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Golden Age of Japanese Audio

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anmpr1

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A turntable that costs 500k. How do they transfer torque from the motor to the platter: via rubber band of course!
But it's a very special rubber band. And expensive. You can bet on that. If you have a Chiron parked in your garage, shuttle between your offices in a Bell 429, and pour Lafite Rolthschild as your everyday table wine, then spending 500 large on a record player is nothing for your checkbook. I'm not even going to say that it's not the best record player in the world. Could be. But even if it is, what do you have? Kind of like owning a hand made diamond studded top cow quality full grain leather buggy whip for your carriage. Certainly nice to have. And arguably the best, I guess.

FWIW: below are some figures from HiFi News on 3 record players--pounds converted to dollars:

Technics SL-1000R (the new SP-10 system $24,560.00)........time to reach speed <1 sec...... w/f 0.01......rumble -74.9;
Air Force III (low end Air Force product $36,000.00).............time to reach speed <8 sec...... w/f 0.02......rumble -70.8
Dual CS 600 (new product from old name $1,798.00).........time to reach speed <4 sec...... w/f 0.04......rumble -71.4.

Obviously you are not paying for conventional specs. For those of us on the low end, I am happy to report that the Dual 'sounded' pretty good according to the reviewer. Not the best, but OK. It had sufficient 'slam'; I didn't find a measurement for slam, so it's hard to say exactly how much slam it had.
 
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BigVU's

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For some reason the Yamaha MX10000 or even the MX2000 are very difficult to find for sale. McIntosh, Accuphase, have a number of options for resale. These must be true keepers! Big VU's of course!

BTW does a 25K turntable really sound better than a 2K? I get make and etc.. but isn't the plastic quality of the disc equally important? Who's carving wax anymore? Do record companies still send out digital masters to be produced on a record? Would imagine it they do it comes with an added cost.

BTW. I am hopeful for more recording in multichannel 24/96 or better - just a more immersive sound to me.

See learning from this site. well enough to be dangerous. well I have no idea what I am talking about.
 

Sal1950

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I'm not even going to say that it's not the best record player in the world. Could be. But even if it is, what do you have?

lol-snap-crackle-pop-takes-on-a-whole-new-meaning-53669394.png
 
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anmpr1

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BTW does a 25K turntable really sound better than a 2K? I get make and etc.. but isn't the plastic quality of the disc equally important?
The recording, then the quality of the plastic. Those are the main determinants. Then, the cartridge/record player. As long as you don't have a dog, the big thing is the recording and the plastic.

I'm a big record fan, having grown up in that era. I find find the best stuff for the medium is typically older material. Example: today I listened to some Gerry Mulligan arrangements for Gene Krupa, Elliot Lawrence, and Mulligan's own band. Recorded between '46 and '57. Monophonic. You could easily recognize original recording 'problems' (limited dynamic range and no low bass), but once you got used to the mix the sound was OK. I doubt a CD remaster would be worth buying if you already have the record. The actual release was from 1977, on CBS, and not marred by surface noise. It was actually pretty good for what it was, which was pretty surprising since CBS records were not known for high quality, and had the moniker "Cost Before Sound".

On the other hand, anything recorded with care, from about 1990 on, would probably be better in digits, I'm thinking.
 

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I am no expert on audio but it strikes me that the part of the chain where you can make a difference in SQ is the speakers, both in terms of speaker design and set up in room. Or headphones for headphone users. Digital music achieved transparency a long time ago and provided that the amplifier is suitable for the the speaker demands then decent amplifiers have been audibly transparent for a long time I think.
Multi-channel could make a big difference, it has been a mature idea for a long time but hasn't really penetrated the mainstream. Even in the AV segment most people seem happy with 2.1 or 3.1 soundbar set ups. I hoped wireless would unlock the gate for much wider multi channel penetration by eliminating the faff of running wiring around a room but it doesn't seem to have worked quite yet.

Those unsightly power cords are still a problem to many.
 

Sal1950

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Multi-channel could make a big difference, it has been a mature idea for a long time but hasn't really penetrated the mainstream. Even in the AV segment most people seem happy with 2.1 or 3.1 soundbar set ups. I hoped wireless would unlock the gate for much wider multi channel penetration by eliminating the faff of running wiring around a room but it doesn't seem to have worked quite yet.
Those unsightly power cords are still a problem to many.
Real problem is and always will be the "wife accecptance factor" and the 5 or more large speakers in the room. Wired or totally wireless the same issue remains, the speakers. I've had a home theater/multi channel rig in my living room since around 1975 and couldn't begin to tell you how many rounds I've fought with one house mouse or another over having a room full of speakers. (Not to mention insisting on making certain decorating decisions like heavy drapes and such to tame room acoustics. LOL)
Really in the big picture its even having 2 large speakers in a room that has killed a lot of the high fidelity craze over the last 3-4 decades. I remember when everyone had a audio shrine in the house back in the 1960-80s. Now it's a little Sono's tube hidden in the corner. :(
Stand up guys. :p
 

Wombat

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Real problem is and always will be the "wife accecptance factor" and the 5 or more large speakers in the room. Wired or totally wireless the same issue remains, the speakers. I've had a home theater/multi channel rig in my living room since around 1975 and couldn't begin to tell you how many rounds I've fought with one house mouse or another over having a room full of speakers. (Not to mention insisting on making certain decorating decisions like heavy drapes and such to tame room acoustics. LOL)
Really in the big picture its even having 2 large speakers in a room that has killed a lot of the high fidelity craze over the last 3-4 decades. I remember when everyone had a audio shrine in the house back in the 1960-80s. Now it's a little Sono's tube hidden in the corner. :(
Stand up guys. :p

Do women accept those little things even when hidden? I have always considered WAF to be a power-game thing, i.e. control of the 'nest'.
 

