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Do Turntables provide the best bang for $ for $?

BushmasterM4 said:
Plus it sounds smoother and less fatiguing !!!
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I don’t know if it is only imagination or what but I agree. To me CDs and streaming are fatiguing to listen to. Perhaps it is that I feel less involved with the music and getting up to turn over the record somehow makes it feel more “alive” or something. Similar to how I felt when solid state amps were first becoming popular, they just sounded harsh and strident. There may be something to it or it may just be all imagination.
 
Digital and CD playback is very easy and inexpensive. Spending a lot of money is not necessary, but you can if you want. I have thousands of CDs and enjoy the format greatly as I do vinyl, but vinyl is a lot more of a hassle and more costly to get right.

Even a $300-500 CDP or $100 DAC will have a s/n ratio beyond what the format is capable of most of the time, but try finding a decent new turntable for that price. Many sub-$1K turntables don't even meet 60s NAB standards for W/F.
 
Late Boomer said:
I take it, you are not a big proponent of Hi-Res?
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"Hi-Res" is excellent. No objections at all! I have no complaints over the format and one more bit in the word depth doesn't put more food on my plate. Like I said earlier it's just endless nitpicking. People my age don't usually hear anything above 15KHz and most wouldn't wanna hear stray mastering frequencies and loose junk in the lead-in groove. It really depends what level of 'hi-res' is required. I'm just saying sometimes it's overkill.
 
patient_ot said:
Digital and CD playback is very easy and inexpensive. Spending a lot of money is not necessary, but you can if you want. I have thousands of CDs and enjoy the format greatly as I do vinyl, but vinyl is a lot more of a hassle and more costly to get right.

Even a $300-500 CDP or $100 DAC will have a s/n ratio beyond what the format is capable of most of the time, but try finding a decent new turntable for that price. Many sub-$1K turntables don't even meet 60s NAB standards for W/F.
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Technically this is about right, and while now you can buy used CD's and stream cheaply, at one time digital music was much more costly than vinyl. It sort of came in waves as far as the music sources, vinyl was costly as the digital of the past was FM, which was free while vinyl was costly. Then CD's came out and digital was expensive, both the players and the disc, while vinyl was dirt cheap, no one wanted it and you could buy records marked way down as the stores were clearing it out and your friends would give you their collections, not to mention used prices pennies on the dollar. Now the rolls have reversed.

I think many of us are as much into the systems and gear and the rewards are the outcome which is the musical reward. This is where cool turntables fit in, the two don't have to be head to head, we already have a library of music, our vinyl collections of the past, and we enjoy using our gear and tweaking it to make it sound as good as possible and perhaps we don't have to compete head to head, we just want to enjoy the outcome while enjoying the rewards of preserving the gear of yesterday, and the records which are part of the systems.

And don't get put in one box fits everyone, as each of us have a different part to play in this as we don't all follow the exact same paths. Some might be similar but why we like one thing over another can be for different reasons. Some might be they grew up with records, and like that sound, some because they have records which have sentimental reasons, some are new to records and find it more interesting, the reasons are endless and everyone has a variation of what makes them choose the path they travel.
 
I guess the best bang for the $ in music systems is a matter of perspective. I do like streaming music. This might be the most economical way to access a huge library of music we can play anywhere, any time. And even my Spotify Premium is quite satisfying in terms of sound quality. Just not as good as LP's, But close to CD's. I also listen to FM.

While I think LP's have more potential to sound best, Streaming music, playing CD,'s, listeing to FM, and even playing cassette tapes when done correctly can all be very satisfying.
 
Late Boomer said:
Or, in other words, into needlessly spending money to brag about their "system" :)
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I wouldn't call it "needlessly". If you would have quoted his entire sentence instead of taking it out of context, you would see that there is a musical reward to doing as much. No, not needless.
His statement: "I think many of us are as much into the systems and gear and the rewards are the outcome which is the musical reward."
 
As someone who loves vinyl and has more of it than any other physical audio format...no, it's not the best bang for the $ format, and it's not even close.

