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foxysounds
11-02-2009, 11:29
Hi everyone, allow me to introduce myself ...

My name is Simon, I'm 36 and I'm from Essex. I was bitten by the hi-fi bug sometime in my teens. I'm not sure what caused it but I've always loved music (I'm a musician of sorts) and I guess it just made sense to want to make it sound as good as possible. Between then and about the age of 30 my hi-fi was regularly upgraded whenever I could scrape together enough money to do so but since then it's been fairly static (mainly because I have an even more expensive hobby now!). My current hi-fi is modest by comparison with many here but I enjoy the sound it makes which I guess is all that matters.

My current set up is: Marantz PM6010OSE amp and Marantz CD6000OSE CD player on an Atacama Equinox stand, bi-wired JPW AP2 loudspeakers on sand-filled Atacama SE24 stands and a Dual CS505 mk III turntable with an Audio Technica AT110E cartridge on a Sound Organisation shelf. There is also a tape deck connected but I'm struggling to remember the last time I used it :) I can't remember what the interconnects or speaker cables are.

The turntable is obviously the weak link in my system but I so rarely listen to vinyl these days that it would be hard to justify an upgrade - not because I have any particular aversion to vinyl but simply because my musical tastes have evolved over the years and so the albums I have on vinyl are now ones I rarely feel the urge to listen to. I have a wide range of musical styles in my CD collection but these days I mainly listen to progressive rock and progressive metal.

I found this forum while searching for an answer to a particular problem I have so I'll be open and honest and admit that my main motive for joining here is to ask a question but having read quite a few threads here now it seems like the sort of place I might like to hang about so I'm also looking forward to joining in the discussions here :)

Regards,

Simon.

Marco
11-02-2009, 15:50
Hi Simon,

Welcome to AOS :)

Nice introduction - I wish everyone was as thorough ;)

Marco.

Beechwoods
11-02-2009, 19:58
Hi Simon, and welcome :) I think it's fair to say that the Art Of Sound way is very much about maximum sound for minimum pound, and there's no willy waving here - so don't worry about being 'modest' on any score!

There are a few of us here with a thing for progressive rock / or prog-metal. Me... Neil, John, Haselsh1... What are your fave bands in that area? Prog-Metal wise I'm currently going through a bit of a Dan Swanö thing, definitely check out Moontower (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usPygNbJl5Y), and Crimson II by Edge Of Sanity (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzU5bJD3RHE), one of the many bands he's played in.

John
11-02-2009, 21:02
Hi Simon
Another prog metal fan wowww welcome
Around the Turntable I have both Images and Words and When Dream and Day Unite on LP and sound great and if you into stuff like Rush the vinyl albums such of Moving Pictures and A Farewell to the kings have a very high quality production
On the prog front most of the albums are on vinyl (and sound great)but wish I could get bands like Pain Of Salavation to record on LP but probarly be the only one to buy the vinyl version. Its a shame vinyl is not better represented within the prog metal genre. What bands do you like
You could always go down a similar route to Nick around cheap but good sounding TT

foxysounds
11-02-2009, 23:07
... What are your fave bands in that area? Prog-Metal wise I'm currently going through a bit of a Dan Swanö thing ...
Hi Nick and thanks for the warm welcome :) I haven't heard of Dan Swanö but I'll definitely check out the links you provided - thanks.

My favourite prog (in no particular order and I'm probably missing out plenty) would include Spock's Beard, Yes, Rush, early Dream Theater (by which I mean everything upto the point where Kevin Moore left), early Marillion (upto the point where Fish left), Queensryche, early Queen, Kino, Transatlantic and I've just recently been discovering Vanden Plas, IQ, Opeth and Redemption.

Just listening to some Spock's Beard as I type :)

Simon.

foxysounds
11-02-2009, 23:20
Hi Simon
Another prog metal fan wowww welcome
Thanks!

Around the Turntable I have both Images and Words and When Dream and Day Unite on LP and sound great and if you into stuff like Rush the vinyl albums such of Moving Pictures and A Farewell to the kings have a very high quality production
You just managed to name four of my favourite albums in one sentance :) (although I have them all on CD). I have some Rush albums on vinyl along with some early Marillion and plenty more besides.

