Where do you get your vinyl from?
Comments
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I've been searching around Acoustic Sounds.
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Mostly from a local record store here called Twist & Shout and a little from Discogs and other internet sources.afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
and now it begins...Speakers: Polk Lsim, ATC SCM19 v2, NHT SuperzeroSpeaker Cables: DH Labs, Transparent, Wireworld, Canare, Monster: Beer budget, Bose ears
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Good question. I've found that you have to research each release if you want to have the best chances of not getting crap vinyl.
Discogs is a good place to research different releases to get a sense for the pressing quality. Check the comments section at the bottom of the release page
New vinyl is hit or miss. I found that at least half to 3/4 of the stuff I was getting was defective to some degree - warps, scuffs, strange noises, and stuff like that. I'm not talking about the occasional tic or pop.
Do you have any good record stores nearby? Most have tables in-house you can use to spot check records you're considering buying.
I disabled signatures. -
Good question. I've found that you have to research each release if you want to have the best chances of not getting crap vinyl.
Discogs is a good place to research different releases to get a sense for the pressing quality. Check the comments section at the bottom of the release page
New vinyl is hit or miss. I found that at least half to 3/4 of the stuff I was getting was defective to some degree - warps, scuffs, strange noises, and stuff like that. I'm not talking about the occasional tic or pop.
Do you have any good record stores nearby? Most have tables in-house you can use to spot check records you're considering buying.
I did just find some locals. But I have no idea how to tell if a record is good or used up. -
Elusive or acoustic soundsMagico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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I posted on my local "Nextdoor" app thats made up from people in my area. I have 4 people with old records they want gone. Going to see one tomorrow who said he has 1,000s of records he wants cleared out.
Whoo whoooooo! -
Get ready to own a bajillion copies of Whipped Cream & Other Delights.afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
Lawrence Welk, and Slim Whitman too...The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
I like Herb Albert and the TJ.
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A good source of information on Vinyl Releases and quality of different pressings is the Steve Hoffman Music Forum, in the Music category.
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I posted on my local "Nextdoor" app thats made up from people in my area. I have 4 people with old records they want gone. Going to see one tomorrow who said he has 1,000s of records he wants cleared out.
Whoo whoooooo!
good luck! I don't remember, do you have a RCM?
Speakers: Polk Lsim, ATC SCM19 v2, NHT SuperzeroSpeaker Cables: DH Labs, Transparent, Wireworld, Canare, Monster: Beer budget, Bose ears -
I haven't been in one for several months, but the last Barnes and Noble store I went in had a very impressive area for LPs. It took up about half the space the store used to have for all of their DVD/BluRay/CD material. Of course, their prices tend to be full MSRP. Be aware though that the new LPs with low prices tend to be the junk ones that the music publishers put out without much effort or concern about quality to take advantage of the surge in the market. Quality pressings on 180 gram or better vinyl cost money. Think about $25 to $35 for a quality new LP at full MSRP, possibly discounted a bit by some vendors.
Amazon got a lot better at shipping LPs after having so many returns around ten years ago because their warehouses used to just toss them in a box with whatever else was going out. Almost guaranteed warpage after sitting in the back of a 140 degree UPS truck during the summer. The negative reviews on Amazon can help weed out the bad quality pressings to a degree.
The two main sources for new LPs that are not the large companies are Music Direct and Acoustic Sounds. Most cities tend to have a used record/cd store or two these days.
https://store.acousticsounds.com/c/17/180_Gram_Vinyl_Record
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I should also say, if anyone knows of an independent used record/cd store locally I would encourage shopping there instead of buying on the internet if that's an option. Times are especially tough for them right now. One legendary store local to me had to shut down for good this summer and another is struggling.
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Went to a guys house today and he asked me to just take them all. After going through the two boxes At my house the stack on the left is what im keeping. The rest will go to a local used record store if they want them.
Found some pretty good albums in there.
