"Go smoke a bag of weed" haha how good is that 😂

@scottscottsdale7868

2 ай бұрын

PS Audio gear is fantastic. And for you kids out there Google George Moroder. The real deal. Looked like my uncle back in the day. Those were the days.

@scottwolf8633

2 ай бұрын

Volcano vaporizer, use oven bags. Fill the bag and huff it for 15+ minutes. No need to get the air around you, off.

@davewin1792

2 ай бұрын

Legal now. No stalks and seeds but stupid potency levels. Less is more guys.

@Theupgradeguy

2 ай бұрын

Best piece of audio advice ever! LMAO!

@bf0189

2 ай бұрын

​@@scottwolf8633 Volcanos are very outdated and overpriced. waste too much weed unless you're having a party. There are much better dry herb vapes out there now like dynavaps which only uses 50-100mg of flower.😊

There's still some fantastic recordings from that era. Not all of it is bad as you say it is

@dangerzone007

2 ай бұрын

Smoke on the water was one of the best recorded songs of that era. They recorded songs using a mobile so probably not a lot of processing.

@Justwantahover

2 ай бұрын

Take 5 by Dave Brubeck was recorded in 1961 and got first place in recording quality tracks by a reviewer on YT. 😅 What worries me is how did most recording a whole decade later get to be so bad? Dedication reigns over progress in this case! 😅

@RectifiedMetals

2 ай бұрын

And an hour later, you run out of music.😂

@terrybeavan4264

2 ай бұрын

Agreed! Over the years (geez make that decades) with few exceptions I've had the opposite experience and been pleasantly surprised as I've upgraded my equipment and heard more detail and better sound in the albums I love from that time frame. Not to mention there have been some really good remasters released of a lot of this material--I also have more copies in multiple releases and formats of Yes' Fragile alone than I should even admit but that's a whole other story! 🤣

@tamstutz921

2 ай бұрын

He didn’t say all of them were bad from that era, as you say he did. He said “some” were.

More good music came out of the 1960s and 1970s than in all the decades since then. Rock had staying power while Disco was just a fad. So many great artists at their peak of creativity at the same time. Music wasn't the only thing flowering. There was much experimentation with audio designers trying new things. It was a real flowering period for audio technology also.The layering of multi instrumentation from groups like Boston to Yes, really is what impresses me the most sonically. Even though they aren't as clean as some minimalist miked recordings. Hearing all that layering of sound with a system good enough to unravel it, and put big spaces between the instruments, makes for a very good experience.

@rickc661

Ай бұрын

I suspect Ya'd have to try, hard to find ' bad ' sound nowadays. take say a pair of Polk speakers for $200... ( I have a set of RTi , 5 in 2 ways ) and they're fine to me. need a sub of course for ' real bass ' but that is also true with my Meta 50's as Paul mentioned having.... heck the little computer spks I use are not bad , at sane vol. and they are just 3 in single spks. , edifiers. Heck, my first 'real' system, way back (I'm old). I strongly suspect IF a totally new set popped up I'd be pretty happy. Dynaco 25 spokes, 15 w Pioneer , AR t'table .... For bands, concert sound - I have to nod to Grateful Dead who tried real hard for their fans. the ' Wall of Sound' ( 1974 era ) was of course not viable but they tried. compared to say the Beatles company making more gold than England did virtually nothing.

In some cases, I think recordings from the 70’s sound better as they were not subject to the level of compression often used today. Yes, the technology has improved but it’s the use of it that makes many recordings sound unpleasant on high end systems.

@Justwantahover

2 ай бұрын

They didn't put enough bass in the 70s recordings (except very few). When they remastered The Dark Side of the Moon, they basically just increased the bass level (acording to an interview about it). 😅

@jamesfarrow6752

2 ай бұрын

@@Justwantahover Agreed. There is certainly more bass these days but far too much compression. I have found that some remasters are very good but many have reduced dynamic range as a result of the level of compression.

@theclearsounds3911

2 ай бұрын

Right. If you listen to the new Billy Joel and Beatles songs, they sound good at the beginning, but as soon as they hit a certain volume, they hit a brick wall at that volume, and all the dynamics of the songs are are completely flattened out. It's so bad with "Now And Then" that I can't even enjoy listening to it, even though I really like that song. "Turn the Lights Back On" was also ruined by that extreme compression, but not quite as badly. Bring back the production techniques of "The Stranger" album!

