[Mr.T]

"isw" wrote in message
...
for it to "sound right". It'll be somewhat more difficult if you want
it
to *be right*.

What *IS* right in the context of a non test record? Do you use the same
speakers as the recording and mastering engineers?

Of course not; for one thing, monitor speakers aren't necessarily a good
choice for living rooms. But I guarantee you that my playback EQ was set
up as accurately as I could manage, using a standard test record and
level measuring gear. That's much more precise than using an "inverse
RIAA network" for example.

So what your saying is, it doesn't matter whether it sounds right, or
anything like what it was meant to sound like, as long as you use the right
EQ setting.
Your choice, and you're welcome to it. Remember though we were discussing
*non RIAA* recordings.
For RIAA recordings I do agree it is best to start with proper RIAA playback
EQ, but still use tone controls/EQ whenever necessary.

Any "production" EQ (which would be on the master tape or disk) is not
at issue here -- that's a matter of taste.

Exactly, and that *is* an issue.

It's what happens to the
signal between there and the commercial disk thqt I'm talking about.

Why do you think one EQ matters and not another? They all have an effect on
the final sound.

IF
what you want is the best possible recreation of what was on that master
tape (so you hear what the producer heard), then you need to apply the
proper playback EQ to the signal.

What the producer heard live, or on his monitoring system? I can assure you
they are different. I can also assure you that YOU will not hear either case
just by using the nominal playback EQ.

In theory (but *never* in practice),

That's my point.

if you use the proper playback EQ, the signal out of your phono preamp
will be identical to the signal from a playback of the master tape.

Fairly close, if youre very lucky maybe. CD does give you a much better
chance at least.

And if you think that somehow guarantees a perfectly flat response
compared
to what was originally heard/meant by the producer/engineer/artist, then
you
are living in cloud cuckoo land.

Of course I don't. Vinyl is a rather poor storage medium for audio
signals -- distortion, noise, nonlinearity; it's all there.

At last we agree on something. That's why slavishly sticking to a defined EQ
curve when the playback or even recording obviously sounds crook, is a
stupid idea.
You're welcome to do whatever you want though.

Have you
ever tried to check a phono preamp for "RIAA accuracy" using a
professional test record? I have. It's almost impossible.

Why on earth would you check a phono pre-amp with a test record? I check
those with a spectrum analyser. Test records are for checking
turntables/cartridges.
You obviously need to learn good measurement practice.

In fact what you are really doing is to adjust the Pre-amp EQ to compensate
for your cartridge response, so it matches the test record. Now *That's*
very close to what I'm suggesting all along, and what YOU are disagreeing
with!!

MrT.