New turntable and record collecting in general

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rapideye
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by rapideye »

Thanks for the advice. I can't knock Rega and it has served me well over the years but I couldn't help wonder at how much better the sound would be. Pricewise, there wouldn't be much difference between the inspire upgrade, new tonearm and cartridge than it would be for a new RP6 or Clearaudio Concept. The Wife prefers the look of the wooden plinths but she's not really that concerned and she would much prefer the cash to go towards the new bathroom...she doesn't lose many battles but she's gonna lose that one. I'm mindful that I'll be looking to upgrade other parts of my set-up over the next year so don't want to go too mad with the cost for the turntable.

I'll have a look at the Audiogon site. Hifi shark I've seen and check on. Serious envy on your system though, Olan, the Clearaudio looks lovely.
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by Shinesalight »

New Rega RP3 purchased today with funds from the record label :D 8) :shock:

Necker Island coming next a la Branson :wink: :lol:
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niamhm
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by niamhm »

Shinesalight wrote:New Rega RP3 purchased today with funds from the record label :D 8) :shock:

Necker Island coming next a la Branson :wink: :lol:
Nice mate, you deserve it, might get one myself someday,
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by angelsighs »

and on the back of Shinesalight upgrading to the P3, his Rega P1 has found a happy home with myself :) I can feel my bank manager crying already...

its opened a whole new world for me really. thinking about what records to get as first order of business.

just some total newbie questions if people don't mind:

1) what do you do to clean your records? I mean, how much do I worry about this, and what is the best way to go about it? do I need to occasionally do this with new records, or just second hand ones that I've picked up (that may therefore be lived in a little)

2) there are lots of 'classic' albums that seem to be reissued on a label called Back to Black. what's the general opinion on them? it makes a lot of these albums quite easy to get hold of, however i have an inkling they are just trying to take advantage of the vinyl boom by slapping these albums on record as cheaply as possible? would I be right, and better off with original pressings?
olan
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by olan »

angelsighs wrote:and on the back of Shinesalight upgrading to the P3, his Rega P1 has found a happy home with myself :) I can feel my bank manager crying already...

its opened a whole new world for me really. thinking about what records to get as first order of business.

just some total newbie questions if people don't mind:

1) what do you do to clean your records? I mean, how much do I worry about this, and what is the best way to go about it? do I need to occasionally do this with new records, or just second hand ones that I've picked up (that may therefore be lived in a little)

2) there are lots of 'classic' albums that seem to be reissued on a label called Back to Black. what's the general opinion on them? it makes a lot of these albums quite easy to get hold of, however i have an inkling they are just trying to take advantage of the vinyl boom by slapping these albums on record as cheaply as possible? would I be right, and better off with original pressings?
In answer to 1) I use a record cleaning machine (RCM). This is expensive to buy but cheap on a per record basis is you have lots of records. The Knosti Disco Antistat is OK. If you are buying new vinyl exclusively you can get away with a good carbon fibre anti-static brush. Rega reckon the only way to clean a record is to play it. This is a good way to bugger up a decent cartridge if you buy as much second hand vinyl as I do. The advantage of a RCM is that you can get rid of most of the noise due to dirt and mishandling, so buying rough looking (and therefore cheap) vinyl is low risk.

20 Back to black is usually excellent. The only reissue label I avoid is Three Men With Beards as the pressings I own are uniformly crap. There was a lot of chat about them simply ripping CDs and pressing up the FLACs, which I know nothing about. I get really annoyed by people releasing poorly mastered noisy vinyl. There is no excuse for crap product.
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by mc »

So it's been an awful couple of months at mc towers; my wonderful, beloved wife passed away after suffering bowel cancer for more than four years, and getting used to life after thirteen years together and spending two years looking after her full-time is proving a slow and often gloomy process. I'm not convinced spending money helps dealing with loss, but nevertheless, a minor windfall from the government -- hooray for Bereavement Support Benefits -- led me to finally indulge in my much-coveted hi-fi upgrade. I mostly listen to music digitally nowadays, so that plus a renewed interest in listening to (and expanding!) my vinyl collection has led me to ordering the following system:

Amplifier: Marantz PM6006
Chosen because I listen to tons of music digitally (see below) and thus selected this for its two optical inputs; it also gets excellent reviews in the budget amp categories.

