John Curl's Blowtorch preamplifier part II

[Bonsai]

That show that some actually care enough to pay for the higher quality. I think it's rather nice and shows that not all people are seeking the discount department for their foods.

If we really started to care about the quality of replay there just may be the possibility that our hobby starts gaining audience again. As of now, why should any body care. What the younger people hear when they walk into a HiFi shop sounds worse the their Iphone and headset. If this is all we can do, then I understand why our hobby is loosing out. looking in, we're all to blame, as if CD was any of my concern I am making speakers. But it is, we all have and share the responsibility to pull this in the direction of better.

Digital may be convenient, it may be the better source. But its killing music, making people stay at home not going out to buy albums, missing the dialogue with the record dealer recommending albums, digital is assembling all in big super streaming stores killing artists and putting them in their pockets. Digital simply transfers music and audio to computer giants Apple, Google and Microsoft. We should all be behind Vinyl replay not only because it better (I really think it is) but also better for the variety and for our hobby... We all share a responsibility and some people here are quite influential. Let them see the light. and think a little wider than just to their own vertical silo.

My only hope, the light in the night is that with a good system, you can still make people cry, shiver and smile. Whit a good system you can make people want and desire this for their home as well.[/QUOTE

The CD has had nothing to do with the collapse of the music industry as we knew it.

I sat in a meeting 8 years ago with the CEO of Sony and the CEO of Philips in Sony's head office in Shingawa, Tokyo. Both commented then that the CD and the DVD were finished. The internet killed it.

Philips got out of the music business (Polygram) because it saw the writing on the wall even before this.

It took a bunch od super smart guys at Apple to recognize how to make money and that's hoe iTunes was born. But guess what? Apple is now having to scramble to deal with the new, unforeseen threat to its iTunes model: Spotify and other streaming services.

By the way,mPhilips sold Marantz because the margins were dismal - no other reason.

 

[marce]

Reading the last few pages made me ponder why this hobby is loosing popularity with the next generations and as I have a few generations of my family here I let some of them read some of this thread and a couple of others (6 inch of wire critical...LOL)...
Now I know why are lot are turned off, the younger ones just confirmed the view I was forming...
They want a decent system that works by science, not magic and strange beliefs and couldn't work out how CD sounded worse than LP, I have both and played a couple (not DBT just a comparison) and the endless bickering over quite often mundane points puts them off... They don't believe in magic components and wires much, they just want to choose a song on screen and play it, preferably with good sound quality.

 

[jan.didden]

Not really, vinyl does not allow that much compression, technologically impossible.

Why not Pavel? Why can't we not record on an LP with everything boosted into the top 20dB or so? I can't see any technical issue here. Am I missing something?

Jan

 

[SY]

Just for my own enlightenment, I ripped a track from the latest Chuck Prophet CD and LP, since I happened to have both, and it's an example of music I love and a recording that I hate because of the compression. Normalized levels in Goldwave. Here's the dynamic analysis results (using Keith Howard's handy software). I'll let you guess which is CD, which is the LP rip.

 

[SY]

Why not Pavel? Why can't we not record on an LP with everything boosted into the top 20dB or so? I can't see any technical issue here. Am I missing something?

What he says is true under a limited set of assumptions. Perhaps we can persuade him to state those assumptions?

 

[billshurv]

CD on the left.

 

[FrankWW]

Personally I find the ritual part of value. I listen to music a lot, but if I really want to wind down and immerse myself I put on an LP. The ritual is very calming and soothing and somehow the music gets closer to me when I devote myself to actually playing a record.

Jan

It's the built in "dithering" - soothing, like Mama's heart beat.

 

[scott wurcer]

Dead Kennedys generally and REM What's The Frequency Kenneth....masterful mastering from the point of view of VU meter constantly pinned at 0 VU....big sense of power and breathing space/dynamics.
Played at max level these tracks separate men systems from boy systems.

Dan.

Dead Kennedys I wish Jello Biafra had won his bid for mayor, I always have a weakness for film/music stars and professional wrestlers that go into politics, it levels the playing field so to speak. How do you feel about Peter Garrett? I was actually quite fond of Midnight Oil and Men at Work in the day.

 

[scott wurcer]

It's the built in "dithering" - soothing, like Mama's heart beat.

