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Continuing with Dexter Gordon Long time favourite Our man in Paris

Item: Audiophile Scarves And Beanies Location:Guildford West 2161 Price: $60 scarves, $40 beanies inclusive of Express postage Item Condition:Newly Hand Knitted Reason for selling:It's nearly winter and our precious ears need protecting Payment Method: Pickup - Cash, Paypal, Bank Transfer Extra Info:Here we go again with the collection of knitwear hand knitted over the warmer months. Out riding my bike this morning it was cold and wet so I thought it was about time to share the love and the good Merino for the coming cooler months. For those new to this, when I listen to music I knit. My mum taught me when I was young and we would sit and knit together while listening to music, nearly half a century later I'm still doing the same thing but not with my mum who is sitting at home on the other side of the world as a nuggety old lady enjoying her Bells whisky. Normally I only do scarves as I can knit and listen without having to concentrate on my fingers but decided over the summer to have a bash at some beanies. 6 prototypes came and went before I got it down pat so I have 6 odd beanies to wear myself and the good ones to flog off. Regarding the price, the wool and my business model; my business model is hopeless as I charge pretty much what the wool costs to make the items. Now and then I make $1.20 on a scarf and now and then I lose $1.35 but as it is only meant as a hobby that pays for itself then I don't really care. The price might seem a bit high for something knitted at home but that's where the wool comes in. I only use good wool of good provenance. There is a lot of Australian wool about that is grown here, shipped off to China to be processed cheaply and then returned to be sold in the country of original production. Call me a left wing old reactionary git but I loathe that practise and see it as environmental vandalism. I have no objection to buying an imported product of high quality produced in a third country but to grow stuff or dig it out of the ground, send it off overseas and then bring it back again gets my goat. End of rant. So the wool is use is either 100% Australian Merino, Cleckheaton Superfine from down in Wangaratta or 100% Merino from Uruguay produced by Manos Del Uruguay, a collective of not for profit female co-operatives throughout regional Uruguay. So right on as you could possibly get. Cleckheaton Merino is silky and smooth and soft. Manos Del Uruguay is thicker and luxurious and soft and comes in fairly wild colours, kettle dyed so the colours are mottled and varied throughout the item which can make for some interesting patterns. You might notice I've gone a bit mad on stripes this time around. All items are audiophile approved and knitted listening to either an SME Model 10 turntable in the study or a Model 20 turntable in the lounge so they are imbued with unbounded sonic richness that will stand up to any double blind test. Even horrible audiophile approved 200 gram records of females gently crooning away while someone plonks away meaningfully at a piano sound excellent when you've got one of my scarves wrapped around your head. In fact I would offer the suggestion that the only way to listen to such music is with one of my scarves wrapped around your head. Merino wool is well know to be acoustically transparent. Well known to me anyway and should you be sitting outside on a cold day then the below scenario still allows for superb sonics..... All items are knitted in a pet free, smoke free and perfume free house. As regards price, if you buy a couple of items I can fit them in one Express Post satchel which saves you $10 postage. Pick up is available from Guildford West if you fancy running the gauntlet of shooters alley and heading out this way. Payment by Paypal or Bank Transfer, I'm easy. Cash in a brown envelope is fine. As there are a lot of items I'm going to list each one with a number to help. Just PM me what you would like and we'll swap details. Hopefully you've got this far and all the above waffling hasn't put you off but if there's anything I've neglected to mention than ask away. Oh yes, I have a Facebook page that has photos of ones I've sold in the past and current stuff. I also post things there just as I've finished them so if you ever want to keep tabs on stuff then take a look at.....https://www.facebook.com/diggory.kints.7 EDIT* To save you scrolling through the whole lot here are the few items still available.... By the way, a couple of fine stylish gentlemen have bought a couple of scarves plus a beanie which I've been able to fit in one Express parcel which has saved them $20 postage. Just saying... #1. Manos Del Uruguay in Royal and Saffron. I like this bright colour mix and only realised after completing it that it's the Parramatta Eels colour. Not that it matters. #14. Manos Del Uruguay Beanie in Cherrywood. #11.SOLD Cleckheaton Superfine in Mid Navy and True Blue #2. SOLD Manos Del Uruguay Twin Cable in Ultramarine. See what I mean by the mixture and mottling of colours? The cable is reversed so both sides are exactly the same, just like a Status Quo record. (I tell that exact same joke each time) #3.SOLD Cleckheaton Superfine in Cocoa and Peacock #4.SOLD Cleckheaton Superfine in Denim and Stone. #5. SOLD Manos Del Uruguay, plain knit in Mixed Berries. #6. SOLD Cleckheaton Superfine in Burnt Red and Cocoa #7. SOLD Manos Del Uruguay in Ecru, Loam and with a little bit of Cherrywood in the middle. #8.SOLD Manos Del Uruguay Checkerboard pattern in Mixed Berries. #9. SOLD Manos Del Uruguay in Flame. This is a slightly different blend of Manos to what i usually use and is a thicker and more home made wool so not only does it look like something your granny knitted, it also looks like she sheared the sheep and wove the wool in the backyard herself. Very thick and warm this one. #10. SOLD Manos Del Uruguay in Sea Urchin and Royal. #12. SOLD Cleckheaton Superfine. The Galah. I was sitting watching the galahs feeding in the lawn a while ago. I liked their colours so wondered if i had anything to match. It's paler than the bird but a mix of Stone, Old Rose and Cream did the job. Beanies. #13 SOLD Cleckheaton Superfine in Burnt Red and White. #15.SOLD Cleckheaton Superfine in Midnight and Stone. #16. SOLD Cleckheaton Superfine in Mid Navy and True Blue. #17.SOLD Manos Del Uruguay in Larkspur. For those of you who made it all the way down here...Well done!!! Pictures:

