1 month into vinyl, what I've learned*

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Bananas&blow, May 6, 2016.

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  1. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I'd like to hear Springsteen's Nebraska reissue as my old copy is a little noisy. Would also like to hear the CCR at some point but I'm on record buying hiatus right now. A lot of Tom Petty stuff is pretty common in the used bins, so I would only be interested in some of the albums that are harder to find on LP and only if those reissues sound better than easily obtainable CD copies. Stuff like Full Moon Fever sounds pretty good on CD, so I'm not hankering to buy an LP reissue just to have it on vinyl.
     
  2. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Yeah I'm interested in Wildflowers, Echo and She's the one as those are all analogue for the first time. Word is they sound terrific. The CCR hoffman records are as good as any records i've ever heard. $35 a pop was a little stiff but after a few beers one night I grabbed the credit card. I regret not the decision. Only have the first 4 so far. Only have one springsteen but Darkness on the edge of Town is a significant upgrade over the CD. More enjoyable to be sure. The Zappa records are excellent as well, the 3 I have.

    Why the hiatus?
     
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  3. SirMarc

    SirMarc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cranford, NJ
    That's weird about the highs. Probably the room, but I don't find the highs rolled off at all. Actually, I wouldn't mind if they were slightly rolled off at this point, but they'll probably mellow with some time on them. I also hope the mid driver loosens up a bit with time, but I may be asking too much from 500 dollar speakers. That being said, these are pretty close to perfect for what I need them for.

    If you can, get them on good quality sand or shot filled 24 inch stands and a few feet off the walls and reevaluate. You may be surprised. I was...
     
  4. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    My music budget is very tight at the moment so I mostly buy FLAC downloads and CDs. I have thousands of records and CDs to listen to, not to mention tapes and FLACs so taking a break from buying more vinyl isn't so bad.

    The other reason is wife approval factor after spending thousands of dollars moving across the country (including moving a bunch of records).

    Last reason is running out of space for records.

    When the budget allows (which will be several months from now) I'm going to be very selective re: what I add to the collection. I need to get my existing collection better organized and have plans to set up a NAS system which will also eat into the record budget. I also have want to upgrade some parts of the stereo system, which also means buying less records.
     
  5. G E

    G E Senior Member

    You pretty much have it.

    Your future, should you decide to accept it, is equipment upgrades, especially a record cleaning machine, one that sucks down the fluid.

    Oh, and two words: deadwAx hieroglyphics.

    Music on vinyl can be incredible. Once you acquire the taste, nothing else will do.
     
  6. MikeK

    MikeK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Minneapolis
    They do. Both box sets are fantastic. Well worth the investment.
     
  7. stefanb

    stefanb Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    FYI it has to to with the impedance of the headphone amp in the Yamaha and how it interacts with the low ohm of the 598s. It boosts the mids, it kind of "over drives" the headphones and spikes the sound where it shouldn't. The Magni has a lo/hi gain output that matches the impedance of the headphones better. Other headphones, like the HD600s or BT990 would sound fine though the Yamaha because they're 250 ohm compared to the 50 in the 598s...

    source: have 598s, a Magni and a Yamaha amp.
     
  8. SirMarc

    SirMarc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cranford, NJ
    +1. My 598's sound pretty bad out of my Sansui 9090, with bloated flabby bass, but my 650's sound spectacular. Its all about the impedance.
     
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  9. TeleCaster

    TeleCaster Forum Resident

    Location:
    Québec, Canada
    Here's what learnt: After buying 20 brand new, expensive LP pressings of various rock over the last year and discovering they contain scratches, defects etc.. I've given up on vinyl (for the last time). I don't miss the pop noises, the constant cleaning, having to get up and flip. Besides, no vinyl version of Billy Cobham's Spectrum will ever sound as good as the quadraphonic, multichannel SACD version.

    [​IMG]
     
    timind likes this.
  10. andybeau

    andybeau Forum Resident

    Location:
    Coventry, UK
    And 'Music On Vinyl' produce some great records
     
  11. Budgetphile

    Budgetphile Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    This makes my choice more difficult. Everything I have read about the 598s is that they sound good driven by anything and that an amp is unnecessary. Do the folks here have higher expectations than most reviewers or am I missing something? Would the BT990 not pair nicely with an iPhone though? My goal is for this pair of headphones to be for mostly at home listening but I like the idea of versatility. I currently have a pair of ATH m40fs but they feel a bit harsh and I want to check out open backs.

    Also, on Amazon I see multiple BT990 headphones.
     
  12. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Just give it a shot. I got my 598se delivered for like $110 off eBay. If you like the sound you are good. If not get a $100 headphone amp. I can promise the combo of the Magni 2 and 598s sound terrific. It's not a a lot of money to find out.
     
  13. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Glad you found what makes you happy. However, you seem to have mistaken this for one of the 543,263 threads on this forum that debate analogue versus digital. It's not. I'm fine with either but on a vinyl kick these days.
     
