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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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.…
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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…
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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,…
