(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best country music

I have one of these too--really impressive piece of kit. I was actually asked to review it as part of their launch campaign with Massdrop last year but plans changed. If anyone is on the fence about this product and want to read a wall of text, I've posted an excerpt below.

TL;DR: the DAC is decent but the amp is the real killer--super effortless and consistent. Handles some pretty complex loads at full gain without breaking a sweat and feels just fine among $3k+ gear. Headphone amp is good too, if you have high-impedance cans. $200 DAC and $1000+ Integrated amp in a little box.

---
--From Dec 2017--

...
I hooked up the Sprout II directly in place of my NAD M12 DAC/Preamp and my DIY power amps (Rod Elliott/ESP’s phenomenal Project 101). My sources were an HTPC running Foobar2000 on Windows, an OPPO BDP-93, and a Harman+Kardon T60 turntable with an AT-92E cartridge with a hyperelliptical needle. All of this fed into the Sprout, powering my pair of Shahinian Obelisks (with the sub-out feeding full-range signal to my DSP’ed sub). Now, none of this is fair to the Sprout. The NAD M12 has an MSRP of $3500, my DIY power amps can push some 250W into 4 ohms without breaking a sweat. The Obelisks are full-range floorstanders known to have punishing impedance/current demands. If the Sprout can thrive in that environment, it’s a damn good product.

I started with the classical music near and dear to me. I played Saint-Saens “Organ Symphony,” a 2015 audiophile recording by the Kansas City Symphony deserving of its hi-res format. With a full-bodied symphony and deep, powerful organ (right down to the last 16hz pipe), it’s an audio treat and an equipment torture test. Many lower-power Class A/B amps will “drop the bass” (in a bad way) when faced with hungry loads and lots of low-frequency signal. The Sprout, on the other hand, was remarkably consistent at any volume and at any passage--no missing bass, no clipping, no congestion. It rendered the orchestra fully and consistently whether the windows were rattling or not. Even with my sub off, it rendered a convincing pipe organ, driving the Obelisks down to their 28hz spec and beyond.

In a similar vein, I turned to one of my favorite pieces, a hi-res recording of Bob Chilcott’s Requiem released in 2011 on the Hyperion label. It’s a shining example of how satisfying the full dynamic range of massed chorus can sound when mastered for the hi-res market. The Sprout showed its colors immediately in the opening bars of the “Pie Jesu,” with solid, lifelike renditions of the soprano voice and woodwinds leading into third movement. The smooth, round voice showed no hint of phasey-ness, no sense of shifting timbre in the upper registers--a wonderful feat for an affordable DAC. I waited for one of my favorite moments in all of my music: when the chorus joins in behind her.

While I didn’t hear the magical, atmospheric separation of depth I’d come to love from my own gear (worth nearly ten times as much), what I did hear was unexpectedly good. The lateral image of the soloist or woodwinds never wavered despite the blooming chorus behind them, and there was no hint of grainy sibilance or high-frequency distortion in the treble voices as often heard from budget DACs. In another Chilcott track, I was ecstatic to hear--and feel--the Sprout’s amps effortlessly produce gutsy timpani hits over a climax of choir, brass, woodwinds and organ. Extra credit was given to the amps for these shows of both finesse and strength at their maximum gain.

Changing gears, I put on recent 180g presses of Jeff Buckley’s Grace, David Bowie’s Reality, and Joni Mitchell’s Hejira. Each album has pieces (“Grace,” “Never Get Old,” “Black Crow” to name one from each) with a rhythmic drive that thrives on sharp and clear transients. I was pleased to hear no self-noise from the phono amp, and while overall dynamics felt slightly limited, the Sprout delivered those snappy transients at any volume. Along the way, I was surprised by the revelation of more texture and timbre compared to the experience I’d just had via the digital inputs.

Curious, I connected my NAD M12 to the analog inputs of the Sprout. Revisiting some earlier pieces this way restored some of the depth and timbral detail that I’d missed, suggesting that the Sprout’s DAC was the weaker link in the pairing. But given that this suggestion was only clear under the spotlight of a device costing nearly ten times as much, the real story is the incredible value and potential of the amplifier.