Sal1950

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Do women accept those little things even when hidden? I have always considered WAF to be a power-game thing, i.e. control of the 'nest'.
I doubt it, your probably right with the power-game thing. :)
Never having a big house with separate living, family, media rooms. We had the "front-living room" and that was it, so I always just put my foot down saying they could do anything they wished with the rest of the house but the front room was mine to setup my entertainment systems.
That would work for a while but every so often she would press an issue to see how far she could get and a war would go on for a few days. LOL
 

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I doubt it, your probably right with the power-game thing. :)
Never having a big house with separate living, family, media rooms. We had the "front-living room" and that was it, so I always just put my foot down saying they could do anything they wished with the rest of the house but the front room was mine to setup my entertainment systems.
That would work for a while but every so often she would press an issue to see how far she could get and a war would go on for a few days. LOL

First Date:
"I LOVE sports cars...can we go for a drive"

"Mmm...cool stereo...i LOVE music."

"Ohhh...your dog is so adorable...i LOVE dogs!"


A few dates later:
You know, this car has a pretty rough ride...and it doesn't get very good mileage does it? Especially the way YOU drive...and did you know that was a cop?!

Couldn't you move that speaker over onto the other wall? Oh, and I really don't like it so loud, I want you to be able to hear me when I'm talking. My mother would definitely tell you to turn that down.

YOUR DOG just ate another pair of my panties, and he pee'd on my shoes! Do you have to walk him so much?

Rinse, repeat...
 

JJB70

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Those unsightly power cords are still a problem to many.

One of the problems we have here is that the number of power sockets provided in many houses is completely inadequate for the modern world. My parents house had two outlets in each room. My own house was a new build when we bought it 11 years ago and although it is a lot better it is still not as good as I would like.
 

BigVU's

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Did some looking around. To my surprise, they have fired up the kilns and there are ton remasters out on vinyl. CD's are 5bucks and digital remasters printed on plastic are back - 20bucks and up. I hadn't realized. It appears many of the remasters are more available in plastic than on SACD or DVD audio formats.

Not sure a digital remaster played on a vintage turntable would provide any better SQ than just being nostalgic preference. I am going to add a table to my system once I get it going. Get some frisbees and see how it sounds.

Some one may know but weren't the masters of the 70's early eighties recorded on fat tape saved on fat tape and copied to send out to wax machines? So even a digital remaster of these would be transposing from that original recording?

Wouldn't a reel to reel be a even more original format then? I would like one of those eventually for sure.
 

JJB70

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SACD is pretty much moribund, and DVD Audio pretty much dead. I have a few blu ray audio discs, the main benefit is you get the complete ring cycle, Bruckner symphonies etc on a single disc if you still prefer optical drives.
 

Sal1950

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One of the problems we have here is that the number of power sockets provided in many houses is completely inadequate for the modern world. My parents house had two outlets in each room.
That's high tech. My old house up in Chicago was built in the late teens or early 20s. It had one outlet in each bedroom and the dining room, two in the living room, and around 4 in the kitchen (but it had been remodeled at one point). 2 into 6 adapters, power strips and extension cords were a way of life there. LOL
51dZHEhjhtL._SX425_.jpg
 

Sal1950

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That's nothing. The house I grew up in had few outlets and absolutely no outlets with grounding. We used dangerous three-to-two prong adapters wherever we had to plug in a three-pronged device or a surge protector.
Same here. We had changed the outlets to 3 prong so everything didn't have the adapters hanging from them.
Then the ceiling light fixtures, we were trying to put in a box for a modern fixture install but the old setup had a pipe that a fan was hung from. We uncapped the pipe only to find it was still a live gas line. o_O
 

pozz

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Sal1950

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anmpr1

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Wouldn't a reel to reel be a even more original format then? I would like one of those eventually for sure.
Unless you have money to throw, the LAST thing you want is an open reel deck. Save your dollars for something that won't give you nearly as much trouble. That you can actually get parts for, and probably work on yourself. Like an old MG or Fiat Spider. As horrible quality as they are, they look as cool as a reel to reel, are a lot more fun once you get it going, and you are still able to buy gasoline at a reasonable price.
 
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anmpr1

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That's high tech. My old house up in Chicago was built in the late teens or early 20s. It had one outlet in each bedroom and the dining room, two in the living room, and around 4 in the kitchen (but it had been remodeled at one point). 2 into 6 adapters, power strips and extension cords were a way of life there. LOL
I think this is actually what you mean...

christmas.jpg
 

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