My Rediscovery of Vinyl

Obsession18

Last night vinyl was spun for the first time in my house since the late 80's and my initial assessment was WOW vinyl does sound better then CD. What really made it surprising was the crappy vinyl set-up I was using:

Akai AP-B1 Turntable ($50 buck back in the 80?s)
Audio Technica AT71E Cartridge (with a generic $14 replacement stylus)
ART DJ PRE II Phono Preamp ($39 ? great reviews on the net)
Cheap interconnects (from the Comcast)

I compared Steely Dan?s Gaucho album that I have on both formats and the CD just sounded more harsh and edgy (Jolida CD player). I should also add that the vinyl version of Gaucho was bought used for $3 and although free of scratches I don?t know how many times it may have been played and the impact that had on the sound.

Now for the bad part ? my wallet is going to suffer! I took the cheap route outlined above to see if it was something I wanted to pursue. It didn?t take long for me to start drooling over the VPI Traveler turntable in the Audio Advisor flyer!!

Wish me luck.

EDUBAG

good luck!!!

jajajajajaja

EndersShadow

You just found the rabbit hole .

nspindel

EndersShadow wrote: »

You just found the rabbit hole .

+1, that's for sure!

Mike Reeter

The Traveler looks to be a perfect way to get back into vinyl. It's on my short list also. It and the Clearaudio Concept.

audiocr381ve

Obsession18 wrote: »

Last night vinyl was spun for the first time in my house since the late 80's and my initial assessment was WOW vinyl does sound better then CD. What really made it surprising was the crappy vinyl set-up I was using:

Akai AP-B1 Turntable ($50 buck back in the 80?s)
Audio Technica AT71E Cartridge (with a generic $14 replacement stylus)
ART DJ PRE II Phono Preamp ($39 ? great reviews on the net)
Cheap interconnects (from the Comcast)

I compared Steely Dan?s Gaucho album that I have on both formats and the CD just sounded more harsh and edgy (Jolida CD player). I should also add that the vinyl version of Gaucho was bought used for $3 and although free of scratches I don?t know how many times it may have been played and the impact that had on the sound.

Now for the bad part ? my wallet is going to suffer! I took the cheap route outlined above to see if it was something I wanted to pursue. It didn?t take long for me to start drooling over the VPI Traveler turntable in the Audio Advisor flyer!!

Wish me luck.

Vinyl doesn't do it for a lot of people these days and I admit, I went through a season of wanting to sell off the little analog system I was building to focus more on my digital system. All it took was that experience of putting a record on and of course, the sound. I have a very cheap set up as well. An old Technics, a decent cart, and a vintage Marantz integrated. The rabbit hole wasn't deep at all for me, I'm super content with this system that cost me under $150. Vinyl is cheap enough if you know where to look (mostly because I'm a-okay with a less than perfect record). I also confess that I never do more than wipe my records down with a carbon fiber brush. I LOVE this setup. I love digging for records, connecting with artwork on an album, and just enjoying it and not being a freak about keeping the records clean. My level of commitment to my vinyl rig isn't there. I'm an audiophile for digital only if that makes sense lol.

Enjoy what ya got man!

Msabot1

Couldn't help getting in on this! Get yourself a moderately priced Music Hall MMF! Get a decent cartridge also! You will be amazed at how well those tables handle vinyl that has not had the best care!

Obsession18

Another thing that struck me about the sound was the dynamic range, I was always under the impression that CD's walk all over vinyl in this regard, that was not my experience. The Steely Dan CD I compared is well recorded without any of that brick walling compression crap that alot of CD's suffer from and yet the vinyl held its own even on dynamics.

I've been looking at new turntables and man are they sweet looking, and the color choices - WOW.

Besides the VPI traveler (kind a pricey), the Pro-ject Cardon Debut looks like a nice starting point and it appears to come with a decent cartridge.

hochpt21

EndersShadow wrote: »

You just found the rabbit hole .

And you are awfully close!!!!!

EndersShadow

hochpt21 wrote: »

And you are awfully close!!!!!

LOL, true, but for right now I will just stand on the outside looking into it. Maybe in a week or two I will get pushed into having reasons to go deeper :biggrin:

starkiller

Rabbit hole?? Its more like the cave toward's the end of Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Obsession18

Last night I experimented with running my cheap little phono preamp off a 12 volt 18ah gell cell battery after reading about how those little wall warts can color the sound. Man did that clear things up, now I see why people buy things like the Pangea Audio - P-100 High Performance Power Supply.

