Tír Na HiFi

Thank God for them I say, what would we do without them! I've been enjoying the Quadrals totally on their own, just sitting on my home-made plinths and they didn't cost me anything! I got off that 'snake oil' train a long time ago.

I am going to listen to some jazz LPs tomorrow I've done enough headbanging with Audioslave, Deep Purple, The Foo Fighters, Nirvana.

Then it will be on to some folk LPs trying to 'catch' these Quadrals out!

Cyndale wrote: ↑Wed May 10, 2017 10:50 pm Thank God for them I say, what would we do without them! I've been enjoying the Quadrals totally on their own, just sitting on my home-made plinths and they didn't cost me anything! I got off that 'snake oil' train a long time ago.



I am going to listen to some jazz LPs tomorrow I've done enough headbanging with Audioslave, Deep Purple, The Foo Fighters, Nirvana.

Then it will be on to some folk LPs trying to 'catch' these Quadrals out!

Good on you!

Ah Deep Purple! Hated them when I heard them first. My 'cool' friend had a cassette Walkman the size of a toaster. The first in the village to have one. One day he arrived home with 4 cassettes : Paranoid, Free Live, Led Zep 4 and Machine Head. That was my introduction to the alt scene then :) Hated Zep 4 especially Stairway. When my brother gave me his HMV reel to reel player - he had upgraded to a portable reel to reel - I got the local record shop owner to record the above mentioned albums. One pound per album. In time I grew to love the ones I didn't like :) When Made in Japan came out my friend hated it because they didn't play the songs exactly like on the albums. I was the complete opposite! I couldn't believe what they had done to the songs! Right there is where my love of improvisation in music started. So roll forward nearly 40 years and what did I do? I splashed out on the massive vinyl box set of MIJ! To make acquaintances with a much loved early friend again and in expanded form too was just too much. I was ecstatic to say the least!

What Folk will you be listening to tomorrow. Some of my favourites include Nick Drake, Sandy Denny, Fairport Convention, Shirley Collins, Anne Briggs, Bert Jansch, John Renborne, early Planxty, Bothy Band, Altan, Mushroom, Vashti Bunyan to mention a few ;)

Right I'll shut up!

How did you get on with the Jazz & Folk? Those ribbon tweeters should be spine tingling on the Jazz anyway. What Jazz have you got?

cybot wrote: ↑Fri May 12, 2017 10:47 pm How did you get on with the Jazz & Folk? Those ribbon tweeters should be spine tingling on the Jazz anyway. What Jazz have you got?

Not alone have I not got a chance to listen to some jazz/folk, I haven't even 'seen' my Quadrals over the last couple of days.

Absolutely loved your folk list and you can add Martin Carthy, Pentangle and Nic Jones. My jazz tastes are... Miles Davis, Chet Baker, The Crusaders, Joe Sample, Sonny Rollins, Charles Mingus, Keith Jarrett, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Wes Montgomery, Alan Holdsworth and many more.

Here's hoping people will leave me alone for a couple of days now.

Cyndale wrote: ↑Sat May 13, 2017 1:50 pm

cybot wrote: ↑Fri May 12, 2017 10:47 pm How did you get on with the Jazz & Folk? Those ribbon tweeters should be spine tingling on the Jazz anyway. What Jazz have you got?

Not alone have I not got a chance to listen to some jazz/folk, I haven't even 'seen' my Quadrals over the last couple of days.

Absolutely loved your folk list and you can add Martin Carthy, Pentangle and Nic Jones. My jazz tastes are... Miles Davis, Chet Baker, The Crusaders, Joe Sample, Sonny Rollins, Charles Mingus, Keith Jarrett, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Wes Montgomery, Alan Holdsworth and many more.

Here's hoping people will leave me alone for a couple of days now.

Thanks! Have none off your own list but at least I've heard of them! Nice Jazz list too. I actually have an Alan Holdsworth thing with Bill Bruford which in turn reminds me of the only Brand X Lp I have called Unorthodox Behaviour which is brilliant. Any more ECM stuff? Jackie Leven? Robert Wyatt/Soft Machine?

