With the exception of a few all analogue releases, all new vinyl comes from digital files. New groups are probably doing vinyl for young fans who don't really know the difference and don't have very good turntables. If you like older jazz, classical, or rock, you can find all analogue vinyl made before 1980. A lot of that is very good. But as I purchase more vinyl, I find that I need to be careful. I talk to AI a lot about various vinyl productions and pitfalls. But good vinyl on a good analogue front end is fabulous. It can be too much of a hassle for some people, and if you can afford a good streamer, the sound is coming much closer to vinyl.
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.
- ...
- 77 posts total
@cleeds Not sure what your point is. Would you describe yourself as a "vinyl guy" (my term) if you only rarely purchased or listened to vinyl? And for context, back in the 70s and early 80s I was a vinyl guy. I had a pretty heft library. That's why I said "return" to vinyl. Or are you suggesting that you have to make a deep commitment before you can tell? You know, buy all the expensive gear, then do a lot a research into each vinyl purchase making sure you buy from someone with a liberal return policy and only then can you determine if you might be a vinyl guy? If so maybe you can understand why so few guys are "vinyl guys". I find it amusing that some folks who have responded here see my account of my experience as some sort of personal affront to their core belief structure. When in fact I did not, in this post, criticize anyone regarding their choice nor did I criticize the medium at large. The irony is that many of the replies, which kindly suggested a path forward if I so desired, actually put the medium in a bit of a bad light from a beginners perspective. For those who have commiserated or suggested better ways to approach vinyl from the perspective of a someone dabbling with the idea of getting more serious (and has had a bad experience or two) I genuinely appreciate at it. For those who couldn’t help but being snide or insulting.......no big deal. For whatever reason it just seems to be endemic in the audiophile community and we’re all used to it.
|
No. What you describe is actually just a caricature of a "vinyl guy." |
I think @cleeds says (whom I never agree with your post is confusing. Or maybe I am just projecting. |
|
)- 77 posts total