Asylum, Audiogram (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-19, 11:30:34 (174.56.108.223)
Here is a pretty intelligent audiogram online, free with a crosscheck. I haven't run this idea to ground yet, but I intend to buy a computer- controlled 1/3-octave stereo equalizer (pretty cheap thes .......
161: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Just an outside idea... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-19, 11:21:40 (174.56.108.223)
As my hearing loss becomes more of a problem for me, I find I enjoy headphone listening much more. At least I can get away from all external noise and get it loud enough to actually hear. I have upper .......
162: Vinyl Asylum, World's Largest Vinyl Collection? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-16, 17:43:26 (174.56.108.223)
1 MM LP's, 1.5MM singles... This is old, sorry if I repeat this from 2012-ish. The Wikipedia rundown says that in 2013: "eight 16 meter long semis pulled up to Mawhinney's warehouse and departed wi .......
163: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Risk of ambient smoke (from outside) causing damage to electronics? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-16, 17:30:10 (174.56.108.223)
Funny picture and there is no further explanation, but the Turntable Needles guys seem reasonably reliable. Hey, it's on the internet, must be right... .......
164: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Cat's don't "harass" (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-16, 17:16:36 (174.56.108.223)
...they just do WTF they want. The notion of harassment implies that we matter to them, somehow... We don't. .......
165: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Cool but.... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-16, 17:14:09 (174.56.108.223)
...suckah costs $80-90 bux on the major online retailer and/or auction site. Owch! Is it 4 - 4.5 as good as the Audioquest? I ask this seriously because my sweet venerable 1989-ish Signet carbon-fiber .......
166: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Our hearts go out to you... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-16, 08:39:56 (174.56.108.223)
and it made me think of what I'd try and save if (when) disaster hits us here in Southern California. Stay safe. .......
167: Tube DIY Asylum, RE: Yes, it's a nice steady 119 VAC in my house. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-15, 22:08:20 (174.56.108.223)
Good point. But if the transformer primary windings are rated 110V and can withstand the 119V, the secondary voltage will increase around 8% to 17.3V which is OK for my purpose. The transformer is not .......
168: Tube DIY Asylum, Help wiring transformer - simple question... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-13, 14:46:36 (47.150.224.49)
I have a old power transformer that has TWO, 110-volt primaries (enabling it to be used for 220v) along with TWO, 16-volt secondaries. I just need 16V (for my headphone amp) from my normal US 110V hou .......
169: Vinyl Asylum, RE: V.C.O.T.D..........TEN WHEEL DRIVE (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-12, 20:49:47 (47.150.224.49)
At some point around 1970 they made the claim they were the world's loudest rock band and I think they were at least in the upper few percentile... They played once on a soccer field across the street .......
170: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Word! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-11, 08:35:52 (47.150.224.49)
That is a real nice looking headshell! .......
171: Vinyl Asylum, What's EdA say? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-10, 10:11:00 (47.150.224.49)
My experience has been with the DL-103D for many years, and it was pretty great sounding cart (superior to the base DL-103). It took a lot of additional dollars to get better performance, suggestin .......
172: Vinyl Asylum, RE:What do I want to couple my TT to? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-08, 12:40:04 (47.150.224.49)
I suppose if you had a massive, vibration-isolated base of some sort, you might want couple to that. Perhaps the logic there is that unwanted vibrational energy in the turntable base would be sunk int .......
173: Vinyl Asylum, Can someone explain the science behind pointy cones? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-08, 10:34:25 (47.150.224.49)
I must have been badly hung-over during the Structural Dynamics class in college that covered pointy cones... You go out in the world beyond audiophilia and you don't see may vibration-sensitive devic .......
174: Vinyl Asylum, RE: That's the "suggested list price..." (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-07, 12:46:55 (47.150.224.49)
If you were to sell your table now, it would likely be at pennies in the dollar... Occasionally fine older ones here in SoCal sell for under $500. The earth shakes itself, all the time. We studied .......
175: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Turntable Audio Stands (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-07, 10:41:46 (47.150.224.49)
There is a huge amount of disinformation spread in the audio world about vibration isolation. High mass? Low mass? Points? Rubber donuts? WTF? Read the below if you are of a scientific bent. The fa .......
176: Vinyl Asylum, Outsourced? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-07, 10:05:07 (47.150.224.49)
So the conclusion is that the Sony Canada classical music releases must be pressed by other folks? .......
177: Vinyl Asylum, Sony's on the vinyl train... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-07, 09:55:29 (47.150.224.49)
Hip-hop and rap anyway, it seems. They also set up a new pressing plant in Japan this past year. Pretty cool, Sony, even though I won't likely be picking any of these titles up myself. This is abstrac .......
178: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Silicone Oil (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-10-05, 21:57:51 (47.150.224.49)
I got a little kit of different grade pof silicone damping fluids from Amazon, in their RC car section, and mixed a couple to get the right viscosity. See old thread below- .......
179: Vinyl Asylum, I just got a gyp "Still Sealed" record (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-30, 13:14:19 (47.150.224.49)
Arrived last night (eopn. Graham Central Station) The eBay claim was "Still sealed, cut corner." But ....the sealing film was neatly closed over the cut corner! AH- hahahahahah! In the old days, I wa .......
180: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Yup... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-29, 09:52:03 (47.150.224.49)
The platter needs to be level, the arm needs to be where it needs to be to get the optimum VTA. I'm using an arm with VTA on-the-fly adjust nowadays- it makes an audible difference in dialing in a ca .......
181: Vinyl Asylum, RE: "Still?" (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-29, 09:41:23 (47.150.224.49)
When I worked in the little record shoppe across the street in college, they had a small desk-top plastic film-sealer machine in the back. It looked like a big paper-cutter. If you were careful you co .......
182: Vinyl Asylum, Canadian Broadcasting Audiophile LP's in the 1980's (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-28, 21:44:57 (47.150.224.49)
Starting around 1980, Canadian Broadcasting launched a series of albums the referred to as "CBC Records SM5000 Series: The SM5000 record series presents dynamic, natural, wide-ranging and realistic .......
183: Vinyl Asylum, RE: LZ III (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-28, 14:42:38 (47.150.224.49)
It's all about Zeppelin today... .......
184: Vinyl Asylum, RE: +1 (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-28, 14:33:49 (47.150.224.49)
An excellent album- every song and taken overall as a composition [deducting "Hats Off to Roy Harper" which is the acoustical equivalent to those little bags of air they put in boxes to keep the actua .......
185: Vinyl Asylum, RE: V.C.O.T.D..........the android sisters (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-28, 10:48:05 (47.150.224.49)
Funny - a reference to The Android Sisters is made somewhere deep within The Firesign Theaters great body of work... maybe around 1976. Made me think about art becoming life becoming art- check these .......
186: Vinyl Asylum, RE: You have amazed me, once again (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-28, 10:40:05 (47.150.224.49)
Makes you say... "Who'dathunkit!?!?" .......
187: Vinyl Asylum, Harrison "Thirty Three & 1/3" (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-27, 12:55:10 (47.150.224.49)
A fine album, every song sweet and simple, done with excellent musicianship end-to-end. It just flows from the great band he put together for this LP! We miss ya' George. .......
188: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Record Labels (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-27, 12:42:00 (47.150.224.49)
Hey KoB- you need "Discogs" - I just typed in SUNSET LABEL and got this. I was checking a weird small boutique-y label ther m'self this morning- "High Horse" Record, before I bought a (purportedly) s .......
189: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Headshell (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-26, 21:04:33 (47.150.224.49)
I had one and sold it - it struck me as a gimmick and I didn't like the way it was made- as a custom fabricator I'm sniffy that way. I ended up finding a very nice diecast magnesium Denon headshell on .......
190: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Having owned all three cartridges . . . (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-22, 12:13:34 (47.150.224.49)
I remain a little concerned that the VPI Nomad arm looks, from the photos anyway, like a medium mass type and the ADC does need a featherweight like a Black Widow or Grace G707 type... .......
191: Vinyl Asylum, RE: How's it sound? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-22, 12:05:26 (47.150.224.49)
I always find the aromatic incense rising from the solder (and the like) makes things I recently made sound REALLY good... .......
192: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Moderators- move as needed. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-20, 19:00:11 (47.150.224.49)
I was thinking of multichannel vs my LP collection, is why it's here. .......
193: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Your multi-channel system... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-20, 18:58:07 (47.150.224.49)
Your multi-channel system obviously has had the substantial investment needed to produce a theater-like environment. Add to that the investment in your stereo rig (separate from the HT rig.) I bet you .......
194: Vinyl Asylum, Do you use or want more than 2 channels? 16? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-20, 11:15:28 (47.150.224.49)
I think Emotiva has a fine degree of sensitivity to 2-channel listeners, what with phono preamps and such in their stable, but this seems REALLY SILLY! 16 channels of what, for why? 16 speakers sp .......
195: Vinyl Asylum, RE: You've found the crux of the biscuit (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-19, 17:38:22 (47.150.224.49)
As the experts at Expert say: "Conicals statistically trace less surface area of the groove wall, so can theoretically pick up less record damage (unless they trace an area where there HAS been lots o .......
196: Vinyl Asylum, RE:"Start Needle Here" (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-19, 17:13:36 (47.150.224.49)
I love those- I remember playing the square ones on my dad's Stromberg-Carlson console stereo! The Mad Magazine interview disc is quite rare now I believe... .......
197: Vinyl Asylum, RE: ROTFLMAO (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-19, 15:20:15 (47.150.224.49)
Thanks for sharing that! Carver- oi vey! .......
198: Vinyl Asylum, "Place coin here if Soundseheet slips" (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-19, 14:57:40 (47.150.224.49)
I wish I'd kept all of my soundsheets- I used to have a box of them. The EvaTone promotional soundsheet on the left states clearly that they are "Broadcast Quality! - ah-Hahahahah! The one in the .......
199: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Not this Gong... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-18, 11:35:50 (47.150.224.49)
This French guy was fortunate enough to get Allan Holdsworth and Mike Oldfield on guitars at various times. It's in the fusion bin but it's reserved for those weirder moments when I'm diggin' deep, .......
200: Vinyl Asylum, Effective mass issues (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-18, 10:27:14 (47.150.224.49)
The contributions to effective mass in a "typical" radial tonearm (per my own wonky measurements and calculations for my old Grace 840) are as follows: 77% for the headshell and cart + 13% for the arm .......
201: Tweakers' Asylum, RE: I don't think I'd take $1000 for my 1964 Weller gun (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-17, 22:00:25 (47.150.224.49)
Built me my first vacuum tube bass amp in 1964. Still working fine. I have a couple Weller pencil irons but for everyday this-'n-that it's still on my workbench, roughly same position, after 50+ ye .......
202: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Tony Williams (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-16, 13:28:07 (47.150.224.49)
I think Fuse1 never made it to vinyl... .......
203: Music Lane, RE: New Bruford box set coming (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-15, 13:14:36 (47.150.224.49)
Bruford's solo efforts and bands seemed a little spotty to me. I kept half dozen LP's and let the rest go. Bruford/Levin makes pretty tasty combination ("Upper Extremities") but some of the "Earthwork .......
204: Music Lane, Anybody familiar with "Raisins in the Sun" Rounder 2001? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-15, 12:53:04 (47.150.224.49)
Gotta be pretty damn good with Jules Shear, Harvey Brooks, Chuck Prophet, and Jim Dickinson... I got to thinking about Dickinson spinning a few Cooder LP's today. .......
