jazzbo

Allen, I really am not that interested in collecting R&B artists. And there are many small labels that collect "lesser artists" on vinyl, such as Jazzum, IARJC, The Old Masters, Shoe String, Stardust, Sandy Hook, Archive of Jazz and many more that release airchecks and studio recordings of many sorts. I can find in an hour hundreds of lps I'm interested in on auctions or musical vendor sites. And they're not expensive, as for one thing far more people interested in this material are disappearing than are appearing newly interested in this work, and most of the newly interested are buying cd versions. There are enough out there for me to explore and purchase for the next decade.

I'm glad you enjoy your current system, but it can't undo any compression that was added during remastering to make CDs louder and the resulting loss of dynamics, as for example on the Experience Hendrix CDs Kevin mentioned. I had some of those CDs and have to agree with him. Even some classical CDs suffer from this kind of manipulation, like for instance the Beethoven symphonies cycle by Emmanuel Krivine/la Chambre Philharmonique on the niche Naïve label. Mastering artefacts like that can't be undone by simply turning the volume down, what's lost (dynamics) is lost. I've heard all this before, and I didn't just give up. There are things that can be done. I can make the most of what dynamics are there, and there are more there than most think. And I can adjust the tonality to be more comfortable. And I can enjoy the recordings. (Maybe others can't, but I find I can). I can adjust gain on DAC/preamp, preamp and amp, I can roll tubes, and my power conditioning does an awful lot to lower noise floor and thus make what dynamics are there more noticeable. Power cords help the dynamics as well, and my cabling is neutral and revealing. I have treble reduction on both my speaker tweeters and my amp speaker output (outside the signal path) and can adjust the bias of the tubes for "relaxed" or more heft and dynamics. All this allows more productive flexibility than the purist approach I tried (and believed in) before. In short I found this sort of flexibility to be key to enjoying digital releases. I think if I didn't have the power conditioning, the ability to "ride the gain" and the ability to adjust tone I'd be as unhappy as others, but with this flexibility I truly can enjoy these releases. If others can't, I guess I understand, I just feel fortunate. Is that because the CD reissues are able to provide a more encompassing selection of the material than were LPs? There never was an LP series, for example, like the Chronological Classics. In particular, in the R&B field, there are numerous artists whose work just wan't collected on LP anyway, except maybe as the odd track on a various artists compilation. That was partly the taste of the companies involved but mostly, I suspect, the plain limitations of the format which insisted on choices being made. The digital era has freed listeners to be able to make their own choices about what to listen to; eg only Bloggs' masterpies or the rubbish, too? (Or even just the rubbish.) MG Allen, when it comes to early jazz and big band there are thousands of lps to choose from. RCA put out comprehensive collections of Shaw, Barnett, Berigan et al that sound very very good. Several labels leased and released Commodore sides with very good mastering. Columbia has released comprehensive series of lps of Bessie Smith, Lester Young, Billie Holiday et al. All this material I've sampled shines on vinyl and is very enjoyable to listen to.

Episode 3 of the History Channel's "Vikings." Not too bad.

Interesting. I am more and more fortunate to have the system that I do because I can really enjoy those Experience Hendrix cds, they're not as bad as many new releases and they sound so much better than those digitally remixed ones MCA put out. (The newest ones are less "loud" than the earlier ones as well). I'm lucky that my system allows me to enjoy more masterings than most seem able too. I'm buying vinyl for many of the reasons that Kevin states. I find in particular that "pre-tape" jazz sounds better to my ears on vinyl than on 90 percent or more of the cd masterings. And this material is not expensive to buy on vinyl. . . no one seems to covet the reissue lps of these 78 sides.

Many many happy happy returns! Let me present you with an imaginary box set of the compete recordings of the Andrew Hill Quartet with Tyrone Washington.

I absolutely agree that the best thing about these new BN LT reissues is that "new dimension of presence and subtlety." Exceptionally nice transfers to listen to.

Well, I have every US and many Japanese RVGs, not many would I say sound "thin and brittle." Oddly, many collectors think the early cd pressings sound the best. I've never been of that opinion.

I find that interesting because though there ARE thin and brittle RVGs, I wouldn't characterize them all that way.

Finished up Nip/Tuck Season 2. On to Justified, Season 2, an Xmas present I received.

I've been building a really nice system over the last decades because sound quality does matter to me, though it's the music that matters most. I went to CD because of the resurgence of releases: material out of print for decades was suddenly available all across the genres in dazzling quantities. I have no interest in "music on the go" because I don't have a car with a radio, was rarely allowed to really enjoy music at work, and I was spoiled by the quality of dedicated listening at home. In the last few years I've been drawn back to vinyl because someone whose opinion I valued told me that he thought I was working hard to make my digital sound like vinyl. I realized he was actually right, and bought a few nice turntables, and a few nice phono preamps, and have been bowled over by the absolute enjoyable sound of my old records and new record purchases. I still love the digital sound of my system, but to be honest, the vinyl part of my system has as good or better a sound than the digital at a lower price point. I'm really enjoying listening to vinyl and will continue to do so in both systems. Life is good in that regard for me, I love both formats, redbook and hi-res digital audio, and vinyl. I've little love or use for MP3 or "lossless" files. I don't have a computer as a main music playback device anywhere in my life. Just what works for me and feeds my musical needs.

The Rega is spinning and spinning today.

A fave.

Right he engineered, but not the first one. . . I think he engineered most of the rest. I'm looking forward to the vinyl of "People, Hell and Angels." Should have it early next week.

Yeah. But that is not one of my favorite movies.

I thought he was excellent in one of my favorite movies, "Southland Tales."

"Let me Love You" and "Mojo Man" are among my favorites on the release, so I'm glad they included them!

I'm more of a fan of the recording than the remastering, but I really enjoy the RVG series for the money. Cheaper than the Blue Note works and I like the vividness of the sound more, it's more real to me on my system. Again, I've put together a flexible system which allows me to listen to a wider range of recordings with pleasure than before. I don't want to be avoiding releases in general or seeking out always some counsel on the sound. In the last five years or so I've been able to buy almost any release and relax into the sound. That sure is nice. Anyone heard the two Ronnie Laws in the Toshiba reissues? I actually like these, played them a lot in the 'seventies and 'eighties, and my lps are not in great shape. Trying to decide whether to get new lps or the new cds. . . .

Kevin, the RVG may sound better to you now because of equipment changes rather than hearing loss. I do understand the complaints that people have with RVG cd masterings but as my system has improved (and I think in my case it has been power conditioning that has made a really big impact) these sound better and better. And as I have three gain stages to adjust and "ride the gain" (DAC/preamp, tube preamp, input gain on my tube amp) I can actually tailor the sound to favor the RVGs and maximize the dynamics and minimize the sizzle. Yes, you can't really crank them up high, but I don't listen to jazz that way, there's a sort of 'right volume' for these sort of recordings where they seem realistic and I can get RVGs at this volume and really enjoy them, in fact they sound more natural to me, more like jazz heard in a small club or a studio than some other versions. That said, the LT series discs sound really really good to me and I'm so glad they did these albums as they did, they sound great, they are nice to have on cd for the first time or as alternatives to being a part of a Mosaic, and the price is right. Thank you Toshiba!

Many happy returns Conrad!

Better. The new LT is quite nice, I think you'd enjoy the improvement.