2. analog
  3. 1200682127

How did you get into vinyl?

I’ll start with my story:
The roots probably go back to the mid to late 90's when I got into the retro cocktail thing. I started throwing old fashioned cocktail parties with Martinis and Hi Balls and Manhattans and spinning those Retro Lounge cocktail mix CDs with Luis Prima and Martin Denny and Si Zetner, etc.

I've always been a classic jazz fan (Coltrane, Davis, Rollins, etc.) and been into the music of the Rat Pack, so this just became an extension of that. I then started collecting CDs of the artists that were featured in the Retro Lounge collections, along with classic jazz, blues and vocalists. It was very rare for me to purchase, or listen to anything recorded since the 1970s, though I do have a pretty good collection of 80s and 90s rock, it’s just I haven’t been adding to it.
A few years ago my live-in girlfriend and I split up and I gave her the furniture and took the opportunity to completely redecorate the place the way I wanted to- mid century modern or, as I called it, space age bachelor pad. I bought a bubble chair, Naguchi tables, ball clocks, Eames era stuff, etc., etc.- I even got an old pinball machine and bar. I was truly living in the 50’s-60’s.

Last June, I was poking around a flea market in Hell’s Kitchen looking for retro stuff, and I saw a Voice of Music HiFi console from 1957 for $45. I bought it, not sure if it was working, but knew it would look cool in my place. When I got it home it worked perfectly. I had picked up some 50’s/60’s lounge type albums from a tag sale for a buck apiece, just for decorations, and when I got the record player home, I found that it worked and the records sounded very cool. Now the VOM was definitely not audiophile, but it was all tube and these records sounded very appropriately retro on it. That was it- I was hooked on vinyl!

I started collecting vinyl in thrift shops and on Ebay. I noticed the VOM lacked bass, mainly due to the small single speaker that it had. I then saw a bigger VOM console on Ebay that had a 12”, two 8” and two 4” speakers. I got it for $250, and it sounded much better. I have an audiophile digital system that includes an Audio Aero Prima SE CD and top of the line Paradigm speakers, so I knew the limitations of the VOM unit, but I found it was all I was listening to because of the things that many of us love vinyl for- the covers, the ritual of playing the albums, the warmth and musicality of vinyl and tubes. I then got to thinking how great it would be if I built a truly audiophile vinyl system with a good quality TT and tube phono stage and amp. I also want to dig into the VOM and upgrade some components, like the caps, and check the resisters (I already done tube rolling with Mullards and Telefunkens).

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I got a VPI Aries 3, a BAT PK-5P phono stage, a Hagerman SUT, and a NOS Dynavector Karat 23R MC cart. I also got a VPI 16.5 RCM. In the meantime, I have accumulated several hundred LPs and remembered that I had a few hundred more albums that I had stashed away over 25 years ago! I plan to get a second tonearm wand for the 10.5i so I can put a mono cartridge on it.

I have now fully entered the insane world of vinyl, and could not be happier! Obviously, my taste in music (and all things retro) is perfect for vinyl. Besides the “Lounge” (sounds better than Easy Listening) LPs, I have purchased some essential 180-200 gram reissues- Kind of Blue, Time Out, Steely Dan’s Aja, etc., and have just subscribed to the Music Matters Blue Note 45 reissues. What I love about vinyl (in no particular order):
The ritual that goes with the playing (cleaning, turntable setup, constant tweaking)
-The covers
-The nostalgia factor
-The fact that I can play albums that I owned when I was in high school
-Shopping for LPs at used record stores, thrift shops, tag sales, and Ebay
-And most important- the sound!