@paulmichaelfreedman8334

2 ай бұрын

@@Justwantahover The reason bass was attentuated on vinyl was because on many turn tables the needle would skip if subjected to heavy bass, so the studios would filter the bass on the vinyl master. Lou Reed hated vinyl for this reason, and he hated CD even more because of the compression, which is also always a studio choice as 44.1kHz/16 bit is perfectly capable of capturing high dynamic range audio provided the equipment used have good DACs and ADCs according to spec.

@user-oq9mv8pc2g

2 ай бұрын

60s 70s recordings are so much better. Period. Compression rules todays remasterd even. You can hear digital in even the best modern remasters. Get the early pressings if you want realism. Tone rules. Where is the tone in todays recordings. Gone.

Very good humble advice from a honest person

I have quite a few albums I bought back in the 70's. Analog masters were used. And they still sound amazing 😊

@jamesfarrow6752

2 ай бұрын

I have a small number of albums from this era and some sound really good. I’ve stopped buying new albums on vinyl as they often sound poor.

@kx8960

2 ай бұрын

I have a B&O Beogram 5500 turntable, and remember vividly how much better the album of Rainbow's "Kill The King" sounded than the CD (which sounded REALLY compressed), and that wasn't the only example. But, the CD was new tech then, and it's not like I could load the phonograph in the car....(although Chrysler actually DID that at one time). That's my fave Rainbow album, so, I should see if some of the CD's I bought in the mid '80's have been remastered.

@paulmichaelfreedman8334

2 ай бұрын

@@kx8960 If a CD sounded compressed compared to an analog source, that's not because CD cannot have high dynamic range (It can have exactly the same dynamic range as analog/vinyl). It's probably because of the studio putting the album master through some editing and something like a normalizer before producing the master template for the CD, reason unknown (to me). But if I had to guess it was to compensate for the crappy sound of tons of cheap ass players that existed in the 1980s and 90s, and ultimately of course the goal was to sell more copies if it sounded better on the most common players (the cheap ones).

@kx8960

2 ай бұрын

@@paulmichaelfreedman8334 Yeah, I think it was a badly done analog to digital transfer. I had a really good Sony player at the time, VERY good specs, sounded grat and lasted forever, so it wasn't that. Also, I played it on other CD players and it sounded compressed there as well. But, as mentioned, this WAS the first transfer and done in the mid-'80's, so...

@paulmichaelfreedman8334

2 ай бұрын

@@kx8960 The first compilation of Dire Straits on CD was a direct 1-1 copy of a very noisy master.....as if they'd taken a tape recording and done everything off of that to produce the CD.

A pair of La Scallas, a 50 watt tube amp, a Harman tube pre, a Dual 1219 with a decent cartridge, a bag of weed, a grav bong and life is good.

@roofpizza1250

2 ай бұрын

Plus another system, this time a good one.

@glakennnn4378

2 ай бұрын

No​@@roofpizza1250

@lyfandeth

2 ай бұрын

Dude! No munchies?

@philipketchum1407

2 ай бұрын

Have you been peeping through my windows?

@paulhunter6652

2 ай бұрын

@@roofpizza1250 That is a great system goofball.

The low end line of electronics from PS Audio and the Aspin speakers or KEF or REVEL. Hook all that up to a decent steamer. You are in hog heaven baby. $5000 or $6000 for the full system and you really got something special.

@HansDelbruck53

2 ай бұрын

I hooked my speakers to a steamer and they melted.

@johnholmes912

2 ай бұрын

The only high end thing about PS Audio is the price of their products

I specialize in restoration and repair of vintage audio equipment. Pioneer, Kenwood, Sherwood, etc. My clients are usually amazed that my own system isn't comprised of vintage equipment. My preference is for studio grade pro audio equipment. Flaws and shortcomings of the recordings can be more apparent, however I liken the situation to putting on a pair of glasses. Your vision improves, you see more detail. Improvements in audio technology almost make it imperative to have current equipment to hear everything that is available in music, old and new.

Good recording classic rock on a high-end system sounds divine, by the way.

@scottscottsdale7868

2 ай бұрын

Pink Floyd baby.

@tysimon

2 ай бұрын

@@scottscottsdale7868 try searching Classic Rock Show videos

@gaycha6589

2 ай бұрын

Supertramp

@paulmichaelfreedman8334

2 ай бұрын

Fleetwood Mac!

@gaycha6589

2 ай бұрын

Supertramp

Wow, you worked with Giorgio Moroder? I love the track on the Daft Punk album, Random Access Memories, which has a great dynamic range BTW :) Cool stuff.

I loved this episode massively, thanks Paul. Greetings from the UK.

