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Is it all worth it?

Do you ever get the feeling when you start to question whether playing records is really worth it all?
You know with everything involved with great record playback.
The setup, the cleaning regime, the $1000 plus cartridges that start their finite lifespan as soon as stylus first touches vinyl and spirals into less and less value with every play.
All the tweaks involved, cables, mats, isolation etc.
Then the media itself with it's inevitable disapointments.

Don't you just like to push a couple buttons on your phone app and be listening to great sound with a worldwide catalogue at your fingertips.

Or is it that when all of it lines up and the sounds are just sublime, then yes you sit back with a wry smile and say...

Yep, it's all worth it!
128x128uberwaltz
big_greg
6,622 posts
 
Last night was one of those nights... I bought a used cartridge for the SL 1200 MKII.  Mounted it, no sound out of the left channel.  WTF!  Put a different cartridge on that headshell, sound out of both channels.  OK, it's not the headshell.  Put the "new" cartridge back on, double checked to make sure all connections were good.  Still no sound out of the left channel.  Frustrating!

I decided to put the recently new Denon DL 301 MK2 on and pulled out some E.L.O. and Santana and... bliss!  Abraxas in particular sounded sooooo good.  
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uberwaltz OP
13,381 posts
 
I had the day off yesterday entirely from records.
Streaming only as was playing with Roon.
Which I then find is incompatible with Aurender!
Now it's days like that which make me near thankful for the relative simplicity of spinning a record.
All you have to worry about there is vta, sra, vtf, clean record, clean stylus, no static, no broken cart wires, phase of the moon.....
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uberwaltz OP
13,381 posts
 
Greg
I freaking hate buying a "good" used cart to find it is anything but!
Had that once myself on a Koetsu but was able to get VAS to fix it.
big_greg
6,622 posts
 
I bought it from a dealer that I really trust.  I know they will make it right.  Maybe it got damaged in shipping?  Everything was intact when I got it and I didn't see any damage to the box.
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz OP
13,381 posts
 
Gone and made life even harder ( or easier, depending on your view) by trying Roon on a 14 day free trial.

I really like the complete integration of all my streaming capable units dotted about the house, heck it even controls the old Chromecast Audio units!

The interface is busy but very informative and powerful.

Really spoiled for sitting down comfortably now.

The biggest pill to swallow is the now $699 they charge for lifetime Roon.
I mean who knows what the next big thing might be?

Maybe I will just take a one year at $119 as an extended trial for now.

Decisions, decisions.
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