Rediscovering records

Nice !   I sold my table 10 or 12 years ago.  Fortunately I kept my records and dove back in during Covid.    I have been playing  a ton of LPs lately.   

Generally speaking my digital playback sounds pretty good, but there's something about how a really good LP can sound.  I have a number of records that sound so much better than their CD counterpart that they beg to be listened to. 

I have done a lot of CD, Stream, LP comparisons and it got me thinking that  my digital side can't get much better without spending big $$$ and that maybe I should upgrade my table.   And  eventually cartridge. 

I just traded up a few models in the Sota line and should be getting my new table next week.  

Congrats on re-discovering your record collection! A major step forward for me was adding ultrasonic cleaning. The Vevor very affordable machine works wonders. I recently systematically went through my 1500 records and the results are striking compared to vacuum only. I relish the vinyl ritual, but also embrace digital sources and even tapes. Music first, preferred medium vinyl, but will enjoy other formats as well. You may know, there is even new vinyl being released. This is my thing, discovering new music and then patiently waiting for the record to arrive.

Yes, I have found over the years as my systems evolved I hope for the better that each upgrade makes a higher percentage of my LPs sound better than previously. I don't know what that means, actually.

Unfortunately, as I’ve delved more deeply into my collection, I’ve found that my optimism is somewhat unfounded. All records are definitely not created equal. Of a sampling of about 30 I actually found the majority to be indeed mediocre.  Of course some were wonderful sounding, as were the few that prompted me to post this thread.  I don’t know if 30 is a representative enough of a sample, but the results were disappointing.

Of course, the MUSIC’S the most important thing but my findings are what they are.

I listen mainly to orchestral music which has very complex textures.  Solo singers or instruments or small groups sound very decent on most of my records. It’s the very large forces that are difficult to reproduce.