I do remember an article about a guy in Japan who had a separate house for his stereo
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 8 July 2021 15:53 (two years ago) link
I don’t know who Bruce is, but glancing through his timeline it seems like he’s goofing around with a guy he exchanges tweets with.
― r u rolling pop 2021 (morrisp), Thursday, 8 July 2021 16:04 (two years ago) link
otm, it's clearly a joke
― Lavator Shemmelpennick, Thursday, 8 July 2021 16:31 (two years ago) link
Yeah, digging in deeper it clearly is, but considering how much often people are actually dunking on weird audiophile shit, it's easy to see how this could be misread.
― a superficial sheeb of intelligence (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 8 July 2021 16:37 (two years ago) link
heh, I met Bruce at a friend's house once a long time ago and he was friendly and funny
― mark e. smith-moon (f. hazel), Thursday, 8 July 2021 16:50 (two years ago) link
yeah, I read it as a goof and not really a spiteful joke that stands on its own
― mh, Thursday, 8 July 2021 18:10 (two years ago) link
https://www.whathifi.com/us/news/chord-company-launches-groundaray-noise-reduction-family-for-your-hi-fi-separates
― john shopkins (naus), Thursday, 15 July 2021 19:16 (two years ago) link
The really embarrassing thing for me is that I gave this company quite a bit of cash back in the '90s. My old stereo was all Chord Co interconnects. I think I've still got a pair of Chord Chrysalis in use now, between the MiniDisc deck and the Marantz amp/streamer. I guess companies selling wildly over-designed bits of wire need to find something new to flog in an increasingly wireless future.
― Michael Jones, Thursday, 15 July 2021 22:03 (two years ago) link
don't bump this thread unless u got more of those dope Duplex covers
― making splashes at Dan Flashes (Neanderthal), Thursday, 15 July 2021 23:54 (two years ago) link
I think Chord's streamers and DACs are well respected (if ugly). These things are nonsense.
― Carlos Santana & Mahavishnu Rob Thomas (PBKR), Friday, 16 July 2021 01:16 (two years ago) link
weirdly was looking into this and they might be two different companies? but yeah that Chord Mojo is on every list of DACs to buy, I kinda dig the goofy orb things but I believe when I was researching that it doesn't have a power supply, you have to charge it, which took it out of the running for me (using on my stereo not computer)ended up getting a Schiit Modi I've been happy with
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 16 July 2021 01:43 (two years ago) link
Nice. I have a Schiit pre-amp that I was using for a while.
― Carlos Santana & Mahavishnu Rob Thomas (PBKR), Friday, 16 July 2021 01:49 (two years ago) link
is it sad that I recently moved to an Apple phone with no headphone jack and began a search for a lightning-connected headphone DAC, and then felt disappointed when the $10 Apple one turned out to be awesome?
― assert (matttkkkk), Friday, 16 July 2021 02:07 (two years ago) link
Big black yoga blocks under my JBL studio monitors on these speaker stands I made with spare wood we had sitting around with my Dad years back are the shit.
― earlnash, Friday, 16 July 2021 03:01 (two years ago) link
Yeah, Chord Co and Chord are different companies. Chord make massively overengineered slabs of hardware (amp, DAC, etc) and Chord Co make wires and accessories.
― Michael Jones, Friday, 16 July 2021 14:54 (two years ago) link
my friend shipped his tube amp to some guy to have all the capacitors replaced and a new tube installed and apparently the guy orders some ridiculous artisanal capacitors from somewhere in europe and, uses, like, soviet era tubes
I look forward to hearing it when it returns
― mh, Friday, 16 July 2021 17:07 (two years ago) link
nice
― Clara Lemlich stan account (silby), Friday, 16 July 2021 17:18 (two years ago) link
I wouldn't expect too much unless there was a problem before, which is very possible if it is 30 years old.
― Carlos Santana & Mahavishnu Rob Thomas (PBKR), Saturday, 17 July 2021 01:46 (two years ago) link
probably closer to 50 - 60
― mh, Monday, 19 July 2021 20:54 (two years ago) link
I checked in, it’s a Sherwood S-5000 from 1959
― mh, Monday, 19 July 2021 20:58 (two years ago) link
Cool amp!
I've never heard of them, but apparently they are pretty well-regarded and popular renovation projects.
