Jump to content

zumbini

Resident
  • Posts

    10,295
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    319

Everything posted by zumbini

  1. Howdy Steve and welcome aboard the Carver train!
  2. I've been using cheap Maxell CD-R's ($11/100) and RiData DVD+R's ($17/100) for the last few years with great success. I've only produced a few coasters out of ~500 burns and those were caused by eMule which runs 24/7 in the background.
  3. Now imagine doing that more than 200 times!
  4. 20 years ago I made provisions in my will for my gear and music collection to go to my youngest brother. Now that his system is as good as mine (probably better) I amended my will to leave it to my son. I also keep a database of my hardware AND software.
  5. He probably has a few MILLION records I don't have.... Thanks for the link Audioquest!
  6. I have original vinyl releases of Beck-Ola, Rough and Ready, Beck, Bogart & Appice, Blow By Blow and Wired . Most of these LP's hold up well, even against the MoFi Gold CD's. (Beck, Bogart & Appice is a notable exception.)
  7. I've been searching for a good explanation of the MoFi procedure but all I've come up with is this ad hype: Mobile Fidelity's significant contributions to the world of high-end audio software are grounded in the art of Original Master Recording, significantly advanced by the company with the introduction of the half-speed mastered Original Master Recording™ LP. As part of the company's resolve to provide the most accurate sonic reproductions possible, all Mobile Fidelity product is mastered directly from the original master tape as opposed to production copies often used for mass reproduction. This ensures a more complete and exacting transfer of the original musical data. In the case of the Original Master Recording™ (OMR) LP, the use of the master tape is combined with a unique procedure known as "half-speed" mastering, which literally slows down the cutting system involved in mastering vinyl so that musical information can be transferred from the source tape to the lacquer with greater precision. To this advanced mastering technique, Mobile Fidelity adds substantial refinements in the vinyl compound itself and improves methods of plating the lacquer. The result is a significant improvement in overall.
  8. The actual results vary widely depending on the quality of the master tape and the expertise of the mastering engineer. There were also some sonic differences between the early Japanese pressings and the Ultradisc II's pressed in the US. It's been a while since I A/B'd them but IIRC I was disappointed with Santana Abraxas and Metallica Master Of Puppets. Both of these Ultradiscs had excessive clicks and pops and less dynamic range than the original releases. However, most of the MoFi releases were IMHO better than the original releases with less noise and increased dynamic range. Some of my favorties are: Beatles Abbey Road Crosby, Stills and Nash Deja Vu Grateful Dead American Beauty Jethro Tull Aqualung Moody Blues Days of Future Passed Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon Steely Dan Aja Steely Dan Katy Lied Yes Close to the Edge As to how they manage to fit extra bass on an Ultradisc I believe it's a result of cutting the lacquers at 1/2 speed.
  9. Damn I'm out of touch. I just checked prices at SoundStageDirect and was shocked to say the least. Most of my vinyl collection was purchased for a buck (or less) out of bargain bins at local record stores. The bulk of my CD collection was purchased used for $4.00-$8.00 per disc from Chicago Digital. Once I got over the initial sticker shock I realized that SoundStageDirect's prices are not all that bad. I paid roughly the same price for 100's of Mobile Fidelity 1/2 speed masters purchased 30 years ago. Those MF releases make up less than 5% of my LP's by volume but account for more than 40% of the cost. The bottom line is I'll probably treat myself occasionally but continue to buy most of my music at garage sales. Squeek, squeek, squeek...
  10. zumbini

    Favorite Quotes

    "If you push something hard enough, it will fall over." (Fudd's First Law of Opposition) "It goes in, it must come out.." (Teslacle's Deviant to Fudd's Law) from I Think We're All Bozos On this Bus (Firesign Theatre, 1971)
  11. Congrats on your Master Builder award Balok. You certainly deserve it.
  12. What! No leaded-glass doors? Super job Balok! It's much more intricate and furniture like than what I made.
  13. Thanks for the link Steve. I love looking at pictures of cool toys!
  14. zumbini

    Favorite Quotes

    I didn't get it at the time, but that was the point my dad was trying to instill in me. Hey Bill, aren't you supposed to be in bed, recovering from pneumonia?
  15. zumbini

    Favorite Quotes

    My dad often quoted from this poem and I find myself doing the same to my son on occasion. If by Rudyard Kipling If you can keep you head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you. If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,\ Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat these two imposters just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And - which is more - you’ll be a Man, my son!
  16. zumbini

    Favorite Quotes

    Everyone is a genius at least once a year. The real geniuses simply have their bright ideas closer together. Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
  17. zumbini

    Favorite Quotes

    "The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." Mark Twain
  18. zumbini

    Favorite Quotes

    "Reality is a crutch for people who can't cope with drugs." - Lily Tomlin
  19. I've been a huge Santana fan since I saw the band during the Abraxas tour in 1970 (I think). 40 years later Carlos is still going strong. What's better than Carlos? How 'bout Carlos and Eric Clapton!
  20. I saw Little Feat twice at Alpine Valley in WI and three times at various venues in Chicago in the mid to late 70's and early 80's. The only folks who managed to sit through any of those concerts were confined to wheelchairs. I rank those shows with Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon concerts (in Phoenix and Chicago in 1973) and Led Zeppelin's stadium busters in 1969, 1970, 1972 and 1974.
  21. Just about anything by Little Feat. No one sits through a Little Feat concert!
  22. zumbini

    Favorite Quotes

    Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)
×
×
  • Create New...