  14. TeleCaster

    TeleCaster Forum Resident

    Location:
    Québec, Canada
    Just venting some frustration on my journey in vinyl. I have 100s of LPs collected since I retuned to vinyl back in 2014 (sold my entire collection approx. 2000 LPs in the 90s). After my experience with purchases of poor quality vinyl and the price gauging by the labels. I've had enough. My intent was definitely not to debate the merits of vinyl vs. digital. If that were the case I would have stated that vinyl wins over redbook CD. But when it comes to SACD and DSD it has the warmth that vinyl has and many claim lacks in 16/44 CD.
     
    kenbefound likes this.
  15. shredder

    shredder Active Member

    Location:
    Chicagoland
    I'm also getting into Vinyl here for the "sort of" first time. I'm frustrated that I missed out on the vinyl releases of my favorite bands when they came out. IF I can find a copy, they are 100-200 bucks now. That being said, it's still great to sit down and spin a record, something I generally don't do with cd or an stream.

    So anyone have some Blue October albums they are willing to part with? :)
     
  16. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    I think patience can go along ways in this hobby as others have pointed out. Think you will find your dollar threshold for an album pretty quickly. For example if anything in your $100-$200 range for an album was on my want list, I would just buy the CD for likely <$10 and be done with it. There is so much music out there that if I can't find it affordably on vinyl, I just buy a different record. Some records sound better than cd's, some cd's sound better. I prefer the sound of a great quality record, but I'm not going to delay my retirement to get a bunch of over-priced records. So far my dollar threshold for an album has been $35. They sound great but I'm not sure they are really worth that to me. $100 is just a joke to me. I would never get $100 more enjoyment out of a record over a CD. Just my take after about a year.

    My original issue Katy Lied LP I was all excited about when I bought it sounds much worse than my digital copy, for example.
     
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  17. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Just fired up the Nag Champa incense, the lava lamp and oh yes....a new set of speakers! 15 years ago I was in a high end audio shop here in Phoenix when I was first introduce to Bowers and Wilkins speakers. I was blown away. Within 6 months I purchased a used set of CDM 7SE's which I still love and listen to in my 5.1 TV/movie set up. At the time I was at the store I heard the CDM1NT's, 7NT's and of course just for kicks the legendary B&W 801's. Well 15 years later I finally have my CDM 1NT's. They are an enjoyable improvement from the entry level 601 S3's I have been using. They remind me of the reviews of the LS-50's in that they image great but lack low end bass. There isn't much below 60hz on these puppies but that's what my Velodyne sub is for. These speakers sound terrific despite their 15 year age. It's a long term dream come true...at least until I get some 800 series B&W's. Even my wife made the comment "wow those symbols sound really good."

    So I'm just sitting back Kallaxin' listening to some Zappa tonight. That's right, I bought my first Kallax. I love wooden crates flipping front to back going through my records but the reality is you can't store that many records that way without some logistical nightmares. So out with the crates, in with Kallax. Here are some picture updates:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I have the Elac's hooked up but I'm going to be selling them. They aren't in the same ballpark as the B&W's. Fine speakers. But those Brits across the pond sure know how to make a good speaker. One day (and that day might be today) I'll reminisce about how back in my day all B&W speakers were made in England. Before they outsourced them to China and jacked up the price.
     
  18. Manimal

    Manimal Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern US
    Cool! Let the lava flow and the chill Laxin:)
     
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  19. Dr Jackson

    Dr Jackson Surgeon of Sound

    Flipped through your album on photobucket, man that black Marantz 2245 sure is sexy.
     
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  20. It's Felix

    It's Felix It's not really me

    'Chill laxin' - is that a cure for serious constipation?!
     
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  21. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Every man has his price.... It's fully re-capped as well. Fully rebuilt a few months ago except for the tuner.

    Also, only on an audiophile forum would you notice the Marantz over the blonde lol.
     
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  22. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    I understand your frustration with new vinyl. The only new vinyl that I'm happy with over the last few years is the Beatles mono records. Other than that I'd rather visit the used record store. (I have a nice record cleaner, a VPI 17f, which makes all the difference in the world to me as far as enjoying vinyl.)
     
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  23. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    I've started to figure out the good new quality releases and it's a lot more than the Beatles my friend. This forum is the key. But some of the re-issues are better than the classics, Bruce Springsteen, the new Tom Petty's and some of the Zappas are terrific. Dire straits are good too.
     
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  24. DrZhivago

    DrZhivago Hedonist

    Location:
    Brisbane Australia

    Beatles & Dylan mono, Zappa and King Crimson reissues were all outstanding.

    With new vinyl, I come to realise that with bigger runs of 180 g slabs pressing quality can drop significantly. The two examples that stick out (hurt) the most, were horribly inconsistent Pink Floyd reissue campaign and U.S pressed stereo Beatles.

    Regards
     
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  25. ehtoo

    ehtoo Forum Resident

    Quite frankly, 99.9% of all new artist material pressed on record has proven to be outstanding. Recent (past 5 - 10 years) releases by Paul Weller, Neil Young (especially the stunning Live at Massey Hall), Laura Marling, Lucinda Williams, Joanna Newsome, Robert Plant, Leonard Cohen, Fleet Foxes, Decemberists, Kate Bush, Brad Mehldau, to name just a very few, are IMHO reference recordings. The Beatles mono box is nonpareil as is the Stones . Most of the Legacy Jimi Hendrix have been extremely good as well.

    As far as the other reissued material, I now only will purchase a record if it is sourced from the original master tapes; has a recording engineer of note and is pressed by the likes of QRP, Pallas etc. When the release makes a point of mentioning this information, it is a mark of pride in the end product. Certain pressing imprints like Back to Black I avoid. Time and experience has helped me make these decisions.
     
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