500 members - a small but significant milestone!

[anthonyTD]

hi guys,
back to the ipod thing,what is the best way to download your own albums onto it, ie what software to use to convert your own CD,s and music allready on your computer to ipod.
come on you digi techs...
anthony...

[Marco]

Hi Anthony,

I'd start a seperate thread in The Digital Impression and ask your question there. You'll get a better response that way rather than it getting lost in here

Peter and Griffo, I'll come back to you later.

Marco.

[anthonyTD]

okey dokey...
tiss done ohh great lord and master...

[Marco]

Roberto has answered your question, amigo

Marco.

[Marco]

Peter,

Paris was great when I first got here, but I find it too urban now, not enough green. Takes too long to get to the golf course .

It's a sad sign of the times, mate. It's that 'urban greyness' and 'gloom' which I hate about cities, and the way people are running about like headless chickens overrunning their lives with work - everything is rush, rush, rush, hustle bustle - a total bloody nightmare!

I honestly think that in rush hour in the London underground (a truly dreadful experience if you've ever had to endure it) if you dropped down dead people would just trample over you as they stampede their way towards work, home, or whatever. No-one cares about anything else but their own little 'zone'. I really couldn't handle that sort of existence and the huge pressure that everyone seems to be under. It's an existence not a life.

Is Paris like that too now - or is it a little more relaxed?

We're a few clicks away in the surburbs, only 10 minutes away on the train, it's a bit quieter and a bit greener. We also have a very fine community theatre at the end of our street, with plays and music. I've signed up for 4 or 5 jazz shows there, including Stacey Kent, Stefano di Battista and Ron Carter (yes, the ex Miles Davis sideman).

That sounds great. That's one benefit of living in a city, I guess. I love live music, and have actually just been listening to Stacey Kent: 'Breakfast on the Morning Tram', oddly enough as I've been having my morning croissant and jam – a rather pleasant way to start the day

I've cut down enormously on wine, still have 120 or so bottles in cellar, but we're only drinking 1 a week. I'm afraid some of it will be vinegar before we get to it!

Well, I could always pop over and 'help you out' - I'm good that way, you know

Marco.

[Marco]

Hi Griffo,

Marco, I know exactly where you are coming from. I owned a Valhalla LP12 and upgraded it to the Cikus/Lingo level. It became much more neutral and the colourations were much more obvious. However, I would argue in going more neutral the up to date LP12 wasn't as much fun. The older spec LP12 just had me wanting to listen to records ALL the time even if it meant going without sleep. At time I still wonder if neutrality is what I'm after. The Orbe SE, imo, was a serious step up from the fully kitted out LP12.

I completely agree. I had an LP12/Valhalla/Ittok/Karma in the mid 80s, which at the time sounded wonderful. It had a really rich, rhythmic, 'bouncy' sound, which 'hooked' you to the music. Yes, (as I know now) it was undoubtedly coloured, but it sure as hell was fun to listen to. Subsequent 'higher end' LP12s purchased sounded 'cleaner' and more precise sounding - more 'CD-like', if you will, but they had definitely lost the magic and addictiveness my earlier deck had.

And that's the whole point about LP12s... The fact is they're fundamentally flawed from the outset because of their poor speed stability (in comparison to something like a 1210) so what's the point in trying to make them more 'accurate'? All you end up doing is removing their 'fun factor'! It's a bit like pouring away the plastic tasting, preservative-laden sauce from a supermarket ready meal - by doing so you might be making it 'less artificial', but it's still fundamentally artificial...

So just enjoy it for what it is, if you like that kind of thing!

By the way it's good hear you mention the Brinkmann and Verdier decks. I've been lucky enough to hear both decks on a couple of occasions now and they are both amongst the very best source components I've heard. The build quality on the Brinkmann is superb.

It is indeed, and they are two of my favourite non-D/D turntables. Thing is, in terms of sound-per-pound are they really worth the money? - Because that's where I'm at these days. In real terms, how much better (if any) would they be to my heavily modifed 1210?

