Hopkins' System

[2ndLiner]

Here's something different: ASMR or autonomous sensory meridian response

ASMR - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It seems to be often triggered by soft spoken voices, especially with foreign accents. Here's an amusing example, of a Finnish man producing video game unboxing videos on YouTube:

That youtube channel has many other examples. How about this "Word Chess Championship Between Mongolian and Russian Women"?

From the Wikipedia page: "contemporary composer Holly Herndon released an album called Platform, which included a collaboration with Tolan named "Lonely At The Top", intended to trigger ASMR". Here it is:

I prefer the Finnish unboxing video

They also mention the artist Deru:

Open Qobuz

open.qobuz.com

If you want to fall asleep while listening to audio reviews, I find that the "British Audiophile" has a very relaxing voice:

Wavetouch audio (a forum member) also qualifies for ASMR

As one who has "suffered" with/from the effects of ASMR for 65+ years, long before I knew it had a name, I appreciate these links, Hopkins!

 

[hopkins]

As one who has "suffered" with/from the effects of ASMR for 65+ years, long before I knew it had a name, I appreciate these links, Hopkins!

I remember experiencing it as a kid while my japanese babysitter was explaining the different patterns that kimonos had in Japan. I must have been around 7 or 8 years old.

 

[2ndLiner]

I used to delightfully "zone out" to the sound of certain teachers voices throughout my school years. If only I'd known about my condition I might have had a better explanation for my parents regarding my less than stellar grades in certain classes, ha!

 

[hopkins]

By the way, it's best to listen to the videos with headphones.

 

[hopkins]

Speaking of headphones, I am still really enjoying the Sennheiser HD 400 Pro, after many months. I use it daily at my computer, plugged into the ECDesigns PowerDAC-RXV.

The RXV is a low-power version of the SX, and conveniently has a headphone out on the back:



The HD 400 pro is lightweight, extremely comfortable, has very good transparency, deep bass, and sounds neutral to me. I found that over time I preferred it much more than the Dan Clark audio I had, and which cost 10 times more. You can purchase the 400 Pro on Amazon for 250$...

For a headphone, it does offer a good sense of soundstage as well. It's one of the only headphones which I actually really enjoy with stereo source material (as opposed to mono).

How can we tell that a headphone is neutral? We really can't. But I really like the sound. Everyone will probably have a different opinion about this. No one is ever going to agree as to "What's Best" when it comes to headphones or speakers.

Overall, I prefer it also to the HD6XX which I use in my living room, hooked up to the powerDAC-SX (with a custom cable). The HD6XX is not quite as refined, to my years.

The HD400 Pro is too sensitive to be used with the more powerful SX, but I am considering testing out a cable with added resistors, as I am curious to hear how it sounds with the SX. In theory, the SX should perform slightly better than the RXV (no need to get into details as to why).

I am currently comparing different ways of connecting my desktop computer to the powerDAC-RXV. I'll say more about this later, but there are differences which can be more easily perceived with headphones than with speakers.

Here again, the very transparent signal path of the powerDAC does wonders, and listening with the HD400 is really delightful. Highly recommended

I have found it is surprisingly difficult to find a pair of headphones that I really like, and this is the one for me.

I got into "hi fi" about 20 years ago, listening to headphones, at a time when my children were young, I was busier, and speakers were not really a viable solution for listening to music at length late at night... I went through many models at the time (I even briefly had a Sennheiser Orpheus with the matching tube amp, and have fond memories as well of the Ear Yoshino HP4 with a variety of headphones). At the time, I listened exclusively to CDs, with a DCS p8i CD player (I also had a Nagra CDP at some point - great looking and sounding transport!).





I had to give up Hi-Fi for a few years, and then got back into it with speakers. Now I enjoy both speakers and headphones...

The price of equipment in Hi-Fi is really irrelevant, when you think of it. You can spend a lot on something that will be "impressive" on some aspects, and realize later that it's just not what you are after.

 

[hopkins]

Back to speakers...

4 months ago:

Today:

I don't miss the open baffle speakers. The music is the same

 

[morricab]

Back to speakers...

4 months ago:

Today:

I don't miss the open baffle speakers. The music is the same

I think I like the OB speakers better...you got rid of them?

 

[hopkins]

I think I like the OB speakers better...you got rid of them?

