Thinking about getting out of vinyl

kevhed72
kevhed72 Posts: 5,055
edited January 2010 in 2 Channel Audio
I am considering getting rid of my turntable and vinyl and focusing strictly on a new CD player. My turntable is a Yamaha 400 with Grado black cartridge; TT is in very good condition and cartridge is less then 1 yr. old. Couple of questions:

1. What would be a fair price for TT / cartridge, and how desirable are these turntables. I know it is on the entry level, but not sure how it stacks up against other entry level TT's...
2. Where on line can I locate a free grading guide for vinyl. The idea would be sell the TT and vinyl to finance a better CD player and expand my CD collection.
3. The more I research audio, the more I am convinced the SQ of the source is of utmost importance. The difference in SQ of different albums and CDs within my collection is quiet noticeable. Is anyone out there strictly staying with SACD's?


Any advice is appreciated...
Post edited by kevhed72 on
«1

Comments

  • shack
    shack Posts: 11,154
    edited January 2010
    Each medium has it's pros and cons. Why limit yourself to a single source? I have vinyl, CD (redbook), SACD, HDCD, iPod and even still listen to some of my old well recorded cassettes. There is music not available on CD that is available on vinyl (and vice versa), not available on SACD that is available on CD and some of the music I copied to cassette a long time ago is OOP and difficult to find. I am more concerned about WHAT music I listen to vs HOW I listen to it.

    I guess I really have no advice...sorry.
    "Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right." - Ricky Gervais

    "For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase

    "Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,967
    edited January 2010
    I would suggest before you give up on viny, to add some tube magic to your rig, if you haven't yet. Tubes and vinyl are an unbeatable combo for SQ compared to any format.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited January 2010
    The question here is why are you giving up vinyl?
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,967
    edited January 2010
    The question here is why are you giving up vinyl?

    He stated,Joe, for a better cdp. Get your reading glasses on pal.:D
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited January 2010
    I read it twice. My question still stands. I'll expand on my question. Did you find vinyl to be lacking in any way compared to CDs?
  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited January 2010
    xcapri79 wrote: »
    I'm just getting back into vinyl as I still have a nice 70's collection that I've augmented over the past year. There is something "magic" about vinyl that I like, despite the occasional snap, crackle, pop and skip.

    A lot of the snap, crackle and pop are eliminated when the records are cleaned properly and an anti-static gun used on each play of a record. Not to mention the importance of a thoroughly cleaned stylus.
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,967
    edited January 2010
    A lot of the snap, crackle and pop are eliminated when the records are cleaned properly and an anti-static gun used on each play of a record. Not to mention the importance of a thoroughly cleaned stylus.

    Sounds like a Star Wars regiment to just play a song.:)
    I love vinyl, the sound in unbeatable, but you just reminded me why I left it behind.:)
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
  • DarqueKnight
    DarqueKnight Posts: 6,765
    edited January 2010
    kevhed72 wrote: »
    The idea would be sell the TT and vinyl to finance a better CD player and expand my CD collection.

    What are you going to do with your record collection? If you are keeping your records you might regret not having some means of listening to them...even if it is on an infrequent basis.

    I put my turntable away for a long time and then came back to it. From 1985 to 1990 I listened to vinyl and CD's. In 1990 I put my turntable and records in storage for 11 years. I did not, and still do not, like all the setup and maintenance issues associated with vinyl and I just got tired of dealing with it. In 2001 I did a system upgrade and decided to reintroduce my turntable (a Yamaha PF-800) into the mix. I have kept a turntable in my two channel system since then. As I have improved my equipment quality, I have come to appreciate the sound of vinyl more and more. I did a significant upgrade of my turntable setup in 2006 even though I only listen to records a few hours a month. I listen to digital a few hours a day.

