Who's Into Vinyl and What Gear Do You Have?

[DifferentLee]

I just ordered a VPI Scout as my first table in a long while. I'm still researching cartridges but I am doing a EAR 834P phono stage...just gotta get some of the cool LPs that are being made now.

What do you have?

What do you think about vinyl?

[mjb]

I've just bought a ProJect RPM 5 manual turntable with a ProJect Phono Box SE, and blown the dust of my old record collection. I have to say, it sounds remarkably good - its true: there's something special about vinyl!

[Glen B]

The question was partly answered in a poll earlier this year.

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=14467&highlight=vinyl

My vinyl gear:
Denon DP-59L (for the past 17 years)
Audio Technica ATOC9 cartridge
Monolithic Sound PS2 phono preamp with HC1b power supply
Acoustic Zen Oscar Link ICs

[alebonau]

I've had a bit of a rediscovery in vinyl in the last few years. Started off with buying a Rega P25 4 years ago? - it's a special addition released by rega to commemorate their 25 years of making turntables. Absolutely gorgeous unit. I'm running an ortofon mc10 supreme moving coil cartridge with it.

I got it originally with a musical fidelity phono stage feeding my 2ch pre & thought it was pretty special till I upgraded my pre to a musical fidelity A5 pre-pwr which has its own built in mc phone stage - absolutely bowled over by it now.

Have been listening to more vinyl since, love the sound has that certain something about it hard to explain.

Have always had lps in the family and have managed to get hold of the entire family collection. Quite amazing now to listen to soem lps from 40 years plus ago with and they sound better than they ever did !

Its amazing too how cheaply you can pick up mint quality lps for these days too. As with CDs as well though theres always some that are pretty poor recordings.

[audioqueso]

Two Audio-Technica tables here from part of a DJ setup. A bunch of LPs from the 70s and 80s, and some hip-hop/house (for doing a little DJ fun at parties).

[DifferentLee]

What's really driving my interest in this original hirez format is software.

Look at the great titles coming out from APO and Classic Records! There is a lot you cannot get in SACD and that area is confused with 24/192 BluRay possibly around the corner according to some boutique label owners I know.

Analog has a smooth and natural sound and I'm anxious to compare it to my SACD rig. I also have access to a good starter set of classic records.

[keirondrk]

Goldring

hi there guys,

I'm using a goldring gr1.2
with the matched goldring phono stage.. for about a year now.

Although I have considered upgrading the phono stage, not really sure
if it would make a great deal of improvement for the deck.

although I have been very happy with it, bringing me back into
vinyl again properly..

I've steadily grown a small collection since,

I've read good things about them EAR valve stages, although expensive

[Burke Strickland]

I'm "into vinyl", too, and my "gear" consists of vinyl hipboots, a vinyl vest and a perky vinyl bowler hat. All lime green, so they'll go with anything I wear.

Just kidding, but that's what the thread title brought to mind. :>)

To play my collection of about 600 LP titles, many of which have not been issued by the studios on CD, I use a Rega P3 turntable with a Grado Platinum cartridge and a Lehmann Black Cube phono stage.

These components are not the most expensive or exotic, but they work straight-forwardly, and reliably produce the music inherent in the grooves. I also use a Nitty Gritty Record Cleaning Machine. Pristine playing surfaces make the sound experience more enjoyable.

I am glad I have the capability to play my vinyl records since many of the performances are unavailable otherwise, and the stellar sound reaffirms the amazing engineering that went into their production. However, I am into listening to music, not "ritual", so I have recorded a CD from many of the LPs and typically listen to the CD instead of replaying the LP. If anything happens to the CD, I can burn another copy from the stored LP.

Although the LP may have a slight edge in ultimate sound quality, most of the time, I'd rather spend what little time I have spinning the digital disc rather than setting up for a shorter analog session.

