The format itself may be superior, but that doesn't really tell enough of the story to come to a conclusion. I have only recently gotten into vinyl (I managed to hold off for many years as I am a collector by nature and I knew it would be dangerous) and what I have learned so far is there are many albums that sound better on vinyl. Whether or not the format is superior is totally irrelevant as the only way to hear the superior version is via vinyl (or I suppose via ripping it to a PC if you are so inclined). I am also grateful that vinyl has gotten me back in touch with the personal side of finding and listening to music. With some 40,000 tracks on my computer, I had almost forgotten the experience of discovering something new and interesting based on the vibe it was putting out into the world.
On a side note, your studio is quite a sight to behold and frankly makes my head spin looking at it because there are so many interesting gadgets in there that I don't have access to or that were before my time. Very neat stuff!
Thank you for your kid comments. There is some unusual gear in there.
The complete Decca ffss collection on the Garrard 301 is very unusual. It is the only one on the vinyl engine.
The Decca ffss pro arm I bought on eBay, as when I bought the ffss standard arm back in 1966 I think, the pro arm had not come out. I bought the ffss MK II head at that time also. The Decca brush and lift date from that time also. The Decca lift is not required with the pro arm as it has a lift. I bought the Decca ffss H4E in 1971. After that purchase, I had the MK II head converted to a 78 head by Decca.
The Auriol lift which is very rare came up on eBay. I restored it and fitted it, as you can set it to fall very slowly, which is useful when archiving 78 discs.
So everything has its purpose.
I now have my father's old Ortofon moving coil cartridge from the 60's.
He was an Ortofon guy and I was Decca. To each his own. I think I will fit it on the SME improved, soon as I have a slot on moving coil adapter it for the Quad 34 pre amp. You just remove the MM adapter and replace it with the moving coil. Then I can compare the Decca and Ortofon again.
Both of those were the considered the two best reference cartridges in there day.
I also have a Decca gold MK VI shown mounted in an SME MK III carrying arm.
These SME adapters to mount the Decca ffss heads on the SME series I and II arms are extremely rare.
The Decca collection is likely the most extensive in the world. I have never seen so many of the Decca ffss items in one place in any other photographs on the Net.
The fact that it is mounted round a Garrard 301 is icing on the cake, as the Decca ffss were pretty much inseparable at the time as far as I can remember.
So this studio is an unusual mix of the modern and functional museum of the state of the art from what is now quite a long time ago. It frequently fascinated visitors as to how close the quality is to modern media.
As far as some LPs being better than the equivalent CD, that is not usually my experience. Some you would be hard pressed to tell the difference I agree.
The only situation that comes to mind in which I go to the LP rather than the CD set is the fine Kertesz Dvorak symphony collection. For some reason the remastering to CD is not optimal.
I'm glad that for the vast majority of my LPs I'm the original owner.
I big collection did come up on eBay a few years ago, that was owned by a deceased eccentric bachelor. He was a tinkerer like me. His collection was vast, but he did own a lot of the same discs I did. However his collection was much larger. I did pick up quite a few rare items I always wanted. The records were all in immaculate condition.
The guy was a true audio hoarder, and according to his nephew his whole house was crammed with gear LPs and tapes.
I got to know his nephew, who had the job of disposing of the estate well, and met him once on a trip back to the UK. He know nothing of audio. What came out of the house was an absolute museum load. I had to advise on just about what every item was. Even some I had to research. For one item I had to ask for help from the guy who runs the audio jumble at Tunbridge Wells.
Apart from the LPs that came from that collection, my experience with used LPs has been disappointing.
My children are dreading of having to dispose of this collection when I die. I'm under constant pressure to dispose of it now, which I resist forcefully!
One day it will be scattered to four corners of the Earth in an eBay feeding frenzy.
