What are you Listening To Right Now? - and more

I'll say I listen to UFO, Ozzy and Scorpions, etc, loud. I admit it, and paid the price many times.
Music like Jimi at moderate volumes, except for the opening of Voodoo Chile and Watchtower, those get cranked.|
I've spent 20 minutes to find an album to listen to a single 3 minute song. ADD.
With the Eagles, they always seemed to have really decent pressings. Seen a few Eagles here lately makes me want to find Take it to the Limit and play it. Very clean production on that album
As we all know , every LP will sound different to some degree , due to the record grooves being like a fingerprint " No 2 are alike " that being said , that's the only thing that I can think of that required me to have to crank up the volume. And the fact that this is a " New " reprint LP from music dating back to 1971-1975 , I don't have the original recording of this LP from the 70's , maybe that is the reason??
 
As we all know , every LP will sound different to some degree , due to the record grooves being like a fingerprint " No 2 are alike " that being said , that's the only thing that I can think of that required me to have to crank up the volume. And the fact that this is a " New " reprint LP from music dating back to 1971-1975 , I don't have the original recording of this LP from the 70's , maybe that is the reason??
I always thought the 70's pressings were pretty good. We had a discussion sometime back on here about old pressings and new 180 gram pressings.
I came from an angle that while I have spent for a few new 180 albums, they left me disappointed. Not that they were unlistenable but that the old version I had sounded more full to my ears. I do a test as well with the headphones, taking the volume down very low, to the point where one of the channels starts to cut out on the vol control, and give a song a listen. If everything comes out from lows to especially the vocals and highs, I consider it a good pressing that can be enjoyed at any volume level.
I have a Cocteau Twins 180 that doesn't pass that test. only sounds good at higher volumes but rather 2 dimensional at normal volumes.
Another test is the needle test where at the right setting the sizzle and treble off the needle in one ear matches the sizzle from the EMIT tweeter in the speaker in the other ear. On good pressings the needle sounds identical to the tweeter at very very low volume. Bad pressings, the sizzle is gone.
 
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Love that oak tool box, Swamp. I've got one just like it. It was my Dad's machinest's tool box from his job at The Washington Navy Yard. I keep it as a time capsule. It's exactly as it was when he retired with all the tools.

EDIT: Dont know why my pics go to the top of the post when I post from my phone.

The tool box was the 1st thing I noticed in that pix :) big tool guy, have some early Kennedy boxes for my gear. The early wood boxes are hard to find, I was waiting for someone to notice it :)
 
Sonny Rollins Saxophone Colossus

On the main rig.

Dual 1019, Grado F1+ with blue
Yamaha M-80
Yamaha C-85
Yamaha NS-1000's

Very happy with this rig now and it just simply sounds fantastic.

I have heard that pressing the class one on the M-85 makes no difference.

I can tell you that it does but you need the speaks to hear it.

Full moon too!

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OK, so a few have been talking about the Pickering cartridge, specifically the XSV3000 or the like. I have one of these but the D3000 stylus is pooched... I know there is really no more D3000's left, and what are available are pretty pricey.. I need advice on a decent replacement stylus that leverages the cartridge's sound but wont set my retirement back! Any advice?
(I have read through some of the threads on this cartridge and have some ideas, just curious if there is different info here)!

Thanks!
Dave
 
OK, so a few have been talking about the Pickering cartridge, specifically the XSV3000 or the like. I have one of these but the D3000 stylus is pooched... I know there is really no more D3000's left, and what are available are pretty pricey.. I need advice on a decent replacement stylus that leverages the cartridge's sound but wont set my retirement back! Any advice?
(I have read through some of the threads on this cartridge and have some ideas, just curious if there is different info here)!

Thanks!
Dave
Stevo, Sounds and looks fantastic! Nice
 
Happy 74th Birthday, Roger Daltry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Daltrey

Roger Daltry ~ One Of The Boys
1977 MCA Records MCA 2271

https://www.discogs.com/Roger-Daltrey-One-Of-The-Boys/master/90411
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OK, so a few have been talking about the Pickering cartridge, specifically the XSV3000 or the like. I have one of these but the D3000 stylus is pooched... I know there is really no more D3000's left, and what are available are pretty pricey.. I need advice on a decent replacement stylus that leverages the cartridge's sound but wont set my retirement back! Any advice?
(I have read through some of the threads on this cartridge and have some ideas, just curious if there is different info here)!

Thanks!
Dave
Hey Dave, LP Gear makes a decent D3000 replacement that's only $79, I ordered a 2nd one and it just showed up today for breaking in.
The original D3000's are tough to find and some say superior due to their propietary Berrylium shaft construction.
I do know that the last D3000 I had (before it broke) sounded pretty good and I assume it had alot of miles on it by the time I got it. They do show up on ebay time to time and about a year ago some guy was selling 2 for only $70 each. I was too broke to jump on one at the time.
For a long time, a decade perhaps, looking back on various website chats, the D3000 needles were not being made which saddened many fans of the XSV cartridges. Several are now being made due to renewed interest in this series; Jico makes one, there's a supposed Shibata model out there (for $170) and several $20 DEX-608 budget models.
I have not felt the need for the high dollar models yet as the LP Gear model satisfies me entirely.
The budget $20 model isn;t terrible, but it makes the XSV sound more like a Shure M95 or M97XE, not bad, but gives up the clear, yet understated, crisp highs. The XSV also is no slouch in the mids either.
Though I don;t use the EQ section very often at all, I picked up a Yamaha GE-60 EQ a few years back just for the LCD display and the Pickering is the cart that best exhibits a quite flat response across the whole spectrum.
Good luck and I bet you'll be happy once its dialed in.
 
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