[AmpDesigner333]

Check this out (Neil Young Writes Off Vinyl's Resurgence as a "Fashion Statement")....

http://exclaim.ca/music/article/neil_young_writes_off_vinyls_resurgence_as_fashion_statement

[Mike B.]

Young's comments remind me of Nietzsche's comment "God is Dead", and God's comment "Nietzsche is dead". Pono is now officially done. He is right about the digital masters and junk mastering. The selling of used records for the analog era is alive and well. Example: a number of the old DG classical albums are highly desirable.

[Dr1v3n]

I found it interesting Metallica just advertised a pre-release of their new boxset of remastered CDs AND LPs from their And Justice For All album. LP's Nostalgia? 

[emailtim]

For nostalgia, I would like to have a functional one of these and a selection of platters.  Pretty cool engineering for its time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pL-BHqG3plk

[GregC]

As you know I own a lot of your gear Tommy.  If you are willing to spend a decent amount of money on a quality turntable, tonearm, cartridge, and phono preamp, and play a mint copy of a well recorded and pressed record, vinyl has beat digital in my system almost every time I have compared vinyl against a comparable digital version of the same music.  Granted I love the convenience of digital and achieved admirable results, but vinyl still rules IMHO.

[AmpDesigner333]

As you know I own a lot of your gear Tommy.  If you are willing to spend a decent amount of money on a quality turntable, tonearm, cartridge, and phono preamp, and play a mint copy of a well recorded and pressed record, vinyl has beat digital in my system almost every time I have compared vinyl against a comparable digital version of the same music.  Granted I love the convenience of digital and achieved admirable results, but vinyl still rules IMHO.

Greg,

Interesting point.  I've found several recordings where the vinyl mix/master is better than the CD.  This is sometimes due to the two mixes being performed by different engineers.  An example is Adele 21.  There is a thread on the Digital Amp Co board about this:
https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=103744.0

Thanks as always for your kind contribution to our board.

-Tommy

[AmpDesigner333]

On sale for less than $100!  Reputable brand, and even includes a USB output!
Audio-Technica AT-LP60-USB Fully Automatic Belt-Drive Stereo Turntable (USB & Analog), Silver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002GYTPB8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_J1cbCbXVP557Y

QUESTION: how much better (if any) would a super expensive turntable/cartridge/phono-pre be with respect to MEASURED performance — SNR, wow&flutter, THD+N, Frequency Response, etc. ??

[Mike B.]

i just bought this one.
https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT-LP120-USB-Direct-Drive-Professional-USB/dp/B002S1CJ2Q

I intend to use it solely to copy some of my vinyl to digital files. I put it in my big system after assembly using the provided cartridge and built in phono preamp. Sounds terrible. It sounded better through a much more expensive phono preamp but still lacking.
I dug out my collection of cartridges and tried a couple. The best match was a ADC XLM from the 1970's. Through the more expensive preamp is sounds very good. Since the build in pre is not part of the equation doing transfers to digital I think the combo will be nice.

[OzarkTom]

i just bought this one.
https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT-LP120-USB-Direct-Drive-Professional-USB/dp/B002S1CJ2Q

I intend to use it solely to copy some of my vinyl to digital files. I put it in my big system after assembly using the provided cartridge and built in phono preamp. Sounds terrible. It sounded better through a much more expensive phono preamp but still lacking.
I dug out my collection of cartridges and tried a couple. The best match was a ADC XLM from the 1970's. Through the more expensive preamp is sounds very good. Since the build in pre is not part of the equation doing transfers to digital I think the combo will be nice.

 

I believe my grandson is getting one of these for Christmas. His Mom is giving him a pair of used speakers and I am giving him a small digital amp for Christmas. Maybe a new audiophile in the making.

[Mike B.]

Tom, it is a nice turntable and has sufficient features to be a good starter setup. It is visually handsome and quite heavy. I bet the kid will be pleased. You might volunteer to help set it up. It comes with a number of pieces separated from the body. Nothing complicated but a old hand at dealing with turntables would be at a advantage.

