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Topics - xcortes

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1
Suggestion Box / I guess...
« on: October 15, 2016, 08:43:33 AM »
Bob Dylan just earned the right to be released by the TP ;)

2
Tape Project Albums - general / Tp 029 and 030
« on: August 02, 2016, 08:03:38 PM »
When can we expect to hear about them? Been quite some time!

Saludos

3
Tape Project Albums - general / Series Three Updates?
« on: October 13, 2014, 05:42:51 AM »
Hi,

This forum has been very slow so let's start some action.

Can you give us an update on Series Three production?
And how about the missing titles on the Series Three catalog?

I was browsing the forum and saw that the early subscription deadline for Series Three was March 2011!

4
Reel to Reel Tape Machines / Nagra IV-S Service Manual
« on: December 15, 2011, 03:12:31 PM »
Anyone has a copy?

Thanks

5
Tape Project Albums - general / Series Two Complete
« on: October 21, 2011, 07:33:01 PM »
Don't look bad, do they?

6
General Discussion / HRx vs TP follow up
« on: October 21, 2011, 12:37:16 PM »
In october 2008 Doc B. posted:

Quote
I would not be enthused about going head to head between, say an HRx thru one of Paul's Model 2s vs, say, a stock Technics 1520, or a 1" running master on the Big Inch vs. Hrx thru a Lynx card and an inexpensive 24/176 DAC. But if you are talking about HRx on a model 2 vs. one of the ATRs with tube repro electronics for the tape playback - bring it on!

Well, last night we did a nice shootout.

Me and seven friends (all of them with a long history in audio -as if that meant something!-) compared selected tracks of three TP tapes (Arnold, Symphonic Dances and Debby) vs the same tracks on HRx material for the first two and a digital 24/192 download for the Debby. In all cases digital and analog material mastered by Paul.

Digital from a dedicated computer server (all solid state drives and heat exchangers for cooling, no moving parts) with Mykerinos card and Pyramix audio software and through a PM2.

Analog from a Mike Spitz ATR through a tube repro with selected tubes (Tele EF806s for starters).

My system/room is pretty good at resolving, dynamics and resolution (front loaded horns, triamplified, hot rodded BH SET amps with Magnequest iron all around, RCA field coil drivers, etc). Everyone commented on just how good the system was sounding last night.

First we listened to music from the server for a while. We were all impressed and more than one commented on the digital saying it was the best they'd ever heard.

Then the shootout. We started with the Symphonic Dances track on the digital. Complete silence and all taking turns to seat at the sweet spot. It was good!

When the piece ended we started playing the same piece on the tape. After a few seconds everyone started to smile. No contest. The tape was clearly better.

No need to tell you about the other two tracks as the results were the same.

Tonality, air, space and detail are just better with the tape.

A curiosity is that with tape the sound is pretty good no matter where one is seated. With the digital the sweet spot is waaay sweeter than the any other spot in the room.




7
Clifford Brown Memorial / Buzz?
« on: February 01, 2011, 07:27:19 PM »
Anyone else hears the buzzing sound? I've only been through reel A (twice). The music and sound is VERY good but there's a really annoying buzz an important part of the time. The buzz is not there between tracks. At first I thought I might had got a defective tape but I did some research and read that some people that purchased the 45 rpm reissue complain about the same thing. Apparently the buzz is in the master so there's not much to do. I'd love to hear others' experience and opinions.

8
Reel to Reel Tape Machines / What to look for in a Nagra TA?
« on: January 25, 2011, 05:40:57 PM »
I have been offered one. Local. Apparently good. No metering bridge which I understand was optional. Besides the obvious is there anything particular to this transport that I should take a look at?

I would use it, of course, with BH electronics for playback only.

No talk of price yet but I'll offer depending on what I see.

Thanks,

10
General Discussion / Season's Barclay Crocker's
« on: December 12, 2010, 08:46:31 AM »
Enjoying "Spirit of Christmas" and Messiah. Both by Marriner and ASMF. The former is a Phillips and the latter an Argo.

SOMETIMES I'm happy I decided not to build a listening room so I can share my big rig with the little ones. You should see the one year old trying to crawl inside the midbass bins!


11
Tape Tech / Quickie after Seduction works for Dolby
« on: November 13, 2010, 02:49:15 PM »
I owed this try to Steve since long ago. Just a quick note to post that the Quickie gain is enough to boost the Seduction level so that it can drive a Dolby unit (with an RS 1500.

Cheers

 

12
Tape Tech / Technics RS-1500 Record Gap Length Q
« on: September 08, 2010, 08:33:46 AM »
I'm in the process of learning to rebias a machine for different types of tape. In this case a Technics RS-1520 with TdP electronics.

I think I basically understand how to do it. The problem is that the dB over @ 10khz specified for each tape varies with the record gap length (in a range usually going from 0.25 to 1.0 mils).

My question is: what is the record gap length for the Technics RS 15xx series?

Thanks,

Xavier

http://www.rmgi-usa.com/page3/assets/BiasChart.pdf

13
Suggestion Box / Iron Butterfly - In a Gadda da Vida
« on: May 06, 2010, 10:29:46 PM »
When I was a kid there were only three rock albums in father's collection. The Who's Quadrophenia, The Beatles' Magical Mistery Tour and Iron Butterfly's In a Gadda da Vida.

I just listened to itthe last of them in lp (not my father's which is long gone). In  addition to the music being outstanding the level of detail and sonics are very, very good.

It would make for a killer TP album. And, considering the demographics of my fellow TPers, a very popular one too (I think!).

14
Tape Project Machines / ATR-102 with Tube Repro
« on: February 12, 2010, 06:44:25 PM »
Not operational yet but getting there. An ATR-102 rebuilt by ATR Services as a rack mount (FOAK for Mike Spitz) with Bottlehead tube repro and Ironbut Dolby processor. The transport has, in addition to the full compliment of 1/2 track heads, a 1/4 track playback head. It has switches to select between the 1/4 and 1/2 playback heads as well as between the stock and the Bottlehead electronics.

Very decent footprint and, to me, looks very nice!

Still have to fill the void between the deck and the stock electronics. Maybe a Dolby A processor? I read somewhere that Charles is working on them

15
A few months ago I purchased form Rich Brown a Nagra machine that had been modified by Chales King to add a 1/2 track head (the machine was a full track before) and Stellavox electronics. The machine didn't see much use so I asked John French if he could build me a 1/4 track head within a Nagra head enclosure. He built it and Charles agreed to install it along with a switch to select between heads. The machine arrived yesterday. I had previously purchased some connectors to built a Tuchel to XLRs cable which I put together yesterday night. And now the machine is sitting in my office playing BC tapes processed by one of Steve's Dolby units and through a Bottlehead Sex amp into a stealth set of yuin headphones.

The machine is very small by RTR standards, the dolby processor is hidden behind the desk (sorry Steve!) and the Sex amp is painted white matching the desk so the system is almost invisible to anyone walking into my office. To anyone's eyes I could be listening to MP3s from an iPod. And yet I'm enjoying it A LOT!

So again I want to say thanks to our fellow members U47, Stellavox, Ironbut, PJ and Doc B.

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