[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Somehow they took the life out of the CD mix. (No, not because-digital: I have CDs and rips that sound as good as the vinyl).

That right there (what i feel ) is the million dollar secret. Tons of people here have compared music on vinyl and their digital versions, and come away with the conclusion that the medium is at fault. I think It's the mastering. there are tons of LP rips on youtube, and they sound as splendid as the LP's themselves, despite being digital. On the other hand, a friend had a norah jones LP, and it sounded just as cold as the CD.

[R2D2]

I'd encourage you gentlemen to give this channel a listen and if you like it subscribe. I subscribed about 2 years back. It's fun to listen and to see the tone arm, cartridge move across a record on that spinning platter.

MrVinylObsessive

[srini1785]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

Tons of people here have compared music on vinyl and their digital versions, and come away with the conclusion that the medium is at fault. I think It's the mastering. there are tons of LP rips on Youtube, and they sound as splendid as the LP's themselves, despite being digital.

The only way to get that Unicorn of pure sound is to age backwards.

Ear and mind deteriorate at twice the speed as compared to sound tech attempts to get closer to high fidelity.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

That right there (what i feel ) is the million dollar secret. Tons of people here have compared music on vinyl and their digital versions, and come away with the conclusion that the medium is at fault. I think It's the mastering. there are tons of LP rips on Youtube, and they sound as splendid as the LP's themselves, despite being digital. On the other hand, a friend had a norah jones LP, and it sounded just as cold as the CD.

And almost all my CDs of music of the same period are not really distinguishable fromt the vinyl. This Alman Brothers CD was a exception. Perhaps because it is relatively new compared to my other CDs.

Originally Posted by srini1785

... Ear and mind deteriorate at twice the speed as compared to sound tech attempts to get closer to high fidelity.

And it often pointed out that the expensive-hifi buyers are mostly older guys, who are unlikely to have even close to perfect hearing.

Mind you, as a guy with very imperfect hearing (hearing aids for conversation) I can say that I find bad audio even worse than I used to when my hearing was more complete.

A final thought for the turntable fans, especially the older ones. The turntable of your dreams, which you could not afford in your twenties, is still the turntable of your dreams today. And you still can't afford it.

[bigron]

Adding to your thread, I got back into vinyl after 20 plus year in 2019. Picked up a Pro Ject Debut Carbon DC and upgraded to the Ortofon 2M Blue and an Acrylic platter. It is indeed a visual and an audio delight to see a record spinning. Something soothing about that analog sound with a crack here and a pop there.

Though I know that the experience of playing music through a TT is far greater than the end result.

What was that statement that said that the thing that attracted me to turntables was the expense and the inconvenience.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by bigron

What was that statement that said that the thing that attracted me to turntables was the expense and the inconvenience.

For the first third of my life, records were what music came on, end of story. So I have had my fill, and my love, of turntables.

I think it is important for the newcomer to decide what they want: something to twiddle and tweak endlessly, that will not even play properly straight out of the box? Or something that simply plays vinyl, but lacks the scope for a lot of adjustment. Getting that decision wrong could be an expensive mistake!

[Agarwaka]

Hi, this may be slightly OT, but wanted to check if anyone can help with suggestions on getting good vinyl records in Hyderabad. Thank you

[prateekm]

If someone has purchased vinyl records online from websites based in EU and imported it into India, which website did you purchase it from and what were the import duties? Also, was the whole import process smooth?

[sridharj77]

Awesome thread! I am only familiar with the cassette tapes - we used to rush to Music World in Hyderabad (only 1 shop in the city) to get the latest cassettes as well as reproductions of 60s and 70s golden hits.

I recently got gifted a turntable to play vinyl from a friend in the US. Are there any good places online to buy Vinyls today, especially Indian film music (Hindi and Telugu)? Not sure of digitally remastered versions stamped on Vinyl will sound the same.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by sridharj77

Not sure of digitally remastered versions stamped on Vinyl will sound the same.

I am not a vinyl-over-digital fanboy: rather, "records," both vinyl and even 78RPM shellac were an integral part of my life for most of my life, and, for much of it, were simply the way we listened to music

Can't quote dates, but I do recall, back in the days when I was still buying LPs just because, that digital mastering had become a thing. Long before CDs became the primary medium. And I can remember some disappointments. A very expensive Mahler symphony set that just sounded... dead! Why? I have no idea, but I suspect that someone screwed up the "digital" part of the processing.

Looking for untouched-by-digital music these days? Maybe you might find some very niche material that is analogue from multi-track tape through mixing and mastering to the disc.

I wouldn't bother. But if you have a turntable, then obviously you are going to bother. And there is a lot about the physical playing of records that many of us, at least sometimes, miss. But probably better not to expect escape from the digital touch. There is only one way to be sure of that: Live, acoustic music!

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

A final thought for the turntable fans, especially the older ones. The turntable of your dreams, which you could not afford in your twenties, is still the turntable of your dreams today. And you still can't afford it.

I disagree with this though, with the caveat that I'm talking about outside India. Because it's hard and expensive to get them fixed, it's easy to get semi functional and non functional turntables for a song and fix it up if you have that bent. For the record, here are the turnables I bought and their prices

Sansui sr222 mk1 £20 gumtree uk needed new belt and stylus
Technics sl1200 mk2 £250 gumtree uk mint condition
Pioneer pl 100 ebay UK £40, needed stylus
Sony ps t1 eBay usa $69 needed new cart and stylus
Technics sl q300 Craigslist usa $60 needed new stylus
Technics slql5 Facebook marketplace $10 needed new belt, grease replacement and stylus.


Once upon a time i would have given an arm and a leg for a direct drive technics, and I got them all for a song. Granted a brand new technics sl1200 mk5 still costs an arm and a leg, but the legends of old are available extremely cheap if you're handy with a screwdriver

[deathwalkr]

Music has been my savior at times when things looked bleak especially during my engineering college days. And a big chunk of that journey back into the light has been with cassettes and then later on CDs...

Even though i moved onto digital music, i never even thought about junking the tapes. While i was guilty of not storing them in a plastic air tight container, they were safe in cardboard boxes at my parent's house in Kozhikode.

Did not trust courier service and never really got the opportunity to drive home...

But i finally got them here at my house after all these years. Dust and fungus did not take away the joy i felt on opening the box and seeing those gems from a long lost time.

It took time, but slowly managed to display them in my mancave along with my CDs and Comics.

Sat for a while just looking at them. My wife thinks i am mad (Maybe i am)