To find a more sensible pairing for the Sprout, I visited my friend, who owns a pair of Totem Dreamcatchers. The Dreamcatchers are spiritual sisters of the Sprout: tiny boxes with physics-bending power and extension. In previous listening sessions, we’ve noticed that the degree of physics-bending bass you can pull out of the 4” drivers depends greatly on the quality of amplification.

We went to two familiar albums, Glass Animals’ ZABA and Hiromi’s Spark, both great benchmarks for bass slam and control, with the latter serving up a rich palette of detail as well. Immediately, my friend said, “I’ve never heard these speakers do that before!” There was bass, and there was a lot of it--wild and aggressive. The original Sprout was known to have a bass boost built in, and if it was welcomed (or demanded) by my power-hungry Obelisks, it was a punch in the face with my friend’s near-field Dreamcatchers. The sound was clearly tonally skewed, but on closer listen--it was hard to stop listening--nothing was being overwhelmed or lost by the extra bass. We weren’t sure what to make of it, until we swapped back to his normal setup: a Parasound Z-DAC and Z-AMP.

The mini-Parasound combination, though clearly more balanced, seemed lazy and indifferent by comparison. They rendered everything more or less faithfully, but the Sprout made you feel it in your chest (even via a pair of 4” drivers). The Sprout also made the most of Totem’s fine tweeters, presenting a more spacious image and smoother high-frequency extension...

---

So after I figured out from MD how to disable the bass boost, I got to try again with my Shahinians and later, a pair of older KEF floorstanders and Triangle Titus e monitors. It's implemented before the power amp, makes a significant difference to the bass (but just the low bass), and very much depends on what you're pairing it with. For the older KEF and Shahinians, which weren't engineered to squeeze fat bass out of thin air, the boost is welcome. For premium compact monitors that have that sort of magic already built in, it can be a bit overwhelming (ironic, since that seems to be its target pairing). It doesn't affect the rest of the tonal balance (midrange/treble, etc), nor does it affect other aspects of performance like detail and imaging, unless you're totally stressing out the speakers (e.g. my Triangles). With the boost disabled, I'd call it a bright and lively overall tone (bright, but not lean or harsh)--with the boost, punchy and dynamic (can be overly heavy depending on speaker). Luckily you get a choice now by holding down the power button for 6 seconds.

The music attorney in me is very curious as to whether you realize that obtaining music via
>downloadble links

so that you
>could listen

to an album
>without buying it,

absent the rights holder's consent, is the same as stealing the album, and is most likely against the law to some degree, regardless of whichever country you are located in. Sorry, but I'm not going to help you accomplish that one. But hey, thanks for the job security!

That said, the Taylor Swift fan in me has a few additional responses to offer you:

1. Have you had a chance to read the op ed she wrote for the Wall Street Journal last summer?
   
   
2. Did you know you can purchase her previous four albums on Amazon for a combined cost of $33, which includes a new physical copy of each CD and an instantly downloadable MP3 version of each album? That's a pretty good deal, considering there are around 60 songs between those four albums, and iTunes charges $1.29/song. Here are the links for each one, for your convenience:
   LP 1: Self-Titled;
   LP 2: Fearless;
   LP 3: Speak Now;
   LP 4: Red
   
   
3. If that's out of your budget right now or you don't want to invest before you know if you like her older material, you can go to Beats Music, sign up for the free 14 day trial and stream her entire back catalogue for free over the next two weeks. That should give you some time to save up to purchase the albums that you decide you enjoy.
   
   Hope that helps and hope you have a fantastic week! :)

Paul David Wells - Sounds Good To Me

Link to album on Amazon.

Link to audio. People are still trying to locate the video, someone sent a message to the artist's daughter.

