Static Impulse Problem

[DougMac]

Great Replies!

I should have known I was preaching to the choir (or speaking to the geeks).

In addition to the AM car radio, we had a "mid-fi'" system when I was growing up. My dad was fascinated by stereo. He bought a Bell Tuner and Integrated amp, along with some University dual cone speakers and cabinet kits. We also had a Garrard Turntable. The University's were traded for some Knight three ways. The Bell amp was replaced by a Scott 299T, a perfectly horrible first generation SS amp. The Garrard was replaced by an Elac Miracord 10H. While in high school I bought a Voice of Music RtR which was later replaced with a Viking Super Stereo (deck with two preamps in a travel case). My father died when I was in high school and when I was in college the Elac made way for a Dual 1228 and the Scott was replaced by a Heathkit receiver which my 33 year old son is now using.

I've been listening to and transcribing some tapes using the Scott/Viking combo using a TEAC X-1000R for playback and I'm astonished that they sound as good as they did. I also have some FM airchecks I recorded with the Heathkit/Viking and they're even more astonishing.

Dan, I too share a concern for young folks listening to MP3's cranked way too loud. My player has a volume limiter that I think all parents should use for their kids. I also think that over the ear headphones are better than ear buds, but that just a subjective opinion.

I think it was Geebster who mentioned EQ for oldies. There's an audiologist in town who will test your hearing and create a custom EQ for your player, if it has that function. It's a great "get them in the door" promotion and I hope he takes the opportunity to do some education.

Craig, we already knew you're the "odd duck", but thanks for reminding us!

Doug

[Craig Maier]

Quoting DougMac:

"Craig, we already knew you're the "odd duck", but thanks for reminding us!"

----------------------------

Yeah, I thought so. But my wife and my mother still love me!

[DJBohn]

Love hearing these audio stories! My Hi-Fi experience started way back in elementry school when my grandfather gave me his old (and very large) up-right Philco 37-116 AM/Short Wave radio. This monster rocked the neighborhood! It had 15 tubes (one plugged into the top of a transformer!), and a very large driver (16" or 18"?) that had close to 15 wires attached to it from the chassis. There were also 3 each 8" drone speakers (passive radiators) built into the cabinet to improve the bass. Along with the tone control, there was also a 4 detent bass step contol built into the off/on switch. This old radio even had an RCA jack in the back to input a monophonic phonograph! My grandfather purchased it because it was the loudest radio he could find for sale at the time. He would open the windows in his house and crank it up so he could hear it while he was on his tractor in the fields! I wish I still had this old thing. One of the oil filled caps went bad which caused a bad hum. Couldn't find a replacment part at the time so my dad ended up tossing it to the trash. (Nooooooooo!)

Other than a cheap Monkey Wards portable stereo phonograph with a fold down table and detachable speakers, I didn't have much exposure to good sound through out my early years in high school. About the time I was a senior & had my first car (1960 Cadillac 2-door hard top), I finally purchased my first car stereo - a (used) under-the-dash Kraco 8-track player. This heavy dog had an all steel cabinet & chassis, and would also have made for a good mini boat anchor. Not wanting to cut holes in the back shelf, I used the stock front & rear AM radio speakers for stereo sound. Although not the proper way to listen, it was still stereo. But I kept having problems with the outputs. Those old big TO cased Bendix output transistors in that Kraco were a constant problem.

After getting into the service, I purchased a different car, a 63 Mercury Comet. The radio speaker was toast, so I went to the local Radio Shack and got a replacment 5x7 driver, the best one they had at the time (with a whizzer cone!) & put it in. It was like night & day! The improvment in sound was fantastic. I never thought AM could sound so good! But I wanted more...

The audio "flavor-of-the-day" at that time was SQ Quadraphonic. A service buddy had a new & very big Sansui 4 channel system that sounded quite good (and very loud), but was too spendy for me then. I chose instead to improve my car sound and purchased a brand new on the market, an under the dash Craig Power Play 8-track/FM stereo. 52 watts max., 12W RMS x 2. At the time, it was (theoretically) the most powerful car stereo available for automotive use (prior to the advancement of DC-to-DC power supplies). I only wish I had gotten the cassette version, but I already had a box of 8-tracks. Oh well. A friend of mine sold me a pair of used AR-7 home speakers which I set in the back seat. That setup sounded quite good for a car stereo in those days!

