There are quite a few reel to reel recordings available, including several copies of Pink Floyd. How do you get your source material? Are they all good?
Typically in the 70 - 80 dB range. There is no humanity to isolate from down here, I just have to keep levels at a point that doesn't bother my wife too much. (She is pretty tolerant) System maxes out well north of 110dB at the listening position but these days I rarely go over high 90s.
My primary sources are digital media via a Roon server and ethernet streamer, analog via LP (both LOMC and strain gauge equipped tables with my own pre-amps) and tape - mostly 15ips reel. I recently added cassette mostly for fun.
Speaker system has evolved a bit over the past 14 years, mostly better mid-range and HF horns. Driven by six channels of DHT SE power amplification, (about 60W total) line level Linkwitz-Riley 24dB/octave electronic crossovers, MiniDSP SHD processor, and transformer coupled line stage using EML 20B DHTs. I've been quite busy designing and building stuff over the past decade or so with a brief interlude for a serious illness.
I'm fairly happy with the overall performance.
Designed and built my first amps and speakers in high school, lots of electronics over the decades including a dac, a CD transport, pre-amps, electronic cross-overs, phono stages, tape stages, and a lot of power amps. Only two speaker systems.
Sound quality has always been important to me, and for decades I did not believe I would get there with horns and avoided them as outmoded, superseded technology. About 2 decades ago I started to experiment, sort of an eye opener, could not really have been much more wrong. Nothing very exotic, JBL 2440 on 2380 horns and Fostex T-825, both are bi-radial, integrate well, and their directivity is desirable in this room (one of the reasons I choose them). They're efficient and pretty clean sounding at the levels I listen at. I'd love all TAD horns but they're a tad 😉 err, expensive these days. Bass is handled by Iconic 165-8G in diy Onken cabinets.
Most of my small collection R2R recordings come from Acoustic Sounds (Ultra-Tape) and I also have some from the Tape Project and a few somewhat puzzling dubs of studio master tapes. I hope once the world returns to more normal circumstances to get around a bit more and hunt for some master tapes from local studios. I'm late to the game though and inexperienced - I have friends who are neither who will likely beat me to the punch.
Speaking of reel tapes..
I have an original Columbia tape of Ray Conniff's "S'Marvelous" in 4 track stereo.
Apparently, this album was released in 1957 (pre stereo days?), but I don't know when the actual tape was released.
The price tag on it is from Sam Goody's stores.
A friend came by one time, he was mostly into 1980's British rock, and asked me about my Akai 4000D.
He also had a nice stereo system at his place.
So I brought out the tape, and let it play a bit to demonstrate.
WOW! was all I heard from him, and he insisted that I let the whole tape play while he sat on the floor midway between my Advent Maestro's.
He was obviously flabbergasted, and I could not for the life of me wonder why he got into that type of music.
It is a really nice "background/dinner music" tape though.
And it's held up pretty well over the decades.
I have an original Columbia tape of Ray Conniff's "S'Marvelous" in 4 track stereo.
Apparently, this album was released in 1957 (pre stereo days?), but I don't know when the actual tape was released.
The price tag on it is from Sam Goody's stores.
A friend came by one time, he was mostly into 1980's British rock, and asked me about my Akai 4000D.
He also had a nice stereo system at his place.
So I brought out the tape, and let it play a bit to demonstrate.
WOW! was all I heard from him, and he insisted that I let the whole tape play while he sat on the floor midway between my Advent Maestro's.
He was obviously flabbergasted, and I could not for the life of me wonder why he got into that type of music.
It is a really nice "background/dinner music" tape though.
And it's held up pretty well over the decades.
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I had a few original releases on RTR. So_long_ago - I can only remember that the one 7 1/2 ips sounded alot better than the ones recorded at 3 3/4 - and that one of them was ELP's "Tarkus"
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Barely, most stereo recordings hit the streets in '58.
1957 release was mono on LP, but stereo on 2-track reel-to-reel (GCB 14) according to discogs.com and LP's were promptly released in stereo in 1958 as shown.
But your 4-track (Columbia CQ 319) release date isn't listed there. It's at least as early as April 1961, as evidenced by this Columbia ad in High Fidelity Magazine
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Yes, thanks!
That's the one I have, CQ319 in 4 track stereo.
I figured that it was likely released in the early 1960's.
Now, was the Sam Goody record store chain where it was originally purcheased in business then? (the price tag sticker saying "Goody's Price $5.99)
A customer came into the shop about 15 years back, and handed me a stack of tapes, and that was one of them.
Also some still sealed Maxell UDXL's a Scotch "Master"'s
Hmm, good question. The discogs site tends to be pretty comprehensive, and to distinguish one release from another with appropriate details for differentiation.
Since there are over 40 releases documented for this recording, and only one is 4-track, I'd wager that there was only one release in this format.
Nice score on the tapes! I sorely miss a decent R2R in my stash.
And to stay OT:
I spent many of my younger years trying to help/guide people on listening, whether home or car equipment.
Nothing seemed to be so helpful as an A/B demo in a sound room or a before/after demo with their own equipment. And of course- listening to a setup where things were well beyond anything they had heard before.
