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Some morning Al

L.S.G. - Into Deep (1999) Thanks, Dusty! Superstition Records (Hamburg, Germany) remastered the CD and digital files in 2014 - no vinyl release so far.

I love and own a Yamaha FS1R. (Haven't sold it yet.) I bought it when it came out. It's a niche product, with its formant filtering engine designed to help emulate the human voice (it is the technology that led to Vocaloid software), but at the time it just sounded vaguely voice-like. My designs were to use it differently -- feed different voices into different dirt boxes, because dirt boxes respond differently depending on the shape of the input. Never followed through, to my lifelong regret. And yeah, Into Deep was my biggest entry point into the world of music of Oliver Lieb. Such a great album.

Bit of a link bait title, but I'm glad we're well clear of the lossy compression era in hi-fi CD players - I always turned skip protection off. The test album was Goldfrapp's Head First - pure synthwave ear candy. Head First is an almost entirely electronic album, with heavily-processed real sound from Alison Goldfrapp, a guitar, bass, and drums on selected tracks. I read that Will Gregory and Alison Goldfrapp were somewhat unsatisfied with the results of a rushed production process, but to me, it's a perfect gem. The anthemic, insanely upbeat pop tracks are well balanced against the more relaxed ambient instrumentals. To me, it's a touchstone, both a microcosm and a portal to classic 80s pop enchantment. Inspired by the video, I pulled out my old Panasonic SL-S160 from 1995, plugged in the Alessandro MS-1 and inserted 2 Eneloop AA 1.2V NiMH batteries and it sounded a bit looser and not as deep in the bass with its MASH DAC (with XBS bass off - this budget player lacks skip protection), but serviceable (volume is somewhere around 2 out of 10 with its scratchy old pot and decent channel matching - 2.5+ is deafeningly loud with the Alessandro MS-1) compared to the Sony D-EJ2000 from 2002 - the SL-S160 was an excellent match for my old student-fi Sennheiser HD 320 headphones with a nominal impedance of 100 Ω back in the day. Switching back to the D-EJ2000 on 1.2V gumstick battery with the MS-1 is a sonic revelation (perhaps not a surprise, comparing a budget player to a cutting-edge flagship). People underestimated the Sony when it was released (it came with horrible stock earbuds) - it has a much cleaner overall sound, far more separation, resolution, bass depth, soundstage, you name it - it blows the older Panasonic away in every category - you can hear things on the Sony that are completely obscured on the older player at the same volume level - younger people raised on iPods and wireless headphones have no idea what they're missing. It also demonstrates that you don't need a lot of power to drive the Grado headphones well. It was like comparing a landscape in a dark fog to a bright, sunny and clear day on a mountain meadow. A few months ago, I had the opportunity to finally test a Chord Mojo 2 - I used a Toslink optical cable out of the Sony D-EJ2000 to the Mojo 2 into the Alessandro MS-1 and I heard no difference. It was both reassuring and surprising. Obviously, the source and the headphones were limiting factors, but I walked away discovering that a $150 portable CD player from 2002 can match a $650 DAC from 2022 in my informal test (digital deathmatch!). Finally, I switched to my Arcam FMJ CD36, Headsave Classic, and Grado HP-2. Immediately, there was a change in tonality from the MS-1. It's actually hard to describe - they are in the same family and closely related, but the HP-2 emphasized different parts of the notes. The MS-1 was both brighter in treble and boomier in bass - the HP-2 had less emphasis and it was cleaner-sounding overall. I started to wonder if a pop album like Head First needed the distortion that is more evident in the MS-1 - was the HP-2 too controlled to enjoy non-audiophile music? After a few minutes, I settled into the new sound and I was able to hear a lot more - the full system had much more breadth and scope: treble was less emphasized, but more accurate and extended, with better soundstage, clearly-delineated layers, and better coherence in both the main voices and the background layers and effects. In particular, I heard the layered reverberations at the end of track 5, Head First, something I hadn't noticed before. With the home system, I heard new stuff from an album I'd played hundreds of times - was I taking crazy pills? It shows you that there's more to discover when you really listen carefully. Generally, I'm not an analytical listener and I don't seek out gear that emphasizes detail - I only do this when I'm comparing equipment. I also found myself at the limits of hearing fatigue - listening to the same short album (38 minutes long) three times in a row, even at safe volume levels, had a cumulative effect. Powering through this time, I was able to pick out additional little tunes that played in harmony in the background of the songs - they were barely audible on the other players, but the HP-2 gave them more space and separation. I like the word "holographic" that Joe Grado used to describe his new microphones. The HP-2 are not the widest-sounding headphones, but they demonstrate a giant leap from the plastic-bodied MS-1 coming out of portable CD players. At the end, it's a reminder of what happens when you climb Mount Head-Case. 🏔️ I had been easily satisfied with listening to what I had from 1995 for ten years - but after listening to better headphones and equipment, it's hard to go back. It's good to know I can still easily hear the differences between equipment. As a nice coda, the TTVJ Deluxe Flat Pads are holding up perfectly - no crumbling black foam on my ears! I'm doing a lot less headphone listening these days because I mostly listen out of my computer speakers or my stereo, but every time I get a chance for a full headphone listening session, I'm reminded of why I have such an intense relationship with and recall of great music (and such a large CD and SACD collection). Protect your hearing and enjoy the music!

