Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

MikeH said:
You think 45s are pesky to listen to? Wait until you try reels hah

I don’t understand why people would buy a $60 record from Chad, then buy a $60 tape to transfer it to.

I don’t think those AP reels are going to drop in price from $500 to anywhere close to LP price. Even doing a Quick Look on eBay for reels, many are $200+ and the listings say they have no way to test them so you’re buying as is.
Click to expand...
Oh no way those AP tapes drop to LP level pricing but I guess we'll find out if the market supports the $500 price point.
Seems higher than it should be but maybe it's priced right. I don't really know.

Have you seen the video of how Matt Luthens makes those tapes in the old church?
Kind of clever by Chad and Matt. They obviously have a vested interest in this going forward.
 
displayname said:
A good reel to reel is truly amazing. And a decent deck isn’t that much in some cases. But sourcing good tape, setting it up, etc. ooof.
It’s a lot. Whenever I’m even remotely considering it though, I just compare it to vinyl.

$500 tape, or 4 one step vinyls, or 10-12 brand new records, or 20+ used records.
It’s a hard sell.

If you want a good middle ground, get an excellent turntable set up, and pursue lacquer. It’s honestly great, costs the same as tape, but doesn’t require extra gear.



Click to expand...

I think I have seen these mastercut albums before.
It seems odd that someone would pay extra to get an album cut from copy tapes.

I'm sure they sound good but what are you gaining from something KG or RKS already cut from the real master tape?
 
Jbraswell said:
I'm sure they sound good but what are you gaining from something KG or RKS already cut from the real master tape?
Click to expand...
Think of it like any other form of making a copy.

A standard vinyl record goes like this:
tape > lacquer > stamper > vinyl
So a copy, of a copy of a copy. And it's using that stamper to print multiple vinyl pressings, so in theory the first press with a fresh stamper will sound better than the 500th press with that stamper.

One step is the same as above, but it's always getting the first press with a fresh stamper.

Now a lacquer eliminates 2 steps. It's direct from the tape, and if you had the right equipment you could create stampers and produce your own pressings. But at the end of the day tape is king, lacquer is just one step away.

It's not a pursuit I personally would take. But I do think if someone is interested in tape, this is a big step closer to tape with less overhead costs.
 
displayname said:
Think of it like any other form of making a copy.

A standard vinyl record goes like this:
tape > lacquer > stamper > vinyl
So a copy, of a copy of a copy. And it's using that stamper to print multiple vinyl pressings, so in theory the first press with a fresh stamper will sound better than the 500th press with that stamper.

One step is the same as above, but it's always getting the first press with a fresh stamper.

Now a lacquer eliminates 2 steps. It's direct from the tape, and if you had the right equipment you could create stampers and produce your own pressings. But at the end of the day tape is king, lacquer is just one step away.

It's not a pursuit I personally would take. But I do think if someone is interested in tape, this is a big step closer to tape with less overhead costs.
Click to expand...

Isn’t lacquer really delicate and easily destroyed though. In that creating the father destroys it and a new one has to be created from the master tape/file for every new father you create. My understanding is that father is the stamper for a one step and then a subsequent 2 steps, mother then stamper, are used for standard presses. I don’t know that I’d want to invest that much money in such a fragile product.

I think that was how mofi got caught out with the 40,000 one steps of whacko showing that they had to use a digital transfer as no company is letting you run their master tape 40 times!
 
displayname said:
Think of it like any other form of making a copy.

A standard vinyl record goes like this:
tape > lacquer > stamper > vinyl
So a copy, of a copy of a copy. And it's using that stamper to print multiple vinyl pressings, so in theory the first press with a fresh stamper will sound better than the 500th press with that stamper.

One step is the same as above, but it's always getting the first press with a fresh stamper.

Now a lacquer eliminates 2 steps. It's direct from the tape, and if you had the right equipment you could create stampers and produce your own pressings. But at the end of the day tape is king, lacquer is just one step away.