On the prog front most of the albums are on vinyl (and sound great)but wish I could get bands like Pain Of Salavation to record on LP but probarly be the only one to buy the vinyl version. Its a shame vinyl is not better represented within the prog metal genre. What bands do you like
You could always go down a similar route to Nick around cheap but good sounding TT
I haven't even tried to buy stuff on vinyl for ages - I gave into the inevitable (some would say inevitable anyway) - that's why my CD player has been upgraded a few times but my record deck hasn't and on my system now CDs definitely sound better than vinyl. I was also put off high-end record decks a long time ago by the way they show up every tiny flaw (and many of my LPs are second hand so they are often quite flawed). My CS505 III hides the flaws quite well (along with most of the detail probably) :) Having said that, I still can't bring myself to let it go and it will be a sad day when I eventually do.

I gave a list of my favourite bands in reply to Nick's post but I can already tell we have some cross-over :)

Simon.

foxysounds
12-02-2009, 00:07
I'm currently going through a bit of a Dan Swanö thing
Hi again,

I just checked out those links - sounds good! I'll have to get hold of a CD or 2 and have a proper listen. It sounds a bit like Opeth - if you're not familier with them then check out this link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kenyBvpL0qQ&feature=related). The range of vocal styles alone in this song is stunning IMHO.

Thanks,

Simon.

Spectral Morn
12-02-2009, 00:20
HI Foxysounds


Welcome to AOS.....

Love prog rock....not so much the prog metal (I prefer things a wee bit less heavy). I love Spock's Beard and Neal Morse's solo material, love Rush until they got a wee bit to heavy (favorite albums being Permanent Waves,Moving pictures, Signal, Presto, Hold Your fire).


Anyway good to have another Rock music fan here. Just been trawling through You Tube wow....Aldo nova, Red rider, Vixen, Van Stephenson, Saraya (now if you want another classic album of melodic hard rock with a great female singer check out Saraya's first self titled album.) I feel a top ten AOR list coming on.

Regards D S D L---Neil :)

John
12-02-2009, 07:32
Nice prog list Simon I love Porcupine Tree Riverside Queensrche and Opeath so plenty in common but can also go a lot more extreme in the prog metal front the heavist being Zero Hour: Towers of Avarince great guys and the most complex being Spiral Architect: A Sceptic Universe which has a pretty dark view on humanity
I gave up on vinyl for years thinking it was not a viable medium but if given the choice I rather listen to music on vinyl than CD these days just takes me deeper into music even with the odd crackle and pop!!!

Filterlab
12-02-2009, 13:32
Hello and welcome to The Art of Sound!

pulsestudio
12-02-2009, 22:29
IQ ??? Simon.

Have you heard " The Wake " ?? and I thought I was the only human alive to have ever heard of IQ, hi Simon, I'm a newbie too, Paul and pleased to meet you. I did have first hand experience of Prog Rock back in the early/mid 70's, I see you omitted to mention probably the biggest Prog band of all time..... Genisis !!! any reason ???

Beechwoods
12-02-2009, 22:41
I just checked out those links - sounds good! I'll have to get hold of a CD or 2 and have a proper listen. It sounds a bit like Opeth - if you're not familier with them then check out this link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kenyBvpL0qQ&feature=related). The range of vocal styles alone in this song is stunning IMHO.

I'm glad you liked it! 'Ghost Of Perdition' is my favourite Opeth track, so well chosen! Swanö does sing cleanly, but only occasionally, his stuff tends to be harder than Opeth. I tend to like my metal harder. I mean I'm into Cephalic Carnage and Bolt Thrower :) I do like Damnation by Opeth though, when I'm feeling like something a bit more mellow.

John
13-02-2009, 19:42
I tend to like my metal harder. I mean I'm into Cephalic Carnage and Bolt Thrower :) .

That is pretty heavy Beechy:lolsign:

Beechwoods
13-02-2009, 20:39
Hmmm... I was going to post a link to the video for Cephalic Carnage's track Wraith, which is a great track, by way of illustration, but the video was too grotesque to post :eek: So this'll have to do instead http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx7g_p0u4vM. The guitar and drumming is amazing...!

John
13-02-2009, 21:38
yeah can her a bit of ron jarzombek of Spastic Ink and Watchtower fame; how about that for Obscure

foxysounds
13-02-2009, 22:24
Have you heard " The Wake " ?? and I thought I was the only human alive to have ever heard of IQ, hi Simon, I'm a newbie too, Paul and pleased to meet you.
Hi Paul,

No, I haven't heard "The Wake". As I said, I'm just getting into IQ and all I have right now is "Dark Matter" which I'm really enjoying.