Long live vinyl!
raylinds
ontjesr
157 posts
 
My mom was into music and had 78's. I enjoyed the music she had and for Christmas 1964, Santa brought me portable 45 player. My paper route money went into 45's at the local Five & Dime. A few years later, my parents bought a Grundig stereo console (AM/FM/TT). By this time, 33's were in and 45's were begining to loose ground. For me, with the Grundig, that was like jumping from Bose 901 speakers to Intuitive Design Denali's. The music was teriffic & sounded great & it could go LOUD too. At 18, I saved up enough to buy a Fisher 400 AM/FM Receiver (which I still have), AR speakers and a Garrard SL-95B TT w/Pickering V15 cartridge. I was amazed/happy/proud of my system then. My 33 collection was expanding (still have all) and within a year, went into the military and had my first taste of PX stereo gear after I had been in-country a few months (Vietnam). At that time, when I could visit the large Saigon PX; it was audio heaven. Akai, Teac Reel-to Reels, hudge Sansui 5500 speakers (200+ pounds), you name it, the PX had it or could get it. Within a few years, I was assigned to Okinawa -- the Japanese were flourishing in their talents with Sansui, Teac, TASCAM, Akai, Pioneer, Marantz, Technics, etc. Bought a Dual 1229 TT, Bose 901's (still have), Bose 1801 amp, Teac 3340 R-R, Akai GX-400D R-R (still have). Continued to buy 33's and some albums on R-R tapes (still have about 30). Assignment to the Philippines just when CD's were coming out, I transformed into that format as it was the new wave in audio. Bought a Nakamichi OMS-7 CD player in the PX & stayed with that format for 15 years; playing vinyl now and then, but the CD was convenient and sounded better than my Dual 1229 that I had at the time. Fast forward for 2004, sent the Dual off to Joel at the TT Factory for refurbishing and bought a better Shure cartridge. Sounded darn good and better than the Nakamichi. At that point, it started my latest quest into where I am today --. I wish I had stayed with vinyl during the late 80's. I feel I missed out on owning some darn good albums (but I have them on CD). Now, if I want one of those era albums, in great shape, is costly.
I've enjoyed my audio travels and hope they, like yours, contain vinyl & continue.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy.
grimace
624 posts
 
I went to a couple of local used record stores with a buddy and saw what was available CHEAP and thought it would be fun and wouldn't cost an arm and a leg to get started. I was correct on both counts. Of course as I look for better vinyl the 'cheap' part diminishes a bit, but I still buy a lot of stuff for $4-5 and that beats buying CDs by a long shot.

I have to say, I haven't enjoyed my system so much in years. Good stuff!
gaslover
48 posts
 
Vinyl got into me when I started pressing records at the world's first audiophile pressing plant way back in 1973, while in high school (btw they are STILL in business). I got so into my job I became the Quality Manager and was very fortunate to deal with the likes of Stan Ricker, Doug Sax, Dave Wilson, Tam Henderson, American Grammaphone, Sheffield Lab, Windham Hill, etc. My TT is a vintage Philips GA312, as was the one I used at work to approve test pressings of many of what are considered to be audiophile classics. I simply cannot stand to listen to CD's, let alone mp3's or anything digital. Once you have heard the truth, is apparent how sadly lacking the compromised digital format is. Really.
raylinds OP
24 posts
 
Maybe I should have titled this thred "How did you get back into vinyl", instead. I am 50, myself, so I started on vinyl, but got out of it around 1990, and just got back into it. Now I feel like I've been missing so much the past 18 years. It sounds like a lot of you have been with it through the digital age. Good for you- you're smarter than I was.
gaslover
48 posts
 
The CD sampling rate chosen at the inception of the digital age was merely a compromise: some big name composer was asked how much music should a CD be able to carry and his answer was Beethoven's entire 5th symphony (or something to that effect). So based upon that statement a rate of 44.1khz was chosen. In other words they opted for convenience of packaging the product, not for optimum quality of the product itself. How's THAT for putting the music first! Really though, ANY sampling rate would be a compromise compared to pure analog. How could you digitize a flowing river, for instance; or a warm summer breeze? Some things in nature are not to be messed with. Good thread, Raylinds
More to discover