I'm Into CD

runaway · Post by **runaway** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 9:34 pm

CD appreciation thread. Here's a small sampling of my Spiritualized CD collection. It includes unopened copies of LAGWAFIS (12 X CD3 and single disc) and LICD, some Japanese releases (with the usual bonus track), a pre-release "Elvis version" of LAGWAFIS, and my beloved CD single of Anyway That You Want Me.

full image

runaway · Post by **runaway** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 9:50 pm

One of my most treasured CD possessions; the rare Link Wray Original Swan Recordings (on Norton Records) complete with guitar pick!

runaway · Post by **runaway** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 3:07 am

Got 2000+ CDs housed in these ridiculous "spice rack" shelves. My 20-something a/v guy thought it was crazy that I had all these CDs. Tried talking me into dumping them onto a big hard drive unit.

Laz69 · Post by **Laz69** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 8:29 am

runaway wrote:Got 2000+ CDs housed in these ridiculous "spice rack" shelves. My 20-something a/v guy thought it was crazy that I had all these CDs. Tried talking me into dumping them onto a big hard drive unit.

I actually think thats really rather neat...

Mines are simply stuck in a series of Ikea CD racks and banished to the corner of the room

Aquarian-Time · Post by **Aquarian-Time** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 8:42 am

I have begun replacing some cd's with vinyl, but still have thousands. Ideally getting rid of a lot of cd singles and replacing where I can with the replica 12" that was often released with it, especially in the 90's this seemed the norm.
Some things came out only on cd and some of my cd's are Ltd edition or housed with nice artwork etc so theywont be going anywhere. Just trying to trim the Compact discs down as they dont do it for me compared to Vinyl.
Costing me a bloody fortune though, I blame Olan

davedecay · Post by **davedecay** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 2:35 pm

One of our local thrift shops (charity shops in the UK) had a load of CDs out priced at 10 for $1.00. Wife and I picked out 30.

I'm told a local dealer ran out of room and donated somewhere in the neighborhood of 75,000 discs to local thrift shops.

I also purchased a CD EP of "Undo The Taboo" on eBay, since the vinyl is too bloody expensive for me.

olan · Post by **olan** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 4:03 pm

Aquarian-Time wrote:I have begun replacing some cd's with vinyl, but still have thousands. Ideally getting rid of a lot of cd singles and replacing where I can with the replica 12" that was often released with it, especially in the 90's this seemed the norm.
Some things came out only on cd and some of my cd's are Ltd edition or housed with nice artwork etc so theywont be going anywhere. Just trying to trim the Compact discs down as they dont do it for me compared to Vinyl.
Costing me a bloody fortune though, I blame Olan

You can blame me for everything....I can't remember a thing these days!

We own nearly 3000 CDs. Here is a photo of our collection:

They are all ripped, tagged and stored on a Vortexbox which serves a bunch of streamers and TVs. My wife is very pleased at not having CDs all over the place, I can always find the music I want to play, and sometimes play stuff that I didn't remember was there because I can find it! Lastly, the days of searching for a CD only to find somebody has put the wrong disk into the box are a thing of the past.

On the other hand, here is a shot of some of the records and the weapon of choice:

I think this is what motivated Dave's financial woe IIRC.

runaway · Post by **runaway** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 4:48 pm

olan wrote:
We own nearly 3000 CDs. Here is a photo of our collection:

Yeah, that's what my guy tried talking me into getting. I just like having some totemic item I can see and fondle - it harkens back to the days of vinyl for me.
I play my CDs on a 15-year-old Anthem CD1 player - an early tube driven unit that lends a bit of warmth to an otherwise cold-sounding format. I dread the day when it finally gives up the ghost.

olan · Post by **olan** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 5:27 pm

runaway wrote:
Yeah, that's what my guy tried talking me into getting. I just like having some totemic item I can see and fondle - it harkens back to the days of vinyl for me.
I play my CDs on a 15-year-old Anthem CD1 player - an early tube driven unit that lends a bit of warmth to an otherwise cold-sounding format. I dread the day when it finally gives up the ghost.

What are these 'days of vinyl of which you speak'?

Vinyl is where it is at and always has been!

In reality I buy CDs where either the vinyl is unavailable or is too expensive. It never ceases to amaze me how far £10 can go when buying CDs. I buy more now than when I owned a CD player all those years ago.

