Recording or Playing ? - Poll.

[jammy395]

Welder - God bless yer Chick's..... Hope you've got them a xmas pressie.....

U - NO - THE - SCORE................

Merry xmas and a happy ny too u and yer loved 1's.............xxxxx

[Welder]

Best seasonal wishes to you and your family to Jammy.
Off the rig for the holiday?

[zebbo]

And Macca to say definitely maybe sounds excellent is absurd . It a wall of sound in your face recording , I can listen to it getting ready to go to the pub , but sitting down and listening to it is a no no.

Phil Spector's productions are also a wall of sound (he invented it) All of his productions are pop gems and if your system is good enough to make the best of them, there is a surprising amount going on in there. Da Doo Ron Ron is full of saxes, double time pianos and shakers as well as the thunder drums of course. Pure genius on the right gear, and as for The Righteous Brothers, "You've Lost That Loving Feeling", that is total magic. Get some Walker Bros in too, though not Spector,their records are fabulous if your system can do them justice."The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" is just wonderful.
Check out the beginning;
the four violin notes between the lines,
"Loneliness....is a cloak you wear" and,
"A deep shade of blue ...is always there" ...should not screech. If they do your system is at fault.
There you are; I'm even giving a few concrete examples of tests folk could carry out.

Of course yer average audiophile would dismiss many of these productions out of hand. That's their loss and more of a reflection of a poor system, than anything wrong with the recordings.

If you want the best out of your hi-fi, use these types of recordings for auditioning gear rather than the usual audiophile fodder, they'll tell you more about your system than any so called reference recording ever could. You know it makes sense.

Well Steve, on your recommendation I found myself a copy of that and, i can only assume that you have a pristine 1st pressing and I have a clapped-out duffer, (sold as VG+, looks clean), because "magic" is certainly not what I would call it, total shite would be more accurate. Sounds to me like they were simply way too high with the levels and over-saturated the tape as the peaks turn to hash and it's generally flat and airless. As I say, will have to assume that my copy is worn out, either that or the Doc and Aurthur have got it all wrong!

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Well I don't like Phil Spector either, it is over the top wall of sound for me. He did it for old radios and record players. You cannot take this argument to absolutes and there is music we wont like as individuals, for example I can never listen to rap or Stockhausen.

Both the music and the system are important, but my point is that a good system will make more sense of more music.

[zebbo]

Well I don't like Phil Spector either, it is over the top wall of sound for me. He did it for old radios and record players. You cannot take this argument to absolutes and there is music we wont like as individuals, for example I can never listen to rap or Stockhausen.

Both the music and the system are important, but my point is that a good system will make more sense of more music.

Aye, just about sums it up I reckon.

[SteveTheShadow]

Well Steve, on your recommendation I found myself a copy of that and, i can only assume that you have a pristine 1st pressing and I have a clapped-out duffer, (sold as VG+, looks clean), because "magic" is certainly not what I would call it, total shite would be more accurate. Sounds to me like they were simply way too high with the levels and over-saturated the tape as the peaks turn to hash and it's generally flat and airless. As I say, will have to assume that my copy is worn out, either that or the Doc and Arthur have got it all wrong!

Interesting. So what now?
Throw the record away, or investigate the problem further?

[zebbo]

It's already in the bin.

[joe]

Well I don't like Phil Spector either, it is over the top wall of sound for me. He did it for old radios and record players. You cannot take this argument in absolutes and there is music we wont like as individuals, for example I can never listen to rap or Stockhausen.

Both the music and the system are important, but my point is that a good system will make more sense of more music.

I like Phil Spector. But as you say, a good system will help you enjoy/appreciate a wider range of music, whilst a less good system will limit you to old favourites, and have you obsessing over minor details in your audiophile pressing of Dark Side of the Moon or Kind of Blue, and a poor system will turn you off listening to music entirely.

[SteveTheShadow]

Personally, I would take the record for what it is.
Is it in the bin because it sounds irritating or because you don't like the music?

Bobby Hatfield "whoooo"s during the call and response section towards the end are nicely distorted (deliberately) to give a sense of climax and desperation, the clue is in the lyrics, ie as Macca has said, when talking about Oasis, the recording is the way it is because of artistic decisions, rather than Hi-Fi considerations. Your system is clearly showing this decision making process. You, of course don't have to like their decisions

The Righteous Brothers record sounds aircraft hangar massive. The strings shimmer. I don't find it flat and airless.
OTOH it could be that I'm far too easily pleased and therfore unreliable

[jammy395]

Chicken / Egg

You cant make a Silk Purse out of a Sow's Ear.

Then again you cant make a Sow's Ear out of a Silk Purse.

How's about a compromise...!!!