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#1
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Away on a road trip
I took the "grocery getter" out for one final road trip before its
retirement (probably next year; parts are getting very scarce) and took along 5 LeBo 24 cart cases, and just about listened to them all. It was good, as I got to compare various releases (and versions thereof) for quality and fidelity compared to the LP, and got some interesting surprises. Oddly enough, both Vols I and II of Chicago Transit Authority sounded fabulous...very low usage on these and obvious kind handling probably preserved them. My canuck carts, notable the Frank Zappa releases were similarly good, if a little shrill due to having no Dolby decoding at the ready. However, some stuff was just plain awful...notably a lot of stuff from Warner's...shrill, midrangy equalization being the chief complaint. Many others were just worn out, probably due to play on decks with dirty/magnetized heads, as the peaks had audible distortion and the top end was missing on a lot of them. One case of this was LZ II, one of which, in a "pretty pink" Ampex, sounded like crap, while a "low mileage" earlier white Ampex sounded OK...not good, just OK. My UK collection, mostly Beatles and Joni Mitchell, were some of the best. I also have CD and cassette in this car, so I did direct comparisons there, too. Sorry, but 8 track, as a musical medium, is severely limited by age, state of the tape art at the time, and the basic limitation of putting such skinny tracks on slow moving tape. Cassette from the '80s almost always sounded better due to far better tape technology and Dolby noise reduction...except that one area where 8 track can excel due to its increased speed, the deep bottom end. However, bass isn't everything, and the noise on 8 tracks was obtrusive almost always on quiet works, which cassettes with Dolby "B" were much better. So, I think when the "grocery getter" goes away, that'll be it for me for 8 tracks in cars...it's just not worth the hassle anymore. One 8 track that actually sounded better than the LP: CTA I...bass I've never heard before, and I use very top-end gear at home...was evident, for what reason, I dunno. But those woofers really got a workout, and so did my power amps! What's telling, though, is that I've got two copies of this. The "high mileage" copy sounds like crap...bass is clipped, top end is gone...generally trash. Thus is exposed the fragility of analog tape in a consumer environment...if the user doesn't bother or know better to clean and demag his equipment, he ruins his tapes, just like clueless users ruin LPs with crappy styli on cheap cartridges. Another thing I learned is that an indispensable tool to carry is the "double ender" cleaning cart, with the ScotchBrite capstan cleaner and the textured paper "tape", each on a disparate end of a custom molded cart. It kept my capstan and heads squeaky clean the whole trip. I use a couple of drops of isopropynol on the paper tape to clean the heads, and it did a spectacular job. It also showed, just in a week playing about 125 tapes, the fallacy of the graphite back coating...it winds up all over everything. Am I "over" 8 tracks? Just about...but it was a fun project to explore this much maligned format, if for no other reason, to see just how good it could get. Shamefully, it was capable of better sound than most people ever heard from it. Now, to write that article.... dB |
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#2
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Away on a road trip
what year and make is the grocery getter ? do you have pictures of her you
can post? "DeserTBoB" wrote in message ... I took the "grocery getter" out for one final road trip before its retirement (probably next year; parts are getting very scarce) and took along 5 LeBo 24 cart cases, and just about listened to them all. It was good, as I got to compare various releases (and versions thereof) for quality and fidelity compared to the LP, and got some interesting surprises. Oddly enough, both Vols I and II of Chicago Transit Authority sounded fabulous...very low usage on these and obvious kind handling probably preserved them. My canuck carts, notable the Frank Zappa releases were similarly good, if a little shrill due to having no Dolby decoding at the ready. However, some stuff was just plain awful...notably a lot of stuff from Warner's...shrill, midrangy equalization being the chief complaint. Many others were just worn out, probably due to play on decks with dirty/magnetized heads, as the peaks had audible distortion and the top end was missing on a lot of them. One case of this was LZ II, one of which, in a "pretty pink" Ampex, sounded like crap, while a "low mileage" earlier white Ampex sounded OK...not good, just OK. My UK collection, mostly Beatles and Joni Mitchell, were some of the best. I also have CD and cassette in this car, so I did direct comparisons there, too. Sorry, but 8 track, as a musical medium, is severely limited by age, state of the tape art at the time, and the basic limitation of putting such skinny tracks on slow moving tape. Cassette from the '80s almost always sounded better due to far better tape technology and Dolby noise reduction...except that one area where 8 track can excel due to its increased speed, the deep bottom end. However, bass isn't everything, and the noise on 8 tracks was obtrusive almost always on quiet works, which cassettes with Dolby "B" were much better. So, I think when the "grocery getter" goes away, that'll be it for me for 8 tracks in