It can be hit and miss with the older recordings and the newer remastered “audiophile “ versions. I bought a new remastered pressing of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours , 180g vinyl, 45 rpm double album. On my McIntosh 252 and ancient Heresys the old pressing that I bought back in 1977 sounded far better than the new one despite its pops and crackles. It was the “remastered audiophile”version that sounded compressed.

@scrappy7571

Ай бұрын

The live album released last summer, has to be the worst recording ever.

This is great advice and I'm surprised since it's coming from someone in the business of selling you high end audio. Absolutely love the honesty. I've been to CES on multiple occasions myself and have a vintage high end system at home that cost me a fraction of new equipment. I sacrifice some technological advancements but they aren't necessary for me to listen enjoyably. It's discerning enough that I can hear flaws but not so discerning that I have to have the absolute best source material to enjoy the music. After all, that was the goal!!!

Tone controls or multi band equalization can help lots. Remember the Loundness Button or Switch back in the day.

I don't normally play my old albums I bought in the late '60s and early '70s, but I recently pulled out my original copy of Jethro Tull's "Aqualung". Oh boy, was I ever disappointed and bummed out, as it was nothing like I remember it through my Lafayette receiver, AR XA, and AR speakers. Now I'm tempted to find a more recent pressing to compare.

Studio equipment/monitors of the 70's were good enough to make great recordings. It was the mixes that determined the sound quality.

Deep purple machine head was one of the first truly Hi-Fi albums. The first single I ever bought was smoke on the water and it really blew me away with its audio quality.

@PatKennedydon

2 ай бұрын

Yes Machine Head the original LP is still amazing, even better than the remastered or remixed versions.

@Fastvoice

2 ай бұрын

Produced in Montreux with the mobile studio of the Rolling Stones - so top of the game in these times.

@dangerzone007

2 ай бұрын

Ian Gillan what a voice. Not just in deep purple but also as Jesus Christ.

@dangerzone007

2 ай бұрын

The charismatic voice does a great analysis of some of his songs.

@johnholmes912

2 ай бұрын

I have classical LP from the 60s that have an amazing soundstage

JBL 100 and a 1976 pioneer sx 1050 is all you need

@dieseldust27

2 ай бұрын

That Pioneer is more expensive than a refurbished Sprout

@roofpizza1250

2 ай бұрын

I wouldn't demo modern stuff if I were you.

@toonertik

2 ай бұрын

Yeah.. I was looing to see if anyone else had that idea.. gear from that era.. I have both JBL Decades and the notorious L100 with a same era famous amp.. in my case a Marantz 1060 (Decades) and a modern quality PA amp for the L100 (used for my music making).

@rv6205

2 ай бұрын

@@toonertik you cant beat that vintage gear !!!!!

@toonertik

2 ай бұрын

@@rv6205 Vintage all the way.. wine, champagne, cigars and the ocassional woman ;-))))

It's so hilarious in the way Paul is being so polite. Yes I agree with him, to be on the safe side of things where long term enjoyment and appreciation of music is the goal when we listen to music at home - first, get a middle of the high end system. If we have extra budget and resources (especially a specific listening room for MORE CRITICAL listening), get a room filled with higher end high end system. Don't get mass market electronics IF we can get better equipment.

There is poorly recorded music even today. If you have a high-end, more importantly, a high resolution system, it will reveal the shortcomings of any recording. Its all a matter of 'resolution'. Just like having a Hi-res camera where you can clearly see/notice all the flaws/wrinkles in someone's face. By defocusing the lens just a tad(some HD Cameras have selective detail adjustments to reduce detail in the fleshtones), you can hide those flaws. Audio works in much the same way. My original audio system (circa 1980's) gave me many years for pleasure when listening to just about anything, but with my new hi-res system (2014 to present), there are several recordings that now sound harsh/terrible. My low-res system hid many of the flaws. So having a hi-res system is a double-edged sword. But when I now listen to a recording where the engineers did a great job, the first word out of my mouth is 'WOW!"

I lived in Nashville in the early - mid '70's. I was repping Audio equipment from top manufacturers like Marantz, Sony, AR, Audio Technica (introduced OpryLand to their mics), ... and active member of Audio Engineering Society, so worked with local studios ... over 50% of all records being produced at the time were recorded in Nashville. I can assure you some of what was being produced was of incredibly hi level. But yes a lot of stuff from back in the day was not. But some of the top named groups' releases were incredible as well. e.g. I use Jethro Tull's "Sossity: You're a Woman" to test systems. The incredible close mic'd intensity of the two guitars saturates many systems. Just getting a blur instead of the incredible detail in the original pressings. Or the 50th release of Hendrix Electric Ladyland is just dead quiet and explodes with dynamics few systems can take full advantage of. And how much highly compressed and processed crap is being cranked out today regardless of possible S/N benefits of digital. It's good enough and processed for ear buds. Although I did sell Auratone speakers to the studios so they could hear what the mix would sound like on a portable radio. A common mix check at the time.