I'll be selling the drivers soon. The sound is different: OBs have more resolution, and the instruments are "larger", but the Teufel strangely have a very lively sound, so the musicians in a sense have more "presence" - it's more realistic, less "Hi-Fi" - hard to explain and probably hard to hear on a video. I also prefer the tonal balance of the Teufel, though the room acoustics, especially in the bass, distorts things. The placement of the OB just drove me up the wall!

P.S. I still have plans on improving the acoustics in my living room (especially with some kind of ceiling fixture) but I am in no rush.

 

[hopkins]

To put things a little differently, I think the OB with 4 drivers have more resolution, but a more "diffused" sound field, which makes the instruments sound a little "unnatural" in a sense. Also, a line array does introduce some weird effects and variability to small changes in the listening position. Add to that less bass extension, and some beaming in the high frequencies, and you are left considering complicated workarounds to add woofers and tweeters - which is something I just did not want to get into.

Oddly enough, the Teufel sound much closer to the Altec single driver (755A) which are perfect in delivering "presence" (so realistic that you feel you could reach out and touch the musicians), but that have obvious drawbacks when it comes to frequency response (and don't come in pairs!).

These are all subtle differences. Some people may focus on different aspects and have different preferences. I am still curious to hear other speakers, but I'm not holding my breath, and these are really nice to listen to...

 

[hopkins]

Here's another take of that same track with the speakers pulled into the room.

Not sure it makes that much of a difference... Bass is a little better. The recording level is probably too high.

Either way, I like the sound.

 

[hopkins]

I finished rewiring my second speaker, after a month of procrastination. But this track is still in mono (and so is the CD version, which sounds good). The left speaker in the corner of the room does not have the clarity of the right speaker, which is not in a corner. "It is what it is".

I realized today, taking some measurements of my speakers and comparing the left and right speaker response, that I wired the tweeter incorrectly on that second speaker - it was out of phase, producing a fairly significant dip around the crossover point with the midrange driver. That left speaker is in the corner of my room, and I could hear that it sounded "different" than the right speaker, but I would have had no way of knowing that it was a phase inversion unless I had taken measurements. I read on another forum about someone finding out that the tweeter was inverted on a speaker he had just bought (from a well known company)!

 

[hopkins]

Recently added to my collection, a bit of nostalgia.



And from roughly the same time period, this interesting (and well recorded) album, never issued on CD, by Ira Sullivan:

Peace (Ira Sullivan album) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[hopkins]

Here are two songs from that album, found on YouTube, for anyone curious:

My copy actually sounds better than these (and I have not run it through my Degritter yet...).

 

[hopkins]

I ripped one of the tracks from that album - first time I do this with the M2Tech Joplin. I think it sounds pretty good, though I did set the gain a little high so there is a little bit of clipping. It sounds like there is a slight imbalance as well between both channels. I did not make any changes to the "raw" file that I recorded with Audacity. There is some surface noise and static, but it's not that bad.

Here's the file: https://storage.googleapis.com/cloudplayer/samples/Ira Sullivan - Send in the Clowns.wav

 

[hopkins]

Tonight I listened to some wonderful recordings of Coleman Hawkins's All American Four, recorded by the Keynote label on May 29, 1944. Here is the all-star cast for this memorable session:

• Coleman Hawkins - tenor saxophone
• Teddy Wilson - piano
• John Kirby - bass
• Sid Catlett - drums

I first listened to it on vinyl:

https://www.discogs.com/release/11226545-Various-The-Complete-Keynote-Collection

The recording quality is very good for the time. The booklet does not stipulate which source material was used, but in his extensive liner notes, Dan Morgenstern comments on the sound quality:

"This was a 12-inch session... From the first note, we sense that Hawk is superbly relaxed and confident, and his sound is very well captured...

None of us reading this has ever heard Coleman Hawkins play. Dan Morgenstern did. He's 95 years old...

Dan Morgenstern - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

In this 2017 interview he talks about Hawkins (his eating habits, his record collection, his peers...) who he knew well:

He continues...

"The horns sound true, the balances are excellent, particular attention was paid to getting a good sound from the drums, and there never was an out-of-tune or tinny-sounding piano on a Keynote session. The high quality of the transfers made for this collection makes it possible to appreciate, for the first time, just how good a recording job was done under Harry Lim's supervision, especially where original session discs were available."

