Audiophiles unite!

Yeah, one of the problems is that I have a handful of albums I know like the back of my hand, so I can pick out any inconsistencies immediately (I noticed the AT turntable was running fast when I listened to 'The Real Thing' for example) so I do try not to listen to stuff I know inside out as I cant really 'listen' to the music, if you see what I mean.

But I had read reviews that said a lot of samples were taken from beaten up old copies he had already scratched to death, which is fine, it adds texture. And you really can hear the record noise on some of the tracks but, hey, I listen to burial so whatever.

But this is more than that. The left channel is blown out on a lot of tracks, mostly towards the end of the record. You can *really* hear it on Transmission 2. The piano crackles like static. I was switching back and forth between the record and spotify and the spotify version is perfect.

So, stop me if youve heard this one before, I spent an hour fucking about the with tracking weight and force and no luck (despite it being the only record that does this). Then I remembered the AT in the garage so dug that out and it sounds exactly the same.

So, yeah, I dont think its the mastering process. When it sounds good, it sounds really good. I think its just the record is fucked. I mean, it might not be and thats how its supposed to sound but my old CD and spotify dont.

Ah, good shout. Im clearly not the kind of person who can cope with 'not quite right' so that would at least help with some of the obsessive fucking about.

So having only listened to their Chrimbo ep in the past I thought I would give it a go.

First listen - hmmm, interesting.

Now on the eleventymillionth listen and it is awesome.  Already got Double Negative in the rotation as well now (also great) and tickets to see them next year.  Thanks for the rec  \o/

Thrilling update: I took Endtroducing back and she said she had one returned last week so probably not worth switching it for the last remaining one they had, which is a shame.

So, armed with 35 quids worth of store credit, I swapped it for the black album remaster and ‘Chemz’ by burial.

I have to say, as much as I love Endtroducing, even though I had listened to the new remaster a few times on Spotify it sounds fucking amazing on vinyl, so I think I ended up better off.

That’s a fairly normal price for secondhand 1200s.

Mine were battered even before they got flood damaged. 1210mk2, bought them third (maybe more) hand in 94 so they must have been kicking around since the 80s and I reckon the rudeboy I got them off had lifted them from a club. Then they got dragged to uni and house parties and whatnot. They had a hard life, bless them.

I think I know the answer (suck it an see) but anyway, having been an audiophile quite a few years back my music listening days are pretty much over, except for the car and if/when I exercise, my Cyrus 3 + Cyrus power supply have given up the ghost a few years ago and will cost £600 to fix and my Micromega Stage 3 CD player, whilst brilliant was an absolutely unreliable peace of junk since I owned it and that's long since died too.

But I still have my beautiful TDL RTL 3's in their boxes that I've kept all these years (the drivers appear to be perfect), I'm planning on reawakening them and setting them up with my phone being the source via a crap Technics Amp in my unheated detached garage whereupon I can relive my youth and listen to some ancient banging house music whilst straddling the cross trainer, as the cross trainer as well as the speakers are banned from the house. I guess I'm pretty concerned that the drivers will just get damp and fall apart, I don't expect to be cranking it up too loud but still, just a bit concerned about the cold environment, it seems as this is our forever home I may as well make some use of them as I'll never get back into listening to music as I did so years ago, couldn't care less about the amp. No idea what it'll be like in there in the summer.

Stax are electrostatic, not planar magnetic, hence the name.

I have a pair and the amp to go with them. They’re astonishing with the right music but the effort to keep them ‘energised’ and the fact that a lot of stuff just doesn’t sound that good means they’re not really worth the effort imo. I kind of wish I’d spent the money on some outrageous planaars.

Ahh, haha, and here's me thinking they just figured out how to miniaturise the shit and cram it all into a USB powered phone. 

I should have known better, I remember being a little afraid of the Stax, I felt like a bead of sweat in the wrong place would vaporize me. And the build quality was bobbins. 

I think the thing that fooled me was the sound stage is similarly colossal and it hits your ears in the same type of way.

This actually prompted me to try and sell or part-exchange my Stax.

Enjoy!

Good to see you're properly taking the steps to becoming an insufferable vinyl nerd. It's a joyous existence.

It's installation day for my new music system, after 14 weeks of scrimping and saving!
The big issue, for me, is the fitting and calibration of the phono cartridge.
I have an Ortofon 2M Blue and the protractor card they offer. The 1210GR comes with an overhang measure and I've got a mini spirit level.

There's nothing else I need for this relatively simple task?
I seem to recall a tutorial video on YouTube of a guy using some sort of weighing scale.