If your CD player dies, buy a streamer or a cheap transport like a Blueray player and play it through a valve DAC if you want a bit more warmth. I got excellent results from a £19 DVD player bought at Tesco and played though a cheap DAC. I think total cost was about £50.

plastic37 · Post by **plastic37** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 5:31 pm

Great thread

runaway wrote:and my beloved CD single of Anyway That You Want Me.

Why so?

Of the stash you have pictured the Let It Flow treble is the one i am really pleased i got at the time. I'm pretty sure they were 99p or 1.99 each on the day of release.

plastic37 · Post by **plastic37** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 5:38 pm

Great to see that photo with the three special CD packages from Spiritualized. I know that from time to time various bands do innovative CD housing concepts but who else has delivered three all time classics in a row?
Is there any better bespoke CD presentation than Ladies and Gents'....????

runaway · Post by **runaway** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 5:51 pm

olan wrote:
If your CD player dies, buy a streamer or a cheap transport like a Blueray player and play it through a valve DAC if you want a bit more warmth. I got excellent results from a £19 DVD player bought at Tesco and played though a cheap DAC. I think total cost was about £50.

I've got a decent BluRay player (Oppo) but it's set up to my 5.1 TV room - where I listen to DVD-A and other "surround sound" audio (like the Simple Minds' New Gold Dream disc I mentioned in another thread, which sounds fucking fantastic, btw). The Anthem is hitched up to a traditional 2 channel setup.

plastic37 wrote:
runaway wrote:and my beloved CD single of Anyway That You Want Me.
Why so?

I've just always loved it. I can't imagine it's very common - I'd never seen others for sale in the years after I bought it (the week it came out).

plastic37 · Post by **plastic37** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 6:36 pm

runaway wrote: I've just always loved it. I can't imagine it's very common - I'd never seen others for sale in the years after I bought it (the week it came out).

I brought a copy in the late 1990s. I think i paid £10. I just wanted a really, really good copy of that song. I love it too. I do remember a tingle when i saw it in the rack. It was one of those record fairs where there's an equal number of people selling their record collection and dealers. I seem to remember the chap was saving for a wedding or house or something so he was selling his youth/soul.

davedecay · Post by **davedecay** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 4:28 am

got another Brother JT disc in the mail today, Maybe We Should Take Some More?

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/962 ... some-more/

http://www.allmusic.com/album/maybe-we- ... 0000021566

angelsighs · Post by **angelsighs** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 10:40 am

first of all I am drooling at runaway's Spiritualized CD collection there. I've managed to amass some including all the Ladies and Gents and LICD singles (including that cool japanese Do It All Over Again EP, which is still in it's shrinkwrap!) but some of those are pretty rare. finding all 3 of the Let it Flow singles is pretty difficult.

I grew up in the 90s when CDs were the dominant format and i've stuck with that really. I guess I slipped through the net between it being the main format in the 80s, and it's recent revival. Don't think I haven't thought about making the jump... then I think of my bank balance (wall space is also currently being lost to CDs, got knows where I would put vinyl).

plus as Olan said, CDs are cheap as chips at the moment. lots of people are selling off their CD collections, having clear outs and I am only too happy to take some off their hands. loads of CDs on amazon marketplace for literally pennies sometimes.

if packaged right they can be just as desirable as records. a cheap jewel case and a single insert with no info = crap. but nice slipcases, digipaks, get creative and generous with packaging and it's all good.

I am still very much attached to having a physical embodiment of music I like, so my collection is going nowhere.

olan · Post by **olan** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 11:41 am

Useful thread this. Most of my CDs are packed up in boxes in the loft. I opened the carton I thought contained my Spiritualized, Spacemen 3, Spectrum and Sonic Boom CDs. Suffice to say I will need to have a huge tidy up in the attic as there is loads I couldn't find. Here are a selection of promos that were at the top of the box. At one stage I had promo versions of everything released on CD, but this is what a five minute search turned up, including the VHS promo and CD for RAH.

Top of the list of stuff I didn't find was my original pill pack for LAGWAFIS, although I did find the re-release.

