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    heatherlew
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    "The Grateful Dead picked up their instruments and hit the first note with perfection. They never missed a note for the next three and one-half hours. People followed the flow of the tunes. Down on the floor in front of the stage was a sea of heads keeping time with the music. No one sat still. No one, except the youngsters behind us sat still. They were still and stunned." - The Power County Press

    And what a stunner it was, that show at the Boise State University Pavilion in Boise, ID on September 2, 1983. Dave's Picks Volume 27 contains every stitch of music from this mid-80s show (our first in this series), one that's as good as any other in Grateful Dead history. When the Dead were on, they were ON! Straight out the gate with a definitive take on the old standard "Wang Dang Doodle," the band swiftly switches back to a setlist of yore, firing off 70s staples like "Jack Straw" and "Brown-Eyed Women" and wrapping things up with a terrific trio of "Big Railroad Blues"/"Looks Like Rain"/"Deal" (don't you let that epic guitar solo go down without you). Primed for the second set, they tackle the complexities of "Help>Slipknot!>Franklin's" with heart and ease. It's clear there will be no stopping their flow - Bobby and Brent hanging in for a fantastic pre-Drums "Jam" and Jerry and Bobby in the zone on a not-to-be-missed melodic "Space." Not a skipper in the whole lot!

    Dave's Picks Volume 27 has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman and it is limited to 18,000 individually-numbered copies*.

    *Limited to 2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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  • Thin
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    This board is dying. What's Jerry's best album?
    WTF happened to this board? Been gone for a week and I come back to read the recent posts, and it's 15 minutes of my life i'll never get back. Minimal thoughtful commentary re: the music. Instead it's dominated by indignant era-griping, indignant Phish promotions, indignant gripes about shows outside the US, douchey trolling, direct personal swipes, indignant retaliations and politically-tinged rants. 90% waste of time and energy - why am I here??? Tempted to drop off like so many others have recently because it just doesn't seem worth the energy. How about we ALL ignore the noise and emotional jockeying and JUST focus on GD music? :O The spirit of this board is to share intelligent feedback re the DaP series and the Dead's music overall. Let's focus, people. SO - In that light.... (deep cleansing breath...) I'm curious what folks think is Jerry's best album? While i love all of them, I go crazy (good crazy) every time I hear "Compliments" (with Let it Rock, Turn on the Bright Lights, Russian Lullabye, Mississippi Moon, etc.) To me this is Jerry's most personal, intimate album. It's what "Thanks I'll Eat It Here" is to Lowell George, or "Laid Back" to Gregg Allman, or "Storyville" to Robbie Robertson (Storyville is a MUST-OWN!). It just feels like a departure from every other album - like a personal diary, doin' it just for you. Can't get enough. PS: I just realized Doc's post below! Hiya Doc! Yes, it's just getting MUCH worse, isn't it? I may join you shortly. I think, like college, it's natural to move on after 4 years and grow up. Pop in for the occasional alumni day.... There's only so much you can gleen from anything - my cup may be full.
  • Kayak Guy
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    good question
    all of the box sets released since the return of the Betty's uses the Plangent processing.in Dave's own words the new box set sounds like new tapes compared to the unplangented versions. the one exception has been the July 1978 box which still hasn't sold out and people think sound sort of meh. only Dave's Picks put out unplangented reels and that is because they aren't in the budget. the new ABB sonic journal is a good example of how the old GDM set has been improved by a Plangent processing of the same reels used for the GDM release.
  • JimInMD
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    Aye
    .
  • Exile On Main St.
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    Plangeant
    Are there any two track releases besides the Winterland 1973 box set that utilized Plangeant? I've read a lot about their technology, and a lot of comments indicate that there is a very specific type of audio anomaly that it corrects best, which I'm sure everyone here has heard of, flutter and wow. From what I've read Plangent is only really necessary when you can hear the deficiencies on the master tapes. It sounds like it is almost a necessity for multitrack sources, but not so much for two track sources that already sound good to the ear. By good to the ear they indicate the absence of flutter and wow, as well as the ability to listen to it loudly without distortion or changes in pitch. In other words, it sounds like you're almost always going to need it for multitrack sourced shows, because it would not be cost-effective to listen to 16 or Four 24 tracks all the way through in a concert to inspect for audible problems, and even if you did have the time, good pitch on one track might not match the pitch of another track which also sounds good to the year. Then when you mix it you realize you have two instruments that are not playing in the same register. It would be cool to compare a soundboard of a two-track to a two track release that's gone through plangent.
