Playground for practical listening exercises

[Charlie1]

Yeah, they both sound superb to me.

I'm gonna have to go with clip 1. Sorry, Mr oddball strikes again, but no point trying to pretend I'm the same as everyone else.

If that's the ESLs, which I assume is the case, then they are a great match with the Lejonklou amps. Really like it.

[Charlie1]

Picked up the 2nd LP12 today :)

My old pre-Cirkus bearing, which my dealer said is in superb condition (wouldn't find better), Afromosia plinth,, refurbished Valhalla (Class A), Ittok LVIII, K9 body and AT-95E stylus.

I want to do some more clips once the stylus has worn in, suspension has settled, etc. Also, I couldn't get the plinth as level as I'd like but just wanted to have a listen more than anything.

What's quite cool is that they were setup by the same person and I don't recall any comparisons like this before - but could be wrong.

This is two tracks in one recording. Sorry about the phone ringing in background at one point.

1st deck (Oak): https://www.dropbox.com/s/vmh4rxf91tu4t ... 1.MOV?dl=0
2nd deck (Afro): https://www.dropbox.com/s/xsoht3toga8vv ... 8.MOV?dl=0

[beck]

I envy you not just a little but a lot. :-)

[Charlie1]

You could always downgrade, although I'm not sure you'd be quite so happy.

The Mode:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5c5d8rdqk2obl ... 9.MOV?dl=0

One thing that's better is that the bass seems more natural. The Kans are a bit over-damped when combined with the main deck.

[beck]

...... envy you for having two Sondeks. :-)

[lejonklou]

Here are a couple of clips I think you will find interesting:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/18topnopa1h4s ... 1.MOV?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gzaclfxlaui4b ... 2.MOV?dl=0

I first heard these clips yesterday when Thomas sent them to me. Then they were without video (audio only) and I found the difference between them really big and preferred one after hearing just the first note. I knew what things he had recorded, but not which clip was which.

These two posted clips, now with video, I find much harder to tell apart. I don't understand why, I wish the audio only clips from yesterday could be posted instead.

[Charlie1]

I've just listened to these clips again and hearing it quite differently to earlier, although I am on a different laptop and headphones. Now, my immediate reaction is to prefer clip 2.

Listening further, I think it depends 'how' I listen, similar to those tune tests that were shared on another thread recently. I wonder if one laptop/headphone pairing tends to make me listen one way, and the other pairing tempts me to listen another way.

I think clip 1 allows me to better appreciate the music as a whole and how the instruments intergrate with one another, and clip 2 allows me to follow melodies will greater ease (i.e. more tuneful).

[ThomasOK]

Yes, I have to apologize for this but digital clips have let me down once again. The difference between the two clips I posted are much less than the ones I sent to Fredrik despite the fact that they started out as the same clips. Because of this I am not ready to reveal what is going on until I sort some things out.

I actually sent Fredrik the same videos via Telegram and they showed up as videos on my side but once he received them they had no video! Once he played them they turned to no video on my side as well, very strange.

Then I wanted to post them on the forum. First my iPhone refuses to send the clips directly to Dropbox, which I have on my phone. Possibly because of the size. I also have been unable to get them to email to any of my accounts (and I have five active ones). Then I run into one of the things that tick me off about Apple. The abandonment of really good Mac interface ideas on the iPhone, presumably to give Apple more control. (Steve has left the building.). So you can’t just drag a file from your iPhone to your Mac desktop, as you should be able to. Instead you have to import photos and videos into iPhoto and then I can finally get them to Dropbox. But who knows what I lost along the way.

Makes me wish I could use my fancy camera with its stereo mics but people don’t seem to like it as well. Which reminds me of something else about the recordings made on iPhones. It turns out modern iPhones have three microphones! On my 8+ there is one between the lenses and the flash on the back, one on the bottom by the speakers for when you hold the phone up to your ear and one by the speaker at the top front which I expect is used for FaceTime and speakerphone tasks, possibly along with the bottom one. So the superiority of movie clips on the iPhone might be due to the back mic it uses, at least in part. Whereas the Voice Recorder Pro, which I tried once and wasn’t well received, probably uses front and/or bottom mics. What a mess.

