Vinyl records...

[Merc.]

So I found myself be interested in vinyl records and listening to them. Not sure where did this come from... Is this weird? In today's world?

 

I am seriously considering to start collecting vinyls and buying a "record playing machine". (As a hobby)

 

Anyone else here obsessed with vinyl records here? Am I alone? And yes, I'm 17 years old if you're wondering.

[Volbet]

Vinyl is currently the flavour of the month for hipsters and audiophiles, so no, it's not weird. It's actually quite common to be intersted in vinyl records. 

 

And vinyl collecting can be a really fun hobby. You can also get started for quite cheap if you look used. 

 

This is my newest turntable playing an original press of The Myth and Legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Rick Wakeman (brilliant progessive rock, by the way).

 

That turntable is hooked up in my home office and I got another one (a Denon DP-15F) hooked up in my living room.

[SeamusFrederick]

7 minutes ago, Merc. said:

So I found myself be interested in vinyl records and listening to them. Not sure where did this come from... Is this weird? In today's world?

 

I am seriously considering to start collecting vinyls and buying a "record playing machine". (As a hobby)

 

Anyone else here obsessed with vinyl records here? Am I alone? And yes, I'm 17 years old if you're wondering.

Not at all if you consider yourself to be somewhat of a traditionalist. I don't personally collect any vinyl records myself but I know a lot of people that do. So there you go.

[SeamusFrederick]

2 minutes ago, Volbet said:

Vinyl is currently the falvour of the month for hipsters and audiophiles, so no, it's not weird. It's actually quite common to be intersted in vinyl records. 

 

And vinyl collecting can be a really fun hobby. You can also get started for quite cheap if you look used. 

 

This is my newest turntable playing an original press of The Myth and Legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table by Rick Wakeman (brilliant progessive rock, by the way).

 

That turntable is hooked up in my home office and I got another one (a Denon DP-15F) hooked up in my living room.

Just out of curiosity, how much do these record players usually go for?

[ogretactics]

Definitely not weird. Vinyl has been mounting a comeback for years now, and tons of self-appointed "audiophiles" focus their music collecting towards the vinyl scene. Bands that aren't even releasing their album on CD anymore are opting to instead go vinyl for their physical release and turntable tech has come a long way since they're resurrection. It's something I could see myself getting into down the line, but right now there just isn't enough hours in the day or dollars in the bank for me to adopt another "hobby".

[Volbet]

5 minutes ago, SeamusFrederick said:

Just out of curiosity, how much do these record players usually go for?

The one pictured go for around $500 new, but I got it for around a $240 used. 

 

But you can get really good used turntables for around $70 if you know where to look. 

The only reason I got that one is becuase I like to overkill.

[SeamusFrederick]

LOL. Looks sick though dude

[SSL]

The best masters are usually to be found on vinyl, especially for non-classical music.

[klh2000]

If you want a cheap, but good turntable, get a U-Turn Orbit.

[Dackzy]

No it is 100% normal, I also want vinyl records and a nice turntable, but sadly I don't have the space for it.

[SandroMK]

11 hours ago, Dackzy said:

No it is 100% normal, I also want vinyl records and a nice turntable, but sadly I don't have the space for it.

How much gonna cost a decent Vinyl setup? With its speakers, turntable and amp/dac(if it needs,idk)? 

Also which parts you would choose?

[Dackzy]

7 minutes ago, SandroMK said:

How much gonna cost a decent Vinyl setup? With its speakers, turntable and amp/dac(if it needs,idk)? 

Also which parts you would choose?

I have really not looked a whole lot into it, but I would say that for 400-500$ you can get a pretty nice setup.

 

@Volbet can help some more.

[Volbet]

3 hours ago, SandroMK said:

How much gonna cost a decent Vinyl setup? With its speakers, turntable and amp/dac(if it needs,idk)? 

Also which parts you would choose?

Depends on what you mean with "decent. What's decent for me is probably way overkill for most people. 

 

First off, you don't need a DAC. Vinyl records are analog and there for doesn't need to be converted.

On the other side, you do technically speaking need two amps, since you need a regular headphone and/or speaker amp and a phono-preamp. 

 

If I were you I'd look on your local Craigslist. There will probably be a bunch of pretty good equipment at a good price.

 

I would recommend looking at old-ish Marants turntables, since most of them are direct-drive and you don't need to worry about the belt. 

