Vinyl News

[Mikado463]

Yeah and to think there are several cartridges out there in the 5 figure range !

 

[afterlife2]

$299 for that makes it one of the best values- I have a 103d and it still sounds great, although I keep my LPs and stylus very clean and can check it with a microscope.

I'm not used spending that much on a cartridge. The most expensive I had was the Shure and AT120, which got ruined and both now fetch alot of money. Hopefully if I get a full-time(part-time now) job then hopefully I'll get the Denon. I should have jumped on it when it was 229 on amazon. Darnit.

 

[Mikado463]

I'm not used spending that much on a cartridge. The most expensive I had was the Shure and AT120, which got ruined and both now fetch alot of money. Hopefully if I get a full-time(part-time now) job then hopefully I'll get the Denon. I should have jumped on it when it was 229 on amazon. Darnit.

all good, know your comfort zone and stick to it !

 

[afterlife2]

all good, know your comfort zone and stick to it !

So far all the carts I got sound good to me. I change them around once in a while. Just so curious about the Denon 103. One day...

 

[Bucknekked]

all good, know your comfort zone and stick to it !

That's a great piece of advice. Know your comfort zone and what sounds good to you and stick to it.
Its so easy in this hobby, and on other forums, to become dissatisfied with your own equipment because someone else prattled on about how great one of their new found choices is.

If what you have sounds great, take some time to enjoy it. My TT and cartridge are not fancy shmansy.
But I love the sound and the rock solid convenience and performance. They are all I need out of a TT.

 

[3db]

That's a great piece of advice. Know your comfort zone and what sounds good to you and stick to it.
Its so easy in this hobby, and on other forums, to become dissatisfied with your own equipment because someone else prattled on about how great one of their new found choices is.

If what you have sounds great, take some time to enjoy it. My TT and cartridge are not fancy shmansy.
But I love the sound and the rock solid convenience and performance. They are all I need out of a TT.

I never felt the urge to upgrade my components either. I like how it sounds. I swap out my main speaker models in my greatroom as its my idea of reaaranging the furniture but its different models of PSB within the same series. AVR upgrades were done to keep up with the big game changers such as 4K and Atmos.

 

[afterlife2]

Cool German TT:

 

[lovinthehd]

For the less video oriented https://www.fabtech.de/en_emt-turntables_emt938.html

 

[sterling shoote]

Back in the early 70's my "Stereo System" delivered recorded music via AM/FM Tuner and Record Changer, so judging cartridge quality was about comparing and contrasting FM Radio to LP play.

From those comparisons I knew my Record Changer/Cartridge was not getting all there was in the record groove to get; thus, I upgraded my vinyl playback system and 5 turntables and carts later I settled on a Sony PS-4750 teamed with a Shure V15 III, still somewhat uncertain I was getting the best experience.

That uncertainty vanished however upon adoption of recorded music on CD, which confirmed, again by contrast and comparison of CD sound to vinyl sound of same music, that the Sony/Shure system was indeed delivering a best there is experience, which made it clear there was no point in upgrading either the turntable or cartridge.

Now, about 37 years later, I have the impression that my 46 year old turntable fitted today with a Shure V15V-MR is still getting all there is in the groove to get, delivering a distortion free tone which is indistinguishable from CD, so no interest in upgrading in this arena.

What I am spending on is 5.1 SACDs, which makes listening to any stereo media taste like a Coke gone flat, no fizz. And, fact is, now that I can download from Apple Music pretty much everything ever recorded in the history of recorded music I no longer have much need for a record player and for sure I am not inclined to put any more money into it.

 

[afterlife2]

Name that turntable! Let's play and spin game!

 

[MrBoat]

I have my old Hitachi DD from the late '70s. It's still on time. I buy the recommended value cartridge by AT. But, my records are kept very clean and that alone is a marked improvement over any treatment they got before. I used the peel-glue method on a lot of them and they had not sounded that good since they were new.

Simple test involves reading the credits on the album of who's doing/playing what and listening for their contributions. Still, the biggest improvement, yet again, in the vinyl arena, has been with speakers. The second has been the cleaning. Third, is nobody else touches them anymore. Finally is the fact that I don't wear the needle down to nothing, like I used to. Nothing is missing from the music, and I am not curious for any further improvement. Some of these albums I've had almost 50 years and they were used a lot over a period of about 15 years.

More than anything, I am surprised how well "I" actually took care of them, for them to even be in restorable condition by now. Also amazed how all the cheap cartridges did not hurt them. According to modern thoughts on this portion of the hobby, I should be seeing daylight thru the grooves by now.

