The JosMin and Crystallas vinyl appreciation thread

[JosMin]

We've joked around about starting this thread for a while. Thought I might as well go ahead and do it while I'm cataloguing some new stuff. Feel free to post pictures of your own vinyl, turntables, turntable mods, headphones or whatever other cool music stuff you might own.

I've been collecting vinyl and into the study of music for about 10 years. The first vinyl I ever bought was "Back in the USA" by MC5. Since then, a large portion of my free time is spent listening to records, reading ethnomusicologically-geared essays and articles, and talking about music with friends and family.

It's hard to explain -- I just prefer listening to music on vinyl. There's this substance I've never been able to put my finger on. Saying, "it just sounds better" kind of makes sense. Then again, it's a lot more than that. I enjoy the tangible aspect of "a record" over.... say, a CD, an 8-track, a cassette. Hell, even the radio. I love holding a record. I love reading the linear notes and looking at the artwork, the lyric sheets, the cool inserts.

So let's celebrate music! Post up!

Just snapped this picture a few minutes ago. Here's my 'primary' turntable setup -- Technics SL1200 M3D. Mods include Ortophon Concorde cartridge and stylus, and a remanned Technics OEM tonearm. On the turntable is 'Halcyon Digest' by Deerhunter. Included digital downloaded, 120G white vinyl, first pressing.

 

[Crystallas]

I only listen to my favorite music on vinyl, because it takes up so much space to have an elaborate collection.

I sold all of my non-quality albums, and only go after high gram, high quality pressings from good labels and remastering/restoration suits now. I only have like 400 LPs right now. I did have over 5000 at some point. Instead, I have hard drives filled with music, and maybe only 30 CDs to my name(mainly because I wouldn't find these CDs again if I lose the hardcopy). The last time I calculated, I was at 7.2pb of audio on disk. Yes, pb, not gb, or tb. It still takes up a LOT less space.

I have an oracle delphi III/pioneer PL5xx hybrid. When I bought the OD, the base was cracked and the inner plate was warped from someone dropping it, or setting in on an uneven base. I hunted down something with a semi-vintage look to it, with a dust cap, because the model ODIII I had didn't have a cap. Beautiful guts. I put it together and upgraded to an AT 1000 tonearm. And this is my preferred turntable. But it's only one speed(33), and super accurate at that. I have a Technics 90s SL model for backup and other speeds, but not as accurate, even after adjustment at 33.

Even though I don't like taking pictures of my setup, I'll have to go into my lounge and grab a few shots.

Headphones. I have a lot LOL. I love the cans. I prefer headphones to speakers. I like to customize my headphones too, and I have a few millet-hybrid tubed headphone amps. I love tubes

 

[scottiepippen1994]

I've always felt that Vinyl sounds more crisp than CDs and tapes...music just sounds better on vinyl and can't be replicated on CD...its just not the same... Unfortunately the younger generations don't appreciate that sort of thing.
:tongue:
My very first album as a kid in 1st grade was Michael Jacksons "Thriller"
I used to play it 10 times a day while attempting to break dance. Almost broke my neck to that dam record.

I also used to like to play records backwards and try to find a message while making a funky fresh scratch. I scratched the living shit out of records, lol :shrug:
I probably destroyed half my dads vinyls......Yup, its true I was a little brat.

 

[Crystallas]

Bought an audio technica AT150MLX stylus/cart after all of these years of hand-wired carts. I'm kind of regretting dropping the cash. It's better, there is no doubt, but not 300 bones better. *sigh* Until next year and the next Record player gizmo.

Hey Jos, can you handwire the Ortophon, or is it fixed?

 

[Happy Human 1001]

lost track of my vinyl a long time ago, I don't even have a turntable anymore. A lot of music I only have in MP3 form now.

 

[NCChiFan]

Anyone besides me ever purchase originally mastered CD's... They came with a gold plated CD. The recordings were xfered at the same 1 to 1 used on the Albums bearing the same method... I've found them to be better in quality, the actual I can hear the differance quaility to straight CD's, um, particularly with non Digital masters.

