Classic Hifi Care

Well, it's Christmas and time to stretch our hifis and consoles to their limits.

Today I put up the same artificial tree my parents bought in 1968... the Christmas I was in the oven... and the year they bought the house.

So, yeah, the tree is technically a year older than me. It's the only tree I've ever known... putting it up recalls memories of dad with burned out lights and the usual...

One thing good is those Christmas records. I'm about half through the stack but I must say, there's something special about a reverb on orchestral recordings. Even mono come alive. The Fisher Spacexpander is a nice accessory to have.

I converted our old Christmas records we haven't played in years to digital. "Silent Night" is, if not the first, one of the first stereo recordings the Lawrence Welk orchestra recorded. I have the mono version and looked for years for the stereo version. The mono version is actually better. Very poor quality recording, compared to what LW was known for later. We have been exercising the old Imperial on the RCA CD player. We have played all 35 Christmas CD's and are starting over again. We typically play them all three times. I have a Nat King Cole Christmas album, mono, that had never been opened until the other day.

I did the same , I gathered all the Christmas CD's and vinyl and recorded them all on to a 90 min R2R tape @ 3 3/4 speed , gives us 3 hours of non stop christmas music

I guess I'm boring, I just listen to my vinyl, CD's and R to R's.

Bill

William wrote: ↑Mon Dec 04, 2023 12:09 am I guess I'm boring, I just listen to my vinyl, CD's and R to R's.

Bill

You're in good company Bill. I only use a CD player if a record changer isn't handy.

Tapes are in my personal dustbin, no tape players I have work 100% anymore.

Trying again (sigh). For quite a few years I have recorded the annual live Christmas eve broadcast from King's College, Cambridge, "A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols." It's one of those old BBC traditions, broadcast since 1928. It's a mix of traditional and new carols (they always commission one new one).

https://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/chapel/a-fe ... and-carols

When possible, I record it and always try to listen. Before Xmas, I have the past years' recordings on cassette. I find it really moving, al those English people filling that grand hall and singing away and listening. Then they go home in the dark that has fallen and celebrate their holiday.

And then on Christmas eve night, I always listen to Dylan Thomas reading his story, "A Child's Christmas in Wales." He recorded in for Caedmon Records in 1952. I'm not sure which is better, listening to that glorious voice or enjoying the images in his story one more time. If you haven't heard Thomas's voice, it's a revelation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFSs2IdDmuU

Chris Campbell