Vinyl

I haven't had a turntable in a long time and then was by no means an expert in the subject... but I was always under the impression that audio quality could usually be improved by a higher quality needle and not by needing to replace the entire unit.

If that's true, you may be able to save some money by just replacing the needle.

What's the deal with this at the moment? People going vinyl crazy everywhere.. I thought it would have died by now

MattG said:

Seems like there's a lot more noise than there should be during playback.

Anyway, looking to upgrade at some point in the near future to a sub-$500 model, and wondering if anyone here has any recommendations on what to buy, or just recommendations in general?

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Noise as in hum, or surface noise from the record?

I know nothing of the newer uber-platters, but some like them for their constant speed. I have an older Thorens TD-160 2-speed, with an replacement Shure cartridge in it.

SumoHamster said:

I haven't had a turntable in a long time and then was by no means an expert in the subject... but I was always under the impression that audio quality could usually be improved by a higher quality needle and not by needing to replace the entire unit.

If that's true, you may be able to save some money by just replacing the needle.

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Please, stylus. The frequency range of the cartridge is also important, the weight of the tracking arm on the vinyl, and any inertia system to keep the stylus from tracking to the left of the groove when playing.

niuniu said:

What's the deal with this at the moment? People going vinyl crazy everywhere.. I thought it would have died by now

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It's an affection, for a better time, when records each had their own character.

Back in the (early) 1990s, I bought a Sony LBT-D505 stereo system, which cost a fortune at the time (I spent almost two years paying for it) but which gave the most wonderful sound. Obviously, it came with a turntable (anyway, I had a large collection of vinyl, and CDs were only just beginning to replace vinyl), radio, double cassette deck, and CD player. An absolutely sweet system.

Years later, all of the component parts still work, it is just that I need to replace the stylus as the old one wore out......

Turntables provide an intimate connection with the music. They require tender handling and preparation, almost akin to a Shinto tea ceremony on some levels.

Noise can be picked up just about anywhere. As mentioned, check the tracking, cartridge, stylus. I used to have a 70's vintage Dual that served me well until I gave it all up last year and went digital. Just lost the love for it, I guess.

I enjoy vinyl from time to time. I have an older turntable hooked up to my big HK/JBL system. Have a couple hundred albums, many of them total crap, though there are a few gems. In college some of my friends and I would sit around in a mostly dark room, put a record on and chill, listen to the whole album, drink some beers. It was cool... you experience the music more than if it's just in the background with people fighting to pick the next song off the iPod.

Noise can come from a bunch of factors...dirt on the record or needle, the needle itself or the record itself. Try cleaning (properly) the records and replacing the needle. Vibration and noise from around the turntable can also come through, if the turntable is close the speakers my speakers will send the needle jumping out of the groove.

Some degree of noise is part of the appeal: the thunk of the needle as you drop it on the edge, the crackling as it gets into the groove before the music starts, the 'warm' sound that comes from poor high frequency response.

iJohnHenry said:

...

I know nothing of the newer uber-platters, but some like them for their constant speed. I have an older Thorens TD-160 2-speed, with an replacement Shure cartridge in it.

...

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Still have my dad's, boxed at the moment - 'til the day a second system is assembled.

http://www.theanalogdept.com/thorens_dept_.htm

MattG,

A second hand Thorens from a friendly dealer - serviced; oil, belt, springs...?

Rega, Pro-Ject Audio/Music Hall offer starter turntables.

http://www.vinylengine.com/turntable-database.php

Cheers,
OW

I have a few vinyls, want to slowly build a bigger collection over time.

I'd rather have vinyl than CD, but I'll still always prefer digital for it's ease. Vinyl is simply a nice addition to my collection, but I save it for albums I feel worth paying extra to have on vinyl.

niuniu said:

What's the deal with this at the moment? People going vinyl crazy everywhere.. I thought it would have died by now

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As someone who purchases CD's, I think there is a huge loss of appreciation for albums as a whole.

Individual songs are great and all but listening to an entire album, as intended by the artists, is really great.

Something about having the physical CD/record really helps with this

(maybe I'm just crazy )

ender land said:

As someone who purchases CD's, I think there is a huge loss of appreciation for albums as a whole.

Individual songs are great and all but listening to an entire album, as intended by the artists, is really great.

Something about having the physical CD/record really helps with this

(maybe I'm just crazy )

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I think this is more of a mainstream pop problem. There are still plenty of musicians and bands out there who produce albums intended to be listened to as a full album, and not just a radio-friendly single.

I'd argue that the quality of the music and who the artist is effects whether people are listening to a single song versus an entire album rather than the technology used to listen to the music.

zioxide said:

I think this is more of a mainstream pop problem. There are still plenty of musicians and bands out there who produce albums intended to be listened to as a full album, and not just a radio-friendly single.

I'd argue that the quality of the music and who the artist is effects whether people are listening to a single song versus an entire album rather than the technology used to listen to the music.

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Ugh, yeah I forgot about so much of the music being produced right now

Touché

MattG said:

Thanks everyone for the responses.

To those who asked, the noise I'm referring to is in the surface of the records...pops and clicks. Unfortunately I don't think I can fine tune much with this particular model? Haven't researched it much though.

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If you don't want pops and clicks, get a CD reader and Compact Discs instead of vinyls.

