Norah Jones

[MylesBAstor]

Tighten the technics to the floor , i saw on the news its getting windy in NYC

Thanks for the thought! Not really windy yet; late tomorrow through Tues. AM are expected to be the worst. Problem though will be the storm surge, now predicted to be 6-11 ft., in low lying areas. Luckily not in one of those in Manhattan.

 

[Bill Hart]

The coolest thing about Norah Jones and hi-fi is..... that picture of Ravi Shankar in concert using as sound support, about 8 Quad ESLS ('57's'). Ever see that photo?
She's ok, i got tired of her for a while after she was overplayed, but now, I'm back into the first album, and like the one where she's wearing the black and white striped dress. She's apparently pretty 'real' as a musician, not a total diva, does club gigs, etc.
Can't remember what studio was used on those early albums or who mixed them- can anybody help? (I guess I could haul my lazy ass upstairs and look or search). The albums sound good. I do wish she had a bit more 'soul' but I've never heard her in person, maybe she is more lifelike on stage.
That was my problem with Linda Rondstat back in the day- great voice, no passion.
Speaking of Panny's, I've got a pretty early SP-10, and it's not up to par with the mkII or III with the separate power supplies. The 'disco' tables, like the 1200 are, I agree, not in the same league, but man, those things were built pretty well given the price point. Linn and Technics were like single malt and budweiser- sorta two different markets back in the day. (Except for the SP-10, which i think was like getting special piece from a mass market company, like buying a period Shelby Mustang).

 

[Bill Hart]

Thanks for the thought! Not really windy yet; late tomorrow through Tues. AM are expected to be the worst. Problem though will be the storm surge, now predicted to be 6-11 ft., in low lying areas. Luckily not in one of those in Manhattan.

I was out on the pier this morning on the Hudson about 25 miles north- it's blowing pretty strong, high tide had already happened, and the storm is still not even close. But, there were still some old timers out there fishing!

 

[A.wayne]

really?

i've recently owned the Technics SP-10 Mk2, and the SP-10 Mk3 in modern plinths and i'd say both off these 70's/80's tt's more than hold their own once set in a good plinth and mounted with a modern arm.

sorry but the Linn or AR are not in the same league.

those direct drive motors and drive systems were built with real 'big-boy' budgets from a large corporation and surpass many of the modern designs. you need to spend big bucks to get better. and i had both of these in my room sitting next to my Rockport Sirius III for a few years.

there are a number of vintage tt's from that era which can compete with better of today's designs.

now the SL-1200 mK ?? is not in the same catagory as the SP-10 Mk2 or Mk3; but it is not bad. i could see feeling that this level of Technics is surpassed by the Linn and AR. btw, i did own a couple of different AR's back in the early 70's......a long time ago.

Wow , good thing shields were up ..

I was talking about the SL 1200 in the Tv coverage viewed this morning , as mentioned by the OP ...!!!!!

 

[A.wayne]

really?

i've recently owned the Technics SP-10 Mk2, and the SP-10 Mk3 in modern plinths and i'd say both off these 70's/80's tt's more than hold their own once set in a good plinth and mounted with a modern arm.

sorry but the Linn or AR are not in the same league.

those direct drive motors and drive systems were built with real 'big-boy' budgets from a large corporation and surpass many of the modern designs. you need to spend big bucks to get better. and i had both of these in my room sitting next to my Rockport Sirius III for a few years.

there are a number of vintage tt's from that era which can compete with better of today's designs.

now the SL-1200 mK ?? is not in the same catagory as the SP-10 Mk2 or Mk3; but it is not bad. i could see feeling that this level of Technics is surpassed by the Linn and AR. btw, i did own a couple of different AR's back in the early 70's......a long time ago.

I don't know if you were around in the '70's, Mike, but Linn pretty much made its reputation by showing how much better the LP12 (and this was the original LP12, prior to the multiple upgrades since) sounded than the Technics SP10 series. Likewise for Ariston, Oracle, etc.

Just another reason I have to chuckle at everything about vinyl's "resurgence"...

+20 Zahbillions ......damn newbies ...


I would take you up on that challenge Mike , remember you no longer have a Technics , nor i bet have you ever heard a Modded AR or Linn with your said arm ...

Regards ,

 

[andromedaaudio]

You have courage wayne , i am not exactly shure you re gonna win that challenge

 

[mep]

+20 Zahbillions ......damn newbies ...


I would take you up on that challenge Mike , remember you no longer have a Technics , nor i bet have you ever heard a Modded AR or Linn with your said arm ...

Regards ,

I never owned a Linn table because everything I ever read pointed out to a highly unstable suspension that went out of whack if you looked at it cross-eyed. You needed a Linn specialist to keep it ‘in tune.’ Otherwise, it would be out of tune and your music would be out of tune and your PRAT would go flat. And cripes, how many factory mods did Linn have for this table not to mention all of the garage mechanics who came out with mods for the Linn?

I always viewed the Linn LP-12 as a slightly modified basic AR turntable that was flawed in comparison to the AR because the AR just worked. The AR didn’t come out of tune so to speak. And I know because I owned the original and the new version. They were both just steady work-horses, but the key word is steady even if they were unexceptional. You didn’t need a mystical Linn Guru to keep your turntable in tune with the magical Linn bounce if you owned an AR.

