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  1. #1

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    I just got plenty of vinyls from the parents of one of my students, because they are moving, and they dont need those. They reckon these discs as some "junk", which take place from other things and otherwise these discs are only good at gathering dust...

    I realized again that these vinyl discs have much more dynamics, than cds dvds, cassettes, etc. And somehow they can make a very deep emotional attachment to the person who owns them, and takes care of them.

    Not to mention the artistric paintings on the covers, and that vinyl smell...

    Who has a good repertory of vinyls? What kind of vinyl player do You use?

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  3. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by mrblues

    I just got plenty of vinyls from the parents of one of my students, because they are moving, and they dont need those. They reckon these discs as some "junk", which take place from other things and otherwise these discs are only good at gathering dust...

    I realized again that these vinyl discs have much more dynamics, than cds dvds, cassettes, etc. And somehow they can make a very deep emotional attachment to the person who owns them, and takes care of them.

    Not to mention the artistric paintings on the covers, and that vinyl smell...

    Who has a good repertory of vinyls? What kind of vinyl player do You use?
    I've lived in five different countries over the past four decades, and my vinyl collection is reduced. I use hi-fi separates and my turntable is a basic Pro-Ject.

    My brother, a true 'audiophile' who also works for a specialist high-end audio engineering company as a tech, turns his nose up at my gear - but his are the kind of Impossible Standards that bring out a knowing smile in me.

    On the other hand, after taking a chance and including vinyl in the gifts I gave last Christmas (a Queen reissue, which is bringing some pleasure), what's priceless is watching my little daughter put on vinyl and read lyrics or gaze in wonder at album art.

    Vinyl reduces screen time, too - which I think is a huge plus.
    Last edited by destinytot; 05-02-2017 at 06:37 AM.

  4. #3

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    My turntable is also a basic Pro-Ject, and it works absolutely fine for my ears.

    The new 180g vinyl is really good quality, while some of the thinner albums made in the last years of vinyl (the early CD era) are really quite poor. I got Kind Of Blue on 180g vinyl, and it is stunning. Lots of old jazz LPs in second-hand record stores and charity shops around here.

    My 20-year old daughter caught the bug for vinyl too, says it's incomparable in a positive way to CDs.
    Last edited by Rob MacKillop; 05-02-2017 at 10:11 AM.

  5. #4

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    I've got about 400 vinyl LPs because I bought them before CDs existed. I too have one of the basic Pro-Ject turntables and it sounds very good to my ears. After that it goes into a JVC amplifier and Wharfedale speakers both of which I bought 35 years ago and are still going great.

    Occasionally I have to clean some of the older LPs with a cleaning fluid and cloth, but they come up sounding fresh afterwards.

    A photographer friend of mine came round the other night and he was enthusing about the great cover photo of Hampton Hawes on his 'Green Leaves of Summer' record (he had not seen the original cover). So I got the actual LP out to show him. You can't beat the look of those old LP covers!

  6. #5

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    Like Rob and Graham, I've the basic Pro-Ject Essential II turntable, running into 30+ year old Sony amp (£20 off eBay) and a pair of Sony speakers from a CD system that I've had for 20 years. I'm perfectly happy with it.

    I've a small collection about 50 LPs that I've built up over the last year. I've only paid "collectors' prices" for a couple of things - an original Riverside issue of 'The Trio' w/Billy Bean and a signed copy of Mark Murphy's first LP.

    Most of the other things I've picked up pottering around the secondhand record shops and charity shops. I've a handful of the recent Blue Note and Impulse reissues on 180g vinyl, which are excellent. I've got most of Barry Harris's output for fair prices. I've plenty of LPs from Xanadu ('70s releases by Jimmy Raney, Charles McPherson, Barry Harris), '80s ECM (Paul Motian, Bill Frisell) and the early years of Criss Cross (Warne Marsh, Jimmy Raney).

  7. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by David B
    Like Rob and Graham, I've the basic Pro-Ject Essential II turntable
    Quote Originally Posted by destinytot
    my turntable is a basic Pro-Ject.
    If you include me, that would make four.

  8. #7

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    I think I have around 1200 jazz lps from my days scouring the used record shops.

    I'm using a hot rodded 1960s Dynaco Stereo 70 tube amp and Lafayette tube preamp and an old A/R table.

    Run these through a pair of old Boston Acoustics A100's that I lined w/modeling clay.

  9. #8

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    I have a a hundred or so vinyl albums of various genres (I had a lot more by got rid of a bunch of several years ago). I'm currently living in somewhat crowded conditions with no real room to set up a turntable, so I haven't been able to listen to any in a while, but I have a Thorens TD 146 that I glommed from my parents many years ago (mom redecorated; dad's audiophile system paid the price). One of these days ...

