[S Clark]

Over the past couple of weeks, I have gone on a vinyl spree, getting a dozen or so records from ebay and some from members here at AC. 
So far ebay has been a crap shoot, with about 70% coming in as described and 30% being way below the description.

I've also bought 8 or 9 records from TVAD4(currently serving time in the AC doghouse- when is he up for parole?).  Every single one met or exceeded expectations.  Can anyone recommend other trustworthy vendors?  I have my JVC QL-F6 full of plasticlay, have my Herbie's mat in place, and my ADC cartridge is breaking in........ I NEED MORE VINYL

[Listens2tubes]

Good Will and Salvation Army stores are also good places to find used LPs Both have websites that list store locations. Happy Hunting

[TheChairGuy]

I have my JVC QL-F6 full of plasticlay, have my Herbie's mat in place, and my ADC cartridge is breaking in........ I NEED MORE VINYL

That's a sweet ride for poco cash, Scott No wonder you're amped for more vinyl.

John

[S Clark]

Well, John, you get a lot of the credit for the JVC.  I've listened to you gush about yours until I finally pounced on one on ebay bout 6 months back.  I've accumalated various stuff to get it up and going right, the cardboard alignment gauges (was that from you or Wayner??), the shure stylus gauge, a couple of mL's of silicon oil from Frank V A, a way excellent mat, and a growing collection of vinyl.  The wife is out of town, so the dining table became the workbench. 
I have just played a Brubeck at Carnegie Hall that is absolutely beautiful music and a stunning recording.  Next up was Angel Romero with Andre Previn playing the Concerto de Aranjuez on an Angel 45 rpm LP. Even better than the Brubeck- incredible imaging and air.  This is the most fun I've had with music since I got my Dodd battery pre.  Life is good

[woodsyi]

Hit up family and friends.  Let everyone know you are into vinyl in a big way.  Some of them will step up and say, "I just remembered I have a bunch of records in the attic."  Next thing you know you will be driving over and helping to "get rid" of the clutter.  I have collected a few collections this way. 

Craig's List will also have many just retired folks selling their records as they move/downsize.  You can also find good stashes that are being sold by children of the deceased here as the inheritors don't necessarily share the same love of music.  These tend to be thematic reflecting the taste of the deceased.  This path can yield great discoveries if you are lucky enough to discover a kindred spirit.  I got a huge jazz collection and several opera collections this way. You have to be selective as you don't want the same old record collections over and over but you can get good deals this way.

Garage sales and good will stores may yield good scores but IMHO you have lesser odds here. 

[Scottdazzle]

I'll second what Woodsyi said.  I've personally seen some of his hauls.  On his last one he got mint copies of 2 hard-to-find albums on my short list.  I bet he paid less than a buck each for them!  I am sssssssssooooo jealous.

[TheChairGuy]

Well, John, you get a lot of the credit for the JVC.  I've listened to you gush about yours until I finally pounced on one on ebay bout 6 months back.  I've accumalated various stuff to get it up and going right, the cardboard alignment gauges (was that from you or Wayner??), the shure stylus gauge, a couple of mL's of silicon oil from Frank V A, a way excellent mat, and a growing collection of vinyl.  The wife is out of town, so the dining table became the workbench. 

Sweet - glad it's working out for you.

The deck sounds dang fine to me...bested in nuance only by the physically more massive JVC QL-Y66F that I play now, mostly.  But, the QL-F6 is no slouch.....and the internal, adjustable, oil-damped tonearm is a boon when using many (mostly) MM/MI cartridges - like your ADC XLM 

The QL-F6 sounds better than any iteration of Technics SL-1200 I've heard....and I tricked mine out with $3000 in motor and arm 'upgrades' to try to best it.  It didn't

Gotta' love the simple auto-functions, too.  If it at all denigrates the sonics as many audiophools claim - then so be it - but, it sounds good as is (after the plasti-clay is added)

What do you have it sitting upon?  4 brass toes mounted straight down into a 3.5" maple block really improved matters further with the deck. If you haven't done anything like this - you will likely be surprised by the additional sonic improvement it brings.

The cardboard alignment tool must've been from Wayner.

Ciao, John

[S Clark]

Right now it has stock feet sitting on 16x16x2 slab of concrete, setting next to an old Knight KB-85 amp, which is next to a Dodd battery pre.  The whole thing is on a  50"x 20" mission library table, with vinyl below.  In decades past, I remember having my old Dual on its own end table separate from all other components.  That isn't an easy option at this time.

I've been toying with the idea of making Mesquite butcher block bases for myself (and anyone else).  The local mesquite is very slow growing (read dense- probably over .8 g/cc locally) due to low rainfall in the Abilene area. It actually should be better than maple.  The only hassle is the dust- somewhat toxic and to be treated with due respect.  It's also a beautiful wood compared to maple. 

[TheChairGuy]

Scott,

If you have brass toes about, use them in place of the stock feet and see how it sounds (into the concrete block).  You can always go back easily that way.

Those stock feet are doing little in the way of favors for the sound I found

I am not sure the acoustical or energy absorbing properties of woods are due solely to their density...so I wouldn't know if maple is better than mesquite or better than birch, etc.  I just know maple works really far better than I'd ever imagined it, too, and wasn't too terribly expensive if you shopped around for it.

I think I saw a 3" thick maple block at either Bed, Bath & Beyond or Williams-Sonoma (a hi=end gourmet store perhaps not around Abilene, TX) for under $100.  I got mine from Daws Depot on ebay for under $100 even with shipping from Michigan to California.

It was a far better $100 expenditure than any comparable amount of money spent on any cartridge upgrade for me.

John

[Wayner]

Well, John, you get a lot of the credit for the JVC.  I've listened to you gush about yours until I finally pounced on one on ebay bout 6 months back.  I've accumalated various stuff to get it up and going right, the cardboard alignment gauges (was that from you or Wayner??), the shure stylus gauge, a couple of mL's of silicon oil from Frank V A, a way excellent mat, and a growing collection of vinyl.  The wife is out of town, so the dining table became the workbench. 
I have just played a Brubeck at Carnegie Hall that is absolutely beautiful music and a stunning recording.  Next up was Angel Romero with Andre Previn playing the Concerto de Aranjuez on an Angel 45 rpm LP. Even better than the Brubeck- incredible imaging and air.  This is the most fun I've had with music since I got my Dodd battery pre.  Life is good

That alignment tool was from me. I have a new one in the mill that is a tad easier to work with. I sent one to Orthobiz to get some feedback. It also can be had with the optional anti-skate adjustment disc, as soon as I find a better source for making them (I'm making them myself for now).


Wayner

[daddydoom]

I have gotten some really good deals on craiglists in my area by  searching for moving sales. I start early in the  emailing each person to ask if they had vinyl.

Last week i picked up 400 albums for 100 dollars. The two men living together took very good care of the vinyl. About half was disco ( 2 unopened Village People albums), but there was a lot of good clean classical and mid 70's rock. None of which i needed to use my RCM

[ricmon]

If you realy want to go crazy head over to the elusive disc     http://www.elusivedisc.com

or acoutic sounds  http://store.acousticsounds.com/

Ric