Digital Jukebox thingy: Brennan B2 (2TB storage)
An ancient Macbook + external HD long since made my CD collection obsolete and served as a digital jukebox connected to my old amp, but it's now nearly a decade old and struggling in many ways; also, far too many of my digital copies are 128 kbps from my first wave of ripping my CD collection way back when. This fellow will connect optically to the amp, (eventually!) re-rip all my stored CDs into FLAC format without having to worry about space, and will happily house the rest of my purchased/bootleged/ROIO digital music. It'll also let me start buying FLAC downloads in future rather than mp3s.

Turntable: Rega Planar 1 (White)
Not being a hardcore vinyl fetishist, but nevertheless enthusiastic about my collection and keen to add to it in future, I plumped for the cheapest of the Rega turntables. Still, from what I can gather it's a wonderful piece of kit for the money, and might get the "performance pack" afterwards if it seems a worthwhile upgrade.

Speakers: Q Acoustics 3050
Highish-end budget floorstanders that apparently rival £1000 speakers for their sound quality and build. The living room is big enough to give them space to breathe, too.

I recently (and finally!) acquired a Blu-Ray player in the shape of an Xbox One (bought to play F1 2017, TBH!) and so that'll get plugged into the other optical input of the amp. Might even connect up the telly as well, if I can be arsed (I rarely turn it on for anything other than F1 and DVD watching, and its speakers are surprisingly good for the current generation of flat-screens, so it's the last thing on my setup plans just now...)

It's still ultimately a budget range set-up, but at around £1,500 it's nearly 4 times what I spend on my last separates system as an impoverished PhD student 13 years ago, and all came highly recommended by internet reviews, What Hi-Fi and the like. I'll post a picture of the setup once it's arrived and in place (since I'm living alone for the first time in 13 years, I've rearranged the living room for optimal listening, watching and gaming pleasure) and it'd be interested to hear what folk think regarding pros/cons/experiences of my selections, any boo-boos I've made etc. Also, the amp I've selected has a dedicated phono input, but everything I read says routing the turntable through a dedicated phono pre-amp will yield much better results. Can anyone offer some input on how important this is, and if I really should get one, suggest a likely model? Thanks all :)
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by spzretent »

Most important I am so very sorry for your loss. I know this has been a long, hard, life altering issue to deal with.
If your upgrade brings you happiness, fantastic. Music helps. It may not heal but it definitely does help.
Wishing you nothing but good vibes from over here in Detroit.
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niamhm
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by niamhm »

spzretent wrote:Most important I am so very sorry for your loss. I know this has been a long, hard, life altering issue to deal with.
If your upgrade brings you happiness, fantastic. Music helps. It may not heal but it definitely does help.
Wishing you nothing but good vibes from over here in Detroit.
Yeah, nice words, read your post yesterday mc but wasn`t sure what to say, but spzretent puts it quite well I think. Sorry for your loss man.
Your set up doesn`t sound a million miles awayfrom mine, got my Rega 1 with the upgrade so can`t really judge the difference, but like you have wondered about any advantages to running it through a stand alone phono pre-amp, anyway sounds like a sweet set up, enjoy, in my thoughts mc,
Aquarian-Time
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by Aquarian-Time »

So sorry to hear of your news mc. Wishing you positive vibes from the NW of England. Sounds a terrible ordeal for you, hopefully music will assist the healing process.
Regarding your set up, Olan is the man for advice, that said take some pics when it's done and post em on here, be good to see how it looks.
My set up is remaining as is currently, although I am changing rooms again!
mc
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by mc »

(double post)
Last edited by mc on Thu Nov 16, 2017 12:02 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by mc »

Thanks for the kind words spzretent, niamhm and Aquarian-Time. It's been a difficult year all told, given how ill my wife had become, but when the end drew near she managed to get a place in the local hospice, where the staff took amazing care of her. That was a relief for us all, and they worked miracles to keep her as comfortable, pain-free and mobile as they could in her final weeks. Friends and family have all rallied round to keep me distracted and occupied, which has been a huge help.