It also turns out that most of these promos have not been ripped to my NAS, which set my OCD-o-meter quivering

, but I have convinced myself I do not need four different versions of (e.g.) the Cheapster cd single ripped.

semisynthetic · Post by **semisynthetic** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 10:17 pm

I too appreciate nice packaging - I have purchased music completely unknown to me because of it!
Spiritualized have always impressed me with the level of detail; a great MANY musicians I enjoy and respect for their talent is very often do to the level of detail of the music and the care with which it is packaged; (of course, sometimes all you find IS JUST THE PACKAGING, but that is OK); I have much more music I enjoy than music I do not; some recordings may have a great Historical aspect; and other recordings simply never seem to get old.

Thank you for sharing your SPIRITUALIZED CDs, and the others, too.

mc · Post by mc » Sat Jan 24, 2015 11:18 pm

Ten years ago I never thought for a moment I'd get rid of my beloved CDs. Despite that, for the last seven years I've ripped all CD purchases and listened to them digitally via a spare laptop with external hard drive plumbed directly into my stereo. It's an old Mac with Front Row still installed, so my entire music collection became remote controlled and accessible without getting off my lazy arse. The increasingly useless CDs were taking up more and more space, and after we bought a house I finally took the plunge. Three 500-CD wallets were purchased, and I spent a weekend dismantling every single CD I owned: the CD itself went in the wallet, the booklet & back cover were piled in small storage boxes, and the extraneous plastic went in the bin. I kept all the digipaks & special editions etc I owned, but even so, the amount of useless plastic I threw out was incredible. The vast majority of my music purchases are now downloads and the odd piece of vinyl.

That said, I still collect books with a passion borderlining on the obsessive, aided and abetted by my missus' equally bad addiction

mc · Post by mc » Sat Jan 24, 2015 11:21 pm

I should add that I'm still a sucker for good packaging. After all, I came across Spiritualized in '97 purely because of how awesome the LAGWAFIS pill pack looked on the shelf in HMV

davedecay · Post by **davedecay** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 5:00 am

I thought about selling CDs off, but it's not worth what I'd get for them.

Except for the occasional rarity that commands big money. I have sold a few of those that I'm not attached to.

heisenberg · Post by **heisenberg** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 10:44 pm

runaway wrote:CD appreciation thread. Here's a small sampling of my Spiritualized CD collection. It includes unopened copies of LAGWAFIS (12 X CD3 and single disc) and LICD, some Japanese releases (with the usual bonus track), a pre-release "Elvis version" of LAGWAFIS, and my beloved CD single of Anyway That You Want Me.

full image

Not wishing to burst your bubble, but no Spacemen 3 sticker on the ATYWM single?

runaway · Post by **runaway** » Sun Jan 25, 2015 11:12 pm

heisenberg wrote:
runaway wrote:CD appreciation thread. Here's a small sampling of my Spiritualized CD collection. It includes unopened copies of LAGWAFIS (12 X CD3 and single disc) and LICD, some Japanese releases (with the usual bonus track), a pre-release "Elvis version" of LAGWAFIS, and my beloved CD single of Anyway That You Want Me.

full image
Not wishing to burst your bubble, but no Spacemen 3 sticker on the ATYWM single?

Was there one originally? That's pretty cool. I bought that one new, and as evidenced by the price sticker on the jewel case there was no shrink wrap.

rameses · Post by **rameses** » Mon Jan 26, 2015 12:27 pm

olan wrote:
including the VHS promo and CD for RAH.

|

What's on the VHS, is it footage from the concert?

olan · Post by **olan** » Mon Jan 26, 2015 5:03 pm

rameses wrote:
olan wrote:
including the VHS promo and CD for RAH.

|
What's on the VHS, is it footage from the concert?

I don't think I've ever played it!

I must dig out our VCR and have a look at it. I shoved it back in the box in the attic without checking the contents. I do recall that there is also a CD with excerpts from the live LP on it included in the package.

runaway · Post by **runaway** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 3:40 am

Oh shit, I left out (perhaps) the best one:

KingHarry · Post by **KingHarry** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 8:05 pm

runaway wrote:Oh shit, I left out (perhaps) the best one:

I've got that. But it's an empty sleeve. No idea where the actual CD went, but certainly haven't seen it for > 15 years. Bit of a crime really.
Seem to remember it was mail-order only, via MMaker possibly?

Btw - my sleeve is in better nick than the one in your photo

PopeJez · Post by **PopeJez** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 10:16 pm

The original mail order cd's don't have a barcode on the back. I think there was a repress which had the barcode. I was lucky enough to be in London to pick up a vinyl promo with a badge attached "summer '93 fucked up inside".

runaway · Post by **runaway** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 12:04 am

No barcode. Says 1993 Dedicated Mail Order Only.