    A lot of the music in my record collection is not, and probably never will be, available on CD. There are also cases where the LP version of an album sounds better than the CD version (I also have examples of the reverse). I don't anticipate abandoning vinyl unless I am able to transfer my vinyl collection to a high resolution digital format.
    Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited January 2010
    tonyb wrote: »
    Sounds like a Star Wars regiment to just play a song.:)
    I love vinyl, the sound in unbeatable, but you just reminded me why I left it behind.:)

    It's just part of equation for the "unbeatable" sound and enjoyment of vinyl.
  • kevhed72
    kevhed72 Posts: 5,055
    edited January 2010
    I read it twice. My question still stands. I'll expand on my question. Did you find vinyl to be lacking in any way compared to CDs?

    I don't really find vinyl lacking in any way. I have played the same albums on CD vs. vinyl back to back, and find very little difference. I guess the idea would be invest in doing one thing very well (CDs vs. Vinyl) and simplifying my system. But, I'm not sure if the TT is even worth enough to justify this...
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,565
    edited January 2010
    Is anyone out there strictly staying with SACD's?

    SACD's and CD's. Unfortunately, not everything I like is on SACD. That said, I've found that a top notch SACD/CD player is very hard to beat and is why I got out of vinyl.
    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

  • NJPOLKER
    NJPOLKER Posts: 3,474
    edited January 2010
    I am too old, fat and lazy for vinyl. Thats why I have a nice CDP and a pre-amp with a remote. I can not imagine getting up to change the volume no less getting up to F with a TT. I also like how nice and quiet CD's are.

    Do turntables have tubes :p
  • jimmydep
    jimmydep Posts: 1,305
    edited January 2010
    NJPOLKER wrote: »
    I am too old, fat and lazy for vinyl. Thats why I have a nice CDP and a pre-amp with a remote. I can not imagine getting up to change the volume no less getting up to F with a TT. I also like how nice and quiet CD's are.

    Do turntables have tubes :p

    Not to mention that a TT and Budweiser don't mix well.:)
  • NJPOLKER
    NJPOLKER Posts: 3,474
    edited January 2010
    jimmydep wrote: »
    Not to mention that a TT and Budweiser don't mix well.:)

    Excellent point :D However I never had a problem in the past when I had a TT and I was young and dumber.
  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited January 2010
    kevhed72 wrote: »
    I don't really find vinyl lacking in any way. I have played the same albums on CD vs. vinyl back to back, and find very little difference. I guess the idea would be invest in doing one thing very well (CDs vs. Vinyl) and simplifying my system. But, I'm not sure if the TT is even worth enough to justify this...

    That's a good idea. However, I have a vast collection of CDs and LPs (LPs in the thousands) so I have a very high end, tricked out TT/tonearm/cartridge combo. Vinyl still rules. It may not be fair to compare TT that to replace would be over $12,000 to a CD player that new is only over $2,500.

    So I think you are making the right decision based on the fact that to get the best out of a turntable can much more costly than a good higher end CD player.
  • BlueFox
    BlueFox Posts: 15,251
    edited January 2010
    A lot of the snap, crackle and pop are eliminated when the records are cleaned properly and an anti-static gun used on each play of a record. Not to mention the importance of a thoroughly cleaned stylus.
    tonyb wrote: »
    Sounds like a Star Wars regiment to just play a song.:)
    I love vinyl, the sound in unbeatable, but you just reminded me why I left it behind.:)

    To each their own, but I never will go back to vinyl. I want to listen to music, not go through a tortuous ritual of cleaning and caring for records. What a pain. And after all that work, you drop the record, or bump the turntable, and the arm skips over the record. :eek:

    The same for tubes. After spending 4 years repairing a hybrid tube/transistor radar on the F4B I got 'burnt out' on tubes. So much pain for so little gain.

    Get a good DAC and a music server.