 

[Crystallas]

Anyone besides me ever purchase originally mastered CD's... They came with a gold plated CD. The recordings were xfered at the same 1 to 1 used on the Albums bearing the same method... I've found them to be better in quality, the actual I can hear the differance quaility to straight CD's, um, particularly with non Digital masters.

The good old Mobile Fidelity Ultradisc II. Yeah, they were better. Still not LP quality, but MFSL was wise enough to curb the soundness war BS in the final edits. The Ultradisc I were the same, but they're earlier aluminum pressings, instead of 24k gold coat. The gold meant nothing to the sound, just better for long preservation.

 

[JosMin]

Definitely need to upgrade my aux cables, I'll be looking to make a move this weekend. Also have my eye on getting another SL-1200 as a project turntable.

Purchased tons of new vinyl over the last six weeks. Also did some digital music swapping with a few friends last night over a few beers. Some fantastic stuff has been released since September 1st.

Also got word that my favorite vinyl place in Kansas City (Earwaxx) will be closing its doors November 15th. Breaks my heart -- found some absolute gems in that place. I definitely urge any music lover to support their local independent shops. I'm tired of seeing these wonderful treasures go under because of inferior digital purchases and stupid chains like Sam Goody and Best Buy.

 

[Chad_Thomas89]

:howdid:

 

[Crystallas]

Hey Jos, or anyone else looking for a great project record-player console. I stumbled across a gem Fisher Ambassador VII with all of the full upgrades from the 1965 catalog at a GoodWill by the Joliet-Louis Mall for $20. I throughly checked it out, and it's ready to be used. It's the first year for the Dual 1009 turntable, which Fischer used for a long time afterwards, and you could only get them in 1965, if you bought the necessary upgrades, which this model had. If you're holding out on a Zenith Stereophonic, this is the next best thing, and while the stereophonic speakers and tubes were superior(things that can be easily replaced now in this specific Fisher), the cabinet itself on the fisher is IMO is better, and also IMO, one of the best of all consoles ever. Plus, the Ambassador's aged MUCH better.

I was tempted to buy it, but timing is everything sometimes, and passing up on this project is one I'll regret. I see old players from time to time, but rarely ever do I pass up on the truly good finds. I just wish I had more time(and space) to work on it. So I figure, at least give you guys a heads up.



[video=youtube_share;3Hii4STT89U]http://youtu.be/3Hii4STT89U[/video]

This guy has the 59A in the Italian-style Cherry wood, the one I saw was the 59T (I'm pretty damn sure it was Cherry and not the Mahogany, which IMO is the only real OEM trim better). The difference with the 59A/59T is one is full tube, the other is a hybrid tube pre-amp. The 59T sounds better, but you have to warm it up for a minute before playing, where the 59A needs slightly less warm-up time. Also, the gold plating in the amp alone is worth about $10-12 in gold scrap, so you can always retrofit another amp/speaker setup and use the gorgeous cabinet. The downside is, the panel is slightly shorter than 19", so you'll be limited to half-racks, although it's tall enough to possibly use up to a 3U or 4U halfrack as you may tell from the picture here.

 

[JosMin]

Here's a link to my Discogs page that has all of my records cataloged. I'll try and get some picture up of some of the more unique stuff I have.

 

[Crystallas]

Can you export your catalog to a spreadsheet format off discog?

 

[Crystallas]

bump

On my day off, I went through some boxes. Found a crate of old records, mostly worthless low-fi stuff, and I was ready to put it all in the pile of stuff to bring to a shop. Then I came across 1995 original pressing of Garbage's first album, one of a few albums I bought and never listened to on turntable(because it was worse than CD). Turns out, it's actually sought after and rare.

I'll have to be more careful with the low-fi stuff from the 90s. Makes me want to look up cassettes, just for rarity and values. I'd hate to purge some old stuff, and disregard something as useless just because it has inferior sound quality.

 

[JosMin]

bump

On my day off, I went through some boxes. Found a crate of old records, mostly worthless low-fi stuff, and I was ready to put it all in the pile of stuff to bring to a shop. Then I came across 1995 original pressing of Garbage's first album, one of a few albums I bought and never listened to on turntable(because it was worse than CD). Turns out, it's actually sought after and rare.