 

[A.wayne]

Of course they did, but Linn saying theirs was the best didn't make it so.

There is no way to be involved with SOTA gear in the 70's and 80's and not mention Linn.

I was around in the 1970s and I don't remember Linn touting their table as being better than the SP-10. Of course I'm not surprised that Linn would do that because they felt whatever they sold was better than any of its competition.

Now back to Nora Jones...

It was top tier at the time ...!!!

i'm 61 years old. the 70's are very familiar to me.

the best of the Japanese state of the art tt's from the late 70's and early 80's are in a league beyond the Linn LP12; regardless of Ivor's mussings.

not to say that the LP-12 was not significant in many ways. he sold a belt as the answer, but not everyone was buying.

I would strongly disagree , we did the comparisons back then , i had owned those tables , the Linn could be a basturd at times , but it had music the jap tables lacked or never knew existed ...

There was a full acrylic table made back then , remember them , the Linn blew it off my patio

acrylic today is like magic ............right ..?

Regards ...

 

[A.wayne]

You have courage wayne , i am not exactly shure you re gonna win that challenge

Changing hearts and mind ......

 

[andromedaaudio]

Design wise the older japanese style turntables like microseiki are the result of solid construction /machining , the linn and rega look flimsy compared to them , i am not saying that they sound better , but they definetively look a lot more robust , i quite like it actually , all about functionality first, looks later

 

[A.wayne]

The Linn could be a basturd , but it really was a non -issue unless you were the type clueless to TT setup and wanted to just plonk one down and go. The Jap tables were more plug and play , exception being the big micro seiki's , the best of the Jap tables IMO. Negative Linn comments are usually from those who never had one nor experienced one in their system..

A merrill modded AR is no slouch and the initial AR design is fantastic , very good isolation and i have always found suspended tables easier than non suspended tables in getting them to go .....

Regards

 

[Mike Lavigne]

+20 Zahbillions ......damn newbies ...


I would take you up on that challenge Mike , remember you no longer have a Technics , nor i bet have you ever heard a Modded AR or Linn with your said arm ...

Regards ,

you are correct, i no longer have my Technics SP-10 Mk2 or Mk3. but i know where they rank in today's tt performance situation. and it's beyond any LP-12.

i'm not sure exactly what challenge i made you are speaking of.

but.....if it's the most upgraded Linn LP-12 compared to the most upgraded, replinthed Technics SP-10 Mk3 out there each with the same arm i'm in. and there are any number of other vintage direct drive Japanese tt's i would also take.

no doubt this is only one man's opinion......YMMV.....just my 2 cents......and all that.

 

[A.wayne]

Design wise the older japanese style turntables like microseiki are the result of solid construction /machining , the linn and rega look flimsy compared to them , i am not saying that they sound better , but they definetively look a lot more robust , i quite like it actually , all about functionality first, looks later

Yes my Micro Seiki was solid , it had to , it had no suspension , rega i can agree with , get an updated AE-1 and shock yourself ..

Regards

 

[andromedaaudio]

SME is heavy and robust and does have platter/plinth suspension , it can go together

 

[mep]

There is no way to be involved with SOTA gear in the 70's and 80's and not mention Linn.
Regards ...

There is no way that you could have been stationed in Southeast Asia in the 1970s and not mention VD either. Didn't make it cool though.

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

It's official...Norah has left the building!

 

[Bill Hart]

Here's how I remember it in the 70's- there were a lot of older turntables around,vintage Garrards, Rek-o-Kuts, Empires, not much in the way of Lenco in the States, most of which were considered obsolete. The changer type record players, the Duals, Garrards, etc, were not taken seriously by the hi-fi crowd for obvious reasons. I also remember those little Philips GA 212's, i think they were, with the capacitance sensitive buttons. The AR was a great basic table, brilliant in its simplicity, with a pretty primitive arm. The acrylic mentioned earlier- possibly a Transcriptors? (famous from the Kubrick movie?). The Thorens was a baseline serious turntable, TD -125, because the TD -124 was already long in the tooth.
The early Panasonic/Technics SP-10 was actually sold in the same catalog as the blenders and hairdryers. I think at that point in time, Panasonic was focused on the marvel of DD as technology-get rid of the belt, the idler, etc. I don't remember people comparing the sonics of turntables in those days the way we do now. More attention was paid to the tonearm and the cartridge.
I think that's where the Linn was important- because it was marketed as: focus on the turntable in how it contributes to the sound of the system. Unfortunately, it also led to a movement that said in effect, 'spend all the money on the turntable (this, from a company that at that time, basically only made turntables) and upgrade the rest when you have more money.' There developed a cult following, not only around the turntable, but around the whole approach that was advocated by Linn dealers. I think that became a turn-off, and ultimately there was a back-lash.
I haven't heard a Linn in years. I do remember that they were tricky to set up and know that there were endless upgrades over the years to improve them. I would assume they sound good in the right system, just as some folks advocate Garrard 301's today as a retro-marvel.

 

[Bill Hart]

There is no way that you could have been stationed in Southeast Asia in the 1970s and not mention VD either. Didn't make it cool though.

Ouch.

 

[rbbert]

What 'tables were members here using in the '80's?

 

[A.wayne]

It's official...Norah has left the building!

No worries , she can't sing , yeah i said it .....