Tony Allen - the source This album has already been mentioned many times. Fantastic SQ. How albums should sound. All analogue.

Hi All, Easybeats - Good Friday, a reissue of the 1967 album after their international signing to United Artists. JJ

I don’t really know the answer to this age old question of whether a preamp is (technically) required or not, but can someone please explain to me why a good active preamp seems to: 1) Expand the soundstage in a spherical manner up-down-sideways-forwards-and-backwards. Less flat sounding. 2) Brings higher levels of micro detail, not with more treble/mid liveliness (aka frequency anomalies), but true detail in an unforced natural manner. 3) The music has better timing, better phase coherence ...meaning I can follow the tune better. Just more low level dynamics and a belief in the musicianship and performance being played. I have tried to remove the active preamplifier from my system on many occasions by going direct or using passives, but have always come back to using an active one - for the reasons given above. I would also reject the view that active preamps are not accurate, it’s actually the opposite. Resolution, openness and accuracy is lost when the active preamp is removed. Steve. PS: If anyone would like to send me their favourite passive preamp for a private trial to challenge to above assertions, please do so. I would be very happy to give you an honest opinion (on the side). It’s for our mutual education and you never know, I may even have a paradigm shift on the matter?

Well, I'm afraid tubes just don't thrill me and if things don't thrill me then I'm far less likely to go buying examples of them, listening to them and writing reviews on them. Some level of personal excitement has to be present to motivate me to put myself through all three buying, listening and writing steps. And my experience with tubes/valves has not excited me. I bought a valve amp that several people said was a good example of the type at its price point, it had won a few valve amp competitions so I thought it was a good example to aim for. That was the JLTI EL34 integrated amp. I tried it and yes it did have nice vocals and a nice listenable shine to its presentation but it just didn't do anything special for me. I kept it for quite a while, gave it several chances to work its magic on me, but it didn't seem to catch on. So if that's a competition winning valve amp then I came to the conclusion that valve amps aren't for me. I also bought, a while ago now, an Audio Aero Capitole cd player. A very expensive piece that was meant to change the world. It was warm and smooth like no other component I had heard before but it was not selective as everything played through it was warm and smooth. Call me picky but I firmly believe that a hard played electric guitar should not sound warm and smooth, ever! (or at the very least not until the end times.) Warm smooth drums? No, no, no, a thousand times no! Not in my listening room. Keep in mind my music preferences here too, I would choose Evanescence over Alison Kraus any, and every, day of the week. And while I don't mind Diana Krall I would probably choose to listen to Lita Ford or Alannah Myles instead at least 9 times out of 10. So I like to listen to music that tubes generally do not do well. I have heard a couple of high end valve preamps that sound absolutely awesome, but at that price point they bloody well should sound awesome and I didn't really have a solid state comparison available for reference at the time. However, having said all that I am open to having my mind changed it is just that, from my past experience, I don't expect it to be changed.