My answer to the first question is a resounding 'no', simply because of the laws of diminishing returns at this level. Yes, both decks are beautiful things to look at, but with hi-fi I'm not into nice looking ornaments. They would both have to be *massively* better sonically than what I use, and having heard both, whilst being superb, I really don't think that's the case. My KAB 1210 has already gone toe-to-toe with a superb Slatedeck SP10 - a D/D deck highly revered and respected amongst audiophiles, and come away with honours even. So, quite frankly, I would put it up against anything on the market and not feel that it would be disgraced.

There are new DD decks coming out, the GP Monaco, the Brinkmann Oasis and SAP of Italy have a very interesting DD deck out there.

Yep, they'll all undoubtedly be superb decks, but I don't think their cost is justified considering that a fully modified/maxed-out brand new KAB 1210MK5G like mine costs well under £2k. I seriously doubt it would be far off (if at all) the performance offered by any of the above. Yes they'll be nicer looking and 'shinier', but the core components and overall design methodology I doubt would be any better. What you're paying for mostly is the audiophile badge.

As for Lencos, don't go there. I bought a lovely Leak example of one - an L75 in lovely condition. This has a bouncy plinth, but not in the same level of engineering as an LP12 or Michell deck. The plan was to slap it ina new plinth and get new arm for it. It's still sat there 2 years later. The mains cable has a very old 2 pin plug on it so it probably needs changing and the wiring updated.

That sounds very nice actually, so why not go there if someone is interested?

I was so looking forward to go idler drive. I refuse to sell it, 2 people have asked me, even the lid is immaculate and with a single mark on it, but it just looks so lovely. I'll get some time and get it sorted at some point. So that'll be a belt, suspended deck, a DD drive and an idler drive. I am just very greedy.

As Confucius says: man can never have too many turntables

Marco.

[snapper]

WOW!

Major thread drift.

Anyway,it's good to see there is more than 500 members and even better,the diversity of contributing members.

Dealers,manufacturers,DIYers,hobbyists and music lovers makes for a good and interesting forum.

Well done admin.

[griffo104]

Marco, your last reply to me is pretty spot on. The problem has come with CD with regards to turntables. As cd brought improvements, very few actually to do with music in my honest opinion, then in order to continue to compete and better the cd players, turntable manufacturers ahve removed some of their flavouring (artificial or natural) and tried to show how accurate and neutral a deck can be.

I have a major problem with SME and their decks in this respect. Yes, they are neutral but sometimes to the point of being too accurate and taking some of the fun out of it. If I had that sort of money then offerings from the likes of Brinkmann, Kuzma and Verdier all bring something more musical and less accurate.

Of course some of these companies don't have the huge economies of scale that a company such as Technics has available. Sourcing and machining of parts and quality looks do add to the pride of ownership that should come with the price of something like the LaGrange deck. In my opinion, I agree with you about the sound quality being more important than the looks but for any statement product there's no excuse for it to look like it's been knocked up in shed.

If the purchaser can justify the extra cost of the looks then why not ? As you mention it's form and function may be available at a lesser price but seeing quality workmanship on a product created in low numbers will always require a premium price.

As for going off topic from the original idea of the thread to improve the forum, I think openly chatting about hifi from both ye olde worlde turntables to modern computer based audio which thread has done, without any petty arguments, is exactly the kind of improvement a forum would want

this has been a thoroughly enjoyable thread. A forum is only as good as the topics being discussed and the participants. Get that right and the forum will sort itself out.

Anyway it Friday, it's nearly lunch time and I think I've earned a lunch time pint this week.

[StanleyB]

I am a member on a social forum where the administrator has brought in some worthwile ideas. These include:
1. Monthly report on the top 10 posters.
2. Monthly report on the top 5 thread starters.
3. Monthly report on new members signing up.
4. The top 5 posters and top 5 thread starters get a star for the month to show that they are tops. The number one posters and thread starters get it mentioned above their avatar as ' Ace of the Month'.
5. Come CHristmas time, the top three in each section gets a Christmas prize, donated by other members. Last year I won some HP ink cartridges. The top prize was a free dinner at one of the members' restaurant. Of course, that was an excuse for a forum meet, and many people showed up.

Maybe something in there for us to think about. It's all for fun, and that's what it should be.

[Filterlab]

Oooh, some nifty things there Stan, certainly worth bandying about in 'the office'.