Just got back from a trip to see my family with the last pieces of the new system picked up on the way home, and it's now up and ready to go, save for an optical cable from the Xbox to the amp. Oh, and one of the speakers came without the spikes and screws for the foot bracket. Will be complaining about that in the morning, that's for sure :evil: I've given the Rega Planar 1 its first spin (my limited leatherbound double-vinyl edition of Earth's "The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull" took the honour) and I immediately noticed just how much better it sounded compared to my crappy old Bush turntable - it's like light and day...
Last edited by mc on Thu Nov 16, 2017 12:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by mc »

Here's a shot of the new pride and joy. Currently putting it through its paces with the 25th Anniversary Remaster of R.E.M's "Automatic For The People", which is sounding utterly gorgeous (despite the big box, it's not actually a vinyl edition but a 3xCD + 1xBlu Ray - the remastered album, a disc of demos, a recording of the only live show they played in 1992, plus posh new remixes on the Blu-ray disc...)
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BzaInSpace
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by BzaInSpace »

Amazing set-up and a beautiful record playing.

I think everybody around here has been touched by your terrible loss.
O P 8
spzretent
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by spzretent »

Over 5 years ago a client of ours gave me a 1988 Linn LP 12 turntable. I took it home. It didn't work. Finally after all these years of procrastination and frankly not having any extra cash to fix it I finally did. I picked it up last night. It was serviced by this guy who is pretty famous in the Linn LP 12 community (Thomas OK or O'Keefe). He happens to be local-ish. He asked what I was currently using and I told him a Rega P3 with Ortofon 2m red cartridge. He then said the Linn LP 12 is gonna blow that away. I was skeptical. I think my set up is pretty good in my humble opinion anyway.
Man was he right.
My test LP is the original UK Exile On Main St. I have never heard this LP so full of life. Well not this clear anyway. Very happy with the money spent and especially the service provided.
Oh Happy Day!
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sunray
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by sunray »

Congrats Spzretent!

I'm still toying with the idea of a record cleaning machine. I have the funds now but keep thinking I should put the cash towards a holiday instead. Decisions, decisions...

As an aside, does anyone know where I can get those plastic sleeves that The Heads use for their cdr's?
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by Shinesalight »

www.dronerockrecords.com
The Home of Drone
sunray
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by sunray »

Nope. The ones i'm after have a re-sealable flap on them.
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by Aquarian-Time »

https://www.richersounds.com/the-classi ... senut.html

Just purchased this (albeit in Eucalyptus colour)

Missus has no idea of the real cost and that is how it shall remain :D
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by sunray »

Aquarian-Time wrote: Wed Nov 27, 2019 9:55 am https://www.richersounds.com/the-classi ... senut.html

Just purchased this (albeit in Eucalyptus colour)

Missus has no idea of the real cost and that is how it shall remain :D
You're a bad man DC :lol:
Nineteen...Nineteen...Six Five
niamhm
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by niamhm »

Xmas present to himself
olan
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by olan »

I've not read this thread for years. We've almost finished renovating the house, and I am still home a lot with illness. I have had to (almost) completely stop drinking so I bought myself a new record player:
Image

This is an SME 20/2 A. I bought it second hand for relatively little. It is a bit of a horror visually compared to Dave's new turntable but it sounds phenomenal (at least in my opinion :lol: )

Image

In fact, the vast bulk of my stereo system has changed over since I last posted :shock: ....
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by spzretent »

I can attest to how amazing Olan's stereo sounds.
Heard some Aliens, Spiritualized and L'Epee in the 24+ hours I spent at his house.
I just wish I felt better.
Oh well. Next time.
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Shinesalight
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by Shinesalight »

Aquarian Time, you are a very naughty boy :wink:

Olan, your vinyl-set up never fails to impress me.
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by olan »

Shinesalight wrote: Sat Dec 07, 2019 9:52 am Olan, your vinyl-set up never fails to impress me.
I've just sold a pile of gear I wasn't using any more and reinvested the proceeds in some new amps and a very nice pre-amp. There was enough change to pay for guitars for my two younger daughters.
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by sunray »

After years of procrastinating I am finally attempting to put some order on my records i.e getting them out of boxes and off the floor for starters! So my question is, what is your preferred filing system?
Do you go alphabetically or genre? Perhaps a label or two get a section all to themselves? Maybe a combination of all of these?

