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Well I don't normally show and tell, but I've finally achieved my medium term goal.. The SME has two arms, one for mono and one for stereo The Garrard 401 has a nice new plinth by Duc and a great 12" Ortofon arm with a SPU cart for my collection of classical and some other older pressings. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Indeed I did. This was a silly 1st of April post. The 3 crowns are my own 30 second Photoshop work . Thank you to niss_man for his interesting History of the Philips TDA d/a converter post which I enjoyed very much.

@Newman I haven't bothered to read the whole thing and have no idea what the research quality is like! I highly doubt the resurgence of vinyl is linked to sound quality, which is why I thought the concept from the article was interesting. Indeed, I daresay that the vast bulk of people enjoying the vinyl resurgence (including many of my friends) fit within the article's premise - they are doing it because they enjoy it, rather than because it sounds better than their CD player/streamer/youtube/other medium. I think an analogy is people who buy manual cars - they do so because they're more fun to drive (for some people), not because they're "better". Indeed, they are no doubt slower, but Porsche will sell oodles of the new 991.2 GT3 in manual guise, because there are aspects of the user experience that are unrelated to it being "better" but still make it more "fun". I don't think that the fact that, in very, very high end systems vinyl is still the dominant front end because it sounds better has anything really to do with what is driving the consumer market. I think it is being driven by a generation who didn't really grow up with vinyl, or even CD or any physical media and find the idea of having the music in the grooves and a nice jacket with information about the album cool, engaging and fun. And what could be better than not stressing about chasing the "ultimate reproduction" and just enjoying music because it's cool, fun and makes you happy?

As my system has improved, I hear more imperfections in the recordings. But this is more than balanced by hearing more of the music - detail, nuance, timbre, timing etc. So, I can appreciate genres, albums and tracks that wouldn't have made an impression on me and I wouldn't have bothered listening to before. It's sort of the same phenomenon where I totally enjoy live music that's outside my usual interest because it's live and real. The better the system IMHO, the closer it comes to that, warts and all. And I can still crank up old, compressed crappily recorded stuff (old Stones hits as I type this) and thoroughly enjoy it as some of the magic shines through and pushes the imperfections into the background of my consciousness. Clumsy way of saying it but I hope it conveys the meaning. Sometimes, when trying to sort out set-up details (toe-in, bass levels, crossover points etc - an ongoing pursuit) I get to the stage where I decide it's all too hard and just sit back and enjoy the music. I think a good system, even if it still needs some tweaking, makes this easy.

Probably one of the most under rated wingers in the NRL and a great club guy for the Dragons

I've been making my way through some of Factmag's top 50 albums of last year. At number 36 is Jake Meginsky Seven Psychotropic Sinewave Palindromes. Described by Factmag as "There’s nothing like a strict set of constraints to force out the best ideas, and on his brilliantly titled release for NNA Tapes, Massachusetts’ Jake Meginsky (also known as Vapor Gourds) makes minimalist magic from just four simple elements: sine waves, square waves, white noise and an 808 kick drum. Punchy, tactile and disorienting, it’s especially spooky on headphones, and positively psychotropic at full volume. CR" https://nnatapes.bandcamp.com/album/seven-psychotropic-sinewave-palindromes

The best rock album of 2000 from this fantastic Kiwi group. If they were American this album would be a modern-day classic, as it is nobody outside of Australasia has a clue who Shihad are. This rocks hard but does so with class and finesse in equal parts. I love it and after 16 yrs have given up on it ever getting a vinyl release

It feels like forever since I posted here. Not because I haven't been listening to any jazz. Just that when I do, it's normally late at night and I'm generally winding down with all internet connected devices switched off. So, before I wind down too far, I thought I should share a new purchase that I've just washed and am listening to and enjoying immensely. Dexter Gordon - Our Man In Paris. I've never listened to this record before but I can't recall Gordon sounding better. According to the sometimes reliable Wikipedia, Kenny Drew was meant to play piano on this album, however Bud Powell ended up playing. Because he couldn't play Gordon's new material, they ended up playing standards. Sounds sketchy to me. Can anybody verify or definitively refute this? Regardless, it's a wonderful album that sounds truly fantastic. I only wish I had listened to it many times before many years earlier. The only other Dexter Gordon albums I'm really familiar with are Go and A Swingin' Affair. I'll have to delve deeper into his back catalogue. As always, too much music, not enough time...

