Records are better. I actually heard it


Just went to a friend's house whose dad has a (somewhat low end) audiophile system. He had on a couple CD's in the background, but once we started talking audio stuff, he plopped on a record.

And I actually heard with my own ears how much better records sound than CD's! Granted, maybe his CD player was crappy, but really so was his record player. He bought the table at the swap meet for like $50 (supposedly great for bargain tables and records as well), and added a $200 MC cartridge.

But the music, oh the music. I had always just assumed it was going to take a ridiculously expensive system for me to be able to hear the difference. But no. The music was alive. Like it was right there, that's the only way to describe it. And it flowed. The highs seemed effortless and non-fatiguing. The record even had some scratches or whatever in it so that it crackled and popped a bit, but even with this I still preferred it.

I need to find a way to make room, but I don't think I'm going to be able to hold off on getting a turntable for very long. Is there anyone who thinks it would be a big mistake to follow in my friend's dad's footsteps and buy an old table at the swap meet for $50 and add a nice $200 MC cartridge to it? He's picking up records at the swap meet for $1-$2 apiece. That's an entry cost of like $300 for sound that appears to kill CD sound.
matt8268
I can verify the smell thing, for sure! I actually bought some old Beatles albums that had been in a flood. The covers and jackets were a mess (the records, too... but the water hadn't reached the labels) Well, the guy thought I was nuts for buying them ($1 apiece, off the cuff pricing). Hooray for VPI 16.5!!!!
They are now perfect! I don't know if we like the music better, or just getting these bargains.

One addendum, my latest 'take' of old albums included these long but benign bugs (silverfish?)

Can a cockroack live in an album?
Another "Man finds religion" story". This goes with all the others such as "my ten year old daughter was astounded by the sound of vinyl" etc. Whatever sounds like music to your ears, go for it. Some still claim that 78s have it all over 33 1/3s, go figure. Does any of this prove or disprove sanity or insanity, I doubt it.
TWL is right about new LP's. I've bought 19 new releases in the last two months. These are new artists and new releases (not reissue of old material).