Vinyl is hard work!

[hiesteem]

Putting the record on the turntable, cuing up the stylus it is all a ritual I enjoy. I liken it to making a cup of tea in a pot with tea leaves and drinking out of best bone china. There is something just that bit special about things that require a bit of preparation and care.

Lovely analogy, almost feel like dropping a few k on a vinyl rig again , And I love my tea................

 

[Headcoat]

Hey there. Bought my first album from dead.net a few weeks back.
Daves pics 43, all from 69. Sound quality is excellent. Was nervous due to posting from America, however arrived in two weeks at no extra cost other than the £40 quid I paid from the site. Positive experience and will definitely buy again from them.

It's top Primal Dead, Dave's 43, isn't it? The acoustic stuff is so intimate. The electronic right out there.

 

[Headcoat]

One thing not mentioned much is the story of your life that is somehow embedded in vinyl records, much like the old fading photographs pre-digital. I've still got records I bought at 12 years old and onwards, now and again an old record goes on the deck....

Then there's the tendency with streaming to always be searching the new - new artist, new album, new track - the grass is always greener. Maybe there's just too much choice,

When you own something odds are you give it a fair old listen, even discovering it improves with repeated listening or is better than you thought on first listen.

Pros and cons of owning vinyl (and CD's) and streaming. Streaming certainly has convenience and choice, I'm just not sure it's as genuine as vinyl.

 

[DiggyGun]

I got my first record player in the early 70s, one like this. Not high quality at all, but enough for a young teenager.


Then I moved onto a National Panasonic music centre, at similar sound level.


Then in the early 80s I got my first proper record player. A Dual CS 505-2 I think, along with a NAD 3020a amplifier and some AR Speakers.


This all changed when I got my Linn LP12 in Black Ash in 1986.


Finally sold that this year, when I changed over to streaming only. The only original part left was the outer platter, with everything else upgraded over the years. The final spec was;
- Oak plinth
- Keel sub-chassis
- Tangerine Audio Karmen top plate
- Karousel bearing
- Tiger Paw Tranquility
- Ekos SE tone arm
- Krystal MC cartridge
- Radikal Akurate power supply
- Urika phono stage
- Chord Shawline phono to DIN interconnect


I have very much enjoyed my vinyl journey over the past 50 years or so, but must admit have no regrets moving over to the Linn streamer, which we are enjoying very much.

DG…

 

[bigfish786]

I think my record collection started by accident really. We always had a record player of some sort while I was growing up. Then when I bought my first hifi stack system that had the typical cheap plastic turntable on top, which just about did the basics.
But if/when I went to the record shop, I would have the choice of three formats. Not really knowing or caring which format I bought back then, it was just about buying something new.
So if an album wasn’t in the shop on cd or cassette, I would maybe pick it up on vinyl instead. I’d probably only bought a dozen albums by the time I was 20. Probably three times that on cassette (Walkman era) and maybe 10 cds. If that.
Whatever I bought I would put on cassette anyway as that was how I consumed music at high volume. Till I bought a car that had a cassette deck in it I was constantly using a Walkman.
I was in my 30’s before I had any disposable income and my interest in music increased after hearing a friends hifi.
I was almost 40 before I started buying records again. All because I was bought an LP as a gift. I bought all my old favourite albums that I already owned, and now when new releases come out, I buy on vinyl first, then later get the cd. I’ve even bought a couple of new cassette releases too.
I don’t know why I do it. I could happily live with cd. Suppose I’m a collector, as well as a consumer.
Got around 300 albums now, so I really should make more of an effort to listen to them.

 

[KUBE]

​

Headcoat ..."too much choice"...

I agree. Life is too complex as it is. I am happy to chill with my old tunes!

That said... someday I may buy up a vinyl collection to give me a boost. I quite fancy exploring a load of 70s tunes next. Turning into my Dad haha. I've spent sooo long with 90s onwards, then modern electronica.

-

BigFish, 300 albums sounds like a decent quantity to me. Almost enough for a different album for each day of the year. Besides, I am not into enough styles / artists to need that many.

The guy who flattened my LPs on an Orb has 8000 LPs. I cannot fathom why. He will NEVER get to listen to most of them. He admitted he does not, as he barely plays a couple a day, if that.

 

[Motortown review]

A pal of mine only played vinyl on Sundays, very odd. Never did find out why.

 

[KUBE]

I play mine every day. Sometimes if I am working then it may be only two LPs. Or if I am chilling then maybe up to six. It is a rare day when I play nothing... usually it means I am out.