Burke

[Karma]

HI All,
I grew up with vinyl in the fifties. In the '60's I bought the best record playing equipment I could afford like a Thorens TD-124 and SME 3009 arm. Shure ruled MM cartridges. MC's were still in their infancy and plagued with problems. Later in the '70's tangential tracking tone arms became available. I bought a B&O 4004 TT. This was a great TT for its time and looked stunning. Unfortunately it would only use B&O cartridges and I wanted to try MC's. Yamaha came out with their flagship tangential tracking TT that could use any cartridge. I bought it and have used only MC cartridges since. The Yamaha is long gone but it was a good TT. About this same time I started converting to Audio Research tube preamps and amps. I'm still there. I truly love Audio Research stuff.

Then I was at the CES (1983 I believe) when Sony introduced the world’s first CD player. I was there; a high point in my life. Sony had exactly three CD's to demo. A couple of months later I inserted Yamaha's first CD player into my system. Software was hard to find. I started with three CD's. Ah, audio heaven---for about 3 weeks. I began to realize the CD's sounded like crap. I demoed many different CD players but all I got was various degrees of pain. Bought a couple of more CD's then nothing. With my CD denial overcome, eventually I sold the Yamaha. Gratefully back to vinyl.

I had no CD capability until I heard Sony's new flagship CD player at my dealer. It was expensive at $2000 in 1993 (I think). I borrowed it and liked what I heard. I bought it and still have it. Now its used as a deck driving an Anodyne tube DAC. During the CD hiatus, I bought over 5000 LP's. No doubt where my heart was. But I was back into the CD game and have slowly increased my CD collection to about 300 shiny disks. That's not many and indicates my extreme pickiness about CD sound quality. CD's have improved greatly and I really enjoy listening to them. But they are not vinyl. Not a single one. I do like the convenience though.

Some thoughts about equipment: Buy the best turntable, cartridge, and tone arm you can afford. Don't mess around. Personally I prefer MC cartridges but they can be a pain. If you use the best of the breed they have very low output (micro volts). You must have a very high gain and noise free phono stage. These only come with high end preamps or, as an alternative, as a separate phono pre-pre amp. There are high output MC's that can interface with standard RIAA phono inputs. The high output MC is probably where most folks should start but they are not as good as the low output models. I wish I could advise those of you who are just starting out with vinyl where to start with equipment. But I can't. I have been so focused on the high end of record playing that I don't know what's available or their relative merits. Hopefully, others can be more help.

Currently my record playing sub-system consists of:
1. Sota Cosmos belt drive turntable. It has a vacuum suck down to pull the record down to the platter. This helps eliminate many warps. The suck down actually has audible benefits beyond warp prevention but I don't have the room to go into it here. The Sota also has a very advanced suspension system. The basic philosophy is a take off on Linn's ideas which means good. I think my Sota is better than VPI (except, perhaps, their top-of-the-line model) and, maybe, better than Linn. (sorry Linnies, please forgive me)
2. Eminent Technology ET-2 air bearing tangential tracking tone arm. You can spend more but this is a good one and not too expensive (currently about $1500 I think). I am a very strong advocate of tangential tracking. The elimination of arm bias forces yields definite audible consequences. I dumped the stock air compressor and substituted a shop air compressor with a precision regulator located out of ear reach; it's loud. I run the air bearing at 30 psi. Stock is 2 psi. Works very well. I get teased about my 6" air pressure gauge for the arm and my vacuum gauge for the TT's vacuum hold down prominently displayed on my system. It looks like a scene from a WW2 submarine movie that only a mother could love.
3. Various MC cartridges in the middle (!) price range (under $2000). Only your personal experience can help you here.
4 Lead Balloon stand filled with lead and sand and fully spiked from the tone arm mount to the cement under floor. You need to provide a very stable platform for the TT.
5. VPI record washing machine. This is a very important item. Records get dirty and must get a good cleaning once in a while. I also use it for applying Last to my new records. Works well. Eventually you should invest in one. You will love me for this advice and I like to be loved.
6. LAST record preservative, LAST stylus conditioner, Disk Washer dust and static removal pad. I think Disk Washer is out of business now.
7. Audio Research SP-11 MkII preamp. Can't leave this one out. A good preamp is a must, especially if one chooses to use low output MC cartridges.