That title belongs to the humble CD - at least as far as physical formats are concerned.
 
charles 1973 said:
I had put my Turntable away for several years listening to CD's FM radio and Spotify Premium. Partly because I like the convince, especially with streaming music. And was quite satisfied. Well today I connected it back up and played CCR's "Chronicle" double LP set. I was very surprised at just how good LP's can sound. All the instruments just seem to have more presence then either my CD's or Spotify. And I've got 4x as much $ in the CD/DAC then my Turntable/Cartridge/Preamp.

To be fair this was not a very scientific assessment, but it makes me wonder how much we would have to spend today to get the sound quality of even a budget TT like the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo with digital, Either CD or Streaming. Or is there really a magic to LP's that can't be duplicated, no matter how much money we spend.

I still plan on buying a good, Cambridge CX - N digital music streamer to enjoy the convenience of Spotify Premium. It should prove interesting to compare it with my TT.
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I think CDs are better regardless of price point and it has been this way for a while. Haven't tried steaming yet.
 
nailer said:
I think CDs are better regardless of price point and it has been this way for a while. Haven't tried steaming yet.
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I think this sentiment runs parallel to the tube v solid state debate. There’s something pleasing about the vinyl just like tubes. We all seem to have our reasons but I often wonder if our preference is due to wanting to like it more.
In my case I am often amazed at how great a record sounds, how great my all tube system sounds, how great a 40 year old receiver sounds, how great a $100 tube chip amp sounds, etc.
It’s tough to beat a CD most of the time. I have many albums in both formats and with rare and valuable records I record to CD on a Tascam deck first play. The differences are minimal, not really enough to insist on the vinyl.
 
nailer said:
I think CDs are better regardless of price point and it has been this way for a while. Haven't tried steaming yet.
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If you like CD's better then LP's, Then I think you'll love streaming. I do. And for the many of same reasons.

Imagine have access to nearly every CD and Album in your collection and 1,000 more you wish you had available anywhere, anytime on multiple devices with SQ very close to CD, sometimes better. All for $10 - $15 a month. And all you need is one box for a stand alone streamer. No physical media purchases or storage.

That's why I just invested CDN $1,725 in the most recent version of a Cambridge CX-N Network music streamer. I want one good enough to take advantage of my Bryston B100SST integrated amps capabilities. There are others for perhaps $500 or less that probably do a fine job too.

In the old days FM radio was good, But it is so filled with commercials and really bad disc jockeys is not worth listening to. To be fair to DJ's though, It may be they are just following a program.
 
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RDW said:
I don’t know if it is only imagination or what but I agree. To me CDs and streaming are fatiguing to listen to. Perhaps it is that I feel less involved with the music and getting up to turn over the record somehow makes it feel more “alive” or something. Similar to how I felt when solid state amps were first becoming popular, they just sounded harsh and strident. There may be something to it or it may just be all imagination.
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Not your imagination. Simple facts. I have a small recording studio and deal with digital recording all day long. And have since almost day one of digital music. Just the nature of digital. Dont get me wrong, I like digital too. But I have some descent AD/DA converters and that has a big impact on the sound too. I like Wolfson or Burr-Brown chips. Very analog in sound. But I have to keep the db levels lower with digital to keep the "ear fatigue" down. I mix at around 83db and utilize the Bob Katz "K-System" for monitoring. Now when listening to music on my stereo, I can listen to vinyl or tape at a much higher db level than digital.
 
For me personally vinyl is my by far and above my favorite medium, and even though I’ve said it before I’ll say it again:

Turntables provide a very satisfying, interactive, visual and aural experience. The form and function is intriguing and when a certain level of performance is obtained, system wise, it’s immediately apparent and gives one a sense of accomplishment & pride:cool:

Then there’s the esthetic beauty, the pure artistic attraction of a beautiful table, it’s a piece of art in and of itself; not to mention the mesmerizing spinning coupled with the musical sensation, it’s somewhat surreal.

When the whole system comes together at a turntable, what flows through the speakers causes one to visually engage with the table, tonearm and spinning record, causing a sense of disbelief and awe that this simple device is responsible for producing both and emotional and physical response, a flood of endorphins:thumbsup:
:trebon:

VR
Andy
 
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