Enjoy your reunion with the 8's :)

cybot wrote: ↑Sat May 13, 2017 9:44 pm
Thanks! Have none off your own list but at least I've heard of them! Nice Jazz list too. I actually have an Alan Holdsworth thing with Bill Bruford which in turn reminds me of the only Brand X Lp I have called Unorthodox Behaviour which is brilliant. Any more ECM stuff? Jackie Leven? Robert Wyatt/Soft Machine?

Enjoy your reunion with the 8's :)

Well, I didn't get around to listening to any jazz/folk, after the hectic last few days I needed some 'angry' music, so I played nothing but rock for the last couple of hours.

I have just finished listening to Joe Cocker's Sheffield Steel with Sly & Robbie the rhythm section, I have to say Robbie's bass is tickling my arse in my seat, it is so deep.

What is impressing me is the ribbon tweeter, I have played a good few LPs that I regard as being 'hard' and 'brittle' but the Quadrals just give a completely different treble portrayal to the B&W CM7s.

I have some ECM LPs all right... Pat Metheny, Marc Johnson, John Abercrombie, Keith Jarrett. I was sad to see that Alan Holdsworth had passed away, I have Metal Fatigue and Road Games.

Other musicians I like are... Coleman Hawkins, Stanley Turrentine, Mose Allison, Dave Brubeck.

Now to get back to some listening, ah The Motels Total Control on next! Where's that smoke coming from???

Cyndale wrote: ↑Tue May 16, 2017 4:51 pm

Well, I didn't get around to listening to any jazz/folk, after the hectic last few days I needed some 'angry' music, so I played nothing but rock for the last couple of hours.

I have just finished listening to Joe Cocker's Sheffield Steel with Sly & Robbie the rhythm section, I have to say Robbie's bass is tickling my arse in my seat, it is so deep.

What is impressing me is the ribbon tweeter, I have played a good few LPs that I regard as being 'hard' and 'brittle' but the Quadrals just give a completely different treble portrayal to the B&W CM7s.

I have some ECM LPs all right... Pat Metheny, Marc Johnson, John Abercrombie, Keith Jarrett. I was sad to see that Alan Holdsworth had passed away, I have Metal Fatigue and Road Games.

Other musicians I like are... Coleman Hawkins, Stanley Turrentine, Mose Allison, Dave Brubeck.

Now to get back to some listening, ah The Motels Total Control on next! Where's that smoke coming from???

Lol! What you need is Montrose's first album to get that driving through the Grand-Canyon-wind-in-the-hair-feeling :)

Used to have that SS album. Forgot about Sly and Robbie's contributions. I'm sure I have a Grace Jones Lp with them on it.The bass sounds like the way you want it. Great stuff....

Yeah that ribbon tweeter is the business and properly integrated too. Very detailed but natural I believe. What is it like with sibilants? A pet hate of mine. Some examples : Thin Lizzy's first Lp, Beatles especially Paul McCartney singing - For No One, Things We Said Today etc.

Didn't know that Alan had passed away. May he rest in peace.

I see you like the old style jazz which I'm not too familiar with though I do have one Brubeck Lp :)

Have been catching up with my Beatles collection this few days especially after hearing about the imminent release of the expanded edition of Sgt. Pepper, which incidentally, I rarely play. I was taken aback when I dug it out again. Definitely not as bad as I'd thought.

Anyway I've just taken some folk down to have a gander with this evening. Listening to Mellow Candle at the moment. Found out the other day the one member of the band has a solo Lp out at the moment. The good looking one.....Alison :) Bert Jansch's Jack of Orion, Mushroom's Early One Morning (just to hear how bad it is!), Bothy Band's After Hours live one.

cybot wrote: ↑Tue May 16, 2017 6:19 pm
Lol! What you need is Montrose's first album to get that driving through the Grand-Canyon-wind-in-the-hair-feeling :)

Used to have that SS album. Forgot about Sly and Robbie's contributions. I'm sure I have a Grace Jones Lp with them on it.The bass sounds like the way you want it. Great stuff....