Changing pace from Jazz Rage against the machine "*** you, I won't do what you tell me..." Wife has decided its time for her to go upstairs and cook dinner.....

Spiritual Jazz vol. 8 Japan Parts 1 and 2 4 slabs of delicious jazz from Japan 1961-1983

@t_mike You mentioned this the other day from memory. The 10 inch is fantastic from Sam records. Miles Davis

Hi All, Still on "Classic 60's" albums, The Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed JJ

Ray Brown Such a great album.

I thought it was about time to post some details on my cave dwelling. It has been a long project (read takes me forever to research and make a decision). The system as it stands is; Kuzma Stabi S turntable with PS 2 power supply (an absolute must in my opinion). Audio Origami PU7 tonearm - great synergy with the Kuzma and my Dynavector 17D3 cartridge. Les Davis Mat - the first mat to work on the Kuzma Whest PS30R phono stage and my favourite the Lavardin IT integrated amp (around 8 different amps tried before settling on this amp) - I would have loved a tube amp but the roof gets hot enough as it is. There are windows at the front and another in the next room for air flow. Speaker cables are Kimber 8TC which really gelled after trying a few different pairs - thanks Ross. Speaker cables are uneven and it makes absolutely no difference to the sound (lots of research went into that decision). The only restriction Kimber recommend that the shorter side be no less than 1/2 the length of the longer side. Speaker stands are Partington Broadside with atabites in the middle chamber and sand in the outer rings. Speakers mostly are Silverline SR15 and when the wife is away I bring up the ML1 Reference from the family room system. Corner bass trap added by the wife while I wasn't looking and I'm not game to remove it. The room is 4.5m x 3.9m with the height in the middle 2.150m and at the low end 1.2 m with the speakers almost 1/3rd of the way into the room. I'm not sure why but the room lends itself to very easy placement for good sound - but when I move the speakers in to 1/3rd of the room the sound stage and imaging is fantastic. The next stage is to permanently replace the SR15 with an upgraded pair of speakers. I am looking at either small floorstanders or something like Graham Audio BBC style speakers. I heard the Brigadier Audio BA2's last weekend and I thought they would be too big for this room. Any suggestions would be appreciated budget yet to be determined but could go to 7k for the right speakers (although the ML1s are now sounding excellent and will hard to take back down stairs). On Sunday night the speaker move back towards the wall and the rug rolls out for a more aesthetically pleasing room for others in the family who use the room - I never should have bought the tv.

Some vocals for a change up. Nina Simone sings the blues Speakers corner release

Lee Morgan - the roulette sides 10 inch. Picked this up at Red Eye records. Paper inners which is frustrating as I have no replacements at this size. One of the best trumpeters IMO

On to a ECM Keith Jarrett Probably best for late night (drifting off). Excellent SQ. Great bass.

Miles Davis - Kind of Blue Haven't played this box set for a while. Sounding very nice

Getz/Gilberto Have only played this a few times. Fantastic pressing.

To start the day off Dexter Gordon- body and soul

Queens Of The Stone Age ‎– Villains

Bud Powell - The Genius Of . Verve records 1976 reissue - recorded in 1950/51. Bought in Compton, LA of all places when on holiday in 94 - did not realise till later it was supposed to be dangerous in Compton Got plenty of cheap Motown records in Compton as well.

And there are many flavours of jazz. Some leave a bitter taste, some are bland, and some are down right scrumptious. One needs to saviour as much as they can to see what they like.

Item: Rogers Studio 2A LS5/8 speakers Location: Sydney Price: $5495 Item Condition: Excellent Reason for selling: considering a change Payment Method: Pickup - Cash, Paypal, COD Only Extra Info: Rogers Studio 2A are a passive version of the BBC LS5/8. Made in the UK by Swisstone (Rogers) They are in perfect working order and a truly wonderful sounding speaker. They are similar to the spendor SP100 and Harbeth Monitor 40. These speakers new sell for about $17,500. Pick up only. Any questions please ask. http://neophonics.com/?p=2973 Pictures: attached

Be careful, jazz is addictive. After a while you get so used to the elevated level of musicianship, it can become extremely difficult to listen to other genres unless it's the cream of the crop.

