Vinyl lovers

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geekiegeek

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#114500 21-Feb-2013 16:25

Any vinyl lovers here?

I'm looking at getting into a bit of record collecting. going to try a friends cheap nasty Technics turntable with some records I have already just to dip my toe and if that goes well I'm looking at a Pro-Ject 3 turntable.

What are others running and what are your thoughts on this media format?

Where do you buy your records from?

Tips tricks?

Just some background, I currently run all digital using flac with Beresford DAC's for both my headphone set-up (Sennheiser HD650) and my home theatre set-up (Sony STR-DA1200ES receiver into B&W CM9 fronts, CM2 Center and CM1 rears with a logitech Squeezebox touch for transport).

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scuwp

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#767199 21-Feb-2013 16:59

If you want to get into collecting vinyl you will want to have a chat to Mark at Vinyl Countdown in New Plymouth. What this guy knows about vinyl will make your head spin. He has some of his stuff on the website but not all, and he can get/trade just about anything.

www.vinylcountdown.co.nz

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richms

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#767246 21-Feb-2013 18:59

And most of the technics range is not cheap or nasty. When I was bothering with it, the good old 1200 or 1210 was vastly superior to anything "audiophile" - those guys dont like their music loud or with the bass turned up it seems ;)

Richard rich.ms

Technofreak

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#767341 21-Feb-2013 22:03

Still got and use the Sansui FR 1080 I bought new 20 to 30 years ago. :)

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Dunnersfella

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#767365 21-Feb-2013 23:34

I run a full digital system (FLAC files off a MacMini into a Firestone ILTW USB DAC), but I also have a Project RPM5.1
http://www.project-audio.com/main.php?prod=rpm51&cat=turntables&lang=en

Tips.
Everything seems to matter more than you think it will!

1: Pressings.
I have mainly bought new vinyl, often the 'Audiophile pressings', but I've had mixed results. Some sound good, some sound fantastic, others sound terrible. It's all to do with the pressings and where the recording has been sourced from. For instance, my Dad has a Miles Davis album (Kind of Blue) from yeeeaaars ago that sounds infinitely better than my recently bought Colombia records pressing. His has a lot less hiss etc.
Whereas my re-release of the Doors LA Woman sounds bloody good... so, yeah, results do vary.

2: Cleanliness.
One thing I try to do with all new purchases is wash the vinyl first, as you'd be surprised by the amount of crud that comes off. What's more, you'll HEAR the crud on a record, and it, will in turn, shorten the life / enjoyment of your kit. Whenever I clean it, I pop it in a new sleeve and I don't need to clean it again for a long time. I even have a stylus cleaner and brush.
Yes.
I am that sad.

3: Setup.
The anti-skate, cart. alignment, tone arm balance etc etc is crucial. Setting up your turntable correctly is free, but time consuming to get it 'just right'. It's worth spending some time on it.
Make sure that you place it on a solid shelf or cabinet. Try to avoid glass shelving unless you know that your CM9's won't vibrate the needle so much that it skips. Also, keeping everything level is also ideal, as you don't want the stylus scraping on the inside of the grooves due to uneven setups.

4: Cabling.
It's amazing how much noise you can hear through your speakers when a turntable is involved. I've moved my RCA interconnects away from all power supplies and have a lot less humm than I did initially, again, it's a free tweak that can help you get the few final percent from your kit. A separate phono stage that you can adjust to suit your tastes is great, but it's not necessary to begin with.

I've never heard of the Project 3, do you have a link?

geekiegeek

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#767379 22-Feb-2013 05:30

Whoops should have said Project Debut 3 - http://www.paulmoney.co.nz/shop/turntables/project-turntables/pro-ject-debut-iii-in-matte-bl/

Some nice tips guys.

With vinyl washing whats the preferred method?

Oh and the Technics is no 1200 series, its off a all in one type component system from about 1989 :-)

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ilovemusic

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#767847 22-Feb-2013 18:58

project debut carbon is a great little 'table.

technics 1200 is well built, easy to use but sonically blah.

and before the technics fanboys get in - yes i had a full blown modded (bearing, platter, arm) 1200 !

for a basic but effective record cleaning system, get one of those yellow spin-wash thingies.

good original pressings usually sound better than the expensive, heavy vinyl audiophool crap being foistered onto a gullible market.

and watchout for the jazz re-issues on no-name public domain european record labels - yuksville !!!

Dunnersfella

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#767879 22-Feb-2013 20:06

Debut carbon is the pick of the Project's for under 1k... above that there are some even tastier options, however if you're not sure how much you'll be into listening to records, well, save your money.

I have a Spin Clean record cleaner, surprisingly pricey...
http://www.spincleanrecordwasher.com/
The Real Groovy ones are sweeeeeet, but $500 is a little on the spendy side!

ilovemusic

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#767914 22-Feb-2013 21:01

is the real groovy cleaner the clear plastic box one where you have to add a vacuum cleaner ?

Dunnersfella

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#767919 22-Feb-2013 21:18

Yup - not an original concept, but it seems to do a better job than just soaking and spinning. It's all in the suction... apparently...

NZtechfreak

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#767923 22-Feb-2013 21:39

I got my Dad the Audio Technica AT-LP120 for my Dad for his 70th (and the top of the line Shure cartridge), I was quite impressed with that. Amazing that ordering from Amazon, including shipping (which was about half the total cost), it came to only $380NZD. Seems to sell for around $800 here (or $650 from some cheeky sod on Trademe who I'm sure is buying them from Amazon). Used it to rip an EP he recorded in '63 with my late Uncle and had 50 copies professionally printed on CD, worked well for that.

Now thinking about getting one myself, although I'm a ferocious collector if I start in on something, and I'm a little afraid of how much I might end up spending on vinyl!

Should sound good through my Audio-GD Reference 10 (USB DAC/amp).

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