[Vision2020] New York Audio Show 2013: Colleen “Cosmo” Murphy's "Classic Album Sundays"

Wed Jul 17 15:34:03 PDT 2013

Of course, I've been reading about single ended tube amps for years...
Anyone with a subscription to Stereophile, or other audio magazines, could
not avoid this, if they read all the reviews, etc.  They are controversial
in the world of audio... Some love the sound they generate, others have
expressed opinions such as "They are expensive tone controls" regarding the
tonal irregularities sometimes involved.

I don't think the tube amp I built in the 1960s was single ended... I'm
almost certain it was push-pull...

If I may ask, what speakers are you using?  As you said, efficiency is
needed, well over 90 db one watt at one meter, as its sometimes measured,
with an amp below ten watts, otherwise you would be very limited in the
sound level of your system.

Thanks for the info on bottlehead.com... Never heard of them, and it's good
to see kits like this are still being offered...
------------------------------------------
Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett

On Tue, Jul 16, 2013 at 7:38 PM, Darrell Keim <keim153 at gmail.com> wrote:

> It does sound sweet, Ted!  I have the modern equivalent to your old
> Heathkit amp.  Mine is a kit designed by a company called
> www.bottlehead.com.  Uses 12au7, 12at7 and 2a3 tubes.  It is a single
> ended triode amp, if that means anything to you.  Very low power, about 5
> watts.  Requires very efficient speakers to work well.  But, when it does,
> it sings!
>
> Specifically I  have their Paramour mono block amps (
> http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&sa=N&biw=1242&bih=585&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbnid=NWBK5_7JUM7QgM:&imgrefurl=http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php%3Ftopic%3D50663.0&docid=kR-MNKzliKo4ZM&imgurl=http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php%253Fid%253D13475&w=564&h=550&ei=ZgLmUayxF4b9iQLtmIDwBw&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:13,s:0,i:120&iact=rc&page=1&tbnh=187&tbnw=216&start=0&ndsp=15&tx=162.36370849609375&ty=104.18183898925781)
>
>
> Foreplay pre-amp (
> http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1242&bih=585&tbm=isch&tbnid=VE94-glpYPJELM:&imgrefurl=http://www.bottlehead.com/et/adobespc/foreplay/foreplay_line_stage_kit.htm&docid=iZQWtVNS8ic_VM&imgurl=http://www.bottlehead.com/et/adobespc/foreplay/forepl2.jpg&w=432&h=356&ei=pgLmUbSZPO7jigLSpIGQBA&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:1,s:0,i:82&iact=rc&page=1&tbnh=187&tbnw=239&start=0&ndsp=15&tx=103.0909423828125&ty=79.3636474609375)
>
>
> and Seduction Phono Amp (
> http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1242&bih=585&tbm=isch&tbnid=Lx-dgNI9psPHYM:&imgrefurl=http://www.tonepublications.com/review/bottlehead-seduction-phono-preamplifier/&docid=QKJI1yWSC5onfM&imgurl=http://www.tonepublications.com/media/bottlehead-seduction.jpg&w=600&h=450&ei=1ALmUcqcLKKnigLTxoGQDw&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:6,s:0,i:97&iact=rc&page=1&tbnh=167&tbnw=175&start=0&ndsp=15&tx=133.54547119140625&ty=86.18185424804687
> )
>
> It sounds sweet.  And, who cares if others are spellbound by our choice of
> topic?  Many is the time I've seen other active conversations on the V
> about things that don't interest me in the least.
>
>
> On Tue, Jul 16, 2013 at 4:37 PM, Ted Moffett <starbliss at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I of course did not mean that the vinyl audio system described approaches
>> "200,000 thousand dollar" price, which is 200 million!  Yikes!
>> I'll blame this on the by the second computer Internet disconnect warning
>> on the library computer...
>>
>> Tube amplifiers!  I bet your amp sounds sweet!  Tubes are still going
>> strong in the world of music and audio, and preferred by many music lovers,
>> though some modern solid state designs approach the musicality offered by
>> tubes.
>>
>> When I was a Moscow High student in the 1960s, I hand built a tube
>> integrated amplifier kit, then hand built another one of the same amp kits
>> for a friend.  Easy to do, if you can do basic soldering and follow
>> instructions carefully, with a well written instruction manual.
>>
>> I foolishly sold the amp while in high school for a low price, having
>> been deluded by the specifications worshipers that sold state amps were
>> much better than tube amps for music reproduction, because they achieve
>> lower levels of some kinds of distortion as measured on the test bench.
>>
>> When in high school I also had a belt drive Empire turntable and
>> cartridge, completely manual except for magnetic tone arm pick-up at the
>> end of a vinyl album, to lift the needle off the record.  The platter was
>> meticulously machined, thick, heavy and well balanced, the diameter of