 

[Bucknekked]

I have my old Hitachi DD from the late '70s. It's still on time. I buy the recommended value cartridge by AT. But, my records are kept very clean and that alone is a marked improvement over any treatment they got before. I used the peel-glue method on a lot of them and they had not sounded that good since they were new.

Simple test involves reading the credits on the album of who's doing/playing what and listening for their contributions. Still, the biggest improvement, yet again, in the vinyl arena, has been with speakers. The second has been the cleaning. Third, is nobody else touches them anymore. Finally is the fact that I don't wear the needle down to nothing, like I used to. Nothing is missing from the music, and I am not curious for any further improvement. Some of these albums I've had almost 50 years and they were used a lot over a period of about 15 years.

More than anything, I am surprised how well "I" actually took care of them, for them to even be in restorable condition by now. Also amazed how all the cheap cartridges did not hurt them. According to modern thoughts on this portion of the hobby, I should be seeing daylight thru the grooves by now.

Just like in so many other area, you are better than you thought you were. I still do not have the courage to pour glue on my vinyl records, but, I did get some cleaning brushes and am trying to be a good steward. Nobody touches my vinyl but me and I'm pretty careful with it. My TT and system today play my records better than anything I had over the last 40 years. I don't need anything "better" when it comes to the vinyl. I enjoy it, but, its a minority player in my music room. It has come back from the dead, but, I don't pretend its replacing anything.

 

[KenM10759]

I also can't bring myself to use glue on records. I can just envision clumsy me getting glue on the labels and/or everywhere it shouldn't be.

My choice was to get an extra Mobile Fidelity cleaning brush, extra pads, and their deep cleaner fluid. For the really dirty records I may get (used, some new!) I dampen the brush, run it around the record as it lies on a clean microfiber cloth, and dry it off with another MF cloth. I occasionally change out the pad on the dense rubber block that the Mobile Fidelity cleaning brush is, and that seems to be a good working method.

There is a Fleetwood Mac Tusk album my son gifted me, picked up in an antique store while on a holiday in North Conway NH. The LP had horrible deep dirt that caused ticks through any of the 4 sides of play. Ultrasonic cleaning on a $4500 VPI machine did nothing. I got 90% of it out with my method, and will do it again with a fresh pad to get the last of it out.

 

[Mikado463]

Name that turntable! Let's play and spin game!
View attachment 47684View attachment 47685

Clearaudio ?

 

[Mikado463]

I also can't bring myself to use glue on records. I can just envision clumsy me getting glue on the labels and/or everywhere it shouldn't be.

My choice was to get an extra Mobile Fidelity cleaning brush, extra pads, and their deep cleaner fluid. For the really dirty records I may get (used, some new!) I dampen the brush, run it around the record as it lies on a clean microfiber cloth, and dry it off with another MF cloth. I occasionally change out the pad on the dense rubber block that the Mobile Fidelity cleaning brush is, and that seems to be a good working method.

There is a Fleetwood Mac Tusk album my son gifted me, picked up in an antique store while on a holiday in North Conway NH. The LP had horrible deep dirt that caused ticks through any of the 4 sides of play. Ultrasonic cleaning on a $4500 VPI machine did nothing. I got 90% of it out with my method, and will do it again with a fresh pad to get the last of it out.

I hear ya on the glue thing, though I know it's credible. As for the 'ultrasonic cleaning on a $4500 VPI', sorry no such animal exists. VPI RCM's are of the vacuum type.

Myself on really dirty used LP finds I initially do a thorough cleaning on my VPI 16.5 followed up with a ultrasonic bath on the Degritter RCM. The best 1 - 2 punch for cleaning I've come up with to date.

 

[lovinthehd]

Just the idea of spreading glue on each of my "vinyls" would be a massive undertaking in time and glue. Just not worth it. That kind of time/effort investment is where even something from VPI starts to be attractive....

 

[afterlife2]

Clearaudio ?

Nope, it's a $1,500 TT.

 

[Mikado463]

Nope, it's a $1,500 TT.

VPI 'traveler' ? or the Shinola Runwell ?

 

[afterlife2]

VPI 'traveler' ? or the Shinola Runwell ?

Shinola. Ding ding ding! Mikado knows his high end gear.

 

[Mikado463]

Shinola. Ding ding ding! Mikado knows his high end gear.

Interesting company, from watches to bicycles to audio ! Also FWIW it retails for $2500 !