@Telecine thanks for the alert. They remind me of the sort of early electronic detonation device I was using to gouge opal at Cooper Pedy in th '40s . The Mrs said we earn more selling Rabbits door to door in Kaniva! She could be sarcastic at times I M SURE THESE DEVICES DO THEIR JOB WELL GLWTS

Item: Consonance Reference R-40 MC/MM preamp. Location: Rowville. Price: $595.00 Item Condition: Excellent. Reason for selling: Have upgraded. Payment Method: Pickup - Cash. Extra Info: Manufacturer says "Flagship phono using NOS tubes to MM and high quality transformer to MC. Quite stunning performance. Separate power supply for low noise". Comes complete with original box and handbook. Purchased new from Greg Osborn. Unmarked condition. Pictures:

As those who have read any of my posts recently would know I am a newbie to good hifi equipment, which means I am undertaking a steep and expensive learning curve, but one I'm totally enjoying. Now the point of this thread, since starting out on this journey only about six weeks ago I have found as my 2-channel sound system improves in sq as I purchase better components that my previous often long standing tastes in music is also changing. Music that sounded good with the same VA speakers through the Yamaha AV that started this journey now sounds less appealing when played through the MF amp and a half decent Rotel DAC. So Instead of listening to bands loudly as I did previously for many years I now find myself listening to and enjoying much more music from artists like Tommy Emmanuel etc and with less volume. Im guessing it's because now there is a direct comparison between the two systems and that highlights the difference in detail and precision that artists like Emmanual produce in their music, which I now find so enjoyable to listen to on good equipment. I have for many years owned the Emmanual CD's but found them more like very occasional relaxing background music, where as now it is sit in front of the speakers and listen with a smile on my face. Has anyone else had a similar experience of changing music tastes as their stereo improved in sound quality or am I just on my own on this? cheers Terry

