Giving up analog...

strider

Thinking about getting out of the analog realm altogether to concentrate on digital. It doesn't suit my lifestyle as much anymore. Love the sound, but with two kids under 3 years I dont find as much time to listen. The equipment also tends to attract little curious fingers more then anything else in our house.

Anyone else given it up? Regrets, thoughts?

newrival

I did the very same thing, and couldn't be happier.

Less crap that wears out, less fiddling, less time spent prepping and way more time listening.
I press one button on a controller and all my gear switches to the operation i want and beautiful music ensues.
tubes and vinyl are out for me.

strider

I think the worst part of it, as I go through the positives and negatives, is the music that's not available any longer. There are a number of titles that I have that haven't been released on any digital format yet.

newrival

In that case I suppose you have to think of it this way:
Would you regret the inability to listen to those albums?
If no, then no problem
If yes, then you either need to stay with analog, convert your analog albums over to digital, or go digital but keep the analog ger tucked away somewhere out of the way.

polkfarmboy

Don't do it man you'l hate yourself for it later no matter who's fingers get on it. If you sell it all then what will you do with the money? You may spend it on something crap that will perish. If you intend to put the money into digital then there are some fantastic pieces of gear out there to choose from. If you have a shred of doubt then its not worth it

I sold a pair of awesome matinee speakers a while back to buy skinny jeans and feel bad about it not to mention quite restricted in standing up and sitting down

ambiophonics

Furthermore - without the added exercise from constant "fiddling" you may not be able to squeeze into your skinny jeans for long...

dromunds

I sold a Denon DP 75 platter with a separate SME arm in the mid-80's for what amounts to peanuts now because I went back to school and figured it wouldn't suit my lifestyle anymore, I needed the money, etc., and besides CDs were making a push that seemed to be it. Fortunately, I put my extensive vinyl collection into storage. I have been kicking myself in the rear ever since for selling that platter and arm. I should've put that into storage as well, especially for what I got for it. Years later, I got back into vinyl and I loved it again, although I will admit at first I considered it a pain to flip the album every twenty minutes. Some of the vinyl is now highly collectible, and the platter and arm I sold is now worth a bunch more. And I still don't have near the quality I had in that platter and arm. I agree with Polkfarmboy, and its like an old guy once told me about getting married, "if you have a shred of doubt then its not worth it."

F1nut

Give it up long ago, not an ounce of regret.

tonyb

Yeah, me too. Still enjoy the sound of an all analog rig though. Digital is getting so close these days anyway. I'm a firm believer with the right dac, and some tubes in the mix, digital can be very pleasing even to the most discerning ear.

hochpt21

I was just getting into vinyl when we had our first. Now I have two boys under 3. I don't get to spin as much now, but I still do a fair amount. In a few years, I plan to be back to spinning a lot.

Of course it's a pain in the ****, and its up to you to decide whether it's worth the "hassel." For me, it definitely is. I actually enjoy the whole process, from picking, to cleaning, to spinning.

For you...it might not be...and that's ok.

MillerLiteScott

Ben,

I gave up on Vinyl for the very same reason. But I still have an Technics SL-5 linear tracking turntable that I bought in high school that requires no fiddling and it closes up to protect the important parts from little fingers and flying barbies. Sounds good enough to enjoy vinyl and I have no worries. Now i have to work on my digital stuff.


Scott

madmax

I gave up on analog the minute CD's hit the market. Luckily I found it again 10 years ago and realized how much quality I had been missing.

gudnoyez

I listen to CDs and stuff on the iPod more when doing things around the house. I like to do the serious sit down sessions at least once a week, picking out the evenings listen cleaning prepping mixing a drink sitting back and listening for 30 minutes getting up flipping the Lp and listening for another 30 minutes. I enjoy both formats

zingo

I run my new SS amp with a signal from my Squeezebox, and am really enjoying the music even without tubes and vinyl. Don't get me wrong, the new SS amp gets hotter than the tubes used to, but the ease of use with the entire system is awesome, and the lossless 24/96 albums sound great. I love tubes, but it took me a while to realize that even cheap tubes sound pretty good, but good SS can sound just as good as good tubes.

brianle

zingo wrote: »

I run my new SS amp with a signal from my Squeezebox, and am really enjoying the music even without tubes and vinyl. Don't get me wrong, the new SS amp gets hotter than the tubes used to, but the ease of use with the entire system is awesome, and the lossless 24/96 albums sound great. I love tubes, but it took me a while to realize that even cheap tubes sound pretty good, but good SS can sound just as good as good tubes.

May I know what that SS amp that you're using? I haven't encountered any SS amp that offer close to tube sound quality.

edwardm10

I say keep the analog stuff if you have the room. You never know, someday you may have the time and space needed to enjoy it again

hochpt21

gudnoyez wrote: »

I listen to CDs and stuff on the iPod more when doing things around the house. I like to do the serious sit down sessions at least once a week, picking out the evenings listen cleaning prepping mixing a drink sitting back and listening for 30 minutes getting up flipping the Lp and listening for another 30 minutes. I enjoy both formats

+1 sounds just about right

Thorton

Gave it up a long time ago due to convenience. My 300 CD player is next. Still have my Sony PS-LX2 and vinyl in storage. Some day I may hook it back up.
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AVR: Denon AVR-3805, AMP: Parasound Model 2250, Front: Polk RTIA7, Center: Polk CSIA6, Surrounds: Polk FXIA6, Sub: Polk DSW PRO660WI

mdaudioguy

Hey Ben,
As I recall, it was in the late 80s when I quit. When I've had a passing thought about giving it another go, I remember how much care I DIDN'T take of my record collection - and among my friends, I was the fanatic! The tunes are still good to me. There are many more things in my life that require my time and attention for me to be involved in vinyl.... Your call, though. TEHO! I firmly believe that!