I agree with you Paul 100 % I have a yamaha as301 amplifier and a set of Bowers and wilkins 606 S2 anniversary edition speakers and I hear immediately a bad recording 😢 Thanks for the very interesting videos, I appreciate alot as I learn more and more from your experience.

Great advice, middle of the road high-end system 😊

Those recording were made using monitors that had frequency responses that were all over the place. That’s why many of them sound bad. It’s the circle of confusion that Floyd Toole speaks of.

I have 2 systems set up. The Classic Rock system has a PS IV preamp , Ashley active crossovers, 2 Crest CA9 Power amps and old commercial EV mids with horns and 15 inch JBL bottoms. It rocks. My other system has a tube preamp, tube power amps, magneplanars and 2 SVS subs. It can rock too as well as put me in a Jazz room or Orchestra !

Get some Klipsch heritage speakers. Good price great sound and can rock out. They play to whatever gear you connect to it

If I ONLY listened to classic rock I'd get some Klipsch horn speakers, a tube pre-amp, a class A solid state power amp (Klipsch don't need high wattage to sound loud) and a turntable. I demoed some on my hunt for my perfect speaker. They were not for me as I listen to many genres but I must say they excelled as classic rock, the Stones and Zeplin sounded awesome. They are real rock-out party speakers. Alternatively Quad HiFi with some Tannoys.

Had the Design Acoustics DA-30 sub woofer with satellite left and right, Adcom GFA-1A power Amp with Adcom preamp, Technics turn table. To my ears that was a great sounding set up. Was used to that sound. Usually played at about 10 o'clock volume position in a 18ftx15ft room. Worked nights so the neighbors were gone during the day!

Hi Paul. I agree with your solution of purchasing a middle of the range speaker system.. Something that is not too revealing or sounds like it's playing thru mud.

Spot on comment. I have a Strata with a double stack large advents that I purchased new in 73 and it is glaringly obvious that SOME of the recordings of classic rock do not sound very good which is a shame. And by the way, Paul never said "all of those recording are bad from that era" as some guy stated.

I'm very happy with my vintage restored Sansui 9090db, Sansui SR-838 turntable & ADS & Dahlquist speakers thank you very much. 😉

Every genre I've thrown at my aDs 910s sounds great. Very forgiving speakers. I guess I'm just not a high-end listener, but I thoroughly enjoy my system, particular when I use the Adcom 555 to power those loudspeakers. They seem to really thrive with high-current power amps.

I always watch your videos. I have a set of older B&W speakers (cdm-9nt) and a hybrid tube amp, which I am happy with. For this reason I will probably never buy one of your products. I love however how you try to educate people and also give your opinion about other brands (without always saying 'brand x is sh*t') If I would ever go to the US again, I would love to visit PS audio. This episode was nice, since I sm from the Georgio Moroder generation as well 😊

Polk Monitor 10's work very well for background classic rock listening.

Classic rock sounds best to me on my vintage Cerwin Vega D-7's. Definitely not my speaker of choice for all types of music, but rock/metal sounds fantastic on them.

My speakers are open FR drivers (dipole) mounted on top of boxed woofers. And if the recording has any reverb in it, the speakers really show it and sound different to boxed speakers (more 3D). But if I put on say (70s) Moondance by Van Morrison, my speakers don't sound any different to any other speaker. Exactly the same bland 2D sound. 😅

What kind of weed do you recommend for "critical listening session?

I’d never noticed the abrupt edit in Hotel California until I got my half decent system. It’s about 3:30 in (just before the “mirrors on the ceiling” line.) and now irks me every time.

@forbeginnersandbeyond6089

2 ай бұрын

You are exactly right. I heard the abrupt cut out at 3:29. I thought I had a power interruption!

Everything sounds GREAT on my VOTTs, and I ain't got no bag of weed😂

Oe buy a pair of Dynaudios with their legendary forgiving yet clear tweeters, and you can play anything on them for hours, also they offer a useful midbass thump which suits rock music very well, e.g. Evoke 10s.

Cat Scratch on any system going to be just fine.

“Go out and get a bag of weed…” best answer ever lol

More to the point of the question, is also regarding some of us that moved to cd around the early 1990's. There were so many badly re-mastered digital releases. Quite a large number of albums I had on cassette, sounded better from my Nakamichi Dragon, than they did after getting them on CD with a Marantz CD63. I'm still a little peeved at how bad those early remasters were, and that I spent so much money 'upgrading' for things that were an actual downgrade.