WITHDRAWN FROM SALE Item: Naim Superline phono stage with Supercap, Teddy Pardo Supercap, Burndy cables and Airplugs Location: Sydney Price: Superline $2700, Supercap $3500, Teddy Pardo Supercap $1200, Naim Burndy cable $500, Teddy Pardo Burndy cable $150, Z Airplugs $140 each Item Condition: Excellent Reason for selling: Too many phono stages Payment Method: Pickup - Cash, Paypal, bank transfer Extra Info: See below Pictures: See below For sale is my Naim Superline phono stage. I have listed this once before last year but then withdrawn it from sale because it was just too good to part with. But I now have quite a number of high end phono stages and am gradually selling all of my Naim gear (more to follow) so I am selling the Superline with some reluctance. This was purchased new in November 2014 from Audio Genesis in Sydney. The Superline is one of the best phono stages currently available at any price. It comes with loading plugs of 100, 220, 500, and 1k ohm (or 10k with no loading plug) to allow for just about any MC cartridge, along with adjustable capacitance. It is in excellent condition with all original packaging. It requires a power supply, either a Naim preamp, a Naim power supply or a third party psu such as a Teddy Pardo. Also for sale is my Naim Supercap 2 and a Teddy Pardo Supercap. Either of these will power the Superline and will sound excellent, although the Naim Supercap 2 is the better of the two (and most authentically "Naim" sounding) PSU, but the Teddy Pardo PSU is not that far behind. The Naim Supercap and Teddy Supercap will each require a "Burndy" cable, and I am selling these separately for each PSU. I am also including a Flashback DIN - RCA cable as well as the standard Naim DIN-DIN cable so that the phono stage can be used with a non-Naim amplifier. I can confirm that the Flashback cable is excellent. I also have higher quality (and more expensive) Naim Hiline and AR Lunar DIN-RCA cables available. The Naim and Teddy Pardo Supercaps are also offered separately if anyone is interested in buying either of these but preference will be given to someone also buying the Superline. In addition, I have a number of Naim Z Airplugs for the Superline. These are upgraded loading plugs using higher grade resistors. I have plugs for 100 ohm, 220 ohm, 500 ohm and 1k ohm. These sell for $275 each separately - I am offering them at $140 each. They really do provide a big improvement to the sound of the Superline. These are offered preferentially to the buyer of the Superline, and also conditionally on the Superline being sold. There have been many excellent reviews of the Superline. From the Toneaudio review: Should you install a Superline/SuperCap2 into your system, I guarantee the phono stage will no longer be the weak link in your system. It will not bring back the parts of your marginal recordings that suffer from compression, but it will extract every bit of music your turntable, tonearm and cartridge are capable of delivering.( Full review: http://www.tonepublications.com/analogaholic/naim-superline/) From Inner Ear: For me, the phono stage hunt has been a long one, but I can safely say, without reservation, that this is the finest sounding phono preamp I've ever had in my system, regardless of price. Quality of workmanship, logical layout and most of all sound performance are my criteria, and that is because I'm totally blind and visual aesthetics don't influence my take on a product. I have a dedicated listening room, so the WAF factor doesn't enter into the equation either. I admit to suffering from a certain degree of obsessive-compulsive disorder so painstaking care is taken in placement of all components including speakers and cables. This also helps in my orientation to the system. I opened this essay by stating that I prefer tube equipment to solid-state gear. I'm doing an about-face, since that isn't the case anymore. The Naim SuperLine phono stage with the SuperCap power supply is the number one phono preamp on my long list of top high-end phono-stage I have lived with. The engineers at Naim have something special here. (Full review: http://www.innerearmag.com/reviews/preamps/NAIM_Superline.shtml) The Absolute Sound review: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/tas-194-naim-audio-superline-reference-phonostage-1/ Martin Colloms in HifiCritic: What does it sound like? Like Nagra mastertape is the only phrase that I can use. The noise floor is almost nonexistent. The dynamics are eye-popping. The clarity and tunefulness are of the highest order. There must be a downside? The hidden shame of which we do not talk? But no. This is a genuinely high-end product which just works without fuss or complication or hassle. It's the moving-coil equivalent of a top-of-the-line Range Rover: go anywhere, play anything, interconnect with anything. Play any style of music. Play wallet-emptying brand new 200g reference pressings. Play a secondhand worn-out wafer-thin 1970s early punk pressing. It's fit and forget. And the damn thing isn't even that expensive. For sure, using a Super-Cap doesn't help the bottom line, but start with a cheap Rega or old Linn, and power the SuperLine by a mid-range Naim pre-amp, and then upgrade as and when you can afford to. From that point of view, the SuperLine is a lifetime purchase. I don't see myself ever needing to change it, even though cartridges and loading plugs will come and go. Assuming 40 years more listening, it's a pound a week for what might well be Naim's greatest achievement to date, and one of the greatest moving coil preamps of all time. Is that not the very definition of "bargain"? (Full review: http://www.audiocounsel.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/superline_hificritic_december_2009.pdf)

Bought an Audio Technica AT33ML MC from @Chickenism last year from the SNA classifieds - I finally mounted it last week. Sounds gorgeous. The AT 33ML is a long discontinued model with micro linear stylus mounted on a gold plated beryllium cantilever. Renowned for sounding shrill, but its sounds great in my system, and a real step up detail wise from the Audio Technica AT32E MC that I had before. The cartridge is mounted on an Orsonic headshell, on a SME 3012 S2 arm, Thorens 124 II turntable. The cartridge plays through a Audio Technica AT 650 SUT, and my trusty Yaqin 12B valve phono stage which is running all Telefunken 12AU7s / 12AX7s. This is all feeding my 6AS7 SET amp and Goodmans speakers at the moment - very fun to be still using 50 year old components in an everyday system. Its all sounding pretty nice - warm, detailed, full. Thank you again @Chickenism !

Thought I'd spin the original.....

Sadly mine is only 7 years old. I'm in mourning, the amount of research ahead of me is going to be very frustrating - it was so simple with the Kuro.

And my pick of the white blues bands: cheers mick

Since we're on British Blues - here's my favourites: cheers mick

Another great Southerner, Leon Russell was the same on Piano. The amount of peoples Albums he played on produced or wrote for is stunning. Beach Boys,(Pet Sounds) Sinatra,John, Dylan, Diamond,Clapton, Stones, the list goes on. And yet he barely got a mention when he died the same week as Cohen. Sad.