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When it comes to quality pressings, Elusive Disc and Acoustic Sounds tend to be the most consistent for quality, but if you only buy from them you'll certainly miss out on some quality pressings as well.
In addition to those two shops, I've also purchased from Bullmoose, Music Direct, and I no longer purchase from Amazon due to poor shipping.
I'm also a Vinyl Me Please member. That company is a real mixed bag. Some of the best albums I own are from their exclusives, but at the same time some of the worst are as well. I've had to request more replacements from VMP than all other vendors combined. I've stopped purchasing their add on offerings, and stick strictly to the record of the month now. Given their recent price increases, they are actually very hard to recommend these days. I have only stayed with them because they have maintained my original subscription price which puts albums at about $24 each. I believe a new annual subscription has increased by over $100 from what I pay annually.
Lastly, I love local record shops. We have some excellent ones in Dallas, and we shop with them and support them regularly. Excellent sources for new and used pressings.Analog: MoFi MasterTracker > MoFi UltraDeck > Sutherland 20/20
Digital: Cambridge CXC / Streaming > Cambridge CXN v2
MastersounD Dueventi > Rosso Fiorentino Certaldo or Arcam rHead > Hifiman HE4XX
Discogs -
No record cleaning machine here. Thats what RCM means right? -
Yeah. You can get a Spin Clean for relatively cheap but it's all manual, lightly dry with microfiber cloth, and then air dry in a dish rack.afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
I get most of my vinyl from Acoustic Sounds, but also Elusive Disc, Music Direct, Discogs and the Steve Hoffman forum.No record cleaning machine here. Thats what RCM means right?
Correct. Even new vinyl needs cleaning, IME.
Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
We ate at Cracker Barrel over the weekend, and they have new vinyl. Okay, the real 'new' pressings are country artists, like Chris Stapleton. They had his new record, and his prior 'Songs from A Room', Vol.'s 1 and 2."This may not matter to you, but it does to me for various reasons, many of them illogical or irrational, but the vinyl hobby is not really logical or rational..." - member on Vinyl Engine
"Sometimes I do what I want to do. The rest of the time, I do what I have to." - Cicero, in Gladiator
Regarding collectibles: "It's not who gets it. It's who gets stuck with it." - Jimmy Fallon -
I forget CH.... Are you here in SoCal?
The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
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Pick up this simple cleaning kit. Any thoughts or comments.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YRW67LW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabt1_1heVFbB46Z6Q2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 -
Gettin' the bug, eh?
If you can swing it at some point, maybe look into the Vinyl Styl Deep Groove Record Washer ($70), or the VinylBug 3d printed vacuum RCM ($120).
I've tried a bunch of different stuff, and I really like the Vinyl Styl a lot. It's like a Spin Clean with a few refinements. It's time consuming, but relaxing.
But yeah, you'll need a decent carbon fiber brush for maintenance. Wet cleaning is the ticket, though. That little stylus cleaner is nice to have, too, but some people like to use the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.
You can also go the DIY label protector route, and use paint pads for the wash. There are posts on the other forums about this. Air dry in a dish rack.I disabled signatures. -
I just wipe the dust off with my tshirt I'm wearing before I play the record.
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Pick up this simple cleaning kit. Any thoughts or comments.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YRW67LW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabt1_1heVFbB46Z6Q2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
It's a start. For many years before I got a vacuum record cleaning machine I just used some LP cleaning fluid, a couple of Mobile Fidelity brushes, and a beat up old turntable with a rubber mat on the platter to spin the LPs around for manual cleaning. Carbon fiber brush for quick dust pickups after LPs were cleaned and kept in anti-static inner sleeves. -
I cleaned a few albums last night and like the kit so far. I have nothing to compare it to either so.....
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Ah shoot, sorry Chris, I misread your post. I didn't realize you'd already ordered the cleaning kit. People used - and some still swear by - the simple RCA Disckeeper for years, so there's a case to be made for simple cleaning tools. Better than my first start - I thought a microfiber towel would work like magic. All it did was magically generate static!I disabled signatures.
