What is the Ultimate system for a Deadhead? A True Time Machine to re-create a show?

[caesar]

Most of the Live Dead recording out there are not the best recordings, and are cd's (dick's picks and other live shows, etc).

If you are building a system to listen only to the Grateful Dead, what speakers, amps, sources would you recommend?

MBL? Alexandria? Others? with what upstream gear?

 

[andromedaaudio]

magico

only joking

 

[cjfrbw]

It isn't the speaker, it's the herb, man.

 

[rockitman]

Most of the Live Dead recording out there are not the best recordings, and are cd's (dick's picks and other live shows, etc).

If you are building a system to listen only to the Grateful Dead, what speakers, amps, sources would you recommend?

MBL? Alexandria? Others? with what upstream gear?

My system does well. Have over 1000 lives shows, i use to tape them with DAT and Schoeps cmc mics. It brings me back to the show. I taped around 125 shows of the 207 I saw and collected many sound boards since then

 

[Conde]

For listening to a steady music diet of Grateful Dead, it would help to have a digital source which supports HDCD. Including later Dick's Picks, Dave's Picks, Jerry Garcia Band, Garcia-Grisman, there are a lot of recordings in HDCD. Cary made some good HDCD CD players in the past (am not sure about currently or in the future). Berkeley Audio Design makes a good DAC, which I believe supports HDCD. Aside from that, other component choices comes down to preference. Maybe you can have your own Wall of Sound in your home.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

Are you asking this because some of the recordings are not that good and you'd like a system to mask their flaws? I'm just guessing, but the guess is based on a lot of live music and recording experience -- probably not the same flaws in the same place every time?

Rip them to a hard drive and run them through a digital player with a decent digital eq, or downloadable eq plug-in. Give yourself the freedom to address the flaws recording by recording and create pre-sets to click in at will, and the freedom to play all your music through your best system.

Unless, of course, you just want to buy a second system....

Ti

 

[Peter Breuninger]

Most of the Live Dead recording out there are not the best recordings, and are cd's (dick's picks and other live shows, etc).

If you are building a system to listen only to the Grateful Dead, what speakers, amps, sources would you recommend?

MBL? Alexandria? Others? with what upstream gear?

I'm staying at pre 1995 gear to honor Jerry's passing.

Easy... 6 Bozak Concert Grands, 4 in the corners running off a Dynaco QD1 quad adapter, 2 in the "audiophile normal in room position with a pair of Krell KSA 200s or 250s. Goldman Studio/T3F arm, Mark Levinson Cart, John Curl Phono stage, CJ Premier 10 pre. Add 6 Radio Shack super tweeters to each Bozak, turn the lights off, light up and groove to Sugar Magnolia.

 

[JackD201]

Meyer X-10s fed by a vintage tube pre!

 

[rbbert]

All the Oppo disc players do HDCD and are a popular choice.

Beyond that, though, the source material is quite varied in audio characteristics, so Tim's suggestion has a lot of merit. Few if any GD audience tapes don't benefit from EQ. Even the soundboard tapes from different eras sound pretty different.

The Meyer's are a cute choice, but using the same philosophy one could also recommend some home built JBL's (but EV tweeters) with Macintosh SS amplification.

 

[rbbert]

A carefully selected ~1100 CD's and burned DVD-A's (for "hires" sources) with an additional 200+ discs from members' solo projects

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

All the Oppo disc players do HDCD and are a popular choice.

Beyond that, though, the source material is quite varied in audio characteristics, so Tim's suggestion has a lot of merit. Few if any GD audience tapes don't benefit from EQ. Even the soundboard tapes from different eras sound pretty different.

The Meyer's are a cute choice, but using the same philosophy one could also recommend some home built JBL's (but EV tweeters) with Macintosh SS amplification.

I'm not a deadhead, but I have a bunch of Van Morrison performance bootlegs, many of which are very dicey quality. Even good use of EQ can't make some of the listenable, but it helps others a lot. But you have to apply the EQ situationally, and you have to know a little about using EQ to get anywhere with it. Two simple rules are "less is more," and "cut first." Boosting with EQ should be used VERY sparingly.