>> which equaled 33 1/3 long playing vinyl, the belt driving the platter on
>> the visible outside circle of the platter, with the motor off to the side
>> suspended so it was isolated from adding vibration to the platter or tone
>> arm.  Changing speeds required hand moving the belt to another gear!  The
>> tone arm was balanced so that you could easily play records with the
>> platter not perfectly horizontal, which if I understand correctly is
>> possible by making the weight at the pivot in the back perfectly equal on
>> both sides.  Stylus pressure was applied by a spring, not a movable
>> counter-weight, but as I recall there was no anti-skating adjustment.
>>
>> I wish I had that amp and turntable still!
>>
>> Here is an example of a tube amplifier offered in kit form way back when,
>> for a mere $84.95.  To buy an amp like this now would be a bargain at 1000
>> dollars (
>> http://www.musicdirect.com/p-13615-jolida-jd302crc-integrated-tube-amp.aspx) though manufacturing in China has kept prices lower for some
>> manufacturers.
>>
>> http://heathkit-museum.com/hifi/hvmaa-100.shtml
>> -----------------------------
>> Anyway, here's more from Colleen "Cosmo" Murphy's ":Classic Album Sunday"
>> website.  I've posed the same basic question to many people about listening
>> to an album with absolute full attention:
>>
>> http://classicalbumsundays.com/about/
>> When is the last time you listened to an album from beginning to end? And
>> sticking it on in the background while working on the computer, talking on
>> the phone or doing chores around the house does not count. I mean sitting
>> down and giving the album your full attention. For many of us, it has been
>> awhile.
>>
>> Hearing is like breathing and smelling – it does not require an active,
>> directed effort; we do it subconciously. When we want to look at something,
>> we direct our gaze toward the object; when we want to touch something, we
>> must reach out. In short, we have to focus our attention. Hearing, however,
>> is different as we constantly hear 360 degrees around us. We can hear
>> things going on in the other room while we chat to a friend whether or not
>> we are trying to listen. We cannot shut our ears and therefore we often
>> take our sense of hearing for granted.
>>
>> Active listening takes effort. It requires us to slow down and completely
>> stop other actions which is very difficult in this age of hyper-reality. We
>> are used to multi-tasking at all times – texting or tweeting while we are
>> out with friends or talking on the phone while we make dinner. It is rare
>> to focus on one activity and that is what active listening requires.
>>
>> Actively listening to a whole album from beginning to end involves a fair
>> amount of concentration and requires us to set aside some time. We have to
>> commit ourselves to the task and in our day of the MP3 single download
>> where we are used to the quick sound bite, this can be quite a feat. As
>> Hermione Hoby stated in The Observer, “It’s hard not to develop an aural
>> antsiness when YouTube is there for the flighty browsing, iPods for the
>> impatient shuffling. Meanwhile, Spotify and every other streaming service
>> allow us to take for granted a song being there for our ears when we demand
>> it. In short, our restless listening might mean we’re in danger of becoming
>> careless listeners, too.”
>>
>> Over the past few years my husband and I have achieved super-geek status
>> by slowly assembling an audiophile sound system. The cons: a hole in our
>> pocket. The pros: listening to music with friends and rediscovering our
>> record collections. We recently had our friend James over on a Sunday night
>> and after dinner we sat down and listened to Brian Eno’s “Another Green
>> World”. The last time I truly listened to that album in its entirety was
>> nearly two decades ago but it sounded just as fresh – maybe even better as
>> it is such a rare occasion to have the opportunity to shut everything else
>> out to solely concentrate on the music. It was somewhat meditative and
>> definitely therapeutic not to mention artistically beneficial.
>>
>> Our friend Greg Wilson had a similar realisation and has started “Living
>> to Music”. On the first Sunday of the month, people are encouraged to sit
>> down with friends and listen to a selected classic album. There are
>> suggested guidelines such as having time for small talk before the
>> listening session gets under way and turning off all mobile phones (Yes!).
>> Of course, these are all suggestions and it is hoped that is will
>> cross-pollinate with people starting their own listening movements and
>> selecting their own classic records.
>>
>> My husband and I sat down and listened to Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the