Full lyrics that someone transcribed:

[VERSE 1]
Got breakfast cooking on the old gas stove
Coffee's brewing and the radio is playing that country
That's how I start my day
Got a good woman she's got me
Thinking it's time for a family
I'll have to work a lot harder
To raise my pay

[CHORUS]
We're gonna add on to the human race
One more smile on a brand new face uh huh
Sounds good to me
Ain't nothing like the cry of a baby
When he's first born
Sounds good to me
Ain't nothing like the feeling you get
When you bring him home
Sounds good to me
Do your best and leave the rest to God above
Life goes on like a country song
In sweet harmony
Sounds good to me


[VERSE 2]
Oh they say I'm just like my Uncle Bill
I won't ever move away from these hills
It's something in the blood, son
You can't explain
It's the bend in the river
It's the lay of the land
It's the homegrown feeling in the palm of my hands
You'd have to be a mighty strong man
To pull me away

[CHORUS x 1]

Sounds good to me
Ain't nothing like the feeling you get
When you bring him home
Sounds good to me
Do your best and leave the rest to God above
Life goes on like a country song
In sweet harmony
Sounds good to me

It's a personal taste thing, but I'm very into music and I think there are vast catalogues of music that are enjoyable for both adults and children, and there's no need to compromise.

In my opinion, most "kid-oriented" music is utter bullshit and I find it highly annoying. Luckily my wife agrees and she has excellent taste in music so we're probably okay.

And I'm not saying that all kids music is terrible. Even before we found out we were pregnant, I watched a bit of Yo Gabba Gabba and totally dug it. They do a great job of having great musicians come on and get the kids dancing. Lullatone is another.

Or, for instance, I have this "Amazing Electronic Pop Sounds Of Jean Jacques Perry" LP and put it on yesterday and we danced around. It was super fun and goofy.

I've also been rocking the Tomita album "Snowflakes Are Dancing" of Debussy interpretations on modular synths, it's just the right kind of atmospheric, engaging and weird that feel brain-stimulating to me.

I guess my main issue is with whitewashed, low-imagination music. Not in concept, but in the tonal structures, performance, and recording techniques. So much kids music feels fakey and hucksterish, and kind of insulting to kids intelligence. I'd rather throw on something with bright tonal colors but interesting structures.

I have the same issue with kids toys and furniture that are all poorly-designed, garish plastic bullshit. Like, I get it that a lot of this stuff isn't meant to last forever but it doesn't have to look like a bunch of unicorns got hopped up on energy drinks and barfed all over the place.

Great idea for a birthday party! I'm not sure any of these will appeal to you, but I'll suggest them for whatever it's worth:

If you like Townes Van Zandt (some think he's an acquired taste), Heartworn Highways is excellent. It also features Steve Earle and Guy Clark.

The Decline of Western Civilization was a really good documentary about the early punk scene in Los Angeles, but I don't think it's out on DVD yet.

If you have any interest in Latin music, The Return of Rubén Blades is interesting.

I've also heard that U2's Joshua Tree DVD is good, but I haven't seen it.

| | |
|-:|:-|
|name|Have Gun, Will Travel|
|about artist|Since the 2008 release of their debut full-length Casting Shadows Tall As Giants, the band has been gaining momentum regionally as well as nationally. The album was featured on NPR’s “Second Stage” program. "Their music has a great energy to it with some infectious, sing-along choruses and refrains." commented NPR host Robin Hilton. At Creative Loafing's 2008 Best of the Bay Awards held in Tampa, HGWT took home the Readers' Poll Award for Best Americana Act and Staff pick for Local CD of the Year. ([more on last.fm](http://www.last.fm/music/Have Gun, Will Travel))|
|album|Postcards from the Friendly City, released Nov 2009|
|track|Salad Days|
|images|album image, artist image|
|links|mp3 on amazon, CD on amazon|
|tags|altcountry, americana, folk, country|
|similar|Glossary, American Aquarium, Kasey Anderson, Arliss Nancy, John Moreland|
|metrics|lastfm listeners: 5,736, lastfm plays: 65,822, youtube plays: 15,962, radd.it score: 7.25|


Please downvote this comment if this data is incorrect!
I am a bot by radd.it data services. I have been requested to post these reports.