Yeah that ribbon tweeter is the business and properly integrated too. Very detailed but natural I believe. What is it like with sibilants? A pet hate of mine. Some examples : Thin Lizzy's first Lp, Beatles especially Paul McCartney singing - For No One, Things We Said Today etc.

Didn't know that Alan had passed away. May he rest in peace.

I see you like the old style jazz which I'm not too familiar with though I do have one Brubeck Lp :)

Have been catching up with my Beatles collection this few days especially after hearing about the imminent release of the expanded edition of Sgt. Pepper, which incidentally, I rarely play. I was taken aback when I dug it out again. Definitely not as bad as I'd thought.

Anyway I've just taken some folk down to have a gander with this evening. Listening to Mellow Candle at the moment. Found out the other day the one member of the band has a solo Lp out at the moment. The good looking one.....Alison :) Bert Jansch's Jack of Orion, Mushroom's Early One Morning (just to hear how bad it is!), Bothy Band's After Hours live one.

Yeah Alan Holdsworth died on April 15th, seemed to have been going through hard times. From what I can gather his daughter was trying to raise the money for his funeral. I love music from about 1955 to the present day.

Sly & Robbie played on Private Life and Nightclubbing probably either of those.

I have read an awful lot of comments from people experiencing sibilance on records, I have to say since I got the Well Tempered/Dynavector 17D3 combo it is something that I actually haven't noticed. Send me a list of some LPs that bother you and if I have any of them I will play them and see what I encounter.

I was playing the opening track Dissidents on Thomas Dolby's The Flat Earth and it sounds amazing, very deep, very clean, probably a bit too much! Have a listen... There is a great stereo spread on it. TURN THE VOLUME UP!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-BXagOG5VA

Cyndale wrote: ↑Tue May 16, 2017 10:16 pm

cybot wrote: ↑Tue May 16, 2017 6:19 pm
Lol! What you need is Montrose's first album to get that driving through the Grand-Canyon-wind-in-the-hair-feeling :)

Used to have that SS album. Forgot about Sly and Robbie's contributions. I'm sure I have a Grace Jones Lp with them on it.The bass sounds like the way you want it. Great stuff....

Yeah that ribbon tweeter is the business and properly integrated too. Very detailed but natural I believe. What is it like with sibilants? A pet hate of mine. Some examples : Thin Lizzy's first Lp, Beatles especially Paul McCartney singing - For No One, Things We Said Today etc.

Didn't know that Alan had passed away. May he rest in peace.

I see you like the old style jazz which I'm not too familiar with though I do have one Brubeck Lp :)

Have been catching up with my Beatles collection this few days especially after hearing about the imminent release of the expanded edition of Sgt. Pepper, which incidentally, I rarely play. I was taken aback when I dug it out again. Definitely not as bad as I'd thought.

Anyway I've just taken some folk down to have a gander with this evening. Listening to Mellow Candle at the moment. Found out the other day the one member of the band has a solo Lp out at the moment. The good looking one.....Alison :) Bert Jansch's Jack of Orion, Mushroom's Early One Morning (just to hear how bad it is!), Bothy Band's After Hours live one.

Yeah Alan Holdsworth died on April 15th, seemed to have been going through hard times. From what I can gather his daughter was trying to raise the money for his funeral. I love music from about 1955 to the present day.

Sly & Robbie played on Private Life and Nightclubbing probably either of those.

I have read an awful lot of comments from people experiencing sibilance on records, I have to say since I got the Well Tempered/Dynavector 17D3 combo it is something that I actually haven't noticed. Send me a list of some LPs that bother you and if I have any of them I will play them and see what I encounter.

