Vinyl News

[3db]

I have had an interesting few days. Member Audiofox has had some dbx 2 encoded LPs for sale. My first four arrived at the beginning of the week.

The dbx system is a 2/1 encoder and 1/2 expander on decode. The noise inherent in the medium is reduced. This also expands the available dynamic range. The downside is that any frequency response errors in code are doubled on playback. So from cutting amp, to cutter, mastering to LP playback and equalization everything has to be as near perfect as possible.

The dynamic range of dbx 2 encoded CDs is 90 db, so very comparable to CD.

I had never heard a dbx encoded LP before, though I have dbx 2 encoded tapes. Also when I was recording professionally on analog tape I used the dbx 1 professional system. So I have a lot of familiarity with the dbx code/encode system.

The LPs were phenomenal. You could hear no lead in and the lead out. It was silent. No groove noise, and no ticks and pops. The fidelity was excellent and there was no trace of end of side distortion, as groove modulation is reduced 50%. So this gives the pickup cartridge an easier time of it.

This experience was so successful, I have ordered five more discs from Audiofox.

These have been a nice addition to my audio museum, and a good demonstration of the power of the dbx system.

Do you need a dbx compander to decode the music? I'm looking for a dbx to add into the loop between my turntable and receiver but there is none to be had.

 

[TLS Guy]

Do you need a dbx compander to decode the music? I'm looking for a dbx to add into the loop between my turntable and receiver but there is none to be had.

Yes, a dbx unit is mandatory. If you play it back without decoding it sounds really strange. You can not listen to it all unlike Dolby B encoded material.

For discs you need a dbx 2 unit. They had tape in and outs to code and decode tape cassettes, or reel to reel four tracks. There is a button to press for disc. The disc setting has a pop and click suppressor, as well as dbx decode.

Then there are dbx 1 decode/encoders for open reel two tracks running at 15 or 30 ips. The dbx 2 did not work in that application, as the bass response was too good. dbx 1 does not work with disc or cassette and four track tapes, as the frequency response is not smooth and extended enough.

To use dbx 1 or 2 all equipment has to absolutely top draw and in perfect working condition, or it sounds dreadful with lots of intrusive decoding errors. Only the best reel to reel tape machines are up to the task.

My TEAC Z2000 cassette has a dbx 2 decoder as well as Dolby B & C. Even though that machine was one of the best ever made, and has built in oscillators, for adjusting Eq, and bias, I could never get it quite good enough to handle the demands of dbx 2. It is the unit in the middle.

On the top shelf left is the off board dbx 2 unit. The unit on the left is an outboard Dolby B unit.

The reason you are having trouble finding a dbx 2 unit, is that the system had very poor market penetration. Because gear had to be of the highest order, to be compatible with dbx, most who actually bought the units were very disappointed and the system got an undeserved poor reputation, for both tape and disc playback. So these units were always rare, and now very rare. However if you keep a dbx 2 unit on your eBay want list you will probably eventually find one. If you find one don't be surprised if you are then looking for a new cartridge and or closer tolerance RIAA equalization.

I would imagine only the best turntables and cartridges would play back the discs properly, and probably a lot of high end ones would not.

In my experience you have to keep response errors in code below +/- 2db and from 100 Hz to 10 kHz +/- 0.5 db or the results are poor. That is nigh on impossible for a cassette machine.

It is your lucky day and there is a dbx 2 unit for sale on eBay right now.

 

[3db]

Yes, a dbx unit is mandatory. If you play it back without decoding it sounds really strange. You can not listen to it all unlike Dolby B encoded material.

For discs you need a dbx 2 unit. They had tape in and outs to code and decode tape cassettes, or reel to reel four tracks. There is a button to press for disc. The disc setting has a pop and click suppressor, as well as dbx decode.

Then there are dbx 1 decode/encoders for open reel two tracks running at 15 or 30 ips. The dbx 2 did not work in that application, as the bass response was too good. dbx 1 does not work with disc or cassette and four track tapes, as the frequency response is not smooth and extended enough.

To use dbx 1 or 2 all equipment has to absolutely top draw and in perfect working condition, or it sounds dreadful with lots of intrusive decoding errors. Only the best reel to reel tape machines are up to the task.

My TEAC Z2000 cassette has a dbx 2 decoder as well as Dolby B & C. Even though that machine was one of the best ever made, and has built in oscillators, for adjusting Eq, and bias, I could never get it quite good enough to handle the demands of dbx 2. It is the unit in the middle.

On the top shelf left is the off board dbx 2 unit. The unit on the left is an outboard Dolby B unit.

The reason you are having trouble finding a dbx 2 unit, is that the system had very poor market penetration. Because gear had to be of the highest order, to be compatible with dbx, most who actually bought the units were very disappointed and the system got an undeserved poor reputation, for both tape and disc playback. So these units were always rare, and now very rare. However if you keep a dbx 2 unit on your eBay want list you will probably eventually find one. If you find one don't be surprised if you are then looking for a new cartridge and or closer tolerance RIAA equalization.