Not long after, I purchased a used Grundig reel-to-reel from a local stereo store. Everything printed on it was in German, but wasn't too hard to figure out. I wanted to copy all my friends LP's with it, but never had much of a chance to use it. I had just received orders to go to Duluth IAP, now that my training was done. I spent my first night there at an Air Force buddys home. Over that night, my car was broken into and they stole that R2R as well as my military duffle bag full of my clothing & some other things. (DRAT!!!)

It was almost another year before I finally started purchasing modern audio equipment again. My first "quality" new purchase (1975) was a Kenwood KX-710 top loader cassette deck with Dolby NR that handled the new Chromium Dioxide cassettes. (I still have some of the tapes I made with it!) From that point on, my audio "lust" for newer & better equipment continued to grow. Kenwood, Pioneer, Yamaha, B&O, Akai, Carver, Soundcraftsmen, dbx, Philips, Sony and others have all passed through my door & have at one time or another been part of my "audio family". But they are stories in themselves & I've already been too winded here...

Geebster - I too almost purchased one of those El-Cassettes. They had some beautiful Sonys at a local stereo shop. I thought they were a great idea! Claims of reel-to-reel sound quality with the same convenience of Compact Cassettes. But I also almost purchased a Philips DCC deck. That came in and went out quicker than the old consumer 4-track tape cartridges! At the time, I thought it was a better idea than the Sony Mini-Disc recorders... So what industry blunder will be next?

Craig - Getting back to my LP static problem - the settings worked great! DC6 took out about 95% of those quick impulses. The remaining ones it didn't get were too small to worry about.

[Geebster]

Hey all:

I love hearing about all the equipment everyone has had over the years too. It is amazing to me at all the audio products I have seen come and go over my lifetime. One never knows what will be the "next big thing".

Well, I received my FIRST MP3 player today. The one I originally ordered (a no longer in production model) was permanently out of stock, so the company graciously upgraded my order to a current Creative Zen Vision:M model. I am charging it now and haven't had a chance to play with it yet, but I think I'm going to love it. I just like the thought of having 30GB of music at my disposal in that nice small (but not tiny) package.

I now feel like I am part of the modern era!!!

GB

P.S. Did anyone ever have one of those turntables made out of concrete? I had one in the 70's, I believe it was made by Kenwood. It was a pretty nice turntable, but once I got into DJing I kind of permanently switched to the Direct Drive Technics models.

[DJBohn]

Hey Geebster, I've never seen one of those Kenwood concrete tables. I think Goldmund also has a high end turntable built into its own floor standing table that's several hundred pounds, but the price was more thousands that I wanted to see. But I'm going to guess at what Technics tables you're using. The SL-1200's? I was just wondering. I've got an SL-1600MK2 that I use here as one of my backup restoration tables. (Congrats on your new MP3 portable by the way!)

Anyone out there anytime over the years get a chance to hear a pair of ohm omni-directional speakers? They had what they called a "Walsh Radiator" that was mounted inverted in the top of a pyramid shaped cabinet. The driver cone was very long, projecting the sound outward 360 degrees. I've seen the ads over the years but have never known anyone with a pair of them. I have however seen several sets of Maggies over the years & liked what they did...

[Geebster]

Hi DJ..

Yep, How did you know that I would be using an SL-1200 (technics) as my primary turntable? I also use a less robust SL-QD33 straight armed direct drive table that uses P-Mount cardridges as my back up table. For being an inexpensive turntable, I like that one too.

I've never had the fortune to hear any Ohm's; but like you have heard good things about them.

