MUSIC MATTERS. TONE POET. BLUE NOTE OGs. SHOOTOUT.

[@joeharley8396]

I love all of my original pressings as well. They are a part of history, no doubt about it. The "punch and immediacy" on the OGs largely come from the 8:1 compression that RVG used when cutting. We do not apply that, preferring to let the sound of the actual master tapes dominate the presentation. Not neccessarily better, just a different approach. It's always a good idea to make the overall volume the same when doing comparisons.

[@kenmicallefjazzvinylaudiop6455]

Thanks Joe. I hope you understood my goal in saying with these speakers, differences are not as different as I thought! I believe that the tone poet series is closer to original pressings than I thought given the caveats that you don’t do the upper mid range bump.

[@westernartifact580]

Cool

[@jackfalco5351]

How would the compression on the originals result in more dynamics? The exact opposite should be the case. Something else is going on. Also the loss of density is what I notice the most in comparing the original pressings to the reissues.

[@jackfalco5351]

Kevin Gray needs to ditch the Studer. Those machines are built like tanks but make things sound dead compared to an Ampex. Probably the reason the reissues sound dynamically flat compared to the originals.

[@markscott7583]

That’s where it’s at, unexpectedly, has become one of my favourite Blue Note tone poet releases. great video Ken - appreciate you doing these.

[@ETCarter1954]

Bravo, Sir Ken, and I agree with you completely about the early pressings, the sound is incredibly dynamic with a breathtaking soundstage, especially on the Mono pressings.

[@fts81]

You are expressing what we feel but hard to put into words. I love my OGs and the audiophile pressings, each one in a certain way. Audiophile pressings are quite interesting. I stared my Deep jazz journey early in the TP series, without even being aware, just because I liked Burrell. I could immediately feel a difference to an ordinary release. My first OG was Silver Serenade. It blew me away, the power of an OG. Again, hard to put into words. You’ve started a good translation, Ken! Thanks

[@Les3201]

Nice reviews….thanks. I noticed you used the word “dynamics “ at least twice in your description of RVG cuts. Thank you. I recently described a West 63rd 1957 reissue of “6 Pieces of Silver” as being more dynamic than the recent Classic KG cut……and I got “jumped on” (all in fun…). Of course RVG Blue Note cuts are dynamic…..especially when the horn solo’s go from zero to 11 in a split second and grab you right by the throat. I love the new issues….but I am holding onto my RVG pressings also.

[@gotham61]

I think that writing on the back of the Kenny Burrell record says WIBF, which was a jazz FM station in the Philadelphia area in the 60s and 70s.

[@andrewmacdonald9382]

love the count in. Gives it that 'you are there' feeling. Merry Christmas Ken.

[@MrLovell1971]

Ken great comparison especially Wayne Shorter Speak No evil Ive heard the Music Matters Srx its sounds pretty good but there something about the Van Gelder I own an OG Stereo the punch is stunning to be over 50 years old. Love it Ken Happy Holidays . lovellandrew

[@williamfagan7835]

I agree. Something has been done to homogenize the Tone Poets and Classics for modern ears. Many of my older Blue Notes are French pressings from the 1970s and 80s. Almost all of them sound better than the recent issues on Blue Note. Take 'Soul Station' by Hank Mobley. The Classics version of the album sounds great and I would have been happy with this if I did not have my 1980s French pressing. On the recent issue Blakey is on the record, but on the earlier one he is in the room. Nothing further to add.

[@leon9021]

OGs do not have more dynamic range, RVG reduced this also. Youre hearing a more compressed sound.

[@1999zrx1100]

Of course another home run sir. The stickers on the album jackets get me nervous. Your early vinyl looks so mint. How do you go back after $18k speakers. That would take weeks to clear the memory of those puppies. Merry Christmas all. 😎

[@TheHSIHP]

I've never heard an original of that Kenny Burrell but I have the Tone Post and man do those congas sound good!!

[@The90sGamingGuy]

Love these comparisons Ken, keep em coming please.

[@amosperrine1909]

Love these comparisons, have a lot of BNs from various pressings, including a lot of two-fers.

[@billstevenson541]

Great review Ken! Thanks.

[@Fatdogrecords]

Your a good man Ken, wishing you and your family a happy holiday. Love the sound of the NY traffic down from below. I have only a classic series of speak no evil, early versions along with MM are crazy prices. Love the TP series, but your dead right about the early pressings, something magical in them grooves. I do have night dreamer from the Japan original master series which sounds fantastic.

[@Rickzolla]

Hi Ken. After watching your interview on John Devores channel I've decided to use your channel to broaden my very limited knowledge of Jazz. I'll be using a Bluesound node into a Schiit Gungnir, then to a Schiit Freya, connected to pair of Schiit Aegirs. Speakers are Harbeth 30.2 Anniversary editions. Currently listening to streaming of the Turrentine remaster. Cheers

[@doodahdavesrecords4319]

Hey Ken good to see you on camera!

