John Curl's Blowtorch preamplifier part III

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#2,161
I normally use Sequerra Met7's for most of my listening:
TV, FM radio (news and normal listening)
Also my office system, (lectures, news, etc)
These days I rarely turn on my reference system, (quality fm, Oppo digital, and phono) because I am just too lazy to go through the effort. The B+ system is very easy and convenient to listen to.
 
#2,163
DPH said:
Nezbleu -- We overlap a decent amount. Spoon was definitely my favorite concert. Tons of fun. Haven't run into them in Portland, yet, unfortunately.
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I have onky heard them live once (so far), when they opened for Arcade Fire at Madison Square Garden 2010 as I recall). That was a great concert! I have a tentative plan to travel to see them again this year, we'll see if it works out.
 
#2,166
Protools and the lack of a professional engineer, producer and equipment. Record companies sometimes used what could only be described as a high quality demo of a song and release it as is. That's one thing that killed many larger recording studios.

-Chris
 
#2,167
elektroj said:
You guys ought to see this documentary:

Sound City (2013) - IMDb

YouTube

It says a lot about the REAL music recording/production process and about creating THAT vibe that gets across to the listener at the end.
I doubt all the new 'bedroom style' smartass producers are able to create something similar. Protools and plug-in junkies, that's what they are.
Not that I'm against the recently recorded music or new technologies, but, somehow I don't see the 20 year olds around that should be rocking the planet today, like their parents did when they were in their 20's. One has to wonder why..
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Sound City main room:

YouTube

Sound City facility was taken over by Fairfax Recordings. D Grohl acquired the Neve.

STUDIO | Fairfax Recordings

It appears to be operating again as Sound City. Helios console and 3M tape machines.

Sound City Studios – Rebirth of a Legend - Gearslutz Pro Audio Community

Hopefully this place will keep going

T
 
#2,168
#2,169
john curl said:
I normally use Sequerra Met7's for most of my listening:
TV, FM radio (news and normal listening)
Also my office system, (lectures, news, etc)
These days I rarely turn on my reference system, (quality fm, Oppo digital, and phono) because I am just too lazy to go through the effort. The B+ system is very easy and convenient to listen to.
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You go on and on about high end stuff beyond what people in this thread use, and then your reference system includes Oppo for digital 🙄 You could at least get a Benchmark.


I find it hard to desire a cave with a stereo in it. For that very reason I have been working on a different style of speaker, that allows more access. I like music when I cook and earlier in the day when I do stuff - and I like when it sounds good. At night is typically when a sit down happens, and on Sundays. But I see no reason to limit the "reference" quality for any use.
 
#2,171
Destroyer OS said:
I find it hard to desire a cave with a stereo in it. For that very reason I have been working on a different style of speaker, that allows more access. I like music when I cook and earlier in the day when I do stuff - and I like when it sounds good. At night is typically when a sit down happens, and on Sundays. But I see no reason to limit the "reference" quality for any use.
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You’re speaking my language.

Ohm Model F really does it for me in that department. You need enough room to really pull them off the walls.

Screw perfect stereo sweet spot reproduction. Do you people not lay down on your couches? Who has time for sitting there like a scarecrow enslaved to their hifi? Seems JC even doesn’t really anymore.

If you want tabletop Bluetooth I’ve been quite pleased with the Harmon Kardon Studio 4. And you can find them routinely for half or less than retail. It definitely exceeded expectations.

I wonder if the Hi-Fi oligarchs will realize how out of touch they are before they’re completely gutted by the headphone / smartphone crowd. Their demographic is dying off fast.
 
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#2,173
Destroyer OS said:
You go on and on about high end stuff beyond what people in this thread use, and then your reference system includes Oppo for digital 🙄 You could at least get a Benchmark.

.
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I had nothing special for CD for a long time.... several of them and a 400 CD unit in the garage. Then the CD End-of-Live announcement ... so I bought an OPPO with far too many bells and whistles for my use but a solid player for my legacy CD collection. Now its a Benchmark and a storage/player for HD music. Throw in an FM tuner for background music. Power Amps and Bi-amp'ed speakers and HPA. Done.

Now what do we do for fun? Listen to the music?


THx-RNMarsh
 
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#2,174
DPH said:
^ who cares? If it works it works. A bit paradoxical, but whatever.
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The Oppo sounds bad. It sounds like saturation. No one in the "hi end" community John is hammering on us respects it as a source. So even if you like it, it's simply a contradiction to what he's saying.

spaceistheplace, I wouldn't mind hearing those, because I think my impressions of omnis are been poorly represented with MSB. But my goal is to eliminate as much intrusiveness into the room as possible, so it's slightly different.
 
#2,176
I was given an OPPO 105 as part payment for consulting for them a few years ago. Before that, it was Radio Shack, because I generally don't like CD, and the OPPO was an improvement.
Looking at a further improvement, I noted the Benchmark, but I doubt that it would sound much better, at least not $2000 better. So I now have an ESS 9038 evaluation board that seems an improvement over the Oppo, that I can use today, but there is more! I am designing my own all discrete jfet I-V converter for the ESS 9038, where I hope I will actually have a REAL improvement in sound quality.
I have the I-V modules (modified Blowtorch line amps) and the power supply (Blowtorch) almost ready. We shall see.
As far as digital vs vinyl reference, I compared them at the Rocky Mountain Audio Festival in the Constellation room with my phono stage and all other electronics Constellation, with a pair of Wilson speakers that are similar to my reference but cost twice as much (and they sound slightly better too). I clearly preferred the vinyl playback, which was better than what I now have at my apartment here. IF digital did as well or better in this comparison, I would have heard it.
 
#2,178
Funny a quick google search for Oppo reviews has a litany of positive responses. So, whether you like it or not, a definitive "The Oppo sounds bad." won't get us very far.

I've never heard one, and I don't care.

These measurements, at least, suggest that there's nothing pathological going on, certainly not falling completely apart at 2vrms:
Oppo UDP-203 & UDP-205 Ultra HD Blu-ray Players Measurements and Analysis | Audioholics

If their other models aren't well performing that's one thing, but again, it looks like you can set it up pretty neutral and have it sound like other neutral performers on the market.
 
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