 

If you want to go with new equipment, then the $400-$500 that @Dackzy estimated sounds about right. 

 

3 hours ago, Dackzy said:

I have really not looked a whole lot into it, but I would say that for 400-500$ you can get a pretty nice setup.

 

@Volbet can help some more.

While I can do my best, the two of us don't really have the best price references. 

Man, hifi equipment is expensive in Denmark.  

 

Also, thank you for giving me work while I'm on vacation.

 

Maybe we need to do a "get started with vinyl" - guide, seeing how there has been two questions about vinyl records in under 24 hours.

[SandroMK]

4 minutes ago, Volbet said:

snip

Well, by decent i mean, not that expensive overkill build. The price range is fine, 400-500$.

 

About my local stores, here everything is overpriced compared to amazon prices. I suppose it's better to buy from amazon and pay extra for shipping than buying stuff here. And also you wont find much things about audio here, cuz they coast too much and people aint gonna buy them, so not much stores here to look into.

 

I just want to set myself to a point, to know what items i need exactly, so i can aim for it, collect some money for some period of time and buy all things at once. I suppose that's not going to happen that quick but, anyways i want to know what is best for me. That's why i'm here to get knowledge so in future i know what is good and what to buy.

 

Thanks for your reply, i appreciate that !

 

[Dackzy]

54 minutes ago, Volbet said:

SNIP

oh shit I am sorry dude.

[Volbet]

39 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

oh shit I am sorry dude.

Mah, no need to be sorry. It was just meant as a friendly jab.

If I didn't want to work, I wouldn't answer. 

I'm just sitting around doing nothing right now, so it's all good.

 

42 minutes ago, SandroMK said:

Well, by decent i mean, not that expensive overkill build. The price range is fine, 400-500$.

 

About my local stores, here everything is overpriced compared to amazon prices. I suppose it's better to buy from amazon and pay extra for shipping than buying stuff here. And also you wont find much things about audio here, cuz they coast too much and people aint gonna buy them, so not much stores here to look into.

 

I just want to set myself to a point, to know what items i need exactly, so i can aim for it, collect some money for some period of time and buy all things at once. I suppose that's not going to happen that quick but, anyways i want to know what is best for me. That's why i'm here to get knowledge so in future i know what is good and what to buy.

 

Thanks for your reply, i appreciate that !

You can get a pretty good new setup for $400-$500. 

 

As a quick recommendations list, I could be:

 

Speakers: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014GSER6O/ref=amb_link_475431522_3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=product-alert&pf_rd_r=3BF0Z68T7FK5T6DXSXJA&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=2531754642&pf_rd_i=B014GSER6O

 

Amp: https://www.amazon.com/SMSL-50Wx2-TDA7492-Amplifier-Adapter/dp/B00F0H8TOC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469003839&sr=8-1&keywords=sa-50

 

Preamp: https://www.amazon.com/PYLE-PRO-PP444-Compact-Turntable-Preamp/dp/B004HJ1TTQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1469003917&sr=8-3&keywords=phono+preamp

 

That would leave you with $100-$200 (excluding shipping) for a turntable. 

 

I would recommend looking locally for a turntable, since they're are pretty delicate and therfor they can break during shipping.  

[Dackzy]

24 minutes ago, Volbet said:

Mah, no need to be sorry. It was just meant as a friendly jab.

If I didn't want to work, I wouldn't answer. 

I'm just sitting around doing nothing right now, so it's all good.

Well better safe than sorry I guess  

[vanished]

What I'd like to know is why it's getting popular again... I get that people can like a certain sound signature, but by my calculations, digital is objectively more capable/accurate/detailed/etc. so why would studios not just release digital copies mastered to sound like vinyl?

[SandroMK]

40 minutes ago, Volbet said:

Mah, no need to be sorry. It was just meant as a friendly jab.

If I didn't want to work, I wouldn't answer. 

I'm just sitting around doing nothing right now, so it's all good.

 

You can get a pretty good new setup for $400-$500. 

