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Author Topic: Tape Project Demos SF  (Read 11660 times)

Offline ironbut

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Tape Project Demos SF
« on: July 31, 2009, 11:12:01 AM »
Here's another chance for San Francisco Bay Area fence sitters to get a listen to some of the tapes that spawned this most excellent online forum.
The occasion is the NorCal Headfi annual meet. The meet will take place from the hours of 10am to 6pm in Burlingame at the DoubleTree Hotel.

Doc will have his Nagra T feeding several headphone set ups and I'll have my beloved Technics. Both set ups will feature the Tube Repro so you can also check that out too. We'll both be rolling Tape Project tapes all day so any of you folks who still wonder what all the fuss is about, here's a chance to hear it for yourself. I'll probably bring along some Barclay Crocker tapes and my modified Dolby unit for a change of pace.
If you're already on board with a Tape Project subscription or are a fan of Bottlehead's products (Doc will be unveiling some new gear), come on by and say hello.

For those who don't know Headfi, it's a non-profit, online forum for lovers of headphones. I think most folks would be surprised at how good the sound of these things can be and what crazy lengths we'll go to improve that sound.

The meet is free to the public and very casual.

Here's a link to directions and more particulars you might want.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f24/norcal-sf-bay-area-meet-8-8-2009-a-428484/
steve koto
 Sony scd 777es(R. Kern mods)> Vpi Aires>Dynavector XX-2mkll>Bent mu>CAT ultimate>CJ premeir 140>Magnepan 1.6qr(Jensen xover)Headphone Eddie Current Zana Deux>AT ad2000,HD800 ,Metric Halo ULN-2 (battery powered),
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Offline Romo

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Re: Tape Project Demos SF
« Reply #1 on: August 04, 2009, 06:39:15 AM »
Hey Steve,
Thanks for the info. Although the post doesn't say when the meeting is, I think it is this week. I am out of town until Saturday night and regret that I can't attend. Hope you have a great time. Take care.

Romo
Managing Director
The Tape Project

Offline ironbut

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Re: Tape Project Demos SF
« Reply #2 on: August 04, 2009, 10:31:45 AM »
Hi Romo,

Yes, it is this Saturday (sorry 'bout that).  I was hoping to see you there. It's been a while (over a year now?) but I'll have to drop by the studio and check out the changes you guys have made one of these days.
steve koto
 Sony scd 777es(R. Kern mods)> Vpi Aires>Dynavector XX-2mkll>Bent mu>CAT ultimate>CJ premeir 140>Magnepan 1.6qr(Jensen xover)Headphone Eddie Current Zana Deux>AT ad2000,HD800 ,Metric Halo ULN-2 (battery powered),
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Offline docb

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Re: Tape Project Demos SF
« Reply #3 on: August 04, 2009, 10:39:39 AM »
yo Romo,

"norcal-sf-bay-area-meet-8-8-2009" could be a hint of what day it is.

I'm just sayin'...
Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President for Life, Bottlehead Corp.
Managing Director - retired, The Tape Project

Offline docb

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Re: Tape Project Demos SF
« Reply #4 on: August 06, 2009, 10:11:05 AM »
PB and I have a car loaded with goodies and ready to start the drive down. We have the Nagra T Audio with a brand new matching Tube Repro installed in the dog house, a pair of Paramount 300B amps that will run a pair AKG K1000s with a custom cable, my big single gain stage, dual mono hybrid shunt regulated active loaded 6C45pi headphone amp running HD800s, a SEX amp with MQ iron running HD600s and the new Quickie battery powered DHT preamp modded as a headphone amp. After lining up all four rigs to test the setup yesterday I have to say that that little amp is kind of amazing. All these headphone rigs will be running from a single Tube Repro, and I will have a full set of Series One Tape Project tapes at the meet. PB has brought a whole crate full of built up Quickie headphone amps for anyone who might be interested.
Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President for Life, Bottlehead Corp.
Managing Director - retired, The Tape Project