Scottinwa

Ok there I was... staring at a $10,000 LINN LP-12 setup. Required occasional maintenance, which means aligning with an o'scope. Required my nitty-gritty record vacuum cleaner. Required ever so gentle treatment, placement and flipping the record. I decided all that cash would be better into something else. And more important.... time recovered that I just don't have to coddle a money pit. I will never spend that much on a source again. That is especially since It could not approach the extremes of uncompressed digital master audio.

mantis

Gave up on analog many years ago. Never looked back.

Toolfan66

I love my TT, not going anywhere anytime soon.. I love my DAC as well...

BlueFox

If I win the lotto I will spend $10,000 and get a good entry level TT, phono pre, cartridge, and a few LPs. Otherwise, the $10k is going into better cables, and DAC.

nooshinjohn

I don't get why people think that vinyl is so damned expensive to do right. I have a grand in my table, (cartridge included) and would be happy to put it head to head with any 5k table out there for performance. I run a Sumiko Bluepoint EVOIII on it and could not be happier with the combination. I have more than a thousand LP's as of now, most of which were aquired for a buck each. Each record was thoroughly cleaned by hand before being played, and now require a soft dusting before being played.

I get zero hiss, pops, clicks or other annoyances when I play my LP's. If I had to replace my collection of music with any other format currently out there, it would cost a small fortune, not sound as good, and as has been said already, much of what I have cannot be found on any other format.

I listen from my I-phone to Pandora when I am feeling to lazy to get up and flip the LP, but never for serious listening. Digital may be convenient(the only good thing IMHO) but it does not have the life of Vinyl.

Where else can I find Bobby Goldsboro and Hee-Haw's greatest: hits? :redface:

F1nut

I get zero hiss, pops, clicks or other annoyances when I play my LP's.

I've heard a lot of vinyl over the years on everything from inexpensive to very expensive set ups. For sure, some records were not cleaned well, while others were bathed in Yak piss blessed by a monk and cleaned to death.....not once have I ever heard a record that didn't have tick, pop or click while playing, not once!

Let's not even talk about how the grooves get worn a little more every time the needle gets dragged thru them.

Digital may be convenient(the only good thing IMHO) but it does not have the life of Vinyl.

I'd say that you've never had/heard the right CD/SACD player and convenience has squat to do with it.

not sound as good,

Flat out BS. There's plently of really piss poor masterings on vinyl.

nooshinjohn

Dan (Endershadow) and a few othrs have heard my setup, and were impressed by lack of sonic ticks... of course there will be something that pops up every now and again, but the same is true for other formats. The "sharp" clicking I get from the occasional cd is far worse than the pop on an LP IMHO.
There are also ten times more crappy masters available to you on those ubiquitous shiny silver discs. Bottom line is that your path should be determined by your ears and your wallet and not the choices of others. Advice helps, but the only experience that counts is your own.

F1nut

of course there will be something that pops up every now and again

There it is.

The "sharp" clicking I get from the occasional cd is far worse than the pop on an LP IMHO.

Never had a sharp clicking on any CD/SACD. Must be something wrong with the players you've used or the disc was damaged.

There are also ten times more crappy masters available to you on those ubiquitous shiny silver discs.

You're really wading in the BS tonight. Prove there's ten times more.

tonyb

The sheer numbers of cd's available Jess would dictate that. Thats neither here nor there as bad music can be found on any format and will continue well into the future.

I don't think the Op's intent was for a pissing match into which format is better. We all enjoy music in our own ways and thats what counts. Being the audio nerds we are, we tend to expose and expand on the slightest differences in audio and proclaim whatever caused it is the next best thing to sliced bread. Granted, you can always do better in this hobby, but the majority of people out there don't chase their tails like we do to squeek every last drop of SQ out of that dollar spent. It takes a night and day difference to convince people, and these days those differences are getting smaller and smaller.

cfrizz

tonyb wrote: »

The sheer numbers of cd's available Jess would dictate that. Thats neither here nor there as bad music can be found on any format and will continue well into the future.

I don't think the Op's intent was for a pissing match into which format is better. We all enjoy music in our own ways and thats what counts. Being the audio nerds we are, we tend to expose and expand on the slightest differences in audio and proclaim whatever caused it is the next best thing to sliced bread. Granted, you can always do better in this hobby, but the majority of people out there don't chase their tails like we do to squeek every last drop of SQ out of that dollar spent. It takes a night and day difference to convince people, and these days those differences are getting smaller and smaller.

Finally! An audio nerd who is actually rational, realistic, and honest about what this hobby is all about to the extremist audiophiles.

It's all good, so long as others don't tell anyone else that their way of enjoying music is wrong. Enjoy what you like.

tonyb

My wife may have a bone to pick with you Cathy on your assesment of me.:biggrin:

Seriously....we need another format war thread like another cable debate.

Toolfan66

I love my Vinyl as much as my SACD, and I have more invested in my DAC then my TT/PhonoPre combined. I also don't play my vinyl as much as I would like to.

Vinyl Better? I don't know there was a time I thought so, maybe just different. It is fun to blow people away at how good it does sound.

After getting a good SACD/ CD player it's hard to beat.

DAC/Digital? I have come to love this as well.

IMO it don't matter what or how you want to listen they are all great and all have **** and good quality sound, depending on how they were recorded or mastered..