I never changed from vinyl- i started in the mid-60's with a ratty all in one
stereo as a kid, when vinyl was the only viable mainstream format for
prerecorded music, and as time passed, and my hi-fi taste and budget
improved, i simply continued on the same path. CD was pretty horrible in
1984, and held no interest for me. Of course i have over the years acquired
a variety of CD and DVD players, but those were always for use on smaller
systems elsewhere in the house, or for the home theatre system.
I still have most of the records I bought as a kid, and the pile is now about
10,000 records. I don't feel limited by the format in terms of availability of
material, although the hunt for a particular recording can sometimes be
challenging. Many new pop records are being released on vinyl as well, so
if I want to get something 'new' that's less of a problem than ever. And, of
course, there are many wonderful reissues, often of old recordings made
without multi-tracking, that benefit from the low surface noise of a fresh,
high quality pressing. Of course, the real pain in the ass is the warm-up
time, cuing a record is never really an issue, since even if i am doing
something else, like reading, I am not bothered by the prospect of having to
get out of my chair and find another selection. (In fact, on a background
system elsewhere in the house, i rarely like the sequence of any playlist
assembled before hand, i am much more a creature of mood at the time i
am actually listening). Living with vinyl is a bit more of a pain, but worth it to
me. The sonics for critical listening are worth the effort.
In terms of equipment, for very long time, I used a Well-Tempered TT, it
was pretty trouble-free once set up properly, and sounded great. As the
system gradually improved, so did the turntable. At this point, I am using a
huge Kuzma, with the Airline arm- and my only real complaint is the air
pump for the arm, which is noisy, spits oil and is fidgety. Otherwise, even
this massive turntable with esoteric arm is pretty trouble free once it is set
up. (The smaller "Reference" by Kuzma may be the better table for most
purposes, given its built-in isolation, smaller footprint and lower price). I'm
sure there are plenty of good decks that offer close to the pinnacle these
days without getting too carried away. And note the number of people that
are using really 'period' turntables brought back to life -Garrard 301, Panny
SP-10 (still have mine from the early 70's and it still works, though it is not
set up right now).