Offline Ben

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Re: Tape Project Demos SF
« Reply #5 on: August 06, 2009, 01:47:41 PM »
Thinking of my luck, building a PP amp here at home.
Got spare tubes & fuses?
Set 45,Open baffle speakers,Otari 5050,,Pioneer DV-79AVi DVD/CD/SCAD player

Offline steveidosound

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Re: Tape Project Demos SF
« Reply #6 on: August 09, 2009, 10:40:21 AM »
It was good seeing everyone at the Head-Fi  high end headphone and headphone amp meet yesterday. Reel to Reel and the Tape Project were well represented as source material, actually out representing vinyl 2 to 1, and I heard many favorable comments regarding it being the ultimate reference source.
Steve Williams

you don't want to know what equipment I listen to...

Offline ironbut

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Re: Tape Project Demos SF
« Reply #7 on: August 09, 2009, 12:57:03 PM »
It was great seeing some of the Tape Project members there. It's always good to get some feedback on the various tweaks I've done to my rig. I never know if I've gone off on some wacky tangent that only I'm hearing without it.

Doc really put on a fantastic demo. I particularly enjoyed the AKG K1000's driven by the Paramounts but the Big headphone/preamp>HD800's was very impressive too. I think he's going to have a hot seller with the "Quickie".
And that Nagra T,.. sweet!!! The way he integrated the Tube Repro into the meter bridge looked great and the way the transport operates,.. like budda! Very impressive
I keep an eye on his listening stations and they kept well occupied. This can't be said for any other vendors even the much more well known ones.

There were a few other points of interest but I think that I'll leave it for Doc to post.

I had a heck of a great time giving folks a taste of what the Tape Project's all about, but man, I was pretty beat by the time I got home.
steve koto
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Offline ironbut

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Re: Tape Project Demos SF
« Reply #8 on: August 09, 2009, 01:21:00 PM »
Here's some pictures taken of the meet (about halfway down the page posts 41 and 42). There's a really nice shot of Doc's Nagra and just below it, that nice looking back belongs to Tape Project 001 artist Jacqui Naylor who made a surprise visit to support Doc's effort.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f45/norcal-8-8-09-meet-impressions-438953/index3.html

More to come.
steve koto
 Sony scd 777es(R. Kern mods)> Vpi Aires>Dynavector XX-2mkll>Bent mu>CAT ultimate>CJ premeir 140>Magnepan 1.6qr(Jensen xover)Headphone Eddie Current Zana Deux>AT ad2000,HD800 ,Metric Halo ULN-2 (battery powered),
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Offline docb

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Re: Tape Project Demos SF
« Reply #9 on: August 09, 2009, 09:38:22 PM »
Thanks Steve,

I just got web access this evening (new netbook got blowed up right before we left town, now using ancient squirrel powered laptop with no wireless!). It was really a neat surprise to meet no less than three TP subscribers out of a group of maybe 80 folks in attendance. The other truly wonderful thing about the meet was the number of attendees in their 20's and 30's. I dare say the curmudgeonly laments we see about only old guys caring about audio are being made by folks who aren't looking for where younger audiophiles are directing their energy.

BTW your rig was sounding great. The electrostatic headphones and amp were really, really low distortion and very relaxed sounding.
Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President for Life, Bottlehead Corp.
Managing Director - retired, The Tape Project

Offline Romo

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Re: Tape Project Demos SF
« Reply #10 on: August 09, 2009, 09:51:16 PM »
yo Romo,

"norcal-sf-bay-area-meet-8-8-2009" could be a hint of what day it is.

I'm just sayin'...



Like, I'm supposed to read all the way down at the bottom. And infer from the title of the link. Geeeeez.

Sorry I missed it. Sounds like a great time, and some really great setups.