39 here. I grew up in Texas (and still live here), where it was once said by a certain Texas country singer that you get a copy of George's greatest hits cd when you get your driver's license. I was always a fan, but it ramped up in earnest my senior year in high school, about the time the first box set came out. As I put it elsewhere, I was pretty naive musically once upon a time, as I remember thinking that he was not far from hanging it up back then, as he had been at it for 15 years at the time. I was thinking that the box set was his swan song. I honestly never would have guessed that some of his greatest artistic and commercial achievements were ahead of him, including several more multi-week No. 1 singles, a couple of debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and that very box set becoming the second-biggest-selling box set of all time in any genre of music.

A fair amount of people would probably tell you he was better in the '80s, but I just don't know how that could be, because he was in-fucking-credible when I saw him. And he's still making great music even now. Radio just doesn't see fit to play it anymore, and that's their failing, not his.

You're lucky they stopped there. Back in the '60s, if you were the star of a hit TV series, they'd make you put out a record. Because if you loved watching them play Rowdy Yates or Doctor Kildare on TV, surely you'd love to hear them sing too!

Clint Eastwood, when he was Rowdy Yates on Rawhide

Richard Chamberlain, when he was Dr. Kildare

Adam West, when he was, well, Batman

And I probably don't need to remind you of the musical adventures of William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy.

Mind you, it could very well have happened. Joe Pesci did release an album as his character from My Cousin Vinny. It wouldn't have been hard to talk him into recording "Harry Lime Sings Songs of Love" or something.

I just joined this subreddit and it instantly made me very happy! You all seem to be very kind and curious. I really enjoyed the conversations that got started right after I started an introduction thread to say hello!

does a little dance

Because I'm Happy! (Thanks for reminding me to focus on the positive things!)

As far as a gift...john mayer - heavier things
cause we all need balance ;) Plus his music just makes me happy!

Price History

• Loaded: The Best of Blake Shelton (Vinyl) ^PureLink
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  Price of a Pawn, value of a Queen.
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Bonus Fearless Platinum vinyl $15.00.

A whole bunch of records at Walmart are going on sale for $15. Amazon usually tries to price match. So if there's other artists you enjoy be on the look out!

They are on Amazon. Self titled: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01CUF9DT6/ref=tmm_vnl_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Fearless: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01CUF9DVY/ref=pd_aw_fbt_15_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=BF6SA1SVYHWYZ7KCQF5A

• Price History @ CamelCamelCamel
  
• Price History @ Keepa
  
• Listen on Spotify
  
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this is the response that i received


VM404:3 [{"title":"Taylor Swift","artist":"Taylor Swift","url":"https://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Swift/dp/B0014I4KH6","image":"https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61McsadO1OL.jpg","thumbnail_image":"https://i.imgur.com/K3KJ3w4h.jpg"},{"title":"Fearless","artist":"Taylor Swift","url":"https://www.amazon.com/Fearless-Enhanced-Taylor-Swift/dp/B001EYGOEM","image":"https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51qmhXWZBxL.jpg","thumbnail_image":"https://i.imgur.com/K3KJ3w4h.jpg"},{"title":"Speak Now","artist":"Taylor Swift","url":"https://www.amazon.com/Speak-Now-Taylor-Swift/dp/B003WTE886","image":"https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51vlGuX7%2BFL.jpg","thumbnail_image":"https://i.imgur.com/K3KJ3w4h.jpg"},{"title":"Red","artist":"Taylor Swift","url":"https://www.amazon.com/Red-Taylor-Swift/dp/B008XNZMOU","image":"https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41j7-7yboXL.jpg","thumbnail_image":"https://i.imgur.com/K3KJ3w4h.jpg"},{"title":"1989","artist":"Taylor Swift","url":"https://www.amazon.com/1989-Taylor-Swift/dp/B00MRHANNI","image":"https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/717DWgRftmL._SX522_.jpg","thumbnail_image":"https://i.imgur.com/K3KJ3w4h.jpg"}]

Direct link to purchase the album that has the song on it