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The miracle of the turntable?

This afternoon I was finishing up reprogramming my Proceed AVP after the AVP2 upgrade, and I was playing an album to check that I had set up the analog pass-through correctly. As I did, my 8 year old son was watching. He gazed in wonder at the spinning black disc and said:

"I still don't understand how that can make music."

I started to explain the principle of the mechanical movement of the stylus in the grooves, and how the cartridge turned that into electrical signals, and then I stopped and asked: "Do you know how a CD makes music?" He shrugged his shoulders to indicate "No."

It got me to wondering...how is it that a new generation just accepts the fact that they can feed a shiny plastic disc into a tray on a black box and get music, and yet they are dumbfounded by the technology of the LP?

Am I just getting old, or what?
rsuminsby
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
son sounds like an ideal candidate for a close-n-play turntable?
Maybe next - try him on a basic electronics learning lab kit. I was doing these myself at a very young age. The kid is already curious & asks good questions. Nurture his achievements; someday maybe he'll be designing the stuff!
kurt_tank
1,189 posts
 
I agree with Zaikesman (again). Acoustic Sounds has those old folding portable phonographs on sale. That would be perfect. (Of course don't let him even think of touching your vinyl!) Then its off to the used record store to buy him a few good, but probably well used records!

Have Fun with it!
detlof
1,899 posts
 
Nice story and nice thoughts Zaike! My audiophilia started when I was three. That was in 1936. I had one of those "grammophones", which you had to wind up with a handle and a few shellac disks, which I used to cherish. I still remember my wonderment and getting hurt by the needle, which drew blood, the playing-head, which was quite heavy, having fallen on one of my clumsy fingers. I used to crank and sit enthralled for hours. That has not changed to this day, not even the cranking. Only it is the grindstone this time, the one I have to keep my nose on, in order to finance an occasional audiophile convulsion. Cheers,
bluenose
387 posts
 
True story. When I bought this bungalo, I was visited by my little nephew and neice. She found a box of 45's and asked "What are these for?" I said they make music. She grabbed one, ran over to the cd player and pushed 'open'. "But it won't fit". My nephew, two years older, laughted, "Of course not. You play it on that great big thing on top of the stand". That 'great big thing' was my roxan zerxes but he didn't know it was called a turntable....man, I felt like a dinasour....
blkadr
739 posts
 
We take for granted so much. Turn a knob and water comes right out. Hot water! Need light? Flick a switch. Music? Just make sure its plugged in. Oh, yeh, batteries. Music, any music is portable now. We cant even imagine how easy we have it compared to folks just a blink behind us in our history. Im still amazed when I look up in the sky and see a couple hundred people sailing by. Its no wonder kids think its all a given. Glad some are still curious.
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