cars...it's just not worth the hassle anymore. One 8 track that actually sounded better than the LP: CTA I...bass I've never heard before, and I use very top-end gear at home...was evident, for what reason, I dunno. But those woofers really got a workout, and so did my power amps! What's telling, though, is that I've got two copies of this. The "high mileage" copy sounds like crap...bass is clipped, top end is gone...generally trash. Thus is exposed the fragility of analog tape in a consumer environment...if the user doesn't bother or know better to clean and demag his equipment, he ruins his tapes, just like clueless users ruin LPs with crappy styli on cheap cartridges. Another thing I learned is that an indispensable tool to carry is the "double ender" cleaning cart, with the ScotchBrite capstan cleaner and the textured paper "tape", each on a disparate end of a custom molded cart. It kept my capstan and heads squeaky clean the whole trip. I use a couple of drops of isopropynol on the paper tape to clean the heads, and it did a spectacular job. It also showed, just in a week playing about 125 tapes, the fallacy of the graphite back coating...it winds up all over everything. Am I "over" 8 tracks? Just about...but it was a fun project to explore this much maligned format, if for no other reason, to see just how good it could get. Shamefully, it was capable of better sound than most people ever heard from it. Now, to write that article.... dB |
#3
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Away on a road trip
you need to stop comparing formats in a CAR with tons of background
noise, and start comparing them in a LISTENING ROOM with a good SET tube amp and that Marantz deck you bought (after you read my posts on the Marantz, that is). Put your WOLLENSAK DC motored deck on Ebay for $10 and dump it already. If you REALLY want to hear 8-tracks in their ultimate form, get a Telex Viking or Telex changer, amped via SET tubes- and it will open a whole new world for you. Simply blows away cassette, which appears to be telephone answering machine quality by comparison- and also much more depth than your CD's. |
#4
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Away on a road trip
DB wrote: Am I "over" 8 tracks? Just about...but it was a fun project
to explore this much maligned format, if for no other reason, to see just how good it could get. Shamefully, it was capable of better sound than most people ever heard from it. Now, to write that article.... " You can never be "over" 8-tracks ! Anyone that grew up with them and had any appreciation for music, still has them and keeps their original set. Kids that hear them actually like them. The market is ripe today, for the format to be reintroduced on the consumer level, albeit with improvements- i.e. double sided tape splices and modern high-tech pads that last indefinitely. If someone took a Telex or Akai or JVC or Marantz deck and back engineered it with improvements, eliminate the belt drive, and use an AC motor- the format would take right off again- as a home audiophile/nostalgia alternative. Notice how Ford made their new Thunderbirds and Mustangs look like the old ones from the 1950-60's ? Pontiac reintroduced the GTO ? Mopar reintroduced the Hemi Charger ? There will always be a market for 8-tracks- too many people liked them for them to fade away just yet- and more youngsters are discovering the format for the first time every year. |
#5
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Away on a road trip
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#6
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Away on a road trip
The free form guitar on early Chicago tape, sounds like a generic
Hendrix impersonation. UK carts rock- definitely the upper echelon of 8-track factory recorded sound Pink shells- when they were new and taken care of, they sounded great. The problem with pink shell Zep carts is, they were played to death ! It was not uncommon for someone to plug Houses of Holy, or Physical Graf in, and let it play for about 3 times though. Zep in the early 1970's ruled, and was definitely played more than any other band of that time. I have a few near mint pink shell Zep carts, that sound spectacular. Actually better and more detailed than any CD- if you listen close with headphones. |
#7
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Away on a road trip
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#8
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Away on a road trip
I'd have to disagree on the Canadian carts- I have had quite a few of
those yellow shell Canuck carts- they sound lousy compared to even the USA stuff. Nothing wrong with the early Ampex stuff either- the problem is, those carts are among the oldest made now, so only natural for them to give up the ghost first. For all-around reliability, sound quality, and ease to find- an 8-track hobbyist is well served by any 1970-80's era COLUMBIA/CBS cart. Easy to open, stellar sound quality, and the crappy artist tapes make great recording blanks too- after you bulk erase them. |
#9
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Away on a road trip
On Fri, 04 Nov 2005 08:40:24 -0800, DeserTBoB
wrote: No question...UK carts are, as a rule, much superior to US counterparts. snip Damn...that toilet wav just played again! Must be Noodles or one of his pals! Flush, flush, flush your troubles away.... dB |
#10
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Away on a road trip
some people just can't discuss 8-tracks in a friendly manner I guess !
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