I would imagine only the best turntables and cartridges would play back the discs properly, and probably a lot of high end ones would not.

In my experience you have to keep response errors in code below +/- 2db and from 100 Hz to 10 kHz +/- 0.5 db or the results are poor. That is nigh on impossible for a cassette machine.

It is your lucky day and there is a dbx 2 unit for sale on eBay right now.

I had a high school friend who owned a dbx but I can't remember the model number. He uesed to play normal records through it just to improve the dynamics. I think it was this one... but I'm not sure.

 

[TLS Guy]

I had a high school friend who owned a dbx but I can't remember the model number. He uesed to play normal records through it just to improve the dynamics. I think it was this one... but I'm not sure.

That unit is not what you want. The one I picked out is. You need a unit, that can decode dbx 2 code, that also has the disc dbx 2 decode option.

The unit in your thumb nail, is a compressor limiter, but if my memory serves me right, also had an expander function. However it has no encode decode features.

With dbx 1 and dbx 2 units you need a unit that compresses according to an inbuilt code, and expands exactly to the code on replay. The user has no control over the compression and expansion. If it is not directed by the code, the program material is not listenable.

All dbx units for decoding encoded discs, must comply to the dbx 2 code and that alone. It must have the disc option, as there are subtle differences in the dbx 2 tape decode and disc decode. I have never seen a dbx 2 unit that did not do both tape and disc dbx 2 decode. That does not mean to say there may not be one out there.

The unit I picked out for you will decode dbx 2 encoded LPs, the one in your thumbnail will not.

I hope this clears up any confusion. That was another issue with dbx, the public were permanently confused by the whole issue. The whole issue of noise reduction was very complex for over two decades.

There was Dolby A, Dolby B, Dolby C, Dolby S, Dolby SR, dbx 1, dbx 2, dbx 3, Telefunken CN 750, Telefunken High Com , Telefunken High Com C and Telefunken C4D. None of the codecs were compatible with each other, and that kept the public in a permanent tizzy.

Dolby A, Dolby S, dbx 1 and Telefunken C4D were professional codecs.

Then there was Dolby HX pro which was for use on top of codecs!

All of the consumer codecs appeared on various machines in every possible combination. For instance Nakamichi went the bundle on the Telefunken codecs for a while.

If there remains confusion long after the digital era made these codecs largely obsolete for the general consumer I'm not surprised! It makes HDMI compatibilities look like a cake walk.

 

[3db]

Linn Audio not making any more CD Players

Linn will not be offering anymore CD players starting in year 2010..

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/audiophile-gear-maker-linn-gives-up-on-cds/?news=123


other news..

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118011438.html?categoryId=3813&cs=1

The last sentence in this is interesting..150 turntables a year is roughly one sold every two days... Thats alot of movcement and this from a cold northern city in Canada
http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/winnipeg/2009/11/20/11824616-sun.html

 

[3db]

Vinyl sales still climbing turntables

http://www.psfk.com/2009/12/vinyl-records-and-turntables-make-a-comeback.html

http://www.pri.org/arts-entertainment/music/vinyl-music-sales1756.html

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118011438.html?categoryId=3813&cs=1

http://www.gear4music.com/news/article/Flaming-Lips-hail-resurgence-of-vinyl/MZ/2009-12-09

http://www.slashgear.com/technics-1200-2009-vinyl-sales-up-35-on-2008-0765292/

 

[3db]

Top Vinyl Sales breakdown by genre and artist

http://www.reuters.com/article/idINTRE5B74QB20091208

 

[3db]

Vinyl Update

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20091204/ent_vinyl_returns_091205/20091205?hub=EntertainmentV2

 

[3db]

A different spin on things

http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/ultimate-tech/in_the_groove/

 

[3db]

Michael Jackson: Biggest selling artist of 2009:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=269&articleid=20100110_270_D5_willah423221


Five Suprises in the music industry

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0108/Five-surprises-for-the-music-industry-in-2009

 

[Alex2507]

I'm going to the used record store. The itch has gotten real bad. I need my medicine.

It's always a surprise as to what I'll find.

Maybe I'll hit the Salvation Army on the way.

I recently got one of those Carbon Fibre Cleaner things like WmAx has.

Is this considered 'News'?

Edit: They're closed today!

 

[3db]

I'm going to the used record store. The itch has gotten real bad. I need my medicine.

It's always a surprise as to what I'll find.

Maybe I'll hit the Salvation Army on the way.

I recently got one of those Carbon Fibre Cleaner things like WmAx has.

Is this considered 'News'?

Sure is!!!

 

[3db]

Review on Akai's "Proffesional USB turntable"

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2783/akai_att023u_professional_usb_turntable/index.html

My platter on my ProJect ways within a pound of the entire weight of that turntable

 

[3db]

I'm going to the used record store. The itch has gotten real bad. I need my medicine.

