Category: Tech

In an effort to trim back on the number of my YouTube subscriptions, I succeed only in finding more channels of interest. AudioPhil (get the joke?) has a $10,000 amplifier, a $4000 turntable, and a $1000 phono cartridge.

Phil is using two platter mats, a tweak of debatable value as all audio tweaks are. Note that even a deluxe specialty pressing like that one is a bit off-center. And now for reference, the official digital copy of “Light My Fire.”

They sound surprisingly close to me, probably due in part to the use of a digital master for the record. A compulsion to make this sort of “angels on the head of a pin” comparison is proof that audio guys are a certain sort of crazy. My hearing is still just good enough to enjoy playing this game, but I know it can’t last.

(Time passes)

Must… play… more! Here’s a sample I can really appreciate. Who’s Next was the album that motivated me to spend $200 of very hard-earned money from my restaurant job in high school to buy my first stereo system. That $200 is equivalent to $1300 today. It bought a Pioneer SX-440 receiver, Garrard 40B turntable with Pickering XV cartridge, and Realistic MC-1000 speakers. Later I bought Pioneer SE-20A headphones for $20.

This capture is from an original 1971 pressing. The sound is tops, with a surface that’s quiet enough to hear the master tape hiss at the opening. The only problem is Roger Daltry’s shriek at the end breaking up. Put on decent headphones to hear why turntables and vinyl records persist.

Listen carefully for the guitar strumming that almost sounds like an unplugged electric guitar, more than an acoustic guitar. I wasn’t hearing that on my SE-20A headphones when playing the record as a 16-year-old with superb hearing. But I was hearing it when WBCN-FM played “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

Was the phono cartridge the problem? Yes, as buying a Shure M91ED cartridge for $20 proved. But the high-compliance Shure needed anti-skating to keep the stylus centered, and that was a feature the inexpensive Garrard turntable lacked. And so the madness took hold of me, as it does everyone seeking the perfection that doesn’t exist. The very fact that I remember all of this is proof of my condition!