Last night I was installing a cartridge on a headshell. I just so happened to perfectly align it on initial installation. When I checked the alignment with a protractor, no further action was required. How often does that happen?
Last night I was installing a cartridge on a headshell. I just so happened to perfectly align it on initial installation. When I checked the alignment with a protractor, no further action was required. How often does that happen?
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
Using my psychic abilities, I predict the already exorbitant price of new vinyl records is about to go through the roof. Due to the current high oil prices. During the 70s energy crisis, vinyl records got thinner and thinner. They started touting "flexibility" as if it was a feature and not a bug. What's different about today is they'll never miss an opportunity to squeeze more money out of consumers. And since the major labels have decided the high price of vinyl is just what music costs these days, Hi-Res downloads may very well follow.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
Found a new shop in my neighbourhood , combination of second Hand records and a restaurant. Nice hand picked sélection and all records in VG++ to NM condition. The owner has one of these high tech ultra sound cleaners and offers against a decent fea to clean records. I went there last week with a German 76 Steely Dan Royal Scan pressing, that had a bit of surface dirt and after the cleaning it sounded absolutely perfect without no surface noise at all.
The second record I bought in was à Free Design You Could Be Born Again 2004 reprint from Light In The Attic. I bought it on Discogs as NM but bad surprise it had constant surface noise on both sides. The owner told me that some new records are nowadays completely unpolished and quite noisy. After cleaning the record plays perfectly. If only these ultrasound cleaners weren't so expensive....
There is a new and very inexpensive ultrasonic record clear available on the market that seems to be gaining traction:
https://humminguru.com
We have dozens of ultrasonic baths in our labs, and what this company (in its videos) doesn't say is that you have to use demineralized water and ethanol (both easily available fairly cheaply in drugstores or DYI shops - but they are consumable that cannot be kept on the record shelf like the video hints for the bath unit)
Furthermore, I don't know how they manage to stop the liquid mix to drip onto the label from the top of the spinning disc. I've seen other system providing protection for the record label via shields - the whole thing being fixed in place via a bar passing through the record's vortex
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
"Since its invention over 100 years ago, the vinyl record has revolutionized the way people hear and feel recorded music. In the 1980s, video killed the radio star and CDs killed the record industry. Now—with CD and digital sales on the decline—vinyl records is in the midst of an epic comeback.
A collector of records since childhood, Alex Rodriguez has turned his addiction into a career. Follow Alex across America as he discovers and curates records for Coachella Music Festival’s on-site record store. Dig into the world of record collecting, as Alex spends weeks on the road, buying records and swapping stories with fellow collectors, musicians, and producers.
Featuring interviews with Pete Rock, Lenny Kaye, Monalisa Murray, Oliver Wang, Valerie Calano, “Slug” and “Ant” from Atmosphere, Sheila Burgel, Steven Blush, Rebecca Birmingham, Jamison Harvey “DJ Prestige”, and Kevin Patrick. Record Safari gives viewers an intimate inside look into the world of record collecting through some of the industry’s most knowledgeable enthusiasts. Is it just a hobby or something deeper and more meaningful? What explains vinyl records' steady popularity in the age of streaming?
The film explores the many reasons why people become vinyl enthusiasts and hopes to show viewers why the format has been and remains a powerful medium for music. Is it just a hobby or something deeper? What explains vinyl records steady popularity in the age of streaming? Tag along for the journey as Alex answers these questions and searches high and low for these sought-after pieces of plastic.
"
Is they now!vinyl records is in the midst of an epic comeback.