Steve, Give me a holla and come up anytime. We might have a few things to play for you ; )


Great to see you oh so briefly today Doc. Hope you an PB have a safe trip back.
oh yeah, and concerning the netbook/squirrel powered laptop....
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB466LL/A?mco=MjE0NDk5Mw

..I'm just sayin'... : )

the romo
Managing Director
The Tape Project

Offline ironbut

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Re: Tape Project Demos SF
« Reply #11 on: August 10, 2009, 03:16:45 AM »
Thanks for the compliments on my rig Doc. That means a lot to someone like me that's just starting to learn how to put things right in an amp.

I looked for Paul and yourself after I got packed up and Mikey pulled out his stash of fancy booze (I figured you guys just wanted to check into your rooms and kick back). Frank, JP, Al and a few others sat around the then empty room and chewed the fat until they kicked us out. We were actually musing on the number of guys on Headfi who have very expensive systems who we later find out are in their early 20's and still in college!

I totally agree and it's very encouraging to see how good most of the younger members are at critical listening and finding their personal listening preferences so early. Headfi's membership is over 100k now and I almost feel sorry for snake oil dealers in 10 years or so. But I also see a cheery future for folks like you guys that produce music that sounds great.

steve koto
 Sony scd 777es(R. Kern mods)> Vpi Aires>Dynavector XX-2mkll>Bent mu>CAT ultimate>CJ premeir 140>Magnepan 1.6qr(Jensen xover)Headphone Eddie Current Zana Deux>AT ad2000,HD800 ,Metric Halo ULN-2 (battery powered),
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Offline steveidosound

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Re: Tape Project Demos SF
« Reply #12 on: August 10, 2009, 06:59:09 AM »
Thanks for the compliments on my rig Doc. That means a lot to someone like me that's just starting to learn how to put things right in an amp.

I looked for Paul and yourself after I got packed up and Mikey pulled out his stash of fancy booze (I figured you guys just wanted to check into your rooms and kick back). Frank, JP, Al and a few others sat around the then empty room and chewed the fat until they kicked us out. We were actually musing on the number of guys on Headfi who have very expensive systems who we later find out are in their early 20's and still in college!

I totally agree and it's very encouraging to see how good most of the younger members are at critical listening and finding their personal listening preferences so early. Headfi's membership is over 100k now and I almost feel sorry for snake oil dealers in 10 years or so. But I also see a cheery future for folks like you guys that produce music that sounds great.



I agree about the number of 20 somethings there. Though in a certain sense it's not too surprising given the fact that they already are accustomed to earbuds and iPods. Many are inde musicians and hold tube guitar amps in higher esteem than solid state ones. Their nomadic nature and preference for not accumulating lots of stuff at an early age may keep them from big speakers and collections of source material on vinyl or (sadly) R2R, but again from what I heard there, they are judging what both of you had there as state of the art sources and amplification to judge the best headphones through. They clearly can discern the difference if exposed to the higher quality sources and amplification.
Steve Williams

you don't want to know what equipment I listen to...

Offline docb

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Re: Tape Project Demos SF
« Reply #13 on: August 11, 2009, 11:07:20 AM »
Hey Steve, don't feel too bad for us missing the fine hootch. I ended up getting talked into a steak dinner at Morton's with PB and Tim Marutani. I didn't get too many shots, but Chuck McCalment did the honors with my camera and got a few nice shots when Jacqui Naylor stopped by in the afternoon. When you're done looking at JQ's qualifications you might cast a glance at the new Tube Repro in the doghouse of the Nagra.
Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President for Life, Bottlehead Corp.
Managing Director - retired, The Tape Project

Offline docb

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Re: Tape Project Demos SF
« Reply #14 on: August 11, 2009, 01:12:20 PM »
Quote
Great to see you oh so briefly today Doc. Hope you an PB have a safe trip back.
oh yeah, and concerning the netbook/squirrel powered laptop....
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB466LL/A?mco=MjE0NDk5Mw

..I'm just sayin'... : )

the romo

Refurb, huh. Am I gonna find your initials scratched on the bottom panel?



ba-dum, chic
Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President for Life, Bottlehead Corp.
Managing Director - retired, The Tape Project