The past meets the future
I have become a huge advocate of streaming over the last few years as streaming has at long last reached audiophile sound quality. So, for someone that is new to audio or does not have a lot of money invested… it is hard to recommend this route.
However, as an old fart. One that suffered through low end turntables, unbelievable surface noise, scratched records, and debatable fidelity for much of his life. Owning a tremendous analog end is such a pleasure. I recently upgraded my contemporary Linn LP12 to nearly the maximum. I have a Audio Research Reference 3 phono stage so the sound quality is simply stunning.
Taking a Covid break and going to my local record store… buying a half dozen great old blues albums… cleaning up to pristine condition. It is such a pleasure to hear such fidelity and musicality from a ritual I have performed since a teenager… record store, spinning. That has been mainstream for me for over fifty years. I guess it is like the old Shortwave radio guys when I was growing up. They had the 25’ antenna sticking up above their suburban houses in the 1960’s.
Just a nod to the era and tradition that will soon pass into history. It has been a blast.
Very romantic @ghdprentice. It is sort of silly but I suppose that is the way I look at it. When comparing digital to analog versions of the same material I prefer the digital file over the analog record about 75% of the time. But, I still buy records. You can teach an old dog new tricks but it is very hard to get rid of the old ones., like driving a manual transmission. |
To me a quality analog front end sounds more lifelike and real versus a comparable digital setup. Playing a record can at times give a sense of euphoria in the form of goosebumps or hair standing on end that is surprising and quite pleasant. I’ve never had that feeling playing digital or streaming. Maybe it’ll happen some day, but hasn’t yet. |
Yes, there is something to be said about the ritual. Now that I get a bit of a SQ edge from my vinyl… I am enjoying the ritual a bit more. So much so I ordered a German Ramar record brush. I typically use a Last fluid and brush before playing if my album if the disk has picked up some dust. To enhance the tradition I actually just bought the highly rated Ramar brush rosewood steained record brush. Appearent lay effective and beautiful. |
Don't forget to clean the stylus and use an anti static devise to remove the static created from brushing the disc. Lets not get too casual about this. :-) FWIW, putting together/setting up a good analog system is a hobby within a hobby as is record collecting. Both are time consuming and can be humbling at times. The better your 'ears' the more humbling it can become. But if you are a bit anal about it the results can be very rewarding. Loved it when I was doing it! |
