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    • LP12 Modification Frenzy
    • Building (a) Paradise
    • Best Pressing Shootouts
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  • LP12MF Listening Test: Linn Ekos 2 Tonearm and Kore Subchassis

    In the latest edition of the LP12 Modification Frenzy, I install a very fancy tonearm and a moderately fancy subchassis, both made by Linn. You can read about the installation process for both, and check out my listening methodology. Full listening impressions on the Ekos and Kore are below; digestible, numerical summaries of all my…

    April 23, 2020
    Hi-fi, LP12 Modification Frenzy, Records, Turntables
  • Best Pressing Shootout: Charles Mingus, The Clown — 1961 Atlantic US vs. 1972 Warner-Pioneer Japan

    Unlike most audio snobs, I strongly dislike mono pressings. There is a clear reason for this: I listen to most of my music on headphones, and mono sounds bad on headphones — all squashed into the centre of your head. Whereas speaker-lovers claim mono recordings offer “depth” rather than “width,” I find that mono just…

    April 19, 2020
    Best Pressing Shootouts
  • The iFi AC iPurifier: Not Snake Oil!

    I recently decided to try out “power line internet”: a system for home networking when it’s not practicable to run actual ethernet lines. I was worried that this would introduce AC noise into my precious hi-fi — and it absolutely did! So, for the first time in my life, I decided to try out a…

    April 18, 2020
    Amplification, Hi-fi
  • Best Pressing Shootout: Rubber Soul — 1981 Blue Box vs. 1995 Direct Metal Master

    In my fourth Best Pressing Shootout in as many days — the coronavirus shutdown is having many unexpected effects — let’s look at my two pressings of Rubber Soul. The Pressings Back when I was a young lad in my twenties and just getting into vinyl — ah, the early oughts! — I naturally wanted…

    April 6, 2020
    Best Pressing Shootouts
  • Best Pressing Shootout: Abbey Road — 1981 Blue Box vs. 2009 Remaster vs. 2019 Giles Martin Remix

    And now, in the third installment of the Best Pressing Shootout series, I move from the painfully obscure to the glaringly obvious. At least I don’t need to explain this album to you. I also probably don’t need to explain the whole “Why do you own multiple pressings of so many albums?” thing in this…

    April 5, 2020
    Best Pressing Shootouts, Records, Turntables
  • Best Pressing Shootout: Prince Lasha Quintet, The Cry! — 1963 Contemporary US vs. 1975 King Japan

    Here is the thought I had while listening to this unbelievable album in three versions last night, a somewhat guilty pleasure in the midst of a worldwide crisis: A species that can create something this beautiful — the musical forms that endure across generations, the individual artists who interpret and distort them; the instruments, the…

    April 4, 2020
    Best Pressing Shootouts, Hi-fi, Records, Turntables
  • Checking Alignment with the Mint LP Best Tractor

    Due to problems with headshell leads, I didn’t quite have the reserve of patience I’d been hoping to have when aligning my Dynavector XX-2 mkII cartridge in the Ekos when I installed it last week. Since then, I’ve had the nagging suspicion that I’d accepted “good enough” rather than getting truly obsessive about alignment. So…

    April 2, 2020
    Hi-fi, LP12 Modification Frenzy, Turntables
  • Installing the Linn Ekos 2 Tonearm and Kore Subchassis

    Since my last major installation, the world has turned completely upside down. I’ve been in coronavirus lockdown since mid-March, working from home and only going outside to jog and buy groceries. Scary as it’s been, it certainly hasn’t dampened my enthusiasm for my LP12 Modification Frenzy or for listening to music in general. Indeed, I’m…

    March 29, 2020
    Hi-fi, LP12 Modification Frenzy, Records, Turntables
  • LP12MF Listening Test: Dynavector XX-2 mkII Cartridge

    In the first installment of the LP12 Modification Frenzy in the Coronavirus Era, I install a Dynavector XX-2 mkII moving coil cartridge. You can read about the installation process for the XX-2, and check out my listening methodology. Full listening impressions on the XX-2 are below; digestible, numerical summaries of all my listening tests are…

    March 29, 2020
    Hi-fi, LP12 Modification Frenzy, Records, Turntables
  • LP12MF: Installing the Dynavector XX-2 mkII Cartridge

    This is an upgrade I’ve really been looking forward to. It shouldn’t be a subtle change. The move from a decent moving magnet cartridge to a pretty fancy moving coil should make a big difference. And I’ve always wanted to try a Dynavector cart in particular, especially since I have a Dynavector phono preamp with…

    March 10, 2020
    Hi-fi, LP12 Modification Frenzy, Turntables
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