PopeJez · Post by **PopeJez** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 6:36 am

It's still one of my favourite Spiritualized releases. Turn it up a bit and still sounds fantastic.

Greeny · Post by **Greeny** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 9:27 am

: IMG-20150129-00307.jpg (173.61 KiB) Viewed 8257 times

A few bits and bobs I dug out of a box, including the RAH 'silver' promo that kicked the whole collecting silliness off...

Never really see the problem with CDs - if your player is good enough they sound amazing and for quiet stuff (think Talk Talk's Laughing Stock) the lack of background pops and crackles works better than vinyl for me, as it's less distracting.

Mind you, I even stop our mantlepiece clock when I'm on a serious listening session...

rameses · Post by **rameses** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 9:35 am

What's the blue CD with the RCA label?

Greeny · Post by **Greeny** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 10:07 am

rameses wrote:What's the blue CD with the RCA label?

It's an American promo that is *supposed* to have a unique version of Feel So Sad on it. Even I am not anal enough to try and compare it to all the other version I have though!!

See also:

http://spiritualized-discography.com/IWY_USCDPro.html

angelsighs · Post by **angelsighs** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 7:38 pm

I am trying to post & attach pics of some of my CDs but it says the pics are too big.. is there an easy way to resize them? am I being dense?

Post by **BzaInSpace** » Fri Jan 30, 2015 5:25 am

Photobucket or even just plain old Windows Photo Viewer to resize?

Loving the pics here by the way...

olan · Post by **olan** » Fri Jan 30, 2015 6:54 am

angelsighs wrote:I am trying to post & attach pics of some of my CDs but it says the pics are too big.. is there an easy way to resize them? am I being dense?

I lob my crappy photos onto flickr. It then presents you with a bunch of different sizes of the photo. For this site one of the medium size is ideal. I simply use the url for the appropriate image size. Given my absence on PC skills, I'm not about to mince around with my badly shot pictures myself as there would be nothing left to see. Flickr is idiot proof.......

Post by **spzretent** » Fri Jan 30, 2015 1:46 pm

angelsighs wrote:I am trying to post & attach pics of some of my CDs but it says the pics are too big.. is there an easy way to resize them? am I being dense?

I cant remember if the version is different other than the CD title of Feel So Bad.

plastic37 · Post by **plastic37** » Fri Jan 30, 2015 2:17 pm

A lengthy article: Why CDs May Actually Sound Better Than Vinyl

http://www.laweekly.com/music/why-cds-m ... yl-5352162

Lots of history/technical stuff.

runaway · Post by **runaway** » Fri Jan 30, 2015 4:40 pm

We are definitely in the midst of a CD renaissance!

angelsighs · Post by **angelsighs** » Fri Jan 30, 2015 7:28 pm

thanks for the technical advice all!

right who's got this badboy? first 500 copies were signed and hand numbered. all of the Treader releases were beautifully embossed and packaged like this, with different animals. wish I had bought more of them.

more importantly, who has listened to it more than twice?

davedecay · Post by **davedecay** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 6:50 am

plastic37 wrote:A lengthy article: Why CDs May Actually Sound Better Than Vinyl

http://www.laweekly.com/music/why-cds-m ... yl-5352162

Lots of history/technical stuff.

note the hedge word: "MAY"

http://grammar.about.com/od/tz/g/verbhedterm.htm

badly done digital discs cause listening fatigue to many people. i'm not saying they can't sound good - but just because it's on CD doesn't make it better than vinyl or high-res digital files.

Greeny · Post by **Greeny** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 9:44 am

angelsighs wrote: right who's got this badboy?

Me! Also got the Silent Sound CD Jason did - almost chucked that on the pile I photographed earlier.

I think I've got another two or three of the Treader CDs... you are right, they were real labours of love by the label.

By the way, those into DIY CDs could do a lot worse than purchase this and burn a copy: https://caribouband.bandcamp.com/releases

The first two tracks are nothing special but the 13 minute version of Sun is a blinder!!