205: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Cooder makes excellent soundtracks! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-15, 12:42:15 (47.150.224.49)
And you have excellent taste, my friend! I recently sought out a good clean copy of the Paris soundtrack LP. I claim that Harry Dean Stanton is the unsung god of American cinematographic comedy. An .......
206: Vinyl Asylum, RE: ADC XLM MKII Improved Compliance Issue (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-14, 22:45:47 (47.150.224.49)
Looking at the pictures of the VPI Nomad, I'd guess it is medium-mass and thus not compatible with the ADC's. I run a Mkii Improved in very low mass arm and it sounds great, tracks great. If I can cha .......
207: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Pardon my ramblings... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-13, 12:57:24 (47.150.224.49)
I think the question is a little ...-er ...too broad? What is it the OP like/dislike about his current rig? What is he trying to achieve? As it stands now, subtle improvements in the cartridge body .......
208: Vinyl Asylum, RE: How about this for a thrust pad material? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-10, 12:01:28 (47.150.224.49)
Maybe the range of properties of common T.C. industrial doodads falls in a pretty narrow band. I.e. the recipe for the material varies but not by much I suspect. There are all sorts of ASTM and Mil-Sp .......
209: Vinyl Asylum, RE: How about this for a thrust pad material? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-10, 11:03:22 (47.150.224.49)
That's a great idea- a source for sapphire discs without going to wacky industrial suppliers. Watch crystals may be in the 2,000 Knoop hardness range! See article below. Also has some ideas for mount .......
210: Vinyl Asylum, RE: How about this for a thrust pad material? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-09, 21:13:33 (47.150.224.49)
Who let the engineers out? The calculation is whether the plastic has sufficient strength and stability to resist the body-contact "Hertzian" stress from the ball sitting on it. This paper has a prett .......
211: Vinyl Asylum, Tony Williams (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-09, 01:02:05 (47.150.224.49)
I had the excellent fortune to see the V.S.O.P show in the 70's, what a great drummer. He's on a rare plane with Lenny White, Billy Hart, and Jack Dejohnette as far as Fusion music. There's a CD conta .......
212: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Bang and Olufsen decks (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-04, 22:45:12 (47.150.224.49)
The prejudice from the Golden Age goes that all the money went into making them pretty and left them with limited sonic potential... I had one for a brief time and never heard it sing beautifully, but .......
213: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Wow, Greek psychedelia (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-04, 22:29:00 (47.150.224.49)
Listening on YouTube just to get a taste. It's going over my head- just a guess but perhaps you had to take certain specific medications to decode the music fully... like the Dead? The most ambitious .......
214: Vinyl Asylum, RE: What happened to the pivot? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-04, 12:33:30 (47.150.224.49)
I am preparing a new project with a Stax UA-7c that I've had lying around for some time, unmounted. Was the failure of those 2 arms you mention abrupt or did it wear out gradually? What were the sympt .......
215: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Tempted (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-04, 12:30:12 (47.150.224.49)
My original is pretty ragged. It's nice to hear a new pressing that isn't fraught with problems. .......
216: Vinyl Asylum, DIY turntable cable replacement- on the cheap (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-04, 12:21:31 (47.150.224.49)
Photo shows my new home-brewed cable that replace the stock Sony cables on my PS-X50. I wanted some very-low-capacitance coax and shopped around but was put off by cost of high grade wire; add the .......
217: Vinyl Asylum, Plan your retirement carefully... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-01, 14:09:26 (47.150.224.49)
It may involve beekeeping, antioxidants, and LP sales! .......
218: Vinyl Asylum, RE: VPI Scout Master JMW9 Arm - which of 2 carts? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-09-01, 10:46:21 (47.150.224.49)
I deeply love my Dynvector XX - mine's an old Mk 1 but the new versions might be worth a listen if you were interested. Its sound is full, lively and solid- emotion comes through. Going to an MM migh .......
219: Vinyl Asylum, It's time... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-31, 15:58:14 (47.150.224.49)
I was thinking the other night that the only reason all the "audiophile" turntables are belt-drives is that the companies making them are under-capitalized to the extent they can'f afford the budget t .......
220: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Fluance? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-31, 15:47:00 (47.150.224.49)
Though I have not heard it, the Fluance RT-81 TT has gotten some good remarks here. Search VA. It looks quite competent, has a nice woody retro vibe and sells for around 250 bux from Amazon (Prime if .......
221: Vinyl Asylum, RE: because I am nearly 60 and all I own is on it? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-30, 11:07:38 (47.150.224.49)
Richard, I'm in the same boat but your post suggest that it may be time to upgrade your digital playback system. My digital components currently produce warm, lively sound from CD's and PC files throu .......
222: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Clamping is good. Record weights are a bad idea. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-30, 10:53:07 (47.150.224.49)
I agree 100% that clamping an LP is useful and effective, for the exact reason you describe. That was a good, realistic test I hadn't heard of before; if you can find a way to post it on VA, please do .......
223: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Whatever bourbon cures, I'm free of! (nt) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-30, 10:36:35 (47.150.224.49)
;-) .......
224: Vinyl Asylum, At least there are no outrageous claims made for it... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-29, 18:21:39 (47.150.224.49)
"...unique power that no other wood possesses. The vibration generated by the diamond stylus in the vinyl groove besides inducing an electroflux through the phono-cartridge also excites the ebony mole .......
225: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Very well-said! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-29, 18:14:41 (47.150.224.49)
I never stopped playing vinyl from when I was a child and bought my first LP with "my own money" ("Introducing The Beatles on VeeJay) and I listen to LP's because 1.) my record collection is the sound .......
226: Vinyl Asylum, .Captain Beefheart had a unique aesthetic... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-29, 10:10:05 (47.150.224.49)
Zoiks! .......
227: Vinyl Asylum, Bernstein Mahler 2, LSO (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-27, 13:39:39 (47.150.224.49)
O.T., but it is ANALOG and I couldn't help but note this fine performance with the LSO, Sheila Armstrong and Janet Baker [DG Laserdisc 072 200-1, 1974] Bernstein dishes up some big-ass Mahler, I te .......
228: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Nice sounding rig... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-27, 11:29:27 (47.150.224.49)
...with the capability to maximize the performance of the best MC carts. Worth shopping/ waiting for. A good example of well-matched pieces of "vintage" gear (1989 for the MKiii) yielding state of the .......
229: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Upgrade to floor standing speakers for classical music vinyl listening (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-27, 11:20:58 (47.150.224.49)
I beg your pardon if this is too rudimentary, but let's go back to basics: The wattage rating of the speakers is intended to be a guide to the maximum sustained power they can withstand before the voi .......
230: Computer Audio Asylum, RE: Thanks! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-24, 11:39:12 (47.150.224.49)
The little "Eitr" may be just what I'm looking for. I'm currently running an older generic CM6631 D-D-C and think it may benefit from an upgrade. I have found Schiit to make honest claims; it's extrem .......
231: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Structural dynamicist geek-Bear's take (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-24, 11:23:44 (47.150.224.49)
I can't help but wonder what it might mean to have a "free and honest tonearm." During play there are inherent in any LP/arm/cartridge assembly a whole host of dynamic behaviors- they're all damped to .......
232: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Since its a direct drive table... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-24, 10:25:05 (47.150.224.49)
Ed, if I misunderstood this situation I apologize, but the spindle on all my DD 'tables has a tolerance for a slight upward movement. I found this because in my laboratory of rare vintage DD junk, som .......
233: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Vintage Sony in-line SUT's (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-22, 20:25:12 (47.150.224.49)
I'll keep my eyes peeled for a pair of these- they couldn't be more convenient. Glad they sound good. .......
234: Vinyl Asylum, Vintage Sony in-line SUT's (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-22, 11:26:18 (47.150.224.49)
Saw these on eBay. Just based on their appearance, they look like like those tiny in-the-plug mic transformers they sell at the musician websites for about $25/ea. .......
235: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Namiki, wow... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-22, 10:23:35 (47.150.224.49)
...just read a little in the interwebbs about these guys. An amazing firm specializing in extremely advanced technology and all sorts of diamond stuff onvolving phrases like: "homoepitaxial diamond gr .......
236: Vinyl Asylum, Perfect match for my car... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-22, 10:12:12 (47.150.224.49)
... that is, assuming it runs on the same grade of Plutonium! .......
237: Vinyl Asylum, RE: If you can audition a Goldring MM.. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-21, 10:46:33 (47.150.224.49)
You can get near the top of their MM line for around $600 or so, IIRC. I heard them in comparison to a TOTL Clearaudio MM in a detailed listening session a few years back and found both tuneful, detai .......
238: Vinyl Asylum, RE: 70's cars sucked? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-21, 10:27:23 (47.150.224.49)
Not all of 'em... there be Dragons... I'm prejudiced by the fact the 70's were the last decade that all my synapses were operable (i.e. before I had children). I knew this woman who'd loan me her w .......
239: Vinyl Asylum, RE: How are the LP Gear brand stylus compared to originals? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-21, 10:09:44 (47.150.224.49)
You're not likely to find many big fans for aftermarket styli in VA... many complaint about poor quality control prevail. Having purchased 3 aftermarket styli this year, two from The Voice of Music an .......
240: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Cartridge (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-14, 16:45:39 (64.184.158.149)
A very wise recc on the AT-95e. I have listened to that cart critically and it presents a well-balanced sound, smooth and non-fatiguing, for a super bargain! One online dealer has the cart with a blac .......
241: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Cartridge question (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-13, 17:51:40 (204.195.13.253)
I recently went down a *parallel* road up-cycling some old carts I had around the Bearcave, looking for that sweet spot on the cost/performance curve. I ended up really loving the replacement stylus I .......
242: Vinyl Asylum, McMaster-Carr catalog yields new extra counterweight (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-02, 16:21:39 (24.17.211.11)
My Sony PS-X50 tonearm counterweight couldn't quite balance my heavy (aluminum body) Dynavector XX-1 cart and there was no mention of an extra weigh in the user's- or service manuals. I measured th .......
243: Vinyl Asylum, RE: I'm with Travis in this meandering debate... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-02, 15:34:45 (47.150.224.49)
I play vinyl because I have few thousand deeply-loved LP's. I can't afford to replace them with anything, don't WANT to replace them, and I like the way they've sounded my whole life. I'm here in VA t .......
244: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Last time I saw Dave Matthews... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-08-02, 14:53:05 (47.150.224.49)
He was sitting on his front porch strumming his guitar, up in Seattle somewhere around Roosevelt and 63rd. Seemed like a pretty mellow guy. "Stand Up" is a favorite. .......
245: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Bear don't endorse or condone drug use, but... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-31, 11:27:47 (47.150.224.49)
Drugs can be a sort of key! I mean that literally, they're like the Captain Midnight Secret Decoder Ring- the correct combination of psychotropics translate the music into alternate symbols and otherw .......
246: Vinyl Asylum, I've been listening to "Hissing of Summer Lawns" (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-31, 10:33:54 (47.150.224.49)
... and "Blue" quite a bit recently. You can appreciate the way her depth and style had grown so rapidly from the sweet, simple songs of "Ladies of the Canyon," hitting some sort of jazzy peak around .......