  • Forensicdoceleven
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    The more things change, the more they stay the same
    LMAO Rock on!
  • Kayak Guy
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    Bear's Sonic Jounals
    they are a vast upgrade to what was out there. maybe it is the Plangent processing of the master reels? if they can sound that much better, imagine what the GD portion of the GD February Fillmore shows could sound like? i'd pay for a box of Fillmore 1970 GD sets to replace the Dicks Picks and Bear's choices compilation sets. nonPlangent processed reels are a remix waiting to happen, lets start here.
  • direwulf
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    Allman Brothers
    The new bear sonic journals with the ABB are golden! Thank you Bear, gotta love someone that demands from thenselves that much intention, attention and presence in whatever they do. Great recordings from the maestro himself.
  • Kayak Guy
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    i love the smell of napalm in the morning
    how about back to the real problem here and the fact Dave's picks is wasting the reels on non plangent processed releases? join me in lobbying for a new series. Plangent Processed Betty Boards subscription series. this is an appeal to the powers that be for a new subscription series of 3 times a year of Plangent processed returned "Betty Boards" available in limited edition CDs and digital download forever. the series can start with 2/26/77 Winterland, which would be a sin not to have Plangent processed and instead used for a Dave's Pick release. as shown with previous releases from the "Bettys" the Plangent process significantly improves the sound from the tapes. by offering limited CD and unlimited digital versions it allows for maximum return of investment for the additional processing costs.
  • unkle sam
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    D & C in Mexico
    so you want to talk about D & C in Mexico? What a huge ripoff, I was checking the prices, really? to go to Mexico? Bad drinks, crappy weed, no inspections of public facilities. A woman I worked with back in the 00's was electrocuted in a pool in Mexico, no inspections so the wiring was faulty in the pools lighting, she dove in and ZZZZappppp, found her the following am. oh and good luck with any legal action in Mexico, forgetaboutit. Here's a question for the boys, why the hell do this in Mexico? why not Fla or Calif., or somewhere in the good old USA. To go, don't you have to get a passport? plane fare, cost of the show etc... 5 grand easy, are you fricking serious? Another stinking money grab or is it so Bobby can go on vacation? I would laugh if no one showed up. On another subject, phish, they can't hold a candle to the Dead so don't even bring them up, they just ain't that good, plain and simple. Now Fish, there's a band, I hear Barry M. is an attorney now and does a lot of pro bono work. Always loved the way he played. Speaking of Country Joe and the Fish, today is 49th anniversary of Woodstock opening day, they did an awesome set and you can see some of it in the movie. Good times (those were the days, my friends). Any old timers out there got any Woodstock stories? I have one but it would probably burn off both your ears :)
  • Roguedeadguy
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    Damn
    This thread is getting salty. Even Jim done got pissed off. I was having a sort of relevant convo with Oroborous (check your PMs my man :) about this Phish / Dead "controversy". When I started going to a lot of shows in the late 90s, I would see the Allman Brothers religiously (really Terrapin?), Phish, Widespread Panic, String Cheese Incident, moe., later on Umphrey's McGee, STS9, Tauk. These bands all have their loyal fans. What they all have in common is that practically all of those fan bases also are into the Dead. The Dead were like the common denominator of the jam band circuit. Hell they pretty much invented the jam band circuit. I got more interested in the Dead from talking to all these other fans at other shows. Go to any other jam band concert and count the folks in Dead T shirts. Some of them probably weren't born yet to have actually seen the Dead. When I was younger, I really liked Phish. I loved their zany, goofball irreverance. Now that I'm less younger than I used to be, I think I appreciate a little more reverance. Dead songs, for the most part, are earnest. They say what they mean and mean what they say. Phish songs are often ironic. They aren't intended to mean anything except as a vehicle to jam out. When I'm scrolling through here, its usually with my morning coffee, or during lunch, and I'm never going to stop reading and watch an entire concert video, of anyone. I just want to read what other people think about whatever inane topic we're on at the time. That's all. Oh and I still like, but don't love Dave's 27. It is neither the disgraceful embarrassment that some paint it as, nor the most amazing 2 1/2 hours of music ever put down on tape. That's enough for me to keep subscribing. Peace.
