Insights on vinyl

oliverstoned wrote:      Nothing in studio can match the top level system i described up.

    
Well, I suppose a studio isn't intended to sound the same as a HiFi - it's supposed to be entirely accurate. Accurate isn't always the most pleasing, as it shows every little flaw in the arrangement - as it is supposed to.

If your setup was "better", then studios would use that - sound engineers always demand the very best in studios, and, since no record player can possibly match the master tape, I maintain that the studio kit is better for the purpose it is used for - which is listening to recorded music accurately.

Your system is only as good as the source, and the master tape is the ultimate source. There simply is no better, as once it's mastered and trasferred to a laquer, some alterations are inevitable. Then, when a mother is made from the laquer, more sound is lost - especially if the mother requires "de-horning".

Finally, a stamper is made from the mother, and that stamper is worn down by the process of stamping copies of the vinyl record - stampers are usually good for around 500-1000 copies.

So already, the sound has degraded from the master, and it hasn't reached your turntable yet.

Play the vinyl 5 times, and I know of engineers whose ears are so sensitive that they can tell the difference. Be a bit careless about taking the record from the dust jacket, and the sound degrades.

So it's just not possible for your system to sound better than a top-end studio. Sorry!

That's a pleasure!

progismylife wrote: oliverstoned wrote: You should look for a Rega Planer 3 turntable with a "Elyss" or "Super Elyss" cartridge.      What would be a good place to start looking?

Have a look at their website BTW:

    http://www.rega.co.uk/html/p3.htm

N Ellingworth wrote: I've got a USB cable like that cost me about £7

    

There are some cheap cables which work great as well (in a related system), such as the nice english brand QED.

QED Qunex1, modulation cable
Price: 35€ Neutral and musical







Technical explanations

Conductor Section (mm2)           4 x 0.21
Conductor Material          99.999% OFC
Screening Material          Aluminium Mylar
Conductor Dielectric          Low Density Polyethylene
Loop Resistance (Ohm/m)          0.0152
Parallel Capacitance (pF/m)          109.2
Loop Inductance (µH/m)          0.76
Dissipation Factor (@10Khz)          0.0009
Overall Size (mm)          11.0 x 5.3




    

Edited by oliverstoned - October 26 2006 at 06:18

progismylife wrote: I would listen to vinyl but I don't have a record player so all those Rush albums just look cool.

You should look for a Rega Planer 3 turntable with a "Elyss" or "Super Elyss" cartridge.
    

I would listen to vinyl but I don't have a record player so all those Rush albums just look cool.

I've got a USB cable like that cost me about £7

How can a power cable cost 3000€?

What is is made of? even if it's gold it should cost that much.

If the difference was marginal, it was simply not a good system. Price means nothing. A 1 000 000 dollars system can be bad, less good than a 1000 dollars well composed one.

Without talking about the source, here are the conditions for a system to work, WHATEVER THE PRICE:

-ALL the elements must be good and musical. If all your system is good except your preamp i.e, the whole wil be bad. That's what's tricky. Price means NOTHING. There are good and bad things in all price ranges.

-Tubes in wide-band, or bi amp with tubes in the highs.
So, if you must have only one amp, it must be tube.
There are some nice solid-state which work decently in the highs, but no comparison with a good valve one.

-Good cables, proportioned to the elements (Interconnects+power cables)(bad ones downgrade)

-Separated power lines direct to the home counter.

-A minimum of good power filters (bad ones downgrade)

-A minimum of cancelling device under each element.

-Several essential tips such as: power phase respect,
horizontality for turning machines (Cd player/turntable).


Few audiophiles apply all the points, many systems are:

Digital + solidstate, no power optimization and no vibration treatment most of the time. And the guys believe that they will compensate their system's flaws with acoustic treatment. This said, the speaker's position in the room is essential as well.

As you see, it's quite complex (and simple at the same time)and it's virtually impossible to do well in the esoteric world of Hifi, if you don't have a solid background. I had the chance to meet a very "big" audiophile, one of the biggest in France, his experience is the result of 35 years of research.

A few words about his setup:

-CD : The biggest Mark Levinson Setup, about 45 000 € (drive + convertor of course)

-Turntable : Constantly changing, still in research.

-Tuner: Marantz 10B

-Tapedeck: Nakamichi 1000zxl Gold

-Preamp: Mark Levinson 32 Reference, the best ever.

Bi-amplification:

-Low: Two mono blocks Goldmund 9.4
-Highs: Constantly changing, always tube: two mono blocks
Conrad Jonhson, Antique sound lab, Graaf...

-Speakers: Genesis (a brand created by the "Infinity" conceptor). A blend of electrodynamic speakers for low,
and rubon tweaters in the highs (the best for highs).

Cables: "Transparent cables" for Interconnects (something like 80 000€ for the whole), "Nordost" in power cables (3000€ each cable), "Transparent cables" power isolators,
"Richard Grey" filters.









    
    
    
    
    

Edited by oliverstoned - October 26 2006 at 06:25

oliverstoned wrote: My system is around 10000€ and should be soon around 15000€ and it blows what you can hear in studio.

Edited by Heavyfreight - October 25 2006 at 11:09