Where the "original session discs" used on this session? Were they digitally processed? Perhaps, I don't know, but the LP sounds very good. I was curious to compare it with some digital versions.

I have this CD set, which I've "ripped" and therefore have the files on my "server":

https://www.discogs.com/release/13485973-Various-The-Keynote-Jazz-Collection-1941-1947

The same "source" is available on Qobuz:

Open Qobuz

open.qobuz.com

...and on YouTube, with slightly less resolution:

My files (CD rip) sound exactly the same as the Qobuz version streamed - good to know...

The digital versions were issued by Mercury, which took over the Keynote catalog (and the original source material).

Out of curiosity, I ripped the track from the LP and uploaded it to YouTube, if anyone is interested in listening:

Listening to it directly from my turntable, the sound is obviously better than the "needle drop" version, but I find the needle drop to be quite good.

Anyway, the conclusion is that I would happily settle on the digital versions (CD or Qobuz) of these recordings, but YMMV depending on your digital and analog systems. The 21 LPs contained in the box set were not all issued on CD, however, and the box set has extensive liner notes, and a photo booklet as a bonus. It's a nice "collector's item", documenting some essential historical recordings.

Give any of these versions a listen!

 

[hopkins]

Incidentally, I just learned that Dan Morgenstern passed away yesterday. Sad news. RIP.

Dan Morgenstern, Chronicler and Friend of Jazz, Dies at 94 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/07/arts/music/dan-morgenstern-dead.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

 

[hopkins]

Here's another take of that same track with the speakers pulled into the room.

Not sure it makes that much of a difference... Bass is a little better. The recording level is probably too high.

Either way, I like the sound.

Here's another version of that track, this time from a 1959 LP (not mint!):

The sound of Webster and Hawkins are more distinct with the LP version , at least that's how I feel when listening to it in my room. Listening at my usual position, on my couch, the bass is a little heavy - I may adjust the speaker's positions (or slide them in when I feel anal about the sound).

I ordered a Rode NT1A microphone, as my Superlux microphone died on me (a while ago). The Rode has a good performance for it's price. I'll use it hooked up to the Tascam DR40X. It's always fun to record things and listen to them later.

 

[hopkins]

More fun with mics...

A first attempt at recording with the Rode NT1A microphone (plugged in to a portable Tascam DR40X recorder). The mic works better facing the source, so only one speaker is playing. The recording level/recording settings need to be fine tuned. The first seconds of the song are repeated (forgot to cut it out).

Here's the wav file in case anyone is interesting in hearing the difference with YouTube

https://storage.googleapis.com/cloudplayer/samples/Birds.wav

The NT1A has a slightly brighter sound than some of their more expensive models, but it is pretty quiet. I may get a more representative recording (closer to the in-room sound) by adjusting the height and distance at which I record.

 

[hopkins]

This song is used so often in system demos that you find plenty of recordings on YouTube. Here's a playlist I put together, containing over 40 versions!

Birds system recordings

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

youtube.com

It's overwhelming.

When you compare any of these videos (including mine, obviously) to the original track (which I included in the playlist), you only need to listen to the first 3 seconds to understand the limitations of systems and system videos. But you do get a sense of the overall presentation of different systems/speakers (in spite of the use of very different microphones).

It's interesting to listen to the first notes: there are 4 bass notes, then some sort of computerized hand clap. Listen to how that hand clap sounds in different videos.. It also sounds slightly different when streaming through Qobuz (may be due to YouTube compression/DSP...):

Open Qobuz

open.qobuz.com

 

[morricab]

This song is used so often in system demos that you find plenty of recordings on YouTube. Here's a playlist I put together, containing over 40 versions!

Birds system recordings

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

youtube.com

It's overwhelming.

When you compare any of these videos (including mine, obviously) to the original track (which I included in the playlist), you only need to listen to the first 3 seconds to understand the limitations of systems and system videos. But you do get a sense of the overall presentation of different systems/speakers (in spite of the use of very different microphones).

It's interesting to listen to the first notes: there are 4 bass notes, then some sort of computerized hand clap. Listen to how that hand clap sounds in different videos.. It also sounds slightly different when streaming through Qobuz (may be due to YouTube compression/DSP...):

Open Qobuz

open.qobuz.com

8, 32, 41 and 42 are pretty good.