Who Is Listening To Vinyl?

[photogdave]

My girlfriend just bought me a turntable for my birthday and I love it!
I haven't really been able to listen to records since I was a kid, excepting when one of roomates was a DJ about 10 years ago. I believe vinyl really does sound better than CDs! I bought some Fela Kuti records that I already had on CD and the sound is richer and more dynamic. I'm definitely hearing things I haven't before on some of the tracks.
I also love the whole ritual of pulling the record out of the sleeve, spinning up the platter and dropping the needle. I guess this relates to my enjoyment of working with my film cameras, brewing espressos and mixing traditional cocktails.
So who else is spinning on the wheels of steel? 😎

 

[daaris]

I just fixed my old Onkyo CP-1116A. I cannot wait to use it again!! Nice to see others interested in vinyl. I still have many great classical albums I look forward to being reunited with this weekend!

 

[DavidH]

So who else is spinning on the wheels of steel? 😎

Just read a report that says that vinyl is the only growth area of the music market! I thought it long dead but it's a big area and growing still.

I bought my first CD player around 1984 - and immediately loved the instant track change and clear sound. Never bought another vinyl album. I'm a big fan of the iPod range and all its convenience now, so guess I won't be switching back soon 😉

Though I do miss the old 'pic disks' - had a bunch of Hawkwind, Sabbath and Motorhead vinyl picture albums...

Happy listening 🙂

 

[Steve Bellayr]

I have a goodly number of vinyl that I listen to on occasion but only those that have not been re-issued in CD. For a long time there was debate about which sounded better. They do sound different on the same system. Then one writer posed the question: Which of the two formats sounds closer to a live performance? If you grew up on vinyl its sound is more friendly at first. The suggestion was made at the end of the article that digital is closer. I personally believe that this hold true for classical. If you upgrade your turntable from the time you were a teenager and are now using a better system is it not the quality of the better system that you are hearing rather than the original record? But, let us return to Art in general. Is it not also true that as we mature we see things in deeper and more meaningful way?

 

[nikon_sam]

My turntable needs a new needle...If it worked I would be using it too...
Got some old Spyro Gyra, Gino Vannelli and Steely Dan (Aja)...
The kids just laugh at me when I talk about the olden days of records...

 

[jamesj]

i dj a bit so alot of mine is alot of techno crap but i love collecting other vinyl mostly 60 70's rock...
and RUSH records on vinyl... 🙂

i love using my brothers 1200's for listening and playing....

 

[blw]

I haven't spun any records in a few weeks, but maybe I will this weekend. When I got my first turntable in years about 3 years ago, I was wearing the vinyl out. I even splurged for a hand-built tube amplifier and.....oh my god.....

But then one of the tubes went out of bias & fried... the whole thing has sat useless ever since. Now I have a Dual hooked up to an old solid state Pioneer receiver in my kitchen. I usually opt for the satellite radio, but perhaps you've inspired me to revisit my vinyl collection this weekend.

 

[LOOP]

Vinyl fan = rangefinder fan

Vinyl fan = rangefinder fan

I listen mostly to vinyl, with Thorens td 160, amplifier Onix 21 and speakers AR2ax.
I have more than 1000 records clasiic, jazz , pop, french music...

With vinyl - compared to CD,Ipod, ....-you go inside the 3D sound, ... Vinyl compred to CD is the same as old films against digital, it is a lot easier to "play" with DOF bookeh with old cameras than with even the best digital.

Numeric things are easy but it is the only advantage. The real thing is viny for sound and old films for pictures.🙄 🙄 🙄

 

[photogdave]

Nice replies. I totally agree that the quality of your system is largely responsible for the quality of the sound. I find that a good system also brings out the imperfections of a poor recording more, while a lower level system masks the imperfection better.
I also agree certain kinds of music are suitable for certain formats. So far I'm finding the vinyl versions of some house and afrobeat records I have sound better than CD (on the same system) but I'm sure this wouldn't apply to a lot of my other music.
FWIW I have a Denon AVR-785 receiver, B&W 303 bookshelf speakers, an older Sony carousel CD player, and my new turntable is an American Audio HDT 4.5 with a Stanton cartridge. Not an audiophile's wet dream but good enough for me!
Edit: I forgot to mention the cool little Behringer phono preamp I got for $25 at Tom Lee Music. It's a little larger tha a deck of cards and boosts the signal nicely!

 

[jamesj]

if i could buy all my cds in vinyl form i would...
i got over 600 cds i would trade for the vinyl versions....

mmmm first pressings....