247: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Platter weight for Linn Sondek (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-30, 16:18:40 (47.150.224.49)
I hadn't heard that story. Platter bearings seem to be somewhat delicate, their sizes may be minimized in design to reduce rumble and lower friction, also to minimize cost of the precision machined .......
248: Vinyl Asylum, RE: New Phono Stage ... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-30, 16:07:22 (47.150.224.49)
I'll be real interested to hear how the phono stage stacks up! I love Yamaha's (vintage) house sound- never adding any garbage- its sins are only those of omission- maybe a little sacrifice of midrang .......
249: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Maybe not $300... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-29, 12:34:07 (47.150.224.49)
If we were looking at making these in a limited run (US) I might start my thinking assuming forged aluminum for the bases and platter (fine aesthetic quality)+ precision-machining for the bearing, arm .......
250: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Top ten (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-28, 21:06:41 (47.150.224.49)
Allman Brothers Band - Live at Fillmore East Little Feat - Waiting for Columbus Grateful Dead - American Beauty Jefferson Airplane - Bless Its Pointed Little Head Santana - Caravanserai Pink Floyd - W .......
251: Vinyl Asylum, RE: did you replace al the electrolytic caps in it? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-27, 20:29:52 (47.150.224.49)
I was told one time too many by my crusty old Grandpa "Don't fix it till it's broke!" so I'm rolling the dice on the electrolytics holding up a while. My backup plan if my Sony dies: move on to the ne .......
252: Vinyl Asylum, RE: I have a little hoard of Radio Shack clamps! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-27, 10:44:42 (47.150.224.49)
...when I was a young man, I figured they wouldn't make these forever- they're too good and too cheap. I was actually right (that one time...) Strangely, the first clamp has lasted 25 years... The hot .......
253: Vinyl Asylum, Restored Sony PS-X50 (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-26, 15:28:13 (47.150.224.49)
Thanks for everybody's help on this. AA is a great resource! Just finished restoring this sweet vintage Sony PS-X50 D.D. turntable: unfroze the motor bearing, speed is stable, all controls working .......
254: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Vinyl shopping: Santa Monica / LA (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-26, 14:52:27 (47.150.224.49)
Really nice selection, good people and fair prices at "Fingerprints" in Long Beach= 4th Ave a block east of the Blue Line station. Good coffee and food at the "Berlin" inside the store too. ::: TOPIC .......
255: Vinyl Asylum, Custom-mix your own silicone cueing-damping fluid- Thanx bare! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-23, 17:52:00 (47.150.224.49)
Thanks to inmate "bare" (from the Bear) for the idea to check the RC Model shop for silicone shock-absorber and differential gearbox fluids. I actually ended up ordering on Amazon getting a little kit .......
256: Vinyl Asylum, RE: I rank Sony amongst the intelligent... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-23, 11:49:03 (47.150.224.49)
Sony at least have ears and a measure of integrity. I see it in the design of their equipment and perhaps in their overall strategy. I don't care of they're slow responding to market influences, reall .......
257: Vinyl Asylum, RE: No, no Biff! You have to wait just a bit... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-23, 11:00:34 (47.150.224.49)
...until the Bear finishes thinning his herd and selling off his "excess" LP's at today's suuuper-premium prices! The irony of it is that many of the thinned LP's are ones I bought for 3/1$ at the end .......
258: Vinyl Asylum, RE: We want one of the "major labels: to stop pressing CD's (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-23, 10:55:44 (47.150.224.49)
...and start hawking some combination of downloadable/streaming music with matching players- all a slick system in a colorful box that 10MM folks go out and buy at Walmart, right over there next to th .......
259: Vinyl Asylum, RE: My sentiments exactly! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-23, 10:50:50 (47.150.224.49)
I just like music. EVERY kind of music* and each of my current different music-players sound good, each in its distinctive, slightly different way. Bears just like to resist CHANGE in all its guises! .......
260: Vinyl Asylum, Sell now- catch the wave! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-22, 10:33:29 (47.150.224.49)
In the past year por so I put together turntables, actually complete systems, with stuff codged from Craigslist for 4 of the nice young people at my shop PLUS my daughter. (They paid for the stuff, no .......
261: Vinyl Asylum, RE: P-700 Service Manual? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-22, 10:17:07 (47.150.224.49)
Closest I could find was for the P-751, from the same vintage roughly. Vinyl Engine. Looking at the schematic for the 751 it appears the entire motor speed control is in 2 IC's with just a few exte .......
262: Rocky Road, NPR Tackles Progressive Rock and Earns My Wrath (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-18, 12:01:47 (47.150.224.49)
NPR interviewed author David Weigel, trying to straddle the fence a bit, but conveying an unmistakable mocking tone... Weigel says "I've always liked this progressive rock that is not critically respe .......
263: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Any thoughts on AC power cord replacement for a DD table? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-18, 09:51:44 (47.150.224.49)
Thanks for that observation- it sums up my general feelings: a good cord can't hurt. I can whip together a decent shielded 2-wire cord for about $20 or so, and might do that because as one post here s .......
264: Vinyl Asylum, Any thoughts on AC power cord replacement for a DD table? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-18, 00:15:14 (47.150.224.49)
I am replacing a the interconnects on my Sony PS-X50 table and have been eyeing the cruddy old zipcord. Can anyone comment on their adventures with upgraded power cords on vintage DD tables? I tend t .......
265: Vinyl Asylum, RE: More records in the house (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-17, 09:33:21 (47.150.224.49)
"Mr T's" Books sounds interesting- what area is yours? .......
266: Vinyl Asylum, RE:Nice story... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-17, 09:25:32 (47.150.224.49)
records do that "memory lane" thing for me all the time... .......
267: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Agree (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-16, 09:18:04 (47.150.224.49)
Speed instability can be easy to fix (if you have basic electronic skills and are lucky...) or it can send the table to the junkpile. It can be pretty subtle, so listen with headphones to some music y .......
268: Vinyl Asylum, Re: Thanks! nt (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-15, 11:58:47 (47.150.224.49)
;-) .......
269: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Agreed (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-15, 09:53:09 (47.150.224.49)
An easy first thing to do, if the OP hasn't done it already, is to clean and examine the stylus- if it's bent or damaged or covered with gunk and a big ol' fuzzball, that could be the problem in it .......
270: Vinyl Asylum, RE: "Any other thoughts?" (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-14, 09:38:56 (47.150.224.49)
The Lenco is lovely, but clearly is a "hobby" to own, maintain, and love... It's sorta' like if you wanted to drive a '49 Mercury to work every day. You can do it but it's a commitment. Most people bu .......
271: Vinyl Asylum, Bear don't lissen' to no krautrock! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-14, 09:31:32 (47.150.224.49)
Ow! Put the hurt wrench on my big, fuzzy ears! .......
272: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Weird damping mechanism- ever seen this? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-13, 19:44:21 (47.150.224.49)
Thanks for the tip- there is every sort of silicone damping stuff on Amazon too in the RC section-like you said- cheap! Is 300,000 cts pretty thick-- like thicker than pancake syrup? I have no clue b .......
273: Vinyl Asylum, RE: New Cartridge (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-13, 12:02:54 (47.150.224.49)
Good choice! I went 'round and 'round with with the confusing array of aftermarket ADC styli available for the ADC XLM. The information on the internet is contradictory but it seems to me that ADC, l .......
274: Vinyl Asylum, Any guess as to the nature of the damping fluid? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-13, 10:54:41 (47.150.224.49)
Thanks for your reply! .......
275: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Weird damping mechanism- ever seen this? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-12, 15:07:49 (47.150.224.49)
Don't know why this didn't show up... sorry .......
276: Vinyl Asylum, Weird damping mechanism- ever seen this? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-11, 21:54:59 (47.150.224.49)
Anybody ever seen a damping mechanism like this- no piston! The damping on my sweet Sony PS-X50 is gone and I aim to get it back. The cueing lever is on the front of the table; it moves the cam tha .......
277: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Are you sure about tax treatment ? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-11, 01:17:32 (47.150.224.49)
I looked into this. If you make sales consistent with and incidental to a hobby interest and eBay sales don't grossly exceed purchases in a given year, it is extremely unlikely that you would be regar .......
278: Vinyl Asylum, New World Order is a great album... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-11, 00:41:35 (47.150.224.49)
This album was cut as Curtis literally lay in bed, paralyzed, and is as real and as tender and full of soul as anything he ever did- it'll make the hair in the back of your neck stand up. Gorgeous .......
279: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Garage sale turntable weight... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-10, 10:22:38 (47.150.224.49)
I wouldn't put that much weight on your TT bearing- it represents probably a 100% increase over the original design force. It might not damage the bearing immediately but will increase wear in the lon .......
280: Vinyl Asylum, RE: friend needs eBay seller recommendation for NYC (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-10, 10:18:48 (47.150.224.49)
eBay Resellers I've used have taken around 50% for small dollar sales and won't accept individual items under around $50. I can't imagine any reseller grading LP's meaningfully either, which is critic .......
281: Music Lane, George Benson playing some jazz sooo smoothly... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-09, 15:01:33 (47.150.224.49)
...before the disappointing epoch of "Smooth Jazz" really took off in the mid-70's, and before he began to sing, Benson put out a few fine, mellow jazz albums on CTI. This and "White Rabbit" in 197 .......
282: Vinyl Asylum, Prog Rock! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-09, 08:59:27 (47.150.224.49)
King Crimson "Larks Tongues" is a great LP., but prog rock is an acquired taste. It simply drives the Bearette crazy to listen to most any prog rock- she likes *songs,* not deep, long, often-rambling .......
283: Vinyl Asylum, Thanks- useful info! (nt) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-08, 20:33:22 (47.150.224.49)
;-) .......
284: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Look on then Last Factory website (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-07, 00:25:55 (47.156.245.173)
I looked up Stylast Stylus Cleaner's MSDS-- these are all on line by law I think-- and the ingredients are pure isopropyl alcohol and water. So you can mix your own from high-purity reagent-grade IPA .......
285: Vinyl Asylum, ...and the Tubeway Army... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-06, 12:26:04 (47.156.245.173)
By the way, which one is Tubeway? .......
286: Vinyl Asylum, Go Bill! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-06, 12:16:31 (47.156.245.173)
Good to see him diggin' your vinyl! I'm guessing that at 93, he'd have been most influenced by popular music in the radio around 1940 -- Rosemary Clooney, Count Basie, Artie Shaw- the big band swingin .......
287: Tweakers' Asylum, RE: Also, the guys who design these devices are pretty smart (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-04, 20:09:11 (47.156.245.173)
I think his point is a little more subtle, maybe. There has to be a cost/benefit review before undertaking costly improvements, like adding a $100+ power supply to a $50 hock-shop headphone amp. (I do .......
288: Tweakers' Asylum, There's a good idea! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-04, 19:54:16 (47.156.245.173)
Just to find the "right" piece of vintage stuff to salvage the trafo from... .......
289: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Cartridge coil questions (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-04, 12:14:38 (47.156.245.173)
The voltage output of a generator like a MM cart is related to the magnetic flux (at the centroid of the coils, presumably) and the geometry and number of turns of the coils. (the basic ideas of Maxwe .......
290: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Ah. Hahahahahaha.... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-04, 11:43:04 (47.156.245.173)
"Vinyl inherently adds so much noise and distortion that anything approaching realism is technically impossible. The perception that vinyl can possibly even vaguely approach sonic realism has to be a .......
