Are any of you guys into vinyl?

[Jgordon]

I thought there might be an overlap, between love of older, hardy technology, hands-on approach, and appreciation for involving experiences.

I'm closing in on 3500 records, and I listen on a daily basis. Lots of classical, lots of rock, trying to expand my jazz and blues collection and knowledge.

Any like-minded guys out there in pelican land?




Optimus is still feeling the holiday spirit.

[herr_oberst]

I like the setup - That's a really nice TT; your cabinets are cool, too. They almost look like they come from Ikea, but those can't possibly hold the weight of vinyl, so they must be custom? And your record washer is making me jealous, not to mention that you have 3500 different records.

(But I do have that same Pink Floyd album on vinyl, too)

Anyway, I don't listen to vinyl every day, I like to make an event out of playing vinyl, so I need at least 20 minutes to an hour an an half where I can just listen, with no other distractions.

[Superman]

I've been wishing for a tube amp lately. I can't afford a McIntosh MC275, or a pair of MC240's. What's that tubey-looking thing?

[Joeaksa]

Used to be and still have a couple of turntables. The military did a very good job of losing my vinyl during my last move so pretty much gave up on it.

Really miss my old Harmon Kardon tube amp...

[ramonesfreak]

big vinyl fan here. nice collection and table !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

blues and jazz are my favorite records to collect. im lucky to have some great vinyl shops here (Rochester). When I lived in NYC, I was unhappy with the vinyl selection...there was a great shop in Nassau County , but last I heard, it was closed

[creaturecat]

Originally Posted by Superman

I've been wishing for a tube amp lately. I can't afford a McIntosh MC275, or a pair of MC240's. What's that tubey-looking thing?

This guy, in Vancouver, is worth checking out. Great stuff. Hand built. Reasonable prices.

SPACE-TECH Hi-End Audio Laboratory, Vacuum tube amplifier specialist , home of super Hi-end audio

[LSA]

I listen to Vinyl, probably in the minority but I listen to heavy metal and hard rock from the 80's don't have a huge collection of records mainly because cd's are just much more convenient . I have a lot of rarer heavy metal on record, there's a couple of good music shops where I live although one is more of a garbage "hip" indie store for the "politically concious voted for Obama because he is change" young people my age.

[craigster59]

I don't have anything setup yet, but just recieved my FIL's Acoustic Research XA turntable that i'm going to restore (similar to this one)


and still have my Sansui G871-DB reciever I bought when I was in the Army (similar to this one)



So I'll be breaking out the vinyl soon.

[UconnTim97]

I do have an old '80s juke box in the basement that came with our house, there was about 100 45s and I added quite a few that I bought on ebay as well as in some small shops. The sound isn't the best, but I am just glad that I got it working for now. It was in sad shape a few years ago when we got it. Someday I would like to update the speakers, etc and actually have a much higher quality sound.

[tabs]

I love the feel of vinyl...it is so tactile...

[imcarthur]

I believe I see a record cleaning machine too. A VPI?

Tabs is right. The tactile ritual of playing an LP on a good system was half the fun (and half the pain too). Taking it out of its protective sleeve. Putting it on the turntable - usually with clamp - although never with the pictured LP12. Cleaning it with a Decca brush or similar. Cleaning your stylus. And finally cue the disc. I miss it. But I really don't as well.

I spent the weekend streaming CD quality music (uncompressed wavs) from a MacBook Pro to a nice system at a show. Times have changed.

Ian

[MBAtarga]

and I thought the thread was about -

[pwd72s]

I still have vinyl...quite a bit of it. Gimme that old time Rock N' Roll...the kind of music that soothes your soul...call me old fashioned, say I'm over the hill...

On the other hand, I do plug an ipod containing over 1500 songs into the line input jack of my Mustang when I go for a drive. Let's see, anybody care to do the math on how many LP's you'd need to spin to play 1500 songs?

[red-beard]

Definitely

[Hugh R]

I got an Ion USB turntable for Xmas, I've been converting them to MP3's for my Ipod. I think I've done about 200, almost done. The ones that I didn't play much as a youth (Beethoven) are actually very good fidelity on the Ipod.

[kach22i]

Vinyl and tubes, awesome combination.

My system:
System #42 (Aerius) - MartinLogan Club (MLC)

[RWebb]

get a tube pre-amp first - it will give you that tube sound w/o a lot of heat and elec. cost.

mine is a Sonic Frontiers

I got rid of most LPs and my turntable years ago, but still have a few

[Racerbvd]

My partner in the track car rental biz has a bunch of vinyl from his college days that he is willing to sell, some still have seeds in the folding covers

If anyone is interested, I can give you his contact info..

[Jgordon]

Glad to see there are so many people with the same tastes.

The turntable is a Linn Sondek. It is, however, from 1980. Making it much more affordable than new (~$15k or so) offerings from the company.

The shelving is indeed Ikea. It's expedit shelving. Surprisingly, it holds a whole lot of weight with nary a complaint. Many guys reinforce it with screws, glue, braces, and backing, but I find that it works just fine.

The record cleaner is a vpi 16.5. I got it after I bought 1,000 classical LPs, thinking that I'd salvage 200 at the most. When 850 came up NM, I figured I should get a more industrial solution.

The tubey thing is just that - a tubey thing. It's a Yaqin MS-12B pre-amp. Just as Randy said, it's my solution in space-constrained manhattan. The ideal is a dedicated analogue system, but I am not buying any Mac gear or H-K at the moment, and everything else I have goes through the onkyo receiver, so the turntable does as well. It also allows for tweaking. I found an Ampex tape deck full of telefunken tubes, so I've been rolling them through. At some point, I'll go all analogue from start to finish, including dedicated speakers.

I love the ritual as well. I find that it makes the music that much more involving, and you take the time to learn lyrics, appreciate the song choice and mastering, and form opinions on the various studios (quality of music and pressing).

Don't get me wrong - I have an ipod with 80 gigs of music on it (~14,000 songs or so). Nothing as convenient when you're cooking, or driving, or on a subway. I loves me some vinyl, but I'm no snob. I just love music.

Anyone have some pics of their setups, prized albums, listening rooms, etc?

[88-diamondblue]

Vinyl and Tubes absoulutly!

I have a Mcintosh C20 tube pre-amp with a pair of McIntosh MC-30 tube amps, Sony turntable with Ortofon cartridge and Ohm I speakers(1980). The po bought them new in 1960 and still look virtually new and sound is incredible. Have tried variations of the pre-amp with a Carver and Crown power amps but the all tube is still the best...