Anyway, we had a very busy day today and I just finished meditation and dinner. I am pretty wiped out so I won’t be dealing with this tonight. I also have company tomorrow so it might be Monday before I can get this straightened out. Sorry about the lingering suspense. I hope you all find it worthwhile when I have it sorted.

[maffe]

@ThomasOK: To move a single file use “Airdrop”, easy way to move stuff between different apple products.

[tokenbrit]

I've just listened to these clips again and hearing it quite differently to earlier, although I am on a different laptop and headphones...

I experienced similar with these clips with the result here seeming to depend more heavily on the system on which I listened to them than on the clips themselves. Hope you find a reliable solution Thomas as I enjoyed the vids - they sounded good in isolation; just inconsistent in comparison... Maybe we just all need to visit for a dem & cut out the iFannying :)

[Matteo]

Just ordered from Paolo a pair of 5mt of Linn K20 with Knekt bananas.

Nac a5 in Italy is 47€/mt unterminated, really a rip-off.

K20 are a lot cheap in comparison.

M.

K20 arrived 4 days ago.

First impressions are very positive.

To speed-up the run-in period, I listened to sat radio via Sky into my CXN for several hours ... lot of fun.

M.

[Spannko]

Here are a couple of clips I think you will find interesting:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/18topnopa1h4s ... 1.MOV?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gzaclfxlaui4b ... 2.MOV?dl=0

I prefer clip 1. Clip 2 doesn’t quite hit the notes or have the same dynamic expression.

[Charlie1]

I love the harmony between instruments with the new (80s spec) deck, but miss the tunefulness and cleaner/punchier sound. I see why some folks like the sound of the older LP12. Shame I can't have both - in one record player. I think this shows it quite well but appreciate it's not to everyone's taste:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ju9fc2bcby55a ... 0.MOV?dl=0

[ThomasOK]

Here are the two same clips but sent directly to Dropbox. I found a number of people on the web have had problems with this. It turns out there are at least three ways to do the transfer but the two most obvious didn't work. However a third way did. There is a significant story to go along with this about transferring digital tracks but that will wait until after you all have had a chance to listen to these tracks.

Track A

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2bnauahnfu6x4 ... M.mov?dl=0

Track B

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pmyuvntvsozdn ... M.mov?dl=0

[beck]

I do hear small differences but they do not let me take a clear stand convincingly. I actually hear the setups more different in the first set of clips.

I fold for now and present you with a good laugh while considering the above clips.

https://youtu.be/i1BKR53qxOY

[David Neel]

I'm finding this quite difficult. The first clip sounded good, and I was interested in the music all the way through. The second clip found more in the music, and initially felt slightly slower compared to the first. But I never lost interest in what was happening, it kept me engaged. So I prefer the second.

Great track!

[beck]

Listening for a while now to this second set of clips I hear some of the same things I mentioned regarding the first set.
Listening carefully to the double bass I feel it looses some of it’s core and pitch definition in the second clip in favour of a softer and broader sound.
I still find myself more “at home” with the first clip. To me the second clip is the first clip with lipstick on.....

[Matteo]

Here are the two same clips but sent directly to Dropbox. I found a number of people on the web have had problems with this. It turns out there are at least three ways to do the transfer but the two most obvious didn't work. However a third way did. There is a significant story to go along with this about transferring digital tracks but that will wait until after you all have had a chance to listen to these tracks.

Track A

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2bnauahnfu6x4 ... M.mov?dl=0

Track B

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pmyuvntvsozdn ... M.mov?dl=0

What is behind the Radikal?

[tokenbrit]

I .. find myself more “at home” with the first clip. To me the second clip is the first clip with lipstick on.....

