Ron’s New System

[Audiohertz2]

I do like Patricia Barber and her records are really well recorded! At first I found her interpretations a little lacking in emotion but she has grown on me.

I liked Melody from the start and always enjoy listening to her. Her recording are also very well done and the songs are her own for the most part.

Diana Krall is also a favourite. Although more of an interpreter of songs she manages to make many of them distinctive and her own, In my mind she has continued to grow as an artist. " How Deep is the Ocean" becomes new again with her singing it.

It's hard not to like the energy Holly Cole can bring to a song. Listen to "Montreal Live". Again well recorded but she has many LPs and some are not as strong IMHO.

There is no denying the impressive voice of Eva Cassidy and she is also well recorded. While I do enjoy her, somehow I don't find myself listening to her often.

PB has an awesome Band , they carry the music, also agree on Eva Cassidy , i found out about her music just months before she died ..

 

[Audiohertz2]

You are setting the bar quite high

Since you mentioned Ella, and others mentioned Cecil McLoren Salvant, here is a very interesting video (which I have already posted elsewhere, I believe), in which Salvant comments on some old tracks (part of the Savory collection) - cued up to Ella Fiztgerald's track:

Salvant's enthusiasm for these performances is really communicative. Her comments start at 20:28.

The quality of Fitzgerald's voice transpires in full glory even on these old recordings (1938 - recorded from a radio broadcast!) over YouTube played with a phone.

I would also add Streisand ...!

 

[Audiohertz2]

I hear a distinct difference between thicker and thinner records, the thicker ones loosing some of the high frequency energy/information. The level is arm and cartridge dependent, my short air- bearing arm is the most sensitive, i don't use it for thick records at all. My SME 3012R with VDH Grand Crue is more forgiving of record thickness, but thinner ones are definitely my preference.

Short as in ..?

 

[Audiohertz2]

Sounds really boring !

Sleepy system

 

[Audiohertz2]

I will echo the really, lol! Perhaps you have only heard a few of her more laid back LPs. To each their own, they are all excellent performers.

How do you feel about Holly Cole? "Montreal Live" ?

Maybe i only have 3-4 MG Albums ,

I’m not that big a fan of Holly Cole i do like more than a few of her tracks thou , so don't mind her music , would listen to her stuff more than i would MG ..!

 

[altvic123]

I am not an expert but one thing I think is true
If the original recording is sub standard any remaster will suffer also. So each example has to be taken on its own merit. Also personal taste, environment, state of mind, and your system factor in. So it’s impossible to generalize any digital vs analog comparison. But I must admit I usually prefer all analog and I have heard a lot of really good remasters. That being said RCA living stereo pristine are my favorite

 

[altvic123]

Maybe i only have 3-4 MG Albums ,

I’m not that big a fan of Holly Cole i do like more than a few of her tracks thou , so don't mind her music , would listen to her stuff more than i would MG ..!

Love Holly Cole !

 

[altvic123]

Lots of Ella videos in female vocal videos thread.

Here's a Diana Krall track I recorded a while ago, with the Altec 755C. One may find the track a little boring, but I think the sound is drier and captures her vocals better. The softness of her vocals in a studio setting are pretty well conveyed, IMO. I wish I had done a video with the Altec 755A, as the resolution (among other things) was even better. As I have mentioned before, the sound of the Altec 755A (single speaker, but the track has little stereo effect), on this type of track, is really special - vocals have a presence which is quite mesmerizing. Best to experience it for yourself.

This was streamed from Qobuz, by the way... Recorded in near-field (this is how I would listen to the speakers) with a Tascam recorder.

I tend to like female jazz singers. I really like Diana Krall. Don’t find her boring. Also love Ella Fitzgerald, Holly Cole, Melody Gardot, Stacey Kent, but my favorite is Shirley Horn.

 

[Audiohertz2]

Love Holly Cole !

Valerie Joyce can be added ..!

 

[Alrainbow]

I hear a distinct difference between thicker and thinner records, the thicker ones loosing some of the high frequency energy/information. The level is arm and cartridge dependent, my short air- bearing arm is the most sensitive, i don't use it for thick records at all. My SME 3012R with VDH Grand Crue is more forgiving of record thickness, but thinner ones are definitely my preference.

First off you have a well setup system
I don’t know what it is but it’s well
Done cheers to that
a
Couple of questions reg thickness
I don’t doubt that vta changes tone this and vtf is a couple of reasons why I say vinyl is complex
but can the thickness be making a sound change due to resonance ?
a thicker lp I think would have an effect on the resonance from Stylus up into the cart /arm ?
Peter of sound smith feels that while analog
Is a true data stream it too looses bit or info
As resonance travel up and down the Stylus
this maybe and I’m guessing why some arms matter more.
I am only looking at this purely from a technical standpoint.
if it was purely a vta it’s so little if measured
again I am a novice at vinyl even though I’m old lol.

 

[Audiohertz2]

I tend to like female jazz singers. I really like Diana Krall. Don’t find her boring. Also love Ella Fitzgerald, Holly Cole, Melody Gardot, Stacey Kent, but my favorite is Shirley Horn.

They all are really good in their own right and once purchased you can listen to all of them for free

Listening to them perform live would create the separation I’m speaking of ..