The above is on a low end deck too. I think when I get something decent it may be more addictive

 

[hiesteem]

I got my first record player in the early 70s, one like this. Not high quality at all, but enough for a young teenager.


Then I moved onto a National Panasonic music centre, at similar sound level.


Then in the early 80s I got my first proper record player. A Dual CS 505-2 I think, along with a NAD 3020a amplifier and some AR Speakers.


This all changed when I got my Linn LP12 in Black Ash in 1986.


Finally sold that this year, when I changed over to streaming only. The only original part left was the outer platter, with everything else upgraded over the years. The final spec was;
- Oak plinth
- Keel sub-chassis
- Tangerine Audio Karmen top plate
- Karousel bearing
- Tiger Paw Tranquility
- Ekos SE tone arm
- Krystal MC cartridge
- Radikal Akurate power supply
- Urika phono stage
- Chord Shawline phono to DIN interconnect


I have very much enjoyed my vinyl journey over the past 50 years or so, but must admit have no regrets moving over to the Linn streamer, which we are enjoying very much.

DG…

You got my respect. I would struggle to let go of that last lp12!

 

[The_Krell]

Another thing that has definitely helped is losing 3 stone over the summer.

Brilliant achievement, I hope you're very proud of yourself and if not you should be!

 

[The_Krell]

Is vinyl more hard work than properly setting up your speakers? Not in my experience, but then I have a TT that once set up needs no tweaking or frequent adjustment. Now getting your speakers right imo is far harder especially when speaker + stand weighs 100kg - I'm not young anymore

 

[bigfish786]

Brilliant achievement, I hope you're very proud of yourself and if you're not you shoule be!

Thanks for that. Yes, I’m pleased with my progress, and I continue to keep up the diet and exercise . 👍

 

[Idlewithnodrive]

Being pretty much a computer / networking Luddite, I find vinyl far easier than deconstructing / reconstructing bits and bytes.

 

[Rockchild]

Being pretty much a computer / networking Luddite, I find vinyl far easier than deconstructing / reconstructing bits and bytes.

When I started work, they still had an abacus in the managers office 😂

 

[DomT]

Vinyl is hard work? No. No it isn't. It can be relatively costly if you want to really find out how good it can be, but even then, a little care, luck and buying used can net some amazing bargains (though I admit 'bargain' is relative here).

Overall though, anyone who thinks vinyl is hard work ought to take a wander around this forum and look at some of the wretched threads about the utter minefield of digital.

If you are not an expert in either then they both can be daunting. Cartridge needs to match tonearm and phonostage, that may entail an SUT. Written values don’t mean much and it’s sometimes trial and error. And it’s almost impossible to get a demo of a cartridge.

With digital you could buy an all in one like a Bluesound which is the equivalent of a Technics SL1500. But there again you can go really complex set up as many on here have done with Ethernet switches, power supplies, upscalers, clocks, computers, Roon end points NAS drives etc etc.

They are both frustrating to set up and both can be very rewarding to listen to.

 

[AndyCC72]

Jazz is for Friday evening with a glass or two of port ..

Exactly what I’ll be doing tonight; wine instead of port.

 

[Minicoupeman]

I brought my T/T in the eighties. It cost about £800. It has had some upgrades, notably arm and cartridge but being over 30 years old I think it has given good value for money
ps its. Mitchell Gyrodec. Current spec cost, about £4000.

 

[Speedracer]

I don't see it as hard work at all & never have. I bought my first ever record for my 11th birthday. It was my great grandma who took me into the record shop to buy it & I was instantly hooked, it was an Aladdin's cave in my eyes not a shop, & it was the start of a beautiful friendship with vinyl that continues to this day. Incidentally the record was Flowers in the Rain, by The Move, which coincidentally was the first record ever played on Radio 1, & I still have it.
Right from the start I viewed the pass time as a ritual rather than a hobby, you have to embrace it fully, & it has taught me a lot over the years, from how to look after your records to how to set everything up (in the early days that consisted of putting a penny piece on the headshell if the record jumped or got stuck in a groove, makes me shudder now though), as well as learning little tweaks to improve things. I still have a large amount of my first buys & for the most part, but god knows how, I have no fear in playing them on my current equipment & they still sound great.
The only way this relationship will end is when I die, hopefully not for a long time.

 

[tackleberry]

I’m sat looking at my tt, thinking….I just can’t be arsed!

 

[Minicoupeman]

Then it clearly needs some tlc