Preference for Listening

[chibitachop]

I have been meaning to invest in a new cassette deck, if Nakamichi & NAD decks have been problematic for people on here then what brands/models are recommended?

[RyanWreck]

Like most other people have stated it just depends on who it is and what mood I am in. But generally speaking I like most Noise and PE through headphones, laying on the ground next to my tape deck while looking through the album art. Although some material sounds a lot better without headphones and turned up really loud, good example of this would be Xenophobic Ejaculation and Snuff, Prurient's Arrowhead album and certain Whitehouse material like Buchenwald, pretty much anything with harsh, isolated feedback, very stripped down sounds and high in the mix vocals is best suited to be heard in a room instead of just through headphones, in my opinion. Also groups like Disgust and that new Male Compliments cassette with their thunderous Bass and bulldozing crunch. Nicole 12 sounds great on speakers instead of through headphones as well.

Material by artists like Mania, Wince, Coma Detox, Sick Seed, Pleasure Fluids, most Mauthausen Orchestra and Bizarre Uproar are best suited for headphones.

And Black Metal is far the car rides.

[SafeWord]

Like most other people have stated it just depends on who it is and what mood I am in. But generally speaking I like most Noise and PE through headphones, laying on the ground next to my tape deck while looking through the album art. Although some material sounds a lot better without headphones and turned up really loud, good example of this would be Xenophobic Ejaculation and Snuff, Prurient's Arrowhead album and certain Whitehouse material like Buchenwald,

That is a valid point about certain artists or albums work better through headphones rather than speakers. I also like to look through album art whilst listening through headphones, or lie down with my eyes closed in a darkened room and just take in the noise.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

I have been meaning to invest in a new cassette deck, if Nakamichi & NAD decks have been problematic for people on here then what brands/models are recommended?

I have Nakamichi deck, which is ok, but need to be fixed. It has small distortion what appears to be most of all related to outputs.. I have NAD decks, which have served well. There has been occasional issues of motor jamming, but it has been easy to solve by opening the case, rotating the big wheel few times with your hand backwards or slight adjustment of the rubber band mechanism. Doesn't require any knowledge of anything. Just observation of simple mechanism of the deck. I have also Tascam and Technics decks. And I have run tests for them. Have had same master tape, which I have played with the deck, and captured WAV from output and really, all of them sound very much identical.
If the tape deck works, and if it is by company who still has spare parts, then should be good choice. Unfortunately, it seems like Technics parts are no longer available over here. I have extra dubbing decks that would need to be fixed, and heads can't be found anymore. I think Panasonic is handling Technics?
Everything will eventually break, especially when used extensively. I'd wouldn't recommend to invest thousands into some superior vintage deck if you can't get it fixed anymore. Then better to settle for those you can throw out when they break. For me, NAD, Technics and Tascam has been good.

[Zeno Marx]

Some of the best sounding decks I've heard from the low- to mid-end pack of manufacturers have been Denons.  Insofar as recording, they made their best dubs with Denon and Maxell blanks.  (I consider NAD a mid-end company).

[SafeWord]

Thanks for the Cassette Deck advice, I was possibly going to buy a new Pioneer or Yamaha Deck but looks like a second hand deck is the way to go. I am definetely looking for a deck that produces good sound output so NAD might be the way to go.

[RG]

I have NAD decks, which have served well. There has been occasional issues of motor jamming, but it has been easy to solve by opening the case, rotating the big wheel few times with your hand backwards or slight adjustment of the rubber band mechanism. Doesn't require any knowledge of anything. Just observation of simple mechanism of the deck.

Ok, so after reading this I cracked open my non-functioning NAD 6340, found the big wheel with the belt around it, spun it like 1/4 turn with my finger, and now the damn thing works! Fuckin' A, thanks for the info!

Passive or powered speakers? I haven't done research into this yet so might as well ask if anyone here more knowledgeable than I has an opinion on this. Right now I have a pair of old Pioneer CS-G403 passive floor speakers, but considering some smaller powered bookshelf speakers that might give me comparable sound (or better?)

Back to state of mind when listening...I can't listen to p.e./noise when I'm drunk. The throbbing and prolonged dissonant tones really mess with my head and make me nauseous. Probably just a case of being too drunk, but even when I'm just a little buzzed I prefer listening to rock or metal over noise.

[SafeWord]

Material by artists like Mania, Wince, Coma Detox, Sick Seed, Pleasure Fluids, most Mauthausen Orchestra and Bizarre Uproar are best suited for headphones.

Listening to Bizarre Uproar Mother Re-Issue CD right now, compared quality through closed Ultrasone Headphones to Speakers. You are certainly correct with the sound being better through Headphones. Able to hear that powerful rumble, but pick up on so many other layers of sounds that just dissapeared into a more flat rumble through the speakers, although my speakers are real cheap hard to compare them against mid end headphones.