I am struggling againest falling into the rabbit hole, and I keep surfing websites reading up on that VPI Traveler turntable.

nspindel

Obsession18 wrote: »

I am struggling againest falling into the rabbit hole...

Good luck. Let me know how that works out for you!

trav0810

I just now got into vinyl for the first time. My father had a B&O System when I was a kid and he always played LPs. I just bought an entire system off of a guy a few days ago because I wanted the amp and he was only selling it as a whole system. Part of the system was a Technics SL D2 turntable in fantastic shape. I have played a few albums that my Uncle had given me years ago, but they are far from pristine. Still, they were an enjoyable detour from my typical CD routine. Now, I am anxious to hear how my TT will sound once I obtain some albums that aren't beat up.

rromeo923

The first album I ever bought was Aerosmith - Toys in the Attic. I was about 12yrs old. I wore it out. I recently picked up a copy at goodwill in decent shape. Cleaned it up and listened to it last night. I was taken back in time! I also noticed how damn good it sounded. There is definitely something special about Vinyl!

RamZet

I was setting up a VPI for a client last year. It was my first time using a turntable. He had a VPI Classic 2 and a VPI Aries with vacuum tube amps and Focal Utopias. I fell in love with the sound and so I started my own collection of vinyls.
Im using a Audio Technica AT-LP240-USB. its about 400 bucks. It doesnt come with a Cartridges so I picked up a M97xe for 150 bucks ( but now its about 70 bucks). The setup sounds great! Im only using a Rotel amp and Polk speakers but I didnt spend 6-12G on a VPI amps and speakers.

but for 600 bucks im very happy with my setup. the unit is solid, heavy, feels well built and sounds awesome.

Obsession18

One thing I'm noticing about vinyl is that used records are not cheap, at least not from the place I have been getting them. There is a 2nd hand book/video/music store near me called 2nd and Charles and they want $6 to $8 for the records in really good condition, you can get them for as little as $3 but the condition is reflected in the price.

I was also on the MusicDirect website checking out some Pink Floyd, $44 for the Wall on vinyl, and to think I used to have a copy that I gave away 25 years ago!!

I'm going to have to check my local Goodwill.

I would also like to add - the ART DJ PRE II Phono Preamp is crazy good for the price, very quite background, and a flat response, I compared it to a phono stage in an old H&K reciever I have and it was no contest. If your considering vinyl and don't want to kill the budget this is the way to go.

trav0810

I don't consider $6-8 in really good condition to be a bad deal at all. Places around here want $5 in hockey puck condition!

Obsession18

trav0810 wrote: »

I don't consider $6-8 in really good condition to be a bad deal at all. Places around here want $5 in hockey puck condition!

Well its good to know that I am paying a reasonable price, I shouldn't be surprised with the resurgence of vinyl. I was reading something online recently that turntable sales have increased 50% over last year.

nspindel

trav0810 wrote: »

I don't consider $6-8 in really good condition to be a bad deal at all. Places around here want $5 in hockey puck condition!

I agree. $6-$8 for vinyl in very good condition is not a bad deal. Sure, you can sometimes find the rare treasure for a buck at the goodwill store, but you'll spend a lot of time sorting through a lot of crap looking for it. And used record stores, the few that still exist, aren't in business to compete with goodwill. You can get good deals on eBay, but sight unseen, and you'll pay shipping.

The $44 copy of The Wall on Music Direct is the 2011 remaster on 180g vinyl. New issues on premium grade vinyl are not cheap. This is not the same album that you had 25 years ago...

trav0810

I won't buy albums on ebay. I have ordered several albums for a friend of mine and they have all been disappointing. Apparently the sellers and I have drastically different views on what constitutes a "Near Mint" album.

Obsession18

nspindel wrote: »

I agree. $6-$8 for vinyl in very good condition is not a bad deal. Sure, you can sometimes find the rare treasure for a buck at the goodwill store, but you'll spend a lot of time sorting through a lot of crap looking for it. And used record stores, the few that still exist, aren't in business to compete with goodwill. You can get good deals on eBay, but sight unseen, and you'll pay shipping.

The $44 copy of The Wall on Music Direct is the 2011 remaster on 180g vinyl. New issues on premium grade vinyl are not cheap. This is not the same album that you had 25 years ago...

Actually your right $44 for the Wall on vinyl is a pretty good price considering I recently paid $30 for a MFSL Rush CD (Permanent Waves).