Paul, do you have a sub in that home system??

I said this over 6 years ago. Ill add. Thats why theres a side road of high end audio. Its the bandaid silky road. Its often claimed to be superior to accurate top end because its claimed to sound better.. and for alot of the time it does cause it ignores mistakes and the outcome is on the average better. But with the correct source the accurite system comes out way ahead like derby winner...thats my 2 cents. Yup. Pauls right

Hey, you got me triggered! I have been eating oatmeal practically every day since childhood, and at the tender age of 60 + I am in perfect physical condition. If it's good enough for horses, it's good enough for me. PS: I am not kidding, I still love my oatmeal every morning.

I would say find good recordings. Anything remastered by Steve Hoffman on the DCC label sounds superb, for instance The Zombies, 10cc etc. I have a Luxman integrated amplifier, Cornwall speakers and Denon CD player. I never heard rock music sound this good.

You have kef ls50 or ls50meta? Just curious 😁

Pioneer catching a stray in the nosebleeds

I too enjoy music from that era. Listen to a lot of Beatles, CCR, Jethro Tull. Doors... Likewise, I got very frustrated with expensive, so called Ultra Hi-End audio media darlings, sounding castrated when wanting to rock out. I wound up investing in things that did not offer the ultimate resolution but has clarity, are engaging, and primarily just fun to listen to. These items were not cheap, but I have a system that can give great presence on vocals, transparent soundstage, and authoritative bass, without splitting your ear drums, from too much of a good thing on the treble. My experience with getting a cheap, less capable of performing pieces of kit, is you move from something that only sounds terrible when you stumble across a bad recording, to something that now sounds awful on everything.

No system I've had over the years sounds better and cleaner than the simple 2 channel vintage Denon DRA-345R receiver (45 REAL watts per channel) with good quality speakers. The bass is incredibly good. It brings out the best in recordings that weren't that good back in the day.

Fortunately for this person, almost all classic rock has been remastered at this point, and those sometimes weird tonal contours are pretty much all tidied up.

I’ll stick to my hi-fi system to be able to listen white light white heat and Mahler symphonies in one go. I now also see that High end influenced my tastes, used to listen to metal and classic rock as a kid/teenager but I really do find the compression unbearable, often more in recent recordings than those made in the 70s

@razzman2987

2 ай бұрын

Indeed i changed to jazz from rock music and i really like it now 😊

thanks paul

Nailed it! I tried getting a midfi system with xlr but unfortunately I got a Hifi and now this….

He might also do just fine with vintage gear from the period. We did not know about imaging and had big baffle speakers against the wall and rocked out to our favorite tunes. Personally, I have moved on and happily listen to Octave records with people I don't know playing really well recorded music that sounds amazing on high end gear.

Although i'm not a lover of tone controls myself. The gentleman posted the question might do well to find an amp that offers those,so he can take the edge off some of the more bothersome recordings. Preferably one with tone defeat, so they can be switched out of the circuit and the better recordings can be left alone.

@davewin1792

2 ай бұрын

Good advice and I agree. Useful tools.

@finscreenname

2 ай бұрын

I've used a 7 band EQ on everything I have since the 1970's. No one says you need to re-mix everything you listen to and for that matte you dont have to use it at all but it's there if you need to.

Suggestion: put together a good for the day vintage system.

Take another hit and crankit up

if a recording has flaws i want to hear them, and if a recording is fantastic i also want to hear the fantasticness (new word i just invented) but thats just me😄

@InsideOfMyOwnMind

2 ай бұрын

Music is supposed to be bliss...like ignorance. There is also a thing in music called back stage. I personally don't want to be tripping over guitar cables and I don't need to know that Kieth Richards broke his D string half way through the third song if I couldn't tell in the first place.

@1stswim

2 ай бұрын

@@InsideOfMyOwnMind if it was supposed to be bliss i would get the system that makes everything sound great, i dont want that, i want to hear the details and if that includes the bad stuff as well as the good stuff then so be it. if keith richards farts on a track i want to hear it as long as the music sounds good.

What about a Pioneer stereo receiver and a good pair of speakers? I think it would be excellent.

@HanifBarnwell

2 ай бұрын

Nailed it

@the_dude182

2 ай бұрын

Yeah Pioneer, Marantz, Yamaha, Denon and Sony make decent HiFi integrated amps. Some are more forgiving and sweeten up your experience. I chose one with big knobs. Let's say you are willing to pay somewhere between usd 800 and 1500-ish. Or get a really nice deal for a used one. They will all do very decent Hifi for demanding consumers without going too far into analytical/studio/audiophile direction. More time should go into finding the right speakers.