@djb Zen Meister has already covered all basis....so nothing much to add from my side. I discovered Boz Scaggs through Duane Allman - Duane has two 'Anthology' albums which had most of his session works with various artists. He was considered session musician's musician. Clapton may be God, but without Duane, Layla could easily have been an ordinary recording... Anthology (I) has Boz Scaggs singing an old Fenton Robinson number Loan Me a Dime almost going for 14 minutes.....!

I think these have a fax and printer too....

Streaming "The Art Pepper Quartet" via Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/2tXGYRpi39ROeGaTruCsta Art Pepper: alto saxophone, Russ Freeman: piano, Ben Tucker: bass, Gary Frommer: drums; recorded 1956 [studio recording] Omnivore Recordings to reissue "The Art Pepper Quartet" .. the CD will be released about a month after the RSD vinyl LP Mastered from the original mono tapes by Kevin Gray, this is not only a reissue for the (multi-generational) ages, it’s the album’s first appearance on vinyl in far too long. Now on clear wax, reproducing the original art and liner notes on an era-correct “tip-on” jacket, the project was overseen by Art’s widow, Laurie Pepper, and Grammy®-Award winning producer, Cheryl Pawelski. http://omnivorerecordings.com/music/the-art-pepper-quartet/ Kevin Gray was involved with AP's Prestige Mono Series.. so the transfer shouldn't disappoint.

I tipped your mob, so was happy to see the Tigers go down. What a great winger Nightingale is.

Experience with my own DIY power cables has been that effective screening (100% foil & braid) and a quality conductor insulation like Teflon or polyethylene provides the most improvement in terms of lowered noise floor and improved definition when powering source equipment. Conductor wire gauge is less important and around 1.5mm to 2.5mm CSA seem to be adequate. I can't comment on the influence of different plating materials on the plug or IEC connector pins as the Aus/NZ compliant one's I use are only available in brass and the only other option is Furutech which are too expensive for my needs.

YES, i fell asleep watching West Tigers football, woke up and we had the best attacking record and the best for and against two weeks in a row ... and smiled to myself youre Nostradamus if ever there was a danger game for the Dragons, those are the sorts of games that are

Hi All These received a play this afternoon: JJ

Third album by one of Ireland's finest bands. There's some excellent songs here and the band sound great. A couple of songs are under or over-cooked but overall this is worth seeking out. Apparently this album was recorded at two sessions, at Woodstock and London, and if I was obsessive I would explore which set were the weaker numbers. The Australian reference point would be the Black Sorrows: distinctive voices among all the influences, and a high standard for album tracks without obvious radio singles. The Flowers have a new album out, available for download. 10 euros.

Fark me!

Another weekend on the bottle(s)

You could always try mine @capone.

Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Clark Terry, Oscar Peterson Big 4, 1980, The Trumpet Summit Meets The Oscar Peterson Big 4 Pablo Today 2312-114 West Germany. Best $1.00 buy of 2016. This is a piece of the Granz magic, organising a meeting of the trumpet greats of the day backed by the Oscar Peterson Big 4. It works a treat as they musically joust & pass the baton to each other, underpinned by the liquid notes of Oscar Peterson & co.

Still the best phono stage I have heard.....and... To all those lucky folk running a Dynavector XX2/TKR/XV1s upwards THIS is the phono stage for it... GLWTS Ross.. Tase.

Fila Brazillia - Luck Be A Weirdo Tonight.

I owned a P500 for a few years till that carked itself..... Bought an X03se about a year ago now just to play a few CD's i have and cant see myself upgrading it.... Tase. +1...

Still in the 80's here and thinking of growing a mullet... I've been meaning to drag out several of my Robyn Hitchcock records since seeing him play with Emma Swift a couple of months ago. This has finally seen the light of day. The rest will remain lurking for another day.

And then you woke up......and smiled to yourself as you realized that you were dreaming.