I’m not into Jazz, but I thought I would have listen on your recommendation, amazing SQ and soundstage, some top notch muso’s also?

Found this in my collection! Back to the 70's?

The Art Of Noise, ‎ Who's Afraid Of The Art Of Noise. Island Records ‎ L 38284, Australia & New Zealand 1984.

Count Basie ‎ Everything's Coming Up Roses. Pickwick ‎ SPC-3500, US.

@scuzzii you're really on fire today with golden era jazz. With regards to the label that Wolfgang Haffner is on, I have heard by a reasonably reliable source that the owner of ACT is in fierce competition with ECM, so much so that he and Manfred (ECM) have quite a dislike for each other. They regularly poach musicians from each other. Both labels drive for the highest quality output they can in terms of composition, musicianship, recording quality, media production and packaging. At the same time they encourage individual expression of the artists they work with, extending to even include the photographers that snap the beautiful photos that feature on the covers. Another label of the same ilk is Scandi outfit "ozella". They work with a smaller roster of musicians who are lesser known but of equal capability. It's all good stuff to explore.

Live at the Albert Hall Marillion CD and BluRay Special edition, arrived this morning. Fantastic 12" booklet and superb CDs will watch the Blu Ray with Mrs B tonight.

Hi All Moving on to the 70's, JJ

Today it's Germany's turn. Although less prolific in the prog domain compared to UK and Italy, The Germans certainly came up trumps with some of their rather fine samples from the 70's. Love having some spare time to play MY kind of music compared to what the handbrake likes.......

Nine Inch Nails ‎– The Slip. Trent takes himself very seriously

George Clinton ‎– The Cinderella Theory. get funky

None. They're cogs.

I’m in the country until tomorrow. Will get invoices out Sunday evening. Thanks all.

Billy Thorpe And The Aztecs, ‎ Billy Thorpe And The Aztecs. Parlophone ‎ PMCO 7525, Mono Australia 1965.

Hi everyone.. Got Authers Pink Link top plate .. slightly thicker than the stock linn , with motor at 7oclock.. Bought some Movingui sheets and laminated it.. Im in love.... Gave it a spruce... new springs oil etc.. Thought id share.. BTW.. platter looks low... its in fact ok, due to the plate being thicker .. Stay funky folks...

And gear needs no S.

You are assuming that all DACs are perfect sources capable of delivering the same dynamics and with less colouration as a decent preamp will - they hardly ever can unless you move into DACs with more highly developed analog stages ( built in preamp)

@Telecine these would be Ok reader speakers in tour second AV system

I think the approach of experimenting through listening is more valuable than looking for technical arguments to decide definitively how something will sound. Anything is possible theoretically but the reality is you must live with your DAC and power amps as is. I’m sure there would be members willing to bring a preamp over to demonstrate the impact a good preamp would have. In my experience, provided a decent preamp is used, the preamp can add so much more to the sound. In some cases, the DAC direct approach can sound more resolving, but after living with that scenario for a while I realised that there was simply more treble emphasis which does highlight microdetails more. But then there are DACs with outstanding analog stages - effectively built in preamps with analog volume controls - such as MSB and Ancient Audio. . They are very expensive but owners consistently report better performance without preamps. But if you are happy with the sound as is and dont want to invest in a preamp, there is no point worrying about alternatives,

Very Go Betweenish song great low key record Courtney Barnett and a very lucky Kirt Vile

Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood, ‎ Nancy & Lee. Reprise Records ‎ RLP 6273, Mono UK 1968. Lee is looking very guilty in this cover shot.

Here's my new ZYX R1000 Airy3X (which I recently bought from @lovetube ) - mounted on a 12" ebony Univector and running in: Sounds very nice - although currently a bit less visceral than the Stanton WOS CS100 mounted on the arm in the background (a Magnepan Unitrac). But I read that the Airy3 needs 70 hours before it settles down ... so have another 180 sides to go! Andy

Rearranging the gear this morning, changing things up a little ?

Munich HIGH END - here we come...