So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. :lol: I hope you enjoyed my over long tale.

Sparky

Edit: I just googled "disc washer". It corrected me. Did I mean "Discwasher?" it asked. Yes I did. And I found that the Discwasher is still available from a number of sources including, probably, your local hi fi shop. I just hadn't looked for a while. This is good news because I have experienced it to be the best dust removal tool available short of wet washing. Decca's is better at static removal. Use both.

[Bob]

I rarely use my CD player. So rare, that I'm not sure after almost owning it 3 years if it has enough hours on it to even be broken in.

Vinyl set up is:

Teres Audio 320 Turntable

http://teresaudio.com/t-320.html

Graham 2.2 tone arm

http://www.musicalsurroundings.com/graham.html

Lyra Titan II cartridge

http://www.lyraaudio.com/Titan.htm

Hoveland tonearm cable

Audio Research Reference 3 Preamp

http://www.audioresearch.com/reference3.htm

Audio Research PH7 Phono stage
Replaces their Reference phono stage and is to new to be in their website

Along with this you have to have records. I have two, the Cardas sweep record that can be used for endless tweaking. And, one of that girl singer, Diana Krell to put on to impress my friends when they come over.
Just kidding about the records, although I think some audiophiles only care about those two things.

[Bob]

I've been curious. Every now and then the title to a thread has a little thing that looks like a paper clip on the right hand side. This is one of those threads. What is that thing?

[dyazdani]

I've been curious. Every now and then the title to a thread has a little thing that looks like a paper clip on the right hand side. This is one of those threads. What is that thing?

I believe that it means there are attachments in the thread.

I don't currently own a vinyl rig. Used to have a Basis 1400/Rega/Grado Sonata and a VPI HW-19 MkIV/AQ/Lyra rig. Didn't use them a whole lot so I sold them, ketp the LPs though just in case...

[mjb]

I've been curious. Every now and then the title to a thread has a little thing that looks like a paper clip on the right hand side. This is one of those threads. What is that thing?

A paper-clip means the thread contains attachments - read 'pictures'!

[DifferentLee]

Nice systems everyone. I ordered a EAR 834P phono preamp yesterday.

Table will be a VPI Scout and I may stretch for the Shelter 501 II cartridge.

Also, Classic is having a sale.

[Bob]

The VPI Scout and EAR 834P is a great combo! One of the best things about the Scout is that should you ever want to upgrade you can do it all with that table instead of starting over. You haven't mentioned the arm. Am I correct in assuming that you will be using the JMW-9?
I hope you have someone that is going to help you with the cartridge and arm installation. It is very critical and takes the right tools.

[Bob]

The VPI Scout and EAR 834P is a great combo! One of the best things about the Scout is that should you ever want to upgrade you can do it all with that table instead of starting over. You haven't mentioned the arm. Am I correct in assuming that you will be using the JMW-9?
I hope you have someone that is going to help you with the cartridge and arm installation. It is very critical and takes the right tools. You aren't living close to LA, CA are you? There is no one better than Brooks Berdan, people send him tables from all over the world. Also, Classic Records has a store in Hollywood which eliminates the need for mail order.

[David Meek]

I'm running a Nottingham Analogue Horizon turntable with a Rega RB250 tonearm housing a Grado Sonata Reference cartridge. It all sits on a Symposium Svelteshelf vibration damper which in turn sits on a Lovan Classic II rack with steel-shot-filled legs. The rig feeds into a Musical Fidelity X-LPS phono stage. For clean records, I use a Nitty Gritty Model 1.5 vacuum cleaning unit. It all adds up to a good, solid budget-minded set up that produces amazingly listenable sounds - especially for the price.

In short, I think vinyl still produces music with that "something" that you still can't get from redbook CD.

