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Thread: Welcome from east of the Cascades in Central Oregon!

  1. #1
    Join Date: Jan 2018

    Location: Bend, OR

    Posts: 20
    I'm Mike.

    Default Welcome from east of the Cascades in Central Oregon!

    My welcome post is 14 months delayed, I joined in January of last year! What a site, I am really enjoying the posts. In particular, I love reading about upgrades to the JA Michell Gyro SE turntable that Peter has been doing.

    My interests are all over the map in music. Over the last five years, I've dived into jazz; Hard Bop primarily from the late 1950s and through the 1960s is a fav, particularly from Blue Note and especially piano. While saxophonist Tina Brooks is a personal favorite, I really like the piano work of Herbie Nichols, Dodo Marmarosa, Horace Parlan, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, and Red Garland. While the vibraphone work of Bobby Hutcherson is simply awesome.

    My first love of music came with the Four Seasons in 1962. Was blown away as a kid by Rag Doll and Sherry, and Walk Like A Man that cemented my relationship with the group. The next summer, in 1963, my father who was a Navy guy, was transferred to Italy. That allowed me that summer to visit my grandparents just east of London, since my mom is English. Then my aunt that summer introduced me to the Beatles, which remain a staple on my turntable. That summer and the next, I grew to love The Yardbirds, The Animals, Manfred Mann, and The Kinks, along with The Rolling Stones. Now I love to find obscure groups from the 1960s, such as The Baroques or Appletree Theater, in the great record shops in Portland or in Seattle.

    Fairport Convention and Richard Thompson are my interests too and I've seen RT many times in concert. And I am partial to Graham Parker, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Bruce Springfield, and John Mellencamp. Another artist I love is Kate Wolf, a folkie, and Fred Neil and P.F. Sloan. I could go on...

    My listening line is:

    For vinyl an Ortofon Cadenza Black MC phono cartridge mounted on Pete Riggle's The Woody tonearm, on a JA Michell Gyro SE turntable;

    that kit goes into a Whest PS.40RDT SE phono preamp, into a Conrad Johnson PV15 linestage into a C-J MF2550SE amplifier,

    those power the fabulous Spatial Audio's X2 open baffle speakers.

    For CDs, I use a Esoteric K-05.

    My main audio hobby is making mini-lp CDRs. I record on a Tascam DV-RA1000HD recorder in 96/24. Then I process into Red Book CDRs. Using a large flatbed scanner I copy the lp artwork. That gets put together in Photoshop, and printed on Epson R340 Photo Stylus printer. I work to duplicate the record label too, and with access to 1,000s of fonts, to replicate the text. See this link to an example: https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa....47670/page-41.

    I like to evaluate things too, for example, last year I became interested in ultrasonic cleaning of vinyl records. I finally got a setup and its good. Still some records need a spin on a good ol' VPI. But my fascination with the ultrasonic technology got me researching on the worldwide web. The notes I gathered eventually led to a paper that I wrote last September and was published by Bill Hart's The Vinyl Press. If that interests you, see this link: https://thevinylpress.com/a-history-...cord-cleaning/.

    I hope to meet a few of you and already I have a buddy here, 33na3rd.
    Last edited by BendBound; 06-03-2019 at 01:43.

  2. #2
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: N E Kent

    Posts: 51,624
    I'm Geoff.

    Default

    Hello Mike. Welcome to AOS.

    I'm sure you'll find plenty to interest you here. It's a friendly place, so just join in and have fun.


    Enjoy the forum,
    Geoff.
    It is impossible for anything digital to sound analogue, because it isn't analogue!

  3. #3
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

    Default

    Hi Mike, Welcome to AoS, belatedly ...glad you decided to make that first(very good) post.
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
    FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -

    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

  4. #4
    Join Date: Oct 2017

    Location: Ontario, Canada

    Posts: 791
    I'm Svend.

    Default

    Mike - welcome to the forum. Nice bit of kit you have there. I am curious about the open baffles. What's the secret to good sound out of those? I have been to audio shows where several models have been demoed, and they were all underwhelming. But my friend, who goes with me to these shows, swears that there are models out there that sound incredible, but that I just haven't heard the good ones yet. Interested to hear how you arrived at yours?

    Cheers,
    Svend

  5. #5
    Join Date: Jan 2018

    Location: Bend, OR

    Posts: 20
    I'm Mike.

    Default

    Svend: Check out Spatial Audio's website (http://www.spatialaudio.us/). Clayton Shaw has been at this for like 40 years. I visited him at his showroom-assembly facility in SLC, UT. The speakers we listened to that day were the bottom of his line, and after a few bars of a CD we knew well, my wife turned to me and said matter of fact, "These are way better than your speakers."

    Clayton's knowledge of the speaker industry, models, and design stunned me. The guy is approachable and incredibly knowledgeable, call him and he will give you plenty of time to discuss why his products work. From the company website, see a link to AudioCircle, another audio forum. On this forum is considerable discussion of Spatial's products. Here is specifically discussion of the X2 (https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=153006.100). The entire thread is worth looking over but I linked this to discussion by a customer and his journey to get the X2s set up and how they sound. BTW, Clayton was also the co-founder of Emerald Physics, a speaker manufacturer.