 

[AudioHR]

I bought around 15 MoFi and Analog Production 45's , none have really impressed me, i am using original first issue 33's instead, they sound better to my ears. Especially Bob Dylan and Billy Joels catalogue have been a huge disappointment MoFi versions are just devoid of life. I have not tried the one step version, i have no more faith in these remasters, i have learned my lesson.

In general I would agree!

Personally I try to find the first pressings of LPs that I like. Even with older pressings a near mint used is superior to new copies especially if the recording is a popular one. Many maybe even most British and European pressing are better than the domestic issues (Canadian and American).

As far as my experience over the years with MoFi I would have to say they are nothing special. I find their quality control very poor for a premium product. I will allow that different setups might elicit better performance from these recordings. I have a Santana Abraxas MoFi (older version) which I had always found rather devoid of life ( to steal your term) on my previous VPI and BrinkMann/ Hana setups. Low and behold it sounds rather scrumptious and lively like Latin should with my AF Garrard/ SPU setup!

 

[AudioHR]

First off you have a well setup system
I don’t know what it is but it’s well
Done cheers to that
a
Couple of questions reg thickness
I don’t doubt that vta changes tone this and vtf is a couple of reasons why I say vinyl is complex
but can the thickness be making a sound change due to resonance ?
a thicker lp I think would have an effect on the resonance from Stylus up into the cart /arm ?
Peter of sound smith feels that while analog
Is a true data stream it too looses bit or info
As resonance travel up and down the Stylus
this maybe and I’m guessing why some arms matter more.
I am only looking at this purely from a technical standpoint.
if it was purely a vta it’s so little if measured
again I am a novice at vinyl even though I’m old lol.

Everything matters !

 

[Lagonda]

First off you have a well setup system
I don’t know what it is but it’s well
Done cheers to that
a
Couple of questions reg thickness
I don’t doubt that vta changes tone this and vtf is a couple of reasons why I say vinyl is complex
but can the thickness be making a sound change due to resonance ?
a thicker lp I think would have an effect on the resonance from Stylus up into the cart /arm ?
Peter of sound smith feels that while analog
Is a true data stream it too looses bit or info
As resonance travel up and down the Stylus
this maybe and I’m guessing why some arms matter more.
I am only looking at this purely from a technical standpoint.
if it was purely a vta it’s so little if measured
again I am a novice at vinyl even though I’m old lol.

If Peter gets around to mounting 2 of the same cartridges in the same type arm, one set up for thin and one for thick records, i will be very interested in the results. I do trust his ears, TT and setup skills

 

[AudioHR]

---

Yes, this is an anomaly for me. Generally (a rebuttal presumption) I prefer digital recordings to be played back over digital.

One of the first digital LPs I heard was Tracy Chapman's "Fast Cars" album (first Canadian pressing I believe), I loved it! To be honest I didn't realize it was a digital to analogue and you know thinking back I didn't like CD then but I sure liked this vinyl. It still sounds impressive to me. I would agree that most digital don't and are best played back on digital.

Still for me I would turn your statement around, I prefer analogue recordings to be played back over analogue!

 

[AudioHR]

Note that DK is accompanied by McIntosh once you get done noticing her attire on that cover.

Note that it is HIGHLY unlikely that MG is the model “wearing the guitar” on that cover.

The cover art marketing hype often makes as much money for the record company as the recording in the case of an attractive chanteuse. PB cares not … artistes have other things on their minds.

Likely true about the cover although a couple of my audiophiles buddies saw her show in London/Paris? a few years ago, they mentioned that she was extremely attractive! More importantly they said the concert sound was extremely good and it was a first class performance! Wish I had been there!!

 

[AudioHR]

Excellent post. Regarding the vinyl itself, I am thinking it is a combination of a different formulation plus the thickness.

I agree with Bonzo. A lot of it has to do with the people behind it and their values and sensibilities.

I like Melody Gardot, but do any of these modern singers compare to Ella Fitzgerald?

Over time perhaps some of these artists will?

 

[AudioHR]

This is key, because ERC and others are getting master tapes and have tubed lathes, Ortofon Lyrec, neumann, etc. So apart from tape deterioration, the engineers are the key. Also why reissues were so inconsistent...BG pulled off some good ones, but others did not. Even in old Deccas if you compare matrix numbers, some engineers are better than the others.

Very true!

 

[AudioHR]

I have several possible explanations. In no particular order—-

1. Master tapes have deteriorated in the decades since the recordings were made. The records I listen to are mostly from the 1950s through early 1980s so the original tapes are as much as 70 years old!

2. The quality of vinyl used in pressing records may not be the same quality as 50 to 70 years ago.

3. The original recordings were made with all-tube recording gear and pressing lathes. In addition, the tube gear used carbon film resistors and good sounding capacitors, what we would now call “vintage components.”

4. The original recordings and pressings were made before the power lines were polluted with all of the RF hash that we have to live with today. Also, they were made before microwave towers, cell phones, WiFi, etc. Today we live in a soup bowl of RFI that undoubtedly has some effect on all new pressings even when the master tapes were made 70 years ago.

5. Recording engineers in the 1950s through early 1970s may have been more attuned to “natural sound” to coin a phrase than modern engineers who have grown up with multi-miking, 24-track mixers, solid state recording equipment and Yamaha studio monitors instead of Western Electric, Altec and Tannoy monitors.

I am sure there are other factors but those are the ones that pop to mind first.

Excellent post! These are very plausible explanations!