OK, so many vinyl fans, but who's just DONE with it?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by head_unit, Jun 8, 2018.

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  1. ubiknik

    ubiknik Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    I'm only done as far as being decided to stick with the three turntables I have for awhile and not stress about the latest expensive rigs of various flavors. I recently got a speed controller for one and another phono stage (Graham Slee Gram Amp 2 special edition), lubed the spindle bearing on another and tweaked the herd as far as VTA and VTF etc.
    So I'm done for awhile.
    I like digital but since old analog mastered recordings dominate my collection I have ordered a Belles Aria integrated just the other day, it's all analog.
    I plan on getting speakers dialed into that very soon, although this amp is supposed to take quite awhile to break in.
    A thread in here about another SS amp got me curious about the Belles and reading various impressions online got me hooked as it is known to sound purely delicious for a SS integrated amp, is very well made and US built with a five year warranty.
    The SS over tubes for me is simply because my listening environments get warm and I like the lower maintenance aspect of not dealing with tubes.
    The fact that I have come this far with no digital involved other than whatever converters there are in my CD players, led me to where I am now and I have decided since all the gear I have is either pretty dam old or getting there, that I would scorch the earth to some degree and start with new amp and speakers.
    Next year or maybe sooner I will start snooping around for a killer bang for the buck DAC.
     
    Dennis0675 and head_unit like this.
  2. Mike from NYC

    Mike from NYC Senior Member

    Location:
    Surprise, AZ
    I'm media agnostic - it is the music that counts regardless of format.

    Second, 'vinyls' are LPs and not 'vinyls', a term penned no doubt by a millennial. My media room is filled with LPs - thousands of them. LONG PLAYING RECORDS, a term coined by Columbia when they developed the format in the early 1950s.

    But my LPs are more than just music - they are memories too. I own about 200 that were bought by my late Dad starting in the 1950s and every time I play one it reminds me of him. They also represent my youth because I can remember buying them and where it was and when. I bought, or should I say, my parents bought me my first 2 albums in Alexanders department store - Meet the Beatles and Glad All Over.

    LPs are not perfect and I don't think for a New York minute, think they all sound superior to digital music, but they can sound awesome providing you have the equipment to exploit their aural qualities.

    If any of you don't like LPs - that is fine. The idea of me getting rid of my LPs - well, they will have to take them after I am carried out feet first from my home with a sheet over my head.
     
  3. Otlset

    Otlset I think I am I think

    Location:
    Temecula, CA
     
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  4. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    Hey, that Korean bootleg almost looks legit! Can you hear the needle hitting the record?
     
    Dennis0675, 911s55, c-eling and 2 others like this.
  5. Raunchnroll

    Raunchnroll Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    :laughup:

    Gotta love those needledrops!
     
    HDOM likes this.
  6. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    I have not come across this expression "needle-drop" before. What is it?
     
  7. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    i wouldn't listen to vinyl again under any circumstances, hate it immensely. when the needle hits the first groove that sound just makes me cringe. and the gravely sound between tunes is even worse.

    or when right in the middle of that very pretty slow passage and nice loud tick or skip occurs, just lovely isn't it?
     
  8. jfine

    jfine Forum Resident

    So many trade offs, but involving sound wins out for me, was done with it once in the 80's, dumb mistake.
     
  9. c-eling

    c-eling They're made of light,We never would have guessed

    It's what some of us do, (lp to digital transfers) especially for the mixes and tunes that never got a digital release or have been bastardized by modern compression practices.
     
    AlmanacZinger, anorak2 and timind like this.
  10. ubiknik

    ubiknik Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    One of the pluses of having the ability to play vinyl or CD is when sometimes the vinyl mastering is better than the CD.
    Sometimes although the same source is used the mastering to the cutter does something right and the CD or digital release will be hard to listen to.
    That can work the other way around too I suppose.
     
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2018
    luckybaer and AlmanacZinger like this.
  11. HDOM

    HDOM Well-Known Member

    Needle drops are great;

    Best when it gets with high equipment;

    Ps.Check aksman exodus mfsl online, the best needle drop i have, second is miles momo kind of blue;)
     
  12. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Well, good for you, as long as you enjoy what you've got, you're the winner. My experience with vinyl is almost nothing like yours. There are more pops and crackle in my memory and less in real and current life.
     
    HDOM likes this.
  13. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    Not being OCD, I don't even notice it. As long as I'm listening to something that's holding my attention.

    But thank you for asking.
     
    McGuy likes this.
  14. Raunchnroll

    Raunchnroll Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Its be interesting to know how many CDs you love are well done needledrops!
     
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2018
  15. irender

    irender Forum Resident

    Not me. I fact I'm going to listen to some right now!
     
  16. Stan94

    Stan94 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    I stopped playing it in the 90’s/00’s and started again 10 years ago. I regret selling records in the early 90’s when the selling price was very low but what’s done is done.
     
