I have had a fairly sizable vinyl collection for years but never gave it much thought. My CD collection was 3 times the size, and as most people of my generation believed vinyl was a scratchy dead technology. A few years ago I purchased a decent system from a real estate client at the same time I was purchasing my own home and had the space for both a home theater and 2 channel music system. I mostly dismissed my Luxman turntable until I discovered I had not connected the ground wire to my pre-amp and the the buzz I heard when playing records was easily corrected. I was considering going the digital music route with my 2 channel system with a DAC and server, but became frustrated by the fact that there did not seem to be a digital option that would satisfy me. I bought a couple 180 gm LP's, fixed that grounding problem with my TT and the rest is history. I'm 80% vinyl for the last year at home and pretty much only purchase new re-issues and excellent condition used. I love the ritual with vinyl. It has renewed my enthusiasm in record collecting which has wained largely since MP3 has become popular.
Who listens only to vinyl?
WHY, and what turntable set-up are you choosing to live with?
(This is NOT a vinyl versus digital thread, it's a lifestyle thread!)
Recently, I'm heading in this direction, mostly I think because I have never invested enough attention and money to bring up digital listening into the pleasure zone. I also like messing around with record cleaning and arms and cartridges, and worrying whether my TT belt needs replacing. And the sound of course!
If you are one of these vinyl-only people, how did you get there, and how do you feel about living with restricted access to a lot of newer recordings, both classical and other genres? Is it an issue for you?
[Pro-ject 2 Xperience with Shure v15 type IV-JICO SAS stylus]