291: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Question regarding repair of album covers (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-04, 11:41:00 (47.156.245.173)
Agree with Manny- if it's a collector's item, don't touch it. I have some LP's bought 50 years ago and any tape repair gets old and yellow and either flakes off, or sticks forever in some place you do .......
292: Tweakers' Asylum, Just the trafo is external (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-02, 23:00:22 (47.156.245.173)
The rectifier and filter is inside the little amp, SMD's on the board. .......
293: Tweakers' Asylum, RE: I loved Zorro when I was a kid (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-02, 22:58:15 (47.156.245.173)
I was more a fan of Sgt. Garcia. Sgt Schultz had the same place in my heart. Thanks... 100VA seems about the right degree of overklill for a 1W amplifier. .......
294: Tweakers' Asylum, RE: Thank you (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-01, 16:28:17 (47.156.245.173)
The unit in the eBay ad looks lovely and I might not be able to build it myself for $80-90 bux, **if** I could find the perfect toroid... so it seems a decent value. It may be crazy but I can buy .......
295: Tweakers' Asylum, RE: Schiit only eats AC! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-01, 16:01:29 (47.156.245.173)
Thanks, but the Schiit-branded wall-wart is just a transformer that sends 16 VAC to the little amp. There's a decent looking rectifier and filter inside the tiny little box already. Maybe there's more .......
296: Amp/Preamp Asylum, RE: Power transformer for NAD C162 (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-07-01, 15:45:30 (47.156.245.173)
The power supply schematic is in the attached link to HiFi Engine's fine website. The supply is quite complex providing +/- 52VDC, +/- 26VDC, 12VDC, and 5.5VDC- all regulated. It doesn't seem to note .......
297: Tweakers' Asylum, Any advantage to having a bigger trafo on headphone amp? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-30, 14:06:57 (47.156.245.173)
I love my little Schiit "Magni" headphone amp and have no basic complaints, but might having bigger transformer offer any performance advantage? It's a sweet circuit design-- a discrete transistor pow .......
298: Amp/Preamp Asylum, The components inside are not delicate flowers (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-30, 13:35:29 (47.156.245.173)
Better gear often uses components that satisfy US "Mil Specs" or components of an equivalent quality level . MIL_STD-883 is the basic basic the outline of which is nicely summarized in the link below. .......
299: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Simple Green, ain't... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-30, 13:22:35 (47.156.245.173)
...it's a strong cleanser. Its MSDS lists 7 or 8 ingredients including ethoxylated alcohol as a surfactant, which I got interested in. It's a chemical used in oilfield fracking; the manufacturer claim .......
300: Amp/Preamp Asylum, I'd have either of them in a hot minute! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-29, 18:01:39 (47.156.245.173)
... wait! Lucky Bear has both of 'em! Just sold the Luxman clearly noted as "MM phono" only-- got good price to boot- after gently removing the MCT. I'm putting it in a little metal chassis to use a .......
301: Vinyl Asylum, Thanx- can't get that image outta my mind... (nt) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-29, 09:13:38 (47.156.245.173)
;-) .......
302: Vinyl Asylum, Might be a Stanton in my future (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-28, 21:39:38 (47.156.245.173)
I read on-line somewhere a former Stanton engineer says that the the Pickering XSV-3000 was essentially an 881S. There's a lot of commonality in those lines. The Stanton 681EEE MkIIS that had the "Ste .......
303: Vinyl Asylum, Pickering XSV Cartridge Body and Aftermarket D-4500Q Stylus. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-28, 21:17:15 (47.156.245.173)
Currently I'm enjoying a sweet vintage Pickering XSV/XUV hybrid. I bought a replacement stylus for my XSV-3000 claimed to be an EVG Games, part number 4608-DQX, from The Voice of Music in Wisconsin. T .......
304: Cable Asylum, Rank beginners? HEY I RESEMBLE THAT REMARK!! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-21, 12:51:50 (47.156.245.173)
But I did tease the secret Dr. Jon cookbook out of you! Thanks and I hope I can help you with a structural dynamics matter someday. .......
305: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Floor vibration vs. Airborne sound (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-20, 12:01:59 (47.156.245.173)
I've been noodling on this a few years......35 or so, as a structural and manufacturing engineer, and there are a few ideas that seem basic. Isolating floor vibration: Mass is a good idea- like the ma .......
306: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Interesting... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-20, 11:11:01 (47.156.245.173)
...experience agreeing with theory! Those little Mapleshade-style pads I'd expect to be useful only in the audio frequency range when loaded with ordinary turntable-size masses. .......
307: Vinyl Asylum, Vibration Isolation Technical Article- Interesting (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-19, 23:41:21 (47.156.245.173)
I abstracted the following from a whitepaper (link) published by Ametek/TMC, a big vibration control equipment manufacturer. It's a good description of what you need to do to really isolate a tu .......
308: Cable Asylum, Interesting design info from Belden (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-18, 22:57:25 (47.156.245.173)
Check this website - ideas for inventor-types- detailed comparisons and tech data on various insulation types .......
309: Cable Asylum, RE: Thanks, Jon (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-18, 22:50:32 (47.156.245.173)
Very helpful advice. I was wondering of there were any DIY cable experimenters here after all. I studied teflon tape and acquired the heavyweight "gas service" yellow PTFE tape from a reliable hardwar .......
310: Speaker Asylum, Also consider what's happening to those peaks (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-17, 14:57:25 (47.156.245.173)
My system has two, 10" 3-way speakers and a 250wpc amp (plus the subwoofer) and I have measured a sustained 105-106 dB at borderline-painful levels in my large living room. At the level I heard no sig .......
311: Cable Asylum, Need some expert help with coax cable project (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-16, 14:52:51 (47.156.245.173)
Via the secret BearNet, a few nice RCA interconnects have arrived at the Cave- a trio originally intended for "component" video service. The construction is ~6% silver center conductor and silver f .......
312: Amp/Preamp Asylum, Listening to Three Vintage Preamps: Luxman, Threshold/Forte, B&K (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-16, 12:03:09 (47.156.245.173)
I have all 3 of these fine preamps to audition now and it has been an interesting comparison. I received the B&K and Lux in non-operational condition - both had simple gunk inside switches and were fi .......
313: Vinyl Asylum, I take a somewhat jaundiced view to audiophile artistry (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-16, 10:21:31 (47.156.245.173)
I listened briefly to Ms Stanley and she is indeed a sweet singer, backed by bunch of fine session-men. I have to say that I look back with some regret regarding almost all of the "audiophile" LP's I .......
314: Vinyl Asylum, RE: What's the hurry?... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-16, 09:56:40 (47.156.245.173)
A keen philosophical observation my friend. But if I may broaden your observation-- listening to rekkids' is a delight, a pleasure that requires vastly more milliseconds than popping in a CD, and tho .......
315: Speaker Asylum, RE: Darn straight! (nt) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-15, 23:15:34 (47.156.245.173)
;-) .......
316: Speaker Asylum, RE: Good analtysis (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-15, 01:20:19 (47.156.245.173)
I had pretty good sound from AudioEngine 5's paired with a 10" 50-watt Boston subwoofer in the salon on my boat when we lived-aboard. Good imaging and highly resistant to corrosion (just a side note.. .......
317: Speaker Asylum, RE: No way that junk is getting in my front door! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-15, 01:00:34 (47.156.245.173)
Junk? Whoa! You gotta envision! I work in a shop that fabricates and repairs fine art, mostly sculptural objects and interesting prototype items. We have a drive-in laminar-downflow paint booth. I .......
318: Speaker Asylum, Anybody recognize this (partial) interesting system? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-14, 12:36:48 (47.156.245.173)
The seller refers to them as "subwoofers" and apparently they are custom-fitted to a steel stand intended to have a monitor on top. It's an idea I'd been considering for my next DIY project. I thou .......
319: Vinyl Asylum, Pretty much says how I felt about the LA Audio Show (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-11, 14:04:05 (47.156.245.173)
... they just were handing out the wrong kind of "bag" .......
320: Music Lane, Bobby Watson- Sooo smooth! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-11, 13:13:42 (47.156.245.173)
What chops! Every tune sweet and mellow. Great sound for a remote recording too. .......
321: Music Lane, RE: Lovely- thanks! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-11, 13:11:50 (47.156.245.173)
Been having a bit of an Ella revival here at the Bearcave these past few weeks! I gotta say I love "U-Tube" for things like this. Although there probably isn't any better audio available from an old T .......
322: Vinyl Asylum, What do you find lacking in the SF? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-07, 23:54:27 (47.156.245.173)
Your consideration of the Klyne suggests you have some issues? Maybe you're getting some interaction between the SF and the passive pre- passive preamps are not easy to interface. Research is indicate .......
323: Rocky Road, "Q's Jook Joint" (Warner 1995) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-06, 12:56:39 (47.156.245.173)
Strange album- some amazing big-band cuts, some smooth Q jazzy soul, some tracks that defy categorization! His 1995 theory seeming to be to slam everything together and maybe some delightful fusion .......
324: Rocky Road, If you were to be remembered for one thing... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-06, 12:51:27 (47.156.245.173)
...let it be at least as damn good as this performance! We actually own and listen to the '71 (?) original cast recording of Jesus Christ Superstar here at the Bearcave. This is largely because Beare .......
325: General Asylum, My first big audio show (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-05, 18:07:45 (47.156.245.173)
At the LA Audio Show this past weekend I heard a few beautiful things - and a lot of awful sound, the kind that made me cry "don't you people have ears?" (silently, to myself). The big thrust of the .......
326: Amp/Preamp Asylum, REVIEW: B&K Components PRO-10MC Preamplifier (SS) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-06-01, 00:14:14 (47.156.245.173)
Model: PRO-10MC Category: Preamplifier (SS) Suggested Retail Price: $698 Description: Discrete solid state stereo preamp, MM and MC capability Manufacturer URL: B&K Components Review by .......
327: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Oh, and a question . . . (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-31, 12:44:29 (47.156.245.173)
Sorry I missed your inquiry. I ordered the isolator pads from the firm in the link below. Excellent service, good quality. I feel that just putting them under your CD player's feet isn't going to do .......
328: Vinyl Asylum, Mike Moffat's Schiit! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-30, 11:50:34 (47.156.245.173)
These Schiit people really know their ...uh, worn-out jokes. I just have their tiny headphone amp "Magni." Listening yesterday I concluded I could live happily with my TT, Preamp, the Magni, and my Se .......
329: Vinyl Asylum, Nice of her! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-27, 16:51:13 (47.156.245.173)
Your friend's turntable isn't a bad sounding unit, despite the sorta' gimmicky construction. The limiting factor is probably the arm-- I never really trust the servotracer system, although I've seen t .......
330: Vinyl Asylum, Can anybody comp me for LAAS June 2? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-27, 14:34:02 (47.156.245.173)
Sure would like a freebie, if anybody has the magical power to put my name on the list!! .......
331: Vinyl Asylum, RE: I should have looked at your AA "system" eh? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-25, 10:37:54 (47.156.245.173)
Budgie sounds like a good choice from what I read. although controversy always graces the halls of the Asylum... as we see. Since you feel quite strongly that the Budgie is a giant-killer and you love .......
332: Vinyl Asylum, RE: It might be better to invest... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-25, 00:04:09 (47.156.245.173)
It's about matching things up, performance-wise. Your Thorens seems to have the capability to wring about every bit of goodness out of the cartridges you have currently. If you were planning some dram .......