[Bob]

In short, I think vinyl still produces music with that "something" that you still can't get from redbook CD

I'll tell you exactly what that something is............FUN FACTOR. CDs are nice in the car, and most sound fine to most people. Plus, most people actually like using the remote for track switching. Not to mention the couch potatoe factor. But, one thing they aren't, and that's fun. The little jewel boxes aren't fun, the artwork is to tiny to be fun, the little booklets aren't fun and the machines that play them aren't fun.
However, many people think getting up off the couch to turn over a record is work, I like it because it keeps me awake. Many people think maintaining records and turntable tweaking is work, I find it relaxing and enjoyable.

[Karma]

I'll tell you exactly what that something is............FUN FACTOR. CDs are nice in the car, and most sound fine to most people. Plus, most people actually like using the remote for track switching. Not to mention the couch potatoe factor. But, one thing they aren't, and that's fun. The little jewel boxes aren't fun, the artwork is to tiny to be fun, the little booklets aren't fun and the machines that play them aren't fun.
However, many people think getting up off the couch to turn over a record is work, I like it because it keeps me awake. Many people think maintaining records and turntable tweaking is work, I find it relaxing and enjoyable.

HI Bob,
All that and fascinating too. I think trying to crawl inside the mechanics of a tone arm and cartridge while playing a record is something akin to meditation. Trying to imagine the mechanical forces and how they affect the process is relaxing and FUN; as you said. These gadgets are wonders of engineering and marvels of industrial art. I think your Graham is as beautiful as it gets. I like SME too. My ET-2 is a lot more pedestrian, but boy, does it function.

[DifferentLee]

Am I correct in assuming that you will be using the JMW-9?

Yes. May upgrade to Nordost wiring later on. I know several good tt setup folks so I should be covered. We have a lot of vinylheads in the Atlanta Audio Society.

[David Meek]

I may have to found an Orcas Island Audio Society. Us audio-types are rather scarce up here. :

[Bob]

Orcas Island!!! You live on Orcas Island? Only my most favorite place in the U.S. You lucky dawg.

[Bob]

DifferentLee,
May I suggest that should you decide to buy any Classic Records that you use this website:

http://www.themusic.com/hs.cfm

Each record is opened, inspected, and cleaned using a high quality cleaner. It eliminates the possibility of getting a warped or scratched record.

[David Meek]

Bob, good catch on that web-site! I'll be using it.
:T

Yeah, I'm on Orcas Island. We've had a house up here for 4 years or so and have been trying to figure a way to get here without waiting on retirement. I got a job offer (out of the blue), couldn't say no and so as of November 1st here I am.
:banana:

P.S. How are you aware of Orcas Island?

[Bob]

How are you aware of Orcas Island?

I first went there on a car camping trip with my college girlfriend. Her brother (Tom Wait) was supposed to go also but, ended up to broke to go with us. Since then I have worked on a couple of movies up there plus some commercials. I also have a old girlfriend that lives in Port Los Angeles.
The first time I was there I stepped into a bar that was very close to the ferry landing and the bartender was a very accomplished slight of hand magician who entertained us for hours.

[DifferentLee]

Thanks for the site review Bob. I think themusic.com is owned by Classic.

[Jack Keck]

I have my Rega P2 that I got at the end of 1979. I use Grado cartridges. I rarely play records. I have it hooked up to my NAD integrated amp, which is hooked up to my compputer so I can copy records onto CDs. I prefer the convenience of CDs and hi-rez discs.

This may change soon, though. I inheirited a pair of Klipsnc Heresies from my cousin who moved up to a Bose Lifestyle system (NO I'M NOT KIDDING!!!!). Even though my Polks seem to have more detail, I find that I enjoy listening to music more on the Klipshes. So I may move my amp down to the basement where the HT is. Since I've copied all my records, the turntable may join it.

I was going to sell it to get money for the sub I built, but was talked out ot it by two friends who don't know each other. As much as I don't use it, I'm kinda glad I kept it.

You just never know.

[comeup]

I don't have a turntable or any vinyl gave hundreds of records away what a mistake. Would be worth a pretty penny now. Got to get back into the game.

