2. analog
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The miracle of the turntable?

This afternoon I was finishing up reprogramming my Proceed AVP after the AVP2 upgrade, and I was playing an album to check that I had set up the analog pass-through correctly. As I did, my 8 year old son was watching. He gazed in wonder at the spinning black disc and said:

"I still don't understand how that can make music."

I started to explain the principle of the mechanical movement of the stylus in the grooves, and how the cartridge turned that into electrical signals, and then I stopped and asked: "Do you know how a CD makes music?" He shrugged his shoulders to indicate "No."

It got me to wondering...how is it that a new generation just accepts the fact that they can feed a shiny plastic disc into a tray on a black box and get music, and yet they are dumbfounded by the technology of the LP?

Am I just getting old, or what?
rsuminsby

Showing 1 response by 4yanx

4yanx
1,576 posts
 
Lugnut's advice should be mandatory for all boys, and girls.
It is, indeed, the glue which binds. I recall the satisfaction when, after my son was old enough to having his own car, seeing him in the driveway changing his own oil. Even better, when he comes home from college and finds me working on a project, he knows enough to lend a hand! :-)

I don't think the age thing has much to do with knowing how something works. I'd wager a good number who have been lovers of vinyl for many years would be hard pressed to tell you why and how music is extracted from those black grooves....
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