    That said, I'm definitely not a "vinyl is better" kind of guy. I agree that some vinyl sounds better than some CD's, but I think that's mainly a matter of how they were mastered, not a function of the media themselves. Especially in the early days of CD, a lot of albums were really badly mastered when first re-released on CD, but properly masterered CD's have better dynamic range and fidelity. Lack of surface noise is a really good thing, too, IMO. I stil remember the first time I heard a CD. A friend got one of the early Sony's in 83, and we listened to Metheny's Off-Ramp and Thomas Dolby's The Golden Age or Wireless in both vinyl and CD. The difference in dynamics and clarity was astonishing. I think another reason some prefer Vinyl is that distortion actually sounds good to many people (or at least it's what they're accustomed to), so they prefer vinyl even when it's demonstrably lower fidelity than digital formats. Plus there's the whole neo-retro-hipster-luddite thing that results in crappy stuff being declared superior and people paying $2000 for plywood Kay guitars. But all of THAT said, album covers are really cool, as is the experience of listening to albums with distinct first and second sides.

    John

  10. #9

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    I bought a Pioneer turntable at my fave used record store for $80 a few years ago, and inherited my father's Yamaha RX 530 Stereo Receiver, and ancient AR speakers.
    It's important to note that the new stereo amps don't have phono jacks, and you have to buy an expensive pre-amp to hook up a turntable to them.
    Like Winter Moon, I spent half my life in used record stores, amassing EVERY Johnny Smith, Tal Farlow, Jimmy Raney, Joe Puma, Chuck Wayne and Ed Bickert LP they made as leaders, and many things they were sidemen on.
    To this day, I'll buy any vinyl with a jazz guitarist on it. My latest vinyl acquisition was a Joe Sgro LP entitled "A guitar and you", with a nude chick on the cover, that has her private parts covered by a classical guitar, as she longingly looks straight into my eyes.

    This is a 'mood music' LP that features Sgro acc. by only bass, drums and vibes, playing standards, and semi-classical things with titles like 'Rachmaninoff and You', Tchaikovsky After Hours', Ravel After Hours, Tchaikovsky Sits In, and The Lady Likes Chopin.

    Sgro only plays chord melodies of the tunes, with the vibes doubling the melody in octaves. He only blows a little on 'Harlem Nocturne, but you can tell he's a very good improviser.

    His block chord voicings are played with the precision of Johnny Smith, and you can see a lot of similarities betwixt the two guitarists.

  11. #10

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    I don't have that one sgcim, I have another he made and honestly it's not very good, though I wouldn't mind owning the Super on the cover.
    But he was a legendary teacher around here that taught many excellent players through the yrs. he aalso was a cousin of the great violinist Joe Venuti and was regarded as an excellent violinist as well, they called him 'little Joe'

    I did the same thing as you, I'd hear someone I liked regardless of instrument they played and had to have every recording they appeared on as leader or sideman. Haven't been in a record shop in years, but about lived in them back then.

    Last edited by wintermoon; 05-03-2017 at 03:14 PM.

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by wintermoon
    I don't have that one sgcim, I have another he made and honestly it's not very good, though I wouldn't mind owning the Super on the cover.
    But he was a legendary teacher around here that taught many excellent players through the yrs. he aalso was a cousin of the great violinist Joe Venuti and was regarded as an excellent violinist as well, they called him 'little Joe'

    I did the same thing as you, I'd hear someone I liked regardless of instrument they played and had to have every recording they appeared on as leader or sideman. Haven't been in a record shop in years, but about lived in them back then.

    Yeah, I've heard bad things about that record. I only paid $3 for the Sgro record I mentioned above, and it's all Sgro. I heard he only plays about 50% of the time on 'Plays for Someone Like You', and the band plays the rest of the time.
    I also picked up a 1957 record called 'Winners Circle' featuring John Coltrane(!), Eddie Costa(!), Gene Quill, Kenny Burrell, Al Cohn, Donald Byrd, Frank Rehak, Oscar Pettiford, Rolf Kuhn, Art Farmer and Philly Jo Jones!

    They play in three different small groups, and there's some excellent 'Trane, Quill, Byrd and Rehak on it,
    Again, only $3.

  13. #12

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    The description of Joe Sgro's chordal playing reminds me of an early Ike Isaacs album I have. I'll dig it out for its details.

  14. #13

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    Got my records and stereo back after my fiancee's daughter's divorce (I had loaned these to them on the condition it stayed "in the family.") Her daughter is currently living with us awhile until she starts a new job.