[bigburner]

Yeah, I'm on Orcas Island. We've had a house up here for 4 years or so and have been trying to figure a way to get here without waiting on retirement. I got a job offer (out of the blue), couldn't say no and so as of November 1st here I am.

Many Oracle databases up there?

[George Bellefontaine]

I started buying vinyl when I was 15. That would be 1951. I still have everything I have ever bought from 78s to 45s to 10" and finally 12" lps. I went through a few cheap turntables in my early years but I bought a Technics SL 1500 direct drive turntable many many years ago and it has served me well ever since. Even the cartridge ( a Shure M95ED ) still sounds great. CDs are great for the little storage space they take up, but man I love that warm sound of analog vinyl.

[David Meek]

Many Oracle databases up there?

Hehe. Uh, no. This move was a big change career-wise and my Oracle skills are on the shelf....

[mtodde]

I am picking up a Music Hall MMF-5 turntable & NAD PP-2 phono stage tomorrow. Vinyl here I come!

[Bob]

mtodde,
Fantastic! Keep us informed.

[David Meek]

Enjoy, Todd! :T Are you getting the Goldring cartridge?

[Burke Strickland]

This move was a big change career-wise and my Oracle skills are on the shelf....

Bet that was quite a let-down after being told that the name of the place was "Oracle Island"... :>)

Burke

[caleb]

I have an Oracle Delphi with Fidelity Research FR64 arm with Koetsu black cartridge.

It must be 25 years old now but it will still give a CD a good run for it's money for best sound.

[Bob]

The Oracle Delphi is a great table. I hope the cartridge isn't 25 years old.

[caleb]

Beleive me it's the same age as the rest of the kit.

I must also add that for the past 10 years or so it has not seen much service due to CD playing, but every now and again I get out the black plastic and give it a whirl - still sounds great although I am seriously contemplating sending the Koestu for a re-tip and service.

[Bob]

Wow! Cartridges seem to have a long life in Pongoland. Is there gravity there?:O

[bigburner]

The Oracle Delphi is a great table.

As Oracle is a relational database and Delphi is a software development tool I presume that Delphi is being used to set up a table in the database?

Hey it is 2.15am here...

[David Meek]

Oh, ha ha. "set up a table" RDBMS humor. :T

[Yasvanth]

Hello

I have a Michell Gyrodec/QC Pwr Supply. My tonearm is the legendary Rega RB300 and cartridge is the Goldring 1012GX. Something that I must point out, I purchased my deck new about 7 years ago and the only thing that I had to change was the rubber belt and cartridge. That's how good Michell engineering is. The sound quality from my record deck is just far far superior to my Arcam CD72T

Also I will never sell my record deck, because I think for the price it's absolutey fantastic for detail, vocal weaknesses, wide soundstage and excitement.

Have any of you guys own or even demoed the Roksan Xerxes 10 or 20?
and what are your own opinions?

Happy Listening all record nuts!

Yas

[vatulele]

Hi guys

I guess I'm the first with an LP12 !

LP12 from the early 90's, with a few mods, Ittock LV3, Denon dl-304, Trichord Dino but trying to find a Lehmann Black Cube on e-bay to compare against that and keep the best. Oh and a Norton Air power supply ( much better than a Lingo )


One of these days I'm going to sort out having a listen to a Michell set up like Yasvanth's. Not the easiest thing to do without laying out huge amounts of cash tho.

[twitch54]

Gotta Love the " Black Pizza" !!

Present analog set-up:

VPI Aries 3, w / 10.5i arm
VPI / DynaVector cartridge
Black Diamond record clamp
ARC PH-3 Phono Pre-amp
VPI 16.5 Record Vacum Machine

Been spinning viynl since my Stromberg Carlson days, 1961 and still love it !!

[Alloroc]

I guess I'm the first with an LP12 !

Hi,

Not quite! I have an LP12 also. Not in use anymore but will certainly never get rid of it.

My current deck is a Clearaudio Ambient with a Unify tonearm & Koetsu Rosewood Signature cartrdge. I also have a Clearaudio Balance phono preamp.

V.