Rubbish in rubbish out

Jimboo

Well-known member
So
I purchased via e-bay my first mobile fidelity recording by the English Beat (I know).
Not a great album although it has it's moments.
However, it did sound rather good. An actual well recorded full sounding foot tapping sound. Previously I had played Neil Youngs 'Homegrown' LP. Also we'll recorded. After a couple of hours playing music I realised that the mobile fidelity recording actually was to my ears of c.d quality. Subjective,yes and I still believe it to be the best format, again subjective.
The point (if there is one). Can you not just dump Russ Andrews and two grand cables as upgrades and realise that it is the recording that is the the most important thing ?
Streaming will be the future but remastered recordings so loved by many services are not necessarily the stamp of quality ithey claim to be.
Mobile fidelity recordings are very , very expensive. Agreed ,so, on balance chasing an upgrade is probably actually cheaper. And yet , a good recording is really something else.
Do we forget this? When someone says my speakers lack bass or are lacking something. Is it always the equipment at fault?
I chase good recordings to find the best sound. Hifi enthusiasts seem to chase magic boxes hoping to polish a turd.
It has to be there to be heard , right?
 
D

Deleted member 188516

Guest
russ andrews sells lots of products designed to clean and "enhance" your record and cd collection - give them a try !
 
D

Deleted member 108165

Guest
Spot-on Jimboo, it's all about the recording and nothing to do with cables or kit. Physical media rules in my house; remasters tend to sound like trash to my ears.

I'm beginning to think that Plus 1 is actually Russ Andrews using a pseudonym to peddle pseudo-science foo.
 
D

Deleted member 188516

Guest
Spot-on Jimboo, it's all about the recording and nothing to do with cables or kit. Physical media rules in my house; remasters tend to sound like trash to my ears.

I'm beginning to think that Plus 1 is actually Russ Andrews using a pseudonym to peddle pseudo-science foo.

a clean record is better than a dirty one - do you agree ?
 
D

Deleted member 108165

Guest
a clean record is better than a dirty one - agree ?
There are plenty of excellent record cleaners out there without having to resort to purchasing off Russ Andrews... are you a salesman for his company?
 
D

Deleted member 188516

Guest
I had never looked at Russ Andrews before but, I have just had a look. The latest thing is a network switch, ₤989 with a mains cable... a fool and his money come to mind.

i mentioned russ andrews because the op did.
other "foo" retailers are available !
( although clean records do sound better i believe ).
 
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D

Deleted member 188516

Guest
There are plenty of excellent record cleaners out there without having to resort to purchasing off Russ Andrews... are you a salesman for his company?

no because i would not of ridiculed the famous dde-1 machine he sold would i ?
 
So
I purchased via e-bay my first mobile fidelity recording by the English Beat (I know).
Not a great album although it has it's moments.
However, it did sound rather good. An actual well recorded full sounding foot tapping sound. Previously I had played Neil Youngs 'Homegrown' LP. Also we'll recorded. After a couple of hours playing music I realised that the mobile fidelity recording actually was to my ears of c.d quality. Subjective,yes and I still believe it to be the best format, again subjective.
The point (if there is one). Can you not just dump Russ Andrews and two grand cables as upgrades and realise that it is the recording that is the the most important thing ?
Streaming will be the future but remastered recordings so loved by many services are not necessarily the stamp of quality ithey claim to be.
Mobile fidelity recordings are very , very expensive. Agreed ,so, on balance chasing an upgrade is probably actually cheaper. And yet , a good recording is really something else.
Do we forget this? When someone says my speakers lack bass or are lacking something. Is it always the equipment at fault?
I chase good recordings to find the best sound. Hifi enthusiasts seem to chase magic boxes hoping to polish a turd.
It has to be there to be heard , right?
Too true.
The quality is very dependent on the source. Both MOFI and Analogue Productions produce some excellent discs using some well qualified engineers in the process.
You get what you pay for and I would certainly agree they are expensive but if you really want that album why not pay for the best pressing you can get.
 
D

Deleted member 188516

Guest
Too true.
The quality is very dependent on the source. Both MOFI and Analogue Productions produce some excellent discs using some well qualified engineers in the process.
You get what you pay for and I would certainly agree they are expensive but if you really want that album why not pay for the best pressing you can get.

and make sure its perfectly clean also !
 

Jimboo

Well-known member
Too true.
The quality is very dependent on the source. Both MOFI and Analogue Productions produce some excellent discs using some well qualified engineers in the process.
You get what you pay for and I would certainly agree they are expensive but if you really want that album why not pay for the best pressing you can get.
I know Al ,but.... I have many Dylan pressings and now I find that mobile fidelity have many options ( rising in price) for our Bobby. Fool and his money and all that jazz but your buy the best pressing argument is valid.
 

Jimboo

Well-known member
a clean record is better than a dirty one - do you agree ?
Of course. Two grand cables and a mains cable as thick as a babies arm with a handmade military grade fuse coupled with a MC stylus at the cost of a brand new family car won't make a dirty record sound better. A clean record will be better. If it's clean and a good recording you probably would be content enough to listen to it with less esoteric eye watering boxes.
 

britain4

Well-known member
Sep 25, 2013
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I'm sure a lot of the hifi stuff out there sells on pure FOMO powered by marketing hype. The idea of your speaker cables robbing you of that last 0.1% of performance, regardless of how good your system/cables are, is very powerful to a lot of people and it's all relative - a 2 grand set of cables is probably considered cheap peace of mind to someone not wanting to hold their £100k+ system back.

I think there is something intriguing and rewarding to swapping cables/equipment and observing the "differences" for yourself, rather than upgrading something you know for certain is better and in what ways - it goes beyond the final result of what the system sounds like. Whether these "improvements" exist or are all in the mind is another matter though...
 
D

Deleted member 188516

Guest
Spot-on Jimboo, it's all about the recording and nothing to do with cables or kit. Physical media rules in my house; remasters tend to sound like trash to my ears.

I'm beginning to think that Plus 1 is actually Russ Andrews using a pseudonym to peddle pseudo-science foo.

so if it is nothing to do with "cables and kit" may i ask why spend, what is for me, a small fortune on a fancy cd player ?

would it not of been a better idea to save the cash and spend it "optimising" your cd collection with one of these instead ?

 
D

Deleted member 188516

Guest
Of course. Two grand cables and a mains cable as thick as a babies arm with a handmade military grade fuse coupled with a MC stylus at the cost of a brand new family car won't make a dirty record sound better. A clean record will be better. If it's clean and a good recording you probably would be content enough to listen to it with less esoteric eye watering boxes.

+1.
 
Only ever bought one thing from RA, which wasn't any good and was returned. They were very slow and reluctant to refund, and I have stayed on their mailing list ever since to incur them a small ongoing cost.

Childish and not environmentally friendly - I really should stop them now.
 

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