Bgw amp plus eq for free!

[RMC]

Tom,

Thanks for the input.

Geez man, 4 Y.O. and you remember that? You were quite a precocious audiophile. You must have bionic memory like the 6 million dollar man...

Got these old test records from my deceased father's estate and they're surprisingly in good condition for their age.

Mid to late 60's I remember him playing classical music records, hence part of my guess of sixties for those two test records. Also based on "judgement call" in view of frequency responses given for these.

During 60's my father had initially an E-V (or maybe Heathkit?) small silver receiver, replaced by a big Clairtone wood case model, E-V 12" coax speakers and the AR turntable, possibly with an Empire cartridge.

That's about as far as my audio gear/music memory wants to go, but I'm not the six million dollar man!

Out to snow removal!!! Regards,

Richard

[SEAWOLF97]

Had some help with the dating (see prior post)

https://www.discogs.com/No-Artist-Hi.../master/801521

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Tom,

I don't know where they took the year because its nowhere on jacket nor on record.

Funny that the Discogs pic of it doesn't show the $1.98 price printed on my copy posted. Maybe it was removed with Photo Shop type software?

I guess anyone selling this wouldn't want to be stuck selling it at the old advertised price?

Richard

[SEAWOLF97]

Tom,

I don't know where they took the year because its nowhere on jacket nor on record.

https://ourpastimes.com/catalog-numb...s-8518643.html

[RMC]

Thanks for the link. Now I understand.

Never really gave attention to those album numbers on the jacket, music more important...

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SHURE TEST RECORD

This is a trackability test record for stereo cartridges, TTR 115, from 1977. Kind of tracking "torture tests" to assess performance. It has a number of test bands with instruments played and trackability levels. Only the best carts can reach top levels. Also includes a tonearm/cartridge resonance test.

Naturally that allowed audiophiles to compare tracking performance between various phono cartridges. In such cicumstances it is best to use the maximum tracking force a cart permits.

When mistracking starts it is recommended to stop playing that band and move on to another (to avoid record damage).

Inside jacket info on tests is clearly copyrighted by Shure and opening the folding jacket to show would reveal everything... The test record was issued at about the time the V15 IV cart was released, thus the ERA IV title.

If I recall correctly, when I purchased that cart there was a coupon or order form in the box to get that record. Can't remember anything about pricing though. I think CBS also made similar test record(s) but not certain about that.

Unless one is a perfectionist regarding tracking, I would suggest not to run yet to find a copy of this LP, since another test record I'll show in the near future has a somewhat similar tracking test (though not as extensive as Shure's here), plus includes many other goodies, so it could be a better buy. Then the choice would be between a very specialized tool VS a more general and complete one.

Richard

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RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA (RIAA) EQUALIZATION NOTE

For those interested in LP records playback, but not familiar with RIAA phono preamp EQ, why, how, etc. I forgot to show with post # 134 the note attached here.

The following is one of the best explanations I have yet seen: short, simple and easily understandable.

Richard

P.S. The horizontal orientation of the note WAS changed to vertical alignment but with no success, horizontal keeps coming back...

[SEAWOLF97]

?

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Tom,

Thanks for saving my... rear end with the pic!

It was shot horizontally with a small Canon camera. Transfered it to laptop, changed it to vertical orientation with Windows pic viewer and IT IS vertical in my computer. Posted it, its horizontal, damn it.

Still coping with new to me Windows 10, compared to good old Win 7, learning it the hard way. Hopefully I'll get there one day...

RE Avatar pic. I see you've adopted a new primate look closer to mankind's origins. Not sure ladies would appreciate the long hair, but the rest looks fine though, lol. Regards,

Richard

[SEAWOLF97]

Tom,

Thanks for saving my... rear end with the pic!

It was shot horizontally with a small Canon camera. Transfered it to laptop, changed it to vertical orientation with Windows pic viewer and IT IS vertical in my computer. Posted it, its horizontal, damn it.

Still coping with new to me Windows 10, compared to good old Win 7, learning it the hard way. Hopefully I'll get there one day...

RE Avatar pic. I see you've adopted a new primate look closer to mankind's origins. Not sure ladies would appreciate the long hair, but the rest looks fine though, lol. Regards,

Richard

fix the pix ? just a couple clicks.