    Rodant Kapoor likes this.
  17. Dolemite

    Dolemite Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    I wish I could only have vinyl. I still need to play CD/Vinyl combo because of all the great stuff not released on vinyl from the mid-90s to 2000's.

    But, I've have a player CD player now and tube amps. It has made CDs better.
     
    AlmanacZinger likes this.
  18. bob_32_116

    bob_32_116 Forum Flaneur

    Location:
    Perth Australia
    I've decided the person who said "yet another vinyl vs CD thread" is right. People come to the thread with their opinions, they do not change those opinions, and the same for and against arguments get rehashed with no new insights. Discussions about music are much more fun.
     
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  19. timind

    timind phorum rezident

    Sold most of my records years ago as I had no desire to listen to them. Because of this site I had to see what I was missing. After getting a turntable and record cleaner I cleaned 20 or so of my old records. They sounded fine to me, but nothing to get too excited about. Clicks, pops, and surface noise were a non-issue for me. Did I hear some? Yep, but it didn't spoil the music.
    Here's what I learned from my vinyl revival: I'm too lazy for records. I have neither the time, nor the inclination to be a devoted lp listener. No problem with the sound, but nothing to get all revved up over either.

    Kept the first and last lps I bought along with a few others. Still have 75 or so records on display as they look cool to the novice.
     
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  20. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    No, not everyone falls into that category.

    (I happen to, however. Not hundreds but it's definitely more than a handful)
     
    HDOM likes this.
  21. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    Not really following this train of thought. If I enjoy an album on whatever format (vinyl / CD / cassette). then I'm not going to just dump it and find something else to listen to. I still want to listen to that album because it's unique to itself.

    That's why I'll just rip to to digital, if necessary. I get to have my cake and eat it too.
     
  22. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    yes it would, and i could not tell you a single one either, because they are that well done. and there is no needle noise at all and no surface noise between songs on any CD's that i own, at least that i am aware of.
     
  23. Bathory

    Bathory 30 yr Single Malt, not just for breakfast anymore

    Location:
    usa
    have many cd's which i recorded LPs' to. they sound fine to me, so the first 1-2 seconds are scratchy, with a fw crackles, once the music starts, it sounds fine, minus the in-between track ticks & sleight scratchy sound. i really like it. sounds of childhood/and being a teenager, and an adult.

    there was nothing like buying a new record, and staring at the art while it was playing, many LP's had great artwork.

    anyway, i still have my LP's, and dont play the much. they will be handed down, and i hope that person does the same.
     
    Rodant Kapoor likes this.
  24. Chazz

    Chazz Music Addict

    Location:
    Southeastern, US
    I was done with vinyl in the mid to late 80's when cd's really took over, sold all my vinyl and related equipment. For the next 15 yrs, or so, I loved the convenience of cd's but found something was missing and not as satisfying listening to digital. It wasn't the lack of large album covers, the music just didn't sound as natural to me. I blamed this on my digital front end at first and went through the cd player upgrade madness for quite a while. Through the upgrade process the sound did get better but it was very marginal at best, still not as natural as I remembered my vinyl sounded like. A good friend of mine (who never gave up on vinyl) had me over to his place around 2000 or 2001. He had a VPI HW-19 turntable at the time. We started listening to some of his lp's (a lot of which were mine when I sold everything) and there it was, that old familiar sound........I know right then I was going back to analog. Just to make sure I wasn't hearing the difference between his equipment and room set-up, he brought the VPI to my home so I could compare on my system and room. Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon was our test. I owned the MFSL Ultradisc 1 cd and he brought over the MFSL vinyl version of the album. I started with the cd and it sounded very good. Then came the vinyl version. After the first track (Speak To Me) finished and led into Breath, it was immediately apparent that vinyl just sounds more natural and realistic to me. Since that time I dove back into analog but was very careful when buying used lp's. If an album is visually in not very good condition, I pass. I bought some really good looking albums that had a fair amount of crackle to them and decided to get a VPI 16.5 rcm, what a difference! Vinyl is fussy and labor intensive and not very convenient, but done correctly, it can sound amazing and very real. I still have my cd's, although I have sold a lot of them. I have ripped everything to a 4tb external hd and have any DSD files that i really enjoy. For me, it really comes down to this.......I need both. I listen to digital for convenience, portability and background music. When I really want to sit down, relax and listen, it's vinyl for me.
     
  25. head_unit

    head_unit Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Los Angeles CA USA
    My grandpa had an extensive collection of jazz, especially Dixieland, that he had bought starting decades ago. I'm certain a chunk of it was out of print and/or very rare. Even 78s and shellac! When he died...gone. Given away by my grandma I think. I was in the midst of a college semester and far away and broke, not able to go do anything. If I had all that stuff, I would surely feel differently about vinyl, though my space situation would still not easily lend itself to that.
     
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