Klipsch Heritage Edition if you have the room and apace for classic rock!

@HAL9007

2 ай бұрын

Klipschorns + Line Magnetic LM-8451A. Save on your heating bills in the winter.😁

Listen to Classic Rock primarily and only use a Sprout100 paired with KEF LS50 Meta’s and a B&W 600 sub. And my B&O 1800 turntable. Works quite well for me.

I've had a pioneer 7.1 avr for 13 years and it still sounds great 110 w per channel 5.1 active. Speakers are psb T-20 c10 and P5. Sub is a klipsch 110 SW. It all sounds great i've had it for 13 years! So pioneer is great affordable stuff that llasts.

@fopah2033

2 ай бұрын

Exactly, I have no idea why paul crapped on pioneer receivers. They tend to be pretty reliable. Sound quality depends mostly on the speakers anyway.

@rinkrat06

2 ай бұрын

Paul is just advertising his stuff. I don't know why P.S. audio doesn't make a surround system. Maybe P.S.audio doesn't like pioneer cause they're based in Japan and distribute worldwide with repair techs all over with a 2 yr warranty.

@fopah2033

2 ай бұрын

@@rinkrat06 it was still weird he pulled pioneer out of the bunch as being bad receivers, whereas new lines of chi-fi affordable amps fit what he told there far better than good ol pioneer. I have a feeling from watch other ask paul videos, that paul himself doesn't really believe in surround sound. Not so much believe, but I get the feeling he sees a competent stereo system as being superior, for music listening anyway. Ps audio obviously puts music in front of movies for their products, which is fair enough.

I’m a bit partial to the really good systems of the 70ies. If you get them repaired and/or restored, good (keep in mind that really bad recordings will always be just that 😅) recordings of «way back then» will have a beautiful, if a bit forgiving, sound. Listening to music over my old Tandberg system bring those recordings to life.

There were both good and bad rock, popular, and jazz recordings made half a century ago. A lot depended not on the quality of the equipment in the studio, but on what the person at the controls thought the "average listener" would be using. Seems to me that many were tweeked to sound good on a pair of 6x9s in the rear parcel shelf fed by a good ol' Delco tube radio in the dash. Those had no real top or bottom end, maybe 100-10,000 Hz (CPS in those days) and a response curve that somewhat depressed the midrange, since the expected playback gear was ALL midrange peak. (Sort of a reverse Fletcher-Munson curve, eh?) Played back on modern more flat gear with a broader frequency response the vocals seem to be drowned out by the emphasis added to the mid-high and mid-low to make 'em sound good on a pair of Quam Adjust-A-Cones with a car trunk as a speaker box. Just boosting the mid vocal range of frequencies can make 'em sound better on modern gear, 'cause it counteracts the odd inverse response curve added to make them sound good on "low-end" equipment of the day. Anyway, that's just my experience/opinion, and only applies to SOME of the recordings of that era. 🙂

I think the best system for classic rock is a vintage system from the time period that the music was released. For example: Technics sl1200 turntable with a Nagaoka MP110 cartridge, a McIntosh integrated amplifier and a pair of JBL L100a loudspeakers. In my experience, music sounds best played on equipment from the time period that it was recorded; analog equipment for analog recordings - digital equipment for contemporary digital recordings.

Middle of the road is great advice.

A "bag of weed" will get you through the times of (listening to) "lo-fi" audio better than "hi-fi" audio will get you through the times of no weed.

I feel it's is important to distinguish between revealing and sounding bad, yes we hear the "fault and flaws" and it sure stands out compared to a great recording (of music we might not like), but it could still be enjoyable for what it is. I personally think the frequency respons could be even more important here in two sort of ways, and it comes down to really tilted response (that you may or may not be used to) while now possibly also being more revealing, I would listen carefully and not pick some of the popular brands known to "be in your face".

I think that rock does sound best on old speakers like double Advents or AR9LS … I still have my AR9LS speakers for my second system…

Find out what the studios were using, there'll be plenty of it available 2nd-hand in good working condition. If you're thinking about England that would be almost exclusively Quads and Tannoys, America I'm not so sure: McIntoshes, and Altecs maybe. The bag of weed may not be a joke in either country, it'd depend what studio you're thinking of.

A reporter once asked Producer/Bandleader Alan Parsons. "Will audiophiles use their equipment to listen to your music." Parson's reply was priceless. "No audiophiles will use my music to listen to their equipment."