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"The Grateful Dead picked up their instruments and hit the first note with perfection. They never missed a note for the next three and one-half hours. People followed the flow of the tunes. Down on the floor in front of the stage was a sea of heads keeping time with the music. No one sat still. No one, except the youngsters behind us sat still. They were still and stunned." - The Power County Press

And what a stunner it was, that show at the Boise State University Pavilion in Boise, ID on September 2, 1983. Dave's Picks Volume 27 contains every stitch of music from this mid-80s show (our first in this series), one that's as good as any other in Grateful Dead history. When the Dead were on, they were ON! Straight out the gate with a definitive take on the old standard "Wang Dang Doodle," the band swiftly switches back to a setlist of yore, firing off 70s staples like "Jack Straw" and "Brown-Eyed Women" and wrapping things up with a terrific trio of "Big Railroad Blues"/"Looks Like Rain"/"Deal" (don't you let that epic guitar solo go down without you). Primed for the second set, they tackle the complexities of "Help>Slipknot!>Franklin's" with heart and ease. It's clear there will be no stopping their flow - Bobby and Brent hanging in for a fantastic pre-Drums "Jam" and Jerry and Bobby in the zone on a not-to-be-missed melodic "Space." Not a skipper in the whole lot!

Dave's Picks Volume 27 has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman and it is limited to 18,000 individually-numbered copies*.

*Limited to 2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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I disagree, it's a full 10 out of 10. They're priming DaP 27 for national release. I'm changing my avatar to it right now. You're a cute little guy, keep up the spirit!
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You seem locked into that avatar picture somehow.
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Pass me some of that psychedelic licorice. I’ll take the purple. I’ll even take 2, they seem a little small.
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....Bobbys voice was a couple of octaves off for the first two lines. I almost pushed the stop button right then and there, but I trudged on. Much to my delight.
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Just received Vol. 14 It's numbered, but the front of the cover is a little sunk in; it looks like the seam is cut too wide, so when the cover closes there's a gap. These may be factory 2nds, sets with cosmetic issues.
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....this, my friends, ranks right up there with Nessie, alien abductions and Bigfoot. Hmmmm. I was abducted once. At Monterey '88. Then the goonie birds wore off. The real test begins now. The wife and son went to get a new treadmill. They'll be gone an hour or so. The volume on my Onkyo goes to 70. Boise is poised at 53 (get it?). I finally get to crank this shit legit like. Wish me luck!!
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....our wedding song. I'm biased so this would be an unfair review. I love them all. Next!
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.... suddenly, Bobby's singing in a barn. A little more echo than the first three songs. We all know it sometimes takes that many to get the sound just exactly perfect. Jerry's throwing coke infused licks. It is what it is. You can't un-coke it. It's not Norman's fault.
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yeah I was also wondering why we needed constant reminders that phish psucks........sry to those who find listening value?????
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....OK. I'll admit. The harmonies are off, but the music is still breakneck speed. I think Bobby's more off than Jerry. Jerry even throws some growls. Brent is in your face. But I love Brent, so there's that. The train comparison shows up during Garcia's solo. Chugging along. Watch your speed....
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I'm loving this Boise pick and all the debate about it. For me, it is easily tied with Augusta 10/12/84 (30 trips) for my favorite release from 80-85. I think the instrumental mix is almost perfect (except the keyboards might be a teeny bit high). Finally, an 80-85 release where Weir's guitar is right up front in our face where it belongs! Such a treat to hear Weir's early 80's guitar like this. IMO, this is the best sounding recording yet from 80-85 (not counting Dead Set/Reckoning and Go To Nassau). Well, we are all listening on different equipment and are looking for different things, right? Musically, I think it is as fascinating as 10/12/84. Better or worse? I'll need many more listenings of each to decide.
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15 years 2 months
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Thank you. Pulling out 21 tonight. Phish video. Scroll by. Phish video. Scroll by. Phish video. Scroll by. No problem. But very weird.
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17 years 4 months
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....way too fast. 4/10. Not a very solid version. Oh well. Time to sell it.
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....Phil!!! Back on track. Rocking with their rocks out. Nowhere else will you hear "stay right here in Boise" so it's a keeper.