    Spatial's drivers and AMT are made by Eminence. He has worked with the company on the way sound is dispersed from the AMT to greatly minimize room effects. These speakers are replacing a set of Ohm Walsh 3s that I purchased in 1985, while I did upgrade the drivers and crossovers to their 3.300 series about six years ago.

    Here is a review of the X2s: https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2018/...pen-your-mind/. An earlier one also on https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2017/...-vinnie-rossi/. Here is another on Audiogon: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussio...-next-thursday. Clayton told me that Absolute Sound approached him about doing a review of the X2s. He is not paying for the review, AS apparently wanted to review them because of the buzz they were creating at the regional shows. Clayton thinks the review will come out before mid-2019, but he does not know.

    These speakers are neutral and I really like that. They do not suffer from crossover issues or what has been described to me as the box sound. They produce great bass and I have no need to add a sub. I've had five audiophile friends over and one musician. Every one of them said they had never heard a system sound that good. And they have very good systems. One guy has terrific gear and uses Naim S-800 Ovator loudspeakers. When we finished listening to some of his jazz records he told me a story about the first time he ever hear a great system. It was in Chicago at a huge distributor of records. They had a back listening room for some clients. He was one of them and he added that the sound from that room is burned into his memory it was that good. When he left my house, he said these Spatial X2s took him back to that experience, they are that good at giving you a live-like sound reproduction. The musician, sax, said she never knew an audio system could reproduce music that well, the best she has every heard by a long shot.

    I'm not bragging here, just telling you what others have told me and provided reviews to read. Given that I held on to the also neutral and surround sound Ohm Walsh 3s for 34 years, I suspect the X2s are the last speaker I will ever own. I've owned KEF, Bose and B&W speakers too and sold them and held on to the Ohms. But to your point on the X2s, I don't know why they sound so good, but they sound phenomenal to me.

    Mike
    Last edited by BendBound; 06-03-2019 at 16:18.

  6. #6
    Join Date: Oct 2017

    Location: Ontario, Canada

    Posts: 791
    I'm Svend.

    Default

    Very interesting feedback Mike. Thanks for that. I'm seeing my buddy today, so will ask him which open baffles he was raving about. He heard them at Expona in Chicago last spring. All I know is they were from a small company based in the US. Could even be your guy. He said they were some of the best speakers he'd ever heard, full-stop. And he's a Magnepan / Mark Levinson / McIntosh kinda guy, so not exactly slumming it. I will report back at the end of the day...

    TBH, the ones that I personally have heard, which all seemed to be built by garage hobbyists, lacked dynamism and life. Lots of air and sweetness, very uncoloured sound, but really missing drive and realism. Close, but no cigar to my mind. That said, there is a lot of promise there -- the openness and clarity are wonderful. They certainly do fill the room with sound.

    Catch up later...

    Cheers,
    Svend

  7. #7
    Join Date: Jan 2018

    Location: Bend, OR

    Posts: 20
    I'm Mike.

    Default

    Svend: I look forward to hearing what your buddy says. Yes, open baffle speakers have a DIY stigma, I know that. But a few designers have stepped out of the shadows to seriously challenge the entrenched "box" speaker paradigm. Emerald Speaker was the first serious one, now Spatial Audio, and also PureAudioProject (http://www.pureaudioproject.com/). PureAudioProject indeed makes very well received OB speakers, but alas, they are all too big for my man-cave.

    Best, Mike
    Last edited by BendBound; 07-03-2019 at 05:04.

  8. #8
    Join Date: Oct 2017

    Location: Ontario, Canada

    Posts: 791
    I'm Svend.

    Default

    Hi Mike,

    It was the Pure Audio Project speakers he heard at Axpona. He was blown away. And it takes a lot to impress him...he has a good ear, and goes to at least two high end shows every year to audition stuff.

    I didn't ask if he heard the Spatial ones.

    One of these years I will do a road trip with him to Axpona and check out the show, including those speakers.

    As an aside, I believe Bend made international news as having the last Blockbuster store. Cool story! You guys are on the map.

    Cheers,
    Svend

  9. #9
    Join Date: Jan 2018

    Location: Bend, OR

    Posts: 20
    I'm Mike.

    Default

    Svend: The last Blockbuster: yes! Thank you for the follow-up.

    Here is a link to Audiogon comparing the Spatial Audio to Pure Audio Project OB speakers: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussio...-audio-project.

    Another two links comparing the two brands on AudioCircle: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=158301.0 and https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=144683.0.

    Best.
    Last edited by BendBound; 07-03-2019 at 20:25.

  10. #10
    Join Date: Oct 2017

    Location: Ontario, Canada

    Posts: 791
    I'm Svend.

    Default

    Thanks Mike, I will check those out and forward to my friend. Will make for good reading on a Friday evening.

    Best,
    Svend

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