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    • LP12 Modification Frenzy
    • Building (a) Paradise
    • Best Pressing Shootouts
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  • 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
  • LP12MF Listening Test: SSP12 Inner Platter

    Here I evaluate the effects of Edmund Chan’s SSP12 inner platter, a cheap and easy upgrade for the LP12. This test is part of my LP12 Modification Frenzy, for which you can see a Summary of Effects. You can also check out my testing methodology. tl;dr Before beginning this test, I was feeling pretty frustrated.…

    March 5, 2020
    Hi-fi, LP12 Modification Frenzy, Records, Turntables
  • LP12MF Listening Test: Linn Lingo 4 Power Supply

    Note: All my thoughts and reflections on the Lingo 4 have been updated in these posts: “The Lingo Saga” and “LP12MF Review: Lingo 4.” Short version: my initial Lingo 4 had a manufacturing defect. It took me a year to sort it out, but when I did, I was very pleased with what I heard…

    February 8, 2020
    Hi-fi, LP12 Modification Frenzy, Records, Turntables
  • LP12MF: Installing the Linn Lingo 4

    Note: Although this installation guide is still mostly accurate, all my thoughts and reflections on the Lingo 4 have been updated in these posts: “The Lingo Saga” and “LP12MF Review: Lingo 4.” Short version: my initial Lingo 4 had a manufacturing defect. It took me a year to sort it out, but when I did,…

    January 25, 2020
    Hi-fi, LP12 Modification Frenzy, Turntables
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