[@jasonhoffer9017]

I would love to hear a discussion between you and Daniel VanEijl about Audiophiles, audiophile pressings (you definition of what one is, do they matter, etc), and it's impact in the Jazz community. I'm hearing a lot of contradictory comments with regards to this. Some say you are a fool for caring about the equipment that it is only about the music, others say that Original Pressings sound better or worse or worth it or not worth it - Some are happy with what Blue Note is doing others say they aren't doing enough or there needs to be other labels that need highlighting instead or stop concentrating on new pressings buy used. Some are saying that we are concentrating too hard on Jazz (or the wrong Jazz) and need more Classical or earlier Jazz. Anyways, I hope you get my point. Great video and enjoy ones where you are talking about the back story of the records and artist. Thanks and Merry Christmas to you and your family

[@jerryandlisa27]

Another amazing reviews, original records sound amazig the issue will allways be your sound system, if you have a decent system they will sound good , if you have an amazing system they will most likely sound better than the reissues.

[@jazzbumsmike]

Great video. I agree, I picked up the two AP Prestige reissues of Lush Life and Sonny Plays for Bird and they sound good, but compared to my early Prestige Miles or Gene Ammons, they don't have that magic.

[@mcgjohn22]

Ken, one of the reasons you may like the original Blue Notes so much may be technically related. If these early Blue Notes are an early MONO pressing, they are most likely a flat profile pressing, not a tapered pressing. All the original MONOs from the 1950s through the early 1960s, be it jazz, classical, pop, were all flat profiles (i.e. if you were to cross section through the record, or cut it in half, the record is the same thickness at the outer edge as it is towards the label). Not so with later stereo pressings and later mono pressings. All are tapered profile pressings where the record is thinner out at the edge and gets thicker as you move towards the label. So when you play a stereo record, your stylus tip is actually heading up hill the whole time, and its not perfectly perpendicular to the groove. With the early Blue Note MONOs you are likely getting better stylus tip alignment to the groove wall than you are with newer pressings. The only stereo pressings with a reduced taper trying to approach a flat profile I am aware of wear the MFSL UHQR titles pressed by JVC in the 1980s, and a few DAM (Daiichi Audio Members Clube) records pressed by Toshiba-EMI. Great video, thanks for posting it up.

[@kenmicallefjazzvinylaudiop6455]

What collectors call a flat rim. That sounds very scientific, and may be true. Thank you

[@vcp93]

In regards to your comparison to the Kenny Burrell releases, it sounds like you're saying that the TP simply "added" to the existing greatness of the OG. That's how I've always looked at it; Harley and Gray weren't necessarily "changing" the sound of the TP releases, merely adding some of the sonic profile that is missing (for reasons you stated). Those are some gorgeous looking speakers. Next time I have a spare $20K lying around, I might have to give them a spin. (Shortly after Hell freezes over....or I win the lottery) Great video Ken, really enjoying your work. Cheers!

[@vinylarchaeologist]

About that count-in on the original pressing of the Turrentine record: it’s possible that somebody later on the 1970s thought that was a mistake and cut that bit out of the master tape and discarded it. Since Blue Note master tapes were also basically the spliced-together 1st generation session tapes (mixed on the fly to 2 channels of stereo) and also the LP cutting tapes, there is no way of getting that bit back unless it got stuck back in at the end of the tape.

[@kenmicallefjazzvinylaudiop6455]

Could be

[@lucullus6127]

Original pressings have the kind of Tubey Magical Midrange that modern records rarely even BEGIN to reproduce. Folks, that sound is gone and it sure isn't showing signs of coming back. If you love hearing INTO a recording, actually being able to "see" the performers, and feeling as if you are sitting in the studio with the band, this is the record for you. It's what vintage all analog recordings are known for -- this sound. If you exclusively play modern repressings of vintage recordings, I can say without fear of contradiction that you have never heard this kind of sound on vinyl. Old records have it -- not often, and certainly not always -- but maybe one out of a hundred new records do, and those are some pretty long odds.

[@westernartifact580]

Which record?

[@ergloo6660]

Now try finding those original jazz records in the UK, I'll take good quality recordings as they enhance the performance

[@alansenzaki4148]

Nothing like original blue notes. Like you said they have that punch and immediacy! Tone poets and music matters are the next best thing. Like these shootout videos Ken. Happy holidays!!

[@gratefuldawgs2738]

Why are Classic Blue notes “not necessarily”, considered audiophile but truly are? Price or maybe optimal as pressing plant? I’ve had some misses early on but things have settled in nicely. Thanks

[@kenmicallefjazzvinylaudiop6455]

You got me. As far as the records go it’s Kevin Gray and Joe Harley. But it is a different pricing plant which Some say are more prone to errors. And you don’t have the fancy packaging. But as long as classic and town poet do different titles they are equally valuable in my humble estimation

[@bretsowden1913]

Love your work. How come you have stickers in the centre of your record covers?