 

[lshofstra]

Thorenz and Pioneer both still in occasional use. Would use them more often but don't want to take the risk with little kids running around. Thought it might be just my imagination, vinyl sounding better than cd....

 

[wolves3012]

Thorenz and Pioneer both still in occasional use. Would use them more often but don't want to take the risk with little kids running around. Thought it might be just my imagination, vinyl sounding better than cd....

It IS your imagination! Theoretically a record can reproduce slightly higher frequencies than a CD, but in all other respects it's inferior. The theory also rarely happens in practice - a few playings of a record will bring it to below-CD quality. The preference for the sound of a record is actually something I share but I know the reasons behind it and it only applies to some recordings, usually older ones where the engineers hadn't mastered doing a CD properly.

 

[Farace]

My turntable needs a new needle...If it worked I would be using it too...

Try www.needledoctor.com. They've got a range of needles from affordable all the way up to "ohmigawd how can a needle cost that much?"

I've got an AR XA from the late '60s/early '70s. Still buy vinyl when I can (got the new Stooges record on vinyl a few months ago, and it has some bonus tracks that are only on the LP). To me, CDs are an option only if they're the only option.

 

[gb hill]

I have litterally thousands of blues/rock 45s & albums that I inherited from my uncle when he passed away last year. While cds are on there way out, because downloading is killing the record industry, vinyl is increasing in popularity and value. I have my uncles stereo system of turntable, reciever,tape deck, equilizer, big kahuna😀 speakers & I can literally shake the neighbors if I wan't to. Matter of fact while shooting uptown last week I ran into a group of young people renevating a store to open a coffee shop & record store. He has a bunch of old records & cds. Found out we both listen to a talk show here in the Carolinas that features Mighty John Marshall. He can tell you the value of practally any RnR record.Any ony interested in Mighty Johns website here it is. Have fun.🙂

http://www.moneymusic.com/

 

[vodid]

Too many records...

Too many records...

Too many records taking over my house. Thousands. Mostly 33rpm LP's but quite a few old 45's too. Funniest comment about the 45's from a youngster? "Oh, those are CD's from the fifties." If I could snap my fingers and they'd all be gone and on my computer as MP3's, I'd be tempted to do so, but it would also be a sad day. I'm using a Dynaco tube amp system, with the A35 speakers, and an Acoustic Research XA turntable. It sounds great, but the amp has been to the repair shop twice, and now I've got a small malfunction with the pre-amp...one channel won't do stereo.

Mostly I listen to Jazz, but my tastes are wide-ranging. That said, I don't listen to much classical or opera or musicals or dub or electronic. Glad to hear that everyone is enjoying their own variety of music...rock on!

 

[gb hill]

I still have 8 tracks in my old pickup but the sound is...ah...much to be desired. And I keep plenty of match books to stick under the tapes. Any one who cruised the streets during the early to mid 70s and had a Craig 8 track tape player under their dash...Yes I said under...will know what I mean.😀 What memories eventhough back then I was too young to drive.

 

[venchka]

Me!

Me!

Most recently:

Cheap Thrills > AT > DUAL > Dynaco PAS-3 > Dynaco ST-70 > (2) Def Tech PM 700.

I hope the neighbors like Big Brother & The Holding Company with Janis Joplin. 😎

I hope the neighbors like Led Zeppelin 4 about 7pm tonight. 😀

 

[venchka]

I know how

I know how

Try www.needledoctor.com. ...all the way up to "ohmigawd how can a needle cost that much?"

Those would be the Leitz Summilux ASPH models. 😀

 

[SteveM(PA)]

I'm a shellac guy...any other lovers of the 78 rpm (besides R. Crumb 🙂 )? Come on, you can wash 'em with dish soap...that's so cool.

 

[sepiareverb]

All my LP's and 45's are packed up- no room to have them all out. Mostly 60's to mid 80's stuff. I got into cd's in about 1992, my ex got all the late 80's records.

I'm a dedicated ipodder these days, rarely even listen to a cd- all the darkroom music and most in the car comes off the ipod. I did transfer a lot of stuff from LP to the computer before I packed it all up to regain some space in the studio. Sad how much stuff isn't out on cd or never was. My Robert Fripp 'League of Gentlemen' LP is a favorite one I listen to all the time in home-made digital form.

Strikes me as similar the way folks listen to mp3's and don't even know or care what's missing compared to vinyl- like a camera phone and RF!