Hurtleturtled Out of Heaven - an electronic music composition, on CD and vinyl
https://michaelpdawson.bandcamp.com
http://www.waysidemusic.com/Music-Pr...MCD-spc-7.aspx
For those who don't have even $376 to drop on an ultrasonic, which is out stock BTW, I found the ultimate manual wet cleaning solution. TV and computer monitor screen cleaner. It works exceedingly well, better than any other fluid I've tried. And I've tried many. If it's safe for the delicate surface of an expensive flat screen. it's logical to conclude it's also safe on a vinyl record. That being said, it's probably still advisable to rinse with plain water, as the fluid does contain ammonia. I should specify I use fluid which contains no alcohol. Not only are fluids with alcohol potentially more harmful to vinyl, they just don't work as well as those without.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
Looking to upgrade my Ortofon Quintet Red mc (0.5 mV)
Potential choices:
Hana SL mc (or HL mc?) (0.5 mV)
Ortofon Quintet Bronze mc (0.3 mV)
Ortofon 2M Black mm (5 mV) or 2M Black LBV 250 mm (5 mV)
Nagaoka MP-300 mm (3 mV)
Am I close? Running these via my Rogue Sphinx V3 phono preamp. Am I close? Am I missing anything? Thx
If it isn't Krautrock, it's krap.
"And it's only the giving
That makes you what you are" - Ian Anderson
My old TT (in deep storage) has a Nagaoka cartridge (I don't remember the number). It had great midrange and punchy mid-bass but didn't play terribly low and sounded a tad rolled off.
I have an Ortofon 2M Blue which sounds amazing. The Black would sound that much better.
Check the Cartridge alignment. In my experience a misaligned cartridge not only distorts the sound, it rolls off the high end in exactly the same way as a misaligned tape head. As counterintuitive as this may sound, restoring the high end also adds punch to the low end.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
I'm sure - awesome man. My current Ortofon is a wonderful cart, its my first real cart. I just want a change and see if spending a bit more bread can get me closer to audio nirvana. Either way it'll still be great, I can just have the Quintet Red put back on, plenty of life in her yet. I spoke with a dealer in Middlebury, CT today, he can order one and install it professionally for me. This is the way
^ PS, forgot to mention that I'm going with the Hana SL. Sounds like what I'm after musically.
Congrats. I've heard really good things about the Hana. I'm using an Audio Technica Art9XI on my VPI Scoutmaster. It's a giant killer. I think the retail is like $1200.00 and many claim it beats a lot of carts costing nearly twice the price. Still, I wouldn't mind finding something more warm and romantic over the AT that also has the tracking ability. I had a Shelter 501 that in some respects was more musical, but I couldn't get it to track tough records for shit. I can't stand inner groove distortion and my ears are really sensitive to it.
yea IGD sucks, one of those things where once you hear it you can never 'un-hear' it. I have a AT-VM95ML - a microline stylus that's priced around $149 - and it completely eliminated the problem.
Critter Jams "album of the week" blog: http://critterjams.wordpress.com
So, vinylphiles, riddle me this:
45rpm edition vinyl. Why?
Just like a tape deck, the faster the tape/vinyl spins the more information it can hold. Think about it. Same 5 seconds of song use more tape or more groove, so there's the ability to hold more information in those 5 seconds giving you more micro detail.
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A gentleman is defined as someone who knows how to play the accordion, and doesn't.
^^ A 12" 45RPM single also allows an extended version which simply won't fit on a 7" disc. There was a point in history in which record companies sold singles. Rather than having to buy an entire s*** CD for 1 good song.
EDIT: come to think of it, I was at a local new and used record store just the other day. They have a section dedicated to new 45 singles.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
Those Doors 45 rpm records from a few years back sound amazing. Yeah, it's a pain to get up every 10 minutes to flip the record over but they sound better than any other version of The Doors music I've heard. I also have some great 45 rpm jazz reissues. At the time, these things were going for $50 bucks a pop. But the prices on these audiophile pressings are skyrocketing like mad. MFSL has an offshoot called One Step. These are double 45 rpm LPs in oversized boxes full of swag (label advertisements) that cost $150 each. Similarly, the UHQR label does 33 rpm records in an oversized box for $125 each. These things take up a massive amount of room on a shelf. To be honest, I'd rather take that money and put it towards clean vintage pressings. Here's a good video that sums up the good and bad of those enormous audiophile 'box sets'. And don't think these things are free of QC errors either.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy-8...l=NormanMaslov
I remember seeing a special edition XTC Skylarking that was a two album, 45rpm set.
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