Polkersince85

I just bought 150 LPs yesterday at my local Salvation Army for 10/$1. Mostly 60-70s Jazz in Ex condition. Shop around, there are deals out there.

drgalexo

There is only one reason to listen to anything other than vinyl, convience, that's it. I still have hundreds of albums and love the sound, but move more and more into digital for the convience of the format.

evhudsons

Welcome back to vinyl, I know exactly how you feel! My advice to keep the budget low, get a record cleaner like spinclean for $80, clean records on a slow day and then put them back. That will keep your ears happy. Check your goodwill stores, my local one has records for 25 cents! Most are not so good, but there are great treasures in there. People cleaning out attics and such aren't into trying to sell used records so they dump them off for a quick right off. The record collectors go after more expensive records but you can keep your hobby alive for very cheap. I love picking up "who knows what" records, cleaning them up, then sampling. Old Jazz records come roring back to life, and even cheesy old records can sound very good. I think vinyl has the ability to grab your soul and show you the universe and not just the sky. I throw on some mood lights, and listen away. Very relaxing and quite cool, plus people go crazy at parties when they see you have ANY kind of record collection and you let them try to spin to their hearts desire. Old reggae, blues, jazz, obscure rock, country, all can be awesome for discovery in a way that cd shopping can't match. Of course I love CD shopping in the same way, but vinyl will somehow envelope you more than the brass and bass of cd.

just my .02

nspindel

trav0810 wrote: »

I won't buy albums on ebay. I have ordered several albums for a friend of mine and they have all been disappointing. Apparently the sellers and I have drastically different views on what constitutes a "Near Mint" album.

I've gotten some absolute masterpieces from eBay. I've had my let downs as well, and I've always returned them. Usually if a seller is overly aggressive describing condition, his feedback will reflect it.

RamZet

I use http://www.deepdiscount.com/
They always have a good sale. Shipping can take a week+ but I do get a lot of Imports.

Obsession18

I am slowly discovering this whole emotional thing people talk about in regards to vinyl, I can't explain it, really kind of strange the sound is just so much warmer and relaxing. I keep going back and worth with Steely Dan's Gaucho album I have on CD and vinyl, the CD definitely has a bigger soundstage (tubes in the Jolida) and what I think is a bit more resolution but that just doesn't seem to matter, the vinyl is a more enjoyable listen.

Keep in mind I'm using a really crappy analog setup, I'm thinking a VPI Traveler with a Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge (and eventually a better phono pre) will step it up quite a bit.

nspindel

YMMV, but a word of advice based on my experience. I just got back into vinyl after 25-ish years since selling off my turntable and records. I got a pretty simple starter setup, a Thorens TD166 MKII with a Shure MX97E cartridge. An extremely affordable setup. I am beyond thrilled with the sound quality. In my opinion, before you start climbing up the flagpole to a turntable that costs in the 4-figures, my advice would be to first invest in a good record cleaning machine. I cannot begin to tell you how much the sound quality of a record improves with a good cleaning. Even brand new records. You can spend 10 times as much as what you're contemplating on a turntable/cartridge/preamp setup. But unless you're playing clean vinyl you're not getting anything close to the potential of your existing system. The results are that dramatic. I spent 2X as much on my record cleaning machine (albeit I bought it new) as I did on my turntable (used), and I don't regret it for a single second. I got the VPI 16.5, and was skeptical about whether the cost was justified. It was worth every penny.

Obsession18

Record cleaning is something I have also been researching, right now I am using a small lens cleaning brush while running the table at 45 rpm.

One method that I find intriguing is using wood glue, basically apply a bunch of it, let it dry and then it peel off.

I googled the Thorens TD166 MKII you are using, trust me compared to what I'm using that is a gem, I really have no choice but to get a new table, so I'm looking at something that I'll hopefully never get the urge to upgrade, hence the VPI Traveler.

nspindel

The problem with any sort of brushing is that it doesn't remove anything, it just moves it around. The machine is vacuum powered, so the dust and grime is removed. I use DarqueKnight's suggestion of a Shark Steam cleaning machine in combination with the VPI, and then two different Mofi solutions. I suspect the steam cleaning then vacuum is what's the most effective.

I've seen the wood glue before. That's a very long winded way of cleaning a record, as you need to let the glue dry. I think the wood glue thing is a neat trick, but unwieldy for an entire record collection.