If they were interested enough at that point, they usually followed the path as long as they could afford it.
Since there are over 40 releases documented for this recording, and only one is 4-track, I'd wager that there was only one release in this format.
Nice score on the tapes! I sorely miss a decent R2R in my stash.
And to stay OT:
I spent many of my younger years trying to help/guide people on listening, whether home or car equipment.
Nothing seemed to be so helpful as an A/B demo in a sound room or a before/after demo with their own equipment. And of course- listening to a setup where things were well beyond anything they had heard before.
If they were interested enough at that point, they usually followed the path as long as they could afford it.
Back in 2010, I threw a Christmas gathering here for a handful of people.
One, a 21 year old dude, was brought by a friend of mine.
This kid lived with headphones in his ear and an MP3 player in his pocket.
Out in my dining room, I had Christmas background music going, from my 1963 RCA Victor console stereo.
The console was restored and customized by me a year earlier.
As I was about to stack some more records on it, the kid came over and asked "what's that disk thing spinning down there?"
I told him it was a record, on a turntable.
I got dumb looks from the kid.
But... he said "that thing sounds awesome!"
Ahh, kids these days!
One, a 21 year old dude, was brought by a friend of mine.
This kid lived with headphones in his ear and an MP3 player in his pocket.
Out in my dining room, I had Christmas background music going, from my 1963 RCA Victor console stereo.
The console was restored and customized by me a year earlier.
As I was about to stack some more records on it, the kid came over and asked "what's that disk thing spinning down there?"
I told him it was a record, on a turntable.
I got dumb looks from the kid.
But... he said "that thing sounds awesome!"
Ahh, kids these days!
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Listening levels are important..
70-80 dB is right on: that is what I have found is an acceptable listening level - if you have the right system you are fine. Also, over 80 dB sustained is bad for the ears.
Loudness compensation becomes very important at those levels, one thing I forgot when doing by desktop OB and then realizing I could not turn the volume up too much without disturbing the others in the house hold.
Horns never impressed me either - the PA horns have sort of turned me off, though I did listen to a set in a supermarket once - horn tweeter on some large old speakers and they sounded very powerful in the higher ranges.
70-80 dB is right on: that is what I have found is an acceptable listening level - if you have the right system you are fine. Also, over 80 dB sustained is bad for the ears.
Loudness compensation becomes very important at those levels, one thing I forgot when doing by desktop OB and then realizing I could not turn the volume up too much without disturbing the others in the house hold.
Horns never impressed me either - the PA horns have sort of turned me off, though I did listen to a set in a supermarket once - horn tweeter on some large old speakers and they sounded very powerful in the higher ranges.
I think we can find a point of access here with all people, not just kids: show them that it sounds good, and you are on.
I remember listening to the Hi Fi system my parents bought in the 1980s: the same songs I listened on tape, on headphones, and the bass was just unusual; all over the place I was never used to that much bass the entire song seemed to be made of bass.
Another area of contact is the kids who play for bands: the school at which I teach has had a few band sessions and I have always been struck by the awful mixing: can't hear the bass at all, voices are squeaky, and the kids keep agreeing with me that the mixing is bad. Funnily enough, that terrible experience has made me appreciate the recordings I listen to: I keep thinking: the mix is so good, it is so balanced, I can hear all the instruments throughout, and the tonal quality of the voices and instruments is very pleasant. A set of drum breaks with the snares and cymbals tuned just right is something to behold.
A reel to reel for sale in Colombo? Looks like could be a reality: an Akai no less!
Akai 4000 DS
Spool Tape Recorder Akai 4000 DS for sale in Maharagama | ikman.lk
I remember those long black levers on the right side - twist to play and rewind or something like that?
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More learning needed...
Music on the Mind | Psychology Today
And music can help OCD
How '90s Rap Music Can Help with OCD | Psychology Today
Music has a effect on our biological systems as well as our minds it seems.
Also: earbuds and earphones are not the best thing...
“You shouldn’t have exposure to 80 decibels for longer than 60 minutes,” Hall told HuffPost. “Give yourself a rest. Let your ears recover a little bit.”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/music-hearing-loss_n_....
Music on the Mind | Psychology Today
And music can help OCD
How '90s Rap Music Can Help with OCD | Psychology Today
Music has a effect on our biological systems as well as our minds it seems.
Also: earbuds and earphones are not the best thing...
“You shouldn’t have exposure to 80 decibels for longer than 60 minutes,” Hall told HuffPost. “Give yourself a rest. Let your ears recover a little bit.”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/music-hearing-loss_n_....
I think this one is a good video to learn how to listen to music. Much of this I learned the hard way. However it does not emphasize listening in stereo. My advise is:
"Keep placing yourself and your speakers until you find the stereo effect and the speakers disappear and the room is filled with sound."
"You should get the same stereo effect with speakers as you get with headphones, only the music should appear to be in front of you"
"Keep placing yourself and your speakers until you find the stereo effect and the speakers disappear and the room is filled with sound."
"You should get the same stereo effect with speakers as you get with headphones, only the music should appear to be in front of you"