My 2 cents include.... Look into the less expensive VPI record cleaner, it's a tank and does a fantastic job (and you can make your own fluid). After you've used a good record cleaner for a while you'll find that you can look at a record in a shop and "see" what it will look like after cleaning. Which leads me to my other cent: the real pleasure of vinyl for me is in the hours spent combing through junk shope, antique malls, thrift shops, dollar boxes under tables at record conventions, etc. Every drive in the country on a pretty summer or spring day holds the possibility of a flea market or tiny book shop with one box of LPs in the back. The variety of music available for next to nothing, and the occasional find of a truly rare LP, is what makes vinyl so much fun. Surface noise on a new audiophile $40 LP is depressing, but, in general, one of the strengths of vinyl as a long-term storage medium is those graduations of condition. CDs are either perfect or they're useless. A VG+ copy of a $500 LP allows those of us with limited funds to experience the sound of the original object with only the slightest of distractions.
OK, I said it...
Just got the new turntable running this morning. Installed the Kontrapunkt B on the Rega P9; a most nerve wracking job. Well I can't find a crow and I am not yet ready to eat some, but here are my very preliminary findings based on listening to one side of two albums (one brand new, Art Blakey's "Indestructible"), one that's been on hand for a while, (Dire Straits "Communiqué"):
my greatest peeve, surface noise: way less, but still a bother on softer cuts or portions of pieces where the volume is low;
soundstage: quite incredible;
layering of instruments: quite incredible;
natural tone of the instruments: stunning;
treble: well the cymbals are back the way I like them; sharp attack and decay when hit near the centre, sharp attack and shimmering decay when hit nearer the edge;
bass: not the subwoofer-type of bass, but the overtones are more present, that is an acoustic bass has that plummy quality.
Well I am not a "convert", in the sense at looking at the experience as crossing a threshold from where you never go back. I still think that digital is better at doing silence, which is so necessary in music, and, in letting the sound of soft music come out without the anxiety of tick and pops.
So far, I have not listened to enough music to have a real hard opinion about the merits of better analog equipment. Suffice it to say that in answer to the post wondering if any progress has been made in the last twenty years, I would have to say quite a lot. This is based on a very quick, very subjective appreciation at the moment. What is the table's, what is the arm's, what is the cartridge's contribution in all this: very hard to say, and will never be known since I have no intention of playing mix and match.
Am still using the Sumiko Phono Box for the time being. The next move is a new phono section. Is there another level yet to be achieved with that upgrade? I while back I would have been extremely sceptical, now I hope there is. What bugs me, is to have to make another leap of faith.
Well, I will keep you posted. Good day.
my greatest peeve, surface noise: way less, but still a bother on softer cuts or portions of pieces where the volume is low;
soundstage: quite incredible;
layering of instruments: quite incredible;
natural tone of the instruments: stunning;
treble: well the cymbals are back the way I like them; sharp attack and decay when hit near the centre, sharp attack and shimmering decay when hit nearer the edge;
bass: not the subwoofer-type of bass, but the overtones are more present, that is an acoustic bass has that plummy quality.
Well I am not a "convert", in the sense at looking at the experience as crossing a threshold from where you never go back. I still think that digital is better at doing silence, which is so necessary in music, and, in letting the sound of soft music come out without the anxiety of tick and pops.
So far, I have not listened to enough music to have a real hard opinion about the merits of better analog equipment. Suffice it to say that in answer to the post wondering if any progress has been made in the last twenty years, I would have to say quite a lot. This is based on a very quick, very subjective appreciation at the moment. What is the table's, what is the arm's, what is the cartridge's contribution in all this: very hard to say, and will never be known since I have no intention of playing mix and match.
Am still using the Sumiko Phono Box for the time being. The next move is a new phono section. Is there another level yet to be achieved with that upgrade? I while back I would have been extremely sceptical, now I hope there is. What bugs me, is to have to make another leap of faith.
Well, I will keep you posted. Good day.