I was playing the opening track Dissidents on Thomas Dolby's The Flat Earth and it sounds amazing, very deep, very clean, probably a bit too much! Have a listen... There is a great stereo spread on it. TURN THE VOLUME UP!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-BXagOG5VA

That's a sad story about Alan. Unfortunately a common one too.....

Sibilance can be a right pig with the wrong combination of components. Luckily for me it's no way as intrusive as it used to be. Once I accepted that it's a perfectly normal occurrence in voice reproduction. That took a while especially since my hearing situation changed. I'm a life long hearing aid user. When they changed from analogue to digital about ten years ago all hell broke loose! Now I was hearing things as they were meant to be heard as analogue tended to mask those frequencies. However I'm in the fortunate position that I can fine tune my aid via the frequency bands and other important features which can make a huge difference. I've learned one thing though: if you tune out the high frequencies so that the sibilance cannot be heard it also has a knock on effect with masking important detail like cymbals and the like. So it's a very tricky balancing act which can drive you nuts especially if you take a wrong turn! That's why all speakers I've auditioned since 2008 have failed the high frequency test. Just too forward and transparent for my ears. The funny thing is Noel agreed with me! So my hearing settings must be ok after all! That's why I was surprised with the Quadral's in the brief listen I had with them. This time the high frequencies were ok but the bass left me wanting more. Remember it was only a brief listen so my conclusion is in no way definitive. Unfortunately my demo was badly timed as I had been demoing a brand new hearing aid model which had just come out. As with all new models a time of acclimatisation is mandatory. Long story short: the new baby was a total revelation! Now I was hearing my music as if for the first time. The fine details were rendered effortlessly with absolutely no strain whatsoever on my part. This I did not expect. I was completely taken aback! But then again I spent an inordinate amount of time fine tuning and learning all about the new features and how best to utilise them to my advantage. Then I got the news that my much sought after Quadral's had landed.....The demo showed me that I was hearing exactly the same things as I was now hearing on my own speakers. So that kind of spoiled it for me :) Now you see where I'm coming from?

Sibilance:

The only Lps I can think of is what I'm listening to at the moment. Anyway I'm just curious to see if the Quadral's can render the sibilance more benignly in the sense that you can hear them but they're not intrusive. Anyway here's two:

The Beatle's Revolver : For No One - I personally think that Paul's sibilance is exaggerated on purpose.

The Beatle's Hard Days Nignt : Things We Said Today.

The only Thomas Dolby album I have is his stunning soundtrack to Gothic. Thanks for the link I'll listen later.

cybot wrote: ↑Wed May 17, 2017 12:13 pm
Sibilance:

The only Lps I can think of is what I'm listening to at the moment. Anyway I'm just curious to see if the Quadral's can render the sibilance more benignly in the sense that you can hear them but they're not intrusive. Anyway here's two:

The Beatle's Revolver : For No One - I personally think that Paul's sibilance is exaggerated on purpose.

The Beatle's Hard Days Nignt : Things We Said Today.

The only Thomas Dolby album I have is his stunning soundtrack to Gothic. Thanks for the link I'll listen later.

The only copies of Revolver & A Hard Day's Night I have are original Mobile Fidelity LPs. I have just played both LPs and I have to say 'sibilance' is not something that jumped out at me. I would have thought it would be pretty obvious on the Mobile Fidelity LPs which I regard as thin, hard and bright.

Despite my love for The Beatles, I just hate listening to their LPs on a good hifi system, I have always believed the only way to listen to them is on a cheap player or on the radio, am I mad or what. For all the praise heaped on producer George Martin I think it is more for helping The Beatles produce better music than better sound, if you know what I mean.

If you can think of some other LPs that have sibilance, post them to me.

Just finished playing The Motels debut LP and it sounds terrific on The Quadrals, one thing I am noticing is that the snare drum on my good sounding records has much more snap to it on the Quadrals than the B&W CM7. Have a listen to the The Motels Total Control, this sound wonderful on the Quadrals, the bass, the snare drum and her voice just fills the room and all the while the incidental bits of backing are clear as day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MFlHGP0VAc