WIN10 is unusable (to me) as installed. If it weren't for the classic shell I'd prolly give up.
new look just reflects reality. Been stuck in the house since Jan 9, and starting to get cabin fever.
Only 1 lady whose opinion I value and she's been through so much with me (nearly 50 years) , that nothing I do is really new.

[RMC]

Tom,

RE "WIN10 is unusable (to me) as installed."

Yeah, I remember when you posted a funny pic of an airplane assembled in a curious way with "Windows 10 we fixed everything...", LOL, Plane pic pretty much described what W 10 is.

There's things I haven't figured out yet, such as how do you save a web page to your hard disc? In Win 7 it was easy: file, save as, etc. Win 10?? There's no file menu on left side, parameters on right side doesn't have "save page as", then right clicking on page has no "save as" either. Only once was I able to save a web page to disc, it had something at top right for this, can't remember which page, never happened again... I guess the "New Deal" is having to put a Web page in favorites only, not on HDD, sniff...

RE "If it weren't for the classic shell I'd prolly give up."

I think I lost the classic shell link you gave me before, can't find it, post again por favor amigo? I remember looking at the classic shell thing. But there was a clear security note issue about installing this, that kinda stopped me. Did you have any problems? Is there an uninstall? Can I revert back to W 10 in case of bugs or am I stuck with it? Thanks.

Richard

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AUDIO SYSTEM TEST RECORD BY SOUND & VISION MAGAZINE

This is the 1984 LP "ancestor" of a similar one on CD done by the same magazine in 1993 (to be shown later). That record is the one to own, before any other shown here, if you're into vinyl spinning. However, it doesn't have a cart/tonearm resonance test, like the Shure TTR 115 does.

One side is made of 9 different tests and the other side includes 9 musical excerpts, some of them challenging. The cartridge tracking test I alluded to in the Shure post is test # 5 here. Test # 7 is an audio frequency sweep 20-20 khz which can be used to check effective vented box tuning frequency, among other uses. The frequency where there's least cone movement or vibration, as felt by a finger slightly touching the cone near surround, is Fb. Pretty simple, no instruments.

Explanations are printed on the back of jacket and continue on a sheet provided inside. Note the third fellow with glasses on the album pic is well-known Dr. Floyd E. Toole, being one of the producers and active participant. Pressing was done by CBS records Canada.

The same back cover pic appears twice because some of the stuff (e.g. tests) is easier to read on the first version, while the recording/technical data is a little clearer on the second pic version.

Vinyl wise its the best test record I know. Saw one for sale in Canada on EBay.ca for $15.CAD. Stereophile, Ortofon and possibly others made some but I don't own those.

Richard

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Forgot to mention in the preceding post the Sound & Vision 1984 test LP could be among the most recent vinyl ones since a quick search on EBay revealed many were from the 70's (70-78), one from 1982. So the present test record seems like a late appearance hitting the market when CD's were already being released or so as I recall...

SOUND & VISION MAGAZINE AUDIO TEST CD

This is the more recent (1993) CD version of the Sound & Vision Test record. The 1984 LP shown in last post and the 1993 CD here are NOT the same, the former leaning towards turntable related stuff, whereas the latter is somewhat more directed at digital equipment. It still has tests for tape/cassette decks though, and both media do have a few things in common.

Like the LP version this CD also has a 20-20khz frequency sweep useful to assess a number of things, such as the actual vented box tuning frequency. A number of spot frequency signals from 4 hz-20 khz are also provided on CD, the first two being at 4 and 8 hz, then 16 hz and on. 4 & 8 hz are probably more earthquake territory than anything musical, therefore not sure about their usefulness or if speakers could really reproduce these with some level (at your own risks).

Nippon Columbia and Denon Digital Industries were implicated in the making of this test CD. It comes with a 15 page explanatory leaflet covering each test, nice.

Because this stuff is copyrighted I'll leave it at the Table of Contents pic, this being public domain that everybody can read before purchasing the CD in a store, since that content is shown on the back cover of the CD case for anyone to see.

