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It seems like the Ripatti label will no longer be doing the beautiful vinyls we seen earlier this year. After producing a total of 8 records, and seemingly losing money on every one, Mr. Ripatti has called it a day and gone down the digital route.
I’m not too sure how to feel about this.
On one hand, I liked being the able to buy fresh releases from Boomkat. The anticipation of waiting for a new record to be delivered can’t really be replicated by Bandcamp/Paypal combination.
Secondly, because they were bloody expensive items, I was compelled to listen to them. I’m not sure bulk buying the new digital only version will give me a similar compulsion to do so. All seven of the pressing were immaculate (I’m still waiting on the Ricky’s release to be manufactured), and you can clearly see the amount of work and thought that’s gone into producing them – something I’m sure Ripatti will continue to do for his digital ventures.
On the other hand, they are now available to everyone – not just people who can afford the £500 equipment to listen to them. That’s always good.
Another good point is that the vinyls and the digital copies are different mixes (in some cases, very different). I think that’s a fair compromise, and something I’ll write about a little more when I return home.
However, I am frustrated.
I’m frustrated that you fucks never bought these records. Frustrated that beard-wearing hipsters continually tell me how much they love this medium, but records of this quality couldn’t push sales of 500. I’m frustrated because the dicks on What.cd were complaining about the releases being vinyl only, and they would “buy it only if it came out on digital”. I know they’re lying. I know they’re waiting for the WEB release to be leaked so that they can download it for free, half listen to it, then add it to a collection of 20,000 other tunes they’ve never listened to.
Fucking arse holes.
This beautiful little record label died because of you.
These people suck
Headphones aren’t something I’m really interested in. I’ve got some Sennheiser HD600 for the studio, but that’s really just as a sanity check for certain recordings. They’re really good, detailed and natural but with headphones you’re always missing something. Depth and space mainly. Having speakers glued to your ears at 90 degrees isn’t the best way to listen to music. Or, not the music I chose to listen too.
I’ve been travelling longhall quite frequently in the last year or so, usually about twice per month so I needed a reasonable set of cans to use on the flight. The HD600s, as good as they are, do not suit travel. They are backless, so spill sound everywhere and offer no sound isolation at all. Plus they were expensive, so they stay at home. I had a cheap pair of HiFi Man RE-0 in ear things, but they died about a week ago after many years of abuse. They sounded peculiar anyway. Small tight bass, but a high end that stretched to the moon and back. Super detailed, but too fatiguing to use on 14 hour flights.
I’ve decided I need something small, over the ear, and with as much isolation as is feasible.
Previously I owned a set of Sennheiser HD25, which for that description quite well, however they were rather uncomfortable for me, and a bit bass heavy.
Currently my friend has given me a loan if his Bose QuietComfort 25. I’ve never used noise cancelling headphones before because I was under the impression they were more of a gimmick than anything else. I studied DSP quite extensively in university, and find it difficult to see how noise cancellation can be achieved without artifacts creeping in. Boy was I wrong!
The Bose sound good in a neutral, and unhyped type of way. However there is a magical switch on the side that when activated totally, and perfectly kills all ambient noise under ~800hz. For a plane, train or automobile, this is bliss.
I didn’t expect much to be honest, but after lisyening to how effective the noise cancellation is, I would find it difficult to go back to anything else. With the flick of a switch my noisy, rumbling flight has become serene. Music no longer fights against four Rolls Royce engines, or 100 mile per hour winds. Just click, pop, silence.
Yes, there’s still high frequency noise, and voice is still discernible but it is a profound improvement.
The Bose QuietComfort 25 are also extremely comfortable, lovely soft leather ear pads and easily adjustable headband.
Really, the only downside is the price, £270. You can buy better sounding phones for the price, but nothing has impressed me more than the silent switch. Shame I need to give them back really.
Bose QuietComfort 25
When did deep house become elevator music? What happened, when did I become an old man? Why is the music if my youth now used as “awkward situation” background music?
I remember when OS updates came on chips. Kids today have it too easy.
This is an OS update for a Kawai K4 Synth, which needs opened up and actual hardware replaced for an OS update. You know what hardware is right? Its like the big version if those VSTs…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2a_tZCgyg0
The 40th anniversary edition of “The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars” was released this year, and I thought it would be interesting to take a listen to the mastering. What I decided was to look at the original pressing, the SACD, and the newly released 40th anniversary version.