[AmpDesigner333]

On sale for less than $100!  Reputable brand, and even includes a USB output!
Audio-Technica AT-LP60-USB Fully Automatic Belt-Drive Stereo Turntable (USB & Analog), Silver https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002GYTPB8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_J1cbCbXVP557Y

QUESTION: how much better (if any) would a super expensive turntable/cartridge/phono-pre be with respect to MEASURED performance — SNR, wow&flutter, THD+N, Frequency Response, etc. ??

My son wants a turntable!  Maybe this one with a Stereo Maraschino and the Boston Acoustics speakers he has already would make a cool dorm room system.  Then....  upgrades as follow up presents!!

[AmpDesigner333]

Interesting article, but pretty harsh about LPs:
http://blog.nj.com/njv_kathleen_obrien/2013/06/post_43.html

[Elizabeth]

Nostalgia is an interesting phenomenon. Used in plenty of advertising to gain attention. (Like an American Flag flying behind whatever... or children or a dog, in an ad for a SUV)
On it's own (if not being used to sucker you into some unwise purchase) is fine.
Usually it makes some folks who have an attachment to the item in a historical emotional way, feel good. Fond memories.

So if someone wants to have something around them with a nostalgic value. Fine by me. And some  'nostalgic' items in audio still sound pretty good!
On the other hand some folks trying to say somebody else is just doing X or Y for "Nostalgia" may be passing judgement on personal stuff... not their business IMO.

As far as LP playback? it may or may not be nostalgic. All in the mind of the person owning it.
I would call owning and using an 8-track 'nostalgic' !!! (but not playing 78's)
45's Jukebox? nostalgic.

[AmpDesigner333]

Here's an article from Jeremy Kipnis titled "Records as Time Machines":
https://www.psaudio.com/article/records-as-time-machines/

Interesting photos of historic record players makes this a visually stunning piece (:

[AmpDesigner333]

http://www.realhd-audio.com/?p=6234

“To believe that vinyl LPs are capable of capturing and reproducing the sound of live performance is crazy because the dynamic range of the very best vinyl LPs (direct to disc LPs) is about 60-72 dB.”

[Freo-1]

Some vintage gear can still sound very good.  Anyone who has ever heard a restored Harmon Kardon Citation II power amp will attest to it's impressive sonic qualities. 


I still have tube amps for occasional listening.  I'm under no illusion about the tube gear sounding better than the reference gear, but I do find it enjoyable with some older recordings.

[Tyson]

I think vinyl (and tubes) are still around because they do a better job of preserving accurate tone better than digital (and SS amps).  Of course there are many other areas that SS and digital crush vinyl, like black backgrounds, dynamic range.  My own theory is that we are so sensitive to tone that it becomes the primary reason to own/use vinyl and tubes. 

I also have another pet theory that humans are also unusually sensitive to the use of feedback in the audio chain, and tubes/vinyl use less of it and thus sound more musical, even though they measure far worse in most categories. 

[Mike B.]

Here's an article from Jeremy Kipnis titled "Records as Time Machines":
https://www.psaudio.com/article/records-as-time-machines/

Interesting photos of historic record players makes this a visually stunning piece (:

Good article in several ways. I was asked to friend Jeremy on Facebook a number of years back. I had no idea his family history is so rich in musical history.

[OzarkTom]

I think vinyl (and tubes) are still around because they do a better job of preserving accurate tone better than digital (and SS amps).  Of course there are many other areas that SS and digital crush vinyl, like black backgrounds, dynamic range.  My own theory is that we are so sensitive to tone that it becomes the primary reason to own/use vinyl and tubes. 

I also have another pet theory that humans are also unusually sensitive to the use of feedback in the audio chain, and tubes/vinyl use less of it and thus sound more musical, even though they measure far worse in most categories.

I agree 95% of the time in what you say Tyson. This is one  I disagree. I sold my record collection 25 years ago and never have regretted it. Too many clicks and pops.  I still love tube amps though.

My theory is preamps cannot handle the dynamics and distorts too much.