1:50. Nailed it right there. Just enjoy the music, don't overthink it. I have a mid 70s Sansui AU555A solid state amp driving a pair of Tannoy HPD385s. To my ageing ears, this setup makes anything I listen to sound fantastic, from The Beatles to Boston, from Led Zeppelin to Kate Bush, from Mozart to Morphine ( even streaming over WiFi, never bluetooth ). Modern systems are over produced, just like modern music. Obviously there are exceptions, but who cares? The HiFi system is only as good as the music it's playing and the ears of the listener. BTW, listen to the remastered version of Revolver. The Beatles were famous for trying to get as much as possible out of the studio, and it shows. The "Expanded" version of Revolver is stunning.

Vintage audio equipment from the '70s still sounds as good as ever to me -- especially for stuff recorded in the '50s-'70s. Top-of-the-line gear that was way beyond my reach when I was a youngster (50-60 years ago!) can be found much cheaper today than it was back then, when a dollar bought a lot more: McIntosh, Sansui, Harman-Kardon, Pioneer, Yamaha, Marantz, Sony -- they all made rich, detailed, punchy-sounding stuff in the '70s that was TOTL in its day -- and still is. You also get more oomph per watt -- vintage "wattage" seems to pack a lot more wallop than today's ratings would suggest. Few manufacturers can match the build quality of those lovingly crafted, "all-analog" integrateds and receivers, which (to me) are also MUCH cooler-looking than most of what you can find today. (That classic look is coming back -- check out the NAD C 3050 LE, for example. Analog VU meters!) And when it comes to appreciating music with all of your senses, aesthetics and personal taste count more than specs. Those ugly, faceless black boxes of the '90s drove me away from new equipment for many years. Now I have an interconnected array of vintage pieces, easily switchable to re-create my memories of the the vanished high-end retailer "audio showrooms" that thrilled me as a kid. Check eBay!

@quadgirl1011

2 ай бұрын

What equipment do you have and is it restored? I am interested in vintage.

@bacarandii

2 ай бұрын

@@quadgirl1011 I have roughly a hundred so amps/receivers, but not all of them are in full working condition (so, I might just use the AUX or TAPE inputs but not the others if they don't work and I can't easily see how to fix them). Some have been repaired/restored, but most are still operating with the original parts. My personal (sentimental?) favorites are a 1965 Fisher 500C tube receiver, a Harmon Kardon 430 ("twin-powered"), a Marantz 2230, a black-dial Pioneer SX-790, and a pair of McIntosh separates (C28 & MC2505) -- but the whole point of having such a variety is the ability to switch things up when my moods change (which is often!)...

Listening, using high-end speakers or headphones, reveals how badly many cuts were recorded, engineered, and mixed.

In regards to hi end stereo equipment being more revealing, reminds me way back when HD flat panel TV's were just hitting the consumer market, I took my old Sony Digital SD camcorder to a home theater store and asked if I could hook it up to one of those "big screen" HD TV's to see what the video would look like. Man, was I disappointed! Talk about revealing, it looked awful. Well, back to my 27" CRT set! LOL.

Listen to mine on my Cerwin Vega AT-15’s, made for rock! I use to hide my weed in the port hole.

One of the reasons I replaced the T+A OCE 2000 speakers for some Urei monitors as I like to listen to music and yes they are not High-End speakers but after years I don't care

I've got a very different way of handling older stuff than newer stuff. Never stuff, recorded for the modern world of hifi and or streaming, I convert to 256 DSD on the fly.... Old stuff, like from the 50s, that has horrid bass down low because they didn't know that pollution was there, I use a PEQ curve to trim bass below 50hz. For rock and roll and such from the 60-70s I've found converting to 128 DSD with the B curve (in Foo_DSD) to retain the character and life and all around good things of the old recordings but does not over do it, does not up sample the life out of it and all around sounds better than straight PCM 44.1.

I have a Sprout and a pair of inexpensive Elac speakers and have very pleasing sound. Don’t overlook the Sprout, it is very good.

