2. music
  3. 165848-149587

Newbie to Vinyl Seeks Tips

With some trepidation, and quite a bit of skepticism, I have decided to take the leap into vinyl.  The bulk of my listening to date has been streaming Qobuz over Roon to an Ares II DAC and a variety of amplifiers and the Tekton Moabs.  I have been very happy with that system.  Since I just want to tip my toe into the water, I am buying the Fluance RT85 turntable and Schiit Mani preamp.  I know nothing about vinyl and am not looking for tips on equipment at this point but do want input on some fundamentals like:

What is the best, and most cost effective way to clean records, both before each play and more like a deep cleaning?

Why are prices of records on Amazon so different?  Are they cheapest when first released and then fall in price or vice versa?

I know different pressings are supposed to have different qualities.  How do I figure out what to buy without becoming obsessed with that?  And if you don't buy from Amazon where do you buy records?

How bad an idea is it to pick through thrift stores looking for records?

In general, is there any cost effective way to build a collection of records?  I'm not somebody that listens to the same thing 20-30x so the  idea of paying $30-40 for a LP is irritating.

And finally, is this just a fools errand?  I have no intention of spending tons of money on turntables, tonearms, cartridges, phone pre's etc. etc..  I've built what I think is an amazing system out of carefully selected but affordable components.  Is such a thing even possible with vinyl?

What other pragmatic things should I know?

Thanks

Paul


pinwa
fuzztone's avatar
fuzztone
5,645 posts
 
Ultrasonic cleaning before first play.
Or buy my Nitty Gritty vacuum to get 50% effectiveness, even with "power cleaner" and stupid scrubbing.
Amazon prices are everchanging. Supply and demand.
Discogs is the ONLY place you should buy records. OR pay up for hot stampers, curated great platters. Too bad they cost as much as your TT.
Going through thrift racks is like walking the beach with a metal detector. Pretty much a waste of time but you could win the lottery.

RIGHT!

pinwa OP
306 posts
 
whart - Thanks for all that advice.  I'll browse through the London Jazz Collector site.  My musical tastes are quite varied and evolving.  I ignored jazz for most of my life but I'm finding myself enjoying some of the more contemporary experimental jazz as well as classics like Miles Davis or Coltrane but it still the case that I dislike more jazz than I like it.

Perhaps I am wrong, but I think well recorded/produced contemporary music sounds awfully good in digital streaming.  On the other hand, a lot of the older stuff from the 1960's-1990's sounds like crap streaming and one of the things that is driving me to try vinyl is to see if the records are better than the digital versions.

What is your blog?
pinwa OP
306 posts
 
artemus - Thanks. Is that the Milty Zerostat 3 that you are recommending?  Lots of negative reviews for that on Amazon.
pinwa OP
306 posts
 
millercarbon - Hi Chuck.  Thanks for the recommendation for the Mobile Fidelity brush.  I had been overwhelmed by all the brush choices so I simply went ahead and bought one based on your recommendation.  I would say that I am more curious about records than anything else.  Thanks for the invitation.
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
13,185 posts
 
IF I had to pick a guru helper, it would be Bill ( whart ).... not prone to silly absolutes...

For bang for buck, the new reissue Blue Notes are fantastic.....

I do agree with Steve, you should have asked for help on the table.

enjoy your journey
More to discover