Radiohead, OK Computer, Side 1 (Canyon Sound Wave Ocotillo)

Artist: Radiohead Producer: Nigel Godrich & Radiohead Mixing Engineer: Nigel Godrich Recording Location: Canned Applause (Oxfordshire, England) & St Catherine's Court (Bath, England) Recording Date: July 1996 – March 1997 Original Record Label: Parlophone (UK) / Capitol Records (US) Release Year: 1997 FEATURED LOUDSPEAKER AUDIO SOURCE • Loudspeakers: Canyon Sound Wave "Ocotillo" Two-Way Bookshelf Speakers • Cabinetry: Solid 3/4" hardwood construction with fully mitered joints and 1" Sonic Barrier damping • Aesthetic Centerpiece: Hand-selected native Arizona sandstone inlay front baffle • Binding Posts: Pure copper heavy-duty binding posts • Official Website: https://canyonsoundwave.com The playback audio in this test is natively reproduced through a pair of Canyon Sound Wave Ocotillo loudspeakers. Handcrafted by Phil in his workshop in Kanab, Utah, each cabinet features an incredibly organic, tactile surface finish and a distinct, natural desert sandstone inlay. Engineered with a net internal volume of 0.435 ft³, the Ocotillo is a true audiophile two-way design. It pairs the highly articulate Markaudio Pluvia 7.2 transducer with a premium 30mm Wavecor TW030WA10 Textile Dome Tweeter. Built on an ERSE base architecture, the network is precisely tailored to account for actual driver impedance, achieving a highly accurate effective crossover frequency of ~2,140 Hz. A custom LPAD circuit—utilizing 1% non-inductive premium resistors—attenuates the tweeter by -9.1 dB for a perfectly flat, fatigue-free response. Deep, authoritative low-end extension is achieved via a tuned 2" x 6.5" rear-facing port (Fb: 49.2 Hz), dropping to a remarkable F10 of 34.4 Hz to provide the punch and scaling of a much larger loudspeaker. ABOUT THIS RECORDING This video features Side One (LP 1 Side A / titled "eeny" on original pressings) of Radiohead’s alternative art-rock masterpiece, OK Computer. Widely praised as a monumental high-water mark of late-1990s studio exploration and dynamic contrast, this specific vinyl sequence spotlights the band's intricate, non-traditional arrangement structures, haunting textures, and dense multi-layered recording style under the co-production of Nigel Godrich. The sonic layout of Side One represents a masterclass in atmospheric depth, spatial separation, and deliberate acoustic imperfection, meticulously captured across their Canned Applause shed and the historic ballroom of St Catherine's Court mansion. This side brilliantly tests a playback system's transient agility, complex mid-range clarity, and soundstage scale. It travels from the roaring, abrasive fuzz-bass and metallic percussion of "Airbag," into the shifting time signatures and sudden, multi-segmented dynamic swells of the epic "Paranoid Android," before rounding out the sequence with the swirling, spacious, Mellotron-infused ambient soundscape of "Subterranean Homesick Alien". Nigel Godrich’s pioneering mix architecture ensures that Thom Yorke’s soaring falsettos, Jonny Greenwood’s aggressive guitar textures, and the driving rhythms stay distinct, allowing the music's haunting isolation and warm analog tape saturation to coexist with flawless weight. AUDIO TEST & RE-RECORDING DETAILS This upload serves as an advanced stereo audio capture test exploring high-definition signal reproduction and close-proximity microphone dynamics. • Amplifier: WiiM Amp Ultra with the "Rock" preset EQ • Microphones: Røde NT5 Small-Diaphragm Studio Condenser Match-Pair • Microphone Technique: Spaced Pair (A-B) stereo configuration. Placed approximately 10 inches away from the loudspeaker cones, spaced 30 inches apart, and aimed directly at the center of the cones to bypass room reflections and preserve raw, uncompressed transient energy. • Audio Interface: MOTU M2 (2-Channel Studio Interface) • Digital Audio Workstation: Apple GarageBand (Mac) • Master Export Settings: Uncompressed WAV, 24-bit PCM Audio (Full Dynamic Range)