bjorn

Amazon has discounted this record by 20%... came to around $24 shipped for me. I assume it will be black vinyl but that's cool with me.

This is good! Thanks for sharing.

I didn't have massive expectations for Solara, but a part of me hoped it would be something closer to Ma Belle or Stellar, which had some of that classic SP magic even though they were from the Zeitgeist era. Unfortunately, it sounds more like a deliberate attempt to recreate something like Bullet. Also, the mix is horribly bright. I'll still give anything they put out a fair shake. Oceania was good, and Monuments was enjoyable as well, but to me none of this stuff really lives up to the band's potential, which is a bummer.

They are crazy to keep up with for sure. I hopped on early, otherwise I'd be utterly lost. Heathen, Summit, and Peasant are probably the most essential things to get into first. They did a run of 12" splits that I really like. The Leech, Salome, and Moloch splits are my favorites. They are short, spin at 45, and sound massive.

Grabbed all four from Deathwish. I was waffling on whether to track all of these down but getting them all in one fell swoop made it easy. I somehow have every 12"/10"/7" they've ever released, minus a couple comps, so I guess I'm keeping the streak going after all.

Silver repress: https://velvetbluemusic.com/shop/starflyer-59-silver/

Sounds like something's up with that new cart, I'd definitely try to get that replaced. I've had lots of issues on older turntables with one side or another cutting out, but it was always some kind of issue with the table's wires or connectors, in your case that wouldn't make sense.

Nice! How do they sound? Curious what convinced you to buy them.

I have the original iPhono. It's a slight step up from what's in my Rotel sound-wise, but offers tons of extra adjustments/cartridge flexibility which is probably why I'll hold on to it. Other than that, not really crazy about its design, the little switches are a pain to mess with and not very intuitive. Having cables on both ends can be a little awkward, but I hide mine behind my turntable, seems to be designed with that in mind. That being said, apparently the 2 is even a bit better performance-wise if the hype it to be believed.

Spinning my blue/yellow copy now. I was worried it would sound noisy, but the vinyl is practically flawless. I like the album a lot, it's gorgeous really, though it loses steam a bit. I don't mind the stylistic change so much, but I think it would have been smart to keep at least some bursts of heaviness to punctuate parts here and there.

I agree. While swapping carts is fun, I've learned that the differences between them tend to be vastly overstated in reviews, discussions, etc. We are talking about very subtle differences in sound quality, with the main advantages of of higher-end carts being their ability to minimize distortion and produce a more accurate tonal balance. I've used a Nagaoka MP200 and loved it, and I'm sure the 120 would be a great cart to use. However, whatever turntable you end up buying will probably come with a halfway decent cart if you're buying new, and there simply isn't a reason to ditch that immediately.

So, my friend is a Waits fanatic and new to buying records. He bought a copy of the Closing Time reissue, but was bummed by how bad it sounded so he returned it. He's wondering if the clear variant might be a new pressing with better sound... I'm skeptical about that. Not sure if the clears have shipped yet or whatever, but if anyone picks one up will you please post your thoughts? Also, there appears to be a Euro pressing from a different plant. My gut says that one will sound better, but haven't seen anyone confirm this. Has anyone listened to it? Thanks!

I finally caved and returned my second US copy for an Amazon UK copy. It was absolutely worth it. There's a little noise for about 30 seconds on the C side, other than that it's near perfection.

If you're at all interested in the DIY route, I would definitely email the guy at GR Research. He can make recommendations for your room, etc. The ones I posted have an open baffle section which requires space to sound good, but the N3 towers are closed and use a ribbon tweeter as well. I really wanted to build those but they were out of stock at the time. I built the A/V 3 towers instead and I don't see any reason to ever replace them, plus it was one of the most enjoyable projects I've ever taken on.

Build these! You'll need lots of room though. http://gr-research.com/ob-7.aspx