I'm inclined to go by genre myself at the moment.
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Laz69
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by Laz69 »

Not having a huge collection, i keep it all alphabetically. Anything beyond that and i'll just end up confusing myself :lol:
angelsighs
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by angelsighs »

I don't really have a system.. Kind of. Alphabetic would be far too much of a ballache whenever I buy anything new.
So its kind of random, and I just have a general idea where things are. I've got kind of a 'mind map'
There is some genre organisation in there though. All the jazz and improv goes together. Tried to group some of the folk stuff together as well. Apart from that genre labels are far too arbitrary.
If I've got some stuff from a specific record label that goes together too.
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by olan »

I've got all my records in Ikea Kallax bookcases. They are cheap and sturdy (provided you set them up with the long shelves horizontally). The LPs themselves are divided into into two sections Rock(which is basically everything from Spiritualized to The Orb via Goth and Indie) and Jazz. The LPs are alphabetical within genre otherwise I would never find anything.
sunray
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by sunray »

angelsighs wrote: Fri Oct 29, 2021 8:49 am I don't really have a system.. Kind of. Alphabetic would be far too much of a ballache whenever I buy anything new.
So its kind of random, and I just have a general idea where things are. I've got kind of a 'mind map'
Yep, the mind map :) That's pretty much how i've been operating mine all these years.
Olan, yours sounds eminently sensible.
I have already discovered records i forgot i had. I wonder will i uncover many unintentional doubles?
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olan
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by olan »

sunray wrote: Fri Oct 29, 2021 9:14 pm
angelsighs wrote: Fri Oct 29, 2021 8:49 am I don't really have a system.. Kind of. Alphabetic would be far too much of a ballache whenever I buy anything new.
So its kind of random, and I just have a general idea where things are. I've got kind of a 'mind map'
Yep, the mind map :) That's pretty much how i've been operating mine all these years.
Olan, yours sounds eminently sensible.
I have already discovered records i forgot i had. I wonder will i uncover many unintentional doubles?
Sensible??? it is fucking lunacy. This is about 9 months old. The Kallax are now full. All the 7" singles are in a book case behind the sofa.

Image

:roll:
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by angelsighs »

sunray wrote: Fri Oct 29, 2021 9:14 pm
angelsighs wrote: Fri Oct 29, 2021 8:49 am I don't really have a system.. Kind of. Alphabetic would be far too much of a ballache whenever I buy anything new.
So its kind of random, and I just have a general idea where things are. I've got kind of a 'mind map'
Yep, the mind map :) That's pretty much how i've been operating mine all these years.
Olan, yours sounds eminently sensible.
I have already discovered records i forgot i had. I wonder will i uncover many unintentional doubles?
ha not just me then! thing is, I imagine my collection is much more modest than Olan's or others here. I can kind of put my finger on whereabouts something is filed. but even then I've got moments where I'm sitting looking at the shelves going "I know it was around here somewhere!"
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by spzretent »

Less of a turntable or record collecting story but more of an equipment revelation.
In 2002 when ABCKO reissued all the Stones CD as hybrid CD/SACD's I bought an SACD player just for them.
Eventually my SACD player died and I just replaced with a regular CD player which i have been using for the past 10 years or so.
Yesterday I was out in the thrift/charity shops and found another CD/SACD player $20. It looked barely used. Only issue was no remote but I don't use the remote anyway.
I decided to take a chance. Electronics are a crapshoot from these places.
Got home hooked it up and put some of those Stones hybrid CDs in and it wouldn't play them in SACD mode.
I googled reviews and there was a link to a hack to recalibrate the player.
I am so not tech savvy but I followed the directions and it worked perfectly.
I forgot how good these CDs sounded. Listening to Beggars Banquet as I post this with Let It Bleed, Between The Buttons, Aftermath and Grateful Dead's American Beauty on deck.
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Dreamweapon
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by Dreamweapon »

Really need some advice here. I've actually ripped pretty much most of my collection to my computer and have just started getting back into buying vinyl again on a on/off basis. The only record player we have in the house is my wife's old midi-hi system from 30 odd years ago. Nothing luxurious at all - am I risking playing records on this? I've done an initial hunt around and am apparently looking at around £800 ish for a new deck/amp/speakers. All my vinyl is also pretty hard to get to so not sure what to do. Stuck on keeping my records in perfect nick and shut away, but seems such a shame. I want to be able to pass my collection onto my son at some point too, so am not looking to sell them, but want to keep them precious, but also enjoy them....

