To switch or not to switch.....


I assembled my first system in 1964. It consisted of H H Scott amp and tuner kits, a Fairchild turntable, arm and cartridge and Bozak speakers. Zip cord speaker wire and two dollar interconnects completed the system. We all learned to live with the pops and clicks and hiss of records and saved for the ultimate in sound ...reel to reel tape. The advent of Dolby noise reduction ushered in cassettes. Then came digital...compact discs...super audio discs...and finally...analog via lp's. What goes around.....

I would think almost all 'philes at one time or another have had the urge to return to lp's...and I'm there now. I can't help wondering what I can expect with new table/arm combinations, cartridges and record cleaning machines. Do we still live with that inner groove distortion, surface noise, etc. that I remember so well, or has the industry been able to overcome these disturbances? I'm anxious to hear what you all are experiencing today.

lovesmusic
It is possible with the best analog rigs, to have stunning playback of your music with a background silence that is as quiet as digital. There is tape hiss on some old reissued masters, but the same noise appears on CD as well.

I am not saying that EVERY LP you own will be as dead silent as digitally recorded CD's, but many will be. I have LP's that were purchased not long after your first system in 1964, and most are dead quiet during playback.

Like anything mechanical, the differences between tables, tonearms and cartridges are enormous and set up is equally important. You can get excellent LP playback for a few hundred dollars, and the sky is the limit.
Good phono stages and linear tracking have come a long way. Add that to better record cleaning methods and higher technology stylus shapes and you've got a whole new world in front of ( or is it behind ??? ) you. Sean
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