    So got the Nakamichi TA-1A receiver (unfortunately the tuner doesn't work anymore...), Onkyo turntable with Shure M92E cartridge, and Bose 301s set up. BTW, the IKEA Kallax shelves make an excellent vinyl storage unit with room for the stereo on top.

    Vinyl fans anyone?-img_9369-jpg

    I guess I have about 500 records (thought I had more). Some prime stuff like vintage middle period Miles and Coltrane., about 30 Zappa records, some very nice classical stuff not available anymore.

    I amit there's something therapeutic about vinyl. It's a whole body experience, to take the record out, clean it, and put the needle down. Pure endorphins.

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by John A.
    I have a a hundred or so vinyl albums of various genres (I had a lot more by got rid of a bunch of several years ago). I'm currently living in somewhat crowded conditions with no real room to set up a turntable, so I haven't been able to listen to any in a while, but I have a Thorens TD 146 that I glommed from my parents many years ago (mom redecorated; dad's audiophile system paid the price). One of these days ...

    That said, I'm definitely not a "vinyl is better" kind of guy. I agree that some vinyl sounds better than some CD's, but I think that's mainly a matter of how they were mastered, not a function of the media themselves. Especially in the early days of CD, a lot of albums were really badly mastered when first re-released on CD, but properly masterered CD's have better dynamic range and fidelity. Lack of surface noise is a really good thing, too, IMO. I stil remember the first time I heard a CD. A friend got one of the early Sony's in 83, and we listened to Metheny's Off-Ramp and Thomas Dolby's The Golden Age or Wireless in both vinyl and CD. The difference in dynamics and clarity was astonishing. I think another reason some prefer Vinyl is that distortion actually sounds good to many people (or at least it's what they're accustomed to), so they prefer vinyl even when it's demonstrably lower fidelity than digital formats. Plus there's the whole neo-retro-hipster-luddite thing that results in crappy stuff being declared superior and people paying $2000 for plywood Kay guitars. But all of THAT said, album covers are really cool, as is the experience of listening to albums with distinct first and second sides.

    John
    Probably true. In the early days of CD some were poorly mastered and too compressed and tended to not sound good. Even now to my aged ears some digital format stuff doesn't sound the way I remember it on vinyl--Elvis Costello and Steely Dan come to mind. Plus I'm convinced nothing will equal the old Rudy van Gelder recordings of Miles and Coltrane on record.

    But most of the time I go along with the convenience of streaming...

  16. #15

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    Maybe it's the nostalgia more than anything for me. My Christmas treat for myself is a pack of cigarettes, a couple of mixed drinks and playing a few records. Little classical and a little jazz, room lit by the glow from the face of the old tuner/amp.

  17. #16

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    I used to love vinyl, I used to love a woman named Alicia. They're both long gone and I neither miss nor get sentimental about either one. They were great, and then they weren't. They're in my history for a reason.
    The opposite of love is indifference; I would listen to vinyl, but I sure wouldn't pay for it in the 21st century.

  18. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by beardog
    Maybe it's the nostalgia more than anything for me. My Christmas treat for myself is a pack of cigarettes, a couple of mixed drinks and playing a few records. Little classical and a little jazz, room lit by the glow from the face of the old tuner/amp.
    Sinatra is smiling somewhere in heaven right now...

  19. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by whiskey02
    I used to love vinyl, I used to love a woman named Alicia. They're both long gone and I neither miss nor get sentimental about either one. They were great, and then they weren't. They're in my history for a reason.
    I used to love a pretty brunette named Cathy. We got involved when her husband threw out most of her records in a fit of pique, and she threw him out. She told me the story in the University post office. I suggested that she come over to my place when she had a chance to record some of my collection on cassette.

    She came over a week later wearing a cool pink jumper and pink platform shoes with ribbon ties. She had makeup on as well.

    She still had a decent number of interesting records--LOVED Zappa, Bowie and Eno--and we traded recordings for awhile, and went to concerts, and one thing led to another, etc.

    She's also long gone, but I still have the records that we listened to and a few of her mix tapes, with the cool little block lettering--"A Cat Production." Some of the records still have a few cannabis seeds in the middle seam from when we used to separate the seeds from the leaves back in the day (sorry for you youngsters, ask your dad or uncle what I'm talking about).

    I mostly stream albums these days, but then you have nothing to sort through 35 years later, wondering where the hell she is and what she's up to and how did you end up where you are now.
    Last edited by Doctor Jeff; 12-23-2017 at 12:53 AM.