    On the other hand, vinyl and tubes can be a lot of fun. ;)
    Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
    Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
    Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes

    Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
    Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
    Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables

    Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
    Three 20 amp circuits.
  • HB27
    HB27 Posts: 1,518
    edited January 2010
    I don't like the inconvenience of vinyl but as my system has evolved into a high quality sound system I find more and more I can't live without the occasional vinyl recording.
    I've got away from it twice now and it cost me a lot of bucks to get back in to the point I'm at again.
    Vinyl is a PIA but it has it's place in my heart and my system.
    You're not going to recoup any significant bucks with the Yammy and black. Just hold onto them for the occasional listening to a few tracks you can't get anywhere else.
    Best to you either way you go.
    Harry
  • shack
    shack Posts: 11,154
    edited January 2010
    I find that vinyl forces me to listen to "entire" albums. And in my mind that is a good thing. With any form of digitial it is so easy to click past anything you may "think" you don't want to hear. Lots of albums were made to be progressions or there is good music you never heard or forgot about. As much as I like to put 5 CDs in the changer and sit down for an evening...I also like to sit down and listen to one side of an LP for 20+ minutes.
    "Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right." - Ricky Gervais

    "For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase

    "Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson
  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited January 2010
    shack wrote: »
    I find that vinyl forces me to listen to "entire" albums. And in my mind that is a good thing. With any form of digitial it is so easy to click past anything you may "think" you don't want to hear. Lots of albums were made to be progressions or there is good music you never heard or forgot about. As much as I like to put 5 CDs in the changer and sit down for an evening...I also like to sit down and listen to one side of an LP for 20+ minutes.

    Bingo! I made the same statement a few years back. I have enjoyed and discovered much more music because of it whereas I may have just skipped over with the click of the remote.
  • Polkersince85
    Polkersince85 Posts: 2,883
    edited January 2010
    Stopped by the GW on the way home while ago. Got four albums for 2 bucks. Cleaning up a Lower Basin Street with Dinah Shore, Lena Horne, Henry Levine and Paul Laval singing and playing the Blues. Find that on CD. That's why I like vinyl. It's the music, not the method.
    >
    >
    >This message has been scanned by the NSA and found to be free of harmful intent.<
  • NJPOLKER
    NJPOLKER Posts: 3,474
    edited January 2010
    shack wrote: »
    I find that vinyl forces me to listen to "entire" albums. And in my mind that is a good thing. With any form of digitial it is so easy to click past anything you may "think" you don't want to hear. Lots of albums were made to be progressions or there is good music you never heard or forgot about. As much as I like to put 5 CDs in the changer and sit down for an evening...I also like to sit down and listen to one side of an LP for 20+ minutes.

    Damn thats interesting. I think I'll go out and buy a TT :rolleyes:

    Just joking. I bet I would benefit from listening to more cd's in full than jumping tracks. You guys keep **** me up :D:cool::p which is easy to do.
  • BlueFox
    BlueFox Posts: 15,251
    edited January 2010
    I always listen to an entire album/CD at first. After that, I usually find there are songs I like, and others that are just filler to complete the recording contract. One of the things I hated about the turntable was lifting the arm to move over unwanted tracks. Invariably at some point it came down in the wrong spot, or was dropped. However, I suspect the newer turntables make jumping songs easier and safer than my old AR Manual TT.

    Yes, the CD remote certainly makes this a lot easier. That was the first thing I discovered about CDs once I had my first player.
    Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
    Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
    Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes

    Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
    Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
    Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables

    Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
    Three 20 amp circuits.
  • wayne3burk
    wayne3burk Posts: 939
    edited January 2010
    vinyl takes up 4x the space of CDs... Does that mean that vinyl is 4x better?
    Yamaha RX-V2700, EMI 711As (front), RCA K-16 (rear), Magnavox Console (Center & TV Stand), Sony SMP-N200 media streamer, Dual 1249 TT =--- Sharp Aquas 60" LCD tellie
  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited January 2010
    Get out of it, vinyl sucks.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    edited January 2010
    Listen to vinyl because you want to...if it ain't for you, it ain't for you.