I did have first hand experience of Prog Rock back in the early/mid 70's, I see you omitted to mention probably the biggest Prog band of all time..... Genisis !!! any reason ???
Well, I did say I was probably forgetting plenty :) Actually I only have 2 Genesis albums ("Selling England by the Pound" which I love and "The lamb lies down on Broadway" which I find is very good in parts). I really must get some more.

Simon.

foxysounds
13-02-2009, 22:37
I'm glad you liked it! 'Ghost Of Perdition' is my favourite Opeth track, so well chosen!
Every time I listen to the album "Ghost Reveries" I start off thinking that "Ghost of Perdition" is my favourite track and then as each subsequent track comes along I think maybe I'm not so sure :) However, I do have some other Opeth albums and have heard all of them and IMHO none of the other albums is half as good as "Ghost Reveries" which is a shame.


Swanö does sing cleanly, but only occasionally, his stuff tends to be harder than Opeth. I tend to like my metal harder. I mean I'm into Cephalic Carnage and Bolt Thrower :) I do like Damnation by Opeth though, when I'm feeling like something a bit more mellow.
Opeth is comfortably the heaviest music I enjoy and in general I don't like the death metal vocal style at all. Opeth won me over because there's never too long a period of that vocal style before he breaks it up with something more tuneful (and he can sing really well) - and of course because the music is superb - but the music alone wouldn't be enough for me. I will listen some more to the Swanö links you provided but to TBH I doubt it will win me over for that reason.

Simon.

foxysounds
13-02-2009, 22:41
The guitar and drumming is amazing...!
It might be clever but is it art? :scratch:

:eyebrows:

Seriously - it doesn't do it for me I'm afraid. :(

Simon.

Spectral Morn
13-02-2009, 22:43
Hi Foxysounds


Genesis.... The new SACD box set 1070 to 1975 is worth getting IMHO. All the discs are excellent and best digital versions yet (also on vinyl). My fave Genesis albums are Selling England by the Pound, Trick of the Tail and Seconds Out. If you like IQ you might like No MAn. This is a band running since the early 80's until today. It features Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree and Tim Bowness, very gentle and delicate music best albums IMHO are Flower Mouth, Together We're Stranger and No Speak. The sound quality is excellent and some of the albums are also available with DVD A. From time to time guys like Mel Collins and Robert Fripp are involved.

I think that a band called The Tangent features an ex IQ guy and a member of Van Der graaf Generator.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxeDzVNTuzs&feature=related Van Der Graaf Generator THEME ONE fantastic rock on Tommy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08MOu6yQGuo No Man SIMPLE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPt7U5QooHc No Man Where ever there is Light

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnbaJG_tsMY Genesis Fountain of Salmacis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ksoDr3Ip_w Genesis Firth of Fifth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbxswV2a6l0 Genesis Los Endos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf-EYhyU4_g The Tangent Going off on One



Regards D S D L---Neil :)

Beechwoods
13-02-2009, 22:44
I came to Opeth from the death metal thing. I got into Carcass and Bolt Thrower way back in the late 80's. I thought Opeth were worth checking out because of the Steve Wilson / Porcupine Tree association (he's produced some of their stuff). I'm into some of the early PT stuff and wanted to see how he'd produce a metal band. As it was I was pleasantly surprised! I do like the way Opeth mix it up - lovely acoustic melodies and brutal death metal growls, blast beat drumming and the whole nine yards. Vocally, I think I'm the opposite of you... I like it gruntier and growlier! I like all sort of music, but when it comes to metal the harder the better! There's something very visceral about it all. Interesting point re. clever or art. Cephalic Carnage do have a virtuosity within their niche - but one man's art is another man's noise so :confused: ;)

foxysounds
13-02-2009, 23:38
Well waddaya know - it turns out one thing I don't know is what CD player I use :mental: It's actually a CD6000OSE, not a CD6010OSE as I stated in my initial post. For some reason I can't edit it now :scratch:

Simon.