Thoughts.....?
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by spzretent »

Surely you can do both.
I have always taken care of my vinyl & CDs.
It amazes me sometimes.
For instance I bought a Japanese copy of the Stones- Exile On Main St LP in in the late 70's or early 80's. I would hazard a guess that this copy has been played a couple of hundred times and it is still in fantastic shape. So it CAN be done.
I always thought records were meant to played.
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olan
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by olan »

Dreamweapon wrote: Sat Feb 05, 2022 4:34 pm Really need some advice here. I've actually ripped pretty much most of my collection to my computer and have just started getting back into buying vinyl again on a on/off basis. The only record player we have in the house is my wife's old midi-hi system from 30 odd years ago. Nothing luxurious at all - am I risking playing records on this? I've done an initial hunt around and am apparently looking at around £800 ish for a new deck/amp/speakers. All my vinyl is also pretty hard to get to so not sure what to do. Stuck on keeping my records in perfect nick and shut away, but seems such a shame. I want to be able to pass my collection onto my son at some point too, so am not looking to sell them, but want to keep them precious, but also enjoy them....

Thoughts.....?
I would start by changing the stylus in the cartridge on the deck that you have. It shouldn't cost the earth and a reasonable hi fi dealer will give the deck a once-over while changing the cartridge (if they don't do this then you should consider another dealer when buying your new kit).

If the rest of the kit works and you are happy with it then why change it all at once? Buy a new T/T, then speakers and finally an amp with a phono stage. £800 should be plenty of money to get you going particularly if you buy second hand kit (Here the classified ads on Hi Fi forums in the UK like Pink Fish Media and Hi Fi Wigwam are likely to be good places to look - certainly safer than Facebook Marketplace or eBay in terms of budget buying).
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by Dreamweapon »

Thanks for the initial help guys - my point was that £800 seemed really steep (maybe that's just me though) for something that only plays vinyl. Would be good to have something that also plays CDs, and our old cassettes as well as a DAB - essentially a full set up. I'm only really able to listen to my stuff on the computer at the mo unless I'm willing to risk my vinyl on the stereo. My wife's played a few of her less precious records and it doesn't seem to be an issue so far.

I agree that records are meant to be played, but nervous about risking playing my stuff on a very old and budget system. My vinyl is all stored away and racked in a way that's not always easy to get to, but that's another issue. CDs are all in boxes that would need a HUGE amount of searching through - not as much of an issue, but would still be interesting to see if there's a real difference between mp3s in 256/320 on the computer and the full article. As I'm getting into the enjoyment of record buying again - what is the real difference between 90s vinyl and more recent vinyl that's pressed on 140g/180g?

Thanks again
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Re: New turntable and record collecting in general

Post by davedecay »

My take on the differences between current vinyl pressings and older pressings is this:

Current: Some great quality and mastering going on by certain labels, sound engineers, and plants. More often, cutting corners in QC, proper mastering, choosing color/colour vinyl over a good sounding press, emphasis on 180g, lack of info on signal path (analog vs digital) and source of recordings, etc. Heavier records often split the sleeves they are in. Backups in the plants mean jobs are often rushed through to meet demand.

90s: Less were pressed, vinyl was often an afterthought so not as much put into it (but not in every case, obviously).

80s and earlier: If well-kept, these seem to be great-sounding, with exceptions as always. The oil shortages in the 70s had thinner LPs being made, the flimsy Dynaflex from RCA as one example, and some vinyl was melted down and re-used. Then came "virgin vinyl" to differentiate from those.

60s and 50s are usually very sturdy and play well, even with surface scratches and wear. I am often amazed how a vintage Blue Note or Motown, for example, will sound fine after cleaning, often better than a modern pressing that's new from the sleeve!
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