It's for charidee too...

angelsighs · Post by **angelsighs** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 3:00 pm

yeah i got Silent Sound too. that one is actually quite pleasurable to listen to! don't get the concept though.
all in all i've got quite a few things signed by the Spacemen- none in person unfortunately.

mojo filters · Post by **mojo filters** » Sat Jan 31, 2015 9:23 pm

davedecay wrote:
plastic37 wrote:A lengthy article: Why CDs May Actually Sound Better Than Vinyl

http://www.laweekly.com/music/why-cds-m ... yl-5352162

Lots of history/technical stuff.
note the hedge word: "MAY"

http://grammar.about.com/od/tz/g/verbhedterm.htm

badly done digital discs cause listening fatigue to many people. i'm not saying they can't sound good - but just because it's on CD doesn't make it better than vinyl or high-res digital files.

I don't want to get into a techy and pointless debate on the merits of vinyl vs CD. However I think it's not contentious to accept that the increased capabilities of CD format offer more opportunities to fuck up the sound - for example the escalation of the mastering techniques that fueled the loudness war.

A example is Paul Simon's "Graceland" - recorded using early digital multi-track technology. The original CDs pressed in 1986 sound fine, but are noticeably quieter compared with more modern releases. This was then remastered a few times over the years, and despite Simon's perfectionist attitude, subsequent pressings get noticeably louder - thus reducing the dynamic range.

Now international standards have been agreed for broadcast and other mediums, discs mastered too loud will no longer have an advantage - and technically should sound worse, when subjected to the processing developed by experts like Bob Katz .

With vinyl, choices are much more limited - attempts to expand the scope of the medium result in undesirable effects, such as the needle jumping in the groove, making records unplayable!

I think vinyl benefits considerably from the care required to get it right. From careful mastering requirements, to the care needed on the part of the consumer to play a record - this combines to create a consistent result, where the only limited differences result from slightly different (barely perceptible) dynamics depending on how much is squeezed onto each side, plus the stronger bass available from the wider outer grooves.

Other limitations such as needing bass frequencies to be in phase (ie no mid-sides width) and mono, are rarely of concern because as you get lower down the frequency register, the less directional the sound (due to the physical length of low frequencies increasing as they get lower). My only recollection of this compromising a recording was Massive Attack's "Mezzanine" which featured stereo sub 100Hz basslines. Due to the horn size required to maintain pattern control down in low bass/sub-bass frequencies, the average listener would likely not have playback equipment capable of accurately reproducing this effect, though it may be more perceptible on headphones.

davedecay · Post by **davedecay** » Sun Feb 01, 2015 5:24 am

I'm for any and all formats, depending on the situation.

I can often buy a full (used) album for $1-$15. Many times that's less than a physical CD or digital download. Yes, I do buy used CDs at times. And I have purchased lossless audio, because I can downsample myself for portability.

The value, to me, is in choice and flexibility. I will not be limited to only one source of audio.

And being visual, it's not just repeating what others say - I truly do enjoy looking at larger art, inserts with lyrics, and so on.

CDs most definitely have their place along with other media, especially when the price is right.

angelsighs · Post by **angelsighs** » Mon Feb 02, 2015 7:59 pm

this is the Do It All Over Again Japanese EP.

no new tracks, it just collects a few LICD tracks and B sides. Japanese writing makes everything look cooler though. and I've never been inclined to open it, but I've heard that it's got lyrics printed inside.

semisynthetic · Post by **semisynthetic** » Fri Feb 06, 2015 5:32 am

The Japanese figured out long ago that people would give a little extra for Quality; the vinyl is always superior - interesting booklets and photos; the CDs are made from the best sources, and usually have some little "something" extra; a track or inserts of interest; I have a VERY early Japanese disc before they figured it all out; it has a GREAT live, Jazz band; you can hear the ambient noises in the background, people talking and practically smell the coffee and smoke; but the vinyl quality was poor; the packaging was terrible and they ended up in a 1950's Bargain Bin long before I got a hold of them. So I have been a fan of YSL (vinyl) for ages from Japan and their other products; Picture discs made in Japan were made very differently than anywhere else; they are "records with art on them"; there are exceptions - and some countries paid to have customized "shaped" discs that were more art than music; but not the Primary product.

(I wish we still made superior recordings; I have been buying from the "Import Racks" for decades).

angelsighs · Post by **angelsighs** » Sun Feb 08, 2015 3:52 pm

I decided to finally open the Do It All Over Again EP.. and it does indeed have the lyrics printed for all songs on there.
the design is really cool and fits in with the whole LICD aesthetic.