If the capacitors have never been replaced, I would anticipate it's gonna sound better or at least prevent any issues from developing. Old capacitors can go bad and leak, causing damage to other electrical parts.
I had to replace them in my 30 yo Audio Research tube pre-amp because it developed a pretty noticeable buzz.
― Carlos Santana & Mahavishnu Rob Thomas (PBKR), Monday, 19 July 2021 21:13 (two years ago) link
HOT STAMPERS!
https://dangerousminds.net/comments/extreme_record_collecting_part_ii_theres_only_one_way_to_find_better_record
― Precious, Grace, Hill & Beard LTD. (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 26 August 2021 14:42 (two years ago) link
that shit is such bullshit that i am legitimately angry that it's a thing.
― things repeat forever and there never is a remedy (Austin), Thursday, 26 August 2021 14:52 (two years ago) link
Tom Port has always been full of shit. Long before he shilled this bullshit, his opinions on what was a good sounding record were dubious, and this wasn't with anything particular expensive or anything. (One that comes to mind is how a standard pressing of Nirvana's Nevermind was so bright that it was an ear-bleeder. NOBODY heard what he was hearing, and he refused to answer whether the issue was his playback.)
― birdistheword, Thursday, 26 August 2021 15:05 (two years ago) link
i think i'm extra salty because "hot stamper" is so much fun to say and he's fucking ruined it for me, the absolute bastard.
― things repeat forever and there never is a remedy (Austin), Thursday, 26 August 2021 15:40 (two years ago) link
Of course what they are pushing is hype and brand but it's not wrong to say some records sound notably better than others, and among other things how many generations down the master tape used is and the condition of the stampers are not insignificant.
I'm not a vinyl snob at all but sometimes a good record will hit me. I just got an Italian reissue of "Heroes" (I'm not a Bowie nut either) that really leapt out. Looked up the engineer at RCA Italia and seems he's lately got a bit of a rep among the Hoffman crew. What can I say, my ears told me what was up before any confimation bias could kick in.
― Noel Emits, Thursday, 26 August 2021 15:53 (two years ago) link
that's just a strong argument to buy CDs instead
― Jaime Pressly and America (f. hazel), Thursday, 26 August 2021 17:07 (two years ago) link
Or a Pono!
― DJI, Thursday, 26 August 2021 17:11 (two years ago) link
bands should just release new material as a blu-ray of unmixed tracks and let fans mix and sequence the albums
― Jaime Pressly and America (f. hazel), Thursday, 26 August 2021 17:17 (two years ago) link
xxp
I don't see how that follows. It's mainly an acknowledgment that mastering makes a difference and can even be revelatory. That applies to any format, and CDs at least as much as records, albeit in different ways.
― Noel Emits, Thursday, 26 August 2021 17:23 (two years ago) link
hot stampers are supposed to be magical due to some intangible qualities derived from variations in the physical stamping process and some proprietary cleaning method... neither of which are relevant when you're buying a CD. you figure out which CD release has the best mastering, you buy it, and if you rip it securely and the checksums verify on the SecureRip database, you can stop right there and know you've got the best possible recording of an album.
― Jaime Pressly and America (f. hazel), Thursday, 26 August 2021 17:26 (two years ago) link
I know that this has been said to death already by many people over the years but I just cannot understand paying thousands of dollars in your multi year search for the best sounding version of Teaser and the Firecat, rather than, spending that money to buy other records.
― Bach on harmonica! (Boring, Maryland), Thursday, 26 August 2021 17:44 (two years ago) link
Yeah, they're talking about finding and flipping these peerless gems, and it's almost always these huge selling cheapie bin perennials. Note in the interview that this started with finding the perfect copy of the Blood, Sweat & Tears S/T!
― Precious, Grace, Hill & Beard LTD. (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 26 August 2021 17:56 (two years ago) link
That's another reason why I stuck with CD's and SACD's. Even brand-new SACD's from Mobile Fidelity typically cost me no more than $30 a pop after taxes and shipping, and I buy maybe five a year, depending on what they release. That's by far the most I would pay for a new album - otherwise, I rarely pay more than $10 for a disc.
