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A serious point regarding how we approach our hobby....

I sent off a CDR comparison recording to a variety of my favorite inmates. On the disk I recorded the Denon DL103R on a Technics SL1210MK5 vs the Grado Ref Master playing on my Rek O Kut plinth two. My original point was to demonstrate how a Denon performs on the Technics platform. It is a solid and capable performer for under 800 dollars retail and it has many admirable features that other platforms might never achieve at any price.

Several inmates commented about how the Denon or the Grado sounded better to their ears. I have two outstanding systems. One in my car and the other in my home. The level of detail retrieval, the quality of the bass notes, the naturalness of the vocals, and the extension of the highs dramatically favors the Grado cartridge. It is not a close call, it is night and day better on both of my systems.

What stuck the clearest note was some comments that O'Malley sent me about how both he and his wife preferred the Denon much more than the Grado listening over their home speakers. Then when he listened on headphones, he preferred the Grado on every cut.....

When I make comments to regarding how important system matching can be to create the most musical enjoyment; this is the proof to that claim.

What you can take away from this thread is that the only thing that matters in our hobby is the proper matching of components to optimize sound reproduction in your listening room.

There is no right or wrong products in our hobby. There is only the patient practice of trying and comparing options that get you closer to where you want to be.

Speakers have their own sonic quiltwork of tonal reproduction. Speaker cables make a difference as do well designed interconnects. Vinyl front ends, tables, arms, and cartridges all conspire to make your listening time fun or dreadful.

I have found during my time of selling midfi and hifi products that there is no best speaker, best electronics, or best turntable....there is only the process of finding the best matches that work the synergistically in your listening room.

While you do get what you pay for in many cases, great sound is not always about the issue of the dollars spent on a system. It is really about matching things to make the best overall sound possible.

Another thing about our hobby is how differently each of us approaches what we need to hear. Teresa came to my apartment and said she prefered her own system. She also said I might not like the midbass bloom from her system. This is the Ying and Yang of what makes our hobby live and breathe. Music is meant to be a fun and enjoyable experience from our own unique perspective.

I plan to send out some more comparison CDR's because I really love the feedback I have received.

If other inmates want to participate please email me at jim_howard_pdx@yahoo.com. I am not promising anything other than dialog at this time.

And for those that have not yet had a chance to forward comments to me, please do so. I really find it instructive to hear all the good, bad and ugly comments about the comparison CDR's. I know every flaw in my system....I assure you of that!

A special thank you to John Elison for being the one and only inmate to point out the atrocious noise floor of my recordings....John that would be the turbine locamotive idling on the first floor of my apartment building....really this vibration is going to drive me nuts.

I really appreciate John's comments because everyone else ignored this area of the recordings and I expected every one to comment on this noise floor issue....it really does effect the overall enjoyment of a reproduced music. A quiet noise floor is not to be discounted in the overall picture of musical enjoyment.

I cannot wait to hear feedback from those that received the CDRs and have not yet weighed in on the recordings. I hope that over time, that trading CDR's of our systems will help us get a feel for what works well or poorly given any particular circumstance.

Here is to system optimizing and getting the most smiles per LP.

Cheers!


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Topic - A serious point regarding how we approach our hobby.... - tubesforever 22:48:15 09/08/06 (23)


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