It's not a pursuit I personally would take. But I do think if someone is interested in tape, this is a big step closer to tape with less overhead costs.
Click to expand...
I'm not really a fan of the one step narrative.
KG recently called it a scam, which has caused a tizzy in the industry.:oops:
I came to grips when buying a one step that it's mainly for the increased vinyl compound quality and a limited qty run for a particular mastering.
Kind of the same story with UHQR. The packaging and all the other marketing stuff is just filler to up the price.
I have never been sold on the sonic marvels of a one step process. At least I can't pick it up with my ears.
 
Joe Mac said:
Isn’t lacquer really delicate and easily destroyed though
Click to expand...
I don't know all the details on your other questions, but I know the answer to this is yes - absolutely delicate. When I have seen someone handle a lacquer, they wore gloves and did not open it until it was just about to hit the TT.

Remember, I'm not talking in comparison to records. I just own records. I personally don't even buy One Step albums. I have no desire to take ownership of these platforms, despite their superior playback capabilities. I have heard all of them at this point in others high end systems.
But I'm talking in comparison to tape, which is no cake walk either. Tape, even when untouched in a controlled environment, will still deteriorate. So when untrained and unfamiliar hands are handling tape, it's likely also not getting 100% proper treatment, despite the owners best efforts.

And at the end of the day, tape is definitely superior. 100%. BUT I'm just advising before blindly diving into a reel to reel, maybe try a lacquer to two first. See if chasing down titles at extreme prices is even worth your effort before you dive into the rabbit hole of tape.
 
Jbraswell said:
I'm not really a fan of the one step narrative.
KG recently called it a scam, which has caused a tizzy in the industry.:oops:
I came to grips when buying a one step that it's mainly for the increased vinyl compound quality and a limited qty run for a particular mastering.
Kind of the same story with UHQR. The packaging and all the other marketing stuff is just filler to up the price.
I have never been sold on the sonic marvels of a one step process. At least I can't pick it up with my ears.
Click to expand...
My main argument this is that plenty of credible folks also don't speak highly of cables, certain room treatments, isolation platforms, high end turn tables, or many other hifi elements. I'm not trying to prove or disprove any of those with this comment, and I don't want to take away from either side of that debate. Just TRY stuff when you are given the opportunity. For some people, you may need to invest blindly to try it, which is part of the hobby for some.

Try, listen, see where you land. When given the opportunity, try it again. Sometimes things make much bigger impacts in different systems, and different rooms. I think people are far to quick to write things off based on others opinions and theory. But nothing should surpass your own experience for your music consumption.
 
displayname said:
I don't know all the details on your other questions, but I know the answer to this is yes - absolutely delicate. When I have seen someone handle a lacquer, they wore gloves and did not open it until it was just about to hit the TT.

Remember, I'm not talking in comparison to records. I just own records. I personally don't even buy One Step albums. I have no desire to take ownership of these platforms, despite their superior playback capabilities. I have heard all of them at this point in others high end systems.
But I'm talking in comparison to tape, which is no cake walk either. Tape, even when untouched in a controlled environment, will still deteriorate. So when untrained and unfamiliar hands are handling tape, it's likely also not getting 100% proper treatment, despite the owners best efforts.

And at the end of the day, tape is definitely superior. 100%. BUT I'm just advising before blindly diving into a reel to reel, maybe try a lacquer to two first. See if chasing down titles at extreme prices is even worth your effort before you dive into the rabbit hole of tape.
Click to expand...

I think I’d just say pass and stick with records lol. I have a couple of one steps and they’re nice but it’s not something I want hundreds of.
 
displayname said:
My main argument this is that plenty of credible folks also don't speak highly of cables, certain room treatments, isolation platforms, high end turn tables, or many other hifi elements. I'm not trying to prove or disprove any of those with this comment, and I don't want to take away from either side of that debate. Just TRY stuff when you are given the opportunity. For some people, you may need to invest blindly to try it, which is part of the hobby for some.