I think they are HD650 pads but they were just some I found in my stash of earpads. I had to trim off the plastic ring at the bottom and attach them with double sided adhesive but it fits nicely on there.

Nice! Are those pads DIY?

Piano Concerto No.9 In Eb Major, KV 271 - Piano Concerto No.27 in Bb Major, KV 595 by Nicola Frisardi (1995) https://album.link/bzr0znrvcphj6 Example: Checking out the Chesky releases. This has great sonics of course, and the performance is good. More romantic interpretation that I was expecting. And there is a flaw at the beginning of the third track, which is a bummer, so one blemish on an otherwise great release. I checked three different sources and it is all the same. (Edit - and I do wish it was high res)

I've been cheerfully obsessing over Oliver Lieb's music for well over 30 years now. His personal studio is the stuff of legend. OL's collection of kit goes deep, and he knows how to use all of it. OL's studio in 1993. OL's studio in the late 90s. OL's studio in the mid 00s. OL's studio in 2013. OL's studio in 2017. Oliver works as mastering engineer for other artists and his own productions are fastidiously constructed and precisely arranged in three dimensional sonic space. OL is the grand master of reverb, delay and compression. His compositions extend to the edge of the known universe. With that said, Oliver himself is very much rooted on planet earth. There are certain other visionary electronic musicians who are more than a bit out there. Geir Jenssen and Jake Stephenson are two shining examples. Both are (sadly, were in the case of Jake) capable of making music like no one else can and have a sound that is instantly recognizable. They are, to borrow a phrase from the late George Carlin, fuckin' nuts. Weirdly, both Stephenson and Jenssen made use of remarkably sparse studio setups. Jake was never hugely successful (he's far more famous in death than he was in life) and Geir is just weird. Gier Jenssen's studio, 2012. Gier Jenssen's studio, 2015. The man himself in his studio, 2017. Jake Stephen's humble bedroom setup in Glastonbury. What he was capable of doing with it boggles the mind. Compared to Jake and Geir, Oliver Lieb is (to quote my favorite malapropism by the greatest stand up comedian of the modern era, Bill Hicks) the complete realm of sanity and reason. In every interaction I've had with him online (going back to a text based internet in the late 90s), OL communicates quickly, concisely and wastes no time. No one as productive as him has time for idle chit-chat. With this said, I've noticed an uptick in Oliver's online presence recently. He's got a personal FB account (which I've been friends with since 2007. Neener.) that he doesn't use and an official artist page. That latter one has been exhibiting a flurry of activity recently. Today he posted this: In the man's own words: There is nothing quite like hearing Oliver Lieb of all people geek out about synth gear.

Son of the beach:

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

Congrat on the birthday gift!

Oops! Happy belated birthday, Todd! (party favour noise)

IMG_3921.mov

Sous-Vide Halibut Fish Tacos

My sister had a great cat named Skittles. Enjoy yours!

Happy Birthday, Todd!

Looking Ahead by Ken McIntyre (1960) https://album.link/fdwvwcdwftnxp Example: New issue, originally RVG recording. Some of the hard left/right panning is hard for headphones, but works okay for speakers. And just overall lovely tunes.

^this

I bought a party pack of Feather blades years ago that will likely see me into the ground...ridiculous number of blades. Love my Feather safety razor...a lot. The quality and general weight of it is satisfying and suits me...my fine motor skills are questionable...LOL. HS

Happy birthday!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Todd! Someone sent this to me to fucking annoy me. But I send it in gratitude....really 🤣

Happy Birthday!