Tim

 

[rbbert]

I'm not a deadhead, but I have a bunch of Van Morrison performance bootlegs, many of which are very dicey quality. Even good use of EQ can't make some of the listenable, but it helps others a lot. But you have to apply the EQ situationally, and you have to know a little about using EQ to get anywhere with it. Two simple rules are "less is more," and "cut first." Boosting with EQ should be used VERY sparingly.

Tim

Generally good advice, my usual use of EQ is to minimize concert hall resonances by cutting. However, older handheld "electret condenser" mics from Sony and Nakamichi (among others) usually had intentionally rolled-off bass, which then needs to be boosted back up in mastering, sometimes by quite a bit.

 

[hvbias]

My system does well. Have over 1000 lives shows, i use to tape them with DAT and Schoeps cmc mics. It brings me back to the show. I taped around 125 shows of the 207 I saw and collected many sound boards since then

Have you bought any of the Dick's Picks on vinyl? I really enjoy DP4.

For me it would be any system that can recreate recorded live music as close as possible; a system that excels in dynamics and creating a hall sound/ambiance. The best way another reviewer put is the moments before a recording starts you can "hear" into the venue. For me that would be certain high efficiency horns and DHT amps. And of course pre-72 Garcia's guitar tone is other worldly, so a system that is tonally neutral so as not to muck with that.

 

[rockitman]

Have you bought any of the Dick's Picks on vinyl? I really enjoy DP4.

For me it would be any system that can recreate recorded live music as close as possible; a system that excels in dynamics and creating a hall sound/ambiance. The best way another reviewer put is the moments before a recording starts you can "hear" into the venue. For me that would be certain high efficiency horns and DHT amps. And of course pre-72 Garcia's guitar tone is other worldly, so a system that is tonally neutral so as not to muck with that.

Yes,

I have ordered all the abbreviated Dick's Pics on Vinyl. I have most of the complete shows on cd. The issue I have with the vinyl is that while sounding pretty good, they don't stack up to the quality of studio vinyl I have in rock, jazz and classical, therefore I don't allocate much time to listening to them. There was a time when I listened to GD 90%. It now accounts for less than 5% of my total listening time. There is just so much better sounding stuff to listen too.

 

[JackD201]

All the Oppo disc players do HDCD and are a popular choice.

Beyond that, though, the source material is quite varied in audio characteristics, so Tim's suggestion has a lot of merit. Few if any GD audience tapes don't benefit from EQ. Even the soundboard tapes from different eras sound pretty different.

The Meyer's are a cute choice, but using the same philosophy one could also recommend some home built JBL's (but EV tweeters) with Macintosh SS amplification.

Definitely. I chose the Meyers because they are small suckers. I've got this thing for the big Ocean Way stacks which can really play anything well but at the back of my mind, I was thinking "vacation home" system (no neighbors). Big sound small package. Heck, move them outdoors with a pair of X-800s and have a personal festival!

 

[marty]

Possibly the best post of the year Peter! I laughed my ass off. But if your really after authenticity, please substitute a Phase Linear 400 for the Krells.

 

[Peter Breuninger]

Possibly the best post of the year Peter! I laughed my ass off. But if your really after authenticity, please substitute a Phase Linear 400 for the Krells.

Yes I thought of that, but not the 400s, the mighty 700s! And then a stack of dry ice to keep um cool.

 

[jap]

http://www.avguide.com/article/grateful-dead-member-embraces-mcintosh-audio-gear

 

[theguesswho]

Marty said, "But if your really after authenticity, please substitute a Phase Linear 400 for the Krells."

Or even worse yet the big SAE amps (4000wpc) which are guaranteed to take your ears off! But work perfect for this type of noise.

Wendell

 

[Bruce B]

Just plug in your system to a stack of Marshall or Peavey amps and be done with it. That's what was on stage!