[elader]

Hi everyone. Germantown MD here. Finally made the break away from the family AV system, took over the small den, and am rediscovering what decent music sounds like after many years of crappy MP3.

Currently I am running a macbook and an SACD player through a mydac to an Audible Illusions Modulus 3A to a pair of Martin Logan powered speakers. Convincing the wife I needed to a)put up curtains behind the speakers and b) desperatley needed to upgrade from my sumo preamp wasn't entirely easy, but the sound is now the best I've ever had. In the past few months, I have built up a very nice jazz and blues CD/SACD collection off of ebay. Crazy how cheap some stuff is!

Way back in the past, I sold my Thorens table/Grace F9E cartridge to some guy for $30. OK, maybe that wasnt such a good idea. But it was 18 years ago and I was young and foolish. I am thinking about turntables and vinyl, but I have no idea how to go about buying vinyl anymore. Its a chicken and egg thing. Do I buy a turntable with no records???? Do I buy records with no turntable????

Anyway, hope to see you all this weekend at the audio show in Silver Spring.

[doug s.]

Hi everyone. Germantown MD here. Finally made the break away from the family AV system, took over the small den, and am rediscovering what decent music sounds like after many years of crappy MP3.

Currently I am running a macbook and an SACD player through a mydac to an Audible Illusions Modulus 3A to a pair of Martin Logan powered speakers. Convincing the wife I needed to a)put up curtains behind the speakers and b) desperatley needed to upgrade from my sumo preamp wasn't entirely easy, but the sound is now the best I've ever had. In the past few months, I have built up a very nice jazz and blues CD/SACD collection off of ebay. Crazy how cheap some stuff is!

Way back in the past, I sold my Thorens table/Grace F9E cartridge to some guy for $30. OK, maybe that wasnt such a good idea. But it was 18 years ago and I was young and foolish. I am thinking about turntables and vinyl, but I have no idea how to go about buying vinyl anymore. Its a chicken and egg thing. Do I buy a turntable with no records???? Do I buy records with no turntable????

Anyway, hope to see you all this weekend at the audio show in Silver Spring.

welcome! 

re: turntable/winyl, start looking now, buy what you want.  which means you will likely buy records first; it may take a little longer to find the deck you are wanting. 

i would recommend used; whatever your price range is, you will get far better bang for your dollar.  and i would specifically recommend a used empire; you could spend a couple thousand new, and not have anything better.  the empires are bullet-proof - especially the earlier editions -and they are fantastic play back machines, especially if you upgrade their arms...

doug s.

[dB Cooper]

Looking to get into vinyl again without a huge investment, look at the Orbit turntable or Pro-Ject Debut. Both are nice tables that have reps for way outperforming their price points.

I faced the same dilemma when I bought my first real system at 14, back in the Mesozoic era. I had enough left over after saving up for a year to buy Santana Abraxas ($3.29) and Firesign Theatre "Don't Crush That Dwarf/ Hand Me The Pliers" ($2.39) at E.J. Korvette's. Buy the TT first even if there is only enough "discretionary" for one record. Stare forlornly at the TT until wifey takes pity on you if necessary. 

Seeya at the show and welcome to Audiocircle! (Lots of folks here who can give you good advice on WAF matters BTW  .)

[elader]

EJ Korvettes? Wow you are old. Are you from Brooklyn?

[Roscoe Primrose]

Way back in the past, I sold my Thorens table/Grace F9E cartridge to some guy for $30. OK, maybe that wasnt such a good idea. But it was 18 years ago and I was young and foolish. I am thinking about turntables and vinyl, but I have no idea how to go about buying vinyl anymore. Its a chicken and egg thing. Do I buy a turntable with no records???? Do I buy records with no turntable????

I'm not so young anymore, but I'm still foolish....  Buy the records whenever you find some that you want.  They'll keep just fine until you decide on a turntable...

Welcome aboard.  Stop by and see our DIY group at the www.dcaudiodiy.com room in suite 804 at the show.