― birdistheword, Thursday, 26 August 2021 18:16 (two years ago) link
guy smokes weed before listening to a record and then enjoys it
― shitbird in prospect (Sufjan Grafton), Thursday, 26 August 2021 19:05 (two years ago) link
You haven't truly bought vinyl until you drop five Benjamin's on a Hot Stamper of No Fun Aloud.
― Precious, Grace, Hill & Beard LTD. (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 26 August 2021 21:13 (two years ago) link
It sounds to me like a square dance band, like "Gregory Fibula and his Red Hot Stampers are playing American Legion hall #287 this Friday at 7PM".
― Sassy Boutonnière (ledriver), Friday, 27 August 2021 18:41 (two years ago) link
it's pretty classic in terms of audiophilia - taking something that has core of truth - some record pressings sound better than others - and turning it into this demented, expensive and obsessive con job
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 27 August 2021 19:38 (two years ago) link
Here comes the hot stamper
― papal hotwife (milo z), Friday, 27 August 2021 20:57 (two years ago) link
ums otm
any even halfway serious record collector knows that some pressings are good and some are bad, and that there's variation between the various batches off of the stampers based on how early in the process they were stamped, which can SOMETIMES but not always indicate a better sounding press.
as far as CD versions of things that were originally on LP, that gets into remastering territory and I'd say that at least 60% of the CDs that I own from this era are at least a little bit inferior to the proper vinyl versions, making a good-sounding CD is jus gas hard as making a good-sounding LP
imo starting in the 90's, this calculation flipped because vinyl pressings became increasingly crap (ofc some older things like Sun Ra Saturn presses and ESP Discs were always crap as well) and these days I've really gotta get a google/discogs quality check before I shell out for vinyl on most serious purchases. whereas the Bandcamp downloads all sounds awesome.
― sleeve, Friday, 27 August 2021 21:06 (two years ago) link
I mean, I specifically seek out older German and UK pressings of Creedence Clearwater Revival LPs for this very reason
― sleeve, Friday, 27 August 2021 21:07 (two years ago) link
same with those Beatles LPs, cannot beat the 70's UK Parlophone reissues for overall sound imho, 60's purists can suck it
― sleeve, Friday, 27 August 2021 21:08 (two years ago) link
thread took shockingly long to get here. thank you, milo.
― andrew m., Friday, 27 August 2021 21:08 (two years ago) link
*just as hard as
― sleeve, Friday, 27 August 2021 21:09 (two years ago) link
― Bach on harmonica! (Boring, Maryland), Friday, 27 August 2021 21:21 (two years ago) link
I will always think of Hot Doug Stamper, thanks to whoever had that as their display name a few years ago.
― Michael Jones, Saturday, 28 August 2021 09:33 (two years ago) link
some pressings are good and some are bad, and that there's variation between the various batches off of the stampers based on how early in the process they were stamped, which can SOMETIMES but not always indicate a better sounding press.
as far as CD versions of things that were originally on LP, that gets into remastering territory and I'd say that at least 60% of the CDs that I own from this era are at least a little bit inferior to the proper vinyl versions
Manufacturing factors aside, records issued in different regions and at different times are already in "remastering territory" as they are typically (certainly were in the heyday of multinational labels) cut* locally by a different engineer from different tapes than the "original". Which of course is not to say there's a simple 1st pressings are always best correlation (cf my 80s Italian copy of "Heroes"), but there is a likelihood a home country 1st edition will have been cut from low generation master tapes.
* (the original meaning of mastering being to cut the lacquer master)
― Noel Emits, Saturday, 28 August 2021 15:15 (two years ago) link
thread took shockingly long to get here. thank you, milo.― andrew m., Friday, August 27, 2021
― andrew m., Friday, August 27, 2021
Shady scams and other silly business ideas to take advantage of earnest new vinyl collectors
― enochroot, Saturday, 28 August 2021 16:02 (two years ago) link
Hot scampers.
― Noel Emits, Saturday, 28 August 2021 16:07 (two years ago) link
*spends 500 dollars on an Elvis Presley record or whatever lame shit*
*plays record a single time*
oops the friction of my stylus against the vinyl during a single spin has ruined the record's fidelity, it's burnt to shit now, too bad i couldn't rip it to a digital format because digital is Bad.
*buys another $500 copy* i guess this is my life now
― davey, Saturday, 28 August 2021 16:08 (two years ago) link