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Post by Mr Whippy on Feb 22, 2015 17:29:38 GMT
Never ever seen myself as a blogger before. Being rather self-effacing and diverting of attention, I've just not considered it. Plus I've become pretty lazy over a period of time and shockingly have tended not to bother with my system and just rely on personal media - which can give quite satisfying results. I thought though a blog might be an instrument to galvanize and motivate some activity, and a way of collecting "stuff" together in one place. Have to admit not one for taking photos and uploading, but I'll try and make an effort.
Well, don't want to give too much away too soon (!), so I'll end here.
At the end of the day it's the music that really matters, so here are 3 quite stonkin' videos. Stonkin' a tell ya! The sound quality of the first is really good; nice drum sound on the second track of it:
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Post by MartinT on Feb 23, 2015 8:48:14 GMT
Interestingly different start, Whippy! As the blog is your diary, feel free to collect all the stuff you like here.
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Post by istari_knight on Feb 23, 2015 14:18:22 GMT
Nice one Whippy  Whats your current system out of interest ? Sorry if you've already said but I can't find it/remember. |
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Post by Mr Whippy on Feb 23, 2015 18:17:54 GMT
The last time I had my system up and running it consisted of a Meridian 207, Chinese valve amp and Arcam Two speakers. To be honest though James, I have a rake of other stuff waiting to be tried out. I won't mention the mountain of items waiting to feel the heat of an iron on their innards.
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Post by Mr Whippy on Mar 1, 2015 22:32:35 GMT
For decades I had this song in my head, but didn't really know who sang it or what it was called. Anyway, late last year I thought I'd have a search on Youtube - and luckily enough, I found it:
And this was another I remembered:
Turned out to be none other than Graham Bonnet and his cousin, and were known as The Marbles. Bonnet would later front Rainbow.
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Post by ChrisB on Mar 1, 2015 22:39:41 GMT
Warning: These songs may contain traces of Bee Gees!
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Post by Mr Whippy on Mar 1, 2015 23:09:05 GMT
Yes. I did think they had a familiar sound, and wasn't surprised to learn who wrote them.
Watching the videos did have me wondering what GB's normal talking voice might be like. His missus could well be as deaf as a post by now.
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Post by Mr Whippy on Mar 8, 2015 16:45:01 GMT
Just bought this.
Didn't know you could still buy them… in these politically-correct times:
181263699919
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Post by MartinT on Mar 8, 2015 17:14:45 GMT
I still have a golliwog jam spoon in my kitchen drawer.
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Post by Mr Whippy on Mar 8, 2015 19:27:54 GMT
If there was any justice in this world, a bloke his age shouldn't have like that - when I'm losing mine.
It's just not on.
It's just not on.
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Post by Mr Whippy on Mar 8, 2015 23:37:29 GMT
Remember when Saturdays were like this, lads?
Happy Days…
Happy Days…
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Post by Mr Whippy on Mar 16, 2015 21:32:53 GMT
Top Tip! (Courtesy of Mr Richard Dunn)
Back in the '80s, Jimmy (The Man) Hughes advocated ripping the stuffing out of one's speakers. Being an ardent fan of his - naturally I tried it with my Castle Richmond MK IIs. It did seem to have a positive effect opening up and freeing up things a little, and so I left it out.
I remember him trying to get a couple of speaker manufacturers to give it a try.Peter J. Comeau of Heybrook being one. I think it was a bit too radical for him though. Another did limit their use of stuffing, but not totally.
Apparently, the idea originated from Mr Dunn, I gather, and was mentioned to Jimmy H. Why not give it a try?
Time for another stonkin' video, I think. Did I say stonkin'? I did of course mean STONKIN'!! :
77 and still going. At the age of 71 recovered from rectal cancer. Seems like a genuinely nice bloke from the clips I've seen. Sound mix could have better. Watch out for the end. It's from 1995.
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Post by MartinT on Mar 17, 2015 19:05:31 GMT
I remember Jimmy Hughes recommending it, and I did take half the stuffing out of my transmission lines at the time. There's a balance between opening up the dynamics and increased colouration, but it's a good one to try. It probably produces quite different results for different speakers.
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Post by Mr Whippy on Mar 17, 2015 19:27:53 GMT
The effect wasn't great with my system, but still noticeable.
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Post by Mr Whippy on Apr 7, 2015 22:58:34 GMT
Found this clip and had me intrigued, a bit. It's a demonstration of stereo separation. Left and right vocals are summed to give a mono image which is then harder to follow. The same track is then played back in stereo and it is then easier to make sense of what is being said.
This is the reason I'd rather listen to The Beatles' early albums in stereo with their hard panning left and right rather than mono, which will be heresy to some. I just find there's more space, sense of acoustic and greater separation with the stereo mixes.
Having said that, there are mono tracks that do impress with their separation:
This track has a stereo mix, which again, has hard panning of vocal to the right and instruments to the left. The stereo version sounds best to me with regards separation and sense of space and acoustic. The mono mix though is still impressive.
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Post by MartinT on Apr 8, 2015 5:51:38 GMT
Most interesting, Whippy. I'm in agreement that stereo separation helps to separate two different soundtracks, and helps my brain to listen to and focus on one or the other as I choose. I've never been a particular fan of the Beatles mono output, mostly because I'm just happy listening to the music.
One of the very best mono recordings I have is Miles Davis Cookin' on a JVC XRCD. So good is the sound that it seems almost stereo anyway, and loses nothing for being in mono.
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Post by ChrisB on Apr 8, 2015 5:51:43 GMT
Yep, you're correct, it's heresy to me all right!
I find that kind of separation works better for me when the speakers are a little closer together than is optimal for normal stereo, but otherwise I hate it.
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Post by Mr Whippy on Apr 8, 2015 7:22:19 GMT
Most interesting, Whippy. I'm in agreement that stereo separation helps to separate two different soundtracks, and helps my brain to listen to and focus on one or the other as I choose. I've never been a particular fan of the Beatles mono output, mostly because I'm just happy listening to the music. One of the very best mono recordings I have is Miles Davis Cookin' on a JVC XRCD. So good is the sound that it seems almost stereo anyway, and loses nothing for being in mono. There"s a John Fogey collection with tracks from CRR and I think it's Proud Mary that's in mono, and it just sounds amazing. I listened to it 3 times before I realised it wasn't stereo. It sounds so open and unconstrained. |
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Post by Mr Whippy on Apr 8, 2015 7:22:19 GMT
Most interesting, Whippy. I'm in agreement that stereo separation helps to separate two different soundtracks, and helps my brain to listen to and focus on one or the other as I choose. I've never been a particular fan of the Beatles mono output, mostly because I'm just happy listening to the music. One of the very best mono recordings I have is Miles Davis Cookin' on a JVC XRCD. So good is the sound that it seems almost stereo anyway, and loses nothing for being in mono. There"s a John Fogey collection with tracks from CRR and I think it's Proud Mary that's in mono, and it just sounds amazing. I listened to it 3 times before I realised it wasn't stereo. It sounds so open and unconstrained. |
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Post by Mr Whippy on Apr 11, 2015 22:35:07 GMT
Got a pack of 10 neodymium magnets 10 x 5mm today for an idea I have. Couldn't believe how powerful they are. Going to try floating a platter mat.
Will have to get a turntable working first.
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