I find myself agreeing with beck... without lipstick :)

[David Neel]

What is behind the Radikal?

It seems to be copper-coloured...

[u252agz]

Listening for a while now to this second set of clips I hear some of the same things I mentioned regarding the first set.
Listening carefully to the double bass I feel it looses some of it’s core and pitch definition in the second clip in favour of a softer and broader sound.
I still find myself more “at home” with the first clip. To me the second clip is the first clip with lipstick on.....

I agree - I prefer the first.

[Charlie1]

I've dipped in and out of the clips a few times over recent days. It still seems to vary somewhat but I have a feeling this is because clip B flows very well and I sometimes pick up on this more than anything else and conclude it's therefore better. However, clip A has consistently better captured the mood of the song and always sounded more natural to me.

[Tendaberry]

Here are the two same clips but sent directly to Dropbox. I found a number of people on the web have had problems with this. It turns out there are at least three ways to do the transfer but the two most obvious didn't work. However a third way did. There is a significant story to go along with this about transferring digital tracks but that will wait until after you all have had a chance to listen to these tracks.

Track A

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2bnauahnfu6x4 ... M.mov?dl=0

Track B

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pmyuvntvsozdn ... M.mov?dl=0

Track A draws me in more and the short bluesy piano sequence is more convincing there

[ThomasOK]

A tale of two clips! Part 1.

I’m sure a few of you have guessed that the two clips I recently posted, twice, have not worked out exactly as I planned. I am going to do a full reveal of what is going on even although the clips are obviously not letting people hear what I am hearing at home. But first I have learned a fair amount about posting clips. More than I probably wanted to know, and nothing as definitive as I would like, but worth knowing to avoid some of the pitfalls.

So, as I had stated, the first set of clips were transferred to Dropbox through iPhoto as I was having a hard time transferring them directly. Searching the web it appears I am not alone in this difficulty. After playing around with various ways of transferring clips it appears that running them through iPhoto is the worst method. Direct to Dropbox, as in the second of clips is a fair bit better. (Neither of the Dropbox icons in the photos app on the phone worked for me. Instead you can pull them from directly within Dropbox by using the cleverly titled, as in unintuitive, "Create" option with a + on the bottom.) Sending them to Fredrik on Telegram, where they stripped out the video (I still haven't figured out why) was even better than the direct to Dropbox versions. But the original files were better yet. Indeed I would say that as much better as the Telegram files, where Fredrik heard the difference blind in one note, are over the Dropbox ones, the originals are at least that much better again.

I have spent at least a few hours comparing originals, Telegram, direct Dropbox and iPhoto to Dropbox files over the last couple of days and the difference is startling. On the iPhoto to Dropbox files things are so messed up I had to look for a video tell myself to make sure which was which. (I wish I’d done this before I posted the first pair.) On the direct to Dropbox Fredrik, Simon and I all felt the difference was audible but all of us have heard the differences in real life. Maybe we overestimated it, but some people heard what we heard. On the Telegram clips it is readily apparent what is going on. But only on the original clips do you really get the flavor of the differences I hear in the room and their effect on my enjoyment of and involvement in the music.

Maybe I should have somewhat expected this as it is always hard to really get the feeling of changes between good items in the analog domain after transferring them to the digital domain. And these are analog changes. You might want to compare the original clips (1 and 2) to the second set of clips (A and B). To see if you hear the differences. I will clue you in right now that Clip 1 and Clip B are from the same source recording and Clip 2 and Clip A are from the other original recording. The differences from the numeric and alphabetic are the direct to Dropbox for the later ones as opposed to the iPhoto to Dropbox for the earlier ones. There is a video tell that will verify this if anyone is interested. Sorry to those who picked the second or first track both times, but I was trying to make this as blind as possible.

[David Neel]

I suspected you might have switched the order! So I've re-listened and I vote for 2/A. Am I allowed a second guess?