333: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Auralex isolation platforms (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-24, 11:18:01 (47.156.245.173)
I have time to fool around so I bought a marble table from a little old lady for $40, had a local water-jet shop cut it into slabs ($50), set one on these exact duplicates of Mapleshade isolation b .......
334: Vinyl Asylum, Say "Yes" to YES! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-24, 10:53:38 (47.156.245.173)
Just my list of the Yes LP's that are 'keepers:' "The Yes Album" - Tony Kaye's jazzy keyboards make this a classic! "90125" - buy the ridiculously overpriced SACD, it's good. "Going For The One" "Clos .......
335: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Beautiful (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-23, 23:33:30 (47.156.245.173)
One of the things I truly love about Vinyl Asylum is finding new to enjoy. .......
336: Vinyl Asylum, RE: New turntable for those wanting to downsize (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-23, 14:34:57 (47.156.245.173)
The Seed's platter being couple inches short of 12" diameter is a bit of a concern, they may not in fact be able to squeeze the last soupçon of performance out of the $18 A-T 3600. Their response c .......
337: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Quick- Into the Time Tunnel! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-23, 14:17:36 (47.156.245.173)
Really good ideas deserve intellectual-recycling! .......
338: Vinyl Asylum, RE: the baseline? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-20, 17:14:02 (47.156.245.173)
Interesting- I was exposed to the Klemperer at almost the same time, around 1967, by my music teacher- who conned the school into buying a real HiFi- AR table, Dyna SCA-80 integrated, and small KLH's, .......
339: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Pretty darn funny! (nt) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-20, 09:59:40 (47.156.245.173)
;-) .......
340: Vinyl Asylum, RE: There are many types of promos (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-20, 09:55:02 (47.156.245.173)
I think your analysis is about right. I acquired access to an Everett WA radio stations's entire LP library years ago (sold for 3/$1, it was heaven- I'm still cleaning and listening to the haul a deca .......
341: Vinyl Asylum, RE: V.C.O.T.D..........Gabor Szabo (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-18, 23:30:48 (47.156.245.173)
I have several early GZ LP's, "Sorcery" and "More Sorcery" IIRC. He was seeking a way to wrap his gypsy guitar sound around pop songs to render them somewhat like transmuted jazz standards. When it wo .......
342: Vinyl Asylum, RE:Klemperer (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-17, 00:01:14 (47.156.245.173)
Klemper, according to musicologists, has the closest to perfect tempi through all the movements. His was long regarded as the baseline. Get several different versions! The Glorious 9th is, after all, .......
343: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Counterweight Change (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-16, 23:46:59 (47.156.245.173)
My calculations indicate that for more-or-less traditional arm configurations the counterweight contributes only 4-5% toward the effective mass. We have to be careful to separate the concepts of mass .......
344: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Thorens TD-125 Sub-Platter (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-14, 00:23:15 (47.156.245.173)
Post a photo top and bottom of the subplatter, noting where the "warp" is. Maybe it could go to your local small-business type machine shop and be machined to take out the warp? I found an intelligent .......
345: Rocky Road, An Electric Blues Afternoon with Duane Allman (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-12, 19:37:30 (47.156.245.173)
Today I've been spinnin' both the Allman Brothers Band "The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings" [Mercury, 2014, 6 CD's] and "The Derek & The Dominos Layla Sessions: 20th Anniversary Edition" [Polydor 19 .......
346: Vinyl Asylum, Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-11, 15:42:52 (47.156.245.173)
["Through The Fire" Geffen GHS4023] It's honestly amazing how 4 great musicians can get together to sound so ...uninterested in playing together. They might as well be on different planets. I give .......
347: Vinyl Asylum, It' a Burrito kind of day, Brothers... Anybody dig the International Submarine Band LP? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-11, 14:21:31 (47.156.245.173)
I just played the Souther-Hillman-Furay band version of the song 'Safe At Home'- A catchy tune, on a slightly uneven but satisfying LP. I can't recall exactly, many neurons were damaged from that .......
348: Vinyl Asylum, "Spirit" eponymous first LP- excellent! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-10, 23:22:04 (47.156.245.173)
(CBS/Ode stereo Z12 44004, 1968)- Found this missing from my early Spirit LPs- one of those that got loaned somewhere along the line and never wandered home, I guess. I love this band- their sound .......
349: Vinyl Asylum, You're reading my mind. -- Light readin' you say! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-09, 00:55:27 (47.156.245.173)
Just listened to "Rumor and Sigh" yesterday, after borrowing the recent album "Still" the day before. So, naturally this morning, Radio Paradise plays Bonnie Raitt singing "When The Spell is Broken" a .......
350: Vinyl Asylum, That's the real point, price/performance (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-07, 23:24:36 (47.156.245.173)
A new table to equal or exceed the performance of the OP's vintage AR, you might want to budget north of $1k. Having the AR sent to the doctor (as suggested in one follow-up post) might run a few hund .......
351: Vinyl Asylum, Don't revive the relatively futile "analog versus digital debate" (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-07, 22:53:45 (47.156.245.173)
It seems clear there is no reasonable way for most audiophiles of modest means to make a sensible comparison. We can't fly with our favorite LP to some rich guy's house and listen on a system of nearl .......
352: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Changers can work (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-06, 10:56:30 (47.156.245.173)
...but have additional problems versus single-play tables. That SL-D5 is a mid-line consumer unit, direct drive, from 1980. It's plastic-y and fairly light. It has great specs, but remember this wa .......
353: Vinyl Asylum, RE:I bought my first "half Speed Mastered" CBS reissue (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-05-04, 17:59:19 (47.156.245.173)
'round 1981 Santana "Zebop" CBS Mastersound - HC 47158. It was the year I got my first "real" hi-fi and it was an eye-opener. It cost me a hair under $10 bux. Same beloved slab-o'-vinyl is still spinn .......
354: Vinyl Asylum, RE: refinement/transparency? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-29, 15:25:28 (47.156.245.173)
As a very-long-term DL-103 user I have to agree, The whole notion of "transparency & refinement" have come to carry less weight with me though. "Audiophile sound" may not be what you want to live with .......
355: Vinyl Asylum, RE: refinement/transparency? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-29, 15:04:54 (47.156.245.173)
Pretty Kenwood. This old Denon DP-75 and DA-401 sounded pretty spiffy too. Just sold it. One of the very very few things in my life that I used the hell out of over many years and it went UP in val .......
356: Vinyl Asylum, Derenville VPM-20110-1 Observations (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-22, 08:58:09 (47.156.245.173)
Manfred says the guy is cool, he's cool. But, if his wild "design study" worked beautifully, you'd have spent the last $645,000 dollars of your turntable budget to achieve the last .1% marginal perfor .......
357: Vinyl Asylum, RE: All that fine technology... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-22, 08:44:52 (47.156.245.173)
to play your Bonzo Dog Band LP's... Ahhh- it's a weird hobby. .......
358: Vinyl Asylum, There are copies for sale for under $1 (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-22, 08:38:57 (47.156.245.173)
...(+ postge) proving once again that "Records are your best entertainment value!" .......
359: Vinyl Asylum, Early Stereo "TV Jazz Themes"- Excellent 1958 long player (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-21, 13:20:06 (47.156.245.173)
My latest find from the big stack features "all the human ear can sense and hear..." taking us up to a stratospheric 16,000 cycles per second (as claimed on the sleeve). And ...it's recorded in Hol .......
360: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Buy an Otari 5050 BII? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-21, 01:07:26 (47.156.245.173)
I think all analog is a beautiful thing. I just saw a Craig's post offering a 'working' 5050 for $475 in Mission Viejo, CA [no affiliation- just sayin'...] .......
361: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Music Hall MMF2.2 or Mitsubishi DP-6 Quartz Automatic TT (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-19, 20:48:07 (47.156.245.173)
The Music Hall and the vintage Mitsubishi are very different animals. It appears the numerical specs are, within limits of reason, are very similar. The Mitsu was probably nestled among them midline .......
362: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Have you seen (heard) this before? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-19, 19:10:41 (47.156.245.173)
A weird boost in the high end as part of the digital recording/editing process? .......
363: Rocky Road, Ya gotta sort through a lot of chaff with Frank Zappa sometimes (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-19, 14:44:02 (47.156.245.173)
...to get to the good stuff. Case in point: "Shiek Yerbouti" [Zappa Records / Polygram SRZ 2-1501, 1979]. Most of the album is correctly classified as "Parody" or "Novelty" perhaps but you get to a .......
364: Vinyl Asylum, Spikes above about 18kHz? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-19, 12:48:41 (47.156.245.173)
The spectral plots are following RIAA equalization, I assume? MM or MC cartridge? I would have assumed its unlikely to get that much ultrasonic garbage from an MM- just considering the filter formed .......
365: Vinyl Asylum, RE: XLM Mkii + Rega (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-15, 10:40:55 (47.156.245.173)
...seems like there might be a mismatch, what with the ADC being possibly the highest compliance cart ever made. It was designed for ultralight arms like the Infinity "Black Widow" or the Grace G707 ( .......
366: Vinyl Asylum, RE: What type of adhesive please? Thank you. nt (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-15, 10:16:02 (47.156.245.173)
I think adhesive transfer tapes like the 3M you used are pretty amazing. In addition to being super strong, they might add to internal damping, to a degree, Nice project. .......
367: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Thanks, useful info! (nt) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-15, 10:09:47 (47.156.245.173)
;-) .......
368: Vinyl Asylum, But there's an escape route... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-15, 00:24:34 (47.156.245.173)
Rip your CDs to lossless files and play them with the best sounding "computer audio" setup you can muster. I've been enjoying a dedicated "music PC" using Window 7 and deliberately configured to be v .......
369: Vinyl Asylum, RE: CD players getting better... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-14, 20:45:17 (47.156.245.173)
CD playback seemimgly has gotten better through the years. Not to put too fine a point on it but the discussion shifts when you consider the design of DAC's (which have undergone a zillion changes) an .......
370: Vinyl Asylum, ...but a British car perhaps? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-12, 12:24:55 (47.156.245.173)
The last car I had that had a rod to hold up the bonnet was my 73 240-Z. .......
371: Vinyl Asylum, Man that's a lot of acrylic! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-12, 12:22:59 (47.156.245.173)
Enjoy! Looks beautifully made. .......
372: Vinyl Asylum, They had a powerful stage show! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-12, 12:20:35 (47.156.245.173)
I had the pleasure of seeing them in western Massachusetts a couple times when I was a young feller. I felt they held their own against The Allman Brothers Band pretty well. (ABB came on around 10:00 .......
373: Vinyl Asylum, Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-12, 12:13:34 (47.156.245.173)
...spinnin' this 1963 CBS (Harmony HL 7304) "Best og ...Great Original Recordings" mono long-player and man, if that sound doesn't relax you, see a doctor. And .., it's NONBREAKABLE too, sez right .......
374: Cable Asylum, Lifatech is worth the cost differential (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-11, 22:08:53 (47.156.245.173)
Lifatech gives you genuine glass fiber at prices you can afford, costing only around 30% more than the Supra ZAC, I think. I have sensed no break-in occurring over a lot of listening for 3 weeks now. .......
375: Vinyl Asylum, RE: I used to hang out at my friend's record store... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-09, 23:03:43 (47.156.245.173)
... 1970-72. He had a sealer in the back room and just bagged the returns and threw 'em back in the bins. He saved me cutouts and white label promos all the time, which saved me a ton of money and had .......