As much as I love CD's, I still like the way vinyl sounds, even with the pops and clicks.

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

I kind of want to get into it. Was just thinking about it the other day.

[csb]

When I became a real music fan, back in my early teens, it was the early 80s, and the beginning of the cassette era. I had a small handful of 7" vinyl singles from the late 70s, but I didn't really get into vinyl until later in the decade, at the height of the 12" remix single era. Still, I bought the majority of my stuff on cassette during that decade, as the only turntable I had until college was a little kiddie-style record player.

I scooped up most of my vinyl during and especially after college, when I could better afford it. This was during the early to mid 90s; there was a popular local record store (Better Days Records in Louisville, KY) that catered to club DJs, and it had an excellent stock of older 12" singles too.

So, all in all, I have a nice little smattering of vinyl: 80s-era remix singles, Eurodance, techno, and DJ remix service compilations. Little is the operative word here. I'd number the releases in my collection at approximately 200-250; they fit in four "milk crate" containers with room to spare. I've seen pictures here on MR of vinyl collections in the thousands.

I've repurchased many of these selections in digital format, either CD or online, for the convenience. I've never had high-end turntable equipment, and haven't taken the best care with some of these. However, I still keep them around for the nostalgia factor, especially since some in my collection are in interesting/rare form factors:

• a Men Without Hats' "Rhythm Of Youth" picture disc,
• Skinny Puppy's "Testure" in translucent red,
• the ultra-rare (less than 100 made) promo-only 12" single of Howard Jones's "Pearl In The Shell,"
• several original Plus 8 releases with cryptic messages etched between the grooves,
• and a couple of rare Razormaid DJ compilations.
• Oh, and arguably the most complete vinyl collection in the state of Kentucky of the Italo-disco/Hi-NRG band Fun Fun. (...Because it has a good beat and is easy to dance to, that's why!)

The aforementioned record store closed a number of years ago, so it's unlikely that I'll purchase any more vinyl. Most of the artists that I listen to nowadays release only in digital.

[/csb]

MattG said:

Thanks everyone for the responses.

To those who asked, the noise I'm referring to is in the surface of the records...pops and clicks. Unfortunately I don't think I can fine tune much with this particular model? Haven't researched it much though.

Click to expand...

Do you have a dust cloth? It should be anti-static. Is your table grounded properly for static electricity. Some people use something like a DiscWasher system for dust/grit. Others use a little distilled water and a soft cloth, but always with the grooves.

If a record has surface damage from prior wear you are pretty much euchred.

The only new pressing I ever purchased that was terrible for surface noise right out of the sleeve was the self-titled Jon Mitchel album, her first.

I had to replace that one on CD, but I still pop the vinyl on the table from time to time.

I am huge into vinyl.My boyfriend and I share a collection of around 100 albums.. all of bands we really love...even the really obscure bands. It is our way of supporting the artist while getting something really unique and special in return. Usually when purchasing vinyl from new bands, included is a high quality download of the album.

Only when it is on a woman!!!!

Vinyl is still by far my favorite way to listen to music. Between the convenience of digital music on my iPhone or played on my stereo through AirPlay, and the tactile, visceral experience of slapping a record on my deck (vintage Dual 721), I haven't purchased or played a compact disc in years. I don't even have a CD player component in my stereo system anymore, and the CD changer in our car is metaphorically covered in cobwebs.

I have about 800 records now. Could always use more, but I'm trying to restrict myself to the essentials as I haven't DJed in a while and I don't want my collection taking over the entire house!

i'm actually a club dj on the weekends (hence why i have a mac)

2x technics 1200 m3ds with shure m44-7 needles here...have 3 pairs of timecode vinyl

unknown00 said:

i'm actually a club dj on the weekends (hence why i have a mac)

2x technics 1200 m3ds with shure m44-7 needles here...have 3 pairs of timecode vinyl

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I was wondering when someone was gonna pop up on this thread "rockin' the 1s and 2s," as the 1200s are sometimes called. It's a shame that Technics discontinued the series. I remember spending afternoons at Better Days, watching the DJs/store employees beatmatch the latest house and techno imports on a pair of 1200s. Those were for employee use only, of course; the customer preview stations were a couple of cheaper turntables.

Vinyl is irreplaceable. Back in the 80's, the thought was that if you wanted good sound, you got a CD, and we were all about CDs back then. We all thought vinyl would die a quick death.

But vinyl has survived for 30 years after digital media, much like print magazines have survived and thrived. Independent record stores now stock mostly vinyl. Because, there is simply nothing like the sound of a vinyl record.

Radio was thought to have been dead once television arrived. It didn't die, it evolved.

Like everything else in life, things change, but they continue to live on in one way or another.

iJohnHenry said:

Do you have a dust cloth? It should be anti-static. Is your table grounded properly for static electricity. Some people use something like a DiscWasher system for dust/grit. Others use a little distilled water and a soft cloth, but always with the grooves.

If a record has surface damage from prior wear you are pretty much euchred.

The only new pressing I ever purchased that was terrible for surface noise right out of the sleeve was the self-titled Jon Mitchel album, her first.

I had to replace that one on CD, but I still pop the vinyl on the table from time to time.

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I used to have a "click and pop" remover. Basically a 70's era signal processor that removed transients. It worked on most records without too much coloration. SAE 5000. Sold it on eBay for over $100, though.