Other's Misuse of Your Equipment

Guess I'm lucky... My Missus hates loud noise so she never touches the Vol. control. My main system in the lounge room only plays CD's.
The turntable and associated gear is in my 'office' with the door closed..
Our guests/visitors already know I'm a fussy b___d and look after my gear.

 

I feel that the gear is easy to replace or fix. I get more nervous about my vinyl.

It not about cost of it, just the rarity of some of it. If you own records that only show up once in five years for more on eBay or Discogs

 

Records and TT's are a bad idea for those outside of out world. It was in times past and it will always be.

Best to stick with streaming or NAS, Smartphone's, players and such, if you are going to have anyone fro the "outside" touch your gear.

 

I think its a respect thing, whether its a guest or the wife/husband. My wife doesn't mess with my gear out of any kind of fear, but because she respects the fact that I put my time, money and love into it, and she respects that. I'm the same why with things she's passionate about.

Now if a guest were to mess with my rig, they might not be a guest for long lol

 

Audiophile grade cartridges are not "easy" to replace or fix when cost is factored in. That's why the stylus guard stays on when not in use, the turntable cover is always covering the table, and people know the rules, I mean rule -- "do not touch."

Since the same rule applies to my records as does the turntable, I can avoid any nervousness.

That is true. I have records I almost never see for sale anymore and when I do see them on sale, they're priced at far more than I paid for mine.

Even more reasons for the rule.

And the shed.

 

Thank goodness my boys and wife follow my simple rule: DO NOT TOUCH DAD'S AUDIO STUFF.

 

My girlfriend touched my turntable once. ONCE.

 

Misuse of turntables and a record collection are a special case. Especially for audiophile style turntables with MC carts. And record collections that were expensive to acquire with individual records sometimes being $45+ to replace. Large audiophile record collections can be worth more than a BMW or Porsche. Damage caused due to misuse of a turntable or record collection can get expensive.

But misuse of regular audio gear isn't going to grind my gears. It happens if you have family or friends or kids or cats or... Hopefully no damage done. If damage is done then hopefully it is to gear that is affordably repairable or replaceable. Most of my gear that can be damaged is in the affordably replaceable category. My philosophy with audio gear is that it can't be so expensive that I'm devastated if it suffers any kind of catastrophic failure in front of me. If it is so expensive or rare that you'd be devastated if it fried then you can't enjoy using it. What's the audiophile fun to have gear like that? No fun.

 

There should be.

 

The Gorts have some.

 

Children are impulsive and need to be told and reminded that there are things that are off limits. Adults on the other hand, deserve no quarter. If an adult can't be in my home without messing with my gear or plundering through my things, they shouldn't be in my home (this includes those that think a glass or cup should be set on any piece of furniture that wasn't specifically designed to set a glass or cup on). I don't touch anyone's gear. Even as a child I was taught to ask to hear or see something. I can't count the times that the owner would light up and gladly play some great recordings through some fine gear because I was interested in the same things that they were. Usually, if someone has a nice record or CD collection and decent gear, they are delighted to share the experience of listening to something that they have obviously put time, money, and effort into. They also were delighted that I give them the respect of not handling their gear and recordings. It's all about respect.

 

Still TT's and records by their nature are different. Today, by far, the majority of people have absolutely no comprehension of an audiophile TT or the proper care and handling of vinyl. Back in the 70's and eighties, those were different times, people might not have been audiophiles but most had at least a basic understanding for records and TT's.

My girlfriend's could put a record on the automatic changer and play records, and then put them safely away, no problem. Today's TT's are so different. Back then, every record that I had was in general distribution. I never had any "collector's" records as such. If a record was damaged, you could go out and replace if for $5 or $6, no big deal.

Today, I have mostly the same records, but now they are collector's items, not so much that I want them to be.

So, if we stick to digital, them people can plug in their smartphones and stream to their heart's content of play a CD and no harm will ever come.

Just taking the TT out of the loop solves all problems. People today are not really interested in a TT and my old record collection any way. Their music is digital, so that is all that they are interested in anyway.

 

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YOU are responsible for that! Why didn't you teach Her how to operate that equipment?
Well depending on the record - She may have created an 'new' sound.

 

I keep a nickel and a penny next to my (more accessible) turntable. Anyone reaching for those is immediately persona non grata as far as my system is concerned. (Also, the Zerostat is not a toy ray gun.)

 

Like they are stealing money? I don't understand.

 

Cheap lo-fi turntables (with fixed VTF) sometimes could be made to sound (and track) better by putting a bit more weight on the cart end. Works great for a played out disc on a suitcase player, but not the preferred method on an arm with a counterweight.

 

Some people like that sort of thing. Hurt me, beat me, make me write bad checks.

 

Whips, chains, ball gags, lots of leather.

 

Eh?

 

Friend house sat for us. Came home and went to play a record on my Music Hall MMF-5 with a Goldring 1042 on it. Tonearm skidded across the record to the label. Upon investigation, she somehow tore the stylus completely out of the cantilever. She blamed her friend. I told em to figure it out among themselves, but that she owed me a cool $400. She's still a friend, but stays far away from the TT.

 

This is a bit off topic, but I had a friend who I told I was thinking of buying a nice TT in the $3K range. He told me I was crazy and who would ever spend that kind of money on a stereo system!!! This was 5 minutes after he told me about his $12K Italian racing bicycle he just purchased.....

 

I lent my brother my prized Meze 99 Classics because I know he's a big music fan, and would appreciate experiencing some good sound. He literally forgot them at my other brothers place within 5 hours. I'm not made of money, and can't replace them immediately. Lesson learned I guess.

 

This is why I no longer entertain anti-audiophile and anti-music lover/collector talk.

 

Did your sister ever settle on a gender?

 

Yes; BF : boyfriend