2. analog
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Considering analog...but nervous

Well, I've been here before. Once again, I'm thinking of venturing into the Analog world, but before doing so, I wanted to pose a few questions to fellow agoners to make sure my head (ears?) are in the right place.

Some Background: My current setup consists of a Modwright Transporter, Musical Fidelity KW 500 (hybrid tube pre/SS Amp), and Focal/JM 1027be speakers. My entire current collection is digital and I have NEVER owned Vinyl before NOR have I ever heard a high-end Analog setup.

My Tastes/musical likes: I am all about soundstage and imaging. Vocal accuracy is hugely important and instrument placing (hence, imaging) are part of what I look for when listening. Genre wise, mostly rock, folk, acoustic and blues. Some jazz as well. I generally try to stick to labels that produce good-sounding material...not over-compressed garbage.

On with the questions:

1. One of the biggest things that has kept me from trying Vinyl thus far is the concern of excessive hiss and crackle/pop that vinyl is known for. Is it safe to assume that purchasing new Vinyl and played on a higher quality setup will reduce (eliminate?) the pops and crackle sounds? I have no problem purchasing exclusively new vinyl, knowing full well that the process of shopping used is what draws so many to this market...

2. If I purchase new vinyl, only play it on a decent player, and store it properly, will I still have to clean it? How expensive is a cleaning machine? Are there (reasonable), less expensive alternatives to a cleaning machine?

3. Based on my integrated (tube-pre,SS amp) and speakers, are these a good match for Vinyl? Does anyone know if the KW 500 Phono input is adequate for a good turntable? My digital system has a tendency to be on the bright side for a lot of material, but not everything. Strangly, even at 31 years old, I can still hear up to around 19Khz so I'm a bit picky about the highs...

4. How complicated is the setup of the TT? Being that I've never worked wtih it before, I'm somewhat intimidated by the "setup" requirements of the equipment. What are the core requirements/knowledge to properly setup a TT.

5. And finally, the most subjective question of all. If I had a budget of about $1,000-$1,500 for a TT, Tonearm and Cartridge, what would be a good starting place? I'd obviously be looking for used here from Agon.

I know this was a long post so thanks for hanging in and reading it all :-). Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

-gh0st
fatgh0st
peterayer
1,382 posts
 
Fatgh0st,
Congratulations and thanks for the follow up. Yours is a great story. This has been an interesting thread considering the range of early responses. Others are correct when they tell you that it's easy to get hooked and lost in the expense of it all. It sounds like you have a very good analog front end that will give you much listening pleasure. Now, just invite your young friends over for a listen/conversion because this industry needs some young enthusiasts to carry it along.

I say keep the digital for background and don't give up your collection. I play CDs about 5% of the time when I have a party and want background music. You can also demo the system to your friends using their own familiar CDs and then blow them away with the vinyl. Well done.
mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,610 posts
 
.
Maineiac, you were dead-on with your prediction:

01-25-11: Maineiac
Anybody want to do a side bet on the total money he has into vinyl playback (not software) in 18 months? I say the over/under is $5K and I would take the over.

The OP is in for $6k to start, after hoping to get in for $1000 - $1500.

Now, let's see how long he can stand pat with his initial vinyl rig before an upgrade.
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fatgh0st OP
43 posts
 
Mitch4t: LOL! I had forgotten about the prediction. Maineiac definitely knows the culture I suppose :-)

I've already identified my upgrade, just going to wait a while to do it. The next step will be to upgrade to a mid-grade LOMC cart and a dedicated phono input stage (something considerably better than my KW. I'm expecting I'll need a $4-5k budget for these items. Does that sound about right?

This will likely be a 2012 project, but for now I'm just loving listening to all my new LPs in all their sonic and musical splendor!

I do agree with those who said that new vinyl is definitely hit or miss. What's the general policy on returning new vinyl if it's noisy/defective? For example, I purchased 'The Verve - Urban Hymns' new from Amazon and for the first 15 seconds of 'The Drugs Don't Work' (which happens to be one of my favorite tracks) there is an incredibly loud popping sound at every rotation. It goes for about 10 pops or so and then stops. Not just like a dust particle pop, but one that is substantially louder than the music itself, to the point where it sounds like something is wrong with the system. I don't see any scratches or anything at that position on the record, but I've cleaned it a few times to no avail.

Will most places return/exchange in a situation like this?

-gh0st
mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,610 posts
 
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'Gh0st......Don't worry about the bread you're spending on equipment. Pretty much all of it is recoverable and you will enjoy the ride along the way. Most of us have taken a similar plunge such as yours. Don't get too hung up on the equipment and upgrades and forget to enjoy the music. Don't over-analyze while listening...just go with it. If you start to over-analyze, you'll wake up $10k-$20k later wondering how you got there. This whole thing is a journey that will never end, if you know that going in, you'll have a blast along the way.

As for your quest for a dedicated phono preamp. Just keep your eye on this forum and continue to post your questions and ideas. You'll continue to get lots of responses that you can sort through that will help you make an informed decision in the direction that you want to take.
$4-5k will get you an outstanding phono preamp, but I believe you can get an excellent phono preamp for half that amount. Buy used if you can, you will be able to try out several units that you can immediately re-sell with little or no loss if you don't like it or if you simply want to try another flavor.

Now start to figure out how to explain to friends how you dropped $6k on a record player. I'm laughing already at their faces of disbelief.
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fatgh0st OP
43 posts
 
Haha...yea, most of my friends think I'm nuts. Omiting the price, I've mentioned it to a few people who either thought I was loopy or was like "oh, my dad just got a USB turntable that can convert it to DVD!", but said in a way that they're trying to one-up my recent record player since digital is clearly superior to vinyl :-)

I think for a second about explaining how it really is, but then I just feel sorry for them and let it be :-). They are happy in their thoughts and any attempt at explaining the truth is wasted breath.

I have a few others who are eager to come over and hear what a real TT setup actually sounds like, so that should be intersting. Maybe convert a few skeptics???

And then there's one of my co-workers who mutters "snap, crackle, pop" every time I walk past his office. I should also mention that he owns Bose equipment which basically discredits any opinion he has anyway :-)
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