Looking to upgrade my turntable

[Mike Up]

The old stock is interesting. What did the retailers say about the ATs when you returned them?

It was through Amazon online orders, so the turntables just go back to them. Someone will buy these like they are, judging by reviews, bluetooth playback has a higher priority than their actual performance.

I thought by buying from actual Amazon, who does the most sales, I would get a newer, current production model, no so.

 

[Mike Up]

Don't use any water-based solution-in the 50+ years of that stuff's existance, I have yet to see a disc that didn't have residue on the surface.

Distilled water and Isopropyl alcohol would evaporate without any residue. In fact they are used to take the residue away from finger prints and dust, and other sticky stuff on the albums you get from decades of use.

 

[m. zillch]

Never thought to use isopropyl alcohol but it made me curious so I just watched this video thinking it would be an interesting experiment until I heard his demos. He's one of these people who turns on the voice memo app on their cellphone and holds it up to their speaker to make a recording of a record.

Another issue with his test is the alcohol may dissolve the inks in the label and the floating-around ink may then redeposit in the grooves. Yuck.

 

[lovinthehd]

It was through Amazon online orders, so the turntables just go back to them. Someone will buy these like they are, judging by reviews, bluetooth playback has a higher priority than their actual performance.

I thought by buying from actual Amazon, who does the most sales, I would get a newer, current production model, no so.

Do they, though? Did you ship back to the retailer or to Amazon themselves? Could just end up in one of those mystery pallets you can buy.

I'm just surprised twice you got old stock like that. Maybe they overproduced or maybe they're just hoping not to get too many returns? Crazy.

 

[TLS Guy]

Distilled water and Isopropyl alcohol would evaporate without any residue. In fact they are used to take the residue away from finger prints and dust, and other sticky stuff on the albums you get from decades of use.

What that actually does is drive the muck deeper in the grooves where it makes more noise. Cecil Watts showed that with his electron micrographs. If you are going to use liquids, then it needs to be done via a potent vacuum system, and I mean really potent.

 

[Mike Up]

I have a ZZ Top Tejas Record that I got used right around 1982, so it could be an original pressing. I cleaned it up with the Audio Technica 6012 Kit and man did this album sound good. Granted is has all kinds of scratches and minimal warp. Hardly any pops and crackles. Just sounded clean.

I once again compared against my Wiim Pro Plus playing this same album in the FLAC format at 16bit/44.1Khz.

This time, the record had less bass and less high end. No Vinyl album and FLAC Album offer the same sound. Different Masters obviously. So I did some research and the orginal pressings of Tejas has less bass, where new vinyl pressing had a different master with more bass.

Funny I use to be a purist and would not touch the bass/treble knobs and still don't for that matter. Then we have so many different masters for the same album, we don't need to with the studios doing it for us.
Billy Squier's Enough is Enough has the closest master between Vinyl and FLAC that I've heard and still prefer the vinyl master. For that matter, ZZ top Tejas is the only album that doesn't sound as good as the FLAC file but stll sound pretty good for an old scratched album back from the 70s !

 

[highfigh]

Distilled water and Isopropyl alcohol would evaporate without any residue. In fact they are used to take the residue away from finger prints and dust, and other sticky stuff on the albums you get from decades of use.

DI water is what was used in Discwasher's D2, D3 and probably D4 liquid, but after seeing the residue from all but Alcohol. I stopped using liquids in about 1978. Been around this stuff for 50 years- I know what has been used. Ever look at the surface of an LP under a microscope? I have. It's not pretty.

The only cleaners that remove most of the liquid without leaving residue use vacuum, rather than evaporation.

Why would LPs have sticky stuff on them unless people are touching the surface? Anyone who knows how to maintain LPs understands that fingers NEVER touch the surface.

 

[Mikado463]

as another long time(55 plus years) of spinning vinyl my go-to's are my VIP vacuum and my Degritor ultra sonic. Liquid choices are distilled water and L'Art du Son concentrate.

L'Art du Son - Record Cleaning Solution (100 ml)

Developed with the utmost care and expertise, this specialized fluid effectively removes dirt, dust, and grime from your records' grooves.

soundapproach.com

.

 

[Mike Up]

DI water is what was used in Discwasher's D2, D3 and probably D4 liquid, but after seeing the residue from all but Alcohol. I stopped using liquids in about 1978. Been around this stuff for 50 years- I know what has been used. Ever look at the surface of an LP under a microscope? I have. It's not pretty.

The only cleaners that remove most of the liquid without leaving residue use vacuum, rather than evaporation.

Why would LPs have sticky stuff on them unless people are touching the surface? Anyone who knows how to maintain LPs understands that fingers NEVER touch the surface.

Most people who listened to albums before there was a thing called "CD" weren't anal about listening to the albums and handled them like they enjoyed the music more than the piece of plastic itself.

Then if they did get finger print smudges or dust on them, they cleaned them with a brush or brush and cleaning solution. That's the way it was done in the day. We were about the music not about destroying the moment because we were anal about how we touch the records.

Like I said, those finger prints and smudges all come off with cleaner and a brush.

The same is true with CDs!! People get finger prints on them all the time. When they stop playing correctly and start skipping or just stop playing, you pull out the CD cleaner and wipe those prints away. Again, then all is good with a fresh start on the CD.

Lets not make a muontain out of a molehill here, just clean it, listen to it, enjoy it, and repeat as necessary!

 

[highfigh]

Most people who listened to albums before there was a thing called "CD" weren't anal about listening to the albums and handled them like they enjoyed the music more than the piece of plastic itself.

Then if they did get finger print smudges or dust on them, they cleaned them with a brush or brush and cleaning solution. That's the way it was done in the day. We were about the music not about destroying the moment because we were anal about how we touch the records.

Like I said, those finger prints and smudges all come off with cleaner and a brush.

The same is true with CDs!! People get finger prints on them all the time. When they stop playing correctly and start skipping or just stop playing, you pull out the CD cleaner and wipe those prints away. Again, then all is good with a fresh start on the CD.

Lets not make a muontain out of a molehill here, just clean it, listen to it, enjoy it, and repeat as necessary!

Were you using LPs in the '70s? I knew a few who handled theirs carelessly, but anyone who didn't want them to sound like crap only held them by the edges and when I started working at a stereo store in 1978, a lot of people were even more anal than we were.

CDs have error correction and a smooth surface, not a groove that's a lot more difficult to clean. Big difference.

 

[Mikado463]

Most people who listened to albums before there was a thing called "CD" weren't anal about listening to the albums and handled them like they enjoyed the music more than the piece of plastic itself.

in your circle perhaps, but as a young lad growing up in the sixties and spending my hard earned money for what music I was able to buy, I took care of my Lp's. Granted, my methods weren't what they are today but I (along MANY others) never handled their collection the way you speak !

 

[lovinthehd]

Were you using LPs in the '70s? I knew a few who handled theirs carelessly, but anyone who didn't want them to sound like crap only held them by the edges and when I started working at a stereo store in 1978, a lot of people were even more anal than we were.

CDs have error correction and a smooth surface, not a groove that's a lot more difficult to clean. Big difference.

I was, and many of my friends definitely were on the careless side with vinyl. Many had crappy players too. I was a bit on the anal side and they didn't always appreciate my handle by the edges request, but mostly I just did the handling myself at home (and didn't take my vinyl to others' houses/parties). Sticky stuff from parties, sure.