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Returning to Vinyl

Now planning a return to vinyl listening after a nearly 40-year hiatus and need some basic help. Although I do still own a functional mid-fi system (Goldring GR1.2 TT with preinstalled arm, Goldring Elektra MM cart, Cambridge Duo phono pre), long gone are the battery-powered vibrating stylus cleaning brush, the Nitty Gritty record cleaning machine, the LAST LP treatment solution with the big wide application brush, and even the MHS archive-quality replacement sleeves. I know there are several cleaning machines on the market and am willing to spend something reasonable (<$1k), but beyond that I'm clueless.
Q1. How necessary is a cleaning machine for an occasional (say, 3x/mo.) vinyl listener with irreplaceable LPs?
Q2. If needed, which product delivers most bang for the buck? 
Q3. Same questions re stylus cleaning devices.
Q4. Same questions re record preservation treatments.
Q5. Tracking/alignment/pressure have not been checked or adjusted since acquisition despite two moves. Are there still shops performing these services? 

Advance thanks for all useful advice.
hickamore
hickamore OP
523 posts
 
mijostyn
Got 300-400 LPs, some duplicates and/or different pressings, virgin vinyl, half-speed mastered, etc.
Will definitely check Elusive Disc, which I'd never heard of. Last time I spun vinyl, there was no such thing as a website to find such information.
wyoboy
Will check the referenced paper. If I end up doing more and more vinyl, a machine will certainly become the right move.
ghdprentice
6,354 posts
 
Given some investments you are in for a real treat. Unless you treated your disks really badly (as in scratched) they are capable of tremendous sound. Also turntables and associated equipment has gotten orders of magnitude better at all price points. A disk cleaner (I use a VPI) can return disks to like new condition and contemporary cartridges can drop deeper into worn record groove and yield spectacular sound. With contemporary turntables noise simply disappears and the cleaning machine eliminates pops and ticks. I haven’t taken a hiatus from vinyl but I remember steps that took me beyond what I thought was possible… over and over again. 

I still use Last preservative after cleaning.
wyoboy
233 posts
 
@hickamore:   Vinylengine is another good website with a database on TT's, tonearms and cartridges & specs
hickamore OP
523 posts
 
Many thanks to all for the tips and encouragement. Will definitely follow them up. Believe the right time has come. While vinyl is a hassle, I'm finding streaming falls well short of audio nirvana and is not without its own frustrations. Synching streaming apps with iPad -- !%^&!* Can't help wondering: six months from now, will I be creating playlists dubbed to cassette tapes as I did in the 1970s? Just discovered that TEAC still sells one, and for that matter I've got an old Rotel that sounds better than it deserves to. (Can't afford R2R, from what I'm reading).

tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,741 posts
 
Goldring Elektra Phono Cartridge Specifications
- Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz ± 3dB
- Channel balance @ 1kHz: 2dB 
- Channel separation @ 1kHz: 20dB 
- Output voltage @ 1kHz,5cm/sec: 5mV±2dB 
- Static compliance: 16mm/N
- Equivalent tip mass: 0.7 mg
- Vertical tracking angle: 26°
- Stylus radius: Elliptical .0007 x .0003 (18µ x 7µ)
- Stylus type: Replaceable, Golding D152E stylus 
- Load resistance: 47k ohms
- Load capacitance: 150-400 pf
- Internal inductance: 560 mH
- Internal resistance: 700 ohms
- Weight: 4.2 g
- Mounting: 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) 
- Tracking force range: 1.5-3.0 g (2.0 g nominal)
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