I remember reading once that because Japanese fans can often import albums cheaper than buying them domestically, bands often have to offer something extra- such as nicer packaging, or the very common 'Japanese bonus track'.

semisynthetic · Post by **semisynthetic** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 7:32 am

I obtained this USA Promo quite some time ago. I really like Radio Promos; there are wonderful little "extras" that are sometimes provided. (Not THIS time, but sometimes).

semisynthetic · Post by **semisynthetic** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 7:57 am

angelsighs wrote:I decided to finally open the Do It All Over Again EP.. and it does indeed have the lyrics printed for all songs on there.
the design is really cool and fits in with the whole LICD aesthetic.

I remember reading once that because Japanese fans can often import albums cheaper than buying them domestically, bands often have to offer something extra- such as nicer packaging, or the very common 'Japanese bonus track'.

I remember reading in the Wall Street Journal, where they were discussing the CD vs Vinyl argument, and "Why the Japanese DO SO WELL!", but frankly the point in (that particular article c. 30 years ago) was the income disparity; I thought the $14.99 - $22.99 range was pricey, but worth it, however at that time the Japanese equivalence was something around $50; I remember that because of a "Super HI-FI" extremely heavy disc put out by Mobile Fidelity were $50 - $60 in the USA at that time, and so the average Japanese worker would be paying an INCREDIBLE price for these LTD Discs; (they are MAGNIFICENT on the proper system); but most Japanese of that era were unlikely to purchase more than 1-2 of their OWN Countries Standard YSL recordings because they were simply too much!; AND to make things worse, there was a plan to begin adding some "special" tax for Japanese citizens; the idea being to bring in foreign currency, but I do not know if the tax was ever instituted.
That whole thing really bugged me, and I can remember reading all those years ago, and it is still annoying! So, in part, the Japanese fans were, at least at some time, buying imports because they were a fraction of the Japanese currency conversion, and CONSIDERABLY cheaper in cost (and very often in quality) compared to recordings made in their OWN country!

angelsighs · Post by **angelsighs** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 5:57 pm

This is Bardo Pond's Yntra which I think probably counts as an EP.

Only 500 CDs according to the notes. The CD is housed in this lovely embossed card sleeve that has four corners that fold in on itself. It's great but each time you open it to play the music, you can almost feel the corners receiving that little bit more wear and tear

the music is fantastic too. I think it's a radio session of some kind.

semisynthetic · Post by **semisynthetic** » Tue Feb 10, 2015 1:00 am

angelsighs wrote:This is Bardo Pond's Yntra which I think probably counts as an EP.

Only 500 CDs according to the notes. The CD is housed in this lovely embossed card sleeve that has four corners that fold in on itself. It's great but each time you open it to play the music, you can almost feel the corners receiving that little bit more wear and tear

I have some packaging similar to this idea, so I remove the disc (whatever the media), place it in an appropriate sleeve, and place it WITH the packaging, but not IN it; I place an appropriate size and thickness of acid-free material inside the original package; this keeps all the items together, but eliminates the wear and tear that you refer to. (A Neil Young Promo disc comes to mind; it is in an elaborately folded package), but I made life simpler to listen to the recording in a way that keeps the discs and packaging as "new" as possible. [Very nice piece by the way!]

olan · Post by **olan** » Tue Feb 10, 2015 6:51 am

angelsighs wrote:This is Bardo Pond's Yntra which I think probably counts as an EP.

Only 500 CDs according to the notes. The CD is housed in this lovely embossed card sleeve that has four corners that fold in on itself. It's great but each time you open it to play the music, you can almost feel the corners receiving that little bit more wear and tear

the music is fantastic too. I think it's a radio session of some kind.

Our approach is to take the CD, rip it to the NAS, put it back in the packaging and store it carefully in the loft. This means that really delicate and valuable items like the paper bags for cds and cdrs released by The Heads are pristine. Of course, keeping these items in the loft is a bit of a stress if you are a tad on the OCD side......

angelsighs · Post by **angelsighs** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 6:12 pm

olan wrote:
angelsighs wrote:This is Bardo Pond's Yntra which I think probably counts as an EP.

