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Tips for buying used Vinyl needed

I see there is a learning curve to buying used vinyl, can you please offer your wisdom and experience? In my recent attempts at buying used vinyl I have learned not to buy from someone who has stored their collection in the garage, dusty, moldy, and urine smells are gnarly. I am starting to look closer now that I have brought some home from my local shop and noticed imperfections in the vinyl itself, resulting in pops. Finding thirty and forty year old records in good condition is not as easy as I thought it would be.
bigwavedave
withere
2 posts
 
Buy a record cleaner and you will be shocked at what a high % of used vinyl will sound just great. I have the bottom of the line VPI and it works great. Obviously damaged vinyl and stuff that is just plain worn out won't go but most people play a very small % of the records they collect so most used records are in decent shape. Ebay and Audiogon sellers are a good place to find decent deals if you can't find anything locally. Clean your collection on a good cleaner and you won't believe the difference.
bdgregory
1,710 posts
 
Buy a record cleaner and you will be shocked at what a high % of used vinyl will sound just great.
Absolutely required - especially for used vinyl. Some clean them manually - which didn't work for me as I lacked the patience.

When buying used vinyl I do a visual inspection. I personally care less about the jacket than I do the vinyl itself - though I would obviously prefer a record with both in great condition. After cleaning I always put the LP in a new sleeve, and dispose the old (unless it has info printed on it).

I went for about 15 years without playing my personal vinyl collection that I acquired in the '70's - early '80's, and after my kids were raised resurrected my TT and began buying more records. At first I was really disappointed in the sound of my personal collection. I assumed it was all worn out. After buying a VPI 16.5 I learned a good cleaning made them like new. I have bought some fairly gnarly looking $.50 LPs at thrift shops and after cleaning they sound as good as a lot of new vinyl I buy.
amater
56 posts
 
I agree with Bdgregory that the look (and the smell) of the cover is irrelevant to the quality of the sound to be heard from the record. Even if the record is dirty (dust, finger prints, etc.) it is not tragic (it should be washed thoroughly). Essential for the quality of the sound reproduction from vinyl record is, that the disc is without (deeper/auditory) scratches, that it is flat, not "exentric" and that the grooves are not deformed/damaged by the previous playing (with a deformed/worn needle, improper setting or playing unclean record). The latter is hardly to detect without playing the record on the turntable.
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