376: Vinyl Asylum, And there's that beautiful sound... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-09, 20:49:17 (47.156.245.173)
the unmistakeable little "plock" the needle makes when it hits the groove! I'll still be hearing that after I'm dead (I hope...) .......
377: Vinyl Asylum, RE: American Metaphysical Circus (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-09, 20:46:19 (47.156.245.173)
...jackets must have been printed on recycled toilet paper roll cores! The cover of mine had almost become totally unreadable but it sold for BIG BUX anyway, long ago when my "thinning the herd" activ .......
378: Music Lane, A morning of Industrial Metal, Neofolk, Cyber, New Beat, Acidhouse (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-08, 09:28:55 (47.156.245.173)
Phew... Skinny Puppy, Laibach, Kovenant, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, A Split Second, The Neon Judgement, etc. playing now, inducing a state of depression and schizophrenia- temporary I hope. Wh .......
379: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Very cool! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-06, 18:02:03 (47.156.245.173)
I would be a little concerned that some of the structural components might not be jam-up tight and may exhibit structural resonances and buzz or rattle in a loud sound field. You might want to take a .......
380: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Clamp, not weight. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-05, 01:21:31 (47.156.245.173)
Look back via VA search- the debate has gone on since VA's inception...The regular contributors, folks who really listen and experiment with all kinds of stuff, seem mostly to use clamps or weights .......
381: Vinyl Asylum, Herbie Hancock certainly covered the scene... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-03, 00:13:43 (47.156.245.173)
Quiet classics for mellow Sunday- beautiful albums! .......
382: Vinyl Asylum, RE It seems Ok to wash them... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-02, 14:56:27 (47.156.245.173)
I hand-wash in weak Woolite the rinse a lot, air dry. As far as you know, do they still retain their microfiber-ness after washing like this? .......
383: Vinyl Asylum, You have to learn to be more O/C ;-) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-02, 14:54:07 (47.156.245.173)
nt .......
384: Music Lane, Die Zauberflöte (Szenen Und Arien) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-01, 11:03:55 (47.156.245.173)
Mozart, Berliner Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm - 1988 digital remaster of the 1964 recording. Evelyn Lear and Roberta Peters singin' their hearts out! (Both sadly passed, Peters just recently.) .......
385: Music Lane, The Who "Endless Wire" (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-04-01, 09:24:32 (47.156.245.173)
"Endless Wire" was the first 'real' album since 1982's "It's Hard" (which was pretty weak IMO). Daltrey and Townshend - 'ere all what's left - made this for folks that regard "Who's Next"and "Tommy .......
386: Vinyl Asylum, The Microfiber Miracle (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-31, 12:00:32 (47.156.245.173)
Microfiber Cloths are very important for record cleaning IMO. Here's some fascinating information on Microfiber from a firm that sells little knives- **VERY** little knives, the size used to cut DNA a .......
387: Vinyl Asylum, Kitchen-sink confessional... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-31, 11:33:22 (47.156.245.173)
Firstly my records are the soundtracks of my life and I listen to them for pure pleasure of listening to the music, not pursuing audiophiliac nirvana. If they have a few pops and ticks- no biggie. We' .......
388: Music Lane, Very nice Bill Withers compilation (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-31, 01:31:14 (47.156.245.173)
"Playlist: The Very Best of Bill Withers" [2009 Sony Legacy] is quite a fine CD, not the usual 'greatest hits' at all, but a sensitively chosen collection that showcases his great voice. Decent sou .......
389: Vinyl Asylum, DIY? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-28, 22:48:19 (47.156.245.173)
If you have tools and a place to work... a while back I made feet from a set of 4 circles cut from MDF using a hole saw- drilled out the center, epoxied (J-B Weld!) in a metric bolt, sprayed them blac .......
390: Music Lane, My yo-yo still works, but you're saying I have to contribute AGAIN!? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-28, 21:18:36 (47.156.245.173)
Seriously, I'm on it... .......
391: Digital Drive, RE: What's the output impedance? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-28, 21:05:45 (47.156.245.173)
I don't have an impedance bridge and an ohmmeter reading is meaningless, I think. .......
392: Digital Drive, I hate the internet! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-28, 21:04:33 (47.156.245.173)
Time was, you stood around the town well gossiping and people lied about the smart price they paid for a pig or weasel or whatever... and you didn't feel too bad you paid 348 week go for the same damn .......
393: Vinyl Asylum, RE: V.C.O.T.D..........Brian Auger (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-27, 10:22:14 (47.156.245.173)
Just been sifting through my Auger LP's and I think I have his complete discography on vinyl, I have several multiples and have had the delightful task of listening to them all and picking the best co .......
394: Cable Asylum, No minimum length for Toslink (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-27, 10:18:30 (47.156.245.173)
In recent correspondence with the fine folks at Lifatech regarding application of their glass fiber Toslink cabling, the following arose, you may want to file it away for future reference: "I am not .......
395: Computer Audio Asylum, Got it... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-26, 11:42:38 (47.156.245.173)
Of course I will try the 2 cabling scenarios but I have limited money and closet-space (to retain the reject cables) and was hoping for a broad idea of what's worked best for folks. My take-away from .......
396: Computer Audio Asylum, I've had good luck with this "Plugable" (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-26, 11:26:12 (47.156.245.173)
Sounded fine, works well, well made. Worth trying . .......
397: Music Lane, RE: Is there a credit for the SACD remastering engineer??? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-26, 11:11:36 (47.156.245.173)
Remastered by Kevin Reeves, "Universal Remastering East" produced by Ken Drucker. .......
398: Digital Drive, RE: SONY CDP-R1 and DAS-R1. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-26, 11:06:36 (47.156.245.173)
The wizard is in Torrance CA and is non-partisan. Its worth a try if you're in relatively sane driving distance. this isn;t an ad- please consider that I have no connection with this business etcet .......
399: Digital Drive, RE: Perhaps a Universal Blue-Ray Player? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-24, 22:46:39 (47.156.245.173)
I'm breaking in a new Sony UHP-H1, a universal disc player I selected for its ...uh ...universality. That, and the fact that I like the Sony "house" sound after listening to a lovely DVP-S7700 lo thes .......
400: Computer Audio Asylum, Help needed with cable lengths (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-24, 14:47:15 (47.156.245.173)
Researching back a couple years, the consensus seemed to favor the shortest possible USB cable and a surprisingly long minimum length for S/PDIF coax, around a couple meters. That's how it's set up no .......
401: Music Lane, Maddening Musical Mystery! Getz/Gilberto... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-22, 15:05:07 (47.156.245.173)
Listening to a new toy, a Sony Universal disc player UHP-H1, supposedly tailored for music. To see if these newfangled SACD's sound really SUPER, I bought an SACD copy of the beloved album ("Getz/Gilb .......
402: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Second on Jaco. Christmas is a long way off, bro... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-22, 14:22:28 (47.156.245.173)
I have a couple original solo LPs and the quality of the disc is pretty poor. .......
403: Vinyl Asylum, What's the point? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-21, 11:09:50 (47.156.245.173)
I don't recommend vinyl to anyone looking for breathtaking sound. I have about as many CD's nowadays as I have records; breathtaking moments populate each species about equally. Those moments arise fr .......
404: Digital Drive, Second on Blue Jeans Cable (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-20, 22:29:15 (47.156.245.173)
I'm a cable pragmatist- you don't want to overkill the level of cable, considering the level of your system. Most of my analog cables are DIY. The cables I choose NOT to build are the digital ones bec .......
405: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Why are CDs digitized from master tapes? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-19, 12:10:13 (47.156.245.173)
Do you recall back in 2013 when the controversial blogger "Archimago" conducted a large, anonymous, online survey to test the audibility of 2 sets of FLAC-encoded audio files. One set of files contain .......
406: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Dust cover for the Ariston RD11 turntable (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-19, 11:07:59 (47.156.245.173)
Maker your own! A few years back I worked with my local retail plastic shop ("TAP" Plastics in Bellevue WA- good folks) and built a custom dustcover for a vintage Pioneer TT. I had the shop cut and be .......
407: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Hiss/buzz noises in soprano voices (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-18, 19:27:51 (47.156.245.173)
Well, maybe the very first thing to check is for crud on the stylus or damage to the tip or cantilever. You need bright light and some sort of microscope, maybe 40-50X minimum. The last time I had thi .......
408: Vinyl Asylum, Saturday spin at the Bearcave- Lowell George (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-18, 13:13:01 (47.156.245.173)
This album took a few hits at the time but I think it holds up well. .......
409: Vinyl Asylum, RE: It was a part of a long, strange trip... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-17, 00:16:03 (47.156.245.173)
Years ago, on far-off Planet Seattle, I was the field engineer for the steel on the Experience Music Project (Paul Allen's Jimi Hendrix museum). It was the construction Bear's trip of a lifetime- I ev .......
410: Vinyl Asylum, Something about Tony's voice... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-16, 23:55:52 (47.156.245.173)
... seems just right for the sweetest range in vinyl playback. I like to play the "Tony Bennett/Bill Evans" album. If someone is interested, we can compare it to lossless file playback. In a similar v .......
411: Vinyl Asylum, RE: DL-S1 (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-16, 09:56:44 (47.156.245.173)
Looking at some websites that used to sell it, they pose comparable MC's at around $1000. IIRC it sold for around $800-1000, new a few years back, yes? So it seems its worth that if its perfect as you .......
412: Vinyl Asylum, Well said. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-16, 09:43:03 (47.156.245.173)
It may seem goofy, but I often wake up hearing a song from a particular artist or an era playing in mind (or several songs in a row) and plan that day to listen to those LP's. I grew up playing classi .......
413: Vinyl Asylum, RE: I get by with a little help from my friends... here at the Asylum (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-12, 16:48:54 (47.147.56.52)
You didn't give much in the way of criteria... but I've had really good luck with vintage Yamaha gear- it seems to last a long time and provides very good phono sound. The sound is not "mellow" but .......
414: General Asylum, REVIEW: Lifatech Silflex Cable (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-12, 13:12:49 (47.147.56.52)
Model: Silflex Category: Cable Suggested Retail Price: $100/6ft. Description: Lifatech Toslink Silflex Glass Fiber Cables Manufacturer URL: Lifatech Review by mr.bear on March 12, 2017 .......
415: Cable Asylum, RE: Best RCA Connectors For The Money? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-12, 12:36:15 (47.147.56.52)
Have you settled on a cable as yet? I don't feel there are sonic 'comptability issues' necessarily but it establishes your level of quality- like you don't want to use $2 plugs on $100 worth of wire a .......
416: Digital Drive, I work for a small manufacturing firm (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-11, 14:47:53 (47.147.56.52)
...fabricating and finishing mostly metal and exotic mterial prototype objects and fine artwork. A BIG run is 15 objects. We have the finest craftsmen and a loving happy engineering department (the Be .......
417: Vinyl Asylum, I've gone through that process (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-07, 10:46:33 (47.147.56.52)
...using my former HHB-800 pro CD recorder, an older unit but quite clean. I felt that the digital copies were indistinguishable from the vinyl. My thought at the time was that recording and playing .......