Try, listen, see where you land. When given the opportunity, try it again. Sometimes things make much bigger impacts in different systems, and different rooms. I think people are far to quick to write things off based on others opinions and theory. But nothing should surpass your own experience for your music consumption.
Click to expand...
Yeah it's really almost impossible to try everything before buying.
But that's part of the fun. And I agree to keep trying different things.
That's how you learn something new.
 
Jbraswell said:
I'm not really a fan of the one step narrative.
KG recently called it a scam, which has caused a tizzy in the industry.:oops:
I came to grips when buying a one step that it's mainly for the increased vinyl compound quality and a limited qty run for a particular mastering.
Kind of the same story with UHQR. The packaging and all the other marketing stuff is just filler to up the price.
I have never been sold on the sonic marvels of a one step process. At least I can't pick it up with my ears.
Click to expand...
There are a few one steps that have beaten out any other pressings I've had of those albums. I'm not sold that the one step itself is the reason why--likely mastering choices and the quiet vinyl compound.
 
Andy said:
Great to hear you getting such a good sound. I must admit I’m slightly nervous about the digital element great to hear that it does sound digital. I think I need to trial one
Click to expand...
If it makes you feel better, the signal path from the turntable into the amp is all analog - is that right, @Nee Lewman? Room correction processing in the amp, and I assume it's not doing headphone correction/flattening as well, the headphone out is sans-processing?
 
HayesWeighsIn said:
If it makes you feel better, the signal path from the turntable into the amp is all analog - is that right, @Nee Lewman? Room correction processing in the amp, and I assume it's not doing headphone correction/flattening as well, the headphone out is sans-processing?
Click to expand...
Yes, except I’m using the pre in the amp. Whatever setting you have on DIRAC in BluOS will be used in any other output source. That being said, it’s simple to turn off.
 
MacDonals said:
I want someone to play devil's advocate for me, and I hope this crew can help. Let's pretend I have an opportunity to buy myself a congratulatory gift on a healthy budget and am considering a McIntosh MAC7200 amp. This would be an endgame amp for me.

It's a brand name, and I'd be buying it partially for its cachet and as a conversation piece. Technically, is it considered overrated? Why isn't it worth the money?
Click to expand...
I’d buy a MAC7200 and it would be totally worth it.
 
Jbraswell said:
I'm not really a fan of the one step narrative.
KG recently called it a scam, which has caused a tizzy in the industry.:oops:
I came to grips when buying a one step that it's mainly for the increased vinyl compound quality and a limited qty run for a particular mastering.
Kind of the same story with UHQR. The packaging and all the other marketing stuff is just filler to up the price.
I have never been sold on the sonic marvels of a one step process. At least I can't pick it up with my ears.
Click to expand...
I personally don’t think too much of 1 Steps. Definitely not bad by any means, but the MoFi/Craft/UHQR ones I have still don’t beat the standard 45’s I have from Music Matters Jazz (I don’t think MMJ’s SRX is/was necessarily better than their 45’s either). Granted I don’t have a MMJ and 1 Steps of the same title, so this is just my impression. The few 1 Steps I bought were because I liked the albums and wanted the fancier packaging and book.
 
SnowmaNick said:
I personally don’t think too much of 1 Steps. Definitely not bad by any means, but the MoFi/Craft/UHQR ones I have still don’t beat the standard 45’s I have from Music Matters Jazz (I don’t think MMJ’s SRX is/was necessarily better than their 45’s either). Granted I don’t have a MMJ and 1 Steps of the same title, so this is just my impression. The few 1 Steps I bought were because I liked the albums and wanted the fancier packaging and book.
Click to expand...
The KOB45 and Exodus UHQRs are pretty phenomenal sounding.
I give most credit to the mastering, but the quiet vinyl is cool.

The two one steps I have Relaxin and Folk Singer were ok.
I like the Miles but sold Folk Singer back.

I did order the one step of Dookie after saying I was done buying anymore of them.
90s alternative is pretty slim pickings for high quality reissues.

All this to say yeah buy it for the title and not the plating marketing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top