Roscoe

[woodsyi]

Welcome to AC.  Looks like guys will be meeting at the lobby at noon.  Come and join us for lunch Saturday.

[mix4fix]

Looking to get into vinyl again without a huge investment, look at the Orbit turntable or Pro-Ject Debut. Both are nice tables that have reps for way outperforming their price points.

I second the U-Turn turntable as well as the Project one.

Look around. I lucked out and got a Nottingham Interspace Jr with a Shelter cartridge for $1400.

[r.wasserstrom]

I recommend Joe's Record Paradise, 8216 Georgia Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20910 [301 jukebox (585.3269)] to start your record library.  Lot's of variety, fair prices, and Joe is a great guy.  But don't tell your wife I mentioned this; I can't take the heat.
Welcome to the Circle.

[dB Cooper]

EJ Korvettes? Wow you are old. Are you from Brooklyn?

Gee, thanks... Nope, Baltimore.

wasserstrom is right.. Joe's is what record shopping used to be like. Go. Buy. Keep him in business. For you out of towners, it's well worth the five block trip straight down Georgia Ave from the Sheraton.

[thunderbrick]

EJ Korvettes? Wow you are old. Are you from Brooklyn?

Watch it, newbie!        That's where I bought many of my $2.99 LPs back in the day.  Perring Parkway and Joppa Road.   

[pansixt]

Talk about old. Anyone remember what "EJ Korvettes" stood for?

[Phil A]

Talk about old. Anyone remember what "EJ Korvettes" stood for?

I believe the names of the two founders were Eugene and Joe.  Don't remember where the Korvette came from. Yes old.  In those early days I had a mono/hi fidelity record player all in one audio system with fold out speakers on each side and when albums went on sale they were $1.59 in mono and $2.19 in stereo (which was a waste for me) so I had a bunch of mono albums.  That's partially why when I got out of analog about 30 years back.  I had 40 good MoFi or audiophile albums and most of the rest were beat up from playing on cheap crap turntables and less than proper storage.  I also still had memories of feeling the literal pain of taking a big suitcase full of record albums on a trip back to school.  The bus driver went to lift it and couldn't budge it.

[pansixt]

My sister worked at the Bailey's Crossroads store in about '72 and she told me it was started by Eight Jewish Korean Veterans.
She worked in the Pet department which was between the Record Dept. and the back door, and she would look the other way when we carried a couple of records out that door.

Edit: I just googled it and she lied to me. So she was a liar and an embezzler of sorts.
Such sinful youngsters we were.

[Phil A]

My sister worked at the Bailey's Crossroads store in about '72 and she told me it was started by Eight Jewish Korean Veterans.
She worked in the Pet department which was between the Record Dept. and the back door, and she would look the other way when we carried a couple of records out that door.

Edit: I just googled it and she lied to me. So she was a liar and an embezzler of sorts.
Such sinful youngsters we were.

I just Googled it and that tale of the founding is not quite correct - http://www.snopes.com/business/names/ejkorvette.asp  I used to go there very often when I was young in Brooklyn, NJ.  I'd save pennies and get (single) 45s or albums in mono.  When I sold my record collection, the only thing of real value besides the stuff like the MoFis were the 45 singles as I had many with picture sleeves.

[thunderbrick]

Yeah, the eight veteran story was told to me by my father.  I was too embarrassed to actually ask anyone if it was true.   

I DO recall playing bass (air) guitar in the EJK instrument section, as if I actually had a clue what I was doing..............

[dB Cooper]

Watch it, newbie!        That's where I bought many of my $2.99 LPs back in the day.  Perring Parkway and Joppa Road.   

Holy crap, thunderbrick, that's the same one I shopped at.  Next thing you'll tell me that you used to go to the movies at the Hillendale...

[thunderbrick]

Taylor and Loch Raven?  Once or twice, but I lived a block behind the Senator Theater on York Rd.

Edit:  I saw Ralph Bakshi's Wizards at the Hillendale.  Cool flick!