David Bowie “The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars” 40th Anniversary Edition
I thought “Soul Love” would be the most interesting to compare as it has really good dynamics, and I love those big thick claps at the beginning.
First up is the original LP
The sound has a lovely roundness to it, great stereo separation and a very good dynamic range. When I say that I don’t just mean that the transients pop, I mean true contrast between the quiet and loud sections. It’s a little noised after 40 years of play, but it’s holding up well. The vocal in this sounds especially natural.
Next is the SACD:
The SACD isn’t bad, in fact I’m pretty sure it’s from the exact same master as the original LP. However, there’s muddiness to the sound now, like too much noise removal has taken away some of the air and energy of the recording. Or maybe the master tapes faded a little over time. Either way something is lost. Dynamically it’s really good.
And finally the 40th Anniversary Edition disaster
It’s crap. The dynamics are gone, the voice is not thin and brittle, and the claps really hurt my ears. Why the fuck would you master classic old rock tunes like this? Who listened to Soul Love and though “this needs multiband compression limiting and digital EQ”? What a fucking waste of time. Save your money, buy either the old LP if you’ve got the facilities, or look for the RCA release on CD [RCA PCD1-4702].
Another waste.
I don’t often review hardware, mainly because I don’t have a great deal of disposable income so I’m cautious in what I buy. This means I end up purchasing things that are either very well establish (and have a million reviews already), or are complete obscure (AKA, I’ve cheaped out and gone for the Chinese knock-off).
Sadly, about a year ago I changed a lot of things in the studio, primarily changing my main audio interface. I moved from an EMU 1820m (genuinely great unit, highly recommended) to a pair of MOTU 24I/O, driven from a PCI-424 card. This meant that I know had to find an external headphone amp to drive my well-worn Sennheiser HD 600 cans.
After lots of boring as fuck reading about headphone amps, I decided that the Lyr is probably the way to go. Nice build quality, lots of good reviews and seemingly lots of happy users. I also liked the idea of disconnecting it from my DAW, and running it directly from the output of my turntable (mmm… analogue signal flow, glowing tubes, lightened wallet).
The unit seems to match up quite well with the impedance of the 600s, and offers plenty of amplification headroom – useful for recording weird and quite stuff.
Sadly, the first unit I received was DOA. After weeks of dealing with the Schiit staff (apparently the UK isn’t serviced directly by them – thanks for telling me that when I purchased it), I finally received a replacement unit.
Problem is, it’s not that great. It’s very noisy (I know it’s tubes but it doesn’t seem to ground signals very well, so get used to that 50/60Hz hum), it get dangerously warm after only ten minutes use (it’s already damaged my table), and it ‘pops’ my earphones every time I turn it on or off.
I’ve owned the unit for a year and a half, and though out that time I have spoken to the ‘impossible to get a hold of’ staff at Schiit about 10 times. The last communication I have from them is the suggestion that the Lyr 2 is much improved, and maybe that’s where I should look for my next purchase.
How about FUCK NO.
Schiit Lyr Review
A few weeks ago Vladislav Delay showed off a preview of his new album “Visa” on SoundCloud. In light of his recent releases on the Ripatti label, it doesn’t sound that groundbreaking but appears more of a revisionist approach to an older ideal. It is certainly a well honed skill though.
What I’m hoping for is an announcement that Uusitalo/Luomo will make a comeback using this as some sort of self referential feedback loop – just like the old days. We’ll see, I guess.
The good news is that it’s coming out on 12″, the full album to be genuinely pressed since “Anima” a mere thirteen years ago. It will be interesting to see if the mastering approach is different, I’m assuming it will be.
Vladislav Delay “Visa”
Yes, I’m still alive and yes, I have pre-ordered the new Ripatti07 and the limited yellow Visa – although who knows when they’ll actually be released. 07 (or Ricky’s as it’s called) is pretty interesting, doesn’t seem to sound like much else. It reminds me a little bit of the Round One To Five records, but I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that or not.
Serviced a lot of gear, moved everything to Logic X (still learning), and I’m still looking for a good MIDI interface (although the MOTU Microlite will probably be what I end up with). Logic X is fucking solid, and the MPC 4000 is working a treat – in fact all my gear is currently working a treat.
Now I just need to find some time. Oh, and workout the pinout to an old Amphenol connector of an old spring reverb unit. Lucky for me I’m spending next week in Taiwan, then India, then Thailand, then Scotland, then Italy leaving all my gear to rot :-[
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