Only 500 CDs according to the notes. The CD is housed in this lovely embossed card sleeve that has four corners that fold in on itself. It's great but each time you open it to play the music, you can almost feel the corners receiving that little bit more wear and tear

the music is fantastic too. I think it's a radio session of some kind.
Our approach is to take the CD, rip it to the NAS, put it back in the packaging and store it carefully in the loft. This means that really delicate and valuable items like the paper bags for cds and cdrs released by The Heads are pristine. Of course, keeping these items in the loft is a bit of a stress if you are a tad on the OCD side......

yeah but then you can't readily pick up the CD and drool over it!!

olan · Post by **olan** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:42 pm

angelsighs wrote:
olan wrote:
angelsighs wrote:This is Bardo Pond's Yntra which I think probably counts as an EP.

Only 500 CDs according to the notes. The CD is housed in this lovely embossed card sleeve that has four corners that fold in on itself. It's great but each time you open it to play the music, you can almost feel the corners receiving that little bit more wear and tear

the music is fantastic too. I think it's a radio session of some kind.
Our approach is to take the CD, rip it to the NAS, put it back in the packaging and store it carefully in the loft. This means that really delicate and valuable items like the paper bags for cds and cdrs released by The Heads are pristine. Of course, keeping these items in the loft is a bit of a stress if you are a tad on the OCD side......
yeah but then you can't readily pick up the CD and drool over it!!

Drool would mar the finish on my pristine paper bags for my Heads cds.....plus vinyl is where it is at for sheer drool-worthiness....

runaway · Post by **runaway** » Sat Feb 14, 2015 3:02 am

Went to an Audio Technica dealer in Taipei yesterday. They had a high end Yamaha SACD player hitched up to one of their little headphone tube amps and a pair of their best cans (the ones with Japanese oak housings). Absolutely incredible sounding!

davedecay · Post by **davedecay** » Sat Feb 14, 2015 4:34 am

runaway wrote:Went to an Audio Technica dealer in Taipei yesterday. They had a high end Yamaha SACD player hitched up to one of their little headphone tube amps and a pair of their best cans (the ones with Japanese oak housings). Absolutely incredible sounding!

what does something like that cost?

runaway · Post by **runaway** » Sat Feb 14, 2015 9:58 am

davedecay wrote:
runaway wrote:Went to an Audio Technica dealer in Taipei yesterday. They had a high end Yamaha SACD player hitched up to one of their little headphone tube amps and a pair of their best cans (the ones with Japanese oak housings). Absolutely incredible sounding!
what does something like that cost?

The little AT headphone tube amp is only about $1200 (U.S.). Their best headphones are about the same (the ones I tried were prototypes I think - I asked about them and salesgirl laughed "not for sale"). The big expense for a setup like this is the Yamaha SACD player - the top end ones go for more than $6000!

angelsighs · Post by **angelsighs** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 6:36 pm

Hookworms- Live Vol 2. CD and DVD set from Cardinal Fuzz. to be honest the music doesn't really capture how good the band are live, but it's a lovely item. limited edition of 80.

davedecay · Post by **davedecay** » Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:50 am

runaway wrote:
davedecay wrote:
runaway wrote:Went to an Audio Technica dealer in Taipei yesterday. They had a high end Yamaha SACD player hitched up to one of their little headphone tube amps and a pair of their best cans (the ones with Japanese oak housings). Absolutely incredible sounding!
what does something like that cost?
The little AT headphone tube amp is only about $1200 (U.S.). Their best headphones are about the same (the ones I tried were prototypes I think - I asked about them and salesgirl laughed "not for sale"). The big expense for a setup like this is the Yamaha SACD player - the top end ones go for more than $6000!

Sadly, I cannot use the phrase "only about $1200" - that's an awful lot of money to me.

runaway · Post by **runaway** » Mon Feb 23, 2015 7:16 am

davedecay wrote:
Sadly, I cannot use the phrase "only about $1200" - that's an awful lot of money to me.

I totally agree. I mentioned it because for that money you can very nearly replicate sound quality found in traditional two channel setups that cost many times more than that figure. I ended up going with the new (not yet available in the U.S.) Sony system which consists of their latest headphone amp/DAC (PHA-3) and proprietary, balanced headphones (MDR-Z7). All for just over $1200 U.S.. The sound is truly incredible, especially if you play FLAC, WAV or Apple lossless files.

davedecay · Post by **davedecay** » Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:51 pm

If I could find something *almost* that good for, say, $300, I might MAYBE get it.