Beechwoods
13-02-2009, 23:40
Wierd. I can if you like...

foxysounds
13-02-2009, 23:47
Genesis.... The new SACD box set 1070 to 1975 is worth getting IMHO. All the discs are excellent and best digital versions yet (also on vinyl).
No good for me I'm afriad. I don't have an SACD player :(


If you like IQ you might like No MAn. This is a band running since the early 80's until today. It features Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree and Tim Bowness, very gentle and delicate music best albums IMHO are Flower Mouth, Together We're Stranger and No Speak.
I'm listening to the links you supplied now - thanks! PT are a band I haven't got into. I have one album - I forget what it's called - I loved one song on it and just couldn't get into the rest at all :(

Simon.

foxysounds
13-02-2009, 23:50
Wierd. I can if you like...
Thanks Nick - that would be good. I can edit my posts on pages 2 and 3 of this thread but not page 1. Strange.

Simon.

Spectral Morn
14-02-2009, 00:00
No good for me I'm afriad. I don't have an SACD player :(


I'm listening to the links you supplied now - thanks! PT are a band I haven't got into. I have one album - I forget what it's called - I loved one song on it and just couldn't get into the rest at all :(

Simon.




HI Simon

You don't need a SACD player the discs have a CD layer....much better than any other CD version IMHO.

No Man are very different to Porcupine Tree .

Regards D S D L---Neil :)

foxysounds
23-02-2009, 23:45
Nice prog list Simon I love Porcupine Tree Riverside Queensrche and Opeath so plenty in common but can also go a lot more extreme in the prog metal front the heavist being Zero Hour: Towers of Avarince great guys and the most complex being Spiral Architect: A Sceptic Universe which has a pretty dark view on humanity
I gave up on vinyl for years thinking it was not a viable medium but if given the choice I rather listen to music on vinyl than CD these days just takes me deeper into music even with the odd crackle and pop!!!
Hi John,

I listened to some "Pain of Salvation" on last.fm at work the other day and it sounds pretty good. I ordered a CD just to make sure :-) I believe it was you that mentioned them to me in this thread a couple of days ago - before it was hacked and we lost a few day's posts - so thanks for the introduction!

Simon.

foxysounds
23-02-2009, 23:56
Love prog rock....not so much the prog metal (I prefer things a wee bit less heavy). I love Spock's Beard and Neal Morse's solo material, love Rush until they got a wee bit to heavy (favorite albums being Permanent Waves,Moving pictures, Signal, Presto, Hold Your fire).
I think I missed this message before somehow.

Hold Your Fire was the first Rush record I heard so it will always have a special place in my heart even if many people don't rate it as one of their best. My "favourite" Rush record changes at least weekly. For a long time it was "Grace under pressure", then "Farewell to Kings" and "Moving Pictures", then more recently "Signals" but frankly, everything from "Fly by night" to "Counterparts" is good in my book (like you, I'm not so fond of the recent stuff and the mix/mastering on "Snakes and Arrows" just made it unlistenable IMHO which is very sad).

I've seen them live 3 times - on the "Presto", "Roll the bones" and 30th anniversary tours. Needless to say they were all great gigs! :smoking: Neil's book is a cracking read too - he's a really articulate guy and a great writer - but then you probably know that from his lyrics :).

Simon.

Spectral Morn
24-02-2009, 09:35
I think I missed this message before somehow.

Hold Your Fire was the first Rush record I heard so it will always have a special place in my heart even if many people don't rate it as one of their best. My "favourite" Rush record changes at least weekly. For a long time it was "Grace under pressure", then "Farewell to Kings" and "Moving Pictures", then more recently "Signals" but frankly, everything from "Fly by night" to "Counterparts" is good in my book (like you, I'm not so fond of the recent stuff and the mix/mastering on "Snakes and Arrows" just made it unlistenable IMHO which is very sad).

I've seen them live 3 times - on the "Presto", "Roll the bones" and 30th anniversary tours. Needless to say they were all great gigs! :smoking: Neil's book is a cracking read too - he's a really articulate guy and a great writer - but then you probably know that from his lyrics :).Simon.


HI Simon

No problem....Its easy to miss posts. I love RUSH up to Roll the Bones which is where it went wrong IMHO. I loved the keyboard period with Signals being a great album. I am not so keen on their first album as its really a Led Zep re-hash but after that it got better and better. First Rush album I heard was Permanent Waves which I borrowed out of our local Library when I was in school . It was a tape and I liked the cover. I tried a lot of music because I liked the album cover. Got into YES, HAWKWIND, GONG and GREENSLADE plus much more. Those where the days when an album sleeve art told you a fair bit about what the music was like. This isn't really the case now.


Regards D S D L----Neil :)