I'm getting along fine with the new MP3 player... finally. It uses a very tactile navigation device in the center of the unit and at first I couldn't select any of the options. Well, dummy me, I was pressing it too hard, like in the good old days when you really had to push buttons. With the thing you just barely "tap" the control button to activate the control. Once I figured that out, it has been fine!!!!!! Talk about an old schooler learning a new toy...

GB

[DougMac]

Rhapsody Report

Hi DJ..


It uses a very tactile navigation device in the center of the unit and at first I couldn't select any of the options. Well, dummy me, I was pressing it too hard, like in the good old days when you really had to push buttons. With the thing you just barely "tap" the control button to activate the control. Once I figured that out, it has been fine!!!!!! Talk about an old schooler learning a new toy...

GB

Geebster,

That's my experience as well. I adjusted the sensitivity and that helped.

I signed up with Rhapsody last night and downloaded ~175 songs from eight or so albums. Here's my initial impressions:

Pros:
Sound Quality
Ease of Use
Variety and depth of music available
Download Speed

Cons:
Songs to Go Restrictions on popular music
Big Brother

Sound Quality: I'm sitting here listening to Freddie King's "Getting Ready" album, which I also have on CD. It's very listenable, but not quite CD quality. On my Zen with AKG headphones, it sounds fine. If I played it on my big system, I don't think I'd be quite as happy. Sound quality is better than I expected, but for stuff I really want, I think I'd buy the CD. I'm now listening to the North Mississippi All Stars' "Hill Country Revue" recorded at Bonneroo. Cymbals aren't as crisp and there's some smearing at times.

Ease of Use: Software loaded without a hitch and it found the Zen with no problem. When you search and find an album you want, just drag the album cover over to the left pane where your player is listed and drop it. The files start to transfer. You can continue to drag albums over and it will continue load them while you browse.

Variety and depth of music available: I did several searches and found what I was looking for, including some fairly obscure selections, such as Document's "The Complete Recordings of Victoria Spivey".

Download Speed: This, of course, is dependent on your internet connection, but there didn't seem to be any trouble on the server side servicing my requests. While it was downloading, I was also streaming music that sounded fine.

Now the bad:
Songs to Go Restrictions on popular music: I decided to download some songs I like but don't have in my collection and haven't bothered to buy, such as the Eagle's "Those Shoes" and Lynrd Skynrd's "Curtis Lowe". No go, they weren't available as a "To Go" item unless you buy them. Single selections are 89 cents, with albums selling for ~$8.50. Sorry, on popular albums I'll go to ebay and try to pick one from up from an overstock house. The more the artist is a niche artist, the more likely you can download. The curious exception was the Celtic Fiddler Bonnie Rideout, where over half the selections on her albums aren't available for "To Go" downloads.

Big Brother: In order to use the service, you have to install the digital rights management software pushed down and you have to register your player. This may not sit well with you libertarians. As long as it doesn't interfere with me doing what I please with music I already own, I have no problem. I want to pay for music I enjoy and I don't widely copy and give to family and friends CD's I've purchased. This is a sticky area for sure; how to protect the rights of both the artist and the consumer.

So far so good. Personally, I think the service is worth it. For the street price of one CD a month, I can keep my Zen spinning for hours on end, albeit at lower, but acceptable quality.

Doug

[Geebster]

Hi Doug...

Thanks so much for all the information about your impressions of Rhapsody. I am almost sure I am going to go with one of those services, but I am going to research it a bit to finally decide which one to use. So far, from your impressions and everything I have read, Rhapsody does seem to be about the best.

The sound quality and being able to purchase an albums on-line isn't really too much of a concern as I want to use the service to 'hear' the music before I shell out xxx dollars for a CD. It seems a good way to sample music.

I'll probably make a decision on what service I choose in a few days. I'll let you know which one and what I think.

Thanks again for all the info!!!

