Blown away by vinyl

[Br1ck]

I've been going through my inherited record collection, playing sides for 4-5 hours a day for maybe the last three weeks straight. First, having this many VG+ to mint, and many unopened (Sargent Pepper) albums in one shot is just amazing. A good pressing in great condition played on a decent system is awe inspiring. Right now is Crosby, Stills and Nash. Earlier was Ry Cooder, Cream and Credence.

Last week was Miles Davis, Coltrane, Stan Getz, Duke Ellington, etc. Maybe next week will be Bach, Brahms, Vivaldi and Chopin. What an amazing gift. The grooves hold magic in them. Thanks Uncle Walt, wherever you are.

 

[noise gate]

one thing about vinyl is if properly stored it should last forever. I have albums that I bought 30 yrs ago and some of them saw some pretty wild parties and are still in very good condition sound wise.

Congrats on your score. Depending on the pressing I'm amazed at how good some stuff recorded in the time of Ellington can sound.

Have fun.

 

[tubeboob]

one thing about vinyl is if properly stored it should last forever. I have albums that I bought 30 yrs ago and some of them saw some pretty wild parties and are still in very good condition sound wise.

Congrats on your score. Depending on the pressing I'm amazed at how good some stuff recorded in the time of Ellington can sound.

Have fun.

How true . . .

I have Jazz records from the 1950s and 1960s that sound great.

My rock albums, mostly 1960s and 1970s sound amazing.

Of note, some of my CDs, not even close in age, no longer play properly, skipping on numerous tracks.

Go figure . . .

And yes, vinyl is addicting

Cheers

 

[spartanmanor]

Sounds like fun!

 

[hbrocks]

God Bless Uncle Walt...! :thmbsp:

 

[jayczar]

That's awesome, I inherited 2 boxes of vinyl a few years ago from my uncle as well but only about 4-5 were playable lol. I appreciated it nonetheless , enjoy!

 

[libertycaps]

Yep. Some pressings are definitely better than others. It's been my experience that original pressings tend to be the best. When everything is in synergy and the pressing is exceptionally clean, many vintage records can be quite amazing. Many are duds. I now take the vinyl experience on a case-by-case basis. Enjoy the rollercoaster ride.

 

[oldvinyldude]

I started getting back into my album collection about 5 years ago, They had been sitting about 20 years unplayed. I was beginning to hunt the used record bins everywhere I could (which I still do). I would stay up much too late pulling out albums and listening-much like my teen years.

I remember when that dude's collection in PA went up on e-bay. I have never heard of him, until then. I think the collection is something like 5 or 6 million records.

I told my co-worker that if I went into his warehouse, I would probably never come out again.

Glad to hear someone else getting pumped like I did :thmbsp:

 

[bare]

Back in the day it was generally understood that the typical LP was good for 6/8 playings before there was audible differences due to inevitable groove wear.
Not much of a stretch to comprehend that dragging a Diamond Tool thru Very fragile vinyl imprinted with microscopic waves could cause serious damage.
Replacing a worn album was commonplace. I did so often, as these were cheapish and easily replaced disposables
Not much if ANY talk of that these days, but it remains as the Elephant in the room.. does it not?
Collecting is an entirely different animal than using
Enjoy while you can Or gasp! transcribe to DVD?

 

[rnorton]

Back in the day it was generally understood that the typical LP was good for 6/8 playings before there was audible differences due to inevitable groove wear.
Not much of a stretch to comprehend that dragging a Diamond Tool thru Very fragile vinyl imprinted with microscopic waves could cause serious damage.
Replacing a worn album was commonplace. I did so often, as these were cheapish and easily replaced disposables
Not much if ANY talk of that these days, but it remains as the Elephant in the room.. does it not?
Collecting is an entirely different animal than using
Enjoy while you can Or gasp! transcribe to DVD?

That was certainly NOT 'generally understood' by the audiophile crowd that I ran with back in the day. Probably because it wasn't and still isn't true.

 

[WaynerN]

I have records that I bought when I was a kid, like Neil Young-Harvest, Pink Floyd DSOTM and so on.

The rules at my house were: clean the record before each and every play (good old discwasher brush and some water/alcohol mix) and never track with any cartridge higher then 1.75 grams.

Now we have the alignment technology, better cartridges and in general, a better understanding of what it takes to have quality vinyl playback. Forums like the AudioKarma certainly have helped promote better vinyl playback, by combining the experiences and knowledge of so many.

Thank you Arpanet, and the US military....

Wayner

 

[GreatTone]

Back in the day it was generally understood that the typical LP was good for 6/8 playings before there was audible differences due to inevitable groove wear.
Not much of a stretch to comprehend that dragging a Diamond Tool thru Very fragile vinyl imprinted with microscopic waves could cause serious damage.
Replacing a worn album was commonplace. I did so often, as these were cheapish and easily replaced disposables
Not much if ANY talk of that these days, but it remains as the Elephant in the room.. does it not?
Collecting is an entirely different animal than using
Enjoy while you can Or gasp! transcribe to DVD?

That was true when most people listened with poor quality, heavy tonearms with a stylus that was filthy and worn out. One play is enough to cause irreversible groove damage, ruining the record. However, with a good quality stylus, clean, propery aligned and not overly worn, there is no practical limit to the number of plays you can get with no audible difference. Most people didn't know back then that a stylus wears out -- 600 hours is average, and few people replaced them at that stage. A worn stylus will definitely damage the grooves.

Vinyl is not as fragile as you might imagine though. I have records I bought in the 70s that have been played hundreds of times on good quality equipment, and they still sound excellent.

 

[ssmith3046]

The records that I bought after 1973 are still sound like new because that's the year I bought a new AR-XA turntable fitted with a new Shure V-15 III.

 

[Dr Tinear]

The records that I bought after 1973 are still sound like new because that's the year I bought a new AR-XA turntable fitted with a new Shure V-15 III.

My first turntable, from 1974, was an AR XA fitted with a Shure M91ED. The records in my collection that I bought new still sound like new.