2. analog
  3. 1078702298

would you bother?

hey all.i am considering getting into vinyl but don't own a single lp.if it was you in this position would you bother or not?
dicobrazil
dirtyragamuffin
213 posts
 
OK, I'm 22, the "digital generation." I grew up with CD, and later MP3. "Perfect Sound Forever!" Three years ago I had nothing but maybe an LP and a couple 45RPMs, and LOTS of CDs. When I heard what vinyl could do, it was a no-brainer. Best part is, the availability of new vinyl is getting better and better. Take a look at my system and see where my priorities fall, vinyl vs. CD ;)

Vinyl is certainly not as convenient as CD and requires some care and attention (though don't even get me started on fussing around the computer for mp3's consistently inconsistent mediocrity)...but if you're looking for the best SOUND...it's vinyl. And no, it's doesn't *have* to take tons of money, either ;)
desmond1cd85
8 posts
 
I guess I would fall into the old geezers group too. After 40 years of playing and collecting vinyl I would be hard pressed to start over again. If I were starting out today I would look at SACD over vinyl. It has been my experience that good SACD has many of the strong points of vinyl without all the fuss. Don't get me wrong, I love the sound of vinyl, the big lp covers, the whole vinyl experience but collecting and playing vinyl can become a job. Don't forget the storage issues, lps are big, heavy and take up a lot of space. That said ,if any of you fellows want to give up vinyl, let me know, I would be more than glad to take some of it off your hands.
johnnantais
621 posts
 
What's all this "be prepared to spend a ton of money" crap?!! There is a lot of choice for excellent reproduction at good prices, with 'table, tonearm, cartridge and preamp for a total of under a grand, considering the huge amount of quality used 'tables out there. With good choices, you can assemble something in this price range which will make most digital media sound like the dross it is. The tubed ASL Mini Phono sells for $200 new, there are the lower Regas, used Thorenses, ARs (which musically-speaking can kick the ass of a lot of high-end dross out there), Aristons, the Shure 97, Grados, cheaper Denons, and so forth. Are you after status or are you after music? As to software, apart from the over-priced re-issues, there's vinyl to be found in every Salvation Army, Neighbourhood Services, flea market, garage sale...there's a surplus (thank you "Perfect Sound Forever!). While it's true it is difficult to get good jazz cheaply, it is not impossible, and there absolutely tons of good used classical, if one doesn't religiously follow TAS lists of "finest recordings." The older Deutche Grammophons, Philips, Deccas, RCAs (even Red Seals often show up), Columbia, Turnabouts and more can all be surprisingly good. At 25 cents a pop, you can afford to take a risk. As to needing expensive cleaning machines, yeah, if you're anal-retentive, otherwise use your eyes to see if the album is clean and unmarked by scratches when purchasing, even at 25 cents. Experience will eventually tell you which marks are significant and which aren't. Radio Shack sells an excellent brush - the Discwasher - at $20 with walnut handle for dirtier records, as it has "wet-clean" capabilities. Otherwise a carbon-fibre brush is good for most albums. Relax already, no need to imtimidate our guests! Buy a cartridge - the Shure V15 for instance, that doesn't force you to adjust the VTA for each record, instead maybe once every two years. Sit back and enjoy the music. If you've got a VPI and an Audible Illusions already, you're well ahead of the game: $200 for Shure, $20 for Discwasher, 25 cents to $1 for records. Yeesh. Have fun!
kurt_tank
1,189 posts
 
Wow, no LPs, huh?!_____Tough call!

I think if I were you, I would buy a few of my favorite recordings on LPs. Try to pick a few of your very favorites, espcially those that were either recorded for analog first (ie. before the '90s) or are accoustic in nature (preferably both!) This is not a huge investment, maybe up to $50-100 or so.

Then, I would go to a friend who has a good analog setup, or failing that, to a dealer (who not only has the analog system you are thinking of, but who also has your amplification and/or speaker system), and who will let you play through all your albums (dedicating an hour or two to your listening session).

Then after you have tried that, if you are not convinced that analog is for you, then sell those few albums for a slight loss, and enjoy your collection of CDs, knowing that you gave analog a decent shot.

I'm betting your will end up joining us who are hooked using analog, but if you don't, at least you gave it your best shot. (If you don't that's great too! All the more LPs for me!)

Good Luck!
4yanx
1,576 posts
 
I agree with Johnnantais with respect to the silly hand-wringing over cost. The ONLY issue with respect to cost is that if you have no LP's, it will cost a good deal to build a library of music. But, if you also have no CD's, or very few, even building a music library will be cheaper with vinyl, unless all you desire is 50’s jazz or rare classical pieces. You can spend what Johnnantais speaks of and maybe be very happy, especially when compared to the same money spent on digital. You can also spend 3-4 times, or more, what he is speaking of and be thrilled - and I'd wager much more thrilled than the same dollars spent on digital. I think most people that say no to this have either bought products that don't mate well, are suspect to begin with, and/or lack the knowledge or are too lazy you do a proper setup.

Taking off on the Johnnantias, I'll toss down the gauntlet.

Say there are two guys who have the same linestage, amp, and speakers. Now, let's deal in retail pricing. I'll buy a Nottingham Spacedeck w/Spacearm ($2,700), Shelter MKII ($700) cartridge, a K&K Audio phono stage ($1,800), a $300 IC of your choice, and let's throw in $500 for a VPI 16.5 vacuum machine and 4 bottles of Record Research Cleaners while we’re at it since I can anticipate the wailings with respect to cleaning. That's $6,000. NOT chicken feed to most mortal folks, like me.

You go out and spend $6,000 retail on a transport, DAC, IC, and any kind of CD cleaner/Auric illuminator/etc. you want.

We'll butt heads with the same music and let an audience decide. I'll place my money on the big disc. In short, argue all you want with respect to the cost of building a music library from scratch and I’ll agree. Trot the same argument out for the price of equipment, and you got just that, an argument! :-) (BTW, I'd also throw down the gauntlet for nearly any price level one might want to select, instead, on a comparative basis).
More to discover