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....I've already sung my praises on this version, so I won't bore you.
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....not bad. But there are tons better. More vox drops. Stay at the mic Bobby Rockstar! The coda is very nice though. Usually is. Here it comes again. I will admit, it's nice to let off the pedal. I'm a huge fan of the thunder effects Healy gave this song later on in the 80's.
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....watch each release you play, and play it slow. Just wait until that Deal goes down. Who knows? On 2.24.21, you might just want to bust Boise out. Yeah, there's some dust, but at least the musics clean. 4:50 mark. The boyz huddle up and get their shit together. You know, the Dead were known to play some rock n roll at times.
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....time to drop the volume down to 25. (sad face).
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I don't think the recording does the performance justice. The limitations of the mix make it impossible to accurately gauge how good they may have sounded that night. I get the impression Betty did a whole lot more mixing in real time than Dan Healy. Forget the cassette tape source, the show can hardly be mixed worse. The vocals on on a few of the July 1978 shows are not nearly as smooth as May 1977, and that's the same band, same songs, a year apart, recorded by the same person on presumably the same equipment. Sure, the band was a much less consistent band in '78, but the July shows are good performances. Yet to my ears, the background vocal mix on some of that box set is lacking, compared to May '77. My point is that I believe some mixing factor accounts for what I hear as inferior vocals in some sections of July '78, as compared to May '77. Even a non Betty from '77 like 4/29 makes the band sound much worse than they were really playing. We don't know what kind of audio enhancement effects Betty may have used on her mixes to provide us with the final products we have today (except the reverb, and look how different a perspective that gives us on the band). Add the same principal 10 fold to Boise '83, and what's the point of discussing how good or bad the show is? There's no way to tell as far as I'm concerned. For whatever reason, Dan Healy's mix here is so bad it does the band an injustice. Apply a mild harmonization effect to the vocals at the mixing board and maybe there wouldn't be so much distance between each vocalist. Anyway, I'm not saying a better mix would turn this show into a replica of Go To Nassau, but it would improve the performance immensely. For what we do have, I felt like many people posted. The music is so inconsistent as to be a distraction. Parts sounded really strong, but quickly turned me off a moment later. I don't think Brent's voice will ever grow on me. It just sounds so ragged and tired and overbearing.
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I've played it, not the best not the worse...It'll sit on the shelf with all the others and I doubt I'll pull it down and play it again for quite awhile...one thing it did do though was have me pull out the Santa Fe Downs Matrix shows and give them a spin...fun to hear those again...my '83 collection is a bit sparse after my first external HD crash from some time back...now I do back ups of back up etc...ya pays your money and take your chances after all...
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Back to my point about people hearing things differently...
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First I got to ask. Is it love Jerry like you love Jerry? Or is it love Jerry like: "What a long strange trip it's been." Love, Jerry I kind of noticed the same thing you mentioned about July 1978. Not quite as smoother than smooth as May 1977. I would love to get Betty sat down for an interview. Anyway I think your point is well stated and very accurate. For the people who are loving this release, I'm sure it would rank even higher with better mixing. I teach chorus, and it's very difficult to mic up the kids for the spring and winter concerts. For people who don't like this release, a great mix may have made all the difference. But oh well what can you do it is what it is. As far as the series goes, I think this is definitely subpar, but it's the only way they ever would have moved 18000 units of a show that sounds this way. Also agree with your Brent comment. It seems in the Grateful Dead circles he has a love it or hate it voice. I love it when it's real low in the mix. Or not at all. Eagles fill the sky, blecchhh. I cannot So what will they pull out for the fourth quarter? Can't be 1971, unlikely to be 72 73 or 74, impossible to be 75, also unlikely to be 77, although I would love to hear that swing Auditorium show from February. I can't see it being 1978 either, but maybe. I think some kind of 69/70 mix like Vol 6 maybe. I'd be great with that. 1976 is due. I would be surprised if Dave reaches into the 80s or 90s twice in a row.
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don't make me laugh, move along now
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I tried for years to like Phish.. bought tons of releases and saw a bunch of shows - but THIS is what they sound like to me now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNHIFM0Y87c Impossible to watch the whole thing without cracking up. The vocal bits sound like red-stapler guy from Office Space. TAlk about "hearing things differently"....