This is the only test CD I own and its probably enough, with the LP's, for my needs. Stereophile seems to have released some test CD's too. Next time a premium vinyl album.

Richard

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HEADPHONES UPDATE

Monday was the 7th week been waiting to get the Sennheiser headphones I ordered directly from Senn Canada. Had enough, patience depleted for what is a very standard model with nothing unusual. They dropped the ball or even lost it. Not a shipping delay, on a good day Sennheiser is a half-hour away!

Since the beginning they've been telling me "Your order is finalized and will be shipped soon". Called them, I figured they needed a "pep talk" to get going so gave them an earful, believe me. 20 hours later the headphones are at my door, free expedited shipping, lol. Senn needed a "little realignment" I guess.

Sadly though, the Made in China HD 559 is a big disappointment. Had read lots of good user reviews on many Web sites I checked: good sound, comfortable, price/performance. Don't know where these folks got their ears from (Tom: maybe theirs are the greenish type shown on your previous Avatar pic?), but I can't share their view about that good sound. Was expecting something acceptable or correct, and the phones are loaded with mid-bass...

First impressions: they're larger than expected, early on they sqeeze the head++, after some time you get used to it, the 3 metre cable is somewhat too long for me, have to get it out of the way, 2 metre is enough. Sonically tested them for a couple of hours with the following records: Supertramp Crime of the Century (normally some nice piano), Gino Vanelli Audiophile Series, Loggins & Messina, etc.

These phones turn out to be a little short on VHF, not critical, an easy EQ fix. Midrange would be relatively nice if it wasn't for the mid-bass bump overflowing on it. The mid-bass is exagerated over a wide range and into the low-mid which blurs the cards there. Sad because otherwise the mid may have been its main asset. Can't stand mid-bassy sound on phones, speakers, wherever. Needless to say, haven't noted real bass there, just fake one that also contaminates higher.

The 30-day trial period with free return ends after 2 days for me, no need to go any further. I'll keep the old 414X and 480 Series II for the very long run, they're still better than that thing.

Already contacted my dealer this time for a pair of HD 25 Light (being in Senn's Pro division he can get those), they're more or less the closest thing to the 414. However, marketed as DJ phones they may well have boom boom, tssss, tssss as indicated some places. We'll see. Even though Senn says its made in their European factory it appears to be in low-cost Romania, not Germany. Dealer is asking Sennheiser Canada to import for me a new pair left in the US, discontinued they say. Maybe not a done deal...

Previous last ditch effort or so was a pair of Beyer Dynamic DT-250 Studio Headphones, Made in Germany, but it has a coiled cord which I DON'T like, and among the versions/options of this model none has a straight cord...

Richard

[SEAWOLF97]

HEADPHONES UPDATE

Already contacted my dealer this time for a pair of HD 25 Light (being in Senn's Pro division he can get those), they're more or less the closest thing to the 414. However, marketed as DJ phones they may well have boom boom, tssss, tssss as indicated some places. We'll see. Even though Senn says its made in their European factory it appears to be in low-cost Romania, not Germany. Dealer is asking Sennheiser Canada to import for me a new pair left in the US, discontinued they say. Maybe not a done deal...

I haven't seen German Senns for a long time, the good ones are made in Ireland. I have 2 pairs of HD 25-1 ii mk2's . yes, they are DJ phones, very impressive sound. But they are "on the ear" to block outside noise. There are multiple versions. The ones used on the Concorde are collectable. read up on the different models of the 25 before ordering.

The HD 25 has not changed from the first to the current one - they will all sound the same.

The differences were in the cable length and connector.

HD 25-1 had a 1.2m cable with a rt-angle connector.
HD 25-1 II had a 1.5m cable with a rt-angle connector.
HD 25 II had a 2m cable with a straight connector
The above had a steel cable with 3.5mm jack and adaptor to ¼" jack

HD 25-13 and HD 25-13 II were 600Ω, had a 3m cable and a ¼" jack only.

HD 25-C II had a 2/3m coiled copper cable.

The latest versions are just re-packaged and less versions.

It's only the HD 25-SP and SP II that sounded different as they were down-rated and had a cheap headband instead of the split one.

https://en-us.sennheiser.com/what-ar...t-hd-25-models