I'll have to be more careful with the low-fi stuff from the 90s. Makes me want to look up cassettes, just for rarity and values. I'd hate to purge some old stuff, and disregard something as useless just because it has inferior sound quality.

Yeah, with all the audiophile heavy-weight vinyl getting reissued, people are still wanting to pay premium dollars for the lesser quality OG pressings. For example, some of the King Crimson reissues from the 'golden age' ('69-74) it's unreal in their expanded formats but people still pay the same amount of first pressings that don't capture the huge landscapes they covered in their music.

 

[botfly10]

Isn't the amp way more important that the turntable?

 

[Tjodalv]

It may, very well, be an age issue; but I can't get past the inherent noise that is ubiquitous when listening to vinyl. Modern, digital, recordings capture much more information than physical-transfer techniques.

You guys do realize that the vast majority of vinyl that was produced during our lifetimes was analog tape, then digital tape, that was then transferred to a template for the records, right? An "analog v digital" argument can have merit, but "physical v analog transfer" is asinine.

 

[Crystallas]

Isn't the amp way more important that the turntable?

Equally. Plus, it depends on what gear you have. If you start off with a crap turntable, then an amp is just going to make the crap turntable louder, not better sounding. Unless you think louder is better, regardless of input(to the amp) quality. And yes, many do believe louder = higher quality *sigh*. If you start off with a great turntable, and use a crappy amp, then you'll run quality issues as well. Just like having a mis-matched speaker setup. It's slightly complicated, which is why average consumers buy all-in-one stereo systems. But not as complicated as people would think if they payed attention to a few simple specifications, like impedance and frequency.

 

[Crystallas]

It may, very well, be an age issue; but I can't get past the inherent noise that is ubiquitous when listening to vinyl. Modern, digital, recordings capture much more information than physical-transfer techniques.

You guys do realize that the vast majority of vinyl that was produced during our lifetimes was analog tape, then digital tape, that was then transferred to a template for the records, right? An "analog v digital" argument can have merit, but "physical v analog transfer" is asinine.

Well, not to derail this topic into another this vs that debate....You make this argument as if we listen to vinyl exclusively. The fact is, some recordings are superior on vinyl (assuming the record is well kept, which is easy to do with a little discipline). Audio engineers were most familiar with mixing for vinyl, most proficient and experts at it when the compact disc era began. Therefore the mixing for a huge library of music still remains superior in the higher output LP format. How a master was captured is irrelevant, if the produced media was poorly mixed to support the full depth of the PCM on a modern format. Not only that, many masters are damaged or lost, so when the master recording is bad when a musician or label remasters to a new format, some of which is lost. And of course, we can get into the loudness argument. Some of it is preference as well.

So it's not an argument about superior format. It's an argument about what was actually the superior capture and mixing. I only have around 300 records, because 95% of my collection does sound superior in modern formats. My business is audio engineering, restoration, recording, master and remastering. So over 25 years, I have accumulated a large collection. An appreciation for vinyl is basically just understanding the facts that I pointed out within how the industry best 'pressed' recordings for a long period of time. And yes, I don't like annoying noises from my music either. Clean records and good equipment completely eliminate this problem(with some compromise for certain feedback picked up from the stylus drawing noise before the audio groove is picked up on the track). I don't listen to 45s or 8tracks. Only high quality, well preserved vinyl. I may collect a few inferior media recordings, but that's it. Modern formats are 95% of my collection.

-An example of music that I consider superior on vinyl for comparison. (sadly, listening through youtube will not get anywhere near the full experience, but just some idea of what happens and gets lost in the mixing process.) Also, assuming the listener has trained ears to notice differences. Without trained ears, who gives a ****, a person can listen to music on an iphone with beats headphones and never know.

Highest quality version I could find on youtube from a CD release.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp3JgWmQHcE

Highest quality version I can find on youtube of the vinyl release.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILrDwom82Vs

Now if I had Depeche Mode's Violator on a modern format, and it was superior(and not loudness war mixed), the I'm obviously going to listen to the superior track, and not just expect the superior format to make it automatically superior sounding. Unfortunately, up until this date, no such release has been made. The UK 180gram pressing is still the best consumer purchasable copy in existence.