I am new to the site, and recently was gifted 153 un opened vinyl records for my consumption!
I have always loved the richer sound of vinyl from my youth, and I just sold all my solid state stuff, and am going to only keep the Klipsch 3.2 speakers and put together a nice tube set up.
Therefore... to all the depth of knowledge here I appreciate and respect..
what are the: 10 Commandments of a Vinyl Audiophile!
Duplicating some recommendation already presented and perhaps adding some others:
> Keep your records clean. Don't touch the grooves with your fingers, handle only by the edges without gripping between thumb and finger. Don't leave them lying about outside of their protective sleeves/jackets.
> If the record has not been cleaned, do so before playing it the first time. ("How to clean" is covered in lots of discussions in the archives.)
> Store your records in an inner sleeve, not just bare in the jacket, and keep them in their jackets when not being played. ("Recommendations for sleeves" are covered in lots of discussions in the archives.) The goal is to keep dust away from settling into the grooves or the surface of the record otherwise getting damaged. Vinyl is soft and the grooves are delicate - protect them.
> Store your records upright (vertical), away from heat (including direct sunlight, radiators, and hot equipment), and without a lot of pressure against them. They can warp and get bent. Also, do not store them in an area of high humidity or with no circulation: mildew loves vinyl and mildew will destroy your records.
> Properly align and adjust your cartridge and tonearm, and check that the stylus is in good shape. A poorly aligned cartridge, or a worn stylus, can damage the record beyond recovery on just a single play. Then, fine tune your record player to get the best sound -- with vinyl, the magic is truly in the details.
> Don't get obsessive about silence. LPs are not CDs (thank goodness!). Expect to have some amount of surface noise. Expect to have some amount of pops and clicks. Learn to LISTEN THROUGH THE SURFACE NOISE to the music. Think of it like a live performance where you can hear the audience shuffling in their seats, coughs here and there, the sound of the HVAC system... Work towards experiencing your vinyl the same way and you'll find the wonders of the music.
> Here is a pretty good post about taking care of your vinyl that I encourage you to read: http://www.mindspring.com/~jmaier/vinyl.htm
1)Thou shalt not have any systems above thine own (thunder quakes) 2)Thou shalt not play music thoust doest not enjoy (lighting cracks) 3)Thou shall keepeth thine system clean and free from dust (earth quakes) 4)Thou will removeth any dirt from thine stylus each time thouest play a record (people shudder and sparatic shivering amongst the crowd) 5)Thou shall handle your vinyl with reverences similar to precious jewels or the last snickers bar(in the distance, a dog whimpers) 6)Thou shalt not bear false witness to other audiophiles about how much better different pressings are (more thunder) 7)Thou shall seek and destroy all static and removeth it from thy vinyl (even more thunder with some lighting thrown in for effect) 8)Thou, meaning you, shall set aside a time each day to listen to the LP of your choice (that dog whimpers and cowers a little further in the distance...he tucks his tail, I won't say where but you get the idea) 9)Thou shalt not covet thy best audiophile freinds turntable (Ok this is like thunder, lightning and a large gasp all at once...very frightning..as a matter of fact just typing it causes me to tremble) 10)Thou, yes you again, must clean all vinyl with a suitable wet cleaning system before playing each new LP. Also you must use a good sleeve and lp cover. (a large crack of thunder with lighting, earthquakes and the dog just runs away with so much fear he may never come back... ok he will come back at dinner time; you know dogs. But the thunder is really loud!Wear hearing protection so as to not cause any hearing damage)
Now carveth these laws I have given you in a large vinyl tablet and hangeth it over your turntable, so as not to forgeteth the rules that have been laideth downeth for thou (yes you once more)on this most audiophilia-educational typeth day!
Everything above AND... get yourself a good record cleaning machine like a VPI 16.5. They're a little pricey to get into, but once you have one you'll never know how you got by without it.
Great answers. However, exception is taken to Rushton's "listen through the surface noise". If an LP has "surface noise" out it goes.
Select mint or near-mint vinyl and surface noise is largely eliminated unless the original master was of really poor quality.
Do not purchase vinyl in lower condition simply because it is cheaper. Endless surface noise will obviously detract from your enjoyment of the music.
Vinyl produces far better than CD sound quality if you purchase mint condition records, and that is the objective. Otherwise, you might as well listen to CD's.
The object is to get the very best audio reproduction you can and that can be achieved with a great cartridge and mint or near-mint vinyl.
I remember when they dyed the red sea red, and I went to the funereal when the dead sea died. I have been around awhile, consequently I have a lot of vinyl. Never get distracted when you are giving a $35.00 LP a bath.
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