[@kenmicallefjazzvinylaudiop6455]

the price sticker that I haven’t removed yet. They come off very easily. Thanks for your nice comments

[@ciejaygear]

Love me my Sugar. Why is nobody talking about Sugar?

[@cezarvasile1635]

👌👌🎶

[@meshplates]

Those Fleetwood speakers are 18 gs?! Good lord. Even at accommodation prices, that's going to be a hunk of change. Why not find Altec 604s like RVG had himself? 38lbs of Alnico goodness and that's just the driver. I can tell you how to sort them out to get them to play like new.

[@Maquis1943]

I agree-604s would be the right way to listen to OG BNs. If you have the room, Altec Valencias/846As could work as well (and cost 5X less than those Fleetwoods...). On a side note, Just for gits and shiggles, I think it would be enlightening to build a similar-ish signal path system to what Rudy used to master in Hackensack (e.g. Altec, JBL, Fairchild Westrex/Western Electric, etc., and then listen to Hackensack-era BNs on that. At that point, you'd likely get a clear(er) idea of what Rudy heard in the studio...

[@kenmicallefjazzvinylaudiop6455]

You haven't heard the Deville, base price 12k. Some of those Altecs will take your head off.

[@meshplates]

@@kenmicallefjazzvinylaudiop6455and I'll shoot back, you haven't heard my 604s. Altecs often sound bad because the woofer is locked up by goop on the suspension having hardened over the many decades. Clean or recone them and it's another matter. In the vid, you said 18k for the omas. 8"woofer on the oma vs 15" woofer on the altec. I know which I am backing. Best repro of Johnny hartman or any tenor as well as bass and drums I've ever heard. Alnico and a light paper cone for the win. Many photos of rvg with his 604s and every other engineer of the period includingthe Beatles. Art Dudley had Valencias which are still holding at around $3.5k. It's a good thing altecs are maligned otherwise they'd be untouchable expensive. 604 could be the greatest speaker of all time.

[@kenmicallefjazzvinylaudiop6455]

@@meshplates I have heard 604s. A Stereophile reviewer owns a pair, and I've heard them elsewhere. Again, you haven't heard these speakers.

[@Maquis1943]

​@@kenmicallefjazzvinylaudiop6455 Ken, you know my take on those Fleetwoods-I'll pick the Altecs every time, lol (though I own Art's Valencias...). Besides what Mark said, apparently the 604s also need proper cabinet tuning, but I don't have experience with that. On a side note, it's *interesting* to me that so many boutique speaker/tube amp producers hoard old tube gear, horn speakers, and mono-era professional turntables (RCA/Fairchild/Presto, etc) to study this so-called "old technology"...speaks volumes to me ;-)

[@smallaxe2097]

I feel we need to define "audiophile pressing". Are we talking about legitimate audiophile or fairy dust 🧚‍♀️ snake oil audiophile? Been enjoying this hobby for around 30 years. Love old original pressings and I love legitimate audiophile pressings. I use my ears (unlike a portion of people in the audiophile hobby) to listen to music so naturally I want the best sounding version I can get my hands on. For various reasons that might be the original or early pressing or it might be a audiophile pressing. The audiophile business can thank itself for the credibility issues it's endured all these years. Same goes for reviewers/critics, publications & websites.

[@wilseph1]

A good ol' fashioned shootout.

[@vcp93]

Wait, did you say that you "hope you get to keep"....a pair of $18K speakers? Are you serious?

[@kenmicallefjazzvinylaudiop6455]

I have long term loaner gear in house. Once agreed upon by manufacturer, I have to use the loaner component in every review. Nothing is free. Some manufacturers see the value of our having their gear; free advertising and comparisons to everything that comes in for review. Good and bad. I own my reference system, unlike many reviewers whose entire systems are loaner gear. But nothing is free, it has to be used or back it goes. Not to mention lots of gear moving around a small NYC apartment.

[@Sleevemonger]

Kenny, change your t-shirt, dude! :-)

[@kenmicallefjazzvinylaudiop6455]

HA!

[@Sleevemonger]

@@kenmicallefjazzvinylaudiop6455 In one vid there was a stain on the T, but in the next one you had the same T on, but no stain. Reminded me of myself.

[@kenmicallefjazzvinylaudiop6455]

@@Sleevemonger Great minds wear alike!

[@westernartifact580]

I buy my shirts pre-stained.

[@curtbradley549]

18k on speakers....really ....i mean REALLY ???? And not a smidge of music played here ??I dont get it !! Humanity has truly lost its mind period !! Music is made to evoke emotion,relax you , help reset your mind & soul.... NOT BANKRUPT YOU !$$$$$$

[@kenmicallefjazzvinylaudiop6455]

Calm down. You dont have to buy them!

[@westernartifact580]

It’s nothing to so many now. The rest of us can only dream…

[@kenmicallefjazzvinylaudiop6455]

@@westernartifact580 Huh?

[@meshplates]

For me, give me an original every time. Music, not sound.