>> Moon”, the second album chosen by Living to Music. We had the Mobile
>> Fidelity version which is part of their “Original Master Recording” series
>> which featured half-speed mastering by Stan Ricker. Whilst listening to
>> this amazing recording, it just seemed rude not to share the audiophile
>> experience with others. It also seemed like a good idea to have more of an
>> exchange regarding the selected album with other people.
>>
>> With Greg’s nod of approval, Cosmodelica started a monthly London
>> listening session called “Classic Album Sundays: A Communal and Audiophile
>> Listening Experience”. So far we have covered The Beatles’ “Abbey Road”,
>> Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love” and De La Soul’s “3 Feet High and Rising”. In
>> the next couple of months, we have David Bowie’s “The Rise and Fall of
>> Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars” and Stevie Wonder’s
>> “Innervisions” and there are many more fine albums lined up for the rest of
>> the year.
>> To get updates on future Classic Album Sundays events, please become a
>> fan of the Classic Album Sundays on Facebook
>> ------------------------------------------
>> Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Jul 15, 2013 at 2:23 PM, Darrell Keim <keim153 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> If they do, I'd like to meet then Ted!  I've got a very nice sounding
>>> handmade tube based system, I even have occasional "audio get togethers"
>>> with another friend.  But neither of us has anything like that.  It is fun
>>> to see the best systems, like that one.  It is also fun to see how good the
>>> sound can be for a fraction of that cost.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mon, Jul 15, 2013 at 2:07 PM, Ted Moffett <starbliss at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>> Famous music devotee, dance DJ and audiophile, Colleen Murphy is shown
>>>> below with a mind blowing vinyl stereo system, used at the NY Audio Show
>>>> 2013...
>>>>
>>>> In one photo she is posed with the vinyl record cover of Talking Heads
>>>> "Remain in Light"... Once upon a time I had superb Japanese import vinyl
>>>> copy of this album, which sounded fantastic.
>>>>
>>>> This stereo system approaches the 200,000 thousand dollar price
>>>> range...
>>>>
>>>> I wonder if anyone in the Inland Empire owns a system of this
>>>> sophistication...
>>>>
>>>> Colleen's website regarding her "Classic Album Sundays" events. which
>>>> are offered internationally, described as a "communal and audiophile
>>>> listening experience:"
>>>>
>>>> http://classicalbumsundays.com/
>>>>
>>>> -------------------------------------
>>>> http://www.stereophile.com/content/classic-album-sundays
>>>> Classic Album Sundays
>>>>  By Art Dudley <http://www.stereophile.com/writer/86> • Posted: Apr
>>>> 14, 2013
>>>>
>>>> Colleen “Cosmo” Murphy, the record-store clerk-turned-internationally
>>>> known DJ-turned-analog impresario, has set out to change the way we listen,
>>>> one roomful at a time; based on my experiences at NYAS 2013, she is bound
>>>> to succeed. I had heard that Ms. Murphy is as sound- and music-savvy as she
>>>> is lovely, and I can only say those observations don’t do her justice.
>>>> “Today, music is treated almost as aural wallpaper, as a cheap commodity,”
>>>> Murphy bemoaned in her opening remarks before spinning the Japanese vinyl
>>>> version of David Bowie’s *Hunky Dory* on a truly grand system,
>>>> including a Spiral Groove SG1.1 turntable with Centroid tonearm and a Lyra
>>>> Atlas cartridge; a VTL TP 6.5 phono preamp (with integral step-up
>>>> transformer); VTL’s TL 7.5 line-level preamp and Siegfried monoblock amps;
>>>> Wilson Audio MAXX 3 loudspeakers and Opus series cabling from Transparent.
>>>> (When I visited the Classic Album Sundays room, early on the show’s first
>>>> day, exact pricing details weren’t yet available; suffice it to say,
>>>> everything was rather expensive.)
>>>>
>>>>  *John Atkinson adds: *Colleen played classic albums all weekend,
>>>> following *Hunky Dory* with Talking Heads' (in photo), John Hiatt's *Bring
>>>> the Family*, The Beach Boys' *Pet Sounds* (in mono), Kraftwerk's *
>>>> Autobahn*, Steve Wonder's *Innervisions*, and ending the Show with the
>>>> truly classic *Forever Changes* from Love, on a new, superb-sounding
>>>> reissue from Rhino. I took in two of these sessions and it was a buzz being
>>>> in a room of attentive audiophiles listening to an album in its entirety.
>>>> You can find the Classic Album Sundays calendar at Colleen's website<http://classicalbumsundays.com/>.
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------------------
>>>> Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
>>>>
>>>> =
>>>>
>>>
>
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