The premise of Ken's, in San Diego, California question is that classic rock from the 1960s and 1970s is poorly mixed / mastered. That is true to an extent (especially for digital). But it is not true to a larger extent (especially for vinyl). It comes down to the specific release of an album, and in many cases, on a song-by-song basis. For vinyl, if you land a hard-to-find gem with the right stamper code, you will be rewarded with a wonderful listening experience. Everything from The Beatles, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and many others. Determining which stampers to seek out, and which stampers to avoid, is a daunting task. Ken can simplify the process by purchasing white hot stampers from Better Records. They play each side of each album, and rate each side's sound quality. They go so far as to rate individual songs, when they deem it necessary. And their ears match my ear's criteria for great sound quality. Ken will pay a high price for those amazing sounding pressings, due to all of the rejects that Better Records purchased but does not post on their site, and they still need to make a profit. With few exceptions, my best sounding pressings are from Better Records. They let me hear amazing songs from amazing bands like never before. If you do not see what you are looking for, it might just be that they sold whatever they had for a given title. They are not Amazon. They sell only what they deem to be worthy of great sound quality, on a pressing-by-pressing basis. They have to search for these sonic gems, and post them as they find them. Your purchase will be the actual, specific, physical album that they listened to and described on their site. You can also e-mail the owner (contact info is on his site), and make a request. The owner, Tom Port, has always responded to me within a few hours. Note that he searches for music that he enjoys. I once asked him for a Madonna pressing, and he declined. He is not a fan. For digital, I still struggle to find great sounding classic rock songs. Now, since such amazing sounding vinyl pressings exist for these legendary rock bands, it means that the initial capture tapes sound amazing, and that great sounding mixed and mastered tapes exist (or did exist). How we end up with so much sub-par sounding releases in the stores / on-line / streaming, etc, is a mystery. The studios have great sounding versions. Yet, we are fed mostly crap, which is why Ken, like so many of us, are frustrated with the sound quality.

i would find a warmer sounding amp and maybe go get some speakers that have the design of the 50-60-70-80s.. Maybe some Klipsch or JBL stuff.. But that's just me :)

lmao 'go out and get a bag of weed' while video playtime is 4m 20s.. utter beast mode unlocked.

Paul is so on point and I’ve experienced exactly what he is describing. Classic rock on entry level gear sounds poor. Classical on the other hand is very forgiving and sounds quite good early on. The mid priced gear, rock really takes off and sounds much better.

Good advice agree 100% as it’s all part of the experience, so buy as expensive as you can’t afford ( use credit) and just sit back and enjoy it.

listening to this on my pioneer receiver and pair of crap speakers and i have just been directly targeted and attacked

Peace Love Dove 🕊️ 🚬✌️

Great advise. Smoke a bag of weed and listen to a mediocre hi-fi system. Seriously, some great recorded music from that era - Steely Dan comes to mind.

Most of the stuff I listen to sounds like it was recorded in a cave in the dark. Going from B&W to Klipsch ended up being my solution.

How about the best system short of one that makes you fret about it too much when the inevitable happens. Although a lot of old recordings are just a bit dry, maybe affecting room treatment. But if none of them deliver some sort of audio fest, maybe the system isn't that good after all. Music wants to sound good, it's not that hard.

A lot were recorded to sound good on the car radio

I don't have high-end gear, just the opposite, but even so I've been disappointed with many seventies rock recordings. What sounded sort of o.k on my earbuds in the gym is unlistenable to at home, I find. My Mojo actually makes it sound worse, and I certainly wouldn't waste weed on it. For us budget hi-fi enthusiasts I believe weed is the cheapest way to improve one's system, and can recommend Stortz & Bickel's Mighty vape for that purpose.Enjoy the music!

Classic rock has always been a problem for hi-fi systems, the higher you go gear wise the worse it gets. I was listening to The Who's, Whos Next on CD from 1983 so on paper that should sound pretty awful but the tracks with violin and organ, Baba O Riley, Behind Blue Eyes and Won't Get Fooled Again came across pretty well. My system is not ultra high end but not entry level either so it what it is. Good question and good answer. 🙂

this phenomenon is but one of numerous excuses I have for running six stereos strewn about the house (& garage & porch). "horses for courses / clubs for shots" ... for poorly recorded (but favored) '60s to '70s rock, old JBLs forgive ok.

Your favorite artists might have some more recent live recordings of old songs that sound way better. All of these artists have made one or more pretty good sounding albums: ealry Black Sabbath, The Police, early Led Zeppelin, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, Steely Dan, Pink Floyd , Fleetwood Mac, Toto, Elton John and most of the Dire Straits stuff sounds pretty good as well.

Oatmeal and a big bag of weed! Very funny

Go buy a pair of QSC K8 on the used market, and you got a ROCK concert in Your living room, If You don't worry about size buy the EV EKX 15p, no power amps needed.

Even though recordings generally weren't as good as those of today, there was definitely a difference in quality back in the 70's. I was always happy if the artist was recorded on Warner Brothers records because their sound quality was great. MCA records on the other hand sucked. And RSO sucked even worse. I agree with Paul. You can dispense with top end gear, unless you listen to a lot of modern recordings as well, but even decent gear will make the good recordings of old sound a lot better. And a bag of weed may also enhance the sound.