Closer than you think, though they will never admit it.

 

[billshurv]

Dead Kennedys I wish Jello Biafra had won his bid for mayor, I always have a weakness for film/music stars and professional wrestlers that go into politics, it levels the playing field so to speak. How do you feel about Peter Garrett? I was actually quite fond of Midnight Oil and Men at Work in the day.

Love all the above. Never did compare 'business as usual' between yellow and white sleeve to see if there was any difference between them.

 

[Barleywater]

CD on the left.

I'd rather expect the other way.

 

[billshurv]

and one of us is right... SY may tease us for a while tho

 

[jan.didden]

Yep.

 

[Max Headroom]

Case Of Lawyers Lower Than A Snakes Armpit....

Dead Kennedys I wish Jello Biafra had won his bid for mayor, I always have a weakness for film/music stars and professional wrestlers that go into politics, it levels the playing field so to speak. How do you feel about Peter Garrett? I was actually quite fond of Midnight Oil and Men at Work in the day.

Hmmm, Jello Biafra has it all over Mr Garrett, intellectually and musically.
Men At Work were in another league altogether, great band, great recordings, great injustice that they got copyright pinged for allegedly using two bars of a kids folk song - men-at-works-colin-hays-statement-on-court-battle-over-down-under-and-kookaburra-in-full

Dan.

 

[Max Headroom]

Yep.

What software analyser is that ?.

Dan.

 

[Esperado]

Not really, vinyl does not allow that much compression, technologically impossible.

Are-you joking ?
During all my sound engineer career, I never heard of a vinyl witch was not peak limited/compressed before the cutting process.

 

[billshurv]

Men At Work were in another league altogether, great band, great recordings, great injustice that they got copyright pinged for allegedly using two bars of a kids folk song

Dan.

and introduced the UK to Vegemite (which is not as good IMO). I never got the kookaburra thing, esp as the case was decades later. We only have 12 notes in a scale after all. microtonal scales are still in the minority.

 

[dvv]

...

By the way,mPhilips sold Marantz because the margins were dismal - no other reason.

Andrew, with all respect to you, but this I do not believe. They dump Marantz because of low profit margins, and then this low profit margin company coughs up the money to buy not just their basi stock, but also their dedicated manufcturing plant in Japan - you don't do this kind of mega deal with a low profit margin.

But, I will agree that this may have looked like it to Philips. Tey always had TERA problems selling audio, always, they struggled against the perception of being a washing machine and refrigerator company making audio, and they never really knew what to do about it. They simply have too much public perception working agaist them. In 1979, they launched a new line of open reel decsk, one of which, 2N5420 which I had, all 60 lbs of it, struggled to compete with the likes of reVox, Akain, TEAC, etc even if it was as good as anything they ever did, abd often better. People had problems accepting a product at that price range (app. 20% more expensive than reVox B77 at the time), even if magazine tests showed that it beat reVox in all departments, including mechancs, where reVox wreigned supreme at the time (or was seen as such). It was better than the B77 point by point, lower wow and flutter, lower spped deviation, lower tape slip, the works. But what the hell, it was a Philips, and they make refordgerators and washing machines. And they did make some boo-boos, their top of the line Black Tulip series of tuners, preamps and power amps, while good, did not stand up to its true comeptitors, I believe because it was made by Hitachi, so not really a Philips product even if Philips badged. I should know, I have them.

 

[dvv]

I seem to recall from earlier chats about this that Dejan's referring to the Lite DAC-AH or a clone thereof. Here's the reference I was thinking of : http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/lounge/200865-sound-quality-vs-measurements-211.html#post3654837

Oh, you mean my little standalone real time DAC, which I haven't seen for the last four months, I loaned it to a friend, then he loaned to another friend and so forth, it is acting like a little hooker. And it's good, I am told several purchases were made on basis of it, however form other sources, like I said, the Chnese vendours offer models which are its spitting image at a lot les money.

I haven't heard these other models, so I cannot comment, but I reckon if they can faithfully copy John's preamp, this should be much less of a problem to copy.

 

[dvv]

JC, speaking of preamps, it's all well and fine that you measured it, but what I really want to know is what were your conclusions upon hearing it in action, does it really sound alike to your original, and if so, how close is it?