418: Vinyl Asylum, Vintage Traffic sure sounds fine... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-06, 12:45:18 (47.147.56.52)
Spinnin' "Mr. Fantasy" ( UA 6651 1968 Stereo). Man those youngsters could play and what a great sound- thanks Jimmy Miller! It hurts to think Capaldi, Miller and Chris Wood are all dead. But, hey, .......
419: Vinyl Asylum, But then they'd have to cancel 2 old laws... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-06, 12:20:12 (47.147.56.52)
And that might clear the path for them to reissue the entire Donnie & Marie catalog on 180-gm vinyl! .......
420: Vinyl Asylum, "Made Loud To Be Played Loud" James Gang Rides Again (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-05, 21:54:58 (47.147.56.52)
I had always kept this phrase of Bill Szymczyk's in the back of my mind because it just seemed right. Years later I read a cool book on "psychoacoustics" published by Philips and their studies support .......
421: Digital Drive, Do you have any recommendations... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-05, 15:47:57 (47.147.56.52)
...for clear, simple information on a sort of "how-to for dummies" way on what you said- using the Raspberry Pi as a music streamer? .......
422: Vinyl Asylum, Good point... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-04, 12:06:06 (47.147.56.52)
That was especially true for my VPI/Denon DP-75 since the hole is drilled through seven layers of laminated steel plates about 1" thick and would take a machine shop to modify. I am working on modifyi .......
423: Vinyl Asylum, Ditto (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-04, 11:54:48 (47.147.56.52)
After many amps passing through the Bearcave stretching over 2 millennia, the only one I kept was my Pass "Forte" model 2. It just sounds *right* and has paired successfully with a wide range of cartr .......
424: Vinyl Asylum, RE: DL-103 on Rega RB300 (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-03, 20:40:22 (47.147.56.52)
The Rega seems like a very nice combination with the Denon. It has a sturdy wide gimbal and medium mass and seems it should be able to dissipate the mechanical energy that a low -compliance, low-outpu .......
425: Vinyl Asylum, RE: DL-103 on Rega RB300 (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-03, 20:19:33 (47.147.56.52)
The Rega seems like a very nice combination with the Denon. It has a wide gimbal and medium mass and seems it should be able to dissipate the mechanical energy that a low -compliance, low-output MC th .......
426: Vinyl Asylum, I just did that a couple weeks ago... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-03, 19:57:40 (47.147.56.52)
and decided that the combination of Denon DP-75 table, VPI suspended plinth, and rare Denon DA401 tonearm was too perfect to split up. It sold for $1k recognizing it might have netted an additional - .......
427: Vinyl Asylum, Seems like a problem... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-03, 13:33:35 (47.147.56.52)
We should assume that any cartridge is designed for near zero lateral force. So bumping into the clamp with sufficient momentum to make it skip grooves is definitely not within its intended performanc .......
428: Vinyl Asylum, Here's my theory (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-02, 12:37:29 (47.147.56.52)
A good hobby always looks **nuts** to someone outside of it. In fact, it's essential that it do so. You don't necessarily want other people to "understand" your hobby. When I lived in the Midwest we' .......
429: Vinyl Asylum, My records are a time machine (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-01, 21:17:46 (47.147.56.52)
Let's imagine that for 100 years, there was only digital music reproduction. Some smart, Edison-type guy comes along and invents a system to keep the sound all analog, 100% of the way from Ella's voca .......
430: Vinyl Asylum, RE: A.Cs.O.T.D............hello comrades (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-01, 13:09:36 (47.147.56.52)
Isn't that somewhat of a "bait-'n-switch" game, like that we're seeing on the world stage? You promise closer ties to the Kremlin and then all your *real* plattenalben sind Deutsch! Hmmmmm. Nice displ .......
431: Music Lane, It's hard to miss, standing in front of Ron Carter! (nt) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-01, 10:14:39 (47.147.56.52)
;-) .......
432: Vintage Asylum, They've been updating their firmware! (nt) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-03-01, 10:10:55 (47.147.56.52)
;-) .......
433: Digital Drive, RE: SONY CDP-R1 and DAS-R1. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-28, 23:00:15 (47.147.56.52)
I believe the vintage CD players of yesteryear can yield excellent performance as transports. This Pioneer PD-91 has always fascinated me- it has such high-drama industrial design and the build qu .......
434: Digital Drive, Thanks for the input! (nt) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-28, 18:14:49 (47.147.56.52)
;-) .......
435: Digital Drive, Any recent experience with good TOSLINK cables? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-28, 15:04:34 (47.147.56.52)
I've tried different combinations of Toslink vs. coax and found the nicest sound from my CD/DVD transport (Sony S7700, a gem!) comes via TOSLINK. (Interestingly, the sweetest computer audio comes via .......
436: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Did you ever "notice" a familiar track for the first time? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-26, 22:20:14 (47.147.56.52)
I just had that experience yesterday! It was with a shinydisc, I confess, but it is a GOOD one, a 1995 remastered disc of the 1961 classic by Oliver Nelson "Blues And The Absolute Truth." I've heard ' .......
437: Rocky Road, Rockin out with Prince "Hit n Run" Phase 2 (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-25, 20:06:43 (47.147.56.52)
Very fine pop/rock, in a genre of its own. Beautiful sound, deep bass and dynamics all there- you have to gloss over the multi-tracked instrumental stuff that occasionally sounds a little disjointed. .......
438: Vinyl Asylum, Different guy... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-25, 20:01:05 (47.147.56.52)
...but the actual living Ed Sanders was no bushel of unicorns and teddybears either. I did manage to get a decent, apparently genuine replacement stylus for my ADC XLM from him years ago and I gotta s .......
439: Music Lane, Blues And The Abstract Truth (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-25, 19:51:00 (47.147.56.52)
Listening to this fine reissue of the '61 recording [Impulse!, IMP 11542, 1995 Remastered] and feeling it is one of the discs-to-die-for. I've heard 'Stolen Moments' a thousand times and played it may .......
440: Vinyl Asylum, What he said! 47k. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-23, 12:29:19 (47.147.56.52)
Ed's a Denon go-to guy- thanks! I did find with the DL103D (original Denon factory-issue circa 1984) that 100 ohms was a good load but the difference between 100 and 300 he recommends is probably nil, .......
441: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Denon 103D / SUT / ARC SP10 loading question (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-23, 12:24:46 (47.147.56.52)
Do a little more searching here on VA regarding transformers' effect on impedance. Briefly, the voltage output of the MC cart is increased by the turns-ratio and the preamp input resistance (impedance .......
442: Vinyl Asylum, Yeah, it hurts... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-22, 01:33:36 (47.147.56.52)
... to see the passage of the greats we grew up with. He was only a little older than me. I had the pleasure of hearing him play at the Triple Door in Seattle a several years ago, and it was a fine sh .......
443: Vinyl Asylum, Lived aboard my boat for almost 5 years... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-22, 01:21:24 (47.147.56.52)
...during which I learned to use a computer and developed a substantial digital music collection. But it was a terrible dry spell withoiut my favorite music on LP. My records, turntables, bikes, an .......
444: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Small Isolation Cone to use as turntable feet? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-20, 20:06:59 (47.147.56.52)
As an engineer, I gotta say these should offer performance equivalent to the high-price units, minor differences in the shape etc. aside. Parts Express has several plating options. .......
445: Vinyl Asylum, Agree... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-18, 23:35:36 (47.147.56.52)
I think the word is "over-mic'ed" -- the sound is very clean and detailed but there is zero ambient information giving the impression of the instruments performing in number of acoustically-isolated c .......
446: Rocky Road, Rocking the Neville Brothers (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-18, 01:22:47 (47.147.56.52)
Never able to place these guys in one genre or another, just great American music. Rocking, soulful- always takes me back to New Orleans of course. What excellent musicianship. This is a pretty dec .......
447: Vinyl Asylum, ...I can't remember... (nt) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-18, 00:22:27 (47.147.56.52)
;-) .......
448: Vinyl Asylum, My local EllPeeHut stunned me! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-16, 18:57:06 (47.147.56.52)
Yeesterday, I was just almost walking out with a fresh copy of the 180gm regroovement of Paul Butterfield Blues Band "Got A Mind To Give Up Livin" - Live 1966 [Real Gone Music RGM-0492 -one blue vi .......
449: Digital Drive, Oi! I like the compatibility with alcohol... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-15, 16:56:40 (47.147.56.52)
Form that review, via Google translate: "The sound quality of LAN is best for listening while drinking alcohol ♪ Dense (?) sound quality from USB Coaxial & optical cable makes it easy to listen to mov .......
450: Vinyl Asylum, The "Barbra Streisand" of vintage turntables (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-14, 11:45:41 (47.147.56.52)
I say that because, remember in the late 80's when you'd drop into Goodwillies' and the LP bin was filled with numerous copies of Barbara Streisand? Similar vintage... this Pio seems to me to be one o .......
451: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Help troubleshooting old cheap turntable :-P (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-13, 22:15:03 (47.147.56.52)
The most likely culprit is a bad stylus, IMO. I would first replace the stylus with a cheap one- there are some for $15 from reputable sellers. Replacing the stylus is an operation in itself, read the .......
452: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Unusual hum and strange static sound (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-13, 21:25:58 (47.147.56.52)
Looking at the Owner's manual on Vinylengine, it seems that one must cue the arm manually, to start, but that at the end of the disc it cues itself up automatically. Is that right? If this is the case .......
453: Vinyl Asylum, 11-17-70 Live (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-12, 20:32:17 (47.147.56.52)
[Uni/MCA 1971] really comes across as a vibrant, heartfelt performance. Good remote recording. Decent pressing from MCA- I've never had any problem with their sonics , compressed pop-sound such as it .......
454: Vinyl Asylum, The answer seems simple to me... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-12, 00:29:59 (47.147.56.52)
Assuming the gift records include a reasonable fraction if titles you'll love, say a few hundred, you could spent a grand on a vinyl rig to play back music that might otherwise cost you between 3 and .......
455: Vinyl Asylum, Claus Ogerman.. who knew? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-11, 15:50:22 (47.147.56.52)
"Gate of Dreams" [W-B BS3006, 1977] with a jazz combo fronting a symphony orchestra. This guy arranged and composed everything in the world from about 1960 to 2010 including the instrumental portions .......
456: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Mr Bear, I am listening to Chaka Khan sing jazz.. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-11, 15:35:22 (47.147.56.52)
I set a few nerves a-jangle with my pan of C.K. - I didn't mean to offend. The reviews at the time were all bad, IIRC. I was a serious young man then who played jazz and felt it needed to be defended .......
457: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Jorma! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-11, 14:49:34 (47.147.56.52)
You made me lumber around the cave, growling, to figure out what happened to my Kaukonen LP's. These had somehow gotten misfiled (a landmark event, my alphabetizing is bout 99.999%!). I shopped all ar .......
458: Vinyl Asylum, Saturday spins... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-11, 13:16:48 (47.147.56.52)
"Truth" [Epic 26413, 1968] Jeff Beck at age 22-23; what a guitar-slinger. And what a debut album! And Nicky Hopkins, John Paul Jones, Keith Moon (credited as "You Know Who!) Jeezis! Following Beck .......
459: Vinyl Asylum, The OP was simply a quote from that 'Billboard' article (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-11, 11:31:08 (47.147.56.52)
I posted the link for it, above. I took the point here to be that Amazon, through some vast inscrutable mechanism of "Cloud Computing," is going to choose songs for erstwhile radio listeners in respon .......