For those who aren't savvy with the nuances of compression, there are a few sorts, and they do different things and affect the sound in different ways. All here will be familiar with the brickwall limiter used over the top of a final mix to make the CD loud with no dynamics on pop music, and a lot of remasters. That's not good. On all vinyl pop/ rock records from the 70' and 80's an analogue multiband compressor was used to make the dynamic range of the music suit the limitations of a vinyl record. Multiband compression means differing amounts of compression can be applied at different frequencies. For example, a loud cymbal in the mix can be made quieter, by limiting the frequency of that cymbal whilst leaving the other frequencies alone, or deep bass can be compressed to make it louder and sit better in a mix giving a pleasant punchy sound at 100Hz, which is IMO, the typical punchy Vinyl sound. IMO the multiband compressor when used by a skilled vinyl cutting engineer actually can make the music less fatiguing, and more pleasant to listen to because certain sounds pop out and other sounds sit better in the mix. The "flat" mix on a lot of early CD's can sound more dynamic, with more high frequency content but less punchy and balanced sounding than their vinyl equivalent. This is one reason I prefer the sound of many 70's and 80's records over the CD. They have been mastered in a unique way to sound just so. Not all compression is bad, it's used on almost every mix of every album sometimes even (a little bit) on classical records. It's only bad when used too much or inappropriately.

For me the turning point was setting up a headphone rig that clearly outclassed my speaker setup of the time. Suddenly a lot of the stuff I was listening to sounded really cr@p, and and I found myself attracted to other genres which previously were just on the fringes of my interests. Perhaps (for me) with some genres it takes better quality to appreciate this music.

Bastard!! There goes my smoking seat.

I appreciate that we all like to play our music on the best playback system we can afford, but how does ones taste in music change as a result of better equipment? Colour me puzzled. But then again, I also don't understand people who might buy a superb sounding cd/record/whatever, and they don't even like the music. Purchased just because it sounds good.

This also implies the sound quality must be acceptable otherwise the enjoyment is ruined or compromised. Therefore sound quality has to be factor; we just don't know its weighting in the decision making to buy vinyl. It is those that just buy vinyl for the artwork that I am totally puzzled by. Why don't the CD manufacturers just package their CDs in album size artwork to halt the decline in their sales?

Wow someone is going to get a bargain!!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Managed to see Roy many years ago live at the Pier Hotel Frankston. Wow what a musician was blown away by his guitar playing............

It is. Vinyl is mysterious and mystical. There's magic in those dark grooves and don't you forget it.

This is truly addictive, and until one takes the first hand hands on experience, he/she has no $&@?en idea...., seriously! I haven't been touching my iPad for week, nor the urge of browsing my digital library while listening...! Such distractions often occur in most digiphiles, the need to skip/jump/stop..., certain to be unavoidable. With my TT experience so far.., nothing but engagingly undistracted enjoyment where it's further enlightening with Bin 407...! As previously mentioned, I found the Denon DL-103 a little too bland for my taste. Therefore, I am looking forward to next Tuesday, to have this Koetsu Rosewood Signature Cartridge fitted... Again, many thanks to @Tasso for ongoing coaching in this direction...! If it is all working out, my last leg is to source a Thorens Pretisge TT for the completeness...

Streaming Round Midnight, inspired by @ABG's Our Man In Paris post

When I got back into vinyl one of the first lps I bought was a new Coltrane Blue Train reissue, (as it turned out slightly warped). How I've learnt so much since! Today its Coltrane, Music Matters Mono - f'ing fantastic!

Fwiw, there is a quite noticeable step down from the AT150Mlx to the AT440Mlb stylus. The 150 is super fast, highly detailed and tonally clean. Cymbals sound like brass. The 440 makes cymbals sound more like swoosh. The 150 has incredible stereo separation. The 440 is not as good. It will depend on a few factors if you hear these differences. But IMO the 150 is quite a special sounding cart, and the 440 which is great value and tracks great, is not quite at the same performance level. I own both, and like both, but there is a fairly wide gap between them.

Now onto Ben Webster I've not heard this before and from memory it was one I got from Keith ages ago but haven't opened. What a fool.... from the outset this is a serious recording. Outstanding SQ - really something special. This is another limited edition. Analogue Productions. 45rpm double LP. And it features Ray Brown on bass - big wow factor. This is the man for bass. I've turned the volume up. Sent from my SM-G925I using Tapatalk

Hi Guys, Just posting up as Stump sent me the link to this page. I have the drawer cabinet up on Gumtree. After speaking with him about the LPBin I decided to design and put something similar together. Sell for $450 per cabinet Here are some details: - 19mm Ply - All joints are pocket holes (no visible screws from the outside) - Caster wheels (sunken in base with minimal clearance so they can't be seen, stops on front castors) - Can be painted or stained for extra I only finished this last night, so need to take some better photos (with records in) etc, once the stain dries. Happy Diggin' Cheers, Skilogram