GB

[DJBohn]

Hey Geebster, just to put you at ease, my mentioning the Technics SL-1200 was just a slightly educated & very lucky guess. Knowing that you had been a DJ, I too have done a little DJ work over the years & have known other DJ's as well. One thing I've learned was the SL-1200 was one of the favorite DJ tables of choice. It is also probably the most popular table Technics has ever made. They were so popular that if they are not still making them now, they were up to just a few years ago. I believe even KAB or Esoteric Audio in the past were selling modified versions of them to play 78's. (none of us need those - all praise DC6!) The only other real popular tables Technics had were the SP- (platter only - select your own arm) machines that the high quality radio stations liked to use.

As for the Rhapsody, I'll have to hold off for now. Being on dial-up, I don't think I could download enough music in a months time to make it cost effective. But on the other hand I'm not sure if I like the idea of "Big Brother" having ANY control over ANY of MY expensive hard earned electronics investments, for whatever reason...

[Geebster]

DJ...

I just looked at Panasonic's website and they are still making the 1200 MKxx's. That is amazing. Considering how well built those things are, I can't see them selling too many anymore, in this digital age. It is kind of reassuring though, that some companies still have their foot into analog.

As far as the music services go, I'm finding there are 2 ways to go. Go with somebody like Rhapsody if you want to sample a whole bunch of music, to eventually get the ones you like on CD... OR go with someone like eMusic where you get so many downloads per month for a flat fee (that never disappear from your computer). Considering that all the music on that website is still MP3 based, I don't know how good a value that is either. If I really like an artist or certain album, I would want the best quality there is. But, like you said, with a dial-up connection, it is hard to justify 9-15 dollars a month if you can't download that much to begin with.

GB

[Geebster]

I signed up with Rhapsody last night and downloaded ~175 songs from eight or so albums. Here's my initial impressions:

Pros:
Sound Quality


Sound Quality: I'm sitting here listening to Freddie King's "Getting Ready" album, which I also have on CD. It's very listenable, but not quite CD quality. On my Zen with AKG headphones, it sounds fine.

I was wondering, what format are most of the songs in? And are they greater than 128 bit sampling rate? To me, some songs sound perfectly fine at 128, while others don't sound too wonderful. In a perfect world it would be nice to be able to select your sampling rate of choice, but I know that is unrealistic.

GB

[cromag]

If you want to get a taste of Rhapsody they do have a "free" service. You get free access to several (I think ~20?) streaming "radio stations," and you can play 15 (I think) selections on demand each month. I have it on the "family" computer, which already has DRM from the kids' music download services.

I won't have it on my computer. I have old-fashioned ideas about who should be running the programs on my computer, who it's supposed to work for, etc.

[Geebster]

I'm still undecided which way I'm going to go. Yeah, I don't like the idea of DRM software on my computer either, but being a musician, I can understand a need to do something to reduce the amount of piracy that was rampant in the first Napster era. I don't really think DRM is the answer, but I could live with it as long as I liked the service..... I think I'm mellowing in my old age.

Anyway, I am not going to lose sleep over it or anything. I have plenty of my own music to play around with until I make a decision on what music service I will go with. Also, I have DMX on my TV cable and they are pretty good about having plenty of new stuff on there as well.

I still think it's kind of neat hearing an old album I've restored using the Diamond Cut software and ultimately hearing it from my portable MP3 player.

GB

[cromag]

...
I still think it's kind of neat hearing an old album I've restored using the Diamond Cut software and ultimately hearing it from my portable MP3 player.

GB

Absolutely! I found a used copy of the Bottle Hill Boys "A Rumor in Their Own Time," and it cleaned up beautifully, if I do say so myself! These guys were legendary here in northern NJ back in the early 70s -- I went to several of their concerts, including their final concert together in '76. It's never been officially released on CD -- but now, not only do I have it on CD, but I can play it while I walk.

[DJBohn]

I like that idea best of all! I as well have added nearly 50 Top40 hits to my MP3 library just from LP restorations since November. A couple of good ones include Jimmy Dean - Big Bad John from a 60's stereo LP that was pretty clean, & my only copy of Jerry Lee Lewis - Breathless from an original Sun stereo LP (mid to late 60's). That vinyl looked and played like it was new from the store - wonderful! Being a DC forum, we should all be making our restorations our primary MP3 source for our players.