sound at the record store

Maybe he had the LOUDNESS button stuck on, much like you have CAPSLOCK on

"IS IT ME?"

Yes, it's you.

Capslock or not some people cant hear anything, I have heard $150,000 + systems that make you WONDER.
No Worries you can still be friends with the man.
I have been Fly Fishing before and the man next to me with a Stick and line tied to the end of it, was in the right spot catching fish all day along and me nothing.
That man and I when back to his house and LAUGHTED about it and still do to this day.

You hear as well as you type.

You are totally confused in not knowing that a record store cares nothing about how any record sounds. Hey, they are in business to buy and sell, not listen. Reminds me of care dealers, who just sell the 'deal', forget about the car itself.

The record store owners I know have nice systems at home and just so so system at the store. I myself would do the same, why would I put in a good system that cannot be setup correctly. The space is for sale items not for people to come in sit and listen to a system all day then go home with maybe a couple of albums or CD's. That would be a waist of retail space. When I do listen in a record store it is to have some kind of idea the surface noise level and if it skips. Most record stores you cannot even clean the record correctly. It is nice that he even has a way to get quick listen to vinyl.

I won't even listen to a record in the shop for fear that the crappy cartridges and TTs will damage the vinyl. At one shop, the tonearm on the their TT did not have an offset angle, straight arm with a straight head shell. I felt like explaining the importance of the offset angle, but I figured they really wouldn't care anyways.

To ensure the record is okay, I remove it from the sleeve and visually inspect it. If there are any signs of possible blemishes it goes back in the bin. Also I make sure, I can exchange the record if there is any problems.

When it comes to rare recordings, I am amazed at the prices they charge for records that are in a questionable state at best or are essentially un playable. I guess there is a sucker born every minute!

I agree with the above couple of posts. I have lived half my life in record stores. Actually, I probably couldn't even count how many records stores that I have visited.

None of them have ever had a decent system. I too, would never play a record on the tables they provide.

Expressimoaudio,I ran into a guy fishing for Lgmouth bass .He had caught some nice fish.He had one of those big red rubberbands cut so it was a straight,and tied a knot on it to put the hook thru.I asked him if he wanted some of my storebought plastic worms,thinking he did not have money to buy any, or just ran out.He told me "Thanks but no thanks ,Ive fished with the rubberband all my life.Thats the way my Daddy and my Grandpappy fish and how they taught me.It worked well for him!"If the cap fits,,,,,,Lol.Ray

I have no problem with crappy sound in any store, I'm used to it. This is a hobby for most of us, he is in the sales business and if it doesn't contribute to the bottom line...
I won't let Anyone play any of my records.

some of you guys are so wound up with THE CAPS LOCK.....Whew relax.

The stores that will play a record for you are providing a service so that you can check out the tracks on the album and get an overall sense of its condition. Not for you to sit back and enjoy audiophile sound.
And yes I would be afraid to play an expensive LP using the stylus on their "record player." The setups in these stores don't deserve to be called turntables.

Hi Lowrider where have you been?

Gramophone did an article about the best record store. This dealt in some post hoc way with the slow demise of big chains like HMV, Tower, Virgin, etc...

Anyway, there is a store in Reykjavik, Iceland which provides a good system and compact disks for customers to hear before they buy. There is a cafe in the front of the store so that you can order an espresso and a snack and the staff will then bring it to you while you're in lounging in front of the stereo. The hope is that you will buy recordings but there is never any pressure.

Given the option to buy records at this store in Reykjavik or the dives in my town, I'd choose the Reykjavik store hands down.

I do not buy things from people who tell me I "can buy something for $300 but it is worth $800." I tell them no thank you.

You guys still have Record Stores?... Don't complain.

Goofyfoot, that sounds very cool. But what else is there to do in Iceland but hang out in a record store?

Hi Lowrider,
I'm not sure what folks do in Iceland since I've never been there but there's no American football so that's very appealing in and of itself.
I would guess that fish is in abundance. That's it, some freshly caught fish while sampling the latest classical releases.
Can I get fries with that?

As I recall, the sound at record stores has never been good.

I agree with Stevecham. I would question the deal. Why would the store offer you an $800 record for $300?

The very successful record store owner I met when he sold records out of a cardboard box on a street corner, recently gave this response when I told him that I was an audiophile, "Oh, you're one of those guys with a megabuck system and ten records that you play over and over".

I was going to tell him that he could do better than the Technics TT he was using, but changed my mind. No, you're far from being a sound snob; I don't know what it is with record store owners.

Enjoy the music.

Some people are fortunate enough that they can enjoy music played back on anything.

Rrog, I was one of those people until I wandered into a high end emporium.

You people that responded about not playing a record on their inferior equipment are wound a little too tight. One quick play on their (insert cheap TT brand name here) is not going to do any more damage to that thirty year old record than Jimbo Billybob has already done with his (insert cheap TT brand name here).

It's worth it to me to find out if it's even music that I want to own. If I already know the recording, looking at the condition will suffice for me.

Shakey

I just wish that more record stores could offer record cleaning services. The likelihood is that Billy Bo Jangles used Windex and a paper towel once or twice in the entire 15 years that he had that record.

I would not be surprised if some record store didn't use windex to wipe records down. I have seen some places spray records down them wipe them with something that smells like windex but was told it was a special mixture.

I personally won't use Windex or a paper towel but I've yet to find a used record that doesn't come with noise due to mold and dirt being buried in the grooves. Strictly from my experience, even if a record is being played with a decent tonearm and cartridge, it still isn't the optimal or desired playback.
I think I've visited one record store that cleaned their used vinyl but that was in Paris where everything is expensive anyway.