460: Vinyl Asylum, It hasn't changed since the 50's (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-10, 15:15:26 (47.147.56.52)
Look up PAYOLA SCANDAL and just substitute the word "Amazon's music streaming process" for the words "disc jockey." It's the same ol' song... they'll tell people what to listen to and charge the artis .......
461: Vinyl Asylum, There was a time when digital was blamed for warts and sour milk... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-09, 23:24:41 (47.147.56.52)
...and I joined the fracas! In 1984 the first CD's really did sound like crap, the recording and mastering equipment I think took 50% of the blame and the terrible home CDP's the other 50%. There also .......
462: Vinyl Asylum, RE: We're in a touchy price/performance area (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-08, 15:57:01 (47.147.56.52)
I was going to suggest dropping back a bit, to an AT-95E as about the right point on that curve. I think that you might get 94% of what that nice old DD Kenwood has to give for 40-ish bucks. On a rece .......
463: Radio Road, RE:I have to agree with Timbo... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-07, 19:14:07 (47.147.56.52)
Patently fake graph from Sony HAP-Z1ES HDD Audio Player brochure. Read below... You'll sorely miss your sweet old Marantz, Iodemus my friend! You're stuck. I have just completed a closet-cleaning a .......
464: Music Lane, Thanks, that was lovely (nt) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-05, 14:16:39 (47.147.56.52)
;-) .......
465: Music Lane, RE: It feels like something of a moot point (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-05, 14:08:03 (47.147.56.52)
Interesting set of responses you received here! Having never stopped listening to records since the early 1960's, there forms callus on the soul that enables me to clean and flip LP's without thinkin .......
466: Vinyl Asylum, Spinnin' - Hubbard/Corea/Clarke/White fronting... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-04, 19:25:12 (47.147.56.52)
...Chaka Khan singing jazz standards !?!? "Echoes Of An Era" [Elektra E1-60021, 1982] First time I've played this. She has a nice voice but she's trying far too hard and the result is unlistenable. .......
467: Vinyl Asylum, RE: 9" Jelco 750D tonearm alignment (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-04, 12:17:10 (47.147.56.52)
Thank you for the link to the protractor generator and your concise explanation. I didn't know this resource existed. I'll be needing it soon on my current JVC QL-7 / Stax UA-7 "vintage" project ::: T .......
468: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Frozen bearing on 'vintage' DD turntble (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-02, 22:21:21 (47.147.56.52)
I used a WD-40 spinoff product called "WD-40® SPECIALIST® RUST RELEASE PENETRANT SPRAY." It worked quite well, doesn't stink up the Bearcave, and leaves almost no residue. .......
469: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Its all just dancing electrons... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-02, 22:13:10 (47.147.56.52)
Some dance like Gene Kelly (the ones coming out of my phono cartridge), some like Jed Clampett (the one from the internet streams). Its all entertaining! I built a separate SFF PC solely to play music .......
470: Vinyl Asylum, My theory about engines, exactly. (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-02, 21:33:01 (47.147.56.52)
That's not grime, its armor-plating / exoskeleton. .......
471: Vinyl Asylum, I drew the line at Bluetooth (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-02, 21:28:59 (47.147.56.52)
The sound of the highly compressed Bluetooth CODEC is like listening to music on 8-tracks in the car, with the engine running, going thorough the carwash... it's just bizarre-sounding. .......
472: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Frozen (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-02, 21:21:26 (47.147.56.52)
You have the geometry quite right. The rust-buster was just to free the bearing, the motor won't come apart... The WD-40 product is their particular version of "Kroil" or "Liquid Wrench"- a rust-buste .......
473: Vinyl Asylum, Frozen bearing on 'vintage' DD turntble (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-02-02, 01:44:15 (47.147.56.52)
A good friend sent me an old Sony PS-X55 turntable, a machine I have a particular fondness for. He found it at a disreputable discount operation of some sort and I swear that poor thing must have been .......
474: Vinyl Asylum, Great Irish Rockers of Yesteryear (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-31, 21:34:07 (47.147.56.52)
This guy had some amazing vibe. He ain't no Jeff Beck but he could play rings around, say, Peter Frampton. And could he play a great hook! His live albums are terrific. .......
475: Vinyl Asylum, Great Fusion Bands of Yesteryear- Bill Bruford (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-31, 21:31:23 (47.147.56.52)
Considering the moment of these musicians, this had to be one of the best fusion units to walk the earth. Their level of craftsmanship isn't in the league of Return To Forever, say, but they are ho .......
476: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Denon 103 (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-31, 21:23:57 (47.147.56.52)
Agree- I had some old literature citing the dynamic compliance of the DL103 series at round 12 CU at resonance. I think the ordinary Denons (without exotic wood nonsense) weigh in around 7.5 gm. The .......
477: Vintage Asylum, RE: Speaker match? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-31, 01:14:26 (47.147.56.52)
My friend George Mix in Richland WA in the 80's used to sell lot of those pretty silver Yammies, often with Polk Monitor Series-- the S-10 being the mainstay. These sounded a bit warm, something of a .......
478: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Linn system, 30 years old - what would you upgrade first? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-21, 11:23:37 (47.147.56.52)
That system is a PEACH!! -- from the Golden Age when there was only vinyl and it *had* to sound good playing records. I mean there is no compromise with digital sources inherent in its design, the kin .......
479: Amp/Preamp Asylum, RE: I'm using a "Monster" Power Conditioner (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-20, 11:06:34 (47.147.56.52)
My system all runs from a single outlet to the Monster in our (rented) condo, no way around it in practical terms. The TV is on a separate outlet, as is the subwoofer, but all are on the same house AC .......
480: Amp/Preamp Asylum, You'd need a transformer (nt) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-20, 10:30:38 (47.147.56.52)
;-) .......
481: Music Lane, WFMT Chicgo online (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-20, 10:27:29 (47.147.56.52)
The best classical internet service, it feeds the live broadcast stream from the FM station (atop Sears tower, I think, still), 24x7. If you like radio, they play a great spectrum of composers and a d .......
482: Music Lane, Hoopla and "Freegal" streaming from your library! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-20, 10:10:07 (47.147.56.52)
My County library website offers "Freegal" music service which provides free, high-bitrate MP3 downloads from Sony's enormous catalog (only 5 "songs" a week so it takes a while to download a full albu .......
483: Music Lane, What about that low-bitrate audio? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-20, 09:58:38 (47.147.56.52)
The quality of the audio, as well as the levels, seem to vary a lot from posting-to-posting. It doesn't make a great environment for classical music enjoyment- just one Bears opinion. .......
484: Music Lane, "The Bridge" (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-20, 09:47:08 (47.147.56.52)
The story goes that Sonny felt some shock about his apotheosis in the music business and had stopped playing. He went to sit under a bridge in Brooklyn to woodshed, came back to the studio, and record .......
485: Vinyl Asylum, Doctor, I got a terrible earworm... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-19, 11:33:23 (47.147.56.52)
...for early Fleetwood Mac up through "Future Games," the last "real" F. M. album with total integrity, i.e. that captures the Peter Green sound -- before Mrs. McVie killed the band entirely follow .......
486: Vinyl Asylum, RE: CartridgeCompatibility (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-11, 22:38:18 (47.147.56.52)
I'm guessing from looking at the schematic (and specs of the Marantz 7) that the MC input's gain should enable you to use medium to high-output MC. It might not like a low output MC however because it .......
487: Vinyl Asylum, One of the paper-thin RCA LP's from '68 (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-10, 00:17:08 (47.147.56.52)
Somebody deranged hippy must have bought a spare copy of this album back in 'bout '68 and sent it forward through time for me to enjoy in my dotage! I can't recall; some of the people had drugs the .......
488: Video Asylum, Moussorgsky "Khovanshchina" LaserDisc (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-09, 11:05:44 (47.147.56.52)
And yes, I still watch a lot of LD's. I like the sound. Anyone want this FREE, MINT copy of this wacky, fun-filled 3+ hour Moussorgsky opera about the founding of Russia, sung in Russian? [Philips .......
489: Vinyl Asylum, "Hashy" (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-09, 10:31:03 (47.147.56.52)
...was the exact word I used to describe the sound of my Signet cart (before I replaced the stylus this past week)- clearly mistracking. It looked quite good to the naked eye but it subsequently turn .......
490: Vinyl Asylum, RE: A few vintage, high-compliance cartridges (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-09, 01:36:42 (47.147.56.52)
Thank you for your assistance in the on-going cartridge trials at the Bearcave, Manfred. I was unable to find an original A-T ATN132 for less than about $150US. There were inexpensive Japanese afterma .......
491: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Pickering UV-15 D2000-Q (pics) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-08, 22:57:56 (47.147.56.52)
I know you have been very careful with the alignment and so forth but this wouldn't be the first time the diamond tip had a manufacturing error in its mounting to the cantilever. The Stereohedron I a .......
492: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Does anybody wait 'til late at night, believing the AC is better then? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-08, 21:35:06 (47.147.56.52)
Well said. The calmest most regular waveforms may be those in a rested brain without the normal external distractions. This results in no interrupts messing with the CPU, allowing musical enjoyment. .......
493: Vinyl Asylum, Does anybody wit 'til late at night, believing the AC is better then? (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-08, 11:53:17 (47.147.56.52)
I think there may may be cases of Audiophilia Nervosa, curable only by the $30k SuperPlacebos found in the Stromtank. I choose not to reflect on the demonic specter of micro-micro speed fluctuations. .......
494: Vinyl Asylum, Brad Miller's little company MFSL has come a LONG way... (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-08, 11:14:21 (47.147.56.52)
...since their fine "Mystic Moods Orchestra" records of the 60's - 70's! I was compelled to pull out my oldest MMO record "More Than Music" (1967, Philips PHS 600-231) and be serenaded by glistening, .......
495: Vinyl Asylum, A few vintage, high-compliance cartridges (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-08, 00:02:46 (47.147.56.52)
I recently revived a couple vintage carts that had been "in a coma" for a few decades. I wanted to see if you could get great sound for around 150 bucks. The units exhumed were ones I'd admired a l .......
496: Vinyl Asylum, RE: Beatles!!! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-07, 23:47:29 (47.147.56.52)
My friends usually drop off their cat... But a real nice asylum inmate here in the South Bay did give me a whole box of LaserDiscs a couple weeks ago-- a generous guy! I have a soft-spot for LD's- it .......
497: Vinyl Asylum, Nice! (nt) (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-07, 11:13:03 (47.147.56.52)
;-) .......
498: Vinyl Asylum, Return to Forever, Mothers of Invention, Isaac Hayes (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-07, 11:12:05 (47.147.56.52)
An outstanding composition. RTF has been a mainstay for me since 1972 and it was transcendent to have seen them on stage in 2008 (IIRC) An for no reason other than the INCREDIBLE musicality and virtuo .......
499: Vinyl Asylum, Comfort food for the ears (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-06, 10:44:22 (47.147.56.52)
Little Feat "Hoy-Hoy" (fabulous sound!) and their eponymous first album. .......
500: Vinyl Asylum, I had to look up what the heck was a Mister Disc! (0.00)
Posted by mr.bear on 2017-01-05, 21:28:55 (47.147.56.52)
Does anyone play with those things, for why? I saw one at a record show once and laughed my head off... .......
Found total of 500 records, Query: , Author: mr.bear in All Forums, Time: 1 sec.