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What Vinyl quality should I be using?

Is there a recommended type of vinyl one should be playing on high end systems? I heard from someone just standard vinyl won't do good systems justice and could even be bad for them. Is this true?
nickclarson
sinisterporpoise68
63 posts
 
No relation to the seller, but there's a Clearaudio Emotion Blue on Audiogon right now that looks like a decent bargain. Add a phono stage and you're ready to go for under $2000.
headsnappin's avatar
headsnappin
295 posts
 
All in all, good advice but one can never determine the quality of something by asking quantity questions. What we are most concerned with is sound quality and trying to put a number on this doesn't work for me. Listening to music, eating a good meal, or enjoying the art institute are all things utilizing the other half of your brain than the side used for used for balancing your checkbook, figuring an affordable car payment, etc. The whole percentage thing is accessing the wrong half of your brain for this endeavor. Sorry to sound like I'm nit picking semantics but IMHO one really gets to the root of what is important.
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
What I found is that as you move up the chain some high-end analog setups can actually improve the playback of many of those less than pristine LPs. But it takes everything in the chain to get this kind of playback. It's not that the clicks and occasional pop from the years of abuse are gone, but they are much more in the background and thereby let more of the music come through. Finding the right links in the chain is the tricky part.

On the other side of the coin, some hi-end components can detract from one's enjoyment of those treasured records you've had for years. What happens is the resolution can become so great that the music is picked apart and doesn't sound as well integrated. Usually, such a system is just showing how less than good those recordings where.
sns
3,953 posts
 
An absolute necessity is a record cleaning machine with vacuum. Any other means of cleaning is just pushing the dirt around. You will be amazed how good old vinyl can sound with a good cleaning.
abucktwoeighty's avatar
abucktwoeighty
1,079 posts
 
Second what Sns said. I just listened to my first lp cleaned on a record cleaner with vacuum, good 3 step AIVS solutions, and 3 good brushes. The sonics blew me away! Was just using a Discwasher before. The difference is night and day!
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