It's always a surprise as to what I'll find.

Maybe I'll hit the Salvation Army on the way.

I recently got one of those Carbon Fibre Cleaner things like WmAx has.

Is this considered 'News'?

Edit: They're closed today!

Alex!! I managed to get my hand on a used album or $25 Cdn; Sonny-Boy Williamson's "Bummer Road" on the chess label. I looked thi salbum up on one of the record collectable sites and it selss anywhere from $77.00 to $177.00 US. It was a dirty album, nothing shiny left on it even after I cleaned it but to my pleasant surprise, it sounded quite clean with very little surface noise.

 

[Alex2507]

Finding the bargains is tres cool. Here's my deal of the day. I found a Goodwill store that charges a buck an LP like the Salvation Army. Okay, my first visit a few days ago I get few clothing related items, a picture and like 23 LP's. Bill comes ~$60. Today I went in there on the way home because I'm an addict ... duh. So I decide that I must have this rather large stack of records. I don't know how many for sure but it was well over 20 LP's. It turns out that the cashier either didn't know the rules or couldn't count ... probably both. It came up to < $15. I feel like such a scum bag ... well, not really. Maybe it was 50% off Thursday.

I wasn't about to start asking questions.

There's still like 100 or so albums that I haven't gone through.

At the moment I'm listening to some obscure recording of Dvorak's Symphony No.5.
Incredibly low noise floor on the recording ... a buck.

 

[3db]

Finding the bargains is tres cool. Here's my deal of the day. I found a Goodwill store that charges a buck an LP like the Salvation Army. Okay, my first visit a few days ago I get few clothing related items, a picture and like 23 LP's. Bill comes ~$60. Today I went in there on the way home because I'm an addict ... duh. So I decide that I must have this rather large stack of records. I don't know how many for sure but it was well over 20 LP's. It turns out that the cashier either didn't know the rules or couldn't count ... probably both. It came up to < $15. I feel like such a scum bag ... well, not really. Maybe it was 50% off Thursday.

I wasn't about to start asking questions.

There's still like 100 or so albums that I haven't gone through.

At the moment I'm listening to some obscure recording of Dvorak's Symphony No.5.
Incredibly low noise floor on the recording ... a buck.

Freakin Sweet!!! Scumbag!! Enjoy

 

[Alex2507]

My platter on my ProJect ways within a pound of the entire weight of that turntable

I know that being Canadian you know that 3.6 Kg is like 7-1/2 lbs. That's a lot of platter. You sure?
Sounds like your TT might outweigh my rec'r.

Now that my g/f is off to work, I can sneak the albums in. I like to practice being sneaky and there really is no benefit to having her wonder how much I paid. I do this for her. Stress is the No.1 killer in America. I'm saving lives over here.

Yes, I know it was only $15 but she's on high alert mode for all things audio.

Now I'm starting to think that I may have a 'problem'.

 

[3db]

I know that being Canadian you know that 3.6 Kg is like 7-1/2 lbs. That's a lot of platter. You sure?
Sounds like your TT might outweigh my rec'r.

Now that my g/f is off to work, I can sneak the albums in. I like to practice being sneaky and there really is no benefit to having her wonder how much I paid. I do this for her. Stress is the No.1 killer in America. I'm saving lives over here.

Yes, I know it was only $15 but she's on high alert mode for all things audio.

Now I'm starting to think that I may have a 'problem'.

Buddy, you have two problem. Its nice to know I share the exact same ones as you.

I forgot to mention that I also found a mint copy of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac for $14 Cdn. Fleetwood Mac started off as a Blues band but I couldn't phathom that with albums such as Tusk or Rumours...not until this lates find. Its nothing but "the Blues" and very well recorded.


I double checked my turntable specs and Imade an error. My platter weighs like 3 to 4 lbs. Thats the great thing about age.. you get your memory to make the numbers work for you.

 

[Alex2507]

I forgot to mention that I also found a mint copy of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac for $14 Cdn.

You actually do have a problem. That's $39 for two albums!
I'm gonna need to have a word with your wife regarding your spending habits.

My platter weighs like 3 to 4 lbs.

That's still pretty beefy.

There are better ways to digitize vinyl than spending $500 on that thing.
Of course if ya got the cash ...

Turned out to be 25 LP's / 17 titles of which this Grammy Award winner is one:

... not even a buck.

 

[3db]

You actually do have a problem. That's $39 for two albums!
I'm gonna need to have a word with your wife regarding your spending habits.



That's still pretty beefy.

There are better ways to digitize vinyl than spending $500 on that thing.
Of course if ya got the cash ...

Turned out to be 25 LP's / 17 titles of which this Grammy Award winner is one:

... not even a buck.

yes but they're collectors....If I sold that blues album produced by Chess, I would see a 100% profit for my efforts and myu wife would reward me handsomely