[Andrew McIntosh]

I read an interview with Lustmord once, where he stated that most average stereo gear isn't qualified to bring out everything he says is in his music. I'd suggest there's not many other cases like that, though.

That's a silly statement on your part, and I don't say that to attack you.  I can't follow your logic is all.  I could list countless bands, projects, and albums that experience escalating returns the better the playback system is.  The ambient genre is packed with them, just as one broad-stroke example.  Electro-acoustics as another.  I won't even bother to keep going.  There's no sense talking about it.  If you heard it for yourself, there would be no discussion.

What I meant was, according to Lustmord, there's a lot of his material especially made for playback on only the highest fidelity systems; something to do with certain frequencies that can't be reproduced on most other systems. You're quite right, of course, just about any good recording benefits from a good system and I wasn't meaning to compare with the examples you meant, more the more plentiful "Noise/PE" kind of recordings. It was something I read in an interview in passing, though.

[SafeWord]

Was listening to Alfarmania- Nojjan cassette today on my sony mini hi fi system, originally through speakers but plugged decent set of headphones in and so much more detail and dynamic, sounds i could not even hear through the speakers. I must buy a decent system, thinking arcam with monitor audio speakers and play at high volume

[SafeWord]

Another thing I wanted to mention about how my listening has changed since listening to Noise. I have found that I am finding much more interest and focusing in on everyday sounds that happen in my environment. I live in the city, so I am appreciating all the noises whether subtle or intense. Listening to noise and power electronics has certainly changed the way i listen and to let go and take in what is around me.

[Ashmonger]

Another thing I wanted to mention about how my listening has changed since listening to Noise. I have found that I am finding much more interest and focusing in on everyday sounds that happen in my environment. I live in the city, so I am appreciating all the noises whether subtle or intense. Listening to noise and power electronics has certainly changed the way i listen and to let go and take in what is around me.

Here is something I recognize. Got the same, except that I don't appreciate all sounds, hehe.
But I more often notice the reverb in big stairways for example. Or find myself thinking: damn, this is a sound that would have been useful. Like a couple of days ago, when a colleague of mine banged a big double-wanded oil-barrel to hear whether it was full or not, it gave a great sound, would have been very useful for a noise or pe project...

[Zeno Marx]

I'm gun shy about Rotel.  I have their top of the line pre-amp from years ago, and I've never cared for it.  The phono stage is particularly poor.  I know I've said that elsewhere.  I'd give their gear another listen, but so far, I'm couldn't say they're worth the money.  Still, KMusselman, that's a nice system you have.

Looking to buy a nice DAC; one that is upgradeable, so it would have to be modular in design.

[acsenger]

I'm lucky enough that my girlfriend's brother works as a high-end audio equipment dealer and he gave me a list of recommended entry level  (since that's what I could afford) high-end brands and models to build a hifi. Since he lives in a different country, I couldn't listen to any of them, but what I ended up buying sounds great to me:

- CD player: NAD C546BEE
- Turntable: Clearaudio Concept
- Tape deck: NAD 6325 (bought this used on Ebay)
- Integrated amp: NAD C 326BEE
- Phono preamp: NAD PP3
- Speakers (bookshelf): Focal Chorus 705V
- Speaker cables & interconnects: QED and Audioquest
- Headphones: Grado SR125i

Like others in this thread, I can only recommend investing in a high-end hifi. Mine cost me a couple thousand dollars (although I got the turntable as a present so that's not included) which might be a lot but there's a massive improvement from my previous $250 mass market all-in-one hifi--and my new hifi is only entry level high-end (except for the turntable which I could not have afforded; if I had to buy one, I would've bought a Rega or Pro-Ject entry level model). Often I hear details in whatever I listen to that I didn't hear before and there's always a new kind of physicality to the music instead of the flatness of my old hifi--sometimes it's as if the music wants to jump out of the speakers. I can't even imagine what a truly high-end hifi would sound like...
Now I'm thinking of upgrading to floorstanding speakers but I'll have to read some more about it as my room's arrangement is crap and unless I can place them properly, it might not be worth spending on them.

[linxtyx]

I can't even imagine what a truly high-end hifi would sound like...

I had a conversation a few years ago with McKaras (autarkeia, cold industrial techno). He was telling me about and exhibition of most expensive and sky-high-fi setups that was held in Vilnius. And the most interesting thing is that he went there to try some industrial/noise records on those machines and ran into huge disappointment. He told me that when he tried BDN CD on those systems he couldn't even identify that it is Karmanik's material - the machine was cleaning the sound via bulb amps (and so on) so heavily that it influenced the sound itself. I don't know how legitimate this is, but after that conversation I am hoping to try this kind of thing myself.