    BDT
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
  • everpress
    everpress Posts: 862
    edited January 2010
    I love vinyl. I like the size and the weight... Except when I'm moving...
    But I like the artwork, the liner notes and the odds and ends you sometimes get. I buy new vinyl of new bands today. I have vinyl that my mother listened to when she was younger than me. I like the history of hearing something the way it was and the way it was meant to be heard. I love the snaps and pops (yeah- I clean, but I don't have a proper cleaning set-up nor a proper TT), as they remind me of something real and unpolished.

    It's not my main source of music, as I use iTunes for a majority of my music playback, but when I want to listen and really enjoy my sound (even the craptastic sound of my cheap **** TT) I throw on some LedZep or some Vetiver or even some NIN or Band of Horses... I can sit and listen and hear something the way it was meant to be in my mind.

    Dude, take a break of you feel you must, but don't give up on it. There is a reason that many bands still release on vinyl today and it's not because it's cheaper or cool. It's because it is a format worth spanning time to listen to, not just hear.

    ? Harmon Kardon AVR 55 (dead; replacing with Onkyo TX NR-616)
    ? Polk RTA 11TL's (FR and FL)
    ? Polk TSi200's (RR and RL)
    ? Polk CS10 (Center)
    ? Polk PSW-350
    ? Grado SR-60i Headphones
    ? Fii0 E5 headphone amp
    ? iPod touch (8 gig)
    ? iPod Classic (80 gig)
    ? Mac Mini (as media server)
    ? xbox 360

  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited January 2010
    NJPOLKER wrote: »
    Damn thats interesting. I think I'll go out and buy a TT :rolleyes:

    Just joking. I bet I would benefit from listening to more cd's in full than jumping tracks. You guys keep **** me up :D:cool::p which is easy to do.

    Face it Drew, vinyl is superior in sound to that dry sterile digital existance you've sentenced yourself to.:eek::D:p
  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited January 2010
    wayne3burk wrote: »
    vinyl takes up 4x the space of CDs... Does that mean that vinyl is 4x better?

    1000 times better.
  • wesouth
    wesouth Posts: 41
    edited January 2010
    I wouldn't think the entry level turntable would bring enough money to justify putting it up for sale, it will be worth more to you to have down the road. I have an old Technics system that has a turntable and about 300 LPs. About once in a blue moon I pull them out an hear music that is out of print or unavailable in CD format. It is a lot of fun to have the chance to go down memory lane through those old LPs and cassettes. Keep it around. Most LPs and Turntable unless collectable or Hi end bring very little on the market these days and are Nostalgic to the owner only.
    My Setup:
    Front- Polk Monitor 70
    Center- Polk CS2
    Rear - Polk Monitor 70
    Subs - 2 Polk PSW505
    Receiver - Onkyo TX-SR707
    Amp - Emotiva XPA-5
    Zone 2 Speakers - Polk M40
    CD Player - Emotiva ERC-1
    Interconnects - Emo X-Series
    & Emo Ultra speaker cables
    additional components:
    Television - Samsung LN52B750
    Gaming Console - Microsoft XBox 360
    Media Center - Gaming Computer with Blue Ray Drive
  • phipiper10
    phipiper10 Posts: 955
    edited January 2010
    Vinyl takes time and patience. If you don't have it I wouldn't bother. I'm finding it difficult to get into right now due to lack of time....I have the patience to do the cleaning etc. My listening space is basically our family living room so that limits my listening in general.

    Fingers are crossed that I'll have at least a new space of my own for listening and setting up all my audio stuff. (man cave) The kids still stay..... for now :)
    Analog Source: Rega P3-24 Exact 2 w/GT delrin platter & Neo TT-PSU Digital Source: Lumin T2 w/Roon (NUC) DAC: Denafrips Pontus II Phono Preamp: Rega Aria MK3 Preamp: Rogue RP-7 Amp: Pass X150.8 Speakers: Joseph Audio Perspective 2, Audio Physic Tempo Plus Cables: Morrow M4 ICs & Audio Art SC-5 ePlus, Shunyata PCs Misc: Shunyata Hydra Delta D6, VTI rack, GIK acoustic panels