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Why I don't think I'll ever return to vinyl - brief rant

I am not a vinyl guy. I have a half decent turntable and a half decent cartridge and a mid-fi at best phono preamp.

But I do get the bug every now and again and will buy a vinyl album. These are mostly from new-ish artists. I buy them from their websites hoping to support them. Sometimes I am rewarded. Mac Saturn’s only album sounds really good. The Tesky Brother’s album Run Home Slow sounds amazing and is better than the CD and streaming options. I suspect it is less compressed.

Well, the bug bit again recently and I bought the Red Clay Stray’s double live album recorded at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. It was $45 on their website. There is no CD for this album. The vinyl is thin. The edges are rough. They had some type of dusty residue on them. At then end of one of the album sides there was a spot that looked like some sort of stain or smudge. I cleaned the records and got all the residue off of them. But the one side with the stain on it, that produces an audible pop, would not come clean. The pop persists. It is at the very end of a song, mostly in the crowd noise but it still sucks.

I contacted ’support’ on their website but never got a reply. No big deal. Its $45 and it supports a band that I like.

But that sure puts me off from buying more vinyl.

n80
audphile1's avatar
audphile1
8,204 posts
 

Don’t buy colored vinyl of questionable recording quality from questionable pressing plants. Good vinyl sounds great. 
Rhino Hi Fi for rock music is hard to beat, especially the albums mastered by Kevin Gray in full analog. Treat yourself to one. 

parkergetdean
1,139 posts
 

So you have an issue with customer support, not vinyl? Or I am confused...

patrickalston
182 posts
 

File a dispute with your credit card company

axpert's avatar
axpert
146 posts
 

I have to say this - - - - I happen to have a collection of over 5000 LPs. Some mono from the "good old days", the remainder are stereo dating from the early 50's to present time. All of my records are graded MINT or MINT -. That's the kind of rating you need to look for when doing online searches of re-sellers that stand behind what they sell.

That being said, I'm having difficulty getting a spin on your music tastes. I sound like you are lost in a 2026 "funk". Real music is almost a thing of the past but something I enjoy tremendously. Obviously, I have no idea what you have available to you based on where you live. Online or in person.

For the money you are throwing away, there are many re-sellers available online that specialize in both new and used LP's, all of which are graded for condition and playback quality. Also, if you go to a website called MUSIC DIRECT, located in Chicago, you will never have to worry about getting junk records and wasting your money. This is a "high quality" audio "brick and mortar" store. You can also call.

Also, with MUSIC DIRECT, they carry a line of "ORIGINAL MASTER RECORDINGS." Most of which are of "master tape" quality, free of blemishes and very high-quality reproduction. If you are going to spend (typically) around $30-45 for a new record. this would be a good place to look. 

They have a staff of people available to help with most anything. They also have a 30-day return/refund policy. 

There are also many other LP retailers online. Just involves a little investigation.

I would steer clear of small-time producers that are trying to sell crap. 

GOOD LUCK! I wouldn't give up on vinyl quite yet. Another work of advice - - - - - - - -Keeping you playback equipment clean, and in proper working and calibration, is as important as the record quality. Make sure you keep your cartridge stylus clean and free of dirt accumulation. Also make certain that your tone arm and cartridge are not only mounted properly but also calibrated according to factory specifications.  If you are serious about vinyl in the future, I recommend an upgrade to most likely a higher performance phono preamp and a quality pair of phono cables that are properly grounded. Recommendation: Check out SCHIIT ELECTROINCS.  They manufacture a line of unbelievably high-performance products at almost ridiculously low prices. Their top two phono preamps can pretty well stand up to products costing 3-5 times as much. Beautiful construction and Warranty,

defrogi
2 posts
 

Vinyl created from 24 track analog tape has nuances you’ll NEVER hear from any digitally processed sources. You don’t NEED an audiophile system to HEAR the difference! I wish any NEW vinyl would have the same “label” as CDs. AAA, AAD, ADD, or DDD. If an vinyl album has anything other than AAA, you ARE NOT hearing the total experience!

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