Don't fall off your chair...

[Masterlu]

Some more HRS rack systems:

Audio Federation - Harmonic Resolution Systems (HRS) MXR Equipment Rack Photo Gallery

[hkval]

Every finish is first class but, for me, Black is the ultimate for this piece of art and function.

[Tonepub]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

I would agree with Jeff, but I would add that it is possible to find good pressing of 60s/70s/80s rock/pop, good, early pressings of jazz and classical, etc. Living in the Bay Area is certainly an asset, but you need to look where to find it.

For rock, there's a great store in San Mateo, CA, The Vinyl Solution, that has very good quality pressings of rock/pop/soul, etc. for about $3-4 per disk, and the quality of the stuff that owner puts out is first-class. I took good care of my records, and I've bought copies of stuff from him that was better than mine. Are these British, early-stamper presssings? No, usually not, but they are clean, original presssings from the day and still sound very good. For jazz, there is the GrooveYard in Oakland that specializes in high quality original jazz vinyl, and I've built up a very nice collection with guidance from proprietor Rick Ballard, including some very nice original deep groove Blue Note monos, Columbia Six-eyes, and Impulse originals or early 60's re-pressings. Also, there is very good record store that sells via the web in Madison, WI called Strictly Discs.

Regarding rock/pop re-issues, I would stay away from the new-issued 180 gram, "audiophile"pressings of rock at $30 a pop, and look for clean originals from the same period for $3-4 instead. Again, check with The Vinyl Solution or Strictly Discs. Are you going to find early-issue Beatles mono Parlophones? No, but you can still get a lot of nice stuff; look for the earliest pressings you can find. They're still generally cheaper than the $30 new re-issues, most of which are poorly pressed and/or poorly remastered.

For jazz, you can get very nice sounding, affordable re-issues from Orignal Jazz Classics (OJC). Stay away from the $8-10 Blue Note re-issues, or the ones that come with a CD for $16. Look for originals instead, or for more high-end re-masters, the Music Matters and Analogue Productions 45s are excellent, but pricey. For classical and jazz, the Speakers Corner label from Germany is superb and really tough to beat for the price, and their pressings are just what you would expect from, well, from the Germans. Also look for Blue Note reissues from Toshiba/EMI from Japan, they are generally superb.

Classical is actually the easiest...because it's low demand, it's dirt cheap, and none of the record stores will put anything out that's not flawless. You can buy boxed sets of Classical recordings, like the entire set of The Brandenburg Concertos on excellent labels like Philips or Telefunken for $3 to $4. My favorite classical labels are Telefunken, Decca, Argo, Philips, EMI, Harmonia-Mundi, Hungaroton, Columbia. There is also a fair amount of Nonesuch which was superbly mastered by none other than Robert C Ludwig. I personally rank Deutsche Gramophone last, which is shame because there are some excellent performances in the catalog, but the recordings/masterings are generally not at the same level as the other labels, though the DG label "Das Alte Werke" is excellent.

There are plenty of good pressings still out there, but the $3-$4 stuff doesn't cut it when you step up to the $20-$50k turntable/cartridge combination.

If you're buying records at that level, buy a Rega P9 with your favorite $2500 cartridge and call it a day. But if you're buying a mega analog front end, you're just pissing in the wind if you're buying budget records. At least in the rock world.

I would have to agree with the classical and even some modern jazz, i.e. like a lot of the stuff on ECM. Early stamper examples can still be had cheap. But if you want the Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, Genesis, The Who, Led Zeppelin, etc etc etc., that stuff is EXPENSIVE way more often than not. And once you hear the good stuff, you'll never be able to go back. I wish I owned more of it and had payed closer attention in the 80's when you could buy these records for a couple bucks each easy.

Bottom line for the more affluent in this group, get the software while it's still available! Don't say I didn't warn you.

[rich@boulder]

As I'm sure some of you will be heading off to the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest next week, you may be interested to know that there are a few pretty good used and new vinyl stores in the Denver/Boulder/Colorado Springs area. The more well-known stores (Twist-n-Shout, Wax Trax) have a good supply of both new and used, while some of the more obscure stores are mostly indie stuff.

Twist-n-Shout in particular has a LOT of "classic" rock, both new and used. The owner is a huge Deadhead and was actually involved in promotions when the band came to the Boulder area annually. I'm not a big Dead fan, but I know him well enough to know that his collection of Dead recordings, signed photos and other tidbits is probably one of (if not the) biggest in Denver. Wax Trax is more of the indie and underground store and was opened by one of the co-founders of the original Wax Trax in Chicago.

[Masterlu]

The first wave of my new analog rig; the Clearaudio Table, Arm, & Cartridge will arrive next week.

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

The first wave of my new analog rig; the Clearaudio Table, Arm, & Cartridge will arrive next week.

And the tension mounts!

[turntable]

Masterlu

One of the first vinyl orders you can place. The Columbia EQ on the REF2 does wonders with my Sundazed mono Columbia LP's. I have now ordered the box set.

Amazon.com: The Original Mono Recordings (Vinyl): Bob Dylan: Music

[Masterlu]

Thanks Shane!

[Masterlu]

I ordered my 50' run of Wireworld Silver Eclipse 6.0 Balanced cables for my analog rig today.

$8K+ retail; I'm past the point of no return...

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

I'm past the point of no return...

Ivan.......That point came and went many years ago.