 

As a quick recommendations list, I could be:

 

Speakers: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014GSER6O/ref=amb_link_475431522_3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=product-alert&pf_rd_r=3BF0Z68T7FK5T6DXSXJA&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=2531754642&pf_rd_i=B014GSER6O

 

Amp: https://www.amazon.com/SMSL-50Wx2-TDA7492-Amplifier-Adapter/dp/B00F0H8TOC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469003839&sr=8-1&keywords=sa-50

 

Preamp: https://www.amazon.com/PYLE-PRO-PP444-Compact-Turntable-Preamp/dp/B004HJ1TTQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1469003917&sr=8-3&keywords=phono+preamp

 

That would leave you with $100-$200 (excluding shipping) for a turntable. 

 

I would recommend looking locally for a turntable, since they're are pretty delicate and therfor they can break during shipping.  

Thank you a lot ! My grandpa had turntable in village , the one made by CCCP (Russia) i think it is still alive, gonna go there this summer and check, and if it works gonna take it to home and after ill buy rest of the parts !

 

Thanks again

[Sintezza]

Vinyl is great, i still use my Stanton ST150´s turntables very often.

Mainly playing and mixing, Techno, Trance, Hardcore, early rave records etc.

 

Those fake dj´s today with using their digital dec´s and computers just for show is awfull realy.

[Volbet]

2 hours ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

What I'd like to know is why it's getting popular again... I get that people can like a certain sound signature, but by my calculations, digital is objectively more capable/accurate/detailed/etc. so why would studios not just release digital copies mastered to sound like vinyl?

For some, like me, it's as much about collecting as it is about listning to the music. 

Records are a fun thing to collect and you get to show off an actual physical collection rather than an iTunes library. 

I also know people that enjoy the ritual of putting on the vinyl and just letting it play, and then having to turn it over. 

They find it meditative in a way.

 

On the audio side, there is the argument that you don't need conversion to analog, and that you therefor cut out a link in your audio chain. 

In the modern age this argument is pretty much bullshit, though.

[SSL]

5 hours ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

What I'd like to know is why it's getting popular again... I get that people can like a certain sound signature, but by my calculations, digital is objectively more capable/accurate/detailed/etc. so why would studios not just release digital copies mastered to sound like vinyl?

 

Answer: The Loudness Wars. Popular music is mastered so that peaks are at 0 decibels below full scale, as well as with heavy dynamic range compression to make the music sound as loud as possible. There are a lot of reasons for exactly why this has happened, but it's an obvious trend with all genres except for serious classical recordings.

 

The physical limitations of vinyl require that the mastering engineer actually know what they're doing and produce something that sounds good. A lot of people who are not aware of mastering practices simply assume that it is the vinyl that is mostly responsible for the improved sound.

 

One thing I hear a lot from people into vinyl is the ceremony of putting on a record, queuing it up, and sitting down for a listen. Because you can't really skip around or start and stop LP playback, listening has to be a more focused activity.

[SandroMK]

@Volbet Forgot to ask you. Does turntable matter? i mean does it matter which one i will get? 

 

Let's say this one is  going to be good? https://goo.gl/Ql9hH0

Or what is difference between that and this one? https://goo.gl/XTebqY

[Volbet]

7 minutes ago, SandroMK said:

@Volbet Forgot to ask you. Does turntable matter? i mean does it matter which one i will get? 

 

Let's say this one is  going to be good? https://goo.gl/Ql9hH0

Or what is difference between that and this one? https://goo.gl/XTebqY

The turntable does matter. To what exactly what degree I can't say. Although, the price/performance point seems to be rather low.

 

I usually tend to recommend avoiding cheaper, noname-brand turntables, since there is a chance that they're shoddily build and can therefor scratch your records.

Although, you can't really go wrong with Audio-Technica turntables. 

The difference between the two turntables you linked is mainly features. The more expensive one has variable speed, for example, while the cheap one only has 33rpm and 45rpm. 

You can also look into the cheaper offerings from companies like Pro-ject, TEAC, Rega, and U-Turn.

 

Another thing to keep an eye on is what region the turntable is meant for. 

Some turntables are made to work with the power in a specific region and will not work in other regions.

For example, a US turntable will only work with 120 V and will therefor not work in Europe.  

[vanished]

4 hours ago, SSL said:

...

 

The physical limitations of vinyl require that the mastering engineer actually know what they're doing and produce something that sounds good. A lot of people who are not aware of mastering practices simply assume that it is the vinyl that is mostly responsible for the improved sound.

 

...

That makes a lot of sense... the masters for them are just better, but it's got nothing to do with the format, other than that the format requires it to be well mastered

Why doesn't some studio just hire these people to do digital?   There has to be a market for that...