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for name-calling, why? I think an intelligent conversation is better than whom ever calling whoever uninformed or someone else calling them illogical. There are just a few unkind folks on this site. I don't care much for this release, but if you do, far out. The band didn't go to Idaho, or Montana often (once each?) but both of those shows are now released by Dave, maybe he's just trying to get unheard or not often heard releases out there for the faithful. Can't really blame them for not going to these places again, beautiful scenery, but not a very hospitable atmosphere for hippies.
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Hey, it’s 8/4, so why not 8/4/76? Someone mentioned Dekalb, there’s a Betty Board of 10/29/77 in the vault- that would definitely be a treat. Lots of talk of 79, which would be nice, but why not another 80s/90s? Su91, anyone? Mmm. Sp/Su 93? Yes, please. Although maybe these contradict the seeming mission, in ways actually that 9/2/83 did not, in releasing more relatively unknown and less heard of dates. Who knows?
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I like this Bobby, Brent and drummers jam out of Eyes! Good stuff. Also, if you like this little jam check out the Bobby, Bruce and drummers jam from Dicks #17 aka Boston Clam Jam!!
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What he said! You got it “just exactly perfect” Enough already. STFU and just sell the dam thing....don’t worry, we’ll be back to 99% 70s soon enough!
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(such as Chicago, the Bay Area, or NYC) more people would be more open to this release. Boise is indeed one of the strangest of places to have a GD show. "well it's 8:00 in Boise Idaho"
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thanks for the laughs Phish: I do appreciate them, but rarely listen to them. the thing that drives me crazy about them is the cutesy stuff they do. but they can jam when they want to.
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80s Dead just isn't my thing...to each their own. My DP 27 has been sitting unopened as I pondered what to do. For those who want but missed out, I just want to cover cost plus shipping, no EBay style gouging involved, maybe some interesting 70-73 trade? PM interest...
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Jerry's soloing on this version is phenomenal. His tone and harmonics jumps right out of the mix. Awesome.
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Got a last minute present to go to his show last night in Toronto. Only know some of the Talking Heads stuff from way back. Was blown away by the show - top notch production, uniqueness and grooves. Had a bunch of the age 50+ crowd on their feet and dancing from 3 minutes in. Highly recommended if the tour hasn’t passed by your city already. Will definitely be checking out his solo catalogue in between Dead releases. Maybe he appeals more to the Phish crowd than Dead, but the guy is quite an artist.
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he was in town re his and Fatboy Slim's musical "Here Lies Love".she went with a friend. on the way out, he was standing right there, so she said "hi", he greeted politely back, and she went on her way. he has been part of my musical landscape since I heard/saw Talking Heads on SNL in 79. love deez: More Songs About Buildings and Food (not about Fucking, though...tip of the hat to the poster who shared Big Black with us ;)) Fear of Music Remain in Light attended a concert of him solo in 1992 during the LA RK riots. "Burning Down the House" took on a whole new relevance
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....came through Vegas recently. I didn't even know.
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For those who think the sound sucks, what type of speakers did you hear it through?Obviously, computer speaks are the wrong tool for this job. For those who think the sound is great/good/acceptable, what type of speakers did you hear it through? I suspect that SpaceBro has a Wall Of Sound replica in his house. Combine that with his unbridled enthusiasm (Seinfeld reference) for the era, and he’s in pure ecstasy. I’m using Bose 301 speakers that are about 5.5 feet in the air on stands (helps to fill the room), an Onkyo subwoofer, Onkyo receiver, Onkyo 6-disc changer. I do have to turn the volume up past the ‘normal’ point for DaPs. Most DaPs are pretty consistent in the sound level on my system, ‘40’ on the Onkyo display. For DaP 27 CD1 starts at 44 but I just had to turn it down to 42 during Deal. These numbers are a little arbitrary and are influenced by how much I want my neighbors to hear the GOGD. Just turned it up a tad to 43 for H/S/F. It’s Saturday afternoon, not like it’s In The Midnight Hour. I can clearly hear all the instruments on Slipknot!, with Jerry right up front.
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....I use two tin cans and 15' piece of string. Am i doing it right?
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I'm listening on earbuds that I have suspended from the ceiling about 6 feet above the floor. The sound doesn't bother me at all.
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