  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by John A.
    That said, I'm definitely not a "vinyl is better" kind of guy. I agree that some vinyl sounds better than some CD's, but I think that's mainly a matter of how they were mastered, not a function of the media themselves. Especially in the early days of CD, a lot of albums were really badly mastered when first re-released on CD, but properly masterered CD's have better dynamic range and fidelity. Lack of surface noise is a really good thing, too, IMO. I stil remember the first time I heard a CD. A friend got one of the early Sony's in 83, and we listened to Metheny's Off-Ramp and Thomas Dolby's The Golden Age or Wireless in both vinyl and CD. The difference in dynamics and clarity was astonishing. I think another reason some prefer Vinyl is that distortion actually sounds good to many people (or at least it's what they're accustomed to), so they prefer vinyl even when it's demonstrably lower fidelity than digital formats. Plus there's the whole neo-retro-hipster-luddite thing that results in crappy stuff being declared superior and people paying $2000 for plywood Kay guitars. But all of THAT said, album covers are really cool, as is the experience of listening to albums with distinct first and second sides.
    I agree completely. I tend to hold with the way Walter Becker put it: "Hey, if you actually WANT a medium that can't tell the signal from the noise, that's your business."

    I have a lot of CDs, but these days I mostly do streaming. The thing I like about streaming is that I get to hear new (to me) music all the time. If someone mentions something they think I should hear, I can just punch it up. "These are the days of miracles and wonders."

  21. #20

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    I worked in new and used record stores for years in high school and college. And haunted others. So I also ended up with about 400 LPs I lug every time I move.

    These days I have a reconditioned Technics SL1300, Shure cart., a low-end Marantz amp and CD player, and bookshelf KEF speakers. But I also often just ask Alexa for whatever is in my head at the moment. The Technics is fading. I might go with a Pro-Ject if it becomes problematic.

    I like Doc's IKEA Kallax shelves! But I really wish I had space to build in a rack like we had in record stores. Big wooden cabinet. Just belly up to it, start flipping the disc jackets forward, hunting and perusing. Now that's living!

  22. #21

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    I'm a vinyl fan but I sold my TT and phono about 2 years ago because I just wasn't using them enough, but I kept all my vinyl. I have an endgame level DAC now (thank you Black Friday and local open box deal) which blows away most digital and is basically on par with vinyl, but I still see myself setting up a vinyl rig again one day because I enjoy the vinyl experience and it's fun to find old records when travelling.

  23. #22

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    More than 2000 vinyls here. And keep buying. Belt drive turntable and 4 pairs of different JBL Studio Monitors, my preferred the 4315B.

  24. #23

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    Lots of vinyl here, although we use streaming a lot too.

    I just had the JVC QL-Y66F serviced and I have a fairly new Ortotofon Super OM-20 on it. The mag-lev motor and all of the electromagnets are working perfectly.

  25. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by coolvinny
    I'm a vinyl fan but I sold my TT and phono about 2 years ago because I just wasn't using them enough, but I kept all my vinyl. I have an endgame level DAC now (thank you Black Friday and local open box deal) which blows away most digital and is basically on par with vinyl, but I still see myself setting up a vinyl rig again one day because I enjoy the vinyl experience and it's fun to find old records when travelling.
    I'm back on vinyl! I picked up a new integrated amp with an excellent built-in phono stage during Fall 2019 Black Friday sales, knowing that one day kinda soon I'd pick up a TT. The general slower pace of the COVID world got me thinking that it's a good time to start listening to my vinyl collection again and I've now picked up a new TT. My digital set up is endgame but the vinyl is still superior to my ears - the main downside of vinyl is that some pressings have lousy quality; in general I think digital recordings are more consistent, but as long as the vinyl is pretty good then it usually sounds better. I have a few albums in both formats and it's fun to compare (The Bridge sounds great on both versions; ditto Herbie Mann's bossa albums with Billy Bean on guitar). Coltrane's Blue Train album already sounds incredible on digital - can't wait to receive the 180g vinyl pressing I ordered.

    What I love about vinyl, other than that is can sound better than digital (but again, not always hugely better if the digital rig is up to the task), is that there's no remote control. There's no pausing, fast forwarding, changing one's mind, etc. You put the needle down and you listen with full concentration for 20 minutes. It's kind of meditative.

  26. #25

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    I about gave up trying to find an original copy that doesn't cost a small fortune so I bought a copy of this Big John Patton lp last week on 180 gram vinyl and it sounds superb, much like an original Blue Note. Most of my lps are orig copies or maybe early 2nd pressings, but these 180 gram reissues live up to the hype.


    Last edited by wintermoon; 05-02-2020 at 12:58 AM.