TOTALLY CONFUSED about analog

Pbb, I think Sedond has it right on the money. He's been telling me about the modded ART di/o for MONTHS! Then I read that the VMPS speaker was best of the CES. The DAC? Modded ART di/o. If one combines this with professor Van Alstine's argument of using a cheap transport (that's what he used in his demo at the Chicago Audio Society) with a good DAC then one is set. Bueno. No need to spend a lot of money. Shouldn't for digital anyway. It's just ones and zeros...

Ken, please forgive us. If you like old music or have a collection of LPs, go for it. Keep it simple. I ordered the tonearm fluid damper for my TT last week and should get it anytime. Please e-mail me if you have any questions.

Hey man, I'm waiting for a record I got on ebay. It's the band that played in my ninth grade ball. Not on CD, extremely hard to get. Lots of impulse noise. But even more HOT street salsa music to make you forget about the noise!

Pbb the only thing I can see about your complaining of all that impulse noise is two reasons: Perhaps you listen to classical music almost exclusively (which indeed does have a lot of low volume passages in which I also consider the noise unacceptable) and/or maybe you don't really know how to take care of your vinyl (including proper cartridge setup).

As usual, there is no conclusion...get used to it, Ken!

Later,

I have always been almost maniacal in my care of LPs. And yes I listen to a lot of classical and jazz, but believe me blues is often heard in my room and rock also. As to the source of my disdain for surface noise, true enough solo flute or classical guitar or even orchestral music on soft or silent passages is what done it! Too bad we never did get analogue systems without the physical contact of stylus and groove! Some time ago, a system using optical means of pick-up was developped and marketed. Wrong time, it got killed by CD.

I wouldn't invest in a classical music vinyl collection, for sure. I've bought a few at record stores very cheap but it's not worth it, in my opinion. The noise would just get to me, especially as it gets worse with time.

Pbb, have you read "What to Listen for in Music" by Aaron Copland?

The son of a lawyer I worked with lent me a copy years ago and, honestly, I did not get very far in my reading it. I've read so many articles on music and audio over the years that I probably have some patchwork equivalent in my brain. Why?

I took a class in freshman year in college: Sound Sense and Idea. A musicology class that is. We read the book, as well as another one I don't remember...

You should read the book. I'm pretty sure analog will start making sense to you.

From your posts I think you could benefit from getting truly emotionally involved with the music. I had my reality check which awakened me many yeas ago...that's one of the reasons I use a modded 1200 instead of a belt drive. I have made a discipline of getting involved with the music, not the equipment. I do have a cultivated ear, but the music goes first. I truly enjoy my Svetlana and Dvorjak's Columbia Classisc LP after all these years of impulse noise being accumulated. I get connected to the spirit of the music. That's what's really important. That's why I've chosen my components to be musical above any other quality. I have a friend who's into really high end stuff*, but he ALWAYS drools with my software, ¿comprende? "Where do